Morning Docket 02.17.09

* Facebook owns you. Or at least all of your content, even after you close your account due to a recent change in its Terms of Use. But what’s the legality of Facebook’s stealth changes to its consumer contracts? [Litigation & Trial via Wall Street Journal]

* The Pennsylvania judges who sent lots of little kiddies to juvenile detention for minor offenses in exchange for $2.6 million in kickbacks from privately run detention centers are now facing class action suits from hundreds of children and parents. [Courthouse News Service]

* These days, there is more in the news about the misdeeds of the prosecutors in the corruption case of Alaskan Senator Ted Stevens than the defendant. The problems are so serious that the government apparently worked on a holiday. The Justice Department filed a notice with the court yesterday announcing the replacement of the original team of attorneys (from the Department’s Public Integrity Section) due to “litigation relating to allegations of misconduct in this matter.” [Anchorage Daily News]

* President Obama has promised that the government will be more open under his watch, but the Justice Department is not entirely on board with that policy. [Associated Press]

* As we reported in January, Linklaters is saying “See you later” to 100 of its attorneys in London. Legal Week has more details on the practice groups that will be shrinking. [Legal Week]

* The Supreme Court case of Caperton v. A.T. Massey Coal is like a John Grisham novel come to life, says USA Today. It’s also “Exhibit A in the debate over how high-dollar state judicial elections can raise questions about the fairness of some rulings.” [USA Today]

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