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open access

Medical Records Privacy: Questions and Answers on the HIPAA Rule

Description: This report discuses the HIPAA privacy rule, which gives patients the right of access to their medical information and prohibits health plans and health care providers from using or disclosing individually identifiable health information without a patient’s written authorization except as expressly permitted or required by the rule.
Date: February 4, 2005
Creator: Redhead, C. S.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Detention of American Citizens as Enemy Combatants

Description: This report provides background information regarding the cases of two U.S. citizens deemed “enemy combatants,” Yaser Esam Hamdi, who has been returned to Saudi Arabia, and Jose Padilla, who remains in military custody. A brief introduction to the law of war pertinent to the detention of different categories of individuals is offered, followed by brief analyses of the main legal precedents invoked to support the President’s actions, as well as Ex parte Milligan, which some argue supports the op… more
Date: February 24, 2005
Creator: Elsea, Jennifer K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Freedom of Information Act Amendments: 109th Congress

Description: This report discusses the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), which was designed to enable any person — individual or corporate, regardless of citizenship — to request, without explanation or justification, presumptive access to existing, identifiable, unpublished, executive branch agency records on any topic.
Date: February 25, 2005
Creator: Relyea, Harold C.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

The Endangered Species Act and Claims of Property Rights "Takings"

Description: This report first outlines the ESA provisions most relevant to the act’s impacts on private property, and then surveys the major ESA-relevant principles of Fifth Amendment takings law. The report then proceeds to its core topic: the court decisions adjudicating whether government measures based on the ESA effect a taking of property under the Fifth Amendment. The cases address four kinds of ESA measures: (1) restrictions on land uses that might adversely affect species listed as endangered or t… more
Date: March 9, 2005
Creator: Meltz, Robert
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Detention of American Citizens as Enemy Combatants

Description: This report provides background information regarding the cases of two U.S. citizens deemed “enemy combatants,” Yaser Esam Hamdi, who has been returned to Saudi Arabia, and Jose Padilla, who remains in military custody. A brief introduction to the law of war pertinent to the detention of different categories of individuals is offered, followed by brief analyses of the main legal precedents invoked to support the President’s actions, as well as Ex parte Milligan, which some argue supports the op… more
Date: March 31, 2005
Creator: Elsea, Jennifer K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Detention of U.S. Citizens

Description: In 1971, Congress passed legislation to repeal the Emergency Detention Act of 1950 and to enact the following language: “No citizen shall be imprisoned or otherwise detained by the United States except pursuant to an Act of Congress.” The new language, codified at 18 U.S.C. §4001(a), is called the Non-Detention Act. This statutory provision received attention after the 9/11 terrorist attacks when the Administration designated certain U.S. citizens as “enemy combatants” and claimed the right to … more
Date: April 28, 2005
Creator: Fisher, Louis
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board: 109th Congress Proposed Refinements

Description: Among the recommendations made by the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (9/11 Commission) in its final report was the creation of a board within the executive branch to oversee adherence to guidelines on, and the commitment to defend, civil liberties by the federal government. This report examines the realization of this recommendation with the creation of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, and efforts in the 109th Congress to refine the mandate and t… more
Date: May 16, 2005
Creator: Relyea, Harold C.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board: 109th Congress Proposed Refinements

Description: Among the recommendations made by the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (9/11 Commission) in its final report was the creation of a board within the executive branch to oversee adherence to guidelines on, and the commitment to defend, civil liberties by the federal government. This report examines the realization of this recommendation with the creation of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, and efforts in the 109th Congress to refine the mandate and t… more
Date: June 14, 2005
Creator: Relyea, Harold C.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Detainees at Guantànamo Bay

Description: After the U.S. Supreme Court held that U.S. courts have jurisdiction to hear legal challenges on behalf of more than 500 persons detained at the U.S. Naval Station in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba in connection with the war against terrorism, the Pentagon established administrative hearings, called “Combatant Status Review Tribunals” (CSRTs), to allow the detainees to contest their status as enemy combatants. This report provides an overview of the CSRT procedures and summarizes court cases related to t… more
Date: June 22, 2005
Creator: Elsea, Jennifer K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Detainees at Guantànamo Bay

Description: After the U.S. Supreme Court held that U.S. courts have jurisdiction to hear legal challenges on behalf of more than 500 persons detained at the U.S. Naval Station in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba in connection with the war against terrorism, the Pentagon established administrative hearings, called “Combatant Status Review Tribunals” (CSRTs), to allow the detainees to contest their status as enemy combatants. This report provides an overview of the CSRT procedures and summarizes court cases related to t… more
Date: July 20, 2005
Creator: Elsea, Jennifer K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Property Rights "Takings": Justice O'Connor's Opinions

Description: When Justice O’Connor ascended to the Supreme Court, expectations were that she would adhere to the conservative line and generally uphold the property rights position over the government’s in Fifth Amendment “takings” cases. This did not happen. Instead, in this area as well as others, she established her place at the Court’s ideological center. To be sure, Justice O’Connor made many arguments favoring property owners, in both her opinions and her concurrences and dissents. But this asserted e… more
Date: August 19, 2005
Creator: Meltz, Robert
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Arrest and Detention of Material Witnesses: Federal Law In Brief and Section 12 of the USA PATRIOT and Terrorism Prevention Reauthorization Act (H.R. 3199)

Description: This report is an overview of the law under the federal material witness statute which authorizes the arrest of material witnesses, permits their release under essentially the same bail laws that apply to federal criminal defendants, but favors their release after their depositions have taken. A list of citations to comparable state statutes and a bibliography of law review articles and notes are appended.
Date: September 8, 2005
Creator: Doyle, Charles
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Arrest and Detention of Material Witnesses and the USA PATRIOT Act and Terrorism Reauthorization Act (H.R. 3199): A Sketch

Description: Section 12 of the USA PATRIOT and Terrorism Prevention Reauthorization Act (H.R. 3199), as reported by the House Judiciary Committee, directed the Department of Justice to review the detention of individuals under the federal material witness statute, including their length of detention], conditions of access to counsel, frequency of access to counsel, offense at issue, and frequency of appearance before a grand jury. This report illustrates the level of controversy easily generated by material… more
Date: September 13, 2005
Creator: Doyle, Charles
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

The Endangered Species Act and Claims of Property Rights "Takings"

Description: This report first outlines the ESA provisions most relevant to the act’s impacts on private property, and then surveys the major ESA-relevant principles of Fifth Amendment takings law. The report then proceeds to its core topic: the court decisions adjudicating whether government measures based on the ESA effect a taking of property under the Fifth Amendment. The cases address four kinds of ESA measures: (1) restrictions on land uses that might adversely affect species listed as endangered or t… more
Date: October 14, 2005
Creator: Meltz, Robert
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Internet Privacy: Overview and Pending Legislation

Description: Internet privacy issues generally encompass two types of concerns. One is the collection of personally identifiable information (PII) by website operators from visitors to government and commercial websites, or by software that is surreptitiously installed on a user’s computer (“spyware”) and transmits the information to someone else. The other is the monitoring of electronic mail and Web usage by the government or law enforcement officials, employers, or email service providers.
Date: October 19, 2005
Creator: Smith, Marcia S.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Hurricane Katrina: HIPAA Privacy and Electronic Health Records of Evacuees

Description: On September 4th, 2005 Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Leavitt declared a federal public health emergency for Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida and Texas, and waived certain requirements under Medicare, Medicaid, the State Children's Health Insurance Program, and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act to allow health care providers in affected areas to care for patients without violating certain provisions of those laws. The Secretary waived sanctions and penal… more
Date: October 28, 2005
Creator: Stevens, Gina Marie
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Overview and Analysis of Senate Amendment Concerning Interrogation of Detainees

Description: On October 5, 2005, the Senate adopted a floor amendment (S.Amdt. 1977), proposed by Senator John McCain with 11 co-sponsors, that would (1) require Department of Defense (DOD) personnel to employ United States Army Field Manual guidelines while interrogating detainees, and (2) prohibit the “cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment of persons under the detention, custody, or control of the United States Government.” The amendment modified the Defense Department FY2006 Appropriations… more
Date: November 2, 2005
Creator: Wood, Lee
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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