Privacy, digital communications, appropriate work activities and the Fourth Amendment collide as a California police officer sues – and loses – for being disciplined for texting too much on the job.

The Problem

Ontario, California SWAT team member Jeff Quon is probably like most other tough, courageous and valiant police officers except for one small detail: he really likes using his city-supplied pager to send text messages.

And furthermore, Quon evidently likes doing this despite being warned, repeatedly, by his lieutenant that his text usage would (and could, and was) audited, and despite signing a policy and attending a meeting that basically said: don’t do this kind of thing. In fact, Quon previously reimbursed the city for overages resulting from too much texting; a habit that, regrettably, the payment didn’t break because he just kept on textin’ (good buddy).

He’s Just a Love Machine

After months (yes, we said months) of this, Quon’s chief decided to determine if the problem was the city’s texting plan being too low for work-related messages, or if the problem was Quon’s excessive personal use. In reviewing transcripts a one month period, the chief discovered:

• Quon received 456 texts, of which 57 were work-related

• On one day, Quon sent and received 80 texts, of which 3 were work-related

• The vast majority of texts were sexually-explicit and sent to Quon’s wife and mistress (in case you were wondering)

Quon was subsequently disciplined for his…enthusiasm. And that’s when Quon fought the law, and the Quon won. And then lost.

Judge vs. Jury?

After being disciplined, Quon sued the city on grounds that his Fourth Amendment rights had been violated. A district court agreed with him, but a jury found the chief’s actions reasonable since they were done to determine the policy limits of text messaging. As such, the court entered judgment for the city and against Quon. That was round one.

In round two, Quon appealed to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on grounds that the search of his text messages was “not reasonable in scope,” because the chief could have used less intrusive means. Quon’s Fourth Amendment rights were found to not be violated, and the city was said to have acted reasonably. Case closed. Kinda.

The Future

Many observers had hoped that the high court would take a strong position and provide clarity. Instead, they witnessed the court avoid the rare opportunity to directly address the complex issue, and pave the legal way for the future of privacy and digital media.

The only thing clear about this issue is that we haven’t heard the last word (legal or otherwise) on who “owns” information – users, employers, sponsors or any other party -- when technology intersects privacy.

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From Claims Magazine:
By Kevin M. Quinley

In litigation, the discovery process has always been expensive. With computers and digital technology, though, there are added layers of complexity and cost. Discovery no longer involves just reviewing boxes and boxes of papers. Regardless of the dispute — product liability, employment practices, or directors and officers — discovery now entails exhaustive searches of electronic data. This means sifting through computer hard drives, thumb drives, servers, tapes, e-mail strings, archives, instant messenger dialogue, and so on. Searching electronic data sources consumes huge chunks of time and dollars.

Now let’s consider that 36 billion e-mails are transmitted each day. This pace rises 20 percent annually. Ninety-three percent of all information is now stored digitally, with 70 percent of that never actually printed. A 2007 Kroll survey revealed the following:

· Twenty-five percent of U.S. corporate in-house counsel claim to be current with all case-law developments and regulations relating to electronically stored information (ESI).

· Only half of the respondents said that their organizations had a policy regarding ESI.

· Seventy-five percent report losing time and money because of inefficient ESI processes.
 

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Addition of technology and computer forensic veteran solidifies firm’s expertise in ESI collections and Electronic Discovery engagements

Palo Alto, CA – November 23, 2009 – TERIS Silicon Valley announced today that leading Electronic Discovery and Computer Forensic expert Scott Andraschko joined the company as its new Director of Electronically Stored Information (ESI). Andraschko has more than 15 years experience in eDiscovery processing, ESI collection/acquisition and Computer Forensics. He will oversee both the imaging and ESI departments. His primary responsibilities are to streamline processes, document procedures, cross train employees, and provide training/reviews of all employees in those departments. He also will provide client support for sales representatives.

Scott brings to us a strong track record of successfully working with clients to reduce both the duration and cost of eDiscovery processing, analysis, and review,” said Kevin Brooks, TERIS Silicon Valley General Manager and Partner. “He has a thorough knowledge and understanding of eDiscovery, Forensic Services, Investigations and IT issues that will be valuable for our growing list of clients in the Silicon Valley.

Andraschko joins TERIS from McNamara Business Solutions, where he served as Director of Information Technology/eDiscovery. At McNamara he streamlined and automated all phases of EDD, enabling companies to accelerate early case assessments, lower processing costs, reduce review workload, and enhance the defensibility of e-discovery. He previously worked at KPMG as Manager Forensic Technology Services, where he successfully managed a 10 person team that operated at multiple sites performing end to end eDiscovery services. He also has experience managing multiple services including ESI collection/acquisition, early case assessment, culling, deduping, analysis and SaaS hosted review.

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From today's Puget Sound Business Journal

Who's Hiring

Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle) -

by Greg Lamm Staff Writer

No downturn for lawsuits, litigation-support firm finds

Teris, a litigation support provider for law firms, has been expanding into new markets and adding to its work force during the recession.

The Seattle-based company has added offices in Chicago and Dallas and hired about 20 workers this year. That brings the work force to about 300, said David Kaufer, vice president of marketing and communications.

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