The U.S. Supreme Court and Privacy Law
posted by Daniel Solove
I can’t help but note that there are quite a few cases on the U.S. Supreme Court calendar involving privacy law:
City of Ontario v. Quon
(Fourth Amendment, electronic communications of government employees)
(my thoughts are here)
NASA v. Nelson
(constitutional right to information privacy)
Snyder v. Phelps
(intentional infliction of emotional distress, intrusion upon seclusion)
Sadly, though, only in 1 of the 3 cases above do I think the privacy claim ought to prevail. Regardless, these are exciting times to be a privacy law scholar. But it is always an exciting time to be a privacy law scholar — so many interesting things going on. If you’re not a privacy law scholar, you’re really missing out!
UPDATE: In the comments, Omer Tene points out another privacy case before the Court — Doe v. Reed, the case involving whether the state could compel disclosure of the identities of those supporting Proposition 8 (an anti-gay marriage proposition in California). I have not studied this case in depth, but from what I know, my preliminary take is that the First Amendment bars the disclosure.
April 15, 2010 at 11:24 pm
Posted in: First Amendment, Privacy, Privacy (Electronic Surveillance), Privacy (Gossip & Shaming), Privacy (Law Enforcement), Supreme Court
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Responses (2)
A.J. Sutter - April 16, 2010 at 5:02 am
How did you find out that I’m not a privacy law scholar?
Omer Tene - April 17, 2010 at 7:55 am
I think there’s also Doe v. Reed, regarding privacy of citizens who signed petitions for ballot initiatives.
http://www.supremecourt.gov/Search.aspx?FileName=/docketfiles/09-559.htm
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