Digital Law
Class 2: Ethical Issues with the Practice of Law and Technology

This class will examine the issues surrounding the use of technology within the practice of law. For Continuing Legal Education credit, this class will supply 2 credit hours of ethics credit.

Please read the following materials in preparation for class:

Case Law:
Commonwealth v. Rekasie, 2000 Pa.S.Ct. J-52 (No. 86 W.D. Appeal Docket 1999) (Zappala dissenting opinion)(Nigro dissenting opinion)(Castille concurring opinion)

Law enforcement officials recorded a consenting party's telephone conversations with defendant pursuant to 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 5704(2)(ii), which permitted warrantless consensual recording in certain situations. When defendant was charged with drug offenses, he challenged the warrantless recording as violative of the search and seizure guarantees of Pa. Const. art. I, § 8. The trial court eventually granted his motion to suppress, believing this result was compelled by a case in which the high court had ruled that a defendant had a legitimate expectation of privacy in face-to-face conversations in his home. In the instant case, the high court looked to all the circumstances surrounding the disclosure and held that defendant could not show an objective basis for an expectation of privacy of telephonic communications; there were simply too many variables, and no one could ever be confident that such communications were secure.

Articles:
Danielle N. Rodier, Pennsylvania High Court Rules Individuals Have No Privacy in Phone Calls, law.com (August 22, 2001)
Ohio Panel Analyzes Commercial Web Sites That Link Lawyers With Prospective Clients, 6 Elec. Comm. & Law R. 19 (May 9, 2001)

Reference:
American Bar Association, Center for Professional Responsibility, Model Rules of Professional Conduct, (2001)

Opinions:
Attorney's or Law Firm's Participation in a Law-related Commercial Website, Ohio S.Ct., Bd. of Comm'rs on Grievances and Discipline, Opinion 2001-2 (April 6, 2001)