Law Humor

President Receives Transparency Award in Closed Meeting

Posted on April 01, 2011
Not an April Fools' prank. Seriously. According to Politico and the Washington Post, a couple of weeks ago President Obama was scheduled to receive an award from the organizers of the Freedom of Information Day Conference, to be presented at...

UPDATE: Joe Francis No Longer Permitted to Represent Himself

Posted on March 31, 2011
As I mentioned yesterday, Joe Francis of "Girls Gone Wild" infamy has been representing himself in a federal civil lawsuit in Florida, a case brought by four women who were underage (one was 13) at the time he interacted with...

Thank You, Lord, for Letting Joe Francis Represent Himself at Trial

Posted on March 30, 2011
Hallelujah. If Joe Francis were a lawyer, he'd be at least the sixth lawyer to represent him. Since he's not a lawyer, and isn't smart enough to know he shouldn't be representing himself under any circumstances, he is doing that....

A Brief Research Memo Concerning a Simulated Chicken Head

Posted on March 30, 2011
Question Presented Did the judge correctly rule that an employee was entitled to workers' compensation because the work-related events she experienced were the "predominant contributing cause of [her emotional] disability"? The Facts Mr. Grillo agreed to provide [medical] insurance [only]...

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Facebook: Bad News for Bigamists

Posted on March 29, 2011
Richard Leon Barton Jr., who I knew right away was in trouble because the report used all three of his names, was charged with polygamy recently after his first wife learned he had another one and reported him to the...

Teeth Are Not "Dangerous Weapons," Says Oregon Court

Posted on March 28, 2011
Oregon has joined those jurisdictions holding that teeth are not "dangerous weapons" for purposes of a statute that enhances punishment for crimes in which they are employed. The defendant had employed said teeth Mike-Tyson-style to detach part of his neighbor's...

Please, Lord, Let Joe Francis Represent Himself at Trial

Posted on March 25, 2011
If I remember correctly, Joe Francis, the "brains" behind "Girls Gone Wild" and sleazemaster extraordinaire, has been mentioned here before. "Girls Gone Wild" Founder Says Judge Has Gone Wild in Suit Filed by Girls Who Had Previously Gone...

Woman Sues Adidas After Fall She Blames on Sticky Shoes

Posted on March 25, 2011
Please be advised that certain new shoes may pose a tripping hazard, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday against Adidas. The Chicago Sun-Times reports (via the ABA Journal) that a woman is alleging she was injured in 2010 because her...

"Burrito-Triggered Spree" Ends Peacefully After Three-Hour Standoff

Posted on March 24, 2011
A fifty-percent price hike is not something most people would take lying down, and when the price involved is that of an item as revered as Taco Bell's Beefy Crunch Burrito, watch out. What the San Antonio Express-News called a...

Follow-Up on the Great "Photocopy" Dispute

Posted on March 24, 2011
As you may recall, last week you were treated to this deposition excerpt in which the parties were wrangling (for pages and pages) over the definition of "photocopy." Over the weekend I got some more details from the lawyer asking...

Another Fake Air Marshal Nabbed by Real Ones

Posted on March 23, 2011
A Delta passenger is in some trouble after he was overheard falsely identifying himself as a federal air marshal on a flight to Boston last week. The trouble came about because there was a real air marshal on board, who...

Charlie Sheen Not Winning! So Far

Posted on March 23, 2011
The Hollywood Reporter's law blog reports this morning that Charlie Sheen, who as you likely know has filed a $100 million claim against Warner Brothers and the producer of Two and a Half Men, did not win an attempt to...

Luther Campbell of 2 Live Crew Is Running for Mayor of Miami

Posted on March 22, 2011
There's a clear front-runner for mayor of Miami, now that voters have recalled the current mayor, which they did last week. And that person, of course, is Luther Campbell. "I always had a passion for helping people," Campbell told Courthouse...

Offices and What Not to Do in Them

Posted on March 21, 2011
The first office I'm going to mention is my new one. We have just moved to a new building in San Francisco, and these offices are so much better than our old ones (leased just before the dot-com crash in...

Moron Arrested

Posted on March 19, 2011
It isn't the first time, either. Via Neatorama and The Smoking Gun.

Cleveland Browns Lawyer Letter Is Apparently Real

Posted on March 18, 2011
Occasionally you do come across things that seem just too good to be true, and like others I was suspicious of this correspondence that circulated recently. As you may recall, this purports to be (1) a 1974 letter from a...

Deposition Battle Over Definition of "Photocopy"

Posted on March 18, 2011
Also from Cleveland (via the WSJ Law Blog) comes another story of lawyers doing battle, this time over the meaning of "photocopy." The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported on a deposition taken in a dispute apparently before the Ohio Supreme Court...

TSA: Fourth Amendment = Terrorism

Posted on March 16, 2011
Via The Legal Satyricon, here's another tale involving our heroes at the Trouser Search Administration. Aaron Tobey, a 21-year-old student is suing the TSA and other officials, alleging that he was unconstitutionally and illegally detained after he took his shirt...

Good Reason to Kill #16: Ate Popcorn Too Loudly During "Black Swan"

Posted on March 15, 2011
I actually haven't seen "Black Swan" yet, but I guess some people feel pretty strongly about it. At least in Latvia, where witnesses said a shooting resulted from an argument that "arose over how loudly the deceased man was eating...

Good Reason to Kill #15: Two Unauthorized Hot Dogs

Posted on March 15, 2011
In Clairton, Pennsylvania, the stabbing was hot-dog related. Police said that Charles Westbrook was at a friend's house last Saturday night when he chose to cook two hot dogs. It wasn't clear from the report whether the argument related to...

Good Reason to Kill #14: Wouldn't Change It to "American Idol"

Posted on March 15, 2011
Police in Neptune Beach, Florida, said that a man had threatened two co-workers with a butcher knife on Tuesday, and said the argument started when the two men refused his request to change the channel so he could watch "American...

Florida Bill Would Make It Illegal to Take a Picture of a Farm

Posted on March 14, 2011
If you enjoy taking pictures of the Florida countryside, you should probably go get it out of your system before July 1. After that date, it may be a felony. State Senator Jim Norman (R-Tampa) recently introduced S.B. 1246, which...

Lowering the Bar Air Quoted in Video

Posted on March 13, 2011
I meant to mention that this blog was referred to in a video the other day over at Big Legal Brain, that site purporting to give advice on law-practice management, but actually digging into much more useful topics like how...

Jury in Hot-Dog-Flinging Case Finds in Favor of Team

Posted on March 10, 2011
The Kansas City Star reports that a jury reached a verdict on Wednesday in the case brought by a man who claimed the Royals' mascot, "Sluggerrr," had negligently thrown a hot dog into his eye in 2009. See "Dog-Flinging Mascot...

New Jersey Considers Repeal of Ancient Laws Regarding Women

Posted on March 10, 2011
I wrote this for Forbes last month and just realized I haven't posted it here yet. Which I am doing now just in case you don't read Forbes religiously. A bill introduced recently by two New Jersey lawmakers would get...

Tip: No Stabbing Until Haircut's Finished

Posted on March 09, 2011
Any questions?

Florida Man Sues Alleged Foot-Stealer

Posted on March 09, 2011
The defendant in this case said she did not intend to cause the plaintiff any pain by stealing his foot, and that seems plausible since it wasn't attached at the time. The plaintiff was quite seriously injured in a 2008...

A Tort Causation Puzzler for You

Posted on March 08, 2011
Here's a report of a case filed in New Orleans last month: Baptiste v. Wyndham Vacation Resorts Inc.; Avenue Plaza Hotel, No. 2011-01688 H (New Orleans 2/17/2011). Lawsuit for personal injury and negligence. While staying at the defendants' hotel, the...

Reminder: What Happens in Vegas May Not Stay in Vegas

Posted on March 07, 2011
Even if it does stay in Vegas at first, it may show up on your doorstep if you are unwise enough to leave text messages about it on your cellphone. On Point News reports that an Illinois woman sued her...

A Comic-Book History of Comic-Book Lawsuits

Posted on March 05, 2011
This is one panel from a new comic book that, according to The Hollywood Reporter's legal blog, tells the "incredible, insane true story" of legal disputes in the American comic-book industry, including, for example, whether Captain Marvel infringed on Superman...

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