Privacy Case Study

Media Law: Privacy Case Study #1

1. Al Modem has generated his own Web site that focuses on alternative music in the Austin, Texas area. The stylish site lists upcoming concerts and new record releases, provides information about upcoming dances, contains music reviews, and features articles about new clubs, local performers and DJs. The site also carries real time audio feeds from local musical events and permits users of the site to chat with one another periodically. Club owners and concert promoters help Al operate the site by paying a monthly fee to Al for the inclusion of promotional pages on the site. A new club, the Chameleon, opened recently, and Al got pictures of the opening from a local photographer. He scanned the photos onto the site and used them with a review of the new venue. One of the pictures showed actor Rob Lowe going into the club.

The owners of the Chameleon loved the story about the club and the picture of Lowe. Without getting Al’s permission, they made a copy of the photo and included it in their promotional page for the club. Remember, they pay Al each month to include this page on the site. The caption under the photo says: “The many-colored Chameleon club, a favorite nightspot for Hollywood’s Rob Lowe.” Lowe’s sister, who lives in Austin, learns about the use of the photo on the Web site, and informs her brother, who sues Al Modern and the owners of the Chameleon club. He argues that the use of his photo in Al’s story about the club amounts to giving publicity to private facts and that the use of his photo and name on the Chameleon’s promotional page is an appropriation, a violation of his right to publicity. Answer the following questions:

A. Both Al Modem and the club owners argue that the law of privacy doesn’t even apply to the appearance of material on the Internet; consequently, the lawsuits should be dismissed. Which is correct and why?

B. Is the use of the photo in Al Modem’s story a case of giving publicity to private facts? Explain.


C. Was the use of the photo on the promotional page an appropriation? Explain.

Exam 1 Scores

Hello all. Your total correct on your exam and the total point scores (each question is worth three points) are now available on MyUCF Grades. The average score for the the first exam was 78.5% which is slightly above a typical curve. You received the score you earned. Please do not email to request additional points as that violates the class policy.

As I mentioned in class yesterday, UCF updated MyUCF during the weekend which has been a problem for some students and faculty. I used the Chrome browser today and had no problem. Please contact Tech Support if you are having problems.

This first exam is worth 30% of your overall grade. If students keep coming to class, taking notes and doing the readings/checking the blog, exam scores tend to go up. If you earned a low score, you need to change something about the way you are preparing for the exams. My first suggestion is the usual: do the reading, take notes and come to class. You may also want to find a different study group. If you need further help with study suggestions, you may want to try the Student Academic Resource Center: http://www.sarc.sdes.ucf.edu/

You will have 2 extra credit assignments for a total of 20 additional points later in the semester.

I should have the individual result score sheets for your exams beginning tomorrow, Thursday. Remember that you are free to review the individual score sheets for Exam 1 until Exam 2 is given.

Appropriation / Intrusion Questions

This my son Curtis at Playalinda Beach. If this image were to be used in an advertisement for the Cape Canaveral Beaches without my permission, would I sue for a right to publicity or a right to privacy under appropriation law?

What if this photo was featured on the front page of the local newspaper without my permission. Would I have the basis for an intrusion lawsuit?

Booth Rule Example

Here is the application of the Booth Rule. Why does this qualify as an exception to appropriation?

Orlando Free Speech Zone

Here is a story about the change in the Free Speech Zone In Orlando for the GOP debate.

According to the story: "Protesters planning to be outside this weekend's Republican presidential debate and straw poll at the Orange County Convention Center learned Wednesday that they will have a much smaller area in which to make their opinions heard.

Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings feared it would be too costly to patrol the usual "free-speech" zone, a lengthy stretch of three roads outside the center."

Twitter & Libel; Free Speech News

To answer the question asked in Tuesday's class, here is a story about a Twitter libel lawsuit based on Kim Kardashian & the Cookie Diet. There are several more out there but no major appeals ruling. Just remember that anything you put online or post to social networking is fair game for a libel lawsuit.

Here is another article about the question over flashing headlights & free speech in Florida

Exam 1 Study Guide

Hello. For those who wanted an electronic copy of the study guide, here is a link.

Enjoy your study groups and we will meet again next Tuesday in class. Your first exam is on Thursday.

How your exam is developed

Hello all. Just a note about how I write your exams:
• I go over the slides from class and the notes I take after our class about what we discussed.
• I go over the chapters again – excluding the sections that I told you that you did not need to read.
• I go over the class blog entries.
• I go over the model exam questions that textbook writers provide to see what they expected you to learn. I use these as a guide but not for the actual questions.
• I write a mix of my own questions. Some are about basic memorization: for example, writing a True/False question about what “actual malice” means. Other questions are about critical thinking: giving you a scenario and asking you a True/False question about if the scenario is an example of “actual malice.”
• I make sure that 20% of the questions are directly from the readings, as that is material that your are responsible for knowing.
• I then match my questions to the study guide. I do this to make sure that I did not ask you a question about a named case that I did not include, for exam.
• I make a second version using similar topic questions but worded differently and in a different order.
• And then, a final proofreading to make sure the questions are as clear as possible. My goal is not to trick you but to assess what you have learned. I use the same language in the textbook and from class lectures. I do not answer vocabulary questions during the exam.

Libel Case Study

Libel Case Study #1

The neighbors in an exclusive residential community first became suspicious when they measured the foundation of the new house being built on the corner. If the house had but one story it would still contain 10,000 square feet, huge by residential standards. A quick look at the plans on file at the county building office revealed the house would have three stories—30,000 square feet—and 12 bathrooms. Speculation arose that the owner was building a hotel or a rooming house. Or, since the owner was born in a foreign country, perhaps he was bringing scores of relatives to this country to live in the house. Or maybe it was going to be a commune!

A community meeting was scheduled. Reporters and photographers from the local press were invited. Nearly all the neighbors turned out to protest what they called “the megahouse.” County councilman Dirk Slater scheduled a hearing before the council on the matter and told the owner of the building, Fred Milke, that if he did not appear at the hearing, he (Slater) would do everything he could to have the building permit revoked. Milke appeared and answered tough questions from Slater and others. No, he said, he was not building a hotel or a rooming house or even a commune. Whom he invited to stay in his house was his business, he said, not the county’s business. The building permits were all in order, and he planned to continue with the project.

Milke was questioned by reporters as he left the hearing and answered a few questions. The neighbors went to court to block the building, but after a short hearing the judge ruled that nothing Mr. Milke had done or was doing was illegal. He was free to build his megahouse. If members of the community were concerned about this kind of structure, they should try to change the building code so it could not happen again in the future. Nothing in the current code put limits on the size of a house in this community.

The local newspaper, the Post-Leader, covered the dispute diligently. In one story published before the court hearing, reporter Kathy Kurl wrote, “There is strong reason to believe that Fred Milke either falsified documents or paid off county officials to get his building permit approved, according to unnamed sources.” Evidence presented at the subsequent court hearing proved this to be false; Milke sued for libel.

A. What will Milke have to prove to sustain his libel suit?


B. The newspaper argues that Milke is a limited-purpose public figure. They argue that merely by planning to build such a large house, Milke knew he would draw attention to himself. He appeared at a public hearing before the county council, and he did speak with reporters after the hearing. This makes him a willing participant in a public controversy who was trying to influence public opinion. Is Milke a public figure? Why or why not?

C. Kathy Kurl was questioned at the trial about where she got the information she published about false records and payoffs. She said she had picked this up at the initial community meeting. One of the neighbors told her that his brother knew someone who worked for the county, and that this person had said Milke faked the documents or paid off county employees. That was the only source for her report. Based on this evidence, what are Milke’s chances of proving the level of fault required in this case? Briefly explain your answer.

Case study reminder for Time, Place & Manner

Hello all. Below is the case study that I posted two weeks ago:
Practice Case Study for Time, Place & Manner
Hello. Below is a case study from Chapters 2-3. While you will not have these long form case studies on the exams, they are another way of studying the material and lead to better critical thinking. We will go over the answers later.

The Cleveland Political Awareness League, a non-profit, nonpartisan community group, scheduled a series of eight talks by regional and national political figures in early 2004. Two talks were held each month at the Paramount Theater, a large auditorium, over a four-month period. The speakers represented a variety of viewpoints and political policies. On the evening of the second speech Art Ferrill, a radical socialist and long time local political agitator, set up a card table on the public sidewalk outside the theater and tried to sell a book he had written, Government and the End of Civilization.

Police outside the theater asked Ferrill to move his table because, they said, it was an impediment to the pedestrians using the sidewalk. He refused and was arrested for violating a city ordinance on street vending. He failed to have a vending permit, police said.

The city’s ordinance requires that any person who seeks to sell any merchandise on a city sidewalk must obtain a permit, which can be issued if the city manager finds that the goods for sale are legitimate, that the seller will not endanger public safety or convenience, and that, in the judgment of the city manager, the sale of the goods is in the “best interest” of the people of Cleveland. The sale of newspapers from street corners to pedestrians and motorists is exempt from the provisions of the ordinance.

Ferrill challenged the time, place and manner ordinance on First Amendment grounds. He argues that the permit process is unconstitutional.

A. What kind of a forum is a city sidewalk?

B. In testing whether a time, place and manner rule is constitutional, what criteria do the courts apply?

C. Does this law meet this test? Why or why not?

Here is a link to the answers.

Raye vs Letterman

Syllabus

Here is a link to the syllabus if you want an electronic copy.

NY Times v Sullivan

Make sure you are clear on the ruling in the New York Times v Sullivan. The image above is the ad that started the libel lawsuit. Here is a link to the case.

Hate Speech Review

Roy Kronk Defamation Lawsuit

Just in time for the chapters on libel, there is another defamation lawsuit relating to the Casey Anthony case. Meter reader Roy Kronk filed a lawsuit last week. Here is more about the case.

Practice Case Study for Time, Place & Manner

Hello. Below is a case study from Chapters 2-3. While you will not have these long form case studies on the exams, they are another way of studying the material and lead to better critical thinking. We will go over the answers later.

The Cleveland Political Awareness League, a non-profit, nonpartisan community group, scheduled a series of eight talks by regional and national political figures in early 2004. Two talks were held each month at the Paramount Theater, a large auditorium, over a four-month period. The speakers represented a variety of viewpoints and political policies. On the evening of the second speech Art Ferrill, a radical socialist and long time local political agitator, set up a card table on the public sidewalk outside the theater and tried to sell a book he had written, Government and the End of Civilization.

Police outside the theater asked Ferrill to move his table because, they said, it was an impediment to the pedestrians using the sidewalk. He refused and was arrested for violating a city ordinance on street vending. He failed to have a vending permit, police said.

The city’s ordinance requires that any person who seeks to sell any merchandise on a city sidewalk must obtain a permit, which can be issued if the city manager finds that the goods for sale are legitimate, that the seller will not endanger public safety or convenience, and that, in the judgment of the city manager, the sale of the goods is in the “best interest” of the people of Cleveland. The sale of newspapers from street corners to pedestrians and motorists is exempt from the provisions of the ordinance.

Ferrill challenged the time, place and manner ordinance on First Amendment grounds. He argues that the permit process is unconstitutional.

A. What kind of a forum is a city sidewalk?

B. In testing whether a time, place and manner rule is constitutional, what criteria do the courts apply?

C. Does this law meet this test? Why or why not?

Clery Act

The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (20 USC § 1092(f)) is the landmark federal law, originally known as the Campus Security Act, that requires colleges and universities across the United States to disclose information about crime on and around their campuses.

Because the law is tied to participation in federal student financial aid programs it applies to most institutions of higher education both public and private. It is enforced by the U.S. Department of Education.

The "Clery Act" is named in memory of 19 year old university freshman Jeanne Ann Clery (pictured above) who was raped and murdered while asleep in her residence hall room on April 5, 1986.

Jeanne's parents, Connie and Howard, discovered that students hadn't been told about 38 violent crimes on their daughter's campus in the three years before her murder. They joined with other campus crime victims and persuaded Congress to enact this law, which was originally known as the "Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act of 1990."

Here is more information about the Cleary Act.

Here is how UCF complies with the Act.

Morse v Frederick ("Bong Hits for Jesus")

In 2007, the Supreme Court made another decision regarding the First Amendment and speech in the public schools: Morse v. Frederick. This is commonly known as the "Bong Hits for Jesus" case.

According to the ruling:
"The message on Frederick's banner is cryptic," Roberts wrote for the majority. "It is no doubt offensive to some, perhaps amusing to others. To still others, it probably means nothing at all. Frederick himself claimed 'that the words were just nonsense meant to attract television cameras.' But Principal Morse thought the banner would be interpreted by those viewing it as promoting illegal drug use, and that interpretation is plainly a reasonable one.

"The question thus becomes whether a principal may, consistent with the First Amendment, restrict student speech at a school event, when that speech is reasonably viewed as promoting illegal drug use. We hold that she may."

Morse suspended the student, prompting a federal civil rights lawsuit.

The winning side in the case was quick to assert that the decision was not anti-free speech.

In their concurrence, Justices Samuel Alito and Anthony Kennedy specified that the Court's opinion provides no support for any restriction on speech that goes to political or social issues.

Alito wrote: "The opinion of the Court does not endorse the broad argument advanced by petitioners and the United States that the First Amendment permits public school officials to censor any student speech that interferes with a school's 'educational mission.' This argument can easily be manipulated in dangerous ways, and I would reject it before such abuse occurs."

Justice John Paul Stevens wrote in dissent: "In my judgment, the First Amendment protects student speech if the message itself neither violates a permissible rule nor expressly advocates conduct that is illegal and harmful to students. This nonsense banner does neither, and the court does serious violence to the First Amendment in upholding — indeed, lauding — a school's decision to punish Frederick for expressing a view with which it disagreed."


Here is more about the case.

Tinker v Des Moines Schools

Here is the actual Tinker case.

Hazelwood v Kuhlmeier

Here is a link to more information on the Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier case. Here is another good resource.

Be sure to focus on exactly what kind of student expression is central to this case case.