COVID-19 in America: Response, Issues, and Law

A couple of weeks ago, we posted information about how you can gain remote access to HeinOnline, a legal research platform that features an extensive collection of law journal articles, United States Congressional documents, several specially-curated libraries, and so much more. Today, we are going to introduce you to one of the newest libraries to be added to the HeinOnline family of databases: COVID-19 in America: Response, Issues, and Law.

Not surprisingly, the coronavirus and the havoc it has wreaked in our global society remain at the forefront of our media conscience. The virus and its deadly disease, COVID-19, has negatively affected not only public health but also practically every economic and business sector, not to mention the loss of human life it has caused. To help researchers understand the impact that this pandemic has had, HeinOnline created its COVID-19 in America database with information derived from reports from the Congressional Research Service and the General Accounting Office. Launched in July 2020, the database examines the effect that COVID-19 has had on America in four distinct areas: economics, global impact, health, and society.

• With much of the country on some form of lockdown and with many workers unable to go to their places of employment, it’s no wonder that the pandemic had a devastating economic toll on most, if not all, business sectors. The Economics section looks at the banking industry’s response, legislative initiatives relating to business interruption insurance, economic impact payments, and reports on rules promulgated by the Small Business Administration.

• The Global Impact portion of the database examines the global economic effects of COVID-19 and policy responses from various nations, including China, Japan, the UK, and other countries within the European Union. Additionally, you can find information about the impact that COVID-19 has had on Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean.

• Contact tracing, COVID-19 testing, domestic public health response, and vaccine development are just some of the topics about which you can learn in the Health section of the database.

• The Society segment concentrates on some key issues that arose or came into greater focus during the pandemic. Although many of the issues addressed had already existed prior to the arrival of the coronavirus on our shores, many are issues that were exacerbated by the pandemic and gained greater prominence. Examples include the digital divide, domestic violence, and food safety. Other topics discussed in this section include the 2020 Census, the 2020 hurricane season, E-Books and intellectual property issues, and mail voting.

In addition to these four major areas, the database includes links to scholarly articles ranging from articles about disability discrimination and tenants’ rights to due process and access to justice. External links take the user to a Coronavirus Vaccine tracker from the New York Times and a COVID-19 Resources LibGuide from the Legal Information Institute.

As with other libraries found on HeinOnline, COVID-19 in America: Response, Issues, and Law is fully searchable. To help you along, there is a LibGuide with tips for using the main search bar and the advanced search feature. You can narrow your search by date, document type, section type, or title. There are also some general training materials associated with using HeinOnline.

Concerns Swirl Around Facial Recognition Technology

The author takes a lot of photos of her dog, and Google knows.

A couple of years ago, we wrote about privacy issues surrounding emerging facial recognition technologies. In the intervening 700 or so days, the conversation has shifted dramatically. With political upheaval and a renewed commitment to racial justice emerging across the nation, the conversation around facial recognition artificial intelligence has taken on a sense of urgency.

Many people are likely familiar with basic facial recongition AI through their phones. For example, Facebook may alert you to a photo that includes you, uploaded without your knowledge by a friend, through an automated system that asks “Is this you?” Another example is Google Photos, which automatically builds albums of friends, family members, and pets, allowing you to identify them by name for easy searching.

However, the most lucrative markets for this type of tech are law enforcement and defense. In Detroit, the police have recently come under heat for two known instances of Black men being arrested for crimes they didn’t commit on the basis of the department’s facial recognition AI. The Detroit Chief of Police acknowledged the software has an incredible 96% false identification rate, which for some has raised questions about the software’s value to the community. The Detroit Police Department has promised to draft a policy about the use of this tech, which is produced by the company DataWorksPlus. In the meantime, a Congressional inquiry has been launched to examine the two facial recognition programs produced by DataWorksPlus, which are used by law enforcement in at least five states.

Tech companies working to produce this type of software are coming under pressure to stop its sale and production, not just by Congress or justice reform advocates, but by their own employees. One example is IBM, which has removed its general purpose facial recognition offerings from the market, and is urging other companies to do the same.

Arguments against use of facial recognition technology by government entities including law enforcement have previously focused on the inaccuracy of such tech. As we see from Detroit, that remains an issue. However, as this type of AI improves, concern has increasingly begun to shift towards the awesome power of accurate facial recognition tech, and its ability to obliterate privacy. As a result of of this, some local jurisditions have begun to specifically outlaw the use of facial recnognition tech. These municipalities are mostly cities in California and Massachusetts, incuding San Francisco and Boston, but now also include Portland, Maine.

One advancement is that facial recognition AI increasingly focuses on the space immediately around the eyes, so that would-be law-breakers and other evil-doers will struggle more to hide their identities. This also means that wearing a mask while you’re shopping might not stop corporate security from identifying you.

Further reading:

• Compare the efficacy of different facial recognition tech

Remote Access to HeinOnline

HeinOnline is consistently recognized as one of the best, most indispensable legal websites, especially for accessing legal scholarship. As the world's largest image-based academic and legal research platform, HeinOnline -- and the Law Journal Library in particular -- provides a wealth of fully searchable content including an extensive archive of legal publications in full-text PDF. 

Not only is the website an incredible respository of information, but so is the HeinOnline app. Within the app, users can access content by citation, browse by volume or collection, navigate using the electronic table of contents or by using the same advanced search tool that makes Hein's website functionality so robust. Users of the HeinOnline app can download articles in PDF format, save them to their devices, or share them with colleagues. And, to make the user experience even better, they can do so remotely, making the full functionality of HeinOnline available to any interested patrons during the library’s closure.

To gain remote access to HeinOnline via the HeinOnline app, first download the program to your device. Click here for Android or here for the iPhone. Then, authenticate your device by accessing the database while connected to the Harris County Guest Wi-Fi network that is available in all Harris County courthouses. Once IP authenticated, your device will be database-enabled from any location for 30 days. At the end of that period, visit the Harris County courthouse complex once again to re-authenticate and never be without access to HeinOnline!

This link to the HeinOnline App User's Guide is a bit dated, but its explanation of how the authentication process works is still valid. If you have any questions, please ask the library staff for assistance. We're happy to help you gain the full benefits of using our resources and to support you in your legal research needs.

The Hatch Act and Social Media

After the Republican National Convention concluded last week, watchdog groups and others (see links below) began questioning President Trump’s decision to deliver his nomination acceptance speech from the South Lawn of The White House. Some were appalled by the decision, calling it a major ethical breach and a flagrant violation of the Hatch Act. Others say that the incumbent candidate’s use of official government property as a venue for campaign activities was perfectly permissible. A third undecided group questioned not the legality, but the propriety of the act. For this group, delivering a campaign speech at The White House was “problematic” and a break from tradition, but not prohibited. President Trump failed only at optics, they say, not ethics.

Regardless of your perspective or your interpretation of the law, events at the RNC have shined a spotlight on an important, but somewhat controversial law called the Hatch Act of 1939, An Act to Prevent Pernicious Political Activities. Here’s what you need to know:

• The Hatch Act of 1939, named for Senator Carl Hatch of New Mexico, is a federal statute that prohibits certain federal employees (defined in 5 U.S. Code § 7322) from carrying out­­­ partisan political activities while on duty, in a government building, while wearing an official uniform or insignia, or while using an official vehicle.

• The Merit Systems Protection Board and the Office of Special Counsel are responsible for enforcement of the Hatch Act.

• The president and vice president are exempt from the Hatch Act, but federal civilian executive branch employees involved in the logistics or planning of a politically partisan activity are not. Advocates for enforcing Hatch Act provisions in the wake of the RNC argue this very point. They are calling for an investigation by the OSC into the role that executive branch civil servants may have played in assisting with arrangements for RNC events on government property.

 Hatch Act in the News

• Op-Ed: President Trump is blatantly violating the Hatch Act. Where’s the outrage? – Erwin Chemerinsky, Los Angeles Times, August 25, 2020

• What Is the Hatch Act? Is Trump Violating It at the R.N.C.? – New York Times, August 26, 2020

• Focus on Trump’s official White House actions as part of Republican convention programming raises Hatch Act concerns – The Washington Post, August 26, 2020

• Trump Shatters Ethics Norms By Making Official Acts Part Of GOP Convention – NPR, August 26, 2020

• There was nothing unlawful or improper about Trump's acceptance speech – David B. Rivkin Jr. and Lee A. Casey, The Hill, August 29, 2020

Hatch Act and Social Media

In response to questions from executive branch civil servants about the appropriate use of social media under the Hatch Act, the OSC prepared the Hatch Act Guidance on Social Media and the Hatch Act Social Media Quick Guide, which is reproduced here:

Service of Process Through Social Media Approved by Texas Supreme Court

Image credit: https://pixabay.com/

In 2013, a bill was introduced in the Texas legislature to allow substituted service through social media websites. We wrote about if for this blog in August 2018. The 2013 bill was never referred to committee, and the subject was not addressed again until last year when the Texas Legislature enacted Senate Bill 891. This bill directed the Texas Supreme Court to adopt rules under Section 17.033, Civil Practice and Remedies Code that would “provide for the substituted service of citation by an electronic communication sent to a defendant through a social media presence.”

According to the high court’s Order, “the court may authorize service…in any other manner, including electronically by social media, email, or other technology, that…will be reasonably effective to give the defendant notice of the suit.” In deciding to authorize substituted service in this manner, the court may consider such factors as: the defendant maintains a social media page on the specified website; the profile on the social media page is indeed the profile of the defendant; the defendant regularly accesses the social media account; and the defendant can reasonably be expected to receive actual notice if the electronic communication is sent to the defendant’s social media account.

The amendments will take effect on December 31, but public comments submitted to the court until December 1, will be considered if any changes to the amendments are deemed necessary.