Your Spying Smartphone: Individual Privacy Is Narrowly Strengthened in Carpenter v. United States
The U.S. Supreme Court's Most Recent Fourth Amendment Ruling   
*Featured Article by Vania Mia Chaker

Recently, the United States Supreme Court wrestled with the profoundly complex and bedeviling issue of individual privacy in the landmark case of Carpenter v. United States. It is the most recent in a long line of Fourth Amendment cases that examine an individual’s reasonable expectation of privacy. In Carpenter, the Supreme Court revisited and expanded upon this query from Riley v. California and United States v. Jones—both progeny of Katz v. United States, the leading case in this area. The Carpenter Court ruled the government required a warrant before it could use private information arising from defendant Timothy Carpenter’s cellular phone—specifically, his cell site location information (CSLI). In the 5-4 decision, the Court ruled “narrowly” in favor of privacy, finding the government had constitutionally violated Mr. Carpenter’s reasonable expectation of privacy by acquiring this private information without a warrant. It ruled that, as a cell phone customer, Mr. Carpenter could reasonably expect that his CSLI would be treated as private, even though it was in the possession of a third party. In so ruling, the Court declined to apply the long-standing third-party doctrine of United States v. Miller and Smith v. Maryland. ​These cases, which stand for the proposition that there is a reduced expectation of privacy in information an individual knowingly shares with another, have thus been narrowed. Against a backdrop of stunningly advanced surveillance technology and the strictures of the United States Constitution, the question of how individual privacy comports with the need for police investigation is a complex and impressively difficult one. In the current political landscape, judicial vigilance becomes increasingly important in protecting the appropriate dimensions of individual privacy. The grave risks of governmental abuse may militate in favor of strengthened judicial oversight in determining the parameters of the state’s broad investigative powers. Strong privacy protections may indeed serve to function as a safeguard against the risks of governmental overreach, police misconduct, and improper warrantless surveillance.

There Is Always More than Law!
From Low IP Regimes to a Governance Perspective in Copyright Research
by Dr. Christian Katzenbach

​This Essay contributes to empirical copyright research by presenting an integrated governance perspective. This conceptual framework seeks to enable the identification and comparison of different modes of ordering and control in creative production and distribution.

Policing the Police:
Analyzing the Legal Implications of the Sequestration of Cellphone Video Footage
by Tristan Montaque

Tablets, iPads, and other forms of mobile video-recording devices have become increasingly important in modern society, and arguably none more so than cellphones. In addition to providing vital services and human connections, cellphones allow individuals to quickly share important news that often fails to make it into the daily paper or evening news broadcast.

A Case Against Bad Math
by Peggy Bruner

[B]iased algorithms perpetuate negative and harmful stereotypes. . . . This problem has been detected, investigated, and reported many times over several years. Corporations and government organizations have exponentially continued, however, to develop new algorithms.

Extraterritorial Application of Data Privacy Law
How the Stored Communication Act Lags Behind Modern Technology
by Andrew Bayudan

The Stored Communications Act (SCA), which allows the government to compel the production of electronic customer information from Internet Service Providers (ISPs), was found to be limited in scope by the Second Circuit in Microsoft Corp. v. United States.

Volume 22 | Issue 2
June 2018

Volume 22:2 is now available! 

Blunt Machetes in the Patent Thicket
​by Dr. Gavin Clarkson

Dr. Gavin Clarkson examines the legal history of patent pooling in the United States and the lack of an objective method for verifying the existence of a patent thicket in a given section of patent space and proposes a new rule for judicial examination of patent pools outside the standards-based context. 

Mavrix's Misguided Guidelines
​by Bobby Desmond

Bobby Desmond focuses on the safe harbor provision in § 512(c) and explores whether the Ninth Circuit’s guidelines were unduly restrictive and contrary to Congressional intent and the public policies underlying the passage of the DMCA in Mavrix Photographs v. LiveJournal.

Fixing the Sample Music Industry
​by Maxwell Christiansen

Maxwell Christiansen discusses the legal issues surrounding music sampling and proposes a compulsory license be imposed upon the copyright holders and the introduction of a new organization to administer licenses and enforce copyrights.

The End of the War as We Know It
​by Ashley M. Berger

Ashley Berger analyzes the existing laws surrounding the use of force and armed attack thresholds and discusses what should legally be considered a true cyber-attack of war. 

Volume 22 | Issue 1
Fall 2017

February 2018: Volume 22 | Issue 1 of JTLP is now live! New articles will be added to the issue periodically.

Suicide by Text
​by Ashley B. Chin

Ashley Chin analyzes the impact of the first ever indictment against a defendant solely based on text messages and verbal communication between the defendant and the victim in Commonwealth v. Carter​. 

The Only Certainty Is Uncertainty
​by Rainey C. Booth, Jr.

Rainey Booth discusses the law and uncertainties surrounding patent claim construction and argues in favor of the right to a jury trial on issues of patent claim construction. 

It's a Deal
​by Samanta C. Franchim

Samanta Franchim discusses the rise of live streaming apps and proposes ways that sports leagues can prevent financial harm that may result from this emerging technology.

Autonomous Vehicle Testing Legislation
​by Rustin Diehl & Matthew I. Thue

Diehl and Thue discuss the impact that autonomous vehicles will have on society and offer best practices for implementing autonomous vehicle legislation.

Keeping the Internet Invisible
​by Henry H. Perritt, Jr.

Henry Perritt explores the changing landscape of television in the modern age and its resulting effects on competition, net neutrality, and industry regulation.

Volume 21 | Issue 2
Spring 2017

Volume 21:2 is now available!

Electronic Surveillance: ​Jewel v. Nat'l Sec. Agency
​by Valentin Arenas

Valentin Arenas examines the implications of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California's ruling in Jewel v. Nat'l Sec. Agency.

Fintech and Disruptive Business Models in
​Financial Products, Intermediation and Markets
​by Iris Chiu

Iris Chiu suggests a high-level framework in which to study the nature, risks, and regulatory implications of fintech innovation.

Internet Ethics, American Law, and Jewish Law
​by Gertrude N. Levine & Samuel J.  Levine

Gertrude Levine and Samuel Levine discuss how values embodied in Jewish law can provide a basis for establishing internet ethics.

You Can't Hack This
​by Liz Allison

Liz Allison argues that legislation specific to car hacking is unnecessary and ignores the way technology develops and changes.

Antitrust: Helping Drive the Innovation Economy
​by Renata B. Hesse

Remarks from the 5th Annual Antitrust Law Leaders Forum. 

Volume 21 | Issue 1
Fall 2016

Dec. 2, 2016: Beginning today, the Fall 2016 issue of JTLP is now live. 

Cybersecurity Oversight: A Cautionary Tale for Directors
by Harris Yegelwel

Harris Yegewel cautions corporate directors to ensure that the corporation has adequate cybersecurity systems in place in order to satisfy their duties of care and loyalty.

Corporate Compliance in the Computer Age
by Sean Hipworth

Sean Hipworth discusses the risks of corporate non-compliance and proposes solutions that companies can utilize to mitigate these risks  in the digital age.

iSearch Into the iPhone
by Kristen Vogl

Kristen Vogl discusses how changes in cell phone technology necessitate a revisiting of Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches.

Bowers v. Baystate Tech.: The Unfair Use Doctrine of Reverse Engineering
by Nicholas Camillo

Nicholas Camillo considers whether copyright law provides adequate prote-ctions against reverse engineering for creators of computer software.

Full-Court Press
by Michael B. Greenberg

Michael B. Greenberg explores whether athletes have a legal right to the transmission of statistical data concerning their performances.

Volume 20 | Issue 2
​Available Online!

​Aug. 26, 2016: Beginning today, JTLP will post one article each week from Volume 20 | Issue 2.

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