Judge Tells RIAA To Stop 'Bankrupting' Litigants

Posted by on under judge nancy gertner, massachusetts cases, substantial resources, compas, litigants, formalities, riaa, law firms, peoe, lawyers |

NewYorkCountryLawyer writes "The Boston judge who has consolidated all of the RIAA's Massachusetts cases into a single case over which she has been presiding for the past 5 years delivered something of a rebuke to the RIAA's lawyers, we have learned. At a conference this past June, the transcript of which (PDF) has just been released, Judge Nancy Gertner said to them that they 'have an ethical obligation to fully understand that they are fighting people without lawyers... to understand that the formalities of this are basically bankrupting people, and it's terribly critical that you stop it ...' She also acknowledged that 'there is a huge imbalance in these cases. The record companies are represented by large law firms with substantial resources,' while it is futile for self-represented defendants to resist. The judge did not seem to acknowledge any responsibility on her part, however, for having created the 'imbalance,' and also stated that the law is 'overwhelmingly on the side of the record companies,' even though she seems to recognize that for the past 5 years she has been hearing only one side of the legal story."

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Tagi: judge nancy gertner, massachusetts cases, substantial resources, compas, litigants, formalities, riaa, law firms, peoe, lawyers

Britain's DNA database violates privacy: court

Posted by on under dna profiles, dna database, strasbourg france, deci, reuters, human rights court, peoe, europe |

STRASBOURG, France (Reuters) - Britain violated the privacy of two people by storing their DNA profiles, Europe's human rights court ruled on Thursday, a decision that calls into question rules governing the use of the country's DNA database.
Tagi: dna profiles, dna database, strasbourg france, deci, reuters, human rights court, peoe, europe

Human Rights Court Calls UK DNA Database a 'Breach of Rights'

Posted by on under dna database, bbc reports, european court of human rights, democratic society, judgement, breach, human rights court, judgment, bbc, scope, peoe |

psmears writes "Describing a judgment that is likely to rein in the scope of the UK DNA database, where at present the DNA of those arrested by the police is kept permanently (even if the people concerned are never convicted, or even charged), the BBC reports that the European Court of Human Rights has ruled that keeping such people's DNA in the database 'could not be regarded as necessary in a democratic society.'" Reader megla adds a link to the full text of the judgement.

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Tagi: dna database, bbc reports, european court of human rights, democratic society, judgement, breach, human rights court, judgment, bbc, scope, peoe