Yearly Archives: 2010

More Bad News for David Rivera

Posted on September 3, 2010 by Michael Froomkin

The Reid Report: Former donor files FEC complaint against David Rivera.

Previously: This Could Be an Interesting Lawsuit (7/28/10).

Posted in Politics: FL-25/FL-27 | Comments Off on More Bad News for David Rivera

There’s a Story Here Somewhere

Posted on September 2, 2010 by Michael Froomkin

These two emails were sent about two hours and twenty minutes apart. I could have endured a little bit more explanation in the second one.

Email #1:

from UM Police

DO NOT REPLY TO THIS E-MAIL

 

 

umcops.jpg

Crime Alert

CORAL GABLES CAMPUS

September 2, 2010

 

On September 2, 2010 at approximately 1:15 P.M. two black males attempted to rob the Sbarro’s at the University Center, 1306 Stanford Drive.  No weapons were displayed.  The subject fled without any property. 

 

Subject 1:  RACE:  B            SEX:  M          AGE:  Early 20’s.

WEIGHT:  6′ 0’     HEIGHT:  190                        EYES:  Brown   HAIR: Black

Last Seen Wearing: Black T-shirt, White shorts with dark blue stripe and light blue trim, black sock and white sneakers.

 

Subject 2: Race:  B   SEX:  M          AGE:  Early 20’s

WEIGHT:  5’8″      HEIGHT:  140                        EYES:  Brown   HAIR: Black

Last Seen Wearing:  Black cap, black tank top shirt, long dark shorts, black sneakers with light blue trim.

UMcops2.jpgUMcops3.jpg

 

– Report all emergencies immediately by calling 911.

– Report all suspicious activity immediately by calling (305) 284-6666.

– To request a UM Police safety escort, call 305-284-6666 or use any blue light telephone.

– Visit the UMPD website for personal safety information.

– Visit the UMPD website for more information on self-defense programs.

 

www.miami.edu/police

 

Post this alert as necessary to keep our community informed.

 

Email #2:

from UM Police

Do not reply to this message

 

 

 

umcops.jpg

Crime Alert Update

 

CORAL GABLES CAMPUS

September 2, 2010

 

Police investigation of the robbery attempt at the University Center Sbarro’s at approximately 1:15 p.m. on September 2, 2010 has resulted in the identification of the subjects.  It has been determined that no crime has been committed.

 

Also note that due to a listserv issue a previous crime alert dated April 20, 2010 was sent in error.  Please disregard that message.

 

 

– Report all emergencies immediately by calling 911.

– Report all suspicious activity immediately by calling (305) 284-6666.

– To request a UM Police safety escort, call 305-284-6666 or use any blue light telephone.

– Visit the UMPD website for personal safety information.

– Visit the UMPD website for more information on self-defense programs.

 

www.miami.edu/police

 

Post this alert as necessary to keep our community informed.

 

 

Posted in U.Miami | 3 Comments

Nightline is Coming to Talk to Me

Posted on September 2, 2010 by Michael Froomkin

In a sign either that I'm getting stronger or that I'm nuts, I've agreed to be interviewed on camera by a crew from ABC's Nightline tomorrow a bit after class. They want to know about when it's OK to film and record people in public (and sometimes put it on YouTube).

Many states — including Florida — have two-party consent laws requiring that speakers agree to be recorded (one-party consent laws only require that the person doing the recording consent). Oddly, most of those states don't use a similar rule for photos or videos, most likely because many of these laws were drafted with wiretapping/phone recording in mind as the evil to be controlled; state public policy is/was that citizens have a reasonable expectation of privacy in their telephone communications. But no one was thinking about videos, perhaps because video equipment was exotic and expensive; allowing photos in public is also consistent with the “plain view” doctrines that apply in the context of police investigations.

But even on its own terms, the two-party consent rule runs into the First Amendment if the conversation is in a public place, and even more so if it is with a public official … say, a police officer. Conversely, there is also the issue of the citizen's privacy right if a third party (or the state) seeks to publish the recording. Currently common law privacy torts cover outrageous interference with privacy in public places, but these are very very limited circumstances such as accident victims speaking to first responders (medical privacy) or upskirt photos (legal pudeur). Only California has tried to legislate an anti-paparazzi rule, and even this is carefully circumscribed to avoid very real First Amendment concerns.

As for the photos, that's getting harder and harder too in the face of spurious claims of “security” and “anti-terrorism” that have been raised, usually arbitrarily and without actual legal authority, to prevent still photography of public buildings.

I gather the ABC cameras will also be visiting local celebrity photography-is-not-a-crime Carlos Miller.

The segment won't air for some time, though.

Posted in Law: Privacy, The Media | 2 Comments

Joe Garcia Leading in Early Poll

Posted on September 2, 2010 by Michael Froomkin

Joe Garcia's campaign (FL-25) just sent an email blast out touting the results of their latest poll:

We just got the results in from our pollster, and it's great news for Joe. We are beating David Rivera by 4 points.

No word on the actual percentages or the number of undecided, though.

Campaign polls are always a little suspect compared to neutrals, but this can only be a sign of a likely Democratic pickup … maybe one of the few in the nation. Does the Rivera campaign have a counter-poll it is willing to release?

Earlier:

Posted in Politics: FL-25/FL-27 | Comments Off on Joe Garcia Leading in Early Poll

Big News From Tallahassee

Posted on September 1, 2010 by Michael Froomkin

One of the big stories of the day is buried in my newspaper, on the inside of the Metro section: 3 amendments kept off Florida ballot. Yes, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that would-be Amendments 3, 7 and 9 will not be on the November ballot, but Amendments 5 and 6 will be.

That means that the fair redistricting amendments pushed by Fair Districts Florida and supported by a massive numb er of voter signatures will be before the voters, but the sneaky underhanded attempt by the legislature to instantly undermine them (in Amendment 7) will not be. As the court of appeals noted, the summary of the amendment was so confusing even lawyers and judges couldn't figure it out.

This is a big deal, as Amendments 5 and 6 have the potential to be transformative and to fix one of the biggest things wrong with Florida politics: the very partisan gerrymandering of our electoral districts.l

Amendment 9 was an attempt to get out the Republican vote by offering a meaningless attempt to block part of Obama's healthcare program. It was meaningless and deceptive because the US Constitution contains something called the Supremacy Clause, which makes federal legislation trump state rules — even state constitutional rules. But voters were not told that, being led to think that their vote might mean something. Florida requires accuracy in ballot summaries.

Also chopped was Amendment 3, which would have given new homebuyers a tax credit, again for leaving out key details.

All the votes were 5-2.

Posted in Politics: 2010 Election | 4 Comments

Vanity Fair Does Palin

Posted on September 1, 2010 by Michael Froomkin

A very good read: Sarah Palin the Sound and the Fury.

Full of creepy personal details. And this:

For messaging strategy, Palin relies on William Kristol, editor of The Weekly Standard, and Fred Malek, who was an aide to Presidents Richard Nixon and George H. W. Bush.

It is actually hard to imagine a worse combination (although I will admit preemptively that it is undoubtedly possible): one stupid and venal, the other evil. Yes, it's that Fred Malek.

Posted in Politics: US | 1 Comment