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Privacy Law and Online Advertising

Description: This report will examine the application of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act and the Communications Act to online behavioral advertising in more detail. It is likely that in many cases these laws could be held to apply to such activities and that these methods of data collection would be forbidden unless consent is obtained from one of the parties to the communication.
Date: January 20, 2010
Creator: Ruane, Kathleen Ann
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Congressional Authority to Regulate Firearms: A Legal Overview

Description: Courts have been confronted with the question of whether federal laws can be applied to intrastate possession and intrastate transfers of firearms, or whether such application exceeds the authority of Congress. This report explores these cases and how courts have analyzed these as-applied challenges under the Supreme Court's Commerce Clause jurisprudence primarily set forth in United States v. Lopez.
Date: April 5, 2013
Creator: Chu, Vivian S.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Fifth Amendment in Congressional Investigations

Description: This report discusses the use and rules regarding invoking Fifth Amendments rights during Congressional investigations in the wake of the use of the Fifth Amendment by former national security adviser Michael Flynn during Congressional investigations.
Date: May 26, 2017
Creator: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Congress and U.S. Policy on North Korean Human Rights and Refugees: Recent Legislation and Implementation

Description: This report discusses U.S. policy and legislation in response to Pyongyang's human rights record. North Korea's systematic violation of its citizens' human rights and the plight of North Koreans trying to escape their country have been well documented in multiple reports issued by governments and other international bodies.
Date: January 30, 2009
Creator: Chanlett-Avery, Emma
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Law Enforcement Use of Global Positioning (GPS) Devices to Monitor Motor Vehicles: Fourth Amendment Considerations

Description: This report discusses the basics of Global Positioning System (GPS) technology, society's reliance on it, and some of the related legal and privacy implications. In addition, the report examines legislative and judicial responses on both federal and state levels.
Date: February 28, 2011
Creator: Smith, Alison M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board: New Independent Agency Status

Description: This report examines initial responses to the 9/11 Commission's call for a board to oversee adherence to presidential guidelines on information sharing that safeguard the privacy of individuals about whom information is shared, and the implementation of this board.
Date: July 21, 2008
Creator: Relyea, Harold C.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board: New Independent Agency Status

Description: This report examines initial responses to the 9/11 Commission's call for a board to oversee adherence to presidential guidelines on information sharing that safeguard the privacy of individuals about whom information is shared, and the implementation of this board.
Date: May 21, 2010
Creator: Hatch, Garrett
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA): Background and Policy Options for the 113th Congress

Description: This report provides background on the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), discusses the categories of records FOIA exempts from public release, and analyzes statistics on FOIA administration. The report also provides background on several legal and policy issues related to FOIA, including the release of controversial records, the growth in use of certain FOIA exemptions, and the adoption of new technologies to improve FOIA administration. The report concludes with an examination of potential FO… more
Date: March 8, 2013
Creator: Ginsberg, Wendy
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board: New Independent Agency Status

Description: Recommended by the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (9/11 Commission), the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) was initially established as an agency within the Executive Office of the President (EOP) in 2004. Critics, however, maintained that the board appeared to be a presidential appendage, devoid of the capability to exercise independent judgment and assessment or to provide impartial findings and recommendations. This viewpoint gained acceptan… more
Date: November 14, 2011
Creator: Hatch, Garrett
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Tying Up Loose Ends... Supreme Court To Evaluate Federal Firearm Provision Again

Description: This legal sidebar discusses certiorari to hear Voisine v. United States, a decision examining the federal provision that makes it unlawful for an individual to possess a firearm or ammunition if he or she has been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence (MCDV).
Date: December 3, 2015
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Freedom of Information Act (FOIA): Background and Policy Options for the 112th Congress

Description: The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA; 5 U.S.C. §552) enables any person to access—without explanation or justification—certain existing, identifiable, unpublished, executive branch agency records. Pursuant to FOIA, the public has presumptive access to requested agency records unless the material falls within any of FOIA's nine categories of exemption from disclosure. This report discusses FOIA's history, examines its implementation, and provides potential policy approaches for Congress.
Date: July 26, 2011
Creator: Ginsberg, Wendy
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board: New Independent Agency Status

Description: This report examines initial responses to the 9/11 Commission's call for a board to oversee adherence to presidential guidelines on information sharing that safeguard the privacy of individuals about whom information is shared, and the implementation of this board.
Date: August 27, 2012
Creator: Hatch, Garrett
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Legal Analysis of Religious Exemptions for Photo Identification Requirements

Description: This report analyzes the legal issues associated with religious exemptions to photo identification laws. Although no lawsuits appear to have challenged federal laws with photo requirements, state photo identification laws have been challenged for several decades.
Date: April 13, 2009
Creator: Brougher, Cynthia
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Federal Habeas Corpus Relief: Background, Legislation, and Issues

Description: This report examines the issues surrounding the debate on whether to further restrict state prisoners’ access to federal habeas corpus filings. This report does not discuss issues related to federalism and the proper role of the federal court system in overseeing the actions of state courts pertaining to prisoners’ constitutional rights. The report opens with a discussion of a commission that was established in 1988 to study and make recommendations of the then-current federal habeas corpus sys… more
Date: February 1, 2006
Creator: Seghetti, Lisa M. & James, Nathan
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Federal Habeas Corpus: An Abridged Sketch

Description: This report discusses federal habeas corpus, which is a procedure under which a federal court may review the legality of an individual’s incarceration. It is most often invoked after conviction and the exhaustion of the ordinary means of appeal. It is at once the last refuge of scoundrels and the last hope of the innocent. It is an intricate weave of statute and case law whose reach has flowed and ebbed over time.
Date: April 28, 2006
Creator: Doyle, Charles
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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When Does Double Prosecution Count as Double Jeopardy?

Description: This report discusses the Fifth Amendment's Double Jeopardy Clause; although the Clause provides that no person shall "be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb," the Supreme Court has made clear that that protection has its limits.
Date: August 16, 2018
Creator: Hsin, JD S.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Terrorism Investigations

Description: This report provides background information on key elements of the FBI terrorism investigative process, based on publicly available information. This report sets forth possible considerations for Congress as it executes its oversight role, including the extent to which intelligence has been integrated into FBI operations to support its counterterrorism mission and the progress the Bureau has made on its intelligence reform initiatives.
Date: April 24, 2013
Creator: Bjelopera, Jerome P.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Military Enjoined from Transferring American ISIS Suspect to Foreign Country--at Least for Now

Description: This report discusses the case of Doe v. Mattis, a case with potential ramifications regarding the authority to conduct military operations against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS). The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (D.C. Circuit) upheld 2-1 the district court's injunctions temporarily protecting "John Doe" from forcible transfer to another country from Iraq, where he is currently being held by the U.S. military as a suspected ISIS combatant.
Date: June 20, 2018
Creator: Elsea, Jennifer K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Supreme Court Drives Home Its Concern for Privacy in Collins v. Virginia

Description: This report discusses the Collins decision and its potential implications for Fourth Amendment law. Facing a clash between two well-established Fourth Amendment doctrines--the primacy of the home in Fourth Amendment case law versus the "automobile exception" to the Amendment's warrant requirement--the Supreme Court in Collins v. Virginia ultimately came down on the side of protecting privacy within the home and its adjoining property.
Date: June 26, 2018
Creator: Hanna, Jillian C.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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