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Legal News

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

Post Frequency: 3.2/day

Last Entry: March 24, 2011 at 11:49:36

HSBC makes private customer data public

Posted on December 05, 2009
HSBC Exposed Sensitive Bankruptcy Data PC World ? Fri Dec 4, 8:20 pm ET HSBC Bank says a bug in its imaging software inadvertently exposed sensitive data about some of its customers going through bankruptcy proceedings. In notification letters made public Thursday, the bank said it had redacted sensitive information in Chapter 13 bankruptcy proof-of-claim forms that were filed electronically, but that the information turned out to be viewable "as a result of the deficiency in the software used to save imaged documents...

KC Lawyer Could Be King in Nigeria

Posted on December 03, 2009
KC Lawyer Could Be King in NigeriaThe Associated PressAdebayo Ogunmeno is a criminal defense and plaintiff lawyer in Kansas City, Kan., but he is considering a second career: being a king. Ogunmeno, 54, is a prince in the Yoruba tribe in southwest Nigeria, and when the time comes, says he thinks he has a good chance to ascend to the throne...

The U.S. News Effect

Posted on December 03, 2009
Research Documents the 'U.S. News' Effect on Law SchoolsThe National Law JournalLike it or not, U.S. News & World Report's annual ranking of law schools profoundly influences the way those schools are managed, spend resources and are perceived internally and by the outside world...

1stAmendment not debt collection defense

Posted on November 26, 2009
First Amendment No Shield for Debt Collectors Gone Bad, Court Says National Law Journal Debt collectors who use unfair or deceptive tactics during collection litigation cannot rely on the First Amendment's petition clause as a defense, ruled the Alaska Supreme Court recently in the first appellate decision on the issue

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The Final Chapter for Court Libraries?

Posted on November 25, 2009
The Final Chapter for Court Libraries?The Connecticut Law TribuneThe days of courthouse law libraries may be numbered. Beyond the big-picture issue of online legal research displacing books, the Connecticut Judicial Branch revealed plans to close six of the state's 16 law libraries by next year, though the locations have not been revealed publicly.

Cops try to extort tips for restaurant

Posted on November 25, 2009
This is inexcusable. The cop who made the arrest should be fired. Pa. prosecutor wants 'no-tip' charges dropped AP ? Tue Nov 24, 3:52 pm ET BETHLEHEM, Pa. - An eastern Pennsylvania prosecutor wants charges dropped against a couple who refused to pay a tip at a restaurant where they said they got poor service...

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...

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...

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...

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