Judge Tests Limits of Free Speech With Facebook Jury Remarks; Associated Press via New York Times, 8/6/16

Associated Press via New York Times; Judge Tests Limits of Free Speech With Facebook Jury Remarks:

"The Kentucky Judicial Conduct Commission believes Stevens went so far in misleading the public about Wine's request and undermining his own impartiality that it charged him with multiple counts of misconduct. Stevens is scheduled for a hearing Monday that could usher him off the bench for good.

But his posts ignited a debate about racial fairness, judicial impartiality and free speech that seems far from finished.

Experts say his cause was worthy: Stevens shined a light on a racial imbalance that has dogged the criminal justice system for generations. But his attack on a prosecutor for requesting an appellate opinion could cross an ethical line and threaten to drown out the issue he attempted to highlight."

Chapel Hill Researcher’s Findings on Athletes’ Literacy Bring a Backlash; Chronicle of Higher Education, 1/24/14

Robin Wilson, Chronicle of Higher Education; Chapel Hill Researcher’s Findings on Athletes’ Literacy Bring a Backlash:

"Scholars at Chapel Hill say the way the university has responded to Ms. Willingham’s research has implications beyond her work. By halting it because of concerns over the anonymity of her subjects, and at the same time criticizing her findings, the university appears to be using the IRB as a tool to thwart her inquiry, say some faculty members.

“This looks vindictive,” says Frank R. Baumgartner, a distinguished professor of political science at Chapel Hill. “It puts the university in a defensive posture, where they could instead be taking the initiative and saying, Let’s have a national conversation to find the right balance between athletics and academics.”

Instead, says Mr. Baumgartner, the university’s attack on Ms. Willingham’s research has a “chilling effect” on any scholarly work that could make the university look bad.

Daniel K. Nelson, director of the university’s office of human-­research ethics, who oversees the institutional review boards, issued a statement saying he had not been pressured by university administrators into requesting that Ms. Willingham seek IRB approval.

He said it had simply become clear with the release of her research results that identifying details were in fact maintained in her data set. (Ms. Willingham has never publicly identified her research subjects.)"

Advocacy group asks conventions to ‘protect our secret identities’; ComicBookResoruces.com, 10/15/13

Kevin Melrose, ComicBookResources.com; Advocacy group asks conventions to ‘protect our secret identities’ : "In response to New York Comic Con’s controversial use of attendees’ Twitter accounts to send promotional messages, and the implementation of technology allowing organizers to track individual badges, a staff member for a leading digital-rights group has written an open letter asking all pop-culture conventions to “protect our secret identities.” “You can still have a convention at the cutting edge of culture, without bleeding your attendees’ privacy away,” wrote David Maass, media relations coordinator of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. The twin issues are linked to radio-frequency identification (RFID) chips, implemented by NYCC this year in an effort to clamp down on fraudulent badges and badge-sharing among exhibitors."