Transcript Document

Constitutional Rights Chp. 2
Civil Rights – Bill of Rights and other amendments to the Constitution
have become a shield for the personal, natural rights of individuals
Due Process of Law – Fifth Amendment states “No person shall be
…deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law…”.
Through various U.S. Supreme Court decisions the term has become
defined as ‘at minimum, a defendant over whom jurisdiction has
been established must be provided adequate notice and proper
hearing’.
Constitutional Rights Chp. 2
Due Process throughout the constitution:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Right to be secure against unreasonable searches and seizures
(Fourth Amendment)
Right not to be witness against yourself in any criminal case
(Fifth Amendment)
Right of accused to a speedy and public trial by impartial jury
in the state or district of the crime, be informed of nature and
cause of accusation, confront witnesses, benefit of defense
counsel (Sixth Amendment)
Trial by jury in civil suits where the value in controversy
exceeds $20 (Seventh Amendment)
Excessive bail will not be required or fines imposed or cruel or
unusual punishment inflicted (Eighth Amendment)
Constitutional Rights Chp. 2
For fun:
The Wyoming territorial legislature granted women the right to
vote 50 years before Congress passed the Nineteenth
Amendment. The Wyoming law was enacted on December 10,
1869, in an attempt to attract female settlers.
Constitutional Rights Chp. 2
State Sovereignty
Supreme political authority free from external control.
Every state’s constitution and statutes are supreme on matters over which
the federal government has not been given authority.
Powers kept by the states include:
1. Control over most business law
2. Control over most contract law
3. Most criminal and tort law
4. Probate law
5. Domestic relations law
See ‘Selected Federal Regulatory Agencies and Their Powers’ – link on
website
Constitutional Rights Chp. 2
Internet & Constitutional Rights
Cyberlaw – law that governs the use of computers in e-commerce
and in general the Internet
Causes some new legal issues for the system:
• Jurisdiction
• Trademarks
• Copyrights
• Contracts
• Privacy
• Obscenity
• Defamation
• Security of data
• Crime
Constitutional Rights Chp. 2
The decentralization of the Internet makes it almost impossible to
exercise legal control.
Jurisdiction is not obvious. Should the case be decided:
• within the state where it was filed?
• where the e-business is physically located?
Decision is based on two legal considerations:
1. Laws of the state in which the case is filed must allow suits
against nonresident defendants. Known as ‘long arm of the
law’.
2. Whether or not allowing the state or federal court to decide
the case would be a violation of the due process requirements
of the U.S. Constitution.
Constitutional Rights Chp. 2
Currently, according to the latest decisions regarding cyberlaw
issues, the establishment of jurisdiction by the a state over a
nonresident defendant is only proper if the defendant has either a
“substantial, continuous, and systemic presence” in the state or has
“minimum contacts” with the state.
Most e-businesses are judged by the minimum contacts rule.
Constitutional Rights Chp. 2
Minimum Contact According to Wikipedia:
Courts have struggled with the Internet as a source of minimum contacts. Although
not determinately established by the Supreme Court, many courts use
the Zippo test, which examines the kind of use to which a defendant's website is
being put. Under this test, websites are divided into three categories:
passive websites, which merely provide information, will almost never provide
sufficient contacts for jurisdiction. Such a website will only provide a basis for
jurisdiction if the website itself constitutes an intentional tort such
as slander or defamation, and if it is directed at the jurisdiction in question;
interactive websites, which permit the exchange of information between website
owner and visitors, may be enough for jurisdiction, depending on the website's level
of interactivity and commerciality, and the amount of contacts which the website
owner has developed with the forum due to the presence of the website;
commercial websites, which clearly do a substantial volume of business over the
Internet, and through which customers in any location can immediately engage in
business with the website owner, definitely provide a basis for jurisdiction.
Constitutional Rights Chp. 2
• Facebook and minimum contact Lyons v. Rienzi & Sons,
westlawinsider.com, May 2012
Constitutional Rights Chp. 2
International cases are governed by international commerce law.
Before e-commerce the principle was that a country may exercise
jurisdiction only over activities with a substantial effect on or in
that country.
Recent cases indicate an abandonment of this rule and do not
show any unifying principle of jurisdiction.
Example of American journalist in Zimbabwe. We’ll talk about this
in class when we come back from break.
Constitutional Rights Chp. 2
Freedom of Speech –
1957, Roth v. United States: The Court held that obscenity was not a
protected form of expression and could be restricted by the states. In
addition, the Court announced a test for courts to use in evaluating
whether material was obscene.
How does this effect cyberlaw?
1973, Miller v. California: Supreme Court toughened the standards
by deciding that questionable materials were to be judged by the
standards of the community affected.
How would this work with Internet posts/sites? What is the
‘community’?
Constitutional Rights Chp. 2
Freedom of Speech –
1996, Communications Decency Act (CDA): made it a crime to transmit
"indecent" or "patently offensive" material over the Web to anyone
younger than 18 years of age.
- first notable attempt by the United States Congress to regulate
pornographic material on the Internet.
- In 1997, Reno v. ACLU,
U.S. district court judge Stewart Dazall partially overturned
the law. The ACLU argued that the terms of the CDA were
“impermissibly broad and vague, and would have
restricted candid discussions of issues related to health
and sexuality because of their reference to various
body parts”.
Constitutional Rights Chp. 2
Freedom of Speech –
1998, Child Online Protection Act (COPA): Required commercial sites to use
up-to-date methodology to restrict access to their sites containing material
harmful to children.
Passed in 1998 with the declared purpose of restricting access by minors to
any material defined as harmful to such minors on the Internet. The law,
however, never took effect, as three separate rounds of litigation led to a
permanent injunction against the law in 2009.
Constitutional Rights Chp. 2
Online Privacy –
People have the reasonable expectation to keep their actions,
communications, beliefs, and other personal attributes protected from
those who would improperly use them.
Do not have privacy right to:
1. Personal email at work
2. Information shared through social networking sites