Previewing Blawg Review #10

Evan D. Brown, a Chicago attorney, keeps tabs on legal developments involving the Internet and new technologies at InternetCases.com.

Evan's presentation of the facts and law takes the form of headnotes with entertaining fact situations and curious applications of the law.

It's not too often that the courts get to pass judgment on the really important issues of our time. But in its March 24 decision in the case of Vogel v. Felice, the California Court of Appeal has determined that calling someone a "dumb ass" does not give rise to liability for defamation. "A statement that [a person] is a 'Dumb Ass,' even first among 'Dumb Asses,' communicates no factual proposition susceptible of proof or refutation."

And just when everyone is concerned about identity theft, wondering why dumb ass banks don't simply use encryption software to protect sensitive personal data, Evan reports on another interesting case.

A recent decision of the Court of Appeals of Minnesota in the case of State v. Levie, however, is worth noting in that the decision affirmed a controversial evidentiary ruling. The trial court judge had allowed into evidence the mere fact that the defendant had the encryption software PGP installed on his computer. The judge had determined that the presence of the software was relevant evidence to show that the defendant had engaged in improper conduct with a minor.

InternetCases.com is an informative journal of the latest developments in the law of technology, presented as an entertaining review of current case law. We're looking forward to Evan Brown's Blawg Review #10.