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Sitting by designation of the [[Ninth Circuit]] Court of Appeals, in 1999 Judge Illston wrote the panel decision in DiLoreto v. Downey Unified School District Board of Education, 196 F.3d 958 (9th Cir. 1999), cert. denied, 529 U.S. 1067 (2000), which held that an athletic fence which a public high school made available for commercial advertising is a nonpublic forum from which religious messages could be excluded without violating the [[first amendment]]. <ref>[http://openjurist.org/196/f3d/958/edward-diloreto-v-downey-unified-school-district-board-of-education 196 F3d 958 Edward Diloreto v. Downey Unified School District Board of Education | OpenJurist<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
Sitting by designation of the [[Ninth Circuit]] Court of Appeals, in 1999 Judge Illston wrote the panel decision in DiLoreto v. Downey Unified School District Board of Education, 196 F.3d 958 (9th Cir. 1999), cert. denied, 529 U.S. 1067 (2000), which held that an athletic fence which a public high school made available for commercial advertising is a nonpublic forum from which religious messages could be excluded without violating the [[first amendment]]. <ref>[http://openjurist.org/196/f3d/958/edward-diloreto-v-downey-unified-school-district-board-of-education 196 F3d 958 Edward Diloreto v. Downey Unified School District Board of Education | OpenJurist<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>


===''321 Studios v. Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studios''===
===''321 Studios v. Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studios, Inc.''===
In February 2004, Illston ruled that the company's software, which was intended, according to the company, to allow consumers to make backup copies of [[DVD]]s by "circumventing" so-called "[[copy protection]]" methods, was illegal under Federal law. She issued an [[injunction]] at the behest of several Hollywood studios and ordered [[321 Studios]] to stop selling their product. However, despite finding that the software violated Federal law, she ruled that copies made by consumers (of their own legally purchased DVDs) were, in fact, legal. She wrote in her opinion, "It is the technology itself at issue, not the uses to which the copyrighted material may be put...Legal downstream use of the copyrighted material by customers is not a defense to the software manufacturer's violation of the provisions [of copyright law]."<ref name=cnet>[http://news.cnet.com/Judge-DVD-copying-software-is-illegal/2100-1025_3-5162749.html Judge: DVD-copying software is illegal] [[Cnet]], accessed 24 AUG 2008</ref>
In February 2004, Illston ruled in [[321 Studios v. Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studios, Inc.]] that the company's software, which was intended, according to the company, to allow consumers to make backup copies of [[DVD]]s by "circumventing" so-called "[[copy protection]]" methods, was illegal under Federal law. She issued an [[injunction]] at the behest of several Hollywood studios and ordered [[321 Studios]] to stop selling their product. However, despite finding that the software violated Federal law, she ruled that copies made by consumers (of their own legally purchased DVDs) were, in fact, legal. She wrote in her opinion, "It is the technology itself at issue, not the uses to which the copyrighted material may be put...Legal downstream use of the copyrighted material by customers is not a defense to the software manufacturer's violation of the provisions [of copyright law]."<ref name=cnet>[http://news.cnet.com/Judge-DVD-copying-software-is-illegal/2100-1025_3-5162749.html Judge: DVD-copying software is illegal] [[Cnet]], accessed 24 AUG 2008</ref>


===''US v. Arnold''===
===''US v. Arnold''===

Revision as of 03:27, 5 March 2011

The Honorable
Susan Y. Illston
Judge for the United States District Court for the Northern District of California
Incumbent
Assumed office
May 25, 1995
Nominated byBill Clinton
Preceded byBarbara A. Caulfield
Personal details
Born1948
Tokyo, Japan

Susan Yvonne Illston (born 1948) is a San Francisco, California-based judge for the United States District Court for the Northern District of California in the Ninth Judicial Circuit.

Biography

Judge Illston was born in Tokyo, Japan. She is a graduate of Duke University (B.A., 1970) and Stanford Law School (J.D., 1973).[1] Prior to her appointment, Illston served in private practice as a partner at Cotchett, Illston & Pitre in Burlingame, California from 1973 to 1995. [2]

On the unanimous recommendations of Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, Illston was nominated by President Bill Clinton on January 23, 1995 and confirmed by the Senate on May 25, 1995 by majority voice vote. [3][4]

Notable cases

DiLoreto v. Downey

Sitting by designation of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, in 1999 Judge Illston wrote the panel decision in DiLoreto v. Downey Unified School District Board of Education, 196 F.3d 958 (9th Cir. 1999), cert. denied, 529 U.S. 1067 (2000), which held that an athletic fence which a public high school made available for commercial advertising is a nonpublic forum from which religious messages could be excluded without violating the first amendment. [5]

321 Studios v. Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studios, Inc.

In February 2004, Illston ruled in 321 Studios v. Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studios, Inc. that the company's software, which was intended, according to the company, to allow consumers to make backup copies of DVDs by "circumventing" so-called "copy protection" methods, was illegal under Federal law. She issued an injunction at the behest of several Hollywood studios and ordered 321 Studios to stop selling their product. However, despite finding that the software violated Federal law, she ruled that copies made by consumers (of their own legally purchased DVDs) were, in fact, legal. She wrote in her opinion, "It is the technology itself at issue, not the uses to which the copyrighted material may be put...Legal downstream use of the copyrighted material by customers is not a defense to the software manufacturer's violation of the provisions [of copyright law]."[6]

US v. Arnold

In August 2006, Illston sentenced Patrick Arnold, the chemist who developed an undetectable performance-enhancing drug for BALCO, to three months in prison. [7]

US v. Bonds

In March 2009, Illston presided over a perjury case involving Barry Bonds. [8]

Kyriacou v. Peralta Community College Dist.

In April 2009, Illston ruled that two students who were threatened with suspension by their community college, the College of Alameda, could sue the school for free speech infringement.[9]

Center for Biological Diversity v. Bureau of Land Management

In October 2009, Illston ruled in favor of environmental groups that sued the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) over a 5,000 mile expansion of off-roading trails in California's Mojave Desert. Illston found that the BLM had violated its own regulations[10] when it designated the routes in 2006[11] without adequately analyzing the impacts on air quality, soils, plant communities and sensitive species such as the endangered Mojave fringe-toed lizard. Illston called the BLM's plan "flawed because it does not contain a reasonable range of alternatives" to limit damage to sensitive habitat and pointed out that the desert and its resources are "extremely fragile, easily scarred, and slowly healed."[12] The court also found that the BLM had failed to follow route restrictions established in the agency’s own conservation plan, resulting in the establishment of hundreds of illegal off roading routes during the past three decades.[10] Illston ruled that the plan specifically violated the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA) and the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA).[11]

Sony v. Hotz

Currently, Illston is the presiding judge in Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC v. George Hotz, et al.,[13] in which Sony claims that Hotz's jailbreaking of the Sony PlayStation 3 violates the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.[14] She has granted Sony permission to track as much information as possible about those who had seen a private YouTube video about the jailbreak and to read their comments, plus obtain access to IP addresses, accounts, and other details of visitors to sites run by Geohot. The access granted by Illston extends even to those who had not downloaded the jailbreak code.[15]

Publications

  • California Complex Litigation Manual (1990)
  • Insurance Coverage in a Toxic Tort Case, A Guide to Toxic Torts (1987)

References

  1. ^ "Honorable Susan Illston" (PDF). American Bar Association. Retrieved 2009-04-09.
  2. ^ http://www.abanet.org/antitrust/at-bios/illston-susan.pdf
  3. ^ "Judgepedia Susan Illston". Judgepedia. Retrieved 2010-02-25.
  4. ^ Presidential Nominations - THOMAS (Library of Congress)
  5. ^ 196 F3d 958 Edward Diloreto v. Downey Unified School District Board of Education | OpenJurist
  6. ^ Judge: DVD-copying software is illegal Cnet, accessed 24 AUG 2008
  7. ^ Man who concocted 'the clear' gets 3 months in prison - Associated Press, 8/4/06
  8. ^ Thomas, Katie (2009-02-27). "Judge in Bonds Case Has Reputation as Quick Study". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-05-24.
  9. ^ Egelko, Bob (2009-04-09). "Students disciplined for praying can sue". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2009-04-09.
  10. ^ a b Mojave’s Off-Highway Roads Found Illegal
  11. ^ a b Judge rejects federal plan for SoCal desert routes
  12. ^ Judge rejects U.S. management plan for California desert
  13. ^ Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC v. George Hotz, et al., No. C-11-00167 SI (N.D. Cal. filed Jan. 11, 2011)
  14. ^ David, Kravets (February 7, 2011). "Sony Lawyers Expand Dragnet, Targeting Anybody Posting PlayStation 3 Hack". Wired. Retrieved February 10, 2011.
  15. ^ "Judge in PS3 case lets Sony track visitors to Geohot website". electronista. Retrieved 5 March 2011.

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