By KATHRYN RUBINO
* Lawyering like it is 1995.
Young attorneys in Philadelphia won’t be so quick to laugh at
the old-timey ways of some of their more… seasoned colleagues
anymore. That’s because a cyber threat has taken down the website
and electronic filing system in the First Judicial District of
Pennsylvania. According to the powers that be, the systems were
taken offline as a “precautionary measure,” after malware was found
on computers at the courthouse.
The systems have been down since May 21, and there is currently
no timeline for when they’ll be back up and running. As reported by
Law.com:
A statement released by the court late Friday said the
“precautionary measure” was taken after malware was discovered on a
limited number of FJD [First Judicial District] workstations. The
statement further said no definitive timeline could be given for
when the system will be back online, but the FJD is contracting the
services of a cybersecurity firm and has created secure network
connections so employees can begin docketing filings in an effort
to mitigate the potential backlog.
“We are currently unable to provide more information concerning
this virus so as not to provide any detail-specific information
that could jeopardize the remediation process we are engaged in,”
the statement said
So the era of paper print-outs and couriers rushing things to
the courthouse is back in Philly. And the inconveniences we thought
technology had eliminated are back with a vengeance:
Burns White’s offices are in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, in
suburban Philadelphia, 15 miles—and at least a 30-minute drive—from
City Hall. According to the firm’s east region office manager Lisa
Blair, a courier comes once a day to pick up the filings and drop
them off at the court, where they are filed and time-stamped. To
ensure the filings make it to the courier and down 14 miles on the
congenitally congested Schuylkill Expressway on time, lawyers have
been given a 1 p.m. deadline to get their papers submitted.
As Blair noted, “The convenience of e-filing is sorely missed,
but we’re making do.”
Lines to file motion have been reported to be up to an hour
long, further complicating attorneys’ efforts at timeliness in
Philadelphia. And while the technical problem might get lawyers a
little leeway, it isn’t something they should count on:
The court has said attorneys can cite the technical issues if
filing deadlines are missed, and the procedural rules allow for
some leeway if there is a breakdown in the court system, but John
Hare of Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman Goggin said that the
longer the computers are down, the more necessary it will be for
attorneys to adapt.
Although he doubted the technology issues would cause any
significant waiver arguments for the appellate courts, after a week
of having the filing system down, attorneys should be on
notice.
Until the virus is properly dealt with, attorneys with cases in
the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania are learning (or
re-learning) what it was like to practice law in the way back times
of the 1990s. And attorneys around the rest of the country are even
more thankful their court’s computers are still working.
Culled from abovethelaw.com
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Police Nab 35 Arms-Smuggling Syndicate
The unrelenting efforts of Operatives of the Intelligence
Response Unit (IRT), Special Tactical Squad (STS), Police Mobile
Force, Counter Terrorism Unit and the Special Forces attached to
Operation Puff Adder have resulted in the dismantling on 25th May,
2019 of a 4-man international arms-smuggling syndicate. The
criminal gang operates between parts of North African, the Sahel
region and West African Countries. A total of 6000 AK47 Live
ammunition were recovered from them.
The 4-man syndicate comprising: Ojoomo Olugbenga 45yrs native of
Akure Central, Ondo State, ii. Oladimeji Adeogun 50yrs native of
Ido LGA of Oyo State iii. Habib Musibau 24yrs old native of Oluyole
LGA of Oyo State and Thomas Olumuyiwa 54yrs old, native of Ado-odo
Ota LGA of Ogun State, all male, were arrested at Saki town,
Nigeria-Benin Republic border in Oyo State. Investigation reveals
that the syndicate specializes in smuggling small arms, light
weapons and ammunition from North Africa through the Sahel region
and supplying same to their criminal partners – kidnappers, armed
robbers, political thugs and other criminal elements – in Nigeria
and other West African countries.
In addition, another set of twenty (24) AK47 rifles, four (4)
pump action guns, eleven (11) Dane guns, Ten (10) English Pistols,
Two single barrel guns, One set of army camouflage uniform and
twenty two (22) live cartridges were recovered from other criminal
gangs in different parts of the country.
A total of thirty-eight (38) suspects were arrested for their
different roles in various criminal operations ranging from
kidnapping, armed robbery, banditry and cattle rustling.
The Inspector General of Police, IGP M.A Adamu, NPM, mni, while
appreciating the general public for providing useful information to
the Police, has commended his men for this and many other feats as
he re-assures the nation that the Police will continually work
round the clock along with other security agencies towards ensuring
improved border security, control of arms proliferation and
combating kidnapping, armed robbery and other violent crimes across
the country.
DCP FRANK MBA
FORCE PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER
FORCE HEADQUARTERS
ABUJA