Civil liberties headlines for October 21, 2008

October 21, 7:21 AMCivil Liberties ExaminerJ.D. Tuccille

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From free speech to gun rights, below are news headlines involving outrages, developments and occasional victories that may be of interest to people who care about personal liberty, all gathered in one place.

Jury approves arrest of student for videotaping police
A federal jury has ruled against a former Conard High School student council president who claimed that he was falsely arrested for videotaping a town police officer during the chaos of "senior prank day" in June 2006.

Bay Village Firefighters Battle for Colleague, Free Speech
Firefighters in Bay Village staged a protest outside city hall to fight for a firefighter facing suspension for calling city policies dangerous in the city council chambers.

China: Index on Censorship writer detained
Blogger Zhou ‘Zola’ Shugang, known in China as the ‘nailhouse blogger’, was placed under house arrest last week by Chinese authorities seeking to prevent him travelling to Beijing. Zola has frequently drawn attention to issues hushed up by the Chinese authorities.

Microsoft patents auto-censorship
Microsoft has received a patent on technology designed to automatically censor words from an audio stream.

Anti-terror drive threatens civil liberties, says UK prosecutor
A drive towards creating a "security state" to fight terrorism risks eroding centuries of civil liberties, the country's top prosecutor warned yesterday, in an apparent challenge to core government policies.

SC senators override veto of DNA bill
In South Carolina, criminal suspects will have DNA samples taken when they're arrested if the House goes along with the Senate's unanimous override Monday of Gov. Mark Sanford's veto of that legislation.

New Measure Would Restrict Minors' Access to Abortions
For the third time since 2005, California voters will be given the opportunity to limit a minor's access to abortion until an adult family member is notified. Two previous measures, Propositions 73 and 85, were defeated in 2005 and 2006.

DC gun laws do not change for taxicab drivers
Gun rights advocates say attacks on taxicab drivers in the Washington area call for further changes to D.C. handgun laws. But police and city officials say the workplace must be a "fixed location," making it illegal for taxicab drivers to carry weapons.

Ohio cops illegally violate open-carry rights
Open carry of firearms is legal in Ohio, but local police continue to arrest people who exercise their rights.

Proposition to legalize prostitution strikes chord in San Francisco
In San Francisco, Proposition K would decriminalize prostitution, it would also prohibit law enforcement agencies from applying for or receiving federal and state money for investigating prostitution. These funds would be reallocated to programs that aim to reduce violence and discrimination against sex workers, under the proposal.

Gun-Wielding German Officers Fight Growing Underground Economy
Germany's excessive taxes and regulations have sparked a surge in off-the-books businesses. The authorities have responded with brutality.

In St. Paul, an abuse of eminent domain
In Minnesota, the St. Paul Port Authority is using environmental claims to take a company’s property by eminent domain and evict a nearly 50-year-old family run business out of St. Paul. The property will be turned over to a private developer.

60 nabbed in gambling raid
A raid on a Hattiesburg, Mississippi, grocery store Sunday morning resulted in 60 people being taken in custody on illegal gambling charges. Police put a month's worth of time and resources into investigating the consensual activity.

Contact J.D.: civilliberties (at) tuccille.com