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It's (Barely) Legal

A regular compilation about the law and legal news from Glen Ashman, who has been a municipal judge since 1988 and a lawyer since 1980
By Glen Ashman

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Last Entry: November 11, 2009 at 16:43:29

He's 95 and on the bench

Posted on November 11, 2009
Senior U.S. District Judge Malcolm Muir turned 95 last week and is stillon the job ABA JournalOne of Muir's earlier memories is the end of World War I, an occasion heremembers because church bells and sirens commemorated the victory, theSun Gazette reports...

Judicial Recusals

Posted on November 02, 2009
Congress Set to Take Aim at Judicial RecusalsThe National Law JournalCongress is preparing to wade into one of the most sensitive of issues for the federal judiciary: when a judge should step aside in a case and who should make that decision. The House Judiciary Committee, led by Rep...

Man sues underwear company

Posted on October 27, 2009
Albert Freed won a trip to Hawaii. As part of the vacation celebration, Mrs. Freed bought her husband some new Hanes brand briefs. But Mr. Freed is a husky gentleman, and apparently the new trunks couldn?t contain all of his junk. He sued Hanes, claiming they made ?defective? underwear...

Lender can't prove mortgage exists

Posted on October 26, 2009
A federal bankruptcy judge in New York created new uncertainties for mortgage servicers when he expunged a mortgage debt after the servicer could not provide sufficient documentation that it had a claim on the home. The ruling came earlier this month in bankruptcy court in the Southern District of New York in a case involving Mount Laurel, New Jersey-based PHH Mortgage and a property in White Plains...

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Racist hotel owner faces pickets

Posted on October 26, 2009
Hotel owner tells Hispanic workers to change names AP ? Mon Oct 26, 4:13 am ET TAOS, N.M. ? Larry Whitten marched into this northern New Mexico town in late July on a mission: resurrect a failing hotel. The tough-talking former Marine immediately laid down some new rules...

Craigslist or Craigslust?

Posted on October 23, 2009
Judge Dismisses Sheriff's Lawsuit over Craigslist's "Erotic Services" ListingsDART V. CRAIGSLIST, INC.(N. Dist. of Ill.) - In another win for interactive service providers under the Communications Decency Act, a federal judge in Illinois has granted Craigslist's motion for a judgment on the pleadings in a suit over the website's former "erotic services" listings...

Racist judge won't marry couple

Posted on October 15, 2009
This judge is a disgrace to the bench. Hopefully Louisiana will immediately remove him (for life) from the bench. Interracial couple denied marriage license in La. AP ? NEW ORLEANS - A Louisiana justice of the peace said he refused to issue a marriage license to an interracial couple out of concern for any children the couple might have...

Company fined for selling living trusts

Posted on October 14, 2009
$6.4M fine for illegal practice of law AP ? Wed Oct 14, 4:55 pm ET COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Ohio Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered two estate planning companies and their co-owners to pay nearly $6.4 million, the state's largest-ever fine for the fraudulent practice of law...

Free honeymoons to halt divorce rate?

Posted on October 13, 2009
Free honeymoons to halt divorce rate? Reuters ? Mon Oct 12, 2:57 pm ET KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia's eastern state of Terengganu is offering free honeymoons worth up to $440 each to rekindle the romance between married couples on the brink of divorce...

Police stop more than 1 million people

Posted on October 09, 2009
Police stop more than 1 million people on street AP ? NEW YORK - A teenager trying to get into his apartment after school is confronted by police. A man leaving his workplace chooses a different route back home to avoid officers who roam a particular street...

Obama, GOP extend "Patriot" Act

Posted on October 08, 2009
Obama Sides with Republicans; PATRIOT Act Renewal Bill Passes Senate Judiciary Comm ... From the EFF (blog) Well, it looks like most of the Senators on the Senate Judiciary Committee weren't swayed by this morning's New York Times editorial, which cited this morning's Committee meeting to consider USA PATRIOT Act renewal as a "critical chance to add missing civil liberties and privacy protections, address known abuses and trim excesses that contribute nothing to making America safer...

Bankruptcy Filings Continue to Rise

Posted on October 05, 2009
Consumer bankruptcies soar in September Reuters ? Fri Oct 2, 2:54 pm ET WILMINGTON, Delaware (Reuters) - Consumer bankruptcies soared 41 percent in September from a year before and climbed from August, as high unemployment and the housing market crash took their toll...

Lawyers in Blue Jeans

Posted on September 28, 2009
Judge to lawyer: Dress well in court Reuters ? Fri Sep 25, 12:44 pm ET NEW YORK (Reuters) - ... A federal judge in Brooklyn, New York on Thursday threw out a complaint by a lawyer alleging a constitutional right to wear jeans and a baseball hat in a courtroom...

Divorce in America: Ind., Fla. tops

Posted on September 25, 2009
Divorce in America: Ind., Fla. tops AP ? Thu Sep 24, 9:45 am ET ISLAMORADA, Fla. - Divorce is as common in the Florida Keys as fresh grouper and cold beer. Census statistics released this week show that Monroe County ? which includes the cluster of 1,700 islands floating off South Florida ? has the second-highest proportion of divorced residents...

Fox News gets caught (again) lying

Posted on September 19, 2009
Fox News gets caught (again) lying to its viewers: Rival networks fire back over Fox News rally ad AP ? Fri Sep 18, 7:58 pm ET LOS ANGELES - Fox News Channel's competitors fired back Friday at the network over ads in three major newspapers claiming Fox alone covered last weekend's protest in Washington, D...

Do You Have the Right to Flip Off a Cop?

Posted on September 16, 2009
Do You Have the Right to Flip Off a Cop? Time.com ? Wed Sep 16, 2:50 am ET David Hackbart was mad, and he wanted to show it, but he didn't think he would end up in federal court protecting his right to a rude gesture and demanding that the city of Pittsburgh stop violating the First Amendment rights of its residents...

The Failure of Bankruptcy Reform

Posted on September 15, 2009
Sep 15 2009, 11:57 am by Mike Konczal The Atlantic The goals of the controversial 2005 Bankruptcy Reform were to both lower the number of those filing bankruptcy and also to increase the amount recovered post bankruptcy by forcing consumers into Chapter 13 bankruptcies...

What Lawyers CAN'T Say in a Blog

Posted on September 13, 2009
A Legal Battle: Online Attitude vs. Rules of the Bar By JOHN SCHWARTZ - The New York Times "Sean Conway was steamed at a Fort Lauderdale judge, so he did what millions of angry people do these days: he blogged about her, saying she was an ?Evil, Unfair Witch...

Maverick Judge in Court

Posted on September 09, 2009
A rather interesting case... Spain's top judge in court in jurisdiction dispute AP ? MADRID - The Spanish judge famous for indicting Augusto Pinochet and Osama bin Laden appeared in court Wednesday with the tables turned: this time he was a suspect, accused of overstepping his authority in a huge domestic case involving Spanish civil war atrocities...

Fire chief shot by cop in Ark. court

Posted on September 04, 2009
Fire chief shot by cop in Ark. court over tickets AP ? Thu Sep 3, 7:41 pm ET JERICHO, Ark. - It was just too much, having to return to court twice on the same day to contest yet another traffic ticket, and Fire Chief Don Payne didn't hesitate to tell the judge what he thought of the police and their speed traps...

Judge silences defendant with duct tape

Posted on September 02, 2009
Ohio judge silences defendant with duct tape AP ? Tue Sep 1, 9:05 pm ET CANTON, Ohio - An Ohio judge unhappy with repeated interruptions from a robbery suspect ordered a deputy to put duct tape over the defendant's mouth. Canton Municipal Court Judge Stephen Belden says the taping last Thursday was the best way to restore order at a hearing for 51-year-old Harry Brown of Canton...

Anti-Islamic Judge Sued in Michigan

Posted on August 26, 2009
One would think, after all the publicity from the similar Georgia cases a year ago (the result of which is a Georgia court rule allowing religious headdress in court) that a Judge in Michigan would have shown far better judgment: Muslim woman sues judge in headscarf incident Detroit Free Press A 32-year-old Muslim woman from Dearborn Heights filed a federal lawsuit today against a Wayne County judge, claiming he forced her to take off her hijab, an Islamic headscarf, during a court appearance in June...

Today's Dumbest Move by a Lawyer

Posted on August 24, 2009
Lawyer's Mortgage Argument Gets Him a Second SanctionNew York Law JournalA New York judge has declined to vacate a $14,000 sanction against a lawyer who argued that the judgment would prevent him from obtaining a favorable mortgage modification on his home...

Judge in Death Row Case Goes On Trial

Posted on August 17, 2009
Texas Judge Who Closed Court as Death-Row Appeal Was Drafted Faces TrialThe Associated PressAs lawyers frantically tried to file the last-minute appeal that could have halted the execution of a death row inmate, the Texas judge who oversaw the only court that could hear it was preparing to end her day...

This Judge needs to lose his job

Posted on August 14, 2009
Md. Judge Admits Deflating Tire Over Parking SpotThe Associated PressA judge in Charles County, Md., has acknowledged deflating a tire of a car parked in a restricted area near the courthouse, but he isn't apologizing. Circuit Court Judge Robert Nalley tells a local TV station that he let out the air because leaving notes for illegal parkers is not effective...

Fla. doc fired over 'doughnuts'

Posted on August 14, 2009
Fla. doc fired over 'doughnuts equal death' sign AP - Thu Aug 13, 4:41 PM PENSACOLA, Fla. - Dr. Jason Newsom railed against burgers, french fries, fried chicken and sweet tea in his campaign to promote better eating in a part of the country known as the Redneck Riviera...

Ill. man faces 6 months in jail for yawn

Posted on August 11, 2009
Ill. man faces 6 months in jail for yawning AP ?JOLIET, Ill. ? Drowsy spectators in one suburban Chicago courtroom might want to stifle their yawns from now on. Clifton Williams, 33, of Richton Park, is facing six months in jail for making what court documents call a yawn-like sound in Will County Judge Daniel Rozak's court last month...

Twitter sued for patent infringement

Posted on August 10, 2009
Twitter sued for patent infringement over emergency 'tweets' National Law Journal Alerting the public about a fire, hurricane or traffic accident on Twitter is an unlawful tweet. So claims TechRadium, a company suing Twitter for alleged patent infringement for allowing municipalities, companies, and government agencies to use its site as an emergency notification system...

After the Fall

Posted on August 10, 2009
After the Fall National Law Journal The recent collapse of Heller Ehrman, Thacher Proffitt & Wood, Thelen and WolfBlock sent about 1,800 attorneys into a dreadful job market, among them firm chairmen and dozens of practice leaders who once served as foundations of their former law firms...

Most lawyers refuse to join the ABA

Posted on July 27, 2009
ABA Seeks to Shore Up Waning MembershipThe National Law JournalABA membership isn't growing at the same rate as the profession, according to its incoming president, a White & Case partner, who notes that the association doesn't even represent half of all U...

Superman Makes Bail: Busted in NYC

Posted on July 16, 2009
PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK V. MAKSIM KATSNELSON(Criminal Court of the City of N.Y., New York County, July 15, 2009) - A Bronx man dressed as Superman scuffled with New York City Police for the second time in a week, spent the night in jail, and had help from his mother posting $1,000 in bail...

Car was a-rockin', law went a-knockin'

Posted on July 11, 2009
Police: Couple charged with having sex in drug car AP SAN ANTONIO ? The car was a-rockin', so the law went a-knockin'. Bexar County sheriff's deputies drawn by the actions of an amorous couple in a parked car allegedly found more than amour. Deputy Ino Badillo told the San Antonio Express-news that they also found enough equipment and chemicals in the car to start a methamphetamine lab.

Catholic law professors are ministers?

Posted on July 10, 2009
Seeking to Avoid Termination Suit, Catholic Law School Claims Professors Are MinistersThe National Law JournalAre Catholic law school professors really ministers? A Michigan trial judge will decide that next week in a controversial employment dispute involving Ave Maria School of Law, which is trying to declare law professors as ministers to avoid a wrongful termination suit filed by three former professors...

State sues feds over gay marriage

Posted on July 09, 2009
Massachusetts AG challenges Defense of Marriage Act National Law Journal Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley filed a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a federal law defining marriage as a union between one man and one woman, which denies same-sex couples married in Massachusetts access to certain federal benefits...

Big Class Actions Against the Feds

Posted on June 22, 2009
Big Class Actions Against the Feds May FalterThe National Law JournalA case quietly winding through the federal courts in Washington could dramatically change the rules for plaintiffs across the country who file big-money class actions against the federal government...

Supreme Ct:Innocents Should Stay in Jail

Posted on June 19, 2009
Court rules that DNA testing is not a prisoner's right Kansas City Star WASHINGTON | The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that prisoners have no constitutional right to DNA testing that might prove their innocence long after their convictions. The court?s conservative majority prevailed 5-4 in a ruling that could be limited because 47 states and the federal government already allow DNA testing in some circumstances...

The Catcher in the Rye, Revisted

Posted on June 18, 2009
Federal Judge Mulls Copyright Status for Salinger's Holden CaulfieldNew York Law JournalA federal judge on Wednesday said she had "serious" doubts about whether a purported meditation on the relationship between author J.D. Salinger and his creation Holden Caulfield is a fair use of material from Salinger's classic novel "The Catcher in the Rye...

What happens if you've sued GM?

Posted on June 15, 2009
Plaintiff Suits Against Automakers Stall OutThe National Law JournalAs Chrysler and GM dispose of billions of dollars in assets and debts, there are potentially thousands of death and injury claims that either will be out of luck or will face near insurmountable obstacles to success...

Lawyers Can Send Junk Faxes

Posted on June 12, 2009
N.Y. High Court Finds Attorney's Unsolicited Faxes Did Not Violate Communications ActNew York Law JournalUnsolicited faxes distributed by a lawyer specializing in attorney malpractice cases were basically informational, not promotional, and did not violate federal laws and rules against improper solicitations, the New York Court of Appeals ruled Thursday, reversing an appeals court finding that Andrew Lavoott Bluestone's faxes "indirectly proposed a commercial transaction...

Bribe a judge with campaign money?

Posted on June 08, 2009
Supreme Court Issues Landmark Ruling on Judicial RecusalThe National Law JournalIn a landmark ruling that could affect state judicial elections nationwide, the Supreme Court on Monday ruled that due process requires a state judge to recuse when a party in a case before him or her has had a "significant or disproportionate" influence on placing the judge on the court through a large campaign donation...

FTC Pulls Plug on Child Porn ISP

Posted on June 07, 2009
FTC Pulls Plug on Vile ISP TechNewsWorld - Jun 5, 2009 In its first enforcement action against an ISP, the FTC squelched a company accused of aggressively soliciting business in the distribution of child pornography, violent pornography, depictions of bestiality and other sordid criminal wares...

Attorneys Who Defend Poor Want a Raise

Posted on June 04, 2009
Attorneys Who Defend Poor Want a RaiseThe Associated PressAttorneys who are paid by the state of Wisconsin to defend the poor say they deserve a raise. The State Bar of Wisconsin and the state public defender's office are pushing for a $30 an hour increase in the rate paid to private attorneys who volunteer to defend people who can't afford a lawyer...

If you touch my butt ...

Posted on May 27, 2009
Attorney Convicted of Sex Abuse for 'Cupping' Buttocks of Law GuardianNew York Law JournalA 72-year-old New York lawyer has been convicted of harassing a law guardian during a court proceeding, a misdemeanor charge of third-degree sexual abuse. Robert Kahn was accused of "cupping the left side of [the law guardian's] buttocks" as she leaned over to retrieve a file, according to the DA's office...

Two landmark court rulings today

Posted on May 26, 2009
Supreme Court Rules Suspects Can Be Interrogated Without LawyerThe Associated PressThe Supreme Court has overturned a long-standing ruling that stops police from initiating questions unless a defendant's lawyer is present, a move that will make it easier for prosecutors to interrogate suspects...

Female Lawyers in Skimpy Skirts

Posted on May 21, 2009
From the ABA Journal: Women lawyers tempted to go to court looking like Ally McBeal should take note: Male judges find the look distracting. Two male judges confessed that they can?t help but look at a panel session during the Seventh Circuit Bar Association...

Prosecutors keep innocent men in jail

Posted on May 18, 2009
Prosecutors Block Access to DNA Testing for Inmates By SHAILA DEWAN - NY TimesProsecutors' resistance to reopening cases is causing years of delay, sometimes eliminating the chance to try other suspects...A recent analysis of 225 DNA exonerations by Brandon L...

Man uses 'cahier's check' at FBI office

Posted on May 09, 2009
Man allegedly uses 'cahier's check' at FBI office AP - Fri May 8, 9:04 PM ET MONROE, La. - If you're going to buy something with a forged cashier's check, don't misspell "cashier's" or use an FBI office as your shipping address. Monroe police said they arrested 44-year-old man after he did both...

SC court halts thousands of foreclosures

Posted on May 05, 2009
SC court halts thousands of foreclosures Tue May 5, 4:19 PM ET AP COLUMBIA, S.C. - South Carolina's highest court on Tuesday temporarily stopped thousands of pending foreclosure sales in the state to give homeowners more time to take advantage of a new federal program to help them refinance mortgages...

8-year-old girl divorces 50-year-old man

Posted on May 01, 2009
8-year-old Saudi girl divorces 50-year-old husband AP - CAIRO - An 8-year-old Saudi girl has divorced her middle-aged husband after her father forced her to marry him last year in exchange for about $13,000, her lawyer said Thursday. Saudi Arabia has come under increasing criticism at home and abroad for permitting child marriages...

Landmark decision from Supreme Court

Posted on April 22, 2009
Supreme Court limits warrantless vehicle searches AP - Tue Apr 21, 2:56 PM ET WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that police need a warrant to search the vehicle of someone they have arrested if the person is locked up in a patrol cruiser and poses no safety threat to officers...

Mom ordered daughters out, drove off

Posted on April 21, 2009
Police say mom ordered daughters out, drove off AP - WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. - Usually, it's an empty threat: "If you kids don't stop fighting, I'm going to stop this car right now and leave you here!" But a mother from an upper-crust New York suburb went through with it, ordering her battling 10- and 12-year-old daughters out of her car in White Plains' business district and driving off, police said Tuesday...

8-Year-Old's Marriage OK'd by Court

Posted on April 17, 2009
8-Year-Old's Marriage OK'd by Court WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Wednesday called the case of an 8-year-old Saudi girl married to a man 50 years older a "clear and unacceptable violation of human rights," in a rare criticism of its oil-producing ally...

Atty loses license for not paying loan

Posted on April 14, 2009
FROM THE UPCOMING ISSUE | Texas appeals court revokes attorney's license for failing to repay student loan, other debts National Law JournalAn appeals court in Texas has revoked the license of Houston attorney for failing to repay his students loans and other debts...

F-U (it's not what it seems)

Posted on April 09, 2009
Woman's tofu license plate curdles in Colo. AP DENVER - One Colorado woman's love for tofu has been judged X-rated by state officials. Kelly Coffman-Lee wanted to tell the world about her fondness for bean curd by picking certain letters for her SUV's license plate...

Good deed by new lawyers

Posted on April 09, 2009
National Law Journal | Public interest law lures deferred associates Call it a mixer for the new economy. Law school grads and 3Ls interested in public interest law met at Newark's Performing Arts Center with public interest organizations looking to hire them for the short term ? and for free...

When prosecutors lie...

Posted on April 02, 2009
Govt. seeks to reverse Ted Stevens' conviction AP - Wed Apr 1, 5:00 PM ET WASHINGTON - Faced with embarrassing revelations about withheld evidence, the Justice Department on Wednesday moved to reverse the conviction of former Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens, who lost his bid for re-election just days after a jury found that he had lied about gifts and home renovations...

Officer! Stop that chair!

Posted on March 31, 2009
Ohio man charged with drunken driving on bar stool AP - Tue Mar 31, 5:10 PM NEWARK, Ohio - Authorities in Ohio say a man has been charged with drunken driving after crashing his motorized bar stool. Police in Newark, 30 miles east of Columbus, say when they responded to a report of a crash with injuries on March 4, they found a man who had wrecked a bar stool powered by a deconstructed lawn mower.

Judges Jail Kids for Cash

Posted on March 26, 2009
Pa. judges accused of jailing kids for cash AP Feb. 11 2009 WILKES-BARRE, Pa. - For years, the juvenile court system in Wilkes-Barre operated like a conveyor belt: Youngsters were brought before judges without a lawyer, given hearings that lasted only a minute or two, and then sent off to juvenile prison for months for minor offenses...

Justices reject speedy trial challenge

Posted on March 17, 2009
Justices reject speedy trial challenge National Law JournalThe prosecution cannot be held responsible for the inability or unwillingness of public defenders or assigned counsel to move a defendant's case forward, the U.S. Supreme Court held in a speedy trial challenge in which it took six lawyers and nearly three years to bring the defendant to trial...

Update on a Multi-Billion Ponzi Scheme

Posted on March 09, 2009
Madoff Waives Indictment, Set to Plead GuiltyNew York Law JournalDue to appear in federal court Thursday, Bernard Madoff seems set to plead guilty in the multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme that shocked the nation. If Madoff has pledged to cooperate with the government in a plea deal, it would signal that the government considers the investigation far from over and may be close to obtaining charges against others in the scheme...

Inmate access to records becomes problem

Posted on February 22, 2009
Wash. might limit inmates' access to records Sun Feb 22, 1:57 PM ET AP SEATTLE - An entrepreneurial spirit struck Allan Parmelee last fall as he sat in a Washington state prison, where he's serving 17 years for bombing the cars of two lawyers.Â According to the state attorney general's office, Parmelee wrote to his brother â€” who's serving 11 years in Michigan for child pornography â€” saying they could make a killing collecting fines from government agencies around the country that take too long to respond to burdensome requests for public records...

Facebook,MySpace full of sex offenders

Posted on February 19, 2009
Facebook, MySpaceÂ remove 95,o00 sex offenders AP - RALEIGH, N.C. - Facebook has removed more than 5,500 convicted sex offenders from its social networking Web site since May, Connecticut's attorney general said Thursday...Earlier this month, rival networking site MySpace announced it had removed 90,000 sex offenders in a two-year period.

Man beheads wife at NY TV Network

Posted on February 18, 2009
Muslim TV exec accused of beheading wife in NY Wed Feb 18, 2:06 AM ET AP ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. - The crime drips with brutal irony: a woman decapitated, allegedly by her estranged husband, in the offices of the television network the couple founded with the hope of countering Muslim stereotypes...

Get rid of your State Farm insurance?

Posted on January 28, 2009
Ask a group of personal injury lawyers which insurance company is the worst one out there for handling claims and I bet you hear State Farm at least 90% of the time. That's reason enough to get insurance with a top-line company rated highly by Consumer Reports, Clarkhoward...

A double victory for criminal defendants

Posted on January 13, 2009
A double victory for criminal defendants National Law JournalThe Supreme Court issued two opinions this morning, both of them striking down lower court opinions that had favored prosecutors. In one decision, the justices agreed that a failure to report to prison is not the kind of prior "violent felony" conviction that triggers a 15-year mandatory prison sentence for someone found guilty of illegal possession of a firearm...

Sheriff jailed for starving inmates

Posted on January 08, 2009
Federal judge arrests Ala. sheriff over jail food Wed Jan 7, 10:46 PM ET AP DECATUR, Ala. - A federal judge ordered an Alabama sheriff locked up in his own jail Wednesday after holding him in contempt for failing to adequately feed inmates while profiting from the skimpy meals...

Legal Public Interest Groups Hit

Posted on January 04, 2009
Legal Public Interest Groups Hit by Madoff The National Law Journal Dozens of public interest legal organizations have been hit financially by the collapse of Bernie Madoff's alleged $50 billion Ponzi scheme and are scrambling to make up the shortfalls...

When photo lineups are wrong...

Posted on January 03, 2009
Dallas police to participate in photo lineup study AP - Thu Jan 1, 6:26 PM ET DALLAS - Police in Dallas, where numerous convictions based on eyewitness testimony have been overturned, are taking part in a study to determine the best way to prevent witnesses from picking the wrong suspects in photo lineups...

School tempts students with free tuition

Posted on December 24, 2008
SoCal law school tempts students with free tuitionAP - Wed Dec 24, 1:30 PM ET IRVINE, Calif. - A new law school opening next fall in Southern California is offering a big incentive to top students who might be thinking twice about the cost of a legal education during the recession: free tuition for three years...

Former Judge Loses $67 Mil. Pants Case

Posted on December 20, 2008
A title="http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202426869941" style="FONT: bold 14px Verdana; COLOR: #18359d" href="http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202426869941" target="_blank"Former Judge Loses $67 Million Pants Case/ABR /FONT face="verdana,helvetica" size="2"SPAN style="FONT: 11px verdana"Legal Times/SPAN/FONTBR /BR /FONT face="verdana,helvetica" size="2"SPAN style="FONT: 11px verdana"Former administrative judge Roy Pearson?s infamous $67 million pants case has finally ended, and according to a ruling handed down Thursday by the U...

Meet Charles White, one mean S.O.B.

Posted on December 11, 2008
Charles White wins the award for the meanest S.O.B. in Oregon. Tow driver demands 'drop fee' from assault victim AP â€“ WedÂ DecÂ 10, 4:43Â pmÂ ET WILSONVILLE, Ore. â€“ Neither a bloody face nor a deputy's plea could stop a tow-truck driver from doing what he's paid to do...

More are getting away with murder in US

Posted on December 09, 2008
More are getting away with murder in US AP - Mon Dec 8, 5:30 PM ET CHICAGO - Despite the rise of DNA fingerprinting and other "CSI"-style crime-fighting wizardry, more and more people in this country are getting away with murder. FBI figures reviewed by The Associated Press show that the homicide clearance rate, as detectives call it, dropped from 91 percent in 1963 ? the first year records were kept in the manner they are now ? to 61 percent in 2007.

Maybe prison is a bit too plush?

Posted on December 06, 2008
Maybe Germany is being a bit too kind to those in prison? German inmates have right to aftershave: top court Tue Dec 2, 12:07 PM ET BERLIN (AFP) - Even hardened criminals have a right to aftershave and hand cream, Germany's highest court said Tuesday, approving the appeal of a male inmate against gender discrimination.

Man must support another man's child

Posted on December 06, 2008
Paper: Man forced to support someone else's child AP - Sat Dec 6, 2:04 AM ET HARRISBURG, Pa. - A Philadelphia man was forced to pay more than $12,000 in child support for another man's daughter and spent two years in jail for falling behind on payments...

More Americans serve as their own lawyer

Posted on November 24, 2008
More Americans serving as their own lawyers AP - Mon Nov 24, 2:37 PM OMAHA, Neb. - When Danielle Nitzel found her three-year-old marriage drawing its last breath in 2004, she couldn't afford the minimum of $1,000 she was told she would need to hire a divorce lawyer...

The Christmas present no one should give

Posted on November 23, 2008
Beware Of Gift Card 'Gotchas'ForbesÂ Weakened and bankrupt retailers may leave consumers stranded with $100 million of worthless store gift cards this year, according to some estimates, though many stores are honoring their cards, at least for now. Circuit City is one...

Is Chief Justice Roberts Bored?

Posted on November 18, 2008
Chief Justice Roberts Adds a Touch of Noir to His DissentLegal TimesIs Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. already getting bored with traditional opinion-writing? Or, as one mystery writer and former attorney speculates, could he have lost a bet to Justice Antonin Scalia? In an extraordinary dissent from a Supreme Court denial of review issued in a fairly routine drug arrest case, Roberts starts off with two paragraphs that hark back to the best, or worst, of the hard-boiled mystery genre...

Today's Dumbest Criminals

Posted on November 11, 2008
All from today's AP newswire:Man calls cops but leaves pot pipe in plain sight AP SHEBOYGAN, Wis. - A 28-year-old man reporting a burglary faces drug charges after responding officers say they found a marijuana pipe in his bedroom. A criminal complaint filed Tuesday said officers saw the pipe in plain view in Justin Luecke's bedroom and found marijuana stems and seeds in the living room...

Today's dumbest criminals

Posted on November 06, 2008
Victim drives sleeping rapist to police station Wed Nov 5, 10:15 AM ET WELLINGTON (Reuters) - A New Zealand rape victim drove her rapist to a police station when he fell asleep in his car after assaulting the woman, local media reported on Wednesday...

Federal judge solicited prostitutes

Posted on November 02, 2008
10th Circuit Drops Judicial Conduct Probe of Former Federal Judge The National Law Journal The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has dropped its judicial conduct investigation of U.S. District Judge Edward W. Nottingham of the District of Colorado, who was accused of soliciting prostitutes and spending thousands of dollars at a topless nightclub...

Typos and Errors Lead to Slashed Fees

Posted on October 28, 2008
The Legal IntelligencerSubmitting a pleading riddled with typos and other errors has cost an attorney some big bucks. A federal judge spent three pages describing the errors, and ultimately slashed the $180,000 in requested fees to about $26,000. The attorney said in an interview that he relies too heavily on spell-checking software and that he accidentally filed an unproofed draft while using an electronic filing system...

Forget the lawyers. Let the jury ask.

Posted on October 06, 2008
An evolving trend is to let jurors participate in trials.Â Â Some stories on this change: From 2000: From American Lawyer Media "What? A jury ask someone on the stand questions? Unbelievable. But in a case of first impression, two judges of the 6th U...

"a gang rape ... by a bunch of lawyers"

Posted on October 02, 2008
Client's 'Frivolous' Motion in Divorce Case Leads to Attorney SanctionNew York Law JournalA judge has taken an attorney to task for standing "blindly behind" a matrimonial client's recusal motion and her "fifty-three page diatribe" against the court for rejecting her bid to relocate to Texas with her children...

New software to copy DVDs

Posted on October 01, 2008
Studios Sue to Bar a DVD Copying ProgramNew York TimesBy BRAD STONE Six major movie studios sued RealNetworks, the Seattle-based digital media company, on Tuesday over its new $30 software program Movie Studios, RealNetworks Sue Each Other In DVD-Copying DisputeInformationWeekRealDVD software lets people rent DVDs from a legitimate video-rental store and build a library of copied movies without ever buying a DVD...

You can be jailed for having a blog

Posted on September 28, 2008
Italy Makes Blogging A 2 Year Jailable Offense A Sicilian judge ruled earlier this year that blogging, under Italian law, is the same as publishing an unregistered newspaper. In Italy, publishing an unregistered newspaper is a crime of "stampa clandestina," and is punishable by large fines and/or jail...

Fart at cop; go to jail

Posted on September 25, 2008
Charge dropped against man accused of passing gas AP - Thu Sep 25, 5:06 PM ET CHARLESTON, W.Va. - A West Virginia man accused of passing gas and fanning it toward a police officer no longer faces a battery charge. The Kanawha County prosecutor's office requested that the charge be dropped against 34-year-old Jose Cruz.

$8-a-Day Award for Amputee Unfair

Posted on August 26, 2008
$8-a-DayÂ Award for AmputeeÂ 'Miscarriage of Justice'New Jersey Law JournalIn an unusual, if not unprecedented, parsing of a medical malpractice verdict, a New Jersey appeals court held last week that a $100,000 pain and suffering award was too low because it amounted to $8 a day for the rest of the plaintiff's life...

Obama, McCain Name Least Favorite Judges

Posted on August 20, 2008
Obama and McCain Pick Their Least Favorite Supreme Court JusticesLegal Times The Supreme Court, usually an also-ran as a presidential election issue, got some significant attention at the Rev. Rick Warren's televised Saddleback Civil Forum on Saturday night...

Married to the Big-Firm Machine

Posted on August 20, 2008
Fulton County Daily ReportLawyers are often described as being married to their jobs. Indeed, the journey through big-firm employment is very similar to a long-term romantic relationship. Humor columnist The Snark describes the stages: infatuation, intrigue, disappointment, failed expectations and unexpected surprises...

When you get too nosiy during sex

Posted on August 15, 2008
Man banned from girlfriend's home after noisy sex AP - Thu Aug 14, 9:00 PM ET LONDON - A British man has been banned from visiting his girlfriend's home after neighbors complained about noisy sex... A court barred Adam Hinton, 32, from being within 110 yards of his 29-year-old girlfriend Kerry Norris' apartment...

Calif. Bans Most Non-Compete Clauses

Posted on August 13, 2008
Calif. High Court Brightens Rule Against Non-Compete PactsThe RecorderIn a ruling long awaited by the employment law sector, the California Supreme Court on Thursday effectively rejected the use of most non-competition agreements in California. The unanimous court held that a state statute with roots in 19th century laws gives California workers great freedom to switch jobs, to compete against old employers and to solicit former clients...

Media Has Right to Juror Names

Posted on August 05, 2008
The Legal IntelligencerIn a ruling that could have far-reaching effects on the handling of high-profile trials, the 3rd Circuit has ruled that the media has a presumptive right of access to jurors' names, and that a federal judge erred when he sought to empanel an anonymous jury in a former coroner's corruption trial...

Rising Debt Cases Reveal Erratic System

Posted on July 29, 2008
The National Law JournalState judicial officials across the U.S. and attorneys who specialize in suing people behind in their bills are joining with debtor advocates to change how cash-strapped courts handle a rising tide of debt-collection lawsuits. Creditors' attorneys are seeking to streamline processing of the cases...

Today's dumbest lawsuit

Posted on July 24, 2008
Woman To Sue Designer Of Racist T-Shirt Because She Got Attacked While Wearing ItÂ (Today's dumbest lawsuit)Â A 25-year-old woman buys a t-shirt with words demeaning to black people and decides to go walking around New York City while wearing it. Â What can possibly go wrong?Â After being attacked by 4 black teenagers in New York City for wearing an "Obama is my slave" t-shirt, which she paidÂ $70 for,Â a 25-year-old Manhattan graduate student says she is going to sue the designer, Apollo Braun,Â for "all he's got...

Court Tosses 'Wardrobe Malfunction' Fine

Posted on July 23, 2008
3rd Circuit Tosses 'Wardrobe Malfunction' Fine Against CBS The Legal IntelligencerThe 3rd Circuit ruled Monday that the FCC should not have imposed fines on CBS for the "wardrobe malfunction" at the 2004 Super Bowl in which singer Janet Jackson's breast was exposed because the agency had unfairly imposed a new, stricter standard without first informing broadcasters...

Fearing Political Backlash, Judges Speak

Posted on July 15, 2008
Fearing Political Backlash, Judges Decide to Go PublicThe National Law JournalThe rise of nasty political campaigns targeting elected state judges nationally, coupled with the cost of judicial elections and a potential backlash over the California Supreme Court's gay marriage decision, has prompted that state's chief justice to hold the first public forum on preserving impartial courts...

A break on your traffic ticket?

Posted on July 15, 2008
TRAFFIC VIOLATION DISMISSALS AGAIN ARE LINKED TO FUTURE CRASH RISK Â Drivers whose traffic violations are dismissed by courts following completion of traffic violator school are more likely to be in another crash within a year than drivers whose convictions remain on their driving records, reports a California Department of Motor Vehicles study that updates a prior DMV study on the same topic...

Those secy hot female lawyers...

Posted on July 08, 2008
'Hot Attorney' Web Site Gets Chilly Reception, Then Gets Iced http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202422828879 The National Law Journal A Web site featuring "hot" young female associates at several prominent law firms quickly pulled the plug Monday after some of the women on the site discovered that their photos and profiles were posted...

Employers use law to cheat employees

Posted on July 05, 2008
Employers use federal ERISA law to deny benefits AP - Sat Jul 5, 11:04 AM ET WASHINGTON - Dying of cancer, Thomas Amschwand did everything he was told to make sure his wife would collect on the life insurance policy he had through his employer.Â Â "He was obsessed with dotting every `i' and crossing every `t'," Melissa Amschwand-Bellinger recalled about her husband, who died in 2001 at age 30...

Will the Supreme Court stop being lazy?

Posted on July 04, 2008
Next Term: A Fatter, Faster Calendar for Supreme Court Legal TimesThe current term is history, so what's up for the Supreme Court's next term, which begins Oct. 6? More cases, heard more quickly, posing a range of tough and possibly divisive issues from religion in the public square to expletives on the public airwaves...

Florida Overcharges to file court cases

Posted on July 03, 2008
Attorneys Predict Hardship From Hikes in Fla. Court FeesDaily Business Review "Justice is going to be very expensive."Â That is how David Mankin, supervising attorney in the housing unit of Broward Legal Services in Plantation, Fla., describes the impact -- particularly on the poor -- of legislatively mandated increases in 144 court fees taking effect statewide today...

Man sells stolen items near robbery site

Posted on July 02, 2008
Man sells stolen items near home that was robbed AP - Wed Jul 2, 2:47 PM ET AP OCALA, Fla. - Police say an Ocala man was selling stolen property at a yard sale in the same neighborhood as the home he robbed. Fred and Betty McAteers, who live in Ocklawaha, arrived at a home they own in Ocala on Monday to find that it had been burglarized.

Buying beer at the drive-in that isn't

Posted on July 01, 2008
Woman crashes into store then tries to buy beer AP - NORWALK, Calif. - A convenience store became an unwilling drive-in when a 74-year-old woman plowed her car through the front window and then tried to buy a six-pack of Budweiser, police and the owner said.

Juveniles have right to jury trial

Posted on June 20, 2008
Kan. court says juveniles have right to jury trial AP TOPEKA, Kan. - The Kansas Supreme Court ruled Friday that juveniles have a constitutional right to a jury trial, a surprise decision that could influence courts in other states and force local prosecutors to retry hundreds of open cases.

Court overturns father's grounding

Posted on June 20, 2008
Court overturns father's grounding of 12-year-old AFP - Wed Jun 18, 2:08 PM ET OTTAWA (AFP) - A Canadian court has lifted a 12-year-old girl's grounding, overturning her father's punishment for disobeying his orders to stay off the Internet, his lawyer said Wednesday.

Stanford Law Drops Letter-Grade System

Posted on June 16, 2008
The National Law JournalStanford Law School plans to drop letter grades as early as this fall, joining Yale University and the University of California at Berkeley's Boalt Hall School of Law. The goals are to shift students away from the focus on grades and prevent course selections that have started to include calculation of instructors' grading habits, according to Stanford Law School Dean Larry Kramer...

9th Circuit's Chief Judge Loves Porn

Posted on June 13, 2008
9th Circuit's Chief Judge Snared in Web of KinkThe RecorderNinth Circuit Chief Judge Alex Kozinski's Web-browsing habits have long been a touchy subject. In 2001, it was then-Chief Justice William Rehnquist who was sounding the alarm, according to the federal court system's former top administrator...

Legal Sector Sees 3rd Month of Job Loss

Posted on June 09, 2008
Legal Sector Sees Third Month of Job LossesThe American LawyerThe U.S. legal service sector lost 1,100 jobs in May, according to Labor Department statistics released Friday. The decline marked three consecutive months of losses for the industry, with layoffs at large firms, along with tightening throughout the market generally, contributing to the numbers...

Texas Judge abuses child in court

Posted on June 06, 2008
Here's a Judge that only should (if this story is true) be removed for life from the bench, but should be arrested and criminally prosecuted for a party to a crime of battery.Â There is no excuse for this. Texas judge sued over paddlings Wed Jun 4, 10:50 PM ET BROWNSVILLE, Texas (AP)Â - A family sued a justice of the peace Wednesday, complaining that he ordered a man to paddle his teenage stepdaughter in the courtroom and threatened to convict her of truancy if he didn't...

Major layoffs at law firms

Posted on June 06, 2008
Law Firms See More Layoffs, Departures of Staff and AssociatesThe Legal IntelligencerAs at least one law firm leader puts it, 2008 is a good time to look at staffing. Among the firms that have recently shed either staff or associates, Blank Rome saw the departure of nine associates after the firm's annual review period, Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll let go of 13 support staff and Reed Smith let go of 50 legal secretaries firmwide...

Just what we need - more lawyers...

Posted on June 05, 2008
A Deluge of Law SchoolsThe National Law JournalAs many as 10 new law schools are in the works, with the majority of them proposed in the Eastern part of the country. While proponents insist that the schools will serve the needs of their communities and beyond, the plans are drawing sharp criticism from those who argue that creating more law schools is irresponsible...

Drunk Male Judge Wears Heels, Dress

Posted on June 05, 2008
Dress-Wearing Judge Will Not Return to the BenchThe National Law JournalMassachusetts federal bankruptcy Judge Robert Somma, who tried to rescind the resignation he tendered after a drunk driving arrest, will not return to the bench. In a two-sentence press release, the 1st Circuit said that Somma is "leaving to pursue other endeavors" and that "the court appreciates the service that Judge Somma has rendered...

Crocodile Tears for Clarence Thomas

Posted on June 03, 2008
Did Affirmative Action Really Hinder Clarence Thomas?The American LawyerU.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas blames Yale Law School -- specifically, its affirmative action program -- for his difficulties securing a job as a first-year associate after his graduation...

Controversy Over Miami Shooting

Posted on May 30, 2008
Legal Blogs Reignite Controversy Over Miami ShootingDaily Business ReviewMore than four years after a Miami-Dade police officer shot and killed 17-year-old Leonardo Barquin during a burglary attempt, a string of interoffice memos from the state attorney's office has surfaced on the Internet, thrusting the open investigation of the shooting back into the spotlight...

Judge: Del Cheats, Abuses Customers

Posted on May 28, 2008
NY judge: Dell engaged in fraud, false advertising Reuters - Tue May 27, 6:08 PM ET SEATTLE (Reuters) - A New York judge ruled against Dell Inc on Tuesday, saying the computer maker engaged in fraud, false advertising, deceptive business and abusive debt collection practices.

Leap Year Doesn't Shorten Statute

Posted on May 22, 2008
Leap Year Doesn't Shorten Statute of LimitationsNew York Law JournalOn March 22, 2007, right on the cusp of a five-year statute of limitations, Jerry Brooks was indicted for allegedly lying on forms he needed to win a contract. His attorney argued that the period for bringing charges had expired because 2004 was a leap year...

California legalizes gay marriage

Posted on May 15, 2008
A landmark decision came out today from the California Superme Court: California court overturns gay marriage ban (AJC)Â Decision says domestic partnerships are not a good enough substitute for marriage. ---------------------------- From Findlaw: CIVIL RIGHTS, CONSTITUTIONAL LAW, FAMILY LAW, HEALTH LAW, INSURANCE LAW, LABOR & EMPLOYMENT LAWIn re Marriage Cases, No...

Bush Sending Consensus Nominees

Posted on May 14, 2008
Bush Sending Consensus Nominees to SenateLegal TimesReality is setting in. With time dwindling for President George W. Bush to get his nominees through, he's looking for compromise. Said one observer of the latest round of nominations and confirmation hearings, "The White House is being realistic knowing that it's the end of the [presidential] term, and they are not going to get their people...

Court blasts Vegas federal prosecutor

Posted on May 14, 2008
9th Circuit Blasts U.S. Prosecutor for Withholding DocumentsThe National Law JournalRoundly denouncing a Las Vegas federal prosecutor for withholding 650 pages of evidence potentially helpful to two lawyers charged in a stock fraud case, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld dismissal of all 64 charges and refused to allow a retrial...

Meet America's Worst Judge

Posted on May 10, 2008
Nevada judge accused of demanding royal treatment Fri May 9, 5:52 PM ET LAS VEGAS (AP) - Elizabeth Halverson is a judge. But the way courthouse staffers see it, she expects to be treated like a queen.Â Â Her former bailiff, for example, says Halverson made him feel like a "houseboy...

Lawyer Hopes F-Word Means 'Forgiven'

Posted on May 07, 2008
Lawyer Hopes F-Word Means 'Forgiven,' Asks Court to Lift SanctionsThe Legal IntelligencerThe lawyer who was hit with sanctions for failing to rein in a foul-mouthed client is asking a judge for permission to drop the client and begging for the sanctions to be lifted...

An Ohio Prosecutor without Common Sense

Posted on May 04, 2008
While most prosecutors are blessed with common sense, oneÂ in McArthur, Ohio may want to look for his.Â At a residential corrections facility a 21 year old shared half a Little Debby cake with a fellow inmate who it turns out was on restriction from eating cakes...

Where can I cash a $360 Billion check?

Posted on May 02, 2008
Man arrested in Texas for trying to cash $360 billion checkAP - FORT WORTH, Texas - Charles Ray Fuller must have been planning one big record company. The 21-year-old North Texas man was arrested last week for trying to cash a $360 billion check, saying he wanted to start a record business...

2/3 of patent judges serve illegally?

Posted on April 30, 2008
Could Constitutional Flaw Unravel Eight Years of Patent Board Rulings?The National Law JournalThe U.S. Patent and Trademark Office may have a major problem on its hands. A petition raising the issue of the possibly unconstitutional appointment of nearly two-thirds of its patent appeals judges has been filed in the U...

Searching computers w/o probable cause

Posted on April 23, 2008
9th Circuit OKs Border Guards' Search of Traveler's LaptopThe RecorderThe 9th Circuit ruled Monday that border control agents who found child porn on a traveler's laptop didn't violate the man's right to be free from unreasonable searches. "We are satisfied that reasonable suspicion is not needed for customs officials to search a laptop or other personal electronic storage devices at the border," Judge Diarmuid O'Scannlain wrote...

Is Debt Settlement Law Firm a Fraud?

Posted on April 19, 2008
Debt Settlement Complaints Lead to Search for 'Attorney'Daily Business ReviewEdward T. Kennedy is listed as a name partner at the Hess Kennedy law firm, but no one with that name is licensed to practice law in Florida. According to a recent State Bar complaint against the firm's Laura Hess, the law firm is running a "deceptive debt settlement scheme" that is long on fees and short on assistance...

How not to be on probation

Posted on April 19, 2008
Man's trip through metal detector turns up drugs AP - Fri Apr 18, 5:01 PM ET DOTHAN, Ala. - A Dothan man attempting to report to his probation officer and pay some fines was re-arrested when he emptied his pockets for a metal detector at the Houston County Courthouse and laid out more than the usual coins and keys.

Judge sentences lawyer to 90 days jail

Posted on April 17, 2008
Judge sentences lawyer to 90 days for lewd gesture AP - Wed Apr 16, 8:01 PM ET AUSTIN, Texas - A flick of the wrist has landed an Austin lawyer in jail for contempt of court. A judge sentenced defense attorney Adam Reposa to 90 days in jail on Tuesday for making a lewd gesture and simulating masturbation while standing before a County Court-at-Law judge in March.

$41 Million Verdict Cut to Zero

Posted on April 16, 2008
The Connecticut Law TribuneThe Connecticut Supreme Court has saved a contractor more than $41 million in liability to a construction worker who was left a paraplegic after a defectively welded girder fell on him. The court found the contractor not liable because the accident was not foreseeable...

Lawyers Keep Day Job, Work at Night

Posted on April 13, 2008
Keep Your Day Job, Then Clock In Nightly at the FirmThe National Law JournalE. James Perullo realized that switching from an IT career to the law would be daunting at age 42, so he's keeping his day job while building an evening-hours law firm. Bay State Legal Services, which Perullo has branded and trademarked as After-Hours Law, is a collection of 14 lawyers and four paralegals who meet clients at their downtown Boston office Monday through Friday between 6 and 10 p...

Donald Trump Sues His Lawyers

Posted on April 09, 2008
Donald Trump Claims Law Firm Treated Him Like a 'Cash Cow'New York Law JournalDonald Trump is claiming the Manhattan law firm that represented him in a lawsuit against an overcharging golf course contractor has, in turn, overcharged him. Trump has filed a legal malpractice suit against Morrison Cohen, claiming the firm treated him like a "cash cow" and performed unnecessary work to generate higher bills...

D.C. Madam Trial Opens

Posted on April 08, 2008
Courtroom Fireworks Predicted as D.C. Madam Trial OpensLegal TimesAlleged "Washington Madam" Deborah Jean Palfrey hasn't been your standard-issue defendant. Since her indictment last March, she's cycled through four lawyers and two judges. She got her company's phone records released and implicated customers, including a U...

An instant classic dumbest criminal tale

Posted on April 08, 2008
One of the funniest stories I have seen about a dumb criminal comes from the city where I am a judge.Â This appeared on the site www.wsbtv.com : Police: Robber Took Cab To, From Bank POSTED: 6:06 pm EDT April 7, 2008 UPDATED: 6:49 pm EDT April 7, 2008 Â EAST POINT, Ga...

Can you be sued for what you post online

Posted on April 05, 2008
9th Circuit: No Immunity for Roommates.com Under Communications Decency ActThe RecorderThe 9th Circuit produced on Thursday what some observers believe is the most nuanced discussion of online content liability in the United States to date. Writing for an 8-3 majority, Chief Judge Alex Kozinski found that the housing Web site Roommates...

Art Imitates Life Too Closely

Posted on April 02, 2008
Art Imitates Life Too Closely, Says Woman Suing Over 'Red Hat Club' BookFulton County Daily ReportIn a rare defamation case over a novel, the Georgia Court of Appeals has cleared the way for a suit by an Atlanta woman who claims an alcoholic, promiscuous character in the book "The Red Hat Club" too closely resembles her...

Don't Let the Bedbugs Bite

Posted on March 31, 2008
Hotel Bedbugs Don't Warrant Punitive Damages, Judge DecidesNew York Law JournalIn a ruling of first impression, a Manhattan judge has scratched a request for punitive damages in a bedbug case. But the judge, Acting Supreme Court Justice Judith J. Gische, let go forward the negligence claims of two Maryland tourists for bites they sustained during a two-night stay at the Milford Plaza Hotel, and for which they're seeking $2 million in compensatory damages...

Supreme Court Tackles a Precedent

Posted on March 26, 2008
Saucier Than Usual, the Supreme Court Tackles a PrecedentLegal Times In granting review in a new case on police immunity Monday, the Supreme Court took the rare step of announcing its intention to examine whether one of its relatively recent precedents, Saucier v...

Judge Disciplined for Shackling Lawyer

Posted on March 23, 2008
Judge Found in Violation of Conduct Code After Ordering Attorney to Be ShackledLegal TimesThe D.C. Commission on Judicial Disabilities and Tenure determined last week that D.C. Superior Court Judge John Bayly Jr. violated the code of judicial conduct when he ordered a Public Defender Service attorney to be shackled after an argument...

One more dumb criminal...

Posted on March 21, 2008
This type call is amazingly somewhat common at some police departments... Australian's break-in report goes to pot Thu Mar 20, 10:38 PM ET SYDNEY (Reuters) - An Australian man has found himself in trouble after calling police to report that his house had been broken into and some of his cannabis plants stolen.

Online Legal Research Revolution

Posted on March 20, 2008
Law Technology NewsWhen nonprofit Public.Resource.Org published 1.8 million pages of federal case law online -- free of copyright or other restrictions -- it encouraged Web developers to build new tools. Attorney Robert J. Ambrogi sees this and other developments as a revolution in online legal research...

Prosecute Spitzer?

Posted on March 14, 2008
Deciding Whether to Prosecute Spitzer Poses Sensitive IssuesNew York Law JournalEthical constraints on prosecutorial discretion are rarely scrutinized more than in cases of political corruption by elected officials of either major party. Against that backdrop, defense attorneys and former prosecutors said Wednesday that U...

NY Governor Caught in Call Girl Sting

Posted on March 11, 2008
NY governor linked to prostitution ring AP - Mon Mar 10, 7:27 PM ET NEW YORK - Gov. Eliot Spitzer's political career teetered on the brink of collapse Monday after the corruption-fighting politician once known as "Mr. Clean" was accused of paying for a four-hour romp with a high-priced call girl...

8-Yr-Old Passes Law School Entrance Test

Posted on March 07, 2008
The Associated PressAn 8-year-old boy with dreams of becoming a judge has passed a law school entrance exam -- shocking Brazil's legal profession and prompting a federal investigation. The Universidade Paulista, a private university, issued a statement acknowledging that the boy had passed the entrance exam and that it initially enrolled him...

Judge Lies to get Credit Cards

Posted on March 07, 2008
The Legal IntelligencerPhiladelphia Municipal Court Judge Deborah S. Griffin's use of a false Social Security number to obtain credit card accounts doesn't rise to the level of an infamous crime that would disqualify her from holding office, her attorney argued Wednesday before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court...

Bank Accuses Lawyers of Debt-Relief Scam

Posted on March 06, 2008
Daily Business ReviewChase Bank USA is suing two Florida attorneys specializing in reducing consumer debt, claiming they are engaging in blatantly illegal and fraudulent practices. Filed in Delaware, the federal suit accuses Hess Kennedy Chartered, Laura Hess, Edward Kennedy and others of using "an unlawful debt elimination scheme" relying on lawsuits challenging valid credit card charges...

Court Faults Removal of Obese Child

Posted on March 03, 2008
Appeals Court Faults Removal of Obese Child From ParentsNew York Law JournalA couple's efforts to control their obese daughter's weight were made in good faith and did not justify a county agency's repeated removal of the girl from her parents' custody, a New York appeals court has ruled...

U.S. Imprisons One in 100 Adults

Posted on February 29, 2008
The U.S. rate also is higher than almsot any nation in the world: U.S. Imprisons One in 100 Adults, Report Finds By ADAM LIPTAK - NY TimesWith 1.6 million people in prison, the incarceration rate is now the highest in American history, a new report says.

Surgeon kills patient to harvest organs

Posted on February 28, 2008
Surgeon Accused in Death of Patient to Get Organs By JESSE McKINLEY - NY Times SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. â€” On a winter night in 2006, a disabled and brain damaged man named Ruben Navarro was wheeled into an operating room at a hospital here. By most accounts, Mr...

"Deal, or No Deal, or a Lawsuit?"

Posted on February 25, 2008
Millions May Be at Stake in Suit Over Hit NBC Game ShowFulton County Daily ReportText messages, cell phones, TV game shows, Howie Mandel: None of these could have been contemplated by Georgia's colonial lawmakers when they passed a law allowing gamblers to recover losses through lawsuits...

Insurer dumps patients in mid-treatment

Posted on February 24, 2008
One of the worst health insurance companies in the business gets its rear (deservedly) whipped in court: Cut-off cancer patient to get $9M AP - Sat Feb 23, 2:30 PM ET LOS ANGELES - A woman who had her medical coverage canceled as she was undergoing treatment for breast cancer has been awarded more than $9 million in a case against one of California's largest health insurers...

Web Site Enjoined From Posting

Posted on February 22, 2008
Web Site Enjoined From Posting Confidential DocumentsThe National Law JournalA federal judge in San Francisco has temporarily enjoined a Web site known for posting a wide array of confidential documents that allege skullduggery by companies and governments around the world...

Court rules against Judge Alex

Posted on February 21, 2008
TV Judges don't always win in real court... Court rules against Judge Alex AP - Wed Feb 20, 11:38 AM ET WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled against the star of the syndicated TV show "Judge Alex," saying that an arbitrator must decide a fee dispute with an attorney who is claiming 12 percent of "Judge Alex's" earnings.

Judge Ups Damages in Stent Patent Case

Posted on February 19, 2008
The Associated PressA patent judgment against Boston Scientific Corp. has jumped to $501 million after a Texas federal judge tacked on an additional $69 million in interest. U.S. District Judge John Ward ruled Thursday to expand the damages award -- decided by a federal jury in Marshall, Texas -- to cover interest on royalties dating back to the medical device maker's 2004 U...

MySpace 'Friend Request' Violates Order

Posted on February 14, 2008
MySpace 'Friend Request' Could Violate Protection OrderNew York Law Journal In a case of apparent first impression, a New York judge has ruled that a MySpace "friend request" can constitute a violation of a temporary order of protection. "While it is true that the person who received the 'friend request' could simply deny the request to become 'friends,' that request was still a contact," the judge wrote...

Skadden Blog's 'Hot Associate' Contest I

Posted on February 12, 2008
The American LawyerWho's the hottest young woman lawyer at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom? Last week that question -- posted on a blog written by two anonymous employees -- sent the New York firm into a bit of a tizzy, with its employment adviser chastising the blog in an e-mail sent to all Skadden lawyers in the United States...

Attorney Charged With Laundering Drug $

Posted on February 08, 2008
Defense Bar Rallies Behind Attorney Charged With Laundering Drug MoneyDaily Business ReviewColleagues call his ethics beyond reproach; Vice President Al Gore relied on him in his fight to get ballots recounted in the 2000 presidential election. But Miami attorney Ben Kuehne appeared Thursday before a federal magistrate charged with laundering $5...

Law Firm Perks Are Nice, but ...

Posted on February 07, 2008
Law Firm Perks Are Nice, but What's the Catch?Fulton County Daily ReportIn the battle to lure and retain associates, some big law firms top off whopping salaries with attractive perks. But do perks benefit the firm as much as the attorney? Allen & Overy now lets lawyers buy and sell vacation days...

Minority Enrollment at Law Schools Down

Posted on February 07, 2008
The National Law JournalA Web site recently established by Columbia Law School paints a dismal picture of enrollment among certain minority groups in law schools. Enrollment of blacks and Mexican-Americans has fallen by 8.6 percent in the past 15 years, as applications to law schools among those two groups have remained constant and as law school enrollment overall has increased...

A ripoff on title insurance?

Posted on February 04, 2008
Consumer Class Action Certified Against Title Insurance Co.The Legal IntelligencerA federal judge has certified a consumer class action against Commonwealth Land Title Insurance, brought by homeowners who claim they were overcharged for title insurance when they refinanced because they were never told they qualified for a discounted premium...

Lawyer's Liability for Baseless Claims

Posted on January 31, 2008
Lawyer's Liability for Client's Baseless ClaimNew Jersey Law JournalNew Jersey's Supreme Court will review a case that could decide whether a lawyer is liable for furthering a client's illegitimate purpose in pursuing litigation. The resolution will have implications for lawyers involved in what a court may deem a strategic lawsuit against public participation, or SLAPP suit, which can invite counterclaims for malicious use of process...

'Ghostwriting' Lawyers Remain Cloaked

Posted on January 30, 2008
New Jersey Law JournalA federal magistrate judge's ruling last year that "ghostwriting" pleadings for a pro se litigant violates a lawyer's ethical duty of candor to the court has caused an uproar loud enough to get a New Jersey Supreme Court ethics committee's attention...

Posting Bail

Posted on January 30, 2008
An interesting read... Illegal Globally Bail for Profit Remains By ADAM LIPTAK - NY Times Bail bondsmen, who post bail for people accused of crimes in exchange for a fee, are all but unknown outside the U.S.

A racist DA in Texas?

Posted on January 28, 2008
Judge Wants Texas District Attorney to Resign Over E-MailsTexas LawyerAs an e-mail flap involving Harris County, Texas, District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal heated up, Judge Ed Emmett said Wednesday that local officials have asked the Texas Office of the Attorney General to investigate Rosenthal to see if his actions may be grounds for removal from office...

Palimony for a mistress?

Posted on January 23, 2008
N.J. High Court Hears Pitch for Palimony Sans CohabitationNew Jersey Law JournalFor the nearly three decades that New Jersey has recognized a cause of action for palimony, cohabitation has been the litmus test. No degree of love, devotion, mutual assurance or sacrifice has been found sufficient without it...

Young Female Lawyers Play by Own Rules

Posted on January 23, 2008
Legal TimesEven 20 years ago, few women managed to combine family and success at a big firm. But today's middle-aged lawyers pushed to make it happen. They worked nonstop, staying up half the night with a brief in one hand and a crying baby in the other, and they succeeded...

The Slowest Federal Judges in the Land

Posted on January 23, 2008
Legal TimesThe Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts last month released its semiannual report on pending cases and motions, the closest thing there is to a judicial report card. The data shows the backlog cuts across age and experience -- but those with the deepest dockets almost uniformly say the rankings fail to account for the nuance of law...

One more dumb criminal

Posted on January 22, 2008
Australians jailed in bungled burglaryAP - Tue Jan 22, 1:09 AM ET MELBOURNE, Australia - Two Australian robbers were sentenced Tuesday for their April Fools Day heist at the Cuckoo Restaurant, where they thought they were hauling away a big sack of cash that turned out to be bread rolls.

Ruling May Shut Down Legal Hotlines

Posted on January 18, 2008
Lawyer-Client Relationships Can Arise From Legal Hotline Calls, Panel RulesNew Jersey Law JournalLawyers who answer legal hotlines can't rely on a disclaimer to avoid forming an attorney-client relationship, even with one-time callers, a New Jersey Supreme Court ethics committee held on Thursday...

CIA Faulted for Destruction of Videos

Posted on January 18, 2008
CIA Faulted for Destruction of Interrogation VideotapesNew York Law JournalA federal judge won't hold the CIA in civil contempt for the 2005 destruction of videotapes of the interrogation of high-level al-Qaida detainees -- but only because it wouldn't do any good...

Can you make a contract via email?

Posted on January 16, 2008
E-Mail Carries the Power of PaperThe National Law JournalA Massachusetts Appeals Court ruling enforcing an e-mail settlement agreement of a contractual dispute between Amazon.com and a software maker serves as a reminder to lawyers that courts will enforce settlements contained in e-mail messages that meet the traditional criteria of an enforceable contract...

Today's dumbest criminal

Posted on January 16, 2008
Not much doubt that this person is not cut out for a life of crime... Talk about things going really wrong... AP - Tue Jan 15, 9:42 PM ET KOKOMO, Ind. - Police say a man accidentally shot himself in the groin as he was robbing a convenience store. A clerk told police a man carrying a semiautomatic handgun entered the Village Pantry Tuesday morning demanding cash and a pack of cigarettes.

Suing your meth supplier

Posted on January 14, 2008
Former Meth Addict's Negligence Suit Proceeds Against Alleged SupplierThe Associated PressA Canadian judge has cleared the way for a damages hearing in the case of a former crystal meth addict who sued her alleged supplier for negligence after her drug overdose put her in the hospital...

Blogging Lessons Learned

Posted on January 11, 2008
The National Law JournalFor attorneys, blogs are powerful tools that can elevate -- or create -- their status as experts in their fields. But blogging isn't for everyone, writes attorney Mark Herrmann, who shares lessons learned in the blogosphere...

Judges wants DA to resign in email flap

Posted on January 11, 2008
Texas LawyerAs an e-mail flap involving Harris County, Texas, District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal heated up, Judge Ed Emmett said Wednesday that local officials have asked the Texas Office of the Attorney General to investigate Rosenthal to see if his actions may be grounds for removal from office...

Dumb (and strange) criminals (part II)

Posted on January 09, 2008
Pair wheel corpse to store to cash check AP - Tue Jan 8, 10:18 PM ET NEW YORK - Two men wheeled a dead man through the streets in an office chair to a check-cashing store and tried to cash his Social Security check before being arrested on fraud charges, police said.

Today's dumbest criminals

Posted on January 08, 2008
Dude, the cops will never smell it LAKEHURST, N.J. (AP) Â - Lakehurst police didn't have to go far to make a marijuana arrest. An officer heading home early Saturday smelled pot burning in the police station parking lot. Â 'Dice shooter' nabbed after complaining IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) - An man who complained to police that he was robbed of his gambling earnings was arrested for illegal betting...

Sperm Donor Not Required to Pay Support

Posted on January 07, 2008
Sperm Donor Not Required to Pay Child SupportThe Legal IntelligencerIn a case of first impression, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has ruled that a sperm donor who gave up his parental rights in an oral contract with the mother of twins can't be required to pay child support...

Today's Dumbest Criminals

Posted on January 04, 2008
Alleged bank robber doesn't notice cop Tue Jan 1, 10:27 PM ET AP BOSTON - An alleged bank robber in Boston should have been more aware of who was behind him in line. Police said Adam Grennan, 39, of Hull, passed a note to a teller at Mt. Washington Bank in Dorchester on Monday, demanding large bills and no "funny money...

Lurid judicial tapes & sharks in ...

Posted on January 03, 2008
Tenn. judge resigns over fantasies tape AP CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - A Tennessee judge resigned last month after making a recording of fantasies so lurid that when the tape fell into the hands of the police and FBI, they thought they were listening to a torture session and believed it might be linked to a murder case...

Lexis/Nexis sued over e-filing ripoff

Posted on December 28, 2007
I want to applaud this lawyer. It is inexcusable how some state courts have teamed with Lexis to in effect jack up filing fees to allow e-filing of cases.Â Electronic filing done right should be free.Â The federal dcourts have it right.Â The Lexis mess that some state courts use is far inferior, costs a lot, and doesn't have the ease of use...