Have Opinion, Will Travel: Legal Commentary

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Legal Commentary

Have Opinion, Will Travel

Observations, musings and occasional rants about the law, lawyers, or anything else that I feel moved to comment on.

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Last Entry: August 17, 2009 at 18:18:00

Adios. Adieu. Later. Auf Wiedersehen. Ciao. Na razie. Proshyai. Zai jian.

Posted on August 17, 2009
The fact that some of my blogging contemporaries such as Skelly at A&C and Feddie at SA are hanging it up have forced me to confront the fact that I have been largely neglecting this blog for the past year or so. Indeed, the fact that Ken had to point out that they were gone shows just how much I have been away from the blogosphere lately...

Goodbye House of Lords, Hello Supreme Court.

Posted on July 17, 2009
It's now official. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland will now have themselves a brand new Supreme Court.On October 1, 2009, the new Supreme Court of the United Kingdom will replace the House of Lords as the highest court of appeal for Great Britain and the 12 "Law Lords" have then become justices...

This law clerk brought to you by....

Posted on July 14, 2009
Apparently the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is OK with law firms footing the bill for judges' law clerks but personally I find it very troubling, both ethically and practically. The potential conflict of interest when a judge is involved in a case that also involves the law firm paying the salary of the judge's clerk's is obvious but perhaps less so is the fact that I, for one, would probably

News of the Weird.

Posted on July 11, 2009
When you think of things to be thankful for, "lizard tattoo on the penis" probably does not immediately leap to mind but it ought to be at the top of this guy's list since it probably kept him out of prison for a long time.

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Lawyer asks court to require opponent to wear new shoes.

Posted on July 10, 2009
Heaven forbid that a lawyer be permitted to project "an air of unsophisticated honesty" to a jury.Boing Boing Via Instapundit.

And we think we have problems.

Posted on July 06, 2009
How about a country ( a British possession no less) where all of the judges are feuding with each other and where they all have either been "arrested, suspended or mired in controversy?" And the judiciary isn't the only disfunctional branch of the government - the police chief was fired for being involved in a burglary of the newspaper office but has since been exonerated and is now suing (

Floridians protest beach integration.

Posted on April 29, 2009
Alright, I'll admit that while technically correct, that headline up there is a little misleading. It actually refers to these residents of Sarasota who don't like the idea of mixing brown sand with white sand on their beaches. I guess you could call them sand bigots.

This gives a whole new meaning to the concept of a "Gag Order."

Posted on April 22, 2009
I think that perhaps this judge has taken the idea a little too literally.

Perry Mason arrested for practicing law without a license.

Posted on April 17, 2009
Watching Perry Mason on TV back in the late 1950's and early 1960's was a major influence on me and a big reason why I wound up in this profession. Oh, the shame of it!

Tequila and bean dip don't mix.

Posted on April 13, 2009
Take a bunch of men. Put them in a single room in a Texas motel. Add some high density flatulence and the result is silent but (almost) deadly.

The Time Travel Cheat Sheet.

Posted on April 11, 2009
No time machine should be without one of these (click on the image to zoom in).Via Gizmodo.

So much for Congressionl oversight!

Posted on April 10, 2009
The really sad part is that we now find this both unsurprising and funny.

Breaking News - Al Capone Charged with Tax Evasion!

Posted on April 08, 2009
It's Boston, not Chicago and it's 2009 not 1931, so isn't quite deja vu all over again and incidentally, the Capone in question happens to be a restaurant instead of a gangster but what the hell, it got your attention, didn't it?In other news from Boston, apparently they have trouble learning English there, but the rest of the country already knew that.

Will smartphones bring the judicial system down?

Posted on March 17, 2009
Who didn't see this coming?The New York Times reports that a federal judge had to declare a mistrial in a drug case when he found out that nine jurors were using their iPhones, Blackberrys and other internet-enabled cell phones to do their own research on the case...

This gives a whole new meaning to the idea of paperless courts.

Posted on March 15, 2009
The AP reports that an Ohio court will no longer accept case filings unless you bring your own paper because it can't afford to buy any.No word on whether this applies to the courthouse restrooms as well.

" A billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you're talking real money!"

Posted on March 07, 2009
Of course these days we are throwing around the word "trillion" in front of the word "dollars" like we actually appreciate the difference. Here is a good illustration.Now that's what I call real money!

A tempest in a rice bowl.

Posted on February 28, 2009

On Presidents' Day, George Washington gets his "Due."

Posted on February 16, 2009
It took 82 years but finally someone noticed that George Washington is misquoted on the pediment of what, thanks to Hollywood, is the most recognized courthouse in the world.Carved over the columns of the New York Supreme Court's Manhattan courthouse built in 1927, are the words "The true administration of justice is the firmest pillar of good government...

In other news...

Posted on February 04, 2009
The BBC reports that Sussex police are reopening the investigation of the disappearance of 16 year old Emma Alice Smith, who was last seen riding her bicycle 83 years ago, in 1926. With the typical Bristish knack for understatement, a police official observed that, "Given the years which have passed this is inevitably a difficult task...

How do you know when it is time to take away Grandma's driver's license?

Posted on February 04, 2009
80 year old Mary Feeny of Indianapolis gave us a hint when, fresh from her hairdresser, she backed backed out her parking spot destroying a gas meter in the process and then on through the wall of a building housing an architectural firm. In an apparent effort to extricate her vehicle from the architect's waiting room, Ms...

If I were in charge...

Posted on January 31, 2009
I teach a course on Constitutional Law as an adjunct professor at a nearby law school and during class recently, we had a lengthy discussion about to what extent the United States Constitution was operating the way the framers intended. I did not want things to degenerate into a partisan debate (I was only partially successful) nor did I want them to scrap the existing document and start over

Lawyer should get an "F" in History for his Closing Argument

Posted on January 23, 2009
This case has some age on it but I think it is still worth a blog post. In a convoluted libel case, the appellant argued on appeal that the appellee's trial counsel delivered a prejudicial and inflammatory closing argument. But the bigger problem was that the argument?which invoked Jesus Christ, Julius Caesar, and the Mennonites? was about as wrong on the facts as you can get...

Will the new Solicitor General break with tradition? I'd say the odds are pretty good.

Posted on January 12, 2009
The Mad Law Professor asks the question. Will the new administration's Solicitor General, current Harvard Law School Dean Elena Kagan, break with the tradition of wearing a morning coat when appearing to argue cases in the Supreme Court of the United States? Since she is the first woman to hold the post, I doubt that the formal ware worn by men since before the turn of the previous century,

Congressional Motors Presents the 2012 Pelosi.

Posted on December 23, 2008
Although whoever wrote this has an obvious rightward tilt, and even though I am pretty "green" when it comes to cars and houses, with all that's going on in Detroit and Washington these days, this is just too funny not to share. It's in the way you dress...

Should only law professors be appellate judges?

Posted on December 17, 2008
Professor Carl Tobias of the University of Richmond Law School offers advice to President-elect Obama here about the type of appellate judges he should appoint during his term. Professor Tobias' advice can be summed up in two words - "law professors...

British judges more willing to talk to the press.

Posted on December 10, 2008
Judges typically don't talk to the press but the London Times reports here that changes may be in store as more "activist" judges are appointed who see in the media an opportunity to educate the British public about the courts and the role of a judge...

I know its a crime but you really have to admire their ingenuity.

Posted on November 26, 2008

Commit a virtual murder and you might go to a real jail.

Posted on November 02, 2008
A 43-year-old woman in Japan has been arrested for killing her husband, although they weren't legally married, she didn't really kill him, and he isn't really dead. The two only met online, as part of a popular interactive game called "Maple Story" in which cartoon-like "avatars" (example shown) fight monsters, interact, and get married (or at least these two did)...

"Ender's Game" author asks "Where have all the honest journalists gone?"

Posted on October 21, 2008

If you gotta go, this might not be the place.

Posted on October 19, 2008
I think the Darwin Award winning caption should be "Here, hold my beer and watch this!" Thanks to Whole Wheat Toast. (Actually, I doubt anybody who checked out this way actually would win this years Darwin Award. Based upon the current vote count, it appears that Father Adelir Antonio de Carli, the lawn chair balloonist from South America, is well on track to become this year's winner...

Apparently, elections can kill you.

Posted on October 05, 2008
What with all the fund raising letters, telephone polls, negative campaigning and 24 hour news cycle spin, I guess it was inevitable that someone would discover that elections are hazardous to your health. In fact, you are 18% more likely to die in an auto accident during voting hours on election day...

The Pink Panzer?

Posted on October 05, 2008
I guess I'm dating myself but I remember when the only muscle powered vehicles that people attempted to build involved orange crates and old roller skates. Now they apparently involve pneumatic cannon and bizarre urban camouflage. Via PopSci.

Maybe I should go on a junket factfinding tour.

Posted on October 03, 2008
The New York Times had this interesting piece the other day about how judges are more involved in making foreign policy.

Remembering 9/11

Posted on September 11, 2008

Tagged!

Posted on September 07, 2008
Even though he is on vacation, Ken has managed to tag me. As he says, the rules are simple: name 5 blogs I read and tag 5 blawgers. Note the difference between blogs and blawgs (law releated blogs). The blogs I read the most in no particular order are: The Scott Adams Blog - by the creator of Dilbert Autoblog - for the car enthusiast Autoblog Green - OK, so I'm also a bit of a treehugger.

If you cross the Da Vinci Code with any John Grisham novel, this would be the result.

Posted on August 19, 2008

Divorce Economics - New Jersey Style.

Posted on August 14, 2008

No mistrial for a fake heart attack. Instead, how about 42 years.

Posted on July 19, 2008
Whenever somebody decides to represent himself, every lawyer and judge in the vicinity shakes their head because they know the likely result will not be pretty. In the case of Keison Wilkins, it actually paid off in an acquittal for him on a charge of felonious assault back in 2005...

Happy Birthday America!

Posted on July 04, 2008

The Chinese idea of a S.W.A.T. Team,

Posted on July 03, 2008

Maybe the missing weapons of mass destruction were in Saddam Hussein's ipod.

Posted on June 26, 2008

The only federal courthouse that serves two different federal districts and circuits.

Posted on June 11, 2008

An example of why leaving it up to a judge should always be a last resort.

Posted on June 07, 2008

This is why you should clean your closet out occassionally.

Posted on June 01, 2008

Memorial Day

Posted on May 26, 2008
We remember.

In Minnesota, you waive your right to counsel when you beat up the one you have.

Posted on May 25, 2008

British judges boldly go 700 years into the (near) future.

Posted on May 16, 2008

Airlines really do treat their customers like [excrement]!

Posted on May 14, 2008

"Peebling" judges.

Posted on May 01, 2008

Now this is just plain silly!

Posted on May 01, 2008

Deadingcake?

Posted on April 20, 2008

What ?s in a name? That which we call a rose gang by any other name ..... (Romeo and Juliet, Act II, Scene 2)

Posted on April 13, 2008

15 houses that will cause you to stop and stare.

Posted on April 12, 2008

This law school is to moot court and trial advocacy competitions what UCLA under John Wooden used to be to college basketball.

Posted on April 08, 2008

First they steal your identity and then they steal your house.

Posted on March 26, 2008
Network World reports here that the FBI is concerned that identity theft may just be the first step in stealing people's houses right out from under them. From the FBI website: ... The con artists start by picking out a house to steal - say, YOURS...

Greener and cheaper death from the skies..

Posted on March 22, 2008

What NOT to do in that job interview.

Posted on March 15, 2008
In one capacity or another, I have been hiring young lawyers for the last 25 years and I know from personal experience that law schools graduate a lot of folks who, notwithstanding a first-class legal education, lack the social skills and common sense to handle a job interview in anything but a disastrous fashion...

"Elvis" late for court and drunk to boot.

Posted on March 12, 2008

It's news when a law school actually teaches law students how to practice law.

Posted on March 11, 2008
I am not alone in my criticism of the current model of legal education which the ABA has pushed on American law schools. Fortunately, according to the Associated Press, some law schools are getting back to the basics of training men and women to actually represent clients...