10/23. The U.S. Court of Appeals (6thCir) issued its opinion [27 pages in PDF] in Connection Distributing v. Keisler, holding that 18 U.S.C. § 2257 is unconstitutional for violating the 1st Amendment.

All three judges wrote opinions. However, all three agreed that the statute is unconstitutional under the 1st Amendment for overbreadth. Moreover, two of the three judges on the panel were appointed by President Bush.

Section 2257 regulates anyone who "produces" any "visual depictions" of "actual sexually explicit conduct", provided that there is an interstate commerce component. (Publication on the internet is such a component.).

The statute defines "produces" to mean "produce, manufacture, or publish ... computer generated image, digital image, or picture". The cross referenced definitional section defines "sexually explicit conduct" to include many things, including "lascivious exhibition of the genitals or pubic area of any person".

The statute criminalizes failure to "create and maintain" certain written records enumerated by the statute. That is, people who publish porn on the internet must keep certain written records.

Connection Distributing Co. publishes porn magazines. It filed a complaint back in 1995 in U.S. District Court (NDOhio) against the Attorney General of the US seeking a declaratory judgment that Section 2257 is unconstitutional. The District Court granted summary judgment to the Attorney General. This appeal followed.

The Court of Appeals reversed, and remanded to the District Court with instructions to find Section 2257 unconstitutionally overbroad, and to enter summary judgment for the plaintiffs.

All three agreed that preventing the sexual exploitation of minors in child pornography is a significant and a compelling government interest. They all agreed that the statute's record keeping requirements are not narrowly tailored to this interest.

That is, requiring producers and publishers of adult porn that is not obscene to keep records, imposes a burden on those who are engaged in constitutionally protected conduct.

All three members of the three judge panel wrote detailed opinions. They disagreed on matters other than the conclusion that Section 2257 suffers from unconstitutional overbreadth.

Both Kennedy and Moore agreed that Section 2257 is facially unconstitutional for overbreadth. The Court of Appeals declined to severe any part of Section 2257 in order to save its constitutionality. In contrast, Judge McKeague, who agreed that the statute is overbroad, also argued for severance of part of Section 2257, and the consequent salvaging of the rest.

The opinion writers also agreed as to standards to apply to the analysis of overbreadth.

The Court of Appeals did not reach the issue of whether the statute also violates the 5th Amendment's prohibition of compelled self-incrimination.

This case is Connection Distributing Co., et al. v. Peter Keisler, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, App. Ct. No. 06-3822, an appeal from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio at Cleveland, D.C. No. 95-01993, Judge John Manos presiding.

Judge Cornelia Kennedy wrote the opinion of the Court of Appeals. Judge Karen Moore wrote an opinion in which she concurred in part and dissented in part. Judge David McKeague wrote an opinion in which he concurred in part and dissented in part.

Judge Kennedy is a senior status judge who was appointed by former President Carter. Judges Moore and McKeague were both appointed to the Court of Appeals by President Bush.

10/22. Rep. John Dingell (D-MI) and Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA) introduced HR 3914, the "Proper Forbearance Procedures Act of 2007", a bill to remove the "deemed granted" clause from the forbearance petition section of the Communications Act.

Rep. Dingell (at left), the Chairman of the House Commerce Committee (HCC), stated in a release that "This legislation aims to correct a significant procedural problem caused by the two small words `deemed granted´ in the Communications Act ... Carriers are still free to seek forbearance, and the FCC may still grant forbearance where appropriate. But the `deemed granted´ language must be removed to safeguard the ability of Congress and the courts to conduct appropriate oversight, to protect consumers, and to restore transparency to the decision-making process."

Rep. Markey, the Chairman of the HCC's Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, stated in the same release that "The sweeping nature of the overall authority, coupled with the ability of petitioners to file late-breaking amendments or clarifications to their requests, renders the so-called `deemed granted´ provision utterly unworkable and unfair. The right to usurp authority contained in statutes duly enacted by Congress through regulatory inaction is contrary to the public interest and this bill wisely removes this possibility."

Rep. Dingell and Rep. Markey did not mention in their release the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) deemed granting of a forbearance petition of Verizon last year, or any other deemed granted petition. See, FCC's March 21, 2006, release, and story titled "FCC Announces that Verizon Petition for Forbearance is Deemed Granted" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,334, March 22, 2006.

47 U.S.C. § 160(c) currently provides that "Any telecommunications carrier, or class of telecommunications carriers, may submit a petition to the Commission requesting that the Commission exercise the authority granted under this section with respect to that carrier or those carriers, or any service offered by that carrier or carriers. Any such petition shall be deemed granted if the Commission does not deny the petition for failure to meet the requirements for forbearance under subsection (a) of this section within one year after the Commission receives it, unless the one-year period is extended by the Commission. The Commission may extend the initial one-year period by an additional 90 days if the Commission finds that an extension is necessary to meet the requirements of subsection (a) of this section. The Commission may grant or deny a petition in whole or in part and shall explain its decision in writing." (Emphasis added.)

This bill would amend subsection 160(c) "by striking the second and third sentences and inserting the following: ‘‘The Commission shall grant or deny any such petition within one year after the Commission receives it, except that the Commission may extend the one-year period for an additional 90 days if the Commission finds that the extension is necessary to meet the requirements of subsection (a)."

The bill was referred to the HCC. Its other original cosponsors are Rep. Mike Doyle (D-PA), Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA), Rep. Hilda Solis (D-CA) and Rep. Bart Gordon (D-TN). It has no Republican cosponsors.

10/23. House Majority Leader, Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD), gave a speech at Georgetown University's law school in Washington DC in which he attacked the Bush administration's history of surveillance in the US.

Rep. Hoyer (at right) began that "We have seen the mass violation of Americans' privacy rights through National Security Letters, the Administration’s data-mining program and the terrorist surveillance program -- about which we still know little."

He commented on the March 2007 report [34 MB in PDF, redacted version] of the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) regarding the DOJ's use of National Security Letters (NSLs). See, story titled "DOJ IG Releases Reports on Use of NSLs and Section 215 Authority" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,551, March 13, 2007.

Rep. Hoyer said that the OIG "reported many instances when National Security Letters -- which allow the FBI to obtain records from telephone companies, internet service providers, banks, credit card companies, and other businesses, without a judge’s approval -- were improperly and sometimes illegally used."

Glenn Fine, the DOJ/OIG Inspector General, testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) on March 21, 2007. Rep. Hoyer related that "Fine called the FBI’s conduct `the product of mistakes, carelessness, sloppiness, lack of training, lack of adequate guidance, and lack of adequate oversight.´"

See also, Fine's prepared testimony before SJC on March 21, 2007, and prepared testimony before House Judiciary Committee (HJC), March 20, 2007. The DOJ/OIG report and Fine's testimony also covered misuse of requests for business records under Section 215 of the PATRIOT Act. Rep. Hoyer did not address business records in the prepared text of this speech.

The SJC held a further hearing on the DOJ's use of NSLs on April 11, 2007. See, prepared testimony of Peter Swire (Ohio State University law school), prepared testimony of former Rep. Bob Barr (R-GA), prepared testimony of George Christian (American Library Association), and prepared testimony of Suzanne Spaulding.

Rep. Hoyer continued that "the apparent lack of malicious intent does not undo the seriousness of these privacy breaches. This data has gone into massive government databases, including one that reportedly contains more than 560 million separate records, and another with more than 30,000 authorized users."

"Barely two weeks ago, Verizon -- one of our nation's largest telecommunications companies -- admitted to the House Energy and Commerce Committee that from January 2005 to September 2007 the company provided data to federal authorities on an emergency basis -- without a subpoena or court order -- 720 times", said Rep. Hoyer.

See, Verizon's letter [4.5 MB in PDF] to the House Commerce Committee (HCC) of October 12, 2007.

He also criticized the interrogation and treatment of terrorists held in custody, and the rendition of some to other nations.

"It is long past time for effective Congressional oversight and Judicial review of this Administration’s actions." He added that "The Administration’s unchecked violation of Americans' civil liberties and accepted international norms of behavior do not serve our nation well. Indeed, they not only do violence to our values and constitutional principles, but also sully our reputation throughout the world and threaten to undermine the rule of law."

He then focused on ongoing efforts to write legislation that would reform the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).

The Congress enacted a FISA reform bill in August that contains a six month sunset. This bill is S 1927 [LOC | WW], the "Protect America Act" or "PAA". It is now Public Law No. 110-55. See also, story titled "Summary of Protect America Act" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,638, September 11, 2007.

On October 9, 2007, Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) and Rep. Sylvestre Reyes (D-TX) introduced HR 3773 [LOC | WW], the "Responsible Electronic Surveillance That is Overseen, Reviewed, and Effective Act of 2007" or RESTORE Act. See, story titled "Reps. Conyers and Reyes Introduce FISA Reform Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,653, October 10, 2007. The HJC amended and approved this bill on October 12, 2007. The full House has debated, but not passed, this bill. See, story titled "House Delays Consideration of RESTORE Act" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,657, October 18, 2007.

Rep. Hoyer said that "Today, in Congress, Democrats in both the House and Senate are committed to revisiting the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which was amended by the Protect America Act in August. The Protect America Act provides sweeping new powers to the government to engage in warrantless surveillance of international calls to and from the United States -- and potentially much more."

He added that "some FISA experts testified in Congress in September that the PAA authorizes searches of Americans’ homes, offices, and computer usage, as long as the government is collecting foreign intelligence about communications that 'concern' persons abroad." See also, story titled "House Judiciary Committee Holds Hearing on Surveillance and FISA" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,638, September 11, 2007.

Rep. Hoyer asserted that "The PAA also effectively cuts the FISA Court out of any meaningful role in overseeing surveillance of Americans."

He said that in contrast the RESTORE Act "is a carefully crafted measure that gives our intelligence community the tools it needs to listen in on those who seek to harm us, while addressing concerns that the bill passed in August could authorize warrantless surveillance of Americans."

He offered his take on the contents of the RESTORE Act. "This legislation addresses the intelligence gap asserted by the Director of National Intelligence, and restores a checks-and-balances role for the FISA Court.

"It does not require a warrant for listening in on suspected and known terrorists. In fact, it clarifies that no court order is required for surveillance of conversations where both parties are foreign citizens."

"It does not extend constitutional rights to suspected or known terrorists. Nor does it delay the collection of intelligence information. It grants the Attorney General and DNI authority to apply to the FISA Court for a block order to conduct surveillance on large groups of foreign targets for up to one year."

And finally, he said that the RESTORE Act "is silent on the issue of retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies that possibly violated privacy laws in turning over consumer information -- because Congress does not have full access to information about what the companies did."

He argued that "it would be grossly irresponsible for Congress to grant blanket immunity for companies without even knowing whether their conduct was legal or not. ... Until we understand what legal authorities were used to justify the terrorist surveillance program, there does not appear to be any practicable way to include retroactive immunity in this bill."

10/22. Microsoft announced in a release that it is capitulating to the European Commission regarding its 2004 demands that Microsoft remove certain code from its products sold in the Europe, and that it license certain proprietary technology and intellectual property rights to other companies, and that it give money to the EC.

See, stories titled "European Commission Seeks 497 Million Euros and Code Removal from Microsoft" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 863, March 25, 2004, and "European Commission Releases Microsoft Decision" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 883, April 23, 2004. See also, Microsoft web page for this EC proceeding.

In September, the European Court of First Instance (CFI) released its opinion [PDF] upholding much of the European Commission's (EC) 2004 decision regarding Microsoft. See, story titled "European Court of First Instance Rejects Key Parts of Microsoft's Appeal" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,639, September 14, 2007.

Microsoft stated in its just issued release that "At the time the Court of First Instance issued its judgment in September, Microsoft committed to taking any further steps necessary to achieve full compliance with the Commission’s decision. We have undertaken a constructive discussion with the Commission and have now agreed on those additional steps. We will not appeal the CFI’s decision to the European Court of Justice and will continue to work closely with the Commission and the industry to ensure a flourishing and competitive environment for information technology in Europe and around the world."

In July the EC initiated action against Intel. See, story titled "European Commission Initiates Proceeding Against Intel Alleging Anticompetitive Behavior" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,617, July 26, 2007. The EC's asserted basis for these action is competition law. But see, story titled "DOJ Antitrust Chief Criticizes European Court's Microsoft Ruling" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,640, September 17, 2007.

Other US companies that might be targeted by the EC include Google, Qualcomm and Apple.

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Notices & Disclaimers
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The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business. No technology related items on scheduled. See, Majority Leader Hoyer's schedule for the week of October 22, and schedule for Wednesday, October 24.

The Senate will meet at 9:00 AM. It will resume consideration of the nomination of Leslie Southwick to be a Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals (5thCir). It will then consider a motion to proceed on S 2205 [LOC | WW], the "Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act".

Day two of a three day conference titled "George Bush China -- U.S. Relations Economic Dialogue". See, conference web site and schedule [PDF]. U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab and Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman will give a keynote addresses. Location: J.W. Marriott Hotel, 1331 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

9:30 AM - 12:30 PM. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI), and the U.S. Department of State (DOS) will host an event titled "Japan Invest/Business Alliance 2007: Creating Value Through Innovation". The speakers will be Tadashi Izawa (President of JETRO), Patricia Haslach (DOS), Toshihisa Takata (Deputy Director-General for Trade Policy, METI), Leslie Chao (CEO of Chelsea Property Group), and Ken Hisamoto (VP of International Sales, FedEx Express). The Chamber's notice states that "credentialed members of the media are invited to attend". For more information, contact 202-463-5682. Location: Chamber, 1615 H St., NW.

9:30 AM. The House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations will hold a hearing titled "NASPER: Why Has the National All Schedules Prescription Electronic Reporting Act Not Been Implemented? ". The hearing will be web cast by the HCC. Location: Room 2322, Rayburn Building.

9:30 AM - 3:30 PM. Day three of a five day meeting of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission to consider its 2007 end of year report to the Congress. See, notice in the Federal Register, September 25, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 185, at Page 54511. Location: Room 333, Hall of the States, 444 North Capitol St., NW.

10:00 AM. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will hold a hearing titled "The Future of Radio". See, notice. Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

10:00 AM. The House Ways and Means Committee will meet to mark up HR 3920 [LOC | WW], the "Trade and Globalization Assistance Act of 2007", a bill pertaining to the program titled "trade adjustment assistance program". Location: Room 1100, Longworth Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold a hearing on several judicial nominees: Joseph Laplante (to be a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire), Reed Charles O’Connor (U.S.D.C., Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division), Thomas Schroeder (U.S.D.C., Middle District of North Carolina), and Amul Thapar (U.S.D.C., Eastern District of Kentucky). See, notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The House Science Committee (HSC) will meet to mark up three bills, including HR 2406 [LOC | WW], a bill to authorize the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to increase its efforts in support of the integration of the healthcare information enterprise. The meeting will be webcast by the HSC. Location: Room 2318, Rayburn Building.

1:30 PM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold a hearing titled "The Role of Federally Funded University Research in the Patent System". The witnesses will be Arti Rai (Duke University School of Law), Elizabeth Hoffman (Iowa State University), Robert Weissman (Essential Action), and Charles Louis (University of California, Riverside). See, notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

1:45 PM. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will hold a business meeting. It will consider numerous nominations, including Christopher Egan to be the US Representative to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), George Pataki to be the U.S. Representative to the United Nations General Assembly. See, notice. Location: Room S-116, Capitol Building.

2:00 PM. The Senate Banking Committee's Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance, and Investment will hold a hearing titled "International Accounting Standards: Opportunities, Challenges, and Global Convergence Issues". The witnesses will be David Tweedie (Chairman of the International Accounting Standards Board), Robert Herz (Chairman of the Financial Accounting Standards Board), Conrad Hewitt (Chief Accountant of the Securities and Exchange Commission), John White (Director of the SEC's Office of Corporate Finance), Charles Landes (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants), Jack Ciesielski (R&G Associates), Teri Yohn (Kelley School of Business, University of Indiana), and Lynn Turner (Glass Lewis & Co.). See, notice. Location: Room 538, Dirksen Building.

6:00 - 9:15 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a continuing legal education (CLE) program titled "Overview of Copyright Law and Litigation". The speaker will be Kenneth Kaufman (Skadden Arps). The price to attend ranges from $80 to $115. For more information, call 202-626-3488. See, notice. Location: DC Bar Conference Center, B-1 Level, 1250 H St., NW.

6:30 - 8:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Young Lawyers' Committee will host an event titled "YLC Pre-Charity Auction Happy Hour". For more information, contact Chris Fedeli at chrisfedeli at dwt dot com or Tarah Grant at tsgrant at hhlaw dot com. Location: Regatta Raw Bar, Marriott at Metro Center, 775 12th St., NW.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business. See, Majority Leader Hoyer's schedule for the week of October 22.

Day three of a three day conference titled "George Bush China -- U.S. Relations Economic Dialogue". See, conference web site and schedule [PDF]. Location: J.W. Marriott Hotel, 1331 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

9:30 AM - 3:30 PM. Day four of a five day meeting of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission to consider its 2007 end of year report to the Congress. See, notice in the Federal Register, September 25, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 185, at Page 54511. Location: Room 231, Hall of the States, 444 North Capitol St., NW.

10:00 AM. The House Commerce Committee (HCC) will meet to mark up numerous bills, including HR 2601 [LOC | WW], the "Do-Not-Call Registry Fee Extension Act of 2007", HR 3541 [LOC | WW], the "Do-Not-Call Improvement Act of 2007", HR 3526 [LOC | WW], a bill to include all banking agencies within the existing regulatory authority under the Federal Trade Commission Act with respect to depository institutions, HR 3403 [LOC | WW], the "911 Modernization and Safety Act of 2007", and HR 3919 [LOC | WW], the "Broadband Census of America Act of 2007". Location: Room 2123, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law will hold a hearing on HR 3010 [LOC | WW], the "Arbitration Fairness Act of 2007". See, notice. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Commerce Committee's (SCC) Subcommittee on Interstate Commerce, Trade, and Tourism will hold a hearing to promote trade protectionism. It will be titled "Sweatshop Conditions in the Chinese Toy Industry". See, notice. Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold an executive business meeting. The agenda includes consideration of the nomination of John Tinder to be a Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals (7thCir). The SJC rarely follows its published agenda. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

12:00 PM. The Cato Institute will host a panel discussion titled "Should American Workers Fear or Embrace Globalization?" The speakers will be Jagdish Bhagwati, author of the 2004 book [Amazon] tilted "In Defense of Globalization", and Matthew Slaughter (Tuck School of Business). See, notice and registration page. Location: Cato, 1000 Massachusetts Ave., NW.

6:00 - 8:00 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) will host an event titled "Reception for FCC and NTIA Bureau and Office Chiefs". Prices vary. See, registration form [PDF]. Registrations are due by October 19. The FCBA will give no refunds for cancellations. Location: Capital Hilton, 1001 16th St., NW.

6:00 - 9:15 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a continuing legal education (CLE) program titled "How to Conduct Business in the Current Chinese Legal Environment: Myths and Facts". The speakers will be Paul Manca (Hogan & Hartson), Grace Fremlin (Foley & Lardner), and Steven Robinson (Hogan & Hartson). The price to attend ranges from $80 to $115. For more information, call 202-626-3488. See, notice. Location: DC Bar Conference Center, B-1 Level, 1250 H St., NW.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Eighth Further Notice of Proposed Rule Making announcing tentative channel designations. This item is FCC 07-138 in MB Docket No. 87-268. See, FCC Public Notice (DA 07-3914) [PDF] and notice in the Federal Register, September 10, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 174, at Pages 51575-51581.

Deadline to submit comments or objections to the Copyright Royalty Judges (CRJ) their royalty rates for use of a musical work in a Public Broadcasting Service distributed program pursuant to the noncommercial educational broadcasting statutory license contained in the Copyright Act. The CRJ announced in a notice in the Federal Register on September 26, 2007, that they are correcting the rates published in the Federal Register on April 17, 2007. See, Federal Register, September 26, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 186, at Pages 54622-54623.

Majority Leader Hoyer's schedule for the week of October 22 states that no votes are expected in the House.

9:00 - 11:00 AM. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) will host a panel discussion titled "Improving Health Care: Why a Dose of IT May Be Just What the Doctor Ordered". The speakers will be Robert Atkinson (ITIF), Daniel Castro (ITIF), former Rep. Nancy Johnson (R-CT), Alan Lotvin (ICORE Magellan Health Services), and Edna DeVries (Marshfield Clinic). See, notice. Location: First Amendment Lounge, National Press Club, 529 14th St., NW.

9:30 AM - 3:30 PM. Day five of a five day meeting of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission to consider its 2007 end of year report to the Congress. See, notice in the Federal Register, September 25, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 185, at Page 54511. Location: Room 231, Hall of the States, 444 North Capitol St., NW.

12:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Wireless and HLS/Emergency Communications Committees will host a lunch titled "Strengthening Public Safety Through Wireless Technologies". The price to attend is $15. Reservations and cancellations are due by 12:00 NOON on October 24. See, registration form [PDF]. Location: Sidley Austin, 6th Floor, 1501 K St., NW.

5:00 PM. Deadline to submit comments to the Judicial Conference of the U.S.'s (JCUS) Court Administration and Case Management Committee regarding the Department of Justice's (DOJ) proposal that the Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) system terminate public access to unsealed plea agreements filed in criminal cases. See, notice in the Federal Register, September 10, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 174, at Pages 51659-51660, and story titled "DOJ Seeks to Limit Public Access to PACER System" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,637, September 10, 2007.

8:30 AM - 6:30 PM. Day one of a five day course of instruction hosted by Georgetown University Law Center titled "Georgetown Law -- Academy of WTO Law and Policy". The price to attend is $2,700. For more information, call Christine Washington at 202-662-4052. See, seminar web site and brochure [PDF]. Location: Georgetown Law Gewirz Student Center, 12th Floor, 120 F St., NW.

10:00 AM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) and National Telecommunications and Information Administration's (NTIA) Joint Advisory Committee on Communications Capabilities of Emergency Medical and Public Health Care Facilities will hold its first meeting. See, FCC Public Notice [5 pages in PDF] (DA-07-4325). Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room, TW-C305, 445 12th St., SW.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) regarding the roaming obligations of CRMS providers. The FNPRM asks whether the FCC should extend roaming obligations to broadband data services. The FCC adopted this item on August 7, 2007, and released the text on August 16, 2007. It is FCC 07-143 in WT Docket No. 05-265. See, notice in the Federal Register, August 30, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 168, at Pages 50085-50095. See also, story titled "FCC Adopts CMRS Roaming Order and NPRM" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,623, August 15, 2007.

Effective date of the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) rules changes regarding roaming obligations of CRMS providers. These rules changes provide that CMRS carriers have roaming obligations as to Title II services. The FCC adopted this item on August 7, 2007, and released the text on August 16, 2007. It is FCC 07-143 in WT Docket No. 05-265. See, notice in the Federal Register, August 30, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 168, at Pages 50085-50095. See also, story titled "FCC Adopts CMRS Roaming Order and NPRM" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,623, August 15, 2007.

8:30 AM - 6:30 PM. Day two of a five day course of instruction hosted by Georgetown University Law Center titled "Georgetown Law -- Academy of WTO Law and Policy". The price to attend is $2,700. For more information, call Christine Washington at 202-662-4052. See, seminar web site and brochure [PDF]. Location: Georgetown Law Gewirz Student Center, 12th Floor, 120 F St., NW.

9:30 AM. The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) will hold a public hearing to assist it in preparing a report for the House Ways and Means Committee regarding government policies affecting trade with the People's Republic of China (PRC). The USITC is examining, among other sectors, semiconductors and telecommunications. See, notice in the Federal Register, July 31, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 146, at Pages 41773-41774, and USITC release. This proceeding is titled "China: Government Policies Affecting U.S. Trade in Selected Sectors" and numbered Inv. No. 332-491. Location: USITC, 500 E St., SW.

10:00 AM - 2:00 PM. The Free State Foundation (FSF) and the Institute for Policy Innovation (IPI) will host an event titled "The Federal Unbundling Commission". The keynote speakers will be Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) and Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN). The other speakers will include Joe Waz (Comcast), Peter Davidson (Verizon), Rick Whitt (Google), James Gattuso (Heritage Foundation), Robert Crandall (Brookings Institution), Christopher Yoo (University of Pennsylvania Law School), Kevin Werbach (University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School), and Tom Sugrue (T-Mobile). RSVP to Erin Fitch at erinfitch at ipi dot org or 972-874-5139. Lunch will be served. Location: Room 2168 (Gold Room), Rayburn Building, Capitol Hill.

12:30 NOON - 2:00 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a program on the book titled " The Terror Presidency: Law and Judgment Inside the Bush Administration" [Amazon], by Jack Goldsmith, a former Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Office of Legal Counsel. The book contains some material on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and the Terrorist Surveillance Program. The speakers will be Goldsmith, Stuart Taylor (National Law Journal), Jeffrey Smith (Arnold & Porter), and Nancy Perkins (Arnold & Porter). The price to attend ranges from $10 to $30. For more information, call 202-626-3463. See, notice. Location: Arnold & Porter, 555 12th St., NW.

1:00 - 3:00 PM. The Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board's (ATBCB) Telecommunications and Electronic and Information Technology Advisory Committee (TEITAC) will meet by teleconference. The conference phone number is 888-790-5019; the passcode is TEITAC. See, TEITAC notice and notice in the Federal Register, September 19, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 181, at Page 53509.

6:00 - 8:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) will host a seminar titled "Lobbying the FCC and Congress: Ethical and Legal Considerations". The speakers will be Kenneth Gross (Skadden Arps), Jane Mago (National Association of Broadcasters), and David Solomon (Wilkinson Barker Knauer). The price to attend ranges from $25 to $135. Reservations and cancellations are due by 12:00 NOON on October 26. See, registration form [PDF]. This event qualifies for CLE credits. Location: Sidley Austin, 6th Floor, 1501 K St., NW.

6:00 - 8:15 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a continuing legal education (CLE) program titled "The Ethics of E-Mail". The speaker will be Thomas Spann (McGuire Woods). The price to attend ranges from $80 to $115. For more information, call 202-626-3488. See, notice. Location: DC Bar Conference Center, B-1 Level, 1250 H St., NW.

8:30 AM - 6:30 PM. Day three of a five day course of instruction hosted by Georgetown University Law Center titled "Georgetown Law -- Academy of WTO Law and Policy". The price to attend is $2,700. For more information, call Christine Washington at 202-662-4052. See, seminar web site and brochure [PDF]. Location: Georgetown Law Gewirz Student Center, 12th Floor, 120 F St., NW.

9:00 AM - 4:30 PM. Day one of a two day meeting of the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Homeland Security Information Network Advisory Committee (HSINAC). See, notice in the Federal Register, October 12, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 197, at Pages 58108-58109, and Homeland Security Information Network (HSIN) web site. Location: Bolger Center, 9600 Newbridge Drive, Potomac, MD.

9:30 AM. The House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet will hold a hearing on transition to digital television. See, release. The hearing will be webcast by the HCC. Location: Room 2123, Rayburn Building.

Deadline to submit comments to the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Computer Security Division (CSD) regarding its SP 800-110 [44 pages in PDF] titled "Draft Information System Security Reference Data Model".