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Archive For Entries On Disclosure

Nothing Personal, But There Is No Right to “Personal Privacy” for Corporations in FCC v. AT&T

“We trust that AT&T won’t take it too personally,” wrote Chief Justice Roberts of the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) regarding the outcome of a case concerning corporate privacy rights. Flowing from a spate of privacy cases at SCOTUS (most notably, Snyder v. Phelps covered by fellow Contributing Editor, Alysia Lau here and our Amici Curiae [...]

NASA v. Nelson says “Ridiculous” to U.S. Constitutional Right to Informational Privacy

Originally argued in front of the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) last fall to lively online and media debate, the recent decision of NASA v. Nelson (2011) 562 U.S. (pdf link) was released on January 19, 2011 to considerably less fanfare in the blogosphere. As discussed in my prior post about this case, [...]

“Officer Bubbles” Sues YouTube and Anonymous Commenters for Online Defamation

On September 22, 2010, Toronto Police Constable Adam Josephs launched a lawsuit in the Ontario Superior Court: Adam Josephs v. YouTube et. al (2010) CV-10-410890 (Ont. Sup. Ct.) (“Josephs v. YouTube”). In the suit, Constable Josephs sues video sharing website YouTube for $1.25 million. He seeks damages for defamation of his reputation and disclosure of [...]

R. v. Basi: (I) The Sanctity of Informer Privilege; (II) Preliminary Appeals in Criminal Trials

(I) The Sanctity of Informer Privilege “Informer Privilege” or “Informant Privilege”—the protection of the identity of a confidential informant—is one of the most prohibitive and absolute privileges in the Canadian legal system. The Supreme Court of Canada reiterated its importance last week by unanimously overturning both lower court decisions in R. v. Basi, 2009 SCC [...]

Adjournment: The Only Remedy Available for Late Disclosure as Provided in R. v. Bjelland

The accused’s right to make a full answer and defence as well as the right to full disclosure has been brushed aside by the SCC in its recent ruling in R. v. Bjelland, 2009 SCC 38. In a close 4:3 decision, the SCC supported the final view that the only real remedy available for late [...]