Hate Mongers and Tunnel Rats are Entitled to Free Speech, Too

(cross posted at the Citizen Media Law Project)
It's often said that bad cases make bad law.  In the case of a decision issued by a New Jersey state court back in December, a bad case has also made for bad law commentary.

Oklahoma Judge Removes Online Docket to Thwart Juror Access

According to the Tulsa World, an Oklahoma state judge ordered the removal of the online docket of a medical negligence trial in order to prevent jurors from accessing the docket and papers filed in the case.  The party's lawyers agreed with the removal, which lasted during the duration of the trial.

Intriguing First Look at Juror Tweeting

Here's an intriguing article on juror tweeting, looking at some examples the author found of tweets from Britain discussing jury duty.  

Seventh Circuit Vacates Contempt for E-Mail Barrage

(cross posted at the Citizen Media Law Project)
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has vacated the summary contempt citation and sentence imposed by U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman after his court e-mail account was inundated with messages after infomercial pitchman Kevin Trudeau urged his supporters to e-mail the judge. FTC v. Trudeau, No. 10-1383, slip op. (7th Cir. May 20, 2010).

New Issues Raised By Electronic Filing

As more courts adopt mandatory electronic filing of court documents, they are going to have to deal with the legal implications of problems and glitches that will inevitably arise with such systems.

The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals recently dealt with one such issue in Vince v. Rock County, Wis., No. 10-1659 (7th Cir. May 3, 2010).