Court to review employer access to worker messages
Court Alerts
he Supreme Court said Monday it will decide how much privacy workers have when they send text messages from company accounts.
The justices said they will review a federal appeals court ruling that sided with Ontario, Calif., police officers who complained that the department improperly snooped on their electronic exchanges. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco also faulted the text-messaging service for turning over transcripts of the messages without the officers' consent.
Users of text-messaging services "have a reasonable expectation of privacy" regarding messages stored on the service provider's network, 9th Circuit Judge Kim Wardlaw said. Both the city and USA Mobility Wireless, Inc., which bought the text-messaging service involved in the case, appealed the 9th Circuit ruling.
The justices turned down the company's appeal, but said they would hear arguments in the spring in the city's case.
The appeals court ruling came in a lawsuit filed by Ontario police Sgt. Jeff Quon and three others after Arch Wireless gave their department transcripts of Quon's text messages in 2002. Police officials read the messages to determine whether department-issued pagers were being used solely for work purposes.
The city said it discovered that Quon sent and received hundreds of personal messages, including many that were sexually explicit.
Quon and the others said the police force had an informal policy of not monitoring the usage as long as employees paid for messages in excess of monthly character limits.
Related listings
-
Legal case debates classiness of Flynt family smut
Court Alerts 12/11/2009When it comes to peddling porn, Larry Flynt wants you to know his videos of people having sex are a cut above other smut on the rack.So when a pair of nephews Flynt personally groomed for the porn business decided to launch their own company last yea...
-
Court rules against Patriot Act challenger
Court Alerts 12/11/2009A federal appeals court overturned a lower court Thursday and ruled against an Oregon lawyer once wrongly suspected in a terrorist bombing.Brandon Mayfield was arrested in 2004 and held for two weeks after his Portland home and office were searched a...
-
Court OKs Pilgrim's Pride reorganization plan
Court Alerts 12/10/2009A court approved chicken producer Pilgrim's Pride Corp. plan for reorganization on Thursday, and the company said it expects to emerge from bankruptcy court protection this month.Pilgrim's Pride filed for Chapter 11 protection last year facing high d...
Victorville CA DUI defense Attorneys
The outcome of a DUI defense will have a long-term effect on anyone’s life, making the decision to receive legal representation an easy one. The fact is, most people accused of a DUI are first offenders with no criminal background. Whether this is your first run in with the law or you have had previous convictions, you are in need of a DUI defense attorney.
The charges you are facing for a DUI range from fines, a 12-month suspension on your license and worst-case scenario, prison time. Your attorney will be able to analyze your situation to decide the best way to go about your case.
Our attorneys know the tricky ways to challenge all of the DUI tests and know how to claim improper collection of evidence. We will be able to negotiate on your behalf and free you from charges and help you keep your drivers license. The DUI process can last up to several months, we can make this process easier on you. .