Posts by Thomas O'Toole
Fed’s Consumer Protection Agency Sheds Outside Advisory Boards
The Consumer Financial Protection Board has jettisoned its principal outside advisory group, an action widely interpreted as a sign of the financial regulator’s diminishing interest in championing strong consumer rights in the financial sector. In a letter dated June 6, CFPB Acting Director Mick Mulvaney informed current members of the Consumer Advisory Board, a panel…
Read MoreU.S. Lawyers: Should Your Firm Be GDPR-Compliant?
Beginning May 25, a new European privacy law known as the General Data Protection Regulation takes effect in Europe and, possibly, around the world. The GDPR is significantly more demanding than U.S. law, creating new privacy rights and compliance obligations unknown on this side of the Atlantic — all backed up by the threat of…
Read MoreSidestepping Legislature, New York Governor Restores Voting Rights to Parolees
Parolees with felony convictions will soon gain the right to vote under a controversial executive order signed earlier this month by New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo (D). Beginning May 1, New York’s 35,000 felony parolees will become eligible to obtain a limited type of gubernatorial pardon that restores their right to vote but keeps…
Read MoreAttempting to Trim Backlog, Department of Justice Establishes Case Disposition Quotas for Immigration Judges
The Department of Justice, anxious to eliminate a backlog of unresolved deportation cases, recently decided to impose case-handling quotas on immigration judges. According to new job performance guidelines released March 30, immigration judges will now be required to decide at least 700 cases annually. Another performance guideline declares that these judges’ rulings cannot be overturned…
Read MoreMagistrate’s Ruling Eases Burden for Officials Seeking Forced Disclosure of Encryption Passwords
One of the more interesting legal questions raised by digital technologies is this: Can the government compel a person to divulge the password to an encrypted computer without violating the Constitution’s protection against compelled self-incrimination? The question, which rarely arose a decade ago, is appearing with increasing frequency as full disk encryption becomes the default…
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