Law Students

Another Man Released in Texas on DNA Evidence

Posted on June 27, 2008
These stories are too depressing to write about. Today, the Dallas County District Attorney?s (DA) Office announced that Patrick Waller, 38, is the County?s latest wrongfully convicted citizen. Waller, who is represented by Gary Udashen, has spent the past 16 years in prison and was serving a life sentence for aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon, along with two 30-year sentences for aggravated kidnapping which arose from the same incident...

Just Released a Terrorist!

Posted on June 27, 2008
Oh, nope. Just finally getting around removing Nelson Mandela from the U.S. terror watch list. On this one, Condi and I agree completely (from RawStory): US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice recently said it was "embarrassing" to still have Mandela's name on the watch list...

Heat Burst

Posted on June 27, 2008
When I read about the "heat burst" that hit Nebraska yesterday, it was the first time I had heard of the phenomenon and thought I'd pass the strangeness along. It seems that these would be especially dangerous in cities like Phoenix. "Cozad residents woke this morning to a weather phenomenon as a heat burst rolled through town...

The Absurdity of the Marriage Amendment

Posted on June 27, 2008
I read lots of news stories which I find to be absurd or completely unbelievable, but I've never quite seen a story that is so completely open to ridicule. It appears that Senator Craig, (yes, the gay bathroom Senator), and Senator Vitter, (yes, the D...

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Justice Sleeping on the Job

Posted on June 27, 2008
Jim Lindgreen at Volokh seems to be surprised that Justice Ginsburg fell asleep while on-the-job, and even more surprised that she had done so before. Really? Are any of you surprised?

Facebook Settlement to be Enforced

Posted on June 27, 2008
From Jurist: A judge in the US District Court for the Northern District of California [official website] Wednesday granted a motion [order, PDF] to enforce a previous settlement agreement between two social networking websites, Facebook [corporate backgrounder] and ConnectU [corporate website]...

RFID is Dangerous

Posted on June 26, 2008
Looks like they are going to need to revise the way that RFID is being placed in everything. (Go here to read an abtract from the Journal of the American Medical Association here.) From redOrbit: Dutch researchers reported Tuesday that radio frequency identification chips (RFID) used by many hospitals to keep track of medical products and equipment could cause the breakdown of critical medical care devices such as ventilators, pacemakers and kidney dialysis machines...

Senator "Big Bad John" Cornyn

Posted on June 26, 2008
I just saw this ad for Senator Cornyn's reelection campaign.

A Testament to Stupidity

Posted on June 26, 2008
My favorite crazies have declared that George Carlin is in hell. I think he would have enjoyed being called a "pottymouth." I'm really not sure why Carlin is put in the same catagory as "fellow filth-monger Jerry Seinfield," and really not sure why Fred Phelps signs off by telling the listener that he/she is going to hell as well, but it is rather amusing...

Breaking: You have a Right to a Gun

Posted on June 26, 2008
The Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for traditional lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home. The opinion in District of Columbia v. Heller is here...

KENNEDY V. LOUISIANA

Posted on June 25, 2008
You would have to be hiding under a rock not to have heard that the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the death penalty for rape of a child violates the 8th Amendment.Majority opinion here.Dissent here.Transcript of oral argument.Brief for Petitioner...

We Got a Terrorist!

Posted on June 25, 2008
Ok, not really. What we got was a sick man who was committed to a phychiatric unit when he made threats against the president. I'm sure that crazy people rarely threaten to kill famous people.Way to go.From Raw Story:A mentally ill homeless man will serve 57 months in federal prison for threats he made against President Bush...

Marijuana is Anti-Cancer

Posted on June 25, 2008
Who would have thunk it? There maybe actual medical uses for marijuana although our government would probably prefer that you never hear about it.This is a freakishly sad commentary on politics in the U.S. We would rather punish people for recreational drug-use than try and help people dying of cancer...

Ignoring Email the New Ostrich Metaphor

Posted on June 25, 2008
It used to be that we woul say you were "hiding your head in the sand" if you just tried to ignore the problems that you are facing. Nw we'll have to use a new term; how about "ignoring your email"?Apparently this is a good way to ignore the U.S. Supreme Court...

Polygraphs Still Used by Defense Attorneys

Posted on June 25, 2008
Someone emailed me this link today and I foud some of the information quite interesting. Seems that the polygraph has become the tool of the defense bar.Probably the most interesting thing is the fact that pre-trial negotiations can turn on the polygraph...

DOJ Misconduct

Posted on June 24, 2008
The DOJ hired layers based on their conservative credentials.Is anyone really surprised by these findings? We all know that this type of bis exists. That is why I omit my Federalist Society credentials when applying for a position with a firm or judge that is "liberal" and omit my American Constitution Society credentials when applying for a "conservative" job...

Kozinski Videos

Posted on June 24, 2008
These videos are certainly not safe for work. Seriously. Don't look at them unless you are prepared to see what can only be classified as pornography. Mostly I get the impression that people want to see them for voyeristic reasons, but there are enough people out there that just want to see for themselves what all the fuss is about...

Water Powered Car

Posted on June 24, 2008
Ok, so if you haven't invested in water yet, it may be time. The price of water has been going up as the supply has dwindled due to contamination and population explosion.In fact, T. Boone Pickens has been investing in water for some time because he is sure that water is the new oil...

Nutri-loaf

Posted on June 24, 2008
Looking for the most unappetising thing on the planet in order to punish your children for not finishing their meals? Well, here you have it. Government tested and prisoner approved; nutri-loaf. This is the food they give to punsh prisoners for not behaving...

Supreme Court Rules Death Penalty Is 'Totally Badass'

Posted on June 24, 2008
This Onion video parody is pretty funny, but the language is probably NSFW. I particularly liked the part where Justice Kennedy says life without parole would be better because it is more brutal.Supreme Court Rules Death Penalty Is 'Totally Badass'

Juveniles Entitled to Jury Trial

Posted on June 23, 2008
Of all the stories I noticed over the weekend, the Opinion from the Supreme Court of Kansas, (In the Matter of L.M.), struck me as one of the most important decisions to come out of the courts in 2008.It isn't often that you see a state supreme court declare that they don't have to follow U...

McCain Strategist Says Terror Attacks Would be an "Advantage"

Posted on June 23, 2008
I'm not sure why everyone is getting so worked up about this statement. Of course it is incredibly stupid, but read in context it isn't all that controversial. Charlie Black is essentially saying that McCain has more knowledge about security issues and any event that allows McCain to show off that knowledge gives hm an advantage...

Judge Kozinski Hires Defense Lawyer

Posted on June 23, 2008
If you ever wondered who to hire if you need a defense attorney, this may make the decision pretty easy. When the Chief Judge of the Ninth Circuit has decided to hire this guy you probably should as well.Congratulations Mark C. Holscher, you are likely to become the lawyer of the year...

RIP George Carlin

Posted on June 23, 2008
George Carlin, the frenzied performer whose routine "Seven Words You Can Never Say On Television" led to a key Supreme Court ruling on obscenity, has died.

Water on Mars!

Posted on June 20, 2008
w00t w00t, whatever that means.From the laist:This just in from the Mars Phoenix Lander's Twitter at 5:15 p.m.: "Are you ready to celebrate? Well, get ready: We have ICE!!!!! Yes, ICE, *WATER ICE* on Mars! w00t!!! Best day ever!!" It was just two days ago that media outlets were reporting that there were no signs of water yet...

Reporter's Shield Bill

Posted on June 20, 2008
I thought that this was an interesting insight into the world of federalism in the U.S. So far, 37 state attorneys general have signed a letter urging the U.S. Senate to support a bill that would shield the media from having to report their sources.Of course, the President of the U...

Can Court Force You to Disobey Your Religion?

Posted on June 20, 2008
In Massachusetts you can! This is probably the correct result only because the plaintiff failed to list the judge who issued the order as a defendant. Of course, the judge states that it wouldn't have been a constitutional violation even if the judge were named, but I have a hard time believing that the issue is that cut-and-dry...

Oregon's Laws Aren't Copyrighted

Posted on June 20, 2008
Well, its official although there little doubt as to final outcome of all this. Oregon's Legislative Counsel Committeelaws unanimously voted to waive assertion of copyright on our statutes.You can go here to check out the details.

Military Murder or Friendly Fire?

Posted on June 20, 2008
As if it wasn't enough that this family lost their daughter in the war effort, that they lose her in a senseless murder suicide AND were lied to by the U.S. military is too much to fathom. Someone needs to get control of this military propaganda machine before the idiots in charge drive away the good men and women needed to protect our country...

Cuba to Join the Modern World

Posted on June 20, 2008
The EU has decided to stop punishing the entire population of Cuba for the sins of their leaders. (The EU sanctions have been around since 2003.)In related news, the U.S. is still to behind the times to realize that it might be a good idea to make friends with the Cuban people...

Top 10 Law Songs

Posted on June 20, 2008
Thank goodness ATL took the time to set up this poll!1. I Fought The Law - The Clash [ Lyrics?YouTube ]2. Lawyers, Guns, and Money - Warren Zevon [ Lyrics?YouTube ]3. 99 Problems - Jay-Z [ Lyrics?YouTube ]4. Folsom Prison Blues - Johnny Cash [ Lyrics?YouTube ]5...

Blackwater Choses Sharia Law

Posted on June 19, 2008
Asserting that Sharia Law has any resemblence to actual law is sick.From the News & Observer:To defend itself against a lawsuit by the widows of three American soldiers who died on one of its planes in Afghanistan, a sister company of the private military firm Blackwater has asked a federal court to decide the case using Islamic law, known as Shari'a...

Federal Judge May be Impeached

Posted on June 19, 2008
This doesn't happen very often, but this judge looks like a likely candidate for impeachment.From the Times-Picayune of New Orleans:U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, confirmed that the U.S. Judicial Conference, a panel of the nation's top federal judges, notified a House committee Wednesday that impeachment proceedings may be warranted...

38 Years for Fake Grades

Posted on June 19, 2008
This is just sick. Murderers get less time than this.From the Times Online:It could be a long time before Omar Khan goes to college: as long as 38 years, according to Orange County prosecutors, who have arrested and charged the 18-year-old student with breaking into his prestigious high school and hacking into computers to change his test grades from Fs to As...

Girl Uses Court to Evade Grounding

Posted on June 19, 2008
This little girl is going to grow up to be a lawyer in the divorce business.From the Sydney Morning Herald: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...

FISA Vote Tomorrow

Posted on June 19, 2008
Looks like there is going tobe a ote to amend FISA tomorrow. From the ACSBlog:Preliminary reports indicate that key players have reached a deal regarding amending the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, with a vote to be held on Friday.

Marijuana is California's Most Lucrative Cash Crop

Posted on June 19, 2008
If you don't have anything else going on right now you might want to watch the US Joint Economic Committee discussing our drug policy.Grits for Breakfast has provided us with a link to the hearing page and a link to watch the hearing online. (Which he says started at 9AM Central...

The AMA Hates Blacks

Posted on June 18, 2008
Okay, not really, but they are sure doing a crappy job of protecting African-American smokers from the addictive habit. In fact, you could say that they are doing next to nothing to protect black smokers in order to protect white smokers.But don't worry, they aren't racist, they just wouldn't have been able to protect the non-menthol users if they had tried to protect 75% of black smokers...

Counties Just Stop Performing Weddings

Posted on June 18, 2008
I have always said that I believe that the state shouldn't be in the business of performing weddings and should just issue civil unions. I believe that "marriage" is aterm of art best left to religious oganizations.Looks as if a few counties down in California have decided thisis the best way to deal with the ability of gay couples to get married; just don't perform marriages...

McCain on the Enviroment

Posted on June 18, 2008
I saw this on CNN this morning and started crying because I was laughing so hard. Apparently it was John McCain who "sounded the alarm on global warming five years ago."I wonder where Al Gore was.

Kozinski Pictures

Posted on June 18, 2008
I've had a couple of you email me asking where you can see some of the pictures that were on Judge Kozinski's web site. So here are a few. (Some pictures are seriously NSFW.)One of the reasons that I've decided to go ahead and post them is that it seems that Judge Kozinski has decided that blogs aren't just ?grandiloquent? and ?self-indulgent" and may actually be a good way for people to honestly discuss issues...

Oil in Africa

Posted on June 18, 2008
Looks like we're already looking for new ways to use our military in order to control oil.From the Asia Times:In recognition of "the emerging strategic importance of Africa", President George W Bush in February 2007 ordered the creation of AFRICOM, the US Africa Command...

Immigration Prosecutions Up and So Is Violent Crime

Posted on June 18, 2008
These statistics, (Immigration prosecutions up 75% of last year and 50% of last month) seem quite surreal. Especially, when you read that the increase is due to increased charging of minor crimes.Maybe some of you think that is good. You want to get the illegal immigrants out of the country...

The Cause of U.S. Deaths in Iraq

Posted on June 18, 2008
This is damning. Former Navy general counsel Alberta Mora states in his video that the first and second most identifiable causes of U.S. combat deaths may be Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo respectively. He notes as well that these two locations have become a device for our enemies due to the harsh interrogation tchniques that were authorized in 2002...

Drumming Up Charges

Posted on June 18, 2008
It isn't often that you hear a police officer go on the record as trying to "drum up charges" against someone.Be careful about speaking out against surveillance video cameras.From the Philadelphia Daily News:Four young residents of a North Philadelphia house who circulated petitions questioning police-surveillance cameras were rousted from their home Friday and detained 12 hours without charges while police searched their house...

Police Beating in Memphis Caught on Tape

Posted on June 18, 2008
So I'm trying to understand why the cop that actually punched the transexual in the face with handcuffs around his knuckles in on leave while the officer that held him/her was fired.(Story and video here.)Just a quick note to the police officers down there in Memphis, if you want people to respect you, instead of protecting assholes like this you should punish the hell out of them for doing this...

Taser Injuries

Posted on June 18, 2008
I have discussed taser many times on this blog, but it never ceases to amaze me that people think tasers are somehow "safe" and don'tdo any injury to the people they are used on. Of course, it is better than getting shot, but as the doctor in this article states, it makes sense for the officer to assume that they have done damage...

Change Your Genes

Posted on June 18, 2008
Looks like you won't be able to blame your genes any longer.From ABC News:Comprehensive lifestyle changes including a better diet and more exercise can lead not only to a better physique, but also to swift and dramatic changes at the genetic level, U...

Grand Jury by Petition

Posted on June 17, 2008
In Kansas, if you get enough voters to sign your petition, you can call a Grand Jury to invstigate someone you don't like. But don't worry, it would never be used as a political tool to harrass someone you don't like....especially since you need a whopping 2% of a county's turnout...

Swedish Spy Agency

Posted on June 17, 2008
It looks as if the Swedes have decided that the Amercian goal of listening in on any call that crosses the border without a warrant is a good idea. Strangley, the people who live in the country don't think it such hot idea.From Boing Boing:When I was in Sweden last weekend, everyone was up in arms about the new Swedish proposal to empower the national spy agency to listen in on all phone calls and network transactions that "cross the border" (due to the way Swedish telcos manage their tariffs, this would include virtually every mobile phone call, whether or not the speakers were in Sweden at the time)...

The Black House

Posted on June 17, 2008
Apparently there are still enough racists down in Texas to support the introduction of a pin that causes fear for those Americans that still use the term "nigger."There isn't much to say, except that I'll be voting for Obama in November.

Congressional Misinformation

Posted on June 17, 2008
Having just spent four weeks in China, I feel that I got a pretty good glimpse at the way in which the government just makes up facts to support its policy determinations. I have absolutely no respect for anyone who cannot support their policy without using lies and fear tactics...

REAL ID Act Gives Judicial Review

Posted on June 16, 2008
This isn't an area of law that I pay particular attention to, but as I worked on an immigration case recently I find it quite interesting. Actually, I'm a bit surprised the political wonks aren't talking about this issue as regards the immigration debate...

This Guy Owns Your Water

Posted on June 16, 2008
If you were wondering who is planning to own your water, here he is (thanks to BusinessWeek):If water is the new oil, T. Boone Pickens is a modern-day John D. Rockefeller. Pickens owns more water than any other individual in the U.S. and is looking to control even more...

Blogging will get you Arrested

Posted on June 16, 2008
Today I saw the story of a blogger who was arrested and is awaiting a verdict for "insulting" a judge from Singapore. (Did I mention that h is a U.S. citizen?)Of course, he did say that the judge was prostituting herself by being nothing more than an employee of thePrime Minister...

Google Health

Posted on June 13, 2008
If you are a member of Blue Cross or Blue Shield you can Google all your health information now.Why you would want to do so is beyond me, but I'm looking forward to perusing your health documents.

Habeas kills Americans?

Posted on June 13, 2008
Of course you've heard that Justice Scalia believes that giving aliens habeas rights means that more Americans will die.His argument is that if the government has to actually make a case against someone and they can't, the person will be let free and return to the battleground to fight and kill Americans in the future...

Irish Vote No on Lisbon Treaty

Posted on June 13, 2008
It comes as no surprise that Ireland, (the only country that put the decision to popular vote), has decided that they don't want to ratify the EU "reform" treaty.Why is it not a surprise?Well, giving a new name to the same old policy is unlikely to confuse voters so much that they decide to now vote for what they rejected before.

Kozinski Investigates Himself

Posted on June 12, 2008
As a fan of Judge Kozinski, I have to comment on the recent story involving his posting of crazy sexual photographs on a website. Of course, I could sit here and try to defend his actions, (it is important to note that he did nothing illegal), but I think I'd rather point to Kozinski's official reaction to the snafu...

Taser's First Court Loss

Posted on June 12, 2008
Taser has won an unprecedented 69 straight victories in the court system, but has now sustained its first loss.According to the New York Times (quoting The Herald of Monterey):"A federal jury has held Taser International responsible for the death of a Salinas man in U...

Stephen Colbert on the Confederate Flag

Posted on June 12, 2008

Justice Kennedy and Yoda

Posted on June 12, 2008
To lighten things up a bit, PrawfsBlawg points to this one-liner from Justice Kennedy in Boumediene that will eternally link him to Star Wars:"Remote in time it may be; irrelevant to the present it is not."

Boumediene and Munaf

Posted on June 12, 2008
I'm sure all of you out there have seen the two big opinions that came out today involving habeas. What has struck me however, is that nobody seems to be comparing the outcome of the two cases.In Boumediene, the U.S. Supreme Court held that aliens held at Guantanamo that are enemy combatants have the constitutional privilege of habeas corpus...

Yes We Can

Posted on February 15, 2008

Lemons v. Bradbury

Posted on February 01, 2008
Judge Mosman issued an opinion from the bench today that repealed the TRO on the new law allowing civil unions for gay couples. I included the entire opinion below, but you may go to the U.S. District Court of Oregon website or read the PDF :I hope you can appreciate by virtue of havingheard each other's presentations that this is a difficultissue in many ways, that it involves serious questions oflaw and non-frivolous disputes among you about what ought tohappen here...

PreCYdent legal search engine

Posted on January 30, 2008
Check out this new legal search engine. It supposedly ranks cases by authority if you look up a particular term. The idea is great but there are some serious bugs still. The creators are looking for feedback, so here is your chance to help create a search engine that could be useful to lawyers:From The Right Coast:Right now our library consists of all US Supreme Court cases and US Court of Appeals cases going back to the 1950s (i...

Canadian the new Black?

Posted on January 30, 2008
I thought I should pass this on just in case you are called a Canadian or maybe a Canadian lover:From Canada's National Post:Last August, a blogger in Cincinnati going by the name CincyBlurg reported that a black friend from the southeastern U.S. had recently discovered that she was being called a Canadian...

Crack Retroactivity in Oregon

Posted on January 30, 2008
It looks as if the system is working fairly well here in Oregon. The USSC has determined that the crack sentencing disparity should be repaired reroactively for those defendants that received "higher than reasonable" sentences and all sides of the equation seem to be working together...

A Federal Judge on Sentencing

Posted on January 30, 2008
If you haven't seen this list from the Honorable Judge Kopf yet, you're missing out. It was published by the Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law and here are a few pieces to whet your appetite:The Top Ten Things I Learned FromApprendi, Blakely, Booker, Rita, Kimbrough and Gall ...

High court upholds New York way of electing judges

Posted on January 17, 2008
If it is possible for Supreme Court justices to uphold a law while holding their noses, that is what happened Wednesday when the court delivered a unanimous victory for party bosses and "smoke-filled rooms" in New York.Justice John Paul Stevens added: "As I recall my esteemed former colleague, Thurgood Marshall, remarking on numerous occasions, 'The Constitution does not prohibit legislatures from enacting stupid laws...

Judge Denounces O.J., Doubles His Bail

Posted on January 17, 2008
Hands cuffed at his waist and a defeated expression on his face, O.J. Simpson listened to a judge blister him Wednesday for "arrogance or ignorance or both" for breaking bail terms in a robbery case.read more | digg story

Former GOP Congressman Indicted for *al Qaida* Fundraising

Posted on January 17, 2008
A former congressman and delegate to the United Nations was indicted Wednesday as part of a terrorist fundraising ring that allegedly sent more than $130,000 to an al-Qaida and Taliban supporter who has threatened U.S. and international troops in Afghanistan...

Mike Huckabee eats Fried Squirrel

Posted on January 17, 2008

Geneticists Discover a Way to Extend Lifespans to 800 Years

Posted on January 17, 2008
In an amazing development, scientists at the University of Southern California have announced that they've extended the lifespan of yeast bacteria tenfold -- and the recipe they used to do it might easily translate into humans.read more | digg story

White House 'recycled' email tapes -- purge?

Posted on January 17, 2008
The White House has acknowledged recycling its backup computer tapes of e-mail before October 2003, raising the possibility that many electronic messages ? including those pertaining to the CIA leak case ? have been taped over and are gone forever.read more | digg story

'Kite Runner' banned in Afghanistan

Posted on January 17, 2008
The Afghan government has banned "The Kite Runner" film from theaters and DVD shops, an official said Wednesday, though Afghan shop owners with stalls at U.S. military bases are still selling the movie there.read more | digg story

SoCal official's false medal claim defended as free speech

Posted on January 17, 2008
The motion argues that the Stolen Valor Act of 2005, under which water board member Xavier Alvarez was charged, is incompatible with the First Amendment because it restricts free speech by criminalizing false claims of military honors.read more | digg story

Lawmaker Wants DUI Convictions On Licenses

Posted on January 17, 2008
OKLAHOMA CITY -- A state lawmaker wants anyone with a drunken-driving conviction to have it noted on their driver's license.read more | digg story

Bush Exempts Navy From Environmental Law

Posted on January 17, 2008
President Bush exempted the Navy from an environmental law so it can continue using sonar in its anti-submarine warfare training off the California coast ? a practice critics say is harmful to whales and other marine mammals.read more | digg story

FRONTLINE: cheney's law | PBS

Posted on January 17, 2008
For three decades Vice President Dick Cheney conducted a secretive, behind-closed-doors campaign to give the president virtually unlimited wartime power ... read more | digg story

Forced Rectal Exam Stirs Ethics Questions

Posted on January 17, 2008
A construction worker who lives in Brooklyn asserts that he was forced to undergo a rectal examination after sustaining a head injury in an on-the-job accident in Midtown in 2003.read more | digg story

Death Sentence and Mental Age

Posted on January 16, 2008
A Kentucky death row inmate lost a bid to challenge his death sentence based on mental age after the U.S. Supreme Court declined on Monday to hear the case. Thomas Clyde Bowling, 54, had asked the high court to consider if the ban on executing juveniles extended to people whose mental age was less than 18 years old...

Yearlong celebration for historic federal courthouse

Posted on January 16, 2008
U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts is scheduled to visit Rhode Island on Feb. 12 to help celebrate the centennial of the federal courthouse in downtown Providence.read more | digg story

Diane Keaton swears on TV

Posted on January 16, 2008
The nation's top TV regulator said it would be difficult for the Federal Communications Commission to take action against ABC stations that aired "Good Morning America" on Tuesday when actress Diane Keaton used the f-word.read more | digg story

Thigs not to say in front of a Judge

Posted on January 16, 2008
Now... you know things are bad when a judge looks at you like you are on fire. You know things are REALLY bad when the judge is looking at you like you are on fire and your defense lawyer is making motions like he wants to strangle you....I just leaned back in my chair and started laughing to myself; I love it when defendants make my case for meread more | digg story

Texas AG's says no-go on MySpace deal

Posted on January 16, 2008
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott is concerned that the loopholes in the deal are such that the deal will have appreciable effect on predators seeking children.read more | digg story

Sex In Bathroom Stalls Is Private Says ACLU

Posted on January 16, 2008
ST. PAUL, Minn. - In an effort to help Sen. Larry Craig, the American Civil Liberties Union is arguing that people who have sex in public bathrooms have an expectation of privacy.read more | digg story

Letters from Working Girls / Letters from Johns

Posted on January 16, 2008
As the titles suggest, the blogs consist of first-hand accounts from real sex workers, and from real clients of sex workers. read more | digg story

Banned at The DoJ

Posted on January 15, 2008
I appreciated your desire to be in tune with DOJ press releases, however, unfortunately I am not able to add you to our distribution list. As you may realize we have a lot of requests to be put on our media lists and we simply are not able to put everyone on the list...

Sinclair Pays Fine for Air Violations

Posted on January 15, 2008
Sinclair Oil Corp., has agreed to pay $2.45 million in civil penalties and reduce emissions from three of its refineries in Wyoming and Oklahoma as part of a clean air settlement with the government, the Justice Department announced Tuesday. read more | digg story

Decision Overturned, Kucinich BARRED from debate

Posted on January 15, 2008
An hour before the debate, the state Supreme Court's unanimous order said that blocking the debate unless Kucinich got to participate would be "an unconstitutional prior restraint" on the news network's First Amendment rights. The justices also said the lower court exceeded its jurisdiction by ordering Kucinich's participation...

Who is a state actor?

Posted on January 15, 2008
Justice Scalia: What about a janitor? You?re a janitor, a federally employed janitor...His neighbor is growing marijuana, and he?s just as offended as a Supreme Court Justice would be. Can he conduct a search?McCullough: I think if he?s doing it on behalf of the State, the answer is yes...

Endorsements from members of Congress

Posted on January 15, 2008
The Hill will maintain a running tally of the race for lawmaker support based on extensive research and daily contact with campaigns. The list reflects publicly committed backers of 2008 presidential hopefuls rather than members' private leanings or inclinations...

Same-sex issue hits classroom

Posted on January 15, 2008
A Winnipeg School Division teacher who placed a photo of his same-sex marriage partner on his classroom desk has educators scrambling to decide how much teachers can tell kids about their personal lives. read more | digg story

Circuit Split on Sentencing

Posted on January 15, 2008
Per U.S. v. Fields, --- F.3d ----, 2008 WL 114850 (8th Cir. Jan. 14, 2008): We have not previously ruled on whether assistance to state or local authorities can be a basis for the government filing a motion under § 3553(e) or § 5K1.1. Other circuits have addressed this issue, however, and the result has been a circuit split...

Israel 'back of the bus' rule sparks religious row

Posted on January 15, 2008
A row over Israel's buses underscores the schism between its ultra-Orthodox minority -- who believe women should don long skirts and stay away from men in public -- and those who want to keep the country, and its public transport system, secular.read more | digg story

Nevada Tree Killer Gets 5 Years In Prison

Posted on January 15, 2008
A 61-year-old retiree found guilty of destroying about 500 trees to get a better view of the Las Vegas Strip from his back yard has been sentenced to up to five years in prison, the Los Angeles Times reports. read more | digg story

Nevada Caucus Timing May Disenfranchise Observant Jews

Posted on January 15, 2008
Unlike primaries and general elections where voters can use absentee ballots, caucuses require voters to show up at set times. Those times conflict with the typical time for Jewish Sabbath morning services.read more | digg story

Megachurch leader charged with perjury

Posted on January 15, 2008
Ga. Church Leader Accused of Perjury After Positive Paternity Test Leads to Other Allegations. An 80-year-old leader of a suburban megachurch who is at the center of a sex scandal has been charged with lying under oath for saying he had sex outside marriage with only one other woman, court documents show...

Law Would Prohibit Smoking In Car With Children

Posted on January 15, 2008
"I am trying to so hard. I am trying. If they don't want you to do it in your car, then they wouldn't want you to do it in your home," Jackson said. "I don't think the government has the right to tell me if I choose to infect my body or not, or my kids...

"Donald Ducks"

Posted on January 15, 2008
"If a 42-year-old man wants to change his identity and fly through the remainder of his life under the radar screen with a fake name, what kind of name would he be likely to select?"read more | digg story

Former Federal Judge Joins Notorious Conspiracy

Posted on January 15, 2008
Former Federal Judge Paul Cassell joins the Volokh Conspiracy.read more | digg story

Floating Prisons?

Posted on January 15, 2008
His essay not only details and links to a great deal of history I'd never read before, he hints that floating prisons may still be used today by the US military or intelligence community as part of the War on Terror to incarcerate suspects outside of territorial waters where local or US laws may fetter their activities...

"Neurolaw"

Posted on January 15, 2008
Some lawyers are using brain scans showing defects to argue that their clients aren?t responsible for criminal behavior. In recent years, this neuroscientific evidence has been increasingly used in our courtrooms.read more | digg story

Girls' Deaths Spark D.C. Agency Firings

Posted on January 15, 2008
At least six city employees will be terminated for improperly handling concerns about a woman's care for her four daughters, who were later found dead in their home, Mayor Adrian M. Fenty said Monday. The decomposing bodies of the girls - ages 5 to 17 - were found Wednesday when deputy U...

NBC News fights judge's order to include Kucinich in debate

Posted on January 15, 2008
NBC News said Monday it will appeal a judge's ruling rather than include Democratic presidential hopeful Dennis Kucinich in a candidates' debate in Nevada...read more | digg story

UK Jails Considering RFID Implants For Prisoners

Posted on January 14, 2008
In a decidedly Orwellian turn, British authorities are considering a proposal to implant "machine-readable" RFID tags under the skin of some prison inmates as part of a plan to free up space. Just like the nightmare world described in your favorite cautionary tales, the chips would enable authorities to track prisoners...

Girls age three hitting puberty

Posted on January 14, 2008
Shocked doctors blame hormones in food and water for some British toddlers showing signs of breast growth.read more | digg story

Professional Reading: Originalism is Bunk

Posted on January 14, 2008
Critical analysis of originalism should start by confronting a modest puzzle: Most commentators suppose that originalism is deeply controversial, while others complain that it means too many things to mean anything at all. Is one of these views false?read more | digg story

Ford: You're a pirates if you distribute pics of your car

Posted on January 14, 2008
"The folks at BMC (Black Mustang Club) automotive forum wanted to put together a calendar featuring members' cars, and print it through CafePress. Photos were submitted, the layout was set, and... CafePress notifies the site admin that pictures of Ford cars cannot be printed...

Youths arming due to violence on streets

Posted on January 14, 2008
As cops prepare to launch a controversial program to seize guns from homes with parental permission instead of warrants, concerned youth workers claim scared kids are stockpiling weapons due to fear of being without protection on the city?s toughest streets...

Blawg Review #142

Posted on January 14, 2008
This Blawg Review is designed as a Letter to New Lawyer. I've incorporated the interesting names of many legal blogs as part of the narrative but you will have no clue what the topic of each blog post is until you click on the link. read more | digg story

An Empirical Analysis of Street-Level Prostitution

Posted on January 14, 2008
Combining transaction-level data on street prostitutes with ethnographic observation andofficial police force data, we analyze the economics of prostitution in Chicago. A prostitute is more likely to have sex with a police officer than to get officially arrested by one...

Aristotle on Law and Virtue

Posted on January 14, 2008
Since happiness is rational activity expressing virtue, the laws of the ideal constitution must be designed to inculcate the virtues. Indeed, Aristotle argues that if the legislation in a community is not designed to foster virtue, the community isn?t really a city-state at all...

Thousand Dollar Fine For Bicyclist In Virginia

Posted on January 14, 2008
A traffic court in Newport News, Va., has ordered a 19-year-old man to pay a $1,050 abusive-driver fee for driving his 18-speed bicycle recklessly in traffic. Kajuan Cornish, who is appealing the fee, got a ticket Thursday after police said motorists had to slow down to avoid hitting him...

New gun law could force Pa. to report mental health history

Posted on January 14, 2008
Individuals who've been involuntarily committed to mental hospitals still can legally buy a gun in Pennsylvania ? despite a 40-year-old federal law that says they can't. read more | digg story

State of California proposes to take control of home temps

Posted on January 13, 2008
California utilities would control the temperature of new homes and commercial buildings in emergencies with a radio-controlled thermostat, under a proposed state update to building energy efficiency standards.Customers could not override the thermostats during "emergency events," according to the proposal, part of a 236-page revision...

Judges to host forum on developments in criminal law

Posted on January 13, 2008
Madison District Judges Brandy Oliver Brown, William Clouse and newly elected Earl Ray Neal will conduct a seminar and forum Thursday for all Madison County law enforcement ? an endeavor designed to increase communication and talk about new developments in criminal law...

Is China becoming more enviromentally friendly?

Posted on January 13, 2008
Declaring war on the "white pollution" choking its cities, farms and waterways, China is banning free plastic shopping bags and calling for a return to the cloth bags of old ? steps largely welcomed by merchants and shoppers on Wednesday. read more | digg story

Scientists create beating heart

Posted on January 13, 2008
SCIENTISTS have created a beating heart in the laboratory in a breakthrough that could allow doctors one day to make a range of organs for transplant almost from scratch.read more | digg story

Admirers of Constitution Booted for Wearing Impeach T-shirts

Posted on January 13, 2008
With the original First Amendment "Freedom of Speech" looking on, admirers of the U.S. Constitution in the Washington D.C. National Archives Building today were ordered to leave for wearing tee-shirts reading "Impeach Bush and Cheney." Many of the tourist-activists were in town to hail the arrival of impeachment marcher John Nirenberg...

Court battle between Episcopal Church and 11 congregations

Posted on January 13, 2008
The attorney general of Virginia has filed a motion to intervene in the court battle between the Episcopal Church and 11 breakaway congregations, arguing that he is obliged to defend the constitutionality of a state statute at the center of the trial...

Navy JAG Resigns Over Torture Issue

Posted on January 13, 2008
It was in the much-publicized interview two weeks ago between Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) and Brig. Gen. Thomas Hartmann, who is the chief legal adviser at the Pentagon's Office of Military Commissions, that led Williams to resign. In the interview, Graham asked Hartmann how the uniformed legal community should respond if the Iranian government used waterboarding to torture a U...

Iraq/Afghan veterans have killed 121 after coming home

Posted on January 13, 2008
The NY Times found 121 cases in which veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan committed a killing in this country, or were charged with one, after their return from war. In many of those cases, combat trauma and the stress of deployment along with alcohol abuse, family discord and other attendant problems ? appear to have set the stage for a tragedy read more | digg story

US might lose triple A Credit Rating since 1917 - Moody.

Posted on January 13, 2008
The US is at risk of losing its top-notch triple-A credit rating within a decade unless it takes radical action to curb soaring healthcare and social security spending, Moody?s, the credit rating agency, said on Thursday.The warning over the future of the triple-A rating granted to US government debt since it was first assessed in 1917 read more | digg story

CRAZY: Boy Injures Dozens by Playing Trains w/City Trams

Posted on January 13, 2008
A POLISH schoolboy who turned a city's tram network into a giant toy by maneuvering rolling stock using a TV-style remote control has been arrested after he caused chaos on the public transport system.read more | digg story

Man Apologizes for Vulgar Check

Posted on January 13, 2008
A man who wrote a vulgar message on the memo line of a check he used to pay a $5 parking ticket has apologized in writing, leading police to drop a disorderly conduct charge against him.read more | digg story

Pakistan: parties slam deportation of US journalist

Posted on January 13, 2008
Political parties in Pakistan have criticised the deportation of US journalist and also harassment to the media people by government agencies. read more | digg story

School Attorney Nixes Biblical Verse At Graduation

Posted on January 13, 2008
In Finn Rock, Oregon, the school district's attorney has told McKenzie High School students that they may not adopt a Biblical verse to use on official graduation announcements. read more | digg story

Waterboarding would be torture if it were me, Mike McConnell

Posted on January 13, 2008
US national intelligence chief Mike McConnell has said the interrogation technique of water-boarding "would be torture" if he was subjected to it.read more | digg story

University of Chicago Law Review: 25 Years of Richard Posner

Posted on January 13, 2008
The University of Chicago Law Review, Issue 74:Special (Commemorating Twenty-five Years of Judge Richard A. Posner)read more | digg story

Man sodomized stepson to avenge daughter's rape

Posted on January 13, 2008
A father sodomized his 18-year-old stepson to avenge the teenager?s alleged rape of the man?s 8-year-old daughter, police said...Police say the father caught him assaulting his daughter, and a subsequent examination at a hospital revealed the girl had been sodomized...

Teacher slaps whole class of elementary school students

Posted on January 13, 2008
YOKOHAMA -- An elementary school teacher is in hot water for hitting all the children in her class after misbehavior from only a handful of students, school officials have admitted.read more | digg story

National Guardsman Loses Custody Due to Deployment

Posted on January 13, 2008
The case, Diffin v. Diffin involves a mother who got custody of her son a part of a divorce settlement in 2000. In April 2004, the mother got mobilized and went to Iraq...When the mother returned, the Family Court awarded custody to the father... The reason was that because her military service, she has a less settled life...

Blog battle becomes free speech case

Posted on January 13, 2008
...a retired minister began a blog that blasted the state Department of Children, Youth and Families and others involved in the case, saying they?d used a ?bogus theory? to take a mother?s two daughters from her and to send one of the sisters to live with the father ? after the father had been accused of sexually abusing the girl...

No Pants on MAX event

Posted on January 13, 2008
No Pants on MAX participants are instructed to gather at Holladay Park near the Lloyd Center/Northeast 11th Avenue MAX Station. 4:30 pm Saturday, Jan. 12. No money needed, the ride will only extend through Fareless Square. For more info, visit Facebook...

Illegal immigrants will be rounded-up by roaming prison vans

Posted on January 12, 2008
Prison vans are to cruise the streets of Britain searching for illegal - immigrants. The "mobile detention centres" will aim to catch recently arrived foreigners as they emerge from people smuggling lorries. Immigration officers will hold the suspects inside the vans until background checks are performed...

High court defies lawmakers on salaries

Posted on January 12, 2008
A bill passed by the 2007 Legislature set the maximum salaries that can be paid to state employees, including those who work for the Supreme Court. The court, however, says that law does not apply to it and has ordered the state?s payroll system to pay an annual salary of $135,240 to court administrator Ron Titus, effective immediately...