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Court blocks prosecutors from seizing emails stored overseas
U.S. Court News |
2016/07/15 08:32
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A federal appeals court Thursday said prosecutors cannot force U.S. companies like Microsoft to turn over customer emails and other data stored on servers overseas — a ruling the government suggested could hamper national security investigations.
The three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously overturned a lower court's contempt finding against Microsoft for not handing over a customer's emails stored in Ireland. Federal prosecutors wanted the material for use in a drug trafficking investigation.
The ruling in the closely watched case was a victory for high-tech companies in the burgeoning "cloud computing" business, in which data is kept not on personal computers but on giant and sometimes distant servers. Microsoft stores data from over 1 billion customers and over 20 million businesses on servers in over 40 countries, the court noted.
The court said prosecutors went beyond what Congress intended when it passed the Stored Communications Act in 1986.
"Neither explicitly nor implicitly does the statute envision the application of its warrant provisions overseas," the court said in a decision written by Circuit Judge Susan L. Carney. She said allowing prosecutors to enforce a warrant outside the U.S. would "jettison ... centuries of law" and "replace the traditional warrant with a novel instrument of international application."
In a concurring opinion, Circuit Judge Gerard E. Lynch said an attempt to apply U.S. law overseas could cause tensions with other countries, "most easily appreciated if we consider the likely American reaction if France or Ireland or Saudi Arabia or Russia proclaimed its right to regulate conduct by Americans within our borders."
Microsoft called the ruling a "major victory for the protection of people's privacy rights under their own laws rather than the reach of foreign governments."
"We hear from customers around the world that they want the traditional privacy protections they've enjoyed for information stored on paper to remain in place as data moves to the cloud," said Brad Smith, Microsoft president and chief legal officer. "Today's decision helps ensure this result."
The Justice Department said it was disappointed and considering its options.
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Obama rebukes Poland over paralysis of constitutional court
U.S. Court News |
2016/07/01 08:33
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U.S. President Barack Obama expressed concern Friday about the state of democracy in Poland, publicly rebuking a right-wing government that has paralyzed the constitutional court and taken steps to control state run media.
Obama said he shared his worries with Polish President Andrzej Duda in a one-on-one meeting before the opening of a NATO summit in Warsaw.
"I expressed to President Duda our concerns about certain actions and the impasse around Poland's constitutional tribunal," Obama told reporters. "I insisted that we are very respectful of Poland's sovereignty and I recognized that parliament is working on legislation to take important steps but more needs to be done."
Poland has been stuck for months in controversy over the 15-member Constitutional Tribunal, a body that rules on the constitutionality of legislation, playing a role similar to that of the U.S. Supreme Court. The dispute concerns both appointments to the court and the rules that govern how it functions.
Opponents say the government's actions undermine democracy and have held several large street protests in recent months. The government's leaders say it is only trying to correct an imbalance, with appointments by the previous centrist government dominating the court.
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Court rules against White House science office in email case
U.S. Court News |
2016/06/22 08:34
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A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that work-related emails from a private account used by the White House's top science adviser are subject to disclosure under federal open records laws.
The ruling from the three-judge panel is a win for government watchdog groups and media organizations concerned that public officials may be skirting public disclosure requirements by relying on private email.
The court sided with a conservative think tank that had filed a lawsuit seeking emails from John Holdren, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. The decision overturns a lower court judge that said Holdren's office did not have to comply with the Freedom of Information Act request from the Competitive Enterprise Institute.
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High Court won't hear dispute over birthright citizenship
U.S. Court News |
2016/06/12 15:10
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The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from a group of American Samoans who say the United States should grant full citizenship to people born in the U.S. territory.
The justices on Monday let stand a lower court ruling that said the constitutional guarantee of birthright citizenship does not extend to the islands that have been a part of the country since 1900.
Current law considers American Samoans to be "nationals," not full citizens like those born in Puerto Rico, Guam and other U.S. territories. Nationals are allowed to work and live anywhere in the United States, but unlike citizens, they can't vote or hold elective office.
The challengers said that the law violates the 14th Amendment, which grants citizenship to anyone born in the United States. But the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled last year that birthright citizenship does not automatically apply to the nation's unincorporated political territories.
The lawsuit was filed by a small group of American Samoans who did not have the support of the islands' government officials. The government of American Samoa has argued that automatic U.S. citizenship could undermine local traditions and practices, including rules that restrict land ownership to those of Samoan ancestry.
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