A Rap Song Posted To Social Media By A Student Is Unprotected By The First Amendment

First Amendment Protection—Out Of School Speech—The United States Court of Appeals For The Fifth Circuit Holds That A Rap Song Posted To Social Media By A Student Is Unprotected. —Bell v. Itawamba County School Board, No. 12-60264, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 14630 (5th Cir. Aug. 20, 2015).

Rachel Melchor*

The First Amendment states that, “Congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom of speech.”  U.S. Const. amend. I.  In our increasingly technological world, the Internet presents new challenges for school administrators and how to balance school safety and students’ constitutional rights.  Bell v. Itawamba Cnty. Sch. Bd., No. 12-60264, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 14630, at *19 (5th Cir. Aug. 20, 2015) (citing Wynar v. Douglas Cnty. Sch. Dist., 728 F.3d 1062, 1064 (9th Cir. 2013)). Continue reading “A Rap Song Posted To Social Media By A Student Is Unprotected By The First Amendment”

Government Regulation of Cybersecurity Practices

Government Regulation of Cybersecurity Practices: FTC v. Wyndham Worldwide Corp.
“You might want to check your [insert business name] account. They’ve been hacked.”

Marie Claire Langlois*

It is a warning heard far too often.  Companies from Target to Sony, from Home Depot to JPMorgan Chase, are all recovering from the malicious attacks of hackers intending to steal thousands of client’s identities for their own benefit.  Kevin Granville, 9 Recent Cyberattacks Against Big Businesses, N.Y. Times, (Feb. 5, 2015), http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/02/05/technology/recent-cyberattacks.html.  Since many times the hacker’s identities are never known, private consumers can only bring legal action against the businesses holding their personal information by alleging insufficient protection for commercially unreasonable cybersecurity practices.  Alison Frankel, Thanks to 3rd Circuit, companies are accountable for lax cybersecurity, Reuters (April 24, 2015), http://blogs.reuters.com/alison-frankel/2015/08/24/thanks-to-3rd-circuit-companies-are-accountable-for-lax-cybersecurity/, ¶ 2. Continue reading “Government Regulation of Cybersecurity Practices”

Comment: PASPA’s Ban on Sports Betting is Misguided

PASPA’s Ban on Sports Betting is Misguided: Save Citizens the Financially and Morally Taxing Trip to Vegas by Allowing States to Legalize Sports Wagering.

Marie Long*

      Not all Americans realize it, but betting on sports is illegal in the United States. It is the classic American duality: morally proscribing only one type of gambling while sanctioning lotteries, slots, and online poker as legal; as though they are somehow different than or more morally acceptable than betting on sports. The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1991 (“PASPA”) sought to stop the spread of state-sponsored sports gambling and maintain the integrity of professional and amateur sports by banning any wagering by government entities or individuals on “competitive games in which amateur or professional athletes participate.”

Download the full comment by clicking the following link Long Comment – Vol 44 Online – Final.

* Expected J.D. from the University of Baltimore School of Law in May 2015.

Volume 44 Issue 1

Here’s a look at Volume 44 Issue 1:

1) J.L.’s Time Bomb Still Ticking: How Navarette’s Narrow Holding Failed to Address Important Issues Regarding Anonymous Tips, by Andrew B. Kartchner, Law Clerk to the Hon. James A. Teilborg, U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona

2) The Free Labor Standards Act? A Look at the Ongoing Discussion Regarding Unpaid Legal Internships and Externships, by Lauren K. Knight, Director of the Career Development and Externship Office at Savannah Law School

3) The Courts and National Security: The Ordeal of the State Secrets Privilege, by David Rudenstine, Sheldon H. Solow Professor of Law, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University

4) Newborn Screening Programs and Privacy: Shifting Responsibility from the Parent to the Laboratory, by Michael D. Leeb, Staff Editor, University of Baltimore Law Review

5) The Security and Exchange Commission’s Proposed Regulations Under the CROWDFUND ACT Strike a Necessary Balance Between the Burden of Disclosure Placed on Issuers of Securities and Meaningful Protection for Unsophisticated Investors, by Stuart E. Smith, Technology Editor, University of Baltimore Law Review

Practitioner Series: Valuation 101

By Robert Carter¹

Business valuations are utilized in litigation and other proceedings, which are often crucial tools for proving the legitimacy of a claim. Still, the topic of business valuations can be daunting and many misunderstand the development and intrinsic value of business valuations. For simplification purposes, a valuation encompasses the following components: gathering and analyzing relevant information, determining appropriate valuation approaches, applying the corresponding financial models, and report preparation.

Continue reading “Practitioner Series: Valuation 101”