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Post Frequency: 2.2/day Last Entry: November 14, 2009 at 00:00:00 Recent Entries: 654
By Anne Skove, Esq.
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Posted on November 14, 2009What are trials for? Are they a demonstration (and if so, to whom?) of the rule of law? A way to inform the public? A path (and if so, are there other paths?) to justice? All of the above? Good debate on these points and more from Left, Right & Center this past week.
In re: Spaniel
Posted on November 12, 2009Is it Bring Your Pet to Work Day? One South Carolina judge claims her dogs are perfectly fit to visit the courthouse. Apparently OK in the old courthouse, the dogs' presence in the newly-built version is causing city council to protest. They are hoping for a new rule allowing only helper dogs in the building...
State of the Commonwealth
Posted on November 09, 2009Justice is in jeopardy in Massachusetts. Massachusetts Chief Justice Marshall is up in arms over state budget cuts. The cuts, she says, fall disproportionately on the courts. Fifty million dollars lopped off the budget in a single year cannot occur without consequences...
Courthouse on the Haunted Hill
Posted on October 31, 2009More tales of spooky courthouses! In 1903, a devastating and deadly flood ravaged the town of Heppner, Oregon. Now the spirits reportedly haunt the Morrow County Courthouse, a senior residence, and other buildings. See The Haunting of Heppner: Do Flood-Era Ghosts Walk the Halls? Erin Mills, East Oregonian (October 31, 2009)...
Just the Facts
Posted on October 29, 2009In our constant battle against urban legal legends, we are always happy to find a new stash of facts. We were alerted to Factual by Grant, a member of Team Factual. According to its rather detailed (Grant's favorite hiking trail is in New Zealand!) About Us section, Factual is a platform where anyone can share and mash open data on any subject, from busking laws to vegan products (yes, Twizzlers are included on the vegan list!)...
Judge Justice, RIP
Posted on October 19, 2009Some people read obituaries to make sure they're not in them. Hannah Holborn Gray once remarked that she read obituaries as mini-histories. The Times's obituary of Judge William Wayne Justice encapsulates the history of desegregation, with judicial activism (and its social consequences) sprinkled on like so much Texas Pete...
Laugh About It Talk About It
Posted on October 19, 2009Candidates for Pennsylvania's high court will debate this Thursday, October 22, 12:15-1:15 p.m. Guests are requested to arrive by noon to the moot court room at Temple University's Beasley School of Law. Moderator is Lynn Marks of Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts...
Con-diments
Posted on October 13, 2009The Chicago hot dog is famous. Now a hot dog stand in Chi-Town is bordering on the infamous. Those serving meals at Felony Franks have served something else in their past -- hard time. We hear a lot about re-entry -- that is, reintroducing those who have served their time back into society...
Picture Book
Posted on October 06, 2009Pictures of courthouses, taken by a courthouselover not so long ago: County Courthouses on flickr. Thanks to Jim for the tip, and to The Kinks for inspiration!
Sunday News
Posted on October 04, 2009From the papers -- Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas Judge Luebbers celebrates Margaret Brent: Colonial Woman Inspires, Cincinnati Enquirer (October 4, 2009). Washington Post wonks critique retired Justice O'Connor's judicial video game while calling for more openness in courts: Educational? You Be the Judge, Washington Post (October 4, 2009)...
Bee Plus
Posted on September 28, 2009There are many different theories regarding the decrease in U.S. honeybees. We have our own: they all congregated in a South Carolina courthouse. See Thousands of Honeybees Make Home in Dillon County Courthouse, Jamie Rogers, News Reporter (September 26, 2009)...
Floored
Posted on September 28, 2009The Westmoreland County Courthouse is a work of art in itself. And like most things aged, it is in need of repair. Temporary tiles have been installed over a buckling floor. But they're not just any tiles -- they're in the shape of a W! For Westmoreland, get it? Another theory is that the W is in honor of Westmoreland County's engineer, Mel Wohlgemuth...
What Dissuades a DUI Offender Most?
Posted on September 27, 2009It's a constant battle, waged by moms, NHTSA, law enforcement, and the community to separate drunk drivers from their vehicles. The most obvious way to do this is to keep them from using said vehicles. One way to do this is to install an ignition-interlock device...
New Category: Juror Orientation Videos!
Posted on September 21, 2009OK, not really, but we can dream... New Mexico courts have a new online juror orientation video. It could also be used by teachers -- very informative! Beginning with a montage of photos of New Mexican courthouses (in which they try public officials for making crooked courthouse construction deals), the video goes on to cover history of jury trials, our jury-related Constitutional rights, evidentiary standards, and procedure...
Happy Holidays
Posted on September 17, 2009Happy Constitution Day! In honor thereof: fight for your 7th Amendment rights. We're highlighting the 7th not because it's more important or better for our lawyer friends than the others, but because it is the one Amendment nobody seems to love. It's the paschal lamb of all political parties, every side of the health care debate, most discussions about the economy, and several private arbitrators (some of whom have dollar signs for eyes)...
In Loco Parentis
Posted on September 07, 2009Anyone who's lost a child knows that parents must find it in themselves to move in a positive direction in order to carry on. That move could involve telling their story to others who have suffered a similar loss, planting a tree in their child's memory, or hugging their family a few extra times every day...
Junk Science Kills
Posted on September 07, 2009It's not just a good idea to keep bad science out of the courtroom. It could be a matter of life or death. See Trial by Fire, David Grann, New Yorker (September 7, 2009). Of course, Grits for Breakfast got to the scene first. See Did Texas Execute an Innocent Man over Junk Arson Science? (January 26, 2009), plus a host of other posts on the topic...
School is back, and with it the
Posted on September 01, 2009School is back, and with it the avoidance thereof: truancy! Courts have taken it upon themselves to not only attempt to enforce truancy laws, but also combat the underlying no-showitis. Summit County Juvenile Court in Akron gets an A for effort in truancy prevention...
Does Size Matter?
Posted on August 31, 2009We often hear about judicial workload studies. Court staff are subjected to the same microscope. But what about the administrative offices of the courts (AOCs)? Most are comically small and understaffed. Those bear little mention and deserve support from any corner...
Bellyblog
Posted on August 30, 2009Pretty soon, blogs will be like bellybuttons -- everyone will have one. And they'll be full of lint. The newest (to us) entry in the court-related blogoverse is the Supreme Court of Washington Blog. It seems as though most of the information comes from the court's media releases (available via e-mail)...
Happenings
Posted on August 30, 2009Sept. 15: The NYT's Adam Liptak visits Drake. Speaking of Drake, congrats to and on its new awesome dean! (Des Moines) Sept. 17: What happens when a victim of a real crime reconciles with the man falsely accused of committing it? Hear Picking Cotton: Our Memoir of Injustice & Redemption...
Rebel with a Cause
Posted on August 25, 2009Why is the ABA selling skateboards? The same reason it issued a manifesto. Because: a) It can b) Ungodly combination of flaming cheese, ribs, and Harold's at Taste of Chicago fried the ABA's collective brain c) It's all part of a larger plan to encourage legal rebels
The Case of the Noisy Jurors
Posted on August 20, 2009Jurors are deliberating. Everyone waits. Everyone overhears, because the jurors are loud. A reporter (yes, a few still exist) Twitters as he listens. You're the judge in the case. What do you do? a) Shush the jurors b) Turn up the radio so nobody can overhear deliberations c) Close the courtroom A Lake County, Ohio, judge chose C, but not without a fight from the defense...
Scam-I-Am
Posted on August 20, 2009Twinkies. Energizer batteries. True love. Is there anything more enduring than the pigeon drop scam? A similar scam was identified in Ohio, but it seems like it could be a national phenomenon. In this version, a lawyer receives an e-mail (no, not from a Nigerian VIP) regarding debt collection...
Pfffffttttt!!!
Posted on August 13, 2009Ahh, sometimes the appearance of impropriety is impropriety itself. To wit: Charles County Judge Suspected of Deflating Worker's Tire, Ruben Castaneda, Washington Post (August 12, 2009), and Judge Says Deflating Tire on Car Wasn't Big Deal, Ruben Castaneda, Washington Post (August 13, 2009)...
Too Hot for Letterman
Posted on August 09, 2009Justice Served's famous Top 10 Court Website Awards for 2009 is out! This is the 11th remarkable year for the awards. What did your court's site (if it existed) look like 11 years ago? (Chris, do a then & now someday! Although the evidence for then may be difficult to capture...
CLE Fun
Posted on August 07, 2009This year's Supreme Court watchers are in for a treat -- a brand-new Justice, and a great fall preview at William & Mary School of Law's Institute of Bill of Rights Law. When: October 2 & 3, 2009 Where: William & Mary School of Law (just 100 steps away from the National Center for State Courts in Williamsburg, Virginia) How Much: 7...
She's In
Posted on August 06, 2009The white smoke is puffing above Congress. Welcome, Justice Sotomayor! See Sotomayor Poised to Become First Hispanic Justice, Julie Hirschfeld Davis, Houston Chronicle/AP (August 6, 2009), and thousands of other articles, too many to list here.
Congratulations, Buckeyes!
Posted on August 02, 2009Two of our favorite Buckeyes -- Stephanie Hess and Ruth A. Newcomer -- have been recognized by NACM. Hess manages the Supreme Court of Ohio's Case Management Section. She was elected to NACM's board. NACM honored Newcomer, who manages the Supreme Court of Ohio's Court Relations Program, with the Jefferson Cup for her outstanding contributions to the annual conference...
TV Realty
Posted on July 28, 2009Some people watch reality TV; others are content just watching reality itself. The NYT recently ran a fantastic article about two such hobbyists: Judy and Gladys. Forget expense-laden trial consultants and fuzzy focus groups -- J. and G. tell it like it is! See At Astor Trial, It's Judge, Jury and Judy and Gladys, Too, A...
Risky Business
Posted on July 28, 2009What security risks does your court face? Is anyone actually watching the screens of surveillance cameras? Are people with metal shanks hidden in their shoes waived through? Do security personnel stand with their backs to potential perps? Who poses the bigger threat -- angry criminal defendants or religious women? The Georgia Judicial Council issued a new policy allowing people in court to wear head coverings for religious or medical reasons...
Christmas in July (in Texas)
Posted on July 22, 2009Add to the ranks of good reads from Texas bloggers Courtex (get it?). The new blog is one of the few written by court administrators. Carl Reynolds, state court administrator for the Lone Star State, gives you an insider's look at the Texas courts. If you can divert your eyes from the beautiful photo at the top of the Courtex page, you'll find great posts about a variety of issues -- legislation affecting courts, e-filing, recommendations on permanency for children in foster care, even a new (to us) acronym! Thanks to Carl for passing this on, and happy reading!
Tune Out, Turn Off
Posted on July 15, 2009One would think that endless wonkish testimony about a nominee to the SCOTUS would warm the cockles of our little heart. So why are we paying as little attention to the Judge Sotomayor confirmation hearings as possible? Because we're on vacation! Because she's a shoo-in! Because confirmation hearings are a joke, serving only as a platform for whatever random thoughts the most talkative branch had on the way to work today! Because the hearings violate the separation of powers! Because they are bad for judicial independence! All of the above! Further reading: Let the Nominee Stay Home, Stephen L...
Sotomayor Central
Posted on July 13, 2009The Wall Street Journal (if you like that sort of thing) has a handy stash of all things Sotomayor on its website. Nice organization. SCOTUSblog boasts Live Coverage of Sotomayor Hearings and LiveBlog of Judge Sotomayor's Confirmation Hearings. (Oops, almost wrote conformation!) They also have the witness list and blurb and link to the Brennan Center for Justice's study about Judge Sotomayor's conlaw trail.
Independence Day
Posted on July 09, 2009California's budget is gone, daddy, gone. How will it keep its courts afloat while maintaining judicial independence? Tonight only!!! ABA president H. Thomas Wells, Jr., speaks about Preserving Justice During Economic Crisis and Controversy at the San Francisco Commonwealth Club...
Outside Help: Creative Funding Sources
Posted on July 07, 2009We were all taught to follow the money but nobody gave us a map! Here are a few creative (and generous) ideas for funding projects: In Little Rock, the Carroll County Courthouse received a grant from the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program: County Courthouses, ES Museum Recipients of $114,000 in Grants, Carroll County News (July 3, 2009)...
Leaning Statue of Paris
Posted on July 06, 2009With court and county budgets stretched thin, local statuary might have to take a back seat to essential court functions. That seems to be the case in Paris, Illinois. There, a rendition of Lady Justice leans atop the courthouse cupola. The article does not say (and it's difficult to tell from the photo) whether she leans left or right; it could be forward or backward for all we know...
Further Reading
Posted on July 05, 2009Good reads for the long weekend: Former Chief Justice Sears (Georgia) ponders fatherhood and family: Let's End Disposable Marriage, CNN (July 2, 2009). An inspiring success story from a beleaguered system: A Triumph of Foster Care, Mark Curnutte, Cincinnati Enquirer (July 2, 2009)...
Happy 4th and 7th
Posted on July 04, 2009Happy 4th of July! Remember to celebrate your 7th Amendment rights and read the Declaration of Independence, where the former colonists listed the right to a trial by jury as one of the freedoms they wanted to maintain in their new country. Also HBD to FOIA (thanks to reporter Molly for the link).
The First to Go
Posted on June 29, 2009Court reporters, long a cost drain on ever-technologically-advancing courts, will be the first casualties in the court budget battles. For a long time, court reporters have promoted their superior skills, believing they can do the job better than any machine...
Wanna Be Startin' Something
Posted on June 28, 2009Does Michael Jackson's ex-wife, Debbie Rowe, have a claim to custody of their (?) children? Rowe relinquished her rights to the children after a brief marriage. Now what? A new fact pattern is born every minute, it seems, at least in the wacky intersection of family law and international popdom...
Hawkeye Budget Slides
Posted on June 26, 2009The cuts keep coming in Iowa. Recall that several prospective cutbacks, including reducing the number of magistrates, furloughs, and other measures narrowly escaped the chopping block. Now it's down to the wire, and not even the increased number of courthouse weddings will save the budget...
Attic Geek
Posted on June 26, 2009What's in your attic? A Polk County, Florida, judge was surprised to find the only set of blueprints of the local historic courthouse in his. The discovery allowed the county historical commission to avoid knocking down walls to see what was there. Now, the refurbishing can begin...
WTF Does This Mean?
Posted on June 25, 2009Yet another reason to ban texting in the courtroom -- you could get caught taking cash for not testifying. A recent Cincinnati case involved a witness who texted to another: Bra this is Derrick I just got ah stack to not testify. Come to joe house im on the run to...
Cash Found in Courthouse
Posted on June 23, 2009It's not every day a court finds hundreds of dollars!!! Unfortunately for one Alabama county, it was all Confederate money. The plan is to make it part of a public display, not pay the water and sewer bill. See Like-New Confederate Cash Found in Alabama Courthouse, AP, oanow...
Dropping the Percentage Axe in Sarasota
Posted on June 17, 2009Two percent milk. Fifty percent chance. Less than one percent. We hear about percentages every day (more often if we're in the fifth grade.) A five percent budget reduction sounds like nothing, doesn't it? But translated into real dollars, it's negative $335,057 for the Manatee County Circuit Court in Sarasota...
Am I Blue
Posted on June 15, 2009If you're seeing blue in Pittsburgh, prostate cancer awareness is the reason. The Allegheny Courthouse fountain (see link, which includes a photo, below) has been dyed blue to promote prostate cancer awareness and a Father's Day 5K/10K run. Last fall it was dyed pink in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month...
Wrong Place, Wrong Time
Posted on June 15, 2009Ever have that dream where you show up for a class you forgot to attend and have to take a test? What about the dream where you're an alternate juror, but somehow get mixed up in deliberations? That dream unfortunately came true for a Harris County, Texas, alternate...
Video Video
Posted on June 12, 2009Potential jurors in Oregon will learn about the task before them from a new orientation video. Justice for All can be viewed on the Internet. According to Judge Janice R. Wilson, Circuit Judge of Multnomah County in Portland, Oregon, The video was the work of a subcommittee of the Chief Justice's Access to Justice for All Committee...
The Speed of Knife
Posted on June 10, 2009When we saw this story, we could hear the voice of the late, great, Professor Groot booming in our tiny head: It's a lot easier to outrun a knife than it is a speeding bullet.
Opposites Repel
Posted on June 10, 2009What's the opposite of night court? Day jail. That's what the Hunterdon, NJ, community will get if the local sheriff closes the justice center (which appears to include both the jail and court) at night. She claims budget cuts are forcing the measure...
Summer/Early Fall Events
Posted on June 09, 2009Bored with day camp? Tired of bonbons on the couch? Humidity making you cranky? Fear no more! Check these out: 2009 National Association for Court Management Annual Conference: July 7-11, Boston, MA. Learn about The Human Side of Court Management. Sessions on pandemic planning, court culture, elder issues, establishing credibility, and many more...
Objective Risk in West Virginia
Posted on June 08, 2009Today the SCOTUS opined that West Virginia Supreme Court Justice Brent Benjamin should have recused himself from a case in which a conflict of interest existed. Objective risk of bias is the standard by which judges must recuse themselves. Now that this point has been clarified, will we see more recusals? New procedures by which judges may recuse themselves? Less corruption? More respect for jurors' decisions? The means by which a jurisdiction selects its judges is less important than the way it handles ethics issues...
The Case of the Exploding Courthouse Toilet
Posted on June 07, 2009In Webster County, Missouri, years of leaks, backups, and -- according to one report -- exploding toilets -- have finally been fixed after workers located a sippy cup stuck in the pipes. See Unlikely Culprit Backed up Toilet at Webster County Courthouse, Marie Saavedra, KY3 News (June 5, 2009).
The Latest
Posted on June 06, 2009Maricopa County has long been the central place for all things court administration. Innovations, studies, you name it, they've got it. It's also the source for all things Sheriff Arpaio. The most recent story does not concern limiting inmates' meals or making them wear pink underwear (both of which the sheriff has done), but rather a request for e-mails written by judges and court administrators in the Maricopa County Superior Court...
We're Court-O-Rama, and You're Not
Posted on June 06, 2009While the rest of the world spent late-night Saturday partying, sleeping, or watching SNL reruns, court-o-rama was thrilled to come across an Ethics in America panel discussion on judicial independence. A bit dated (the year was 2006; Justice O'Connor had recently stepped down), the panel talks election vs...
Writ of Palmettus
Posted on June 04, 2009In the Palmetto State, the esteemed Chief Justice Toal has been forced into explaining to activist Governor Sanford what overriding a veto means. See SC Supreme Court Questions Gov's Stimulus Role, Jim Davenport, Forbes (June 3, 2009). South Carolina is the only state in which anti-stimulus efforts have landed the players in court.
Bronx Jeer
Posted on June 03, 2009What's as good as cash? The answer is not risky securities. Yet, the Bronx Surrogate's Court office of public administration invested millions from the dead not-so-wisely. Frankly, we're surprised this doesn't happen more often. As the demographic ages and market slumps, watch for this kind of accident to happen more often...
Gopher Law
Posted on June 03, 2009Today's Talk of the Nation features a discussion about the Minnesota Supreme Court's upcoming decision in Franken v. Coleman. MPR's legal correspondent Elizabeth Stawicki is on hand to talk about Minnesota election law. Later in the hour, Tom Goldstein talks about Sonia Sotomayor's DC tour.
More Counseling for Texan Jurors
Posted on June 03, 2009Two bills increasing post-trial counseling for jurors are on their way to the governor of Texas to be signed. The first would give county commissioners courts the option to offer a maximum of 10 hours of counseling to jurors in criminal trials involving graphic evidence or testimony...
Reverse Paparazzi
Posted on June 01, 2009In a switch from the traditionalist paparazzi approach, weatherman Al Roker was chastised for taking photos of his fellow New Yorkers as they all showed up at the courthouse for jury service. Evidently he did not see the sign banning snapshooting in the courthouse...
So Much Empathy, So Little Time
Posted on May 30, 2009Empathetic is not usually the word one uses to describe (at least one of) the people behind court-o-rama. Other words, yes. Judicial empathy has been the talk of the virtual town lately. See (or, rather, hear) the discussion from last Friday's Left, Right and Center...
Please Don't Bite the Volunteers
Posted on May 28, 2009...or the hired help. See Police: Woman Bit Court Mediator, Seacoastonline.com (May 23, 2009).
Saved by the Gov
Posted on May 28, 2009Iowa's court budget problems have been solved -- for now. Governor Chet Culver approved $760,000 for courts, nixing planned furloughs and other cuts. See 7th Judicial District Won't Get More Judges, Furlough Days Canceled, Quad City Times (May 27, 2009).
That Guy
Posted on May 26, 2009Sing it with us! Defendant fendant bo-bendant, banana fana fo fendant, fee fi mo mendant, Defendant! When a defendant has several aliases and one of the issues is his sanity (proof being that he believes himself to be one of the Rockefellers), what to call said defendant during trial is a puzzle...
Wonks, Rejoice!
Posted on May 26, 2009Tuesday was an exciting day in legal news, but with all due respect, the real story emerging is California, not Judge Sotomayor. Sure, there's an exciting confirmation process to look forward to, long discussions of empathy v. hard-hearted legalese, and the elusive what-makes-a-good-justice answer...
What Does Stand for?
Posted on May 24, 2009Real justice, or restorative justice? We think RJ stands for both. A review of Sunny Schwartz and David Boodell's Dreams from the Monster Factory: A Tale of Prison, Redemption and One Woman's Fight to Restore Justice to All shocks and educates with its stark facts and figures...
Memories -- Are They Enough?
Posted on May 23, 2009Should a person's life hang (no pun intended) on jurors' memories? Without written copies of instructions, that's exactly what happens. Critics of the Louisiana criminal justice system (don't get us started) say jurors simply cannot recall 30-40 pages' worth of jury instructions...
Ain't No Party
Posted on May 22, 2009There are many, many things that one should not take into a courthouse: switched-on cell phones, firearms, and party supplies. Does that stop anyone? Apparently not. Some people are starting the long weekend early, and in all the wrong places. In Salt Lake City, a teenager brought mini bottles of alcohol and at least one prescription pill to court...
Interbranch Success in WV
Posted on May 21, 2009Getting the best minds in the room is essential when solving a problem. Getting all three branches of government in the room helps, too. That's what happened in West Virginia, where strides are being made to reduce jail overcrowding. The state court administrator is a former executive director os the state Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority, so he brings a lot to the table...
Caseflow Management: (Not) Too Sexy!
Posted on May 20, 2009Were Right Said Fred Canadian, they would *not* be too sexy for their car, shirt, or song. Somehow, Canada seems to embrace the non-sexy in a way the U.S. can't. This is why, when one looks for articles in the mainstream press about caseflow management, one finds nothing from the U...
Write Globally, Read Locally
Posted on May 17, 2009What happens to reports from national research organizations? Are they like trees falling in unpopulated forests? Are they the sound of one hand clapping? We ask not only because we were once part of such an organization, but because it's a legitimate question -- do these reports make a difference? Does anyone read them? Who? Supposing They do read them -- do They follow up with action? Case in point: the recent NACDL study about prosecuting misdemeanors...
Future-rama
Posted on May 16, 2009What's the future of state court research? A forthcoming essay in a forthcoming Justice System Journal asks Will state courts research essentially run out of novel topics or new ideas? See On the Future of State Courts Research, Jeff Yates, Voir Dire (April 17, 2009)...
The Least of the Most
Posted on May 15, 2009No wonder few people get our least dangerous blog subtitle: only 21% of randomly sampled adults in this country are even aware that there are three branches of government. Ranking them in terms of dangerousness is probably way beyond them. This is according to a recent NCSC/Princeton Survey Research Associates International study, Separate Branches, Shared Responsibilities...
What Women Want
Posted on May 13, 2009What do women want in a Supreme Court Justice? Not surprisingly, women are more likely to want President Obama to appoint a woman to the highest court's bench. A recent Gallup poll suggested that 38% of women surveyed believed such an appointment is essential or a good idea...
Jacket Required
Posted on May 11, 2009Courts try to make sure participants look their best -- or at least passable. Signage, flyers, and straight talk send out the message: No Shoes, No Shirt, No Trial. Now Michigan's highest court will answer the question: can judges dictate how witnesses dress? The case at hand involves a Muslim woman who refused to remove her veil for religious reasons vs...
Inmate and Family Reunion: Only a Mediation Away
Posted on May 10, 2009When inmates are released, the system (sometimes) prepares them to enter the workforce and somehow live a better life. But how are inmates prepared to reunite with their families? In Maryland, community organizing czarina Lorig Charkoudian has the answer: mediation...
Out with the Mold
Posted on May 07, 2009Do the crime, see the slime! Elbert County Colorado's old justice center was moldy. But see New Mold-free Justice Center Open in Kiowa, Denver Post (May 6, 2009). (Hey, it's late!)
Activist Judges
Posted on May 06, 2009Does a state court of last resort overstepping its bounds when it grants an injunction that will affect thousands of people in the jurisdiction? Can state courts hold up cases while federal measures that might affect them kick in? What if the petitioner only asked for an order affecting itself, but the court decided to broaden it to include all those affected? Is this activist judging at its most egregious? Has the chief justice, a former legislator, forgotten where she is? One of our favorite state court chiefs issued a temporary restraining order that will prevent over 5,000 South Carolina homes from being foreclosed upon before residents have a chance to take advantage of the new federal Home Affordable Modification Program (HMP)...
Oh, the Irony!
Posted on May 06, 2009West Bountiful just got a little less so. See West Bountiful Court Consolidates with Davis County Justice Court, Bryon Saxton, Standard-Examiner (May 6, 2009).
Florida Counties Seek Mediators
Posted on May 06, 2009No, you don't need to sit in the lotus position and say om -- that's *meditation*! The County Mediation Program for Florida's 14th Circuit (Bay, Holmes, Jackson, and Washington counties) will hold a free mediation training in June. For contact info and more see Court Mediator Program Seeks Volunteers, News Herald (May 5, 2009)...
Fandom
Posted on May 04, 2009Facebook addicts take heart! There's now more to the social networking site than Pop Pies, long-lost high school friends, and a way to kill any free time you may have. Yes, court-o-rama has come to Facebook! Click here to be a fan.
Turnoffs
Posted on May 04, 2009Taking a cue from Screen Turnoff Week (the event formerly known as TV Turnoff Week, until it became clear that kids don't watch much TV any more), Michigan is thinking about cutting jurors off from all things online. That includes Twitter, Facebook, and court-o-rama (now on Facebook!!!)...
Goodbye CJ Cappy
Posted on May 03, 2009We were surprised and sad to hear about the death of Pennsylvania's retired Chief Justice Cappy. As chief justice, Cappy brought an open mind to the bench. He searched for new ideas to age-old problems. As a result, Pennsylvania implemented (among other things) an innovative and unique approach to malpractice cases...
Our Pick
Posted on May 03, 2009I sometimes remind my native born friends that justice is like oxygen: while you are breathing it, you barely notice it. Cut off the supply, and you will notice the loss more quickly than you realize. -- Margaret H. Marshall, Chief Justice, Massachusetts Supreme Court of Justice...
Shh...
Posted on May 02, 2009They might hear you! But the good news is They're listening less. See Wiretap Applications Decline in 2008, U.S. Courts press release (April 27, 2009). Happy Free Comic Book Day to all!
Wanted or Not? The (Extremely!) Reluctant Juror
Posted on May 02, 2009Thanks to court-o-rama's better half who alerted us to this nut. (Warning: link contains crude language, disgusting imagery, and radical anti-jury-service sentiments!) The bad news is, his plot ultimately succeeded -- he did not have to serve. Are we rewarding bad behavior? OTOH, who in the world would want him on the panel? Meanwhile, Mr...
Get Me to the Courthouse on Time
Posted on May 02, 2009Getting married in the morning? Check to see when the courthouse opens. More couples are choosing courthouse weddings for economic reasons. In Jackson County, Oregon, the fee is just $25. The rotten economy has combined with deployment of locals in the military to make courthouse weddings the new white...
Tiptoeing through the Torts
Posted on May 01, 2009Not long ago, the New York Review of Books ran a review of Philip K. Howard's lament, Life Without Lawyers. (See Shall We Get Rid of the Lawyers?, Anthony Lewis, NYRB, vol. 56, no. 6, April 9, 2009.) The reviewer asked whether people really tiptoe through the law -- because he himself did not...
Retirement Surprise
Posted on April 30, 2009Who's the first SCOTUS Justice to announce retirement under the Obama administration? It's Souter! See Souter to Retire from Supreme Court, msnbc (April 30, 2009).
Minor Crimes, Major Report
Posted on April 29, 2009The NACDL has issued a new report, Minor Crimes, Massive Waste: The Terrible Toll of America's Broken Misdemeanor Court. From NACDL: The explosive growth of misdemeanor cases is placing a staggering burden on America's courts. Defenders across the country are forced to carry unethical caseloads* that leave too little time for clients to be properly represented...
In Fairness
Posted on April 29, 2009We hate to plaster other people's woes here, but once we've done it to one person we feel we must (in fairness) mete out equal treatment under the blog. Moreover, we try to find the teaching moment. Here in Ohio, the Hamilton Municipal Court Clerk plead guilty to reckless operation of a motor vehicle...
Saved by the Bill
Posted on April 29, 2009Rural Iowans will not have to travel far to find a magistrate after all. See Rural Justice, court-o-rama (April 26, 2009). Part of the problem here (and, we suspect, in many places) is blind reliance on consultants. Consults consult. They might recommend, but they do not dictate...
An Alternative Approach to Fairness: New Recusal Rules
Posted on April 28, 2009By now, we've all heard the arguments pro and con for electing judges. The trouble is, where elections are occurring, it's hard for even the best intended to explain to voters that they will soon be merely re-voters. Rather than change the way judges are selected, Michigan has set forth proposed new recusal standards...
Pandemic Pandemonium
Posted on April 27, 2009Do courts need to worry abuot swine flu? If so, what do they do first? The answer to the first question is, of course, yes. The answer to the second is a bit more complex. Yet, courts have been thinking about this issue for some time now. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has compiled a list of benchbooks and other resources related to public health as part of its Public Health Law Program...
Rural Justice
Posted on April 26, 2009Frugal is making do with what you have. Cheap is thinking no one will notice if you cut corners. When cutting back, be sure to do so carefully. You might accidentally cross the line between frugal and cheap. In Iowa, cutbacks are turning into an access issue for rural residents...
A Bench without a Bicycle
Posted on April 25, 2009Thanks to our alert former co-worker, Richard Hoffman, for tipping us off to a recent radio program about women on the bench. Host Kojo Nnamdi had a great lineup: Fred Strebeigh of Yale, Emory Law's Victoria Nourse, NJEP's Lynn Hecht Schafran (whose name you may recall from her many other efforts on behalf of women judges), and NOW's Pat Reuss (shown here making a point)...
How They Find Us
Posted on April 25, 2009We never fail to be amused by the words people use to locate court-o-rama. Here are the latest top 20 phrases: marijuana court o rama rama marijuana pictures griffin judicial circuit georgia drug court marijuana pics (do you sense a theme?) anne skove inflatable castle haunted courthouses maija dixon chief justice john roberts (nope, he ain't here either!) rama...
Coming Soon: Airport-Courthouse Yard Sale
Posted on April 22, 2009What to do with the zillions of nail scissors, Swiss army knives, and other sharp objects confiscated by airports and court security? We've always wondered. They could have a joint all-sharp yard sale. In Palm Beach County, the sheriff destroys them...
In Faux Fire News
Posted on April 22, 2009Fire drill during jury service? One juror was not amused. See Leslie Latto's letter to the editor Courthouse Fire Drill Inconsiderate to Jurors, LoHud.com (April 20, 2009).
Historic Courthouse Burns
Posted on April 22, 2009Belfast's historic courthouse was badly damaged in a fire. The 1850 building ceased operations as a courthouse in 1998. Plans to turn it into a hotel and/or tourist attraction were underway. The fire apparently was deliberate. See Blaze Destroyed 40% of Courthouse, BBC (March 13, 2009), and Court Fire 'Started Deliberately', BBC (March 12, 2009), plus the accompanying video and photos.
Who's Watching the Court?
Posted on April 21, 2009Court watch programs are a great way for courts, law enforcement, and neighborhoods to connect. Turns out, they're also a helpful security measure, if the court-watcher is quick. It's a good day when a 27-year-old felon with a fleeing problem is tackled during such flight by a 62-year-old court watcher...
Lessons Learned (and Unlearned)
Posted on April 20, 2009Today marks the tenth anniversary of the Columbine killings. The nightmare that played out that day marked the way we view many things, particularly security issues. Dave Cullen, a journalist who covered and uncovered much of the tragedy, has written a book, Columbine...
Who Cares?
Posted on April 20, 2009When it comes to court programs, who cares what attorneys think? It's tempting to holler NOBODY! but we know better. What attorneys think can make or break a program. Ray Madoff (who may or may not be changing his name soon) wrote a fantastic article, Mediating Probate Disputes: A Study of Court Sponsored Programs, Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Journal, vol...
Zenyatta Blogerrata, or
Posted on April 20, 2009What passes for an errata sheet for a blog? Let's call it Zenyatta Blogerrata for lack of a better term. We messed up! Despite a strongly-worded 2001 Ohio case denouncing all manner of questions, State v. Fisher, 99 Ohio St.3d 127, 2003-Ohio-2761, does indeed permit questions...
Egg-static!
Posted on April 20, 2009Peeps Shows, those cute dioramas featuring marshmallow bunnies and chicks, have become a favorite seasonal feature. See, e.g., the Washington Post's Peeps Show III, the News and Tribune's Peeps Party, and the University of Chicago's Peeple's Choice. This year the ABA Journal jumped on the bunny bandwagon with some LRPs (law-related Peeps)...
Where in the World is Court-O-Rama?
Posted on April 18, 2009Here in NYC for the ABA ADR Section spring conference! Our panel on probate mediation, consisting of Lela Love (Cardozo) and Karen Borgstrom (New Hampshire courts) was a hit. Thanks to everyone who attended, and even greater thanks to those who stayed all the way through! More later...
Who Ya Gonna Call?
Posted on April 14, 2009Your aged mother left the stove on again. In an odd twist of fate, children want to take the car away from dad. Who ya gonna call? Elder mediators! If demographics and the decades-long trend favoring ADR is any guide, elder mediators will be as common as baristas in a few years...
On the Road Again
Posted on April 13, 2009Iowa judges are on the road again, if they pay their own expenses. The state house unanimously voted to allow judges to drive to other counties to hear cases on their own dime. Gee, thanks! Next thing, they'll allow judges to buy their own benches. Keep in mind that 55 of the state's rural counties do not have a sitting judge...
Disrobing in West Virginia
Posted on April 13, 2009Who gets to wear the robe? Evidently not West Virginia magistrates. One such magistrate tried on a robe (at her own expense), loved the goes-with-everything color, hides-everything style, and R-E-S-P-E-C-T it commanded. But rules are rules, and in West Virginia only state supreme court judges, circuit court judges, and family court judges may wear robes...
Egg-static!
Posted on April 12, 2009Peeps Shows, those cute dioramas featuring marshmallow bunnies and chicks, have become a favorite seasonal feature. See, e.g., the Washington Post's Peeps Show III, the News and Tribune's Peeps Party, and the University of Chicago's Peeple's Choice. This year the ABA Journal jumped on the bunny bandwagon with some LRPs (law-related Peeps)...
Mind-Altering Case
Posted on April 10, 2009Juror questions, a headliner issue for any discussion about jury trial innovations, used to make us a bit queasy. Once we start allowing juror questions, what's left for everyone else -- lawyers, judges, the legal system as a whole -- to do? It seemed the first trip down a slippery slope toward anarchy and messy disorder...
Where Does Rate?
Posted on April 09, 2009Guess the most common murder weapons and methods in this Sporcle quiz.
Where Are They Now?
Posted on April 09, 2009Remember the court administrator from New Mexico who was part of a courthouse contracting project scam? Toby Martinez was sentenced to 5 1/2 years and must pay $2.5 million in restitution. See Court Administrator Sentenced to 5 1/2 Years in Prison, AP (April 8, 2009).
Reno 202
Posted on April 08, 2009The American Judicature Society (AJS) will be honoring former Attorney General Janet Reno next week. Reno will receive the 2009 Justice Award. Keynote speaker will be Kirk Noble Bloodsworth, whose capital case was the first to be overturned as a result of DNA testing...
Tequila Parrot Bird
Posted on April 08, 2009Is the parrot called Lucky or Tequila? To whom does it belong? And how does one get a parrot through court security? These issues surround a gray parrot in Florida. The media calls it a custody battle, although at least one story was savvy enough to use the word chattel in a sentence...
Wanted: Nominations
Posted on April 08, 2009Anyone who ever worked with the late, great Florida court administrator Kent Palmer knew how much he brought to the table. His common sense, integrity, and kind heart moved many a project along. In his honor, the Conference of State Court Administrators (COSCA) bestows the Kenneth R...
Wanted: Peahen Owner
Posted on April 07, 2009Nobody knows whether this lost peahen walked, took a taxicab, or was dropped off at the Marion County Courthouse in Oregon. We don't know if she was mistakenly summoned for jury duty, thinks she qualifies as an expert, or is proceeding pro se. Nevertheless, the sheriff calls her Cynthia (we hope this is a low-crime area) and she appears to be doing well...
Videoconferencing Case Study: Dane County, WI
Posted on April 07, 2009They paid for it. It's already installed. Should courts use videoconferencing? The good, the bad, the expensive, and other issues surrounding videoconferencing in the courts are nicely told in Courtroom Videoconferencing -- a Cost Saver or Just a Hassle?, Steven Elbow, Capital Times (April 1, 2009)...
Out of the Frying Pan and Into the Jail
Posted on April 06, 2009It's late. We're mixing metaphors like some people mix cocktails. You know how bank robbers rob banks because that's where the money is? The sort of twisted version of that is this story: Police: Man Broke Into Courthouse after Being Released from Jail, Quad City Times (April 6, 2009).
Ex Files
Posted on April 06, 2009What's in your basement? Dirty laundry? Mustiness? Boxes of stuff you still haven't unpacked from the move? If your court's basement is anything like that of Cabell County, West Virginia, old records might be molding away in it. See the all-too-common story, Cabell County Records Rot in Courthouse Basement, AP (April 6, 2009), and hope for a dry spell...
Just What We Thought All Along
Posted on April 06, 2009Do Facebook and friends pose a new set of pressing problems for jurors? Like most things technological, these tools let people do what they would have been doing all along, if only they had the means. That's right: popping pies! No, seriously. When we gripe about jurors' online gripes, it's because tweeting and facebooking creates an immediate and semi-permanent record of the thoughts they've had all along...
Health Care Courts: "Do No Harm" or "Quack?"
Posted on April 05, 2009Will health care courts cure anything? We think not. Not because specialized courts are bad. No, we like the (anti-) substance abuse courts (except when they trample on defendants' rights). We like the idea of problem-solving, and are all for such courts when they do not cause ethical obligations to run amok...
We Didn't Know This Was a Crime!
Posted on April 04, 2009Blitch to Stand Trial April 20 in Valdosta, Teresa Stepzinski, Jacksonville News (April 4, 2009). Next thing you know, snarkiness will rank as a misdemeanor. Should we be worried?
May is Malpractice Month
Posted on April 04, 2009Sponge stuck inside you? Wrong finger amputated? Step right up! The Clark County, Nevada, District Court has made May Malpractice Month! Attorneys in 216 of the oldest pending malpractice cases in the jurisdiction have received notice, or rather an invitation, to participate in the May Marathon...
Dallas County Knows When to Hold 'Em
Posted on April 04, 2009Clark County, Nevada, is one of the world's fastest-growing counties. It has one of the most up-and-coming court systems. Now one of those court employees is moving to the Dallas County, Texas, commissioners court. This would not be so newsy were it not for the fact that Clark County is involved...
The Rest of the Story
Posted on April 04, 2009With apologies to the late Paul Harvey, we bring you the "rest of the story" about court administration in Cobb County, Georgia. Recall that the former court administrator was released from his position (one way or the other) after lewd details surfaced...
Talking of Michelangelo
Posted on April 03, 2009Holy Moses! People bicker about the placement (or not) of the Ten Commandments in courthouses, but this is the first time we've heard about someone who despised Moses. In Massachusetts, a 97-year-old reproduction of Michelangelo's sculpture was destroyed by a man who apparently had a beef with the old testament lawgiver, sending the law librarian into fits...
Beverly Hills Papers at NKU
Posted on April 03, 2009The nation's third-deadliest fire and harbinger of the class action landscape we know today happened at the Beverly Hills Supper Club in northern Kentucky. Now, Stan "The Man" Chelsey's case-related papers will reside at Northern Kentucky University's Steely Library...
Stimulating
Posted on April 02, 2009Need courthouse money? Federal projects around the country will benefit (hopefully) from stimulus money. Here are a few: Davenport, Iowa, seeks money to improve its federal courthouse. See Harkin: Federal Courthouse in Davenport to See Stimulus Money, Quad-City Times (April 1, 2009)...
State Court Administration News
Posted on April 01, 2009Across the River: Effective April 3, Jason Nemes will no longer be state court administrator of Kentucky. See Top State Court Administrator Resigns, Linda B. Blackford, Herald-Leader (March 14, 2009). TGIF in the Hawkeye State: Iowa courts will close several Fridays in a row...
Where Angels Fear to Tread
Posted on April 01, 2009Rushing to the courthouse? Worried you won't make it to your arraignment in time? Steal a car! No, seriously, don't try this at home. And anyway, the person who did this says he had custody of the car fair and square, having paid someone (he knows not who) $10 to use it...
Pity the Fool
Posted on April 01, 2009Court-o-rama spent March eating bon bons on the couch, mourning the demise of f/k/a, and hunting and gathering new court stuff. This is a blog about the courts, after all. Now we are fresh as daisies and twice as snarky! Who knew that our readers would keep reading anyway? Our numbers (except for that week of inexplicable and probably erroneous zeroes) kept the same or higher for most of the month...
Irresistible
Posted on February 26, 2009We could not resist this headline from Malaysia: Bite, Kiss, Bash at Courthouse, Christina Tan, The Star (February 24, 2009).
Jury Wrangling
Posted on February 23, 2009Lots of good jury stuff from all over this week! Jury selection goes Supreme as the Court hears Rivera v. Illinois (07-9995). Ah, Illinois! The Land o' Lincoln is second only to Louisiana in so many things. This case of the improperly seated juror will (hopefully!) answer a host of questions, including what error is, what the effects of structural error is, misc...
Economy Down = Crime Up?
Posted on February 20, 2009Martha and the Vandellas experienced a heat wave. Everyone today wonders whether the bad economy wave will cause a crime wave. The answer: it depends on what type of crime. Not all crime waves are equal. Leading researchers say some types of crimes are sparked by economic downturn, but proceed with caution when describing the cause and effect...
Where the Sun Don't Shine
Posted on February 19, 2009We thought solar power needed, well, sunlight. Let's hope for their sake that Saginaw, MIchigan, has enough of the light stuff to keep a solar courthouse running. If we were they, we'd hold out for a windmill or install one of those exercise rooms where the treadmills are hooked up to generators...
Crowded Big House
Posted on February 18, 2009Like the curse of winning Best New Artist at the Grammys, some laws seem like a popular idea yet don't stand the test of time. That's the case with California's famous 3 strikes law. Once upon a time, this seemed to some like a coherent and predictable way to sentence offenders and appease a worried public...
Courthouse Courthouse fo-Fourthouse
Posted on February 09, 2009There are Cool Names (Ava, Salome), Best Exotic Baby Names: New, Historical, Ancient, Mystical (Arion, Elan), a Bible, Queer Baby Names, Irish and Japanese baby names, a wizard, and Great Books names (Atticus, Beckett, Esme). Too bad there's not a baby name book for courthouses, too...
Video Never Killed Anybody
Posted on February 09, 2009First we heard that the revolution would be televised. Then we heard that video killed the radio star. So which is it? What, exactly, does TV do to courts? We're going to say: relax! Someone, somewhere, will play the O.J. card. The country started watching the O...
You've Got Mail, and The Sheriff Wants to See It
Posted on February 03, 2009When must court e-mail be turned over? What if the local sheriff asks to see them? This is the situation in Maricopa County, where Sheriff Joe Arpaio wants access to e-mails between court employees and a judge regarding the sheriff's limitations on visitation hours for inmates...
Noted
Posted on February 02, 2009Jury trial innovations are like lottery winnings. Everybody (almost) wants them, but what do we do with them once we win? Put it in the bank? Retire early? See the world? Pay off the bills? Good question! So glad we asked. In Maryland, not knowing what to do with juror notes to the judge has led to a possible retrial -- for the third time...
Skeleton in the Courthouse
Posted on February 01, 2009Is there a skeleton in your courthouse? Or under it? In beautiful Rockbridge County, Virginia (home of W&L Law, for which we have a soft spot) a skeleton was found during excavations for a new courthouse. Luckily, Virginia is buried under many talented (and still living) archeologists! A Radford professor has determined that the skeleton is that of a 20-something-ish woman from the 1800s...
There But for the Grace of God
Posted on January 31, 2009Ahh, Facebook -- it helps you reconnect with freaks from your past, it lets the world know every blooming thing about your life, and you can waste an entire day playing those stupid games! (So we hear.) It can also get you booted from jury service. Now before you go getting any ideas, hear this: jury service (NOT "duty," sorry) is an important part of citizenship...
Fewer Jurors, Less Pay
Posted on January 30, 2009When jurors (famously underpaid) take a pay cut, you know times are bad. New Mexico Chief Justice Edward Chavez proposed altering juror pay from $7.50/hour to $40/day. He also asked state legislature to repeal a statute guaranteeing parties the right to a jury trial in certain magistrate court cases...
War on Drugs: 0, Defendant: 1
Posted on January 30, 2009How often is a defendant acquitted of a drug charge...when the amount in question is 15 pounds of marijuana? Personal consumption, said the jury, who shook the defendant's hand after the trial was over. Then they all went out and bought extra-large bags of pork rinds...
Renaming Second Street
Posted on January 29, 2009Once upon a time, our hometown and stomping grounds thought it would be clever to re-name Second Street "Pete Rose Way." Soon we learned the reasoning behind naming people after they're dead: they can screw up if they're still alive. And Mr...
Right On
Posted on January 29, 2009How much do we love being right? Let us count the ways. Do we love saying "Toldya so?" Does July need a sky of blue? Turns out we were right when we said voter fraud is a mostly unfounded fear. See Only One Voter Fraud Case Found, Kimball Perry, Cincinnati Enquirer (January 27, 2009)...
Ledbetter Bested
Posted on January 29, 2009Forging pellmell into the realm of common sense, President Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act today, his very first bill. We were lucky enough to go to grade school with girls who wore pro-ERA t-shirts, but that, we do not need reminding, was a looooooong time ago...
Camcourter
Posted on January 26, 2009We've seen Paris and Nicky try farm life, people trying to sing and dance, and 24-7 coverage of space. Cameras in the courts -- what, if anything, would they change? Cameras can be used to try to turn the tables; just ask the governor of Illinois. He wants cameras, but no trial...
Probate Reform
Posted on January 23, 2009This time of year, everyone is turning over a new leaf. Whether it's the inauguration, the Year of the Ox, or fresh and (as-yet) still unbroken New Year's resolutions, everyone is trying to better themselves and renew their surroundings. We've written before about Connecticut's probate court troubles...
Friday Sleb Court Roundup
Posted on January 23, 2009Still smarting from our Oscar(R) snub (evidently we have to prove we've been in some type of movie!), here's this week's episode... Slebs behaving well! When was the last time you heard good custody case news, much less good sleb custody case news? Kelly Rutherford (yeah, we had to IMDB her, too!) and her estranged husband were praised by a judge for their conduct during a recent hearing...
Event-full
Posted on January 22, 2009Stuck in January? Tired of carving ice sculptures? Looking for something court-related to do? Court-o-rama has all the answers! Hmmm, anything that must be amended 700 times in a 22-year time span should probably go back to the drawing board. Such is life for the US sentencing guidelines...
Volunteer
Posted on January 18, 2009MLK Day has become a day of service. Courts are filled with public servants of one sort or another -- judges, prosecutors, public defenders, court employees, and others. Courts count on volunteers to provide many services. Here's a look at some of the important contributions of volunteers: CASA/GAL: According to National CASA, over 59,000 advocates serve 954 programs...
Weekend Sleb Court Roundup
Posted on January 17, 2009Ahh, the weekend, when one can spend time carving ice sculptures on one's lawn or stay cozy inside with scoop du jour! It's not a crime to have fabulous hair, be too skinny, or remake Freaky Friday. But if you're on probation and forget to change your address, uh-oh...
Avoiding the "Oops!" Moment
Posted on January 15, 2009Amputating the wrong limb. Giving the wrong type of blood. Misreading the dosage. Leaving a tool inside of a body. No matter where you stand on medical malpractice issues, read enough cases (or even one very scary one) and you have to admit that reducing the amount of "Oops!" moments can only be a good thing...
Need-to-Know Basis
Posted on January 14, 2009Does your court have a probate mediation program? If so, court-o-rama desperately needs to know about it! We will be co-presenting "Dead Decedents and Splitting Heirs: How Do We Get Disputants Out of Court and Around the Table?" at this year's ABA Dispute Resolution Section conference, April 15-19 in NYC...
Foreclosure Facts
Posted on January 13, 2009Does your court count foreclosure cases? Wisconsin, a leader in beer and cheese, is now also a leader in foreclosure data. Not surprisingly, foreclosures are up in the Dairy State. What is surprising (in a good way) is that they're keeping track. It is true: you can't measure what you don't count...
Hot for Truants
Posted on January 13, 2009As David Lee Roth once said, "I don't FEEL tardy!" According to the Washington State Court of Appeals, it doesn't matter whether you feel like a truant or not, you are still entitled to counsel. Not only that, the right kicks in at the point of your first hearing...
NY Story
Posted on January 13, 2009So *that's* why the New York state court administrator has to be a judge -- the better to follow in the footsteps of the retiring chief judge with! Yes, you guessed correctly -- Jonathan Lippman has been tapped to be the next Chief Judge Kaye!
Speech-O-Rama
Posted on January 13, 2009Political wonks -- will the few days between Bush's closing argument and Obama's swearing in make you edgy? Do you need a speech to satisfy your fix? You're in luck! State court supreme court justices are making the rounds this time of year with their state of the court addresses...
Misery Loves Company
Posted on January 12, 2009Cuts got you down? You're not alone! Stress with the best! Today's Talk of the Nation featured state budget cuts -- who has them, and what they're doing about it. Commiserate with the callers! See/hear State Budgets Falling Short in the Recession, Talk of the Nation (January 12, 2009).
Comment Icons
Posted on January 11, 2009Yes, it's a rare post from Tom! In our never ending quest to muck about with the system, we've added comment icons. It's done via a free service called Gravatar, short for Globally Recognized Avatar. If you make an account on Gravatar and upload an image for your email address, then that image will show up next to any comment you make using that email address...
Just Desserts are Not Enough
Posted on January 11, 2009Current thinking about sentencing seems to hyperfocus on a few tensions: aggravation v. mitigation, public safety v. rehabilitation, and an overuse of plea bargaining. Is there a better way? Yes, says Judge MIchael Marcus of the Multnomah County (Oregon) Circuit Court...
A Nation of Addicts
Posted on January 11, 2009Are we addicted to prisons? Here's a dose of reality and logic from Judge Michael A. Wolff of the Supreme Court of Missouri and Chief Justice Paul J. DeMuniz of the Oregon Supreme Court: "[W]e use prisons as addicts use drugs: they don't do what the public expects them to do, so we use them even more, with the result that we need more because prison makes many inmates worse when they return to their communities, and prevents them from receiving programs in the community that wuld work...
Could Happen
Posted on January 09, 2009It could be that municipalities raise funds by issuing traffic tickets. Indeed, many people suspect the inverse proportionality of traffic tickets to economy. One economist, himself a victim (?) of traffic ticketry, conducted a study. Thomas A. Garrett did find a relationship between falling government revenue and an increase in ticketing...
It Takes a Terrier
Posted on January 09, 2009Court is stressful for everyone, most of all the children caught up in adult-sized conflicts. We've heard of day care in the courts and teddy bear projects, but never a courthouse pet. So we were intrigued by the Howard County (Maryland) clerk keeps a teacup Yorkie in her office to brighten sad occasions...
What We're Reading
Posted on January 09, 2009Rather, "what we would be reading if everyone took their naps on time." These two are on our list: Art of Justice: An Eyewitness View of Thirty Infamous Trials, Marilyn Church and Lou Young. This is a nifty book covering some of the most (in)famous trials from the 1970s to today -- Fisher, Gotti, Goetz, Simpson, Stewart, and more...
Douglas County Courthouse by the Numbers
Posted on January 05, 2009Number of weapons confiscated in the Douglas County (Nebraska) Courthouse last month: 40+ Number of knives confiscated: 28+ Number of utility blades: 13 Number of times a firearm has been found in the past two years: 2 Number of loaded handguns found last Friday: 1 Rank of the "I had no idea that was in my bag!" excuse: 1 See More Than 40 Weapons Found in December, OmahaChannel (January 5, 2009).
What Does Justice Look Like?
Posted on January 05, 2009Unlike most federal buildings in D.C.* the Department of Justice is not open to the public. Now thanks to NPR, you can see inside the belly of the beast. If it sounds odd that this peek inside comes from radio, check out NPR's website. There one can see a photo gallery of the murals discussed in the broadcast...
Judging Pay
Posted on January 04, 2009Chief Justice Roberts is doing what any top judge in a jurisdiction does: asking the legislature for money. Judges try hard to avoid "the appearance of impropriety." Asking for a raise during tough times may not rise to this level, but it may not pass the red-face test, either...
Time = Money
Posted on January 04, 2009Does mediation save time and/or money? If we had a nickel -- a penny! -- for every time someone asked us that, we'd be rich. If we had an answer, we'd be even richer. And we'd have all the time in the world! But the real answer is "it depends." Whether the program is run by paid staff or volunteer elves (most are a combination), whether the mediators are any good (and how can one tell?), whether parties will actually go, where in the process cases get to mediation, whether judges feel comfortable referring parties, whether lawyers feel comfortable with the process, whether the program is well-run or being run into the ground, whether the person asking really meant to say "meditation"...
Ringing in the New: What to Watch in 2009
Posted on January 01, 2009No matter what you dropped from a tall building, we hope everyone is having a safe and happy New Year! We are spending the holidays at a remote Amish outpost in the foothills where we take army showers, hike through woods to get the local newspaper, have a clear view of the night sky (Venus and the moon are doing some beautiful things), and only have access Facebook, Sporcle, and 600 satelite tv channels...
Friday Sleb Roundup
Posted on December 19, 2008Pelicano Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison, Brooks Barnes, New York Times (December 15, 2008). The Quaids can rest easy now that their baby twins are safe and healthy. And a $750,000 settlement from the hospital that severely over-medicated the babies can't hurt...
Nevada Courts Return Jackpot
Posted on December 18, 2008Thanks to "Some Anonymous Tool" (court-o-rama's moniker for people who post without giving their name), we learned that the Nevada court budget came out ahead. That's a bonus for the state because the courts have decided to give the surplus to them...
Economy Down, Court Filings Up
Posted on December 17, 2008That's the math! Even though (actually, because) the economy is down, court filings have increased -- landlord/tenant, foreclosures, bankruptcies, crime, all up up up. It makes sense, and it would seem to be a good thing for courts. Job security, right? Unfortunately, court funding is lagging while the cases keep pouring in...
What Not to Do: Deny Access
Posted on December 17, 2008Rules about courtroom decorum are often set by the judge. They may be informal or written down, strict or somewhat lax. A family or juvenile court may have different standards than a court of last resort. No matter what standard is set, the right to wear cultural and religious dress should be preserved...
Opiates for the People!
Posted on December 16, 2008Are the holidays freaking you out? Is work boring? Is your family annoying? Sick of reading blogs? Too tired to Twit? Had enuf of F-Book already? You need a break, yet you feel the need to do something remotely useful. The federal judiciary has the answer: federal court quizzes and games! Play Double Jeopardy! Who Wants to Be a Million-Dollar Citizen? You do! Take quizzes! How are these useful? You can gloat (or not) about your scores...
Juror Gridlock
Posted on December 12, 2008Like beltway gridlock on a Friday afternoon, juror gridlock can stop a trial cold. Today there are two major examples of juror gridlock. The first is the deadlocked type. These make up the panel who could not reach a unanimous verdict when deliberating in the Brian Nichols case...
Bill Tracks Bills
Posted on December 11, 2008We fondly recall Januaries of years past when befuddled legislative aides would call NCSC's Knowledge and Information Service to learn about a major issue in 60 seconds or less. Apparently, having an issue be part of your platform during the election does not necessarily translate into action once the real work starts...
Method to the Madness: Some Fool Tried It
Posted on December 10, 2008If you've ever giggled at the directions on product labels, you know there are some pretty crazy rules out there. They exist for a reason even sillier than the rules themselves: because some fool tried it, or is about to... Not to make light of the issue, but it is the same (to some extent) with human rights...
Swearing In
Posted on December 08, 2008Jurors, witnesses, and lawyers are sworn in in courts every day. A local (to us) judge has given a whole new meaning to "swearing in court." Hint: if the oath begins with the letter F, avoid saying it in front of Judge Robert Ruehlman in the Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas...
Sentence Structure
Posted on December 08, 2008You'd think reporters, of all people, would understand a sentence. Make that a prison or jail sentence, and it's a whole 'nother story. Nobody, as Prof. Berman notes, seems to have a handle on the exact amount of O.J.'s time. Some guesses from the presses: NECN: 9 years minimum Blackvoices: at least 15 years Bloomberg: 9 years USA Today: 18 years, with parole possible after 5 Philadelphia Inquirer: 9 to 33 years The Province (Canada): 33 years Long Beach Post Sports: 5-15 years Washington Times (Moonies): 33 years, not eligible for parole until serving at least 9 years (noting, too, that "it is possible the penalty is a life sentence for Simpson, who is 61 years old") Dispatch (South Africa): minimum of 9 years in state prison According to the FOX News transcript (which includes bonus Kato Kaelin commentary), Judge Glass broke down the sentence as follows: Count 1, conspiracy to commit a crime = 1 year in county Count 2, conspiracy to commit a kidnapping = minimum of 12 months, maximum of 48 [months] in Nevada DOC, to run concurrent with count 1...
Celebrity Court
Posted on December 05, 2008Use the letters O and J in a sentence. You might get "fifteen-plus years." OK that doesn't really make sense but you get the idea. O.J. Simpson, who was so cute running through the airport in those ads (today, "doing an OJ in the airport" would mean something quite different!) was sentenced today for his role in a kidnap/burglary/armed robbery gig...
Courtroom Entertainment Guide
Posted on December 05, 2008Tired of decidedly unseasonal Law & Order reruns? Disgusted by treacle-filled holiday specials? Want something in-between? Fret not, court-o-rama has your holiday-ish (in that these take place around holidays, but are not so themed) entertainment guide: Looking for something to do in Danbury, Connecticut? Check out the Courtroom Library Series...
Natural-Born Nuts
Posted on December 04, 2008We thought the election would make the Obama citizenship conspiracy go away! Like bumper stickers that don't come off and campaign signs nobody bothers to remove, this case lingers on. The most recent version has been filed in New Jersey. This time Justice Thomas (a good sign that the case will be stopped dead in its frivolous tracks) and Alan Keyes (we thought he'd gone away, too) are involved! Florida Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, who twice hung up on President-Elect Obama thinking it was a prank call, was not involved! See Lawsuit Contesting Obama Citizenship Continues, AP (December 4, 2008), quoting Volkh.
Remember Chuck?
Posted on December 02, 2008Once upon a time we brought you If It Smells Bad... (January 22, 2008), recounting (briefly) shenaningans from the Harris County, Texas, DA's office. So what ever happened to DA Chuck Rosenthal and his "dozens of pornographic, racist and political e-mails" he tried to delete from his office computer? Recall, this is the same DA who extended a grand jury's term to give them enough time to indict a particular justice...
Probation on Probation in Lake County, IL
Posted on December 02, 2008It's the same story around the country: not enough money. What stays? What goes? How much can courts take? The 19th Circuit in Lake County, Illinois, is coping with staff vacancies (some have lasted nearly twenty years) and other shortfalls. The biggest problem, though, is probation...
Can You Hear Me Now? Unfortunately, Yes!
Posted on December 02, 2008Fine acoustics are a must for concert halls, arenas, and classrooms. But sound shouldn't carry so well in a courthouse. Jury rooms, chambers, conference areas, offices, etc., all require privacy and some semblance of soundproofing. Sadly, one courthouse in Minnesota skipped the usual standards and went for something much lower when renovating a courthouse in Winona...
Civil Gideon: If Not Now, When?
Posted on November 30, 2008There is no "civil Gideon" -- representation for those involved in civil (as opposed to criminal) cases. The downturn in the economy and the constant (since the Age of Newt) downward spiral in legal services funding will have you giving thanks for the blessings you have...
The Art of Juroring
Posted on November 28, 2008What would you do if you had jury service?* We'd blog away. Barring the admittance of laptops, we'd write/draw snarky comments/pix of people and events. So we were thrilled to see Carol Lay's Notes from Jury Duty, Salon (November 28, 2008). Love the crackhead fish! Thanks to Ben for giving notice...
Traditional Family Earspin
Posted on November 27, 2008Thanksgiving often means spending time with family and honoring traditions. Our very notion of "family" is fraught with tradition. But would we recognize a traditional family if one invited us over? Professor Stephanie Coontz has two things to say about this: one, our concepts about what constitutes traditional family are misguided (at best), and two, traditional families were nothing to write home about anyway...
What Kind of Blogger Are You?
Posted on November 25, 2008This just in from the West Coast, where they are all about hi-tech and psychobabble! Chris Crawford of Justice Served and Serving Justice fame sent us a link to Typealyzer. Like Chris, court-o-rama's type (ESTJ) is not the type of the person who writes it (usually ENTJ)...
Sunday Puzzle
Posted on November 23, 2008Sporcle strikes again! Name the words starting with p-r-o. Yes it is court-related (a few answers anyway). Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
Pacer Access Not Required
Posted on November 20, 2008We can tweet about the twits on Twitter, make fun of the kids on MySpace, whine about how we're too poor and insignificant (or too important) to own a BlackBerry, or get all confused about how to use our cell phones to do things other than make phone calls...
One Angry Man
Posted on November 20, 2008Can a juror change the world? See Juror Challenges Closed Door Trial in Journalist's Murder Case, Philip P. Pan, Washington Post Foreign Service (November 20, 2008).
Hackers and Help Wanted
Posted on November 19, 2008Susan Yates has spent her career helping people solve conflict. Now, the executive director of Resolution Systems Institute (RSI) has her own conflict -- someone hacked their wonderful site! Good grief! What's this world coming to? We know court ADR has its critics, but goodness...
Good News and Bad News (Not in that Order)
Posted on November 19, 2008What's the first thing to be cut? We're way past that decision in these difficult budgetary times. Here are some of the latest belt-tighteners: Kitsap County, Washington, will cut food service. This might be an initial hassle, but it could be a boost to local restaurants...
Jailhouse Talk
Posted on November 19, 2008Never been to jail but just a leeetle curious about what it's like on the inside? Ask Kiefer Sutherland! All lights, no smokes, no motor car, not a single luxury. Lost Boy tells all: Sutherland Says Jail Was Bad, Chicago Tribune (November 19, 2008)...
Haunting Update
Posted on November 16, 2008Does your old courthouse ever make you weep? No, not because the ceiling fell in during a bad storm, or because you can't get funding to upgrade the technology to 20th century standards, but because it's haunted! This is the case (allegedly!) in Decatur, Georgia...
Pro-Election, Post-Election
Posted on November 14, 2008Are corporations embracing judicial elections over merit selection? See What's the Best Way to Pack a Court? Bert Brandenburg, Slate (November 14, 2008). The author is executive director of Justice at Stake.
Job Hunting with Court-O-Rama
Posted on November 14, 2008Still looking for that elusive job? Join the club! We know times are tough. To assist in your search, we periodically post interesting want ads and help-wanted sections of interesting organizations. Here are a few: Council of State Governments: currently hiring in New York, DC, Bethesda, MD, and at its Lexington, KY, headquarters...
Friday Fun: Checking Our Stats
Posted on November 14, 2008Of course we check our web stats every day, it's like coffee or sleep. What we don't do daily is post the often hilarious search terms people use to find us: "court or rama" -- Is that like trick or treat? Hope the 3 people who typed this phrase weren't too disappointed...
Nebraska's Not-So-Safe Haven
Posted on November 14, 2008Earlier we noted that the broad safe haven law in Nebraska has people talking. Its no-child-left-behind approach allows parents to leave children of any age in designated hospitals. Half of the 33 children dropped off to date were not infants. Nebraska is trying to rewrite its law to mirror other safe haven laws, which were written to shelter infants only...
Very Special Events Calendar
Posted on November 14, 2008With just one leeetle item: court-o-rama will be in NYC for the ABA's DR Section Spring Conference!!! Really there is so little information that we should have waited, but we are psyched! Everything you wanted to know about probate mediation but didn't, that's our theme...
Fun Fingerprint Facts
Posted on November 13, 2008Fingerprint evidence was first used in the 1905 trial of Alfred and Albert Stratton. The brothers were convicted of murder. Ancient Babylonians impressed fingerprints onto clay tablets recording business transactions. Francis Galton (Darwin's cousin) collected and studied fingerprints, and was the first to catalog prints in a system usable by law enforcement...
Starting Your Day in a Mathy Way
Posted on November 12, 2008Statistics! When we were at NCSC, that's all our constituents ever wanted. How many? How often? Who was first? Last? Oldest? Newest? Biggest? Smallest? Most important? Usually we had no idea. People just don't count that many things, and when they do they do not do it in a way that invites comparison...
RFP-O-Rama!
Posted on November 12, 2008We come across these too often to mention, but every so often a few interesting court RFPs stick out of the crowd. Blue Ribbon Commission Public Education Consultant: California Judicial Council. Due November 17, 2008. GAL and/or Legal Counsel Services for the Family Court and Family Court Drug Court for Parents: Hawaii...
Every Court Is Veteran's Court
Posted on November 11, 2008The veterans' court getting the most ink is located in Buffalo, NY. But do all such cases end up in the so-called "speciality courts" for which those courts were designed? Of course not. What happens to veterans in courts everywhere else? Rather than cover the veterans' court yet again, we want to call attention to everyday cases in everyday courts, some of which happen to involve veterans...
Friday Fun
Posted on November 07, 2008Remember the list of Most Important SCOTUS opinions? See if you can guess these Landmark (according to sporcle.com) U.S. Supreme Court Decisions. Hint: they differ. Extra credit: name all the current U.S. Supreme Court Justices. Who will be the first to retire after January 2009? Discuss...
Spa or Courthouse?
Posted on November 06, 2008The Appalachian Mountains are known for their superior spas -- the Greenbrier, Snowshoe Mountain, Berkeley Springs, and now the Morgan County Courthouse. The Morgan County Commission received federal money to build a geothermal system to heat and cool the new courthouse...
The State of State Courts
Posted on November 06, 2008Sure everyone watched the election returns. But did any makers of those red + blue maps show the post-election makeup of state supreme courts? From that big skating rink in NYC to CNN to your local news, we bet not. Never fear! While court-o-rama is not so good at creating maplike graphics, we are here to report about state supreme court races from around the country: Alabama: A close race almost prompted a recount, but as of this writing it looked as though Republican Greg Shaw had been declared the winner...
Calling All Papers
Posted on November 04, 2008From Melissa Chan of the Journal of Court Innovations: Dear Colleagues, The Journal of Court Innovation is soliciting articles concerning the future of commercial litigation and e-discovery. Articles can concern the federal or any state justice system and there is no page length requirement...
A Modest Election Day Proposal
Posted on November 04, 2008We at court-o-rama.org are appalled at the way U.S. citizens select our President. Whether they're paying big money to appear on primetime tv or showing up on the stagedoorstep of late-night comedy shows, politics has become, well, too political. The money is exorbitant...
One Last Gasp
Posted on November 03, 2008We hope this will be our last election-tagged entry for some time, but somehow we suspect someone has something up their collective sleeves. But hope wins the day, so here goes... Is it OK to drink on Election Day? Depends on where you are and who's buying...
Saints and Lawyers
Posted on November 01, 2008It sounds like an oxymoron and/or a punchline, but some lawyers really are saints. For All Saints' Day, here are a few: St. Ives: As he was going to...well, University of Paris (he couldn't well go to St. Ives, could he?), he ended up graduating in civil law...
Halloweb
Posted on October 31, 2008We're still putting costumes together and frosting cupcakes, so today we're leaving Halloween posts to others: Mark Herrmann and friends at Drug & Device Law Blog give everyone the shivers with A Halloween Special: Bodysnatchers! And Jujyfruits!. Read all the way to the end for extra treats! Elizabeth Kent sent us a great article about teaching law and conflict resolution to Boy Scouts via Harry Potter...
Votes for Women
Posted on October 29, 2008Improperly marked provisional or absentee ballots submitted in New Mexico will be judged according to the voter's intent. Election judges must unanimously agree on what that intent was. The League of Women Voters was vindicated by this New Mexico Supreme Court decision...
Courthouse on the Haunted Hill
Posted on October 28, 2008Wow, are there ever a lot of (allegedly) haunted courthouses! One need only consult the Googlenet oracle to learn about them: Florence, Arizona: An entire paranormal society has declared the Second Pinal County Courthouse haunted. The East Valley Paranormal Society rated the courthouse a 3 on a scale of 1 (no ghosts whatsoever) to 5 (more haunted than the library in Ghostbusters)...
Interpreter on ICE
Posted on October 28, 2008You may not be able to locate Postville, Iowa, on a map without the help of the Internet. But many immigrants called Postville home. Recall that Postville was the site of a massive roundup of undocumented people. Last May, over 400 workers at the nation's largest kosher meat packing plant were rounded up by federal agents...
Embarassing Typo
Posted on October 27, 2008As if the Stevens jury hadn't caused enough trouble, now we hear that the twelve (eleven old plus one new) found an error in the indictment. Prosecutors say Stevens checked "no" when asked if he had received any gifts. This fact appears in the indictment along with the other charges...
Calls for Papers
Posted on October 27, 2008Incomparable Research Twin Nancy Welsh of Indisputably (the ADR law prof blog) posted information about submissions to the first International Mediation Leadership Summit. The Summit takes place October 31, 2008 (Friday! Halloween!) The group seeks both practice-oriented and scholarly articles, to be published in different venues...
Voters, Courts, or the Internet Rumor Mill: Decision 08
Posted on October 27, 2008Who's to blame when elections go awry? We've heard grousing about Kansans and worries about voter registration fraud. There has been much serious ado from both sides about courts "voting from the bench." Yet another possible deciding factor in this year's election: the Internet rumor mill...
Oklahoma is for Mediators
Posted on October 26, 2008Oklahoma has long had a wonderful state court ADR office headed by Sue Tate. Sue considers herself misnamed, saying she is, rather, "someone who tries to get people not to!" Later this week the state will bring mediators, judges, and other interested parties together for Conflict Resolution Day...
Trick or Treat
Posted on October 24, 2008Mapping your trick-or-treat route? Add these courthouse areas to your itinerary: Upshur County Courthouse Square: The Gilmer (Texas) Police Department hosts a goodie-fest, concessions, and DNA booth (great for mummies!) Courthouse Square, Newark, Ohio (Thursday): A "safe alternative to traditional Beggars' Night activities" is offered by local civic groups...
Worst in Show
Posted on October 24, 2008Simple Justice said it best: the Internet loves a list! Now that Mr. Blackwell has gone to the great catwalk in the sky, we were afraid we'd lack for "worst-ofs." Luckily, here's one: what are the worst SCOTUS decisions since WWII? A survey of legal scholars reveals the obvious: it depends on where you stand on the political spectrum...
Miss Trial
Posted on October 22, 2008OK, OK, so we're about 26 hours too late on this but to the one (maybe) person out there who gives a hoot and hasn't heard, Britney's ordeal ended in a mistrial! See the extraordinarily lengthy (for its topic) Britney Spears Case Ends in Mistrial, Harriet Ryan, L...
Short-Notice Event Alert!
Posted on October 21, 2008Decision 2008: November 4 and Beyond, Wednesday, October 22, 2008, 8:15 p.m. Georgetown Law Forum, Washington, D.C. Wolf Blitzer moderates (he also has a blog!). Panelists include E.J. Dionne, Jr.; Charles Krauthammer; strategist Celinda Lake; Clarence Page; and Byron York...
Misdemeanor or Prosecutorial Gymnophobia?
Posted on October 20, 2008Must we all wear cutoffs like Tobias Funke, whose gymnophobia was so severe he wore Daisy Dukes even in the shower? Don't answer that. We were just wondering because a Miami-Dade Circuit judge resigned after being accused of exposing himself in a Starbucks bathroom stall...
Everyone but the Judge
Posted on October 20, 2008In Virginia, the governor postponed all state pay raises due to budgetary issues. But the judges will receive their raise, thanks to the separation of powers going on in the Commonwealth. Judges might refuse the raise, though. To promote, well, justice, Virginia Supreme Court Chief Justice Leroy Hassell, for one, won't accept his raise...
An Insult to Community Service
Posted on October 18, 2008Mistake number one: failing to appear for jury service. Mistake number two: failing to appear for jury service (again). Mistake number three: threatening to blow up the courthouse. (Do you see a pattern here?) What possible sentence might this conduct garner? It adds up to two years' probation plus 100 hours community service...
Ohio Voting: All Politics Is Local
Posted on October 18, 2008To answer our own question: beginning of story... Ohio, the self-described "heart of it all," is seeing yet more pre-election-day action. Recall that the SCOTUS kicked the same-day-voting (not to be confused with same-sex marriage, although with all the controversy and proposed waiting period, you'd never know it!) back to the state by vacating the federal order making the state SOS verify all the new names by yesterday...
End of Song, or Beginning of Story?
Posted on October 17, 2008By now (unless you're a member of the national media, who seems to have mostly missed this development) you know that the SCOTUS not only granted Ohio Secretary of State Brunner's request for a stay, but also vacated the TRO altogether. Moreover, the Court (in an unsigned order) opined that private parties (i...
What Becomes a Facilitator Most?
Posted on October 17, 2008Pa-chiiiing! Call 'em what you like -- special masters, facilitators, referees, etc. They all have one pitfall in common: the potential for troubling fee schemes. Who are these people? They are experts in their field. Judges trust and appoint them, attorneys love them, and parties rarely see what hit them but usually walk away happy...
Good Luck, Justice Stevens!
Posted on October 16, 2008Justice Stevens is responsible for handling emergency matters from the Sixth Circuit. We hope his staff includes at least one of each: medic, mediator, strict parent, referee, umpire,
Update: Courthouse Conspiracy
Posted on October 15, 2008The murky Albuquerque courthouse scandal saga continues! Today, former New Mexico state senator Manny Aragon pleaded guilty to conspiracy and mail fraud. As part of the plea agreement, he will spend 67 months in prison. That leaves only one person left to stand trial...
Blog Action Day 2008: Poverty, or How Low Can You Go?
Posted on October 15, 2008How do addicts hit rock bottom? It's a question drug court judges, social workers, counselors, family members, friends, prosecutors, and yes even (especially?) attorneys representing addicted clients, have asked time and again. Mike Henson, who writes about poverty and addiction for StreetVibes, explains: "Reality smacks them in the face...
Funding (or Not) Probate Courts
Posted on October 14, 2008How are probate courts funded? Morbid as it sounds, it would seem that as a sizable chunk of the population steps ever-nearer to the grave, probate courts would have no worries. But like everyone else today, probate courts have economic problems, too...
Of Scams and Skeptics
Posted on October 14, 2008Remember the jury scam? Back in our Jur-E Bulletin days, we often wrote about the phenomenon of faux jury administrators calling unsuspecting citizens in an attempt to get personal information (SSN, financial, etc.) from them. Even though we read the warnings from just about every state court administrative office in the country, and many more from individual jury administrators, we were skeptical (also tired of writing about it)...
Follow the Money: It Could Lead to Crooks
Posted on October 14, 2008A Texas-sized scandal is going on in Albuquerque, where a multi-million-dollar courthouse ripoff was uncovered. The former court administrator and others skimmed $4 million from an $85 million courthouse project. "Defendants are falling like dominoes," as one reporter put it...
Update: 6th Circuit Reverses, Brunner Must Verify Newbies
Posted on October 14, 2008Earlier we tried to explain what a mess we already have here in Ohio regarding elections. It's as though we are trying to get it all done beforehand. Breaking news in the area is that the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed its previous decision allowing Ohio Secretary of State Brunner to move ahead with same-day voting...
Sue Early, Sue Often
Posted on October 13, 2008What, you think people can wait until *after* the election to start the cavalcade of election lawsuits? Nope! Here in the midwest we are already awash in controversy. Last SCOTUS term, the Supremes decided that an Indiana law requiring voters to show photo ID was not an undue burden on the right to vote...
Earmarkable
Posted on October 12, 2008Earmarks are like noisy children -- we talk about how awful they are, but only if they belong to someone else. Of our own we say "...and s/he's never even taken a music lesson!" That's what parents say about their own children. It's what advocates do for their own constituents...
Handy-Dandy Event Planner
Posted on October 11, 2008Looking for a good conference? Look no more! We've got events a-plenty to keep you busy through next spring! First and Fourth Amendment Cases Highlight Annual Supreme Court Preview. October 14, Lexington, VA. Go, if only to hear what Professor Murchison has to say about FCC v...
Inside Japan's Juvenile Court
Posted on October 09, 2008In Japan, criminal cases are open to the public but other cases -- juvenile, divorce, probate -- are not. These cases are all part of family court. The theory is that confidentiality allows for more uninhibited discussion among participants. This is similar to our theory of confidentiality in mediation...
Too Much Time on Their Hands
Posted on October 09, 2008What do Martha Stewart, Jeff Gordon, Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, Senator Obama, Senator McCain, President Bush, and Hurricanes Ike and Gustav have in common? They've all been named as defendants in bogus lawsuits filed by the Litigator Crusader and his ilk...
The Face of Foreclosure
Posted on October 06, 2008We love connecting the dots from a wider societal or economic phenomenon to a narrower court result. Foreclosures, although blightful in so many ways, provide a good opportunity for this exercise...and, like Bill Cosby used to say "if you're not careful, you might just learn something...
The Palin Effect
Posted on October 05, 2008The other night we were late to the debate. We were in a roomful of older, white men, talking about a once-popular but now nearly-defunct phenomenon. No, we weren't at a GOP meeting, but we sure felt like Governor Palin. And not just because we can hear gibbons from our house! We were researching an article about our fair city's train station...
Happy First Monday!
Posted on October 05, 2008Welcome to the Constitutional Law Prof Blog, hosted by Steve Schwinn of John Marshall. Great timing! For other First Monday fun see: Consumer Issues Top Supreme Court's Docket, Nina Totenberg, Morning Edition (October 6, 2008). Today at the Supreme Court: 10...
Our Old Kentucky Courthome
Posted on October 03, 2008Remember departing retiring Kentucky C.J. Lambert's courthouse legacy? He had planned upgrades to courthouses and/or justice centers around the commonwealth. The ambitious project was challenged by the Herald-Leader. (Imagine what they would have said about him if he hadn't been ambitious enough! Sometimes you can't win for trying...
UK Wigs Out
Posted on October 02, 2008Perhaps judges in the UK will take a cue from Beyonce and donate their wigs. They won't be needing them anymore in court: the UK has decided that wigs are soooo 17th century! Starting now, civil and family court judges will tone down their look. Gone, too, are the red robes...
Locklear Update: An Arresting Development
Posted on October 01, 2008Earlier we wondered how TMZ got hold of the photo of the snapshooter cop arresting Ms. Locklear. Now we know: the same way they always get these things, by paying big time. Oh, and the photographer was the same person who phoned in the tip. Setup? See Who's Really at Fault in Locklear's DUI? Sheila Marikar and Scott Michels, ABC News (October 1, 2008).
Hayes, You!
Posted on October 01, 2008It has come to our attention that October is Rutherford B. Hayes month. Our contribution is this: President Hayes signed legislation allowing women to argue before the Supreme Court. They were already arguing everywhere else, so why not? (Source: Rutherford B...
Putting the "U" in Unanimity
Posted on September 30, 2008Gotta love Justice Powell! He left us with so many legal conundrums that bloggers, legal analysts, judges, and lawyers have job security for a lifetime. Dear Justice Powell, what were you thinking in Apodaca v. Oregon when you decided the right to a unanimous jury verdict in criminal cases was not incorporated? Did you not read the many histories of jury use and management that pepper our law libraries? Do you have an aversion to legal history? Were you too busy planning your next trip to MetroLex? What happened to your good Old Dominion sense of "we've always done it this way?" Or were you just, as we noted supra, being kind to future generations? Well, no matter...
All Grown Up or Still a Juvenile? Ohio Case Decides Issue
Posted on September 30, 2008Putting aside, for the moment, the relative maturity of average 18-, 19-, and 20-year-olds, when does a juvenile stop being a juvenile? Here's the timeline: Age 15: adjudicated as a delinquent; put on parole. Age 17: violated parole. Age 18: parole violation hearing finally takes place...
Police or Papparazzi?
Posted on September 29, 2008Who in the world would arrest Heather Locklear? When you toss Ponch and Jon into the mix, the story becomes downright shameful! Now, pile on the fact* that the arresting officer took pictures of her during the arrest with his personal cell phone. What's next, being tased by Danno? Sentenced to death by Judge Roy Bean? See CHP to Heather: You Oughtta Be in Pictures, TMZ (September 29, 2008)...
Safer Havens
Posted on September 29, 2008Earlier we noted Nebraska's difficulty with its safe haven law which, as written, does not specify that children who may be dropped off at hospitals be of any particular age. Now the question is: what to do with the older children? While many say that it is too traumatic on older children, at least one juvenile court expert in Nebraska says older children should be allowed...
Sweet Haven
Posted on September 27, 2008Remember safe haven laws? Still around in most jurisdictions, these laws were all the rage about a decade ago. Their drafters promised great things: a decrease in child abuse, increase in child safety, and a decrease in abandoned and/or murdered babies, and (perhaps, though these goals often went unspoken) an increased number of adoptable children/decrease in abortions...
Blog of the Week(end): Schramm from the Courtroom
Posted on September 27, 2008Ray Davies and friends said it best: "It's a mixed-up muddled and shook-up world!" Bloggers claim to be journalists, and journalists claim to be bloggers. B-L-O-G blogger. So-called blogs emanating from the news media usually fail to meet the definition of blog or of news...
Know A Great Court Manager?
Posted on September 26, 2008Washington State Courts are looking for their best and brightest court administrators. We've worked with many and they are the cream of the crop! Here's the press release: _____________________________________________________________ The Court Management Council (CMC) is pleased to announce that it is now seeking nominations for the 2008 Court Manager of the Year Award...
Fourth Estate Assists Third Branch
Posted on September 25, 2008Who knew that a liberal arts education would come in handy when writing (as-yet un-invented) blog post headlines? Minnesota courts have been feeling some pain, and their chief stepped up to the plate. Chief Justice Magnuson told the state legislature that cuts in court funding put "people's lives, liberty and happiness [...
Parity On, Dude!
Posted on September 24, 2008Congress, consumers, and the legal and medical communities have been debating parity for decades. When insurance covers physical, but not (often underlying) mental ailments, patients fall through the cracks. The falling causes a ripple effect touching employment, families, education, and neighborhoods -- everything we touch...
Outreach in California
Posted on September 23, 2008After reading about Washington's efforts, Fritz Ohlrich, Clerk of the Supreme Court of California, wrote to tell us about the California Supreme Court's
Washington State Supreme Court Hits the Road
Posted on September 19, 2008We hear so much about educating the public about what courts do. But how? There's no better way than to bring the courts to the people. The Washington Supreme Court does this three times a year. Cases will be heard September 24-25 at Washington State University...
Judge Slams Justice
Posted on September 19, 2008How does a federal judge like to learn about the status of a settlement agreement? Here's a hint: she does not want to read about it on the front page. U.S. Judge Susan Dlott slammed the DOJ during a major fair housing case before her for telling the press that a settlement had been approved...
Oops!
Posted on September 19, 2008It's Friday, so we have a bit of armchair (or laptop) advice for Ms. Spears. "Oops, I Did It Again" and "Toxic" may not be the best song title choices for Britney Spears (and don't get us started on "Blackout"). Neither is fighting a traffic ticket to the death in her best interest...
Remembering Halper
Posted on September 18, 2008Earlier we posted that W&L Law professor Louise Halper passed away unexpectedly. For those who missed the Halper family memorial last spring, the law school will hold a memorial service in Lexington. This event is sure to be a healing moment for the law school community, which always manages to come together in difficult times...
Ike Goes to Court
Posted on September 18, 2008Hurricane (or tropical depression, or very wacky windstorm, or giant rainstorm, depending on where you live) Ike pummeled courthouses around the country. Here are a few sightings: In Galveston, the courthouse temporarily housed a foot of water. The city expects to be without power for a month...
Kicked by Ike
Posted on September 17, 2008We hate Ike! Serves us right for gloating about how Ohio is a hurricane-free zone. Actually, it's not: high winds Sunday (no rain at all, just wind) caused massive power outages in our area. Please feel free to amuse yourself with "back issues" while we clean our fridge and pick up the yard...
Blog of the Week(end):
Posted on September 12, 2008Who the heck is Murray Meyer, Esquire? That's OK, we didn't know either until we received this spam, we mean invitation, to his comedy act in *Los Angeles* California! The show is It's Criminal! Getting People Off and Other Legal Fantasies. It takes place at the M Bar on the other Vine Street (the one in Hollywood, not the one down the hill from our house)...
Good Newz for Animals
Posted on September 11, 2008The Michael Vick case, which unfolded in what was then our backyard, shocked the country. As the case progressed, we learned more than we ever wanted to know about cruelty to animals by the dogfighting subculture. Sick, sicker, sickest. A few unexpected happy endings resulted, too...
When in Doubt, Start a Commission
Posted on September 11, 2008What do Indiana Supreme Court Justice Randy J. Holland, Chief Judge Kaye of New York, Daniel Sprague, Mary McQueen, Bill Vickrey, Rebecca Kourlis, and others have in common? They're all involved and interested in the workings of state courts. To that end, all are members of a new ABA commission* on state courts...
Mediators Wanted to Play Client Role
Posted on September 10, 2008Just as doctors should be patients and judges should sit on the other side of the bench now and then, mediators should experience their clients' point of view. Now they can! We received this announcement from Deborah Laufer's listserv: CALLING ALL MEDIATORS DO YOU EVER WONDER WHAT YOUR CLIENTS ARE EXPERIENCING IN MEDIATION? IF SO, PLEASE CONSIDER THIS RARE OPPORTUNITY: WHAT: The Maryland Council for Dispute Resolution (MCDR) is in need of mediation “role players†for its upcoming Certification Days...
September in Wisconsin
Posted on September 08, 2008Q: When is Juror Appreciation Month/Week/Day? A: Whenever we damn well feel like it! Seriously, many jurisdictions celebrate in May to coincide with Law Day, but there's no hard and fast rule. Juror Appreciation is a moveable feast. Pick a time -- any time -- to devote to juror coffee improvement and better access to free ballpoint pens for upright citizens...
Nice Work if You Can Get It: After-Hours Family Court
Posted on September 08, 2008How many times have we Googled "night court" only to find paths back to the 80s tv show of the same name? Like Judge Harry and his hatful of tricks, night court is not as wonderful as everyone thinks. It's not as popular with constituents as one might expect; people do not want to go to court at night any more than they want to go there in the daytime...
Legacy or Ediface Complex? Kentucky's Courthouse Projects Go Pa-Ching!
Posted on September 07, 2008It's Sunday! You should be reading the new installment of PostSecret instead of court-o-rama but hey, your choice. Kentucky's Chief Justice Lambert, who retired last summer, earmarked money (lots of it) to build new courthouses. Just how much? Here are a few numbers: $14...
Family Court Judge Mediation: Going to the Candidates' Debate
Posted on September 05, 2008When families squabble, judges often refer them to mediation. When prospective family court judges squabble, can we send them to mediation? It's interesting to see how candidates handle conflict. No matter what position they're running for, they are bound to encounter some...
They Have to Swear on a Stack of Something
Posted on September 04, 2008May court employees on their lunch hour use the jury room for private bible study? In San Diego, court reporters sued the superior court after the court administrator barred them from using the room for this purpose. The case went to federal court on a constitutional question...
That's a Mighty Long Time
Posted on September 03, 2008"Forever!" That's how long Kentucky's state court administration decided to retain records. The decision was made after the court was criticized for destroying old records. Now the court storage areas are more cluttered than a hoarder's attic after a swap meet...
They'll Have to Trade Knives While Standing
Posted on September 03, 2008We were disappointed to hear that the benches have been removed from Kentucky's Knox County courthouse. According to irate letter-writer Ms. Janice Vinson, the courthouse is a gathering place for many -- those who have court business, sure, but also those who do not have a/c in their homes, knife-traders, people attending community meetings, etc...
Love's Labor Analyzed
Posted on September 01, 2008We watched fireworks, picnicked, and enjoyed the last days of the pool. But this weekend would not be complete without a link to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Why? Aside from the obvious thematic element, the BLS is a font of information about work and workers...
Labor Pains
Posted on September 01, 2008For anyone looking for a job this Labor Day, here are some great court- and policy-related employment resources: NCSC's Employment Opportunities in the Court Community lists federal, state, and local jobs throughout the country. Visit NCSC's court web sites page to learn about opportunities within a specific court...
Can You Afford Deadlock?
Posted on August 31, 2008Everybody hates deadlocked juries: the jurors who squabble among themselves, the parties who wait out the case in a wobbly state of uncertainty, the judges who encourage closure from the bench, the press who hates to wait for anything longer than 5 minutes...
Saved by the Bar
Posted on August 30, 2008How well are public defenders portrayed on tv? Disheveled, angry, and losing. A new show uses a top legal mind to help iron out the differences between reality and the defender characters we see on TV. Raising the Bar relies on the consulting and legal expertise of Professor David Feige of Seton Hall...
What If They Had Community Service and Nobody Came?
Posted on August 30, 2008Community service is a common sentence. We've all seen people picking up litter, working in public libraries, and teaching in public schools to repay their debt to society. In Cincinnati, a protester said no thanks to a community service sentence, opting for jail instead...
Blue Moon over Texas
Posted on August 29, 2008It's something that happens once in a blue moon, or an average of once every 5 years: a federal judge is charged with a federal crime. A court employee stated that she was assaulted by U.S. District Judge Samuel Kent. He has been charged with abusive sexual contact and attempted aggravated sexual abuse...
What Not to Do, or How Not to Spell Relief
Posted on August 29, 2008Good ideas: having toilets available to the public. Another good idea: locating such facilities in the courthouse. Really bad idea: getting so drunk that you end up peeing in the courthouse foyer. Too bad it wasn't winter, then he could have written his name in the courthouse yard...
Expungement Enthusiasts
Posted on August 28, 2008At first glance, the 10th Circuit ruling in the BATF case looks like a Second Amendment case. It has all the ingredients: laws about domestic violence perps' rights to bear arms, Wyoming, the BATF, a state AG, and involves advocates pro and con. In fact, this case is about expungement...
Two and a Half
Posted on August 27, 2008What can be accomplished in 37 1/2 hours that can't be done in 35? Morgan County, Indiana, court employees are about to find out. Morgan County Courthouse is expanding its weekly run by 2 1/2 hours. No, seriously, we want to know what extra wonderfullness will occur in that extra time each week...
Hoosier Melee
Posted on August 27, 2008It's not cool to punch the victim assistance worker. As if to debunk our hypothesis that criminal defendants are on their best behavior in court, and that family cases require more security, a courtroom brawl erupted in the Allen County Courthouse. The background: the defendant was charged with voluntary manslaughter for a 2007 fatal shooting...
It Must Have Been a Jury of 8-Year-Old Boys
Posted on August 27, 2008If you ask a jury of elementary school boys, they'd call for an outright ban on Bratz. The federal jury in the Bratz case stopped short of banning Yasmin, Sasha, Roxxi, Jade, and their plastic pole-dancing friends. It awarded toymaker Mattel $100m in damages...
It's the Impact, Stupid
Posted on August 27, 2008Where can a hot dog vendor make $120/hour? How can a fast-food restaurant get 200 customers daily? Where's the best location for a courier service or bail bond company? How can a town make over $123K annually from parking meters? It turns out that close proximity to a courthouse is good for business...
Give Court a Chance
Posted on August 27, 2008The DNC is killing us with its Mountain Time timeslot. By the time we listen to all the speeches, analysis, and speculation, it's nearly time for Craig Ferguson -- no point in sleeping now! But these hours are nothing compared to the protester court's hours...
Oxymoronic Substance Closes Mail Room
Posted on August 26, 2008It's probably not a good idea to put an oxymoronic substance such as non-dairy creamer into your coffee. It's an even worse idea to place such a substance into a suspicious-looking envelope with unusual writing on it. These events led to the closing of the mail room in the Palm Becah County South County Courthouse in Delray Beach, Florida...
Dog Midwife Asks for Deferral: Jury Service Tips in York County, PA
Posted on August 26, 2008One of the strangest excuses from a would-be juror that York County, Pennsylvania, District Court Administrator J. Robert Chuk ever heard was that the woman's dog was about to have puppies, and she needed to be home with her. If your pets are not great with child, though, you may need some tips on surviving jury service...
Luckily, He Wasn't Equipped with a Gun
Posted on August 25, 2008Paul McCartney is past 64 -- he's celebrating his 66th by driving Route 66. Everyone knows what happened to Desmond and Molly Jones -- they switched places, shared makeup, and life went on. Lucy S. Doe was finally rehabilitated thanks to drug court...
Women Benched in Michigan
Posted on August 25, 2008The upcoming election is making news everywhere, but in Michigan it could signify a first for the Oakland County Circuit Court. If judicial candidates Gorcyca and Brennan win, women will outnumber men on the bench for the first time ever. Here are a few Michigan numbers to put it all in perspective: 31 years: In 1977 Judge Alice Gilbert became the first woman elected to the Oakland County Circuit Court 2 out of 124: Judge Gilbert was one of two women out of 124 who graduated law school with her in 1954 15-20%: Percentage of women who are equity partners in large law firms 12,100: Number of licensed female attorneys in Michigan 26,790: Number of licensed male attorneys in MIchigan 27%: Percentage of Michigan judges who are female See Women's Presence on the Bench Growing, Ann Zaniewski, Journal Register News Service (August 25, 2008)...
Where Did All the Money Go?
Posted on August 24, 2008Lest you think that the Miss Appropriation contest is a new event, it appears that it is something of a New Jersey (NOT Wisconsin!) tradition. The court administrator who recently was put on paid leave pending a hearing may be one in a long line of sticky-fingered officials...
Blog of the Week(end): Serving Justice
Posted on August 24, 2008Would you like fries with that? Serving Justice, Chris Crawford's new-ish blog (new to us because he just let us know about it) defines itself as "about court management, court technology and judicial administration." "Hey," you're thinking, "isn't that what court-o-rama is about?" Well, yes and no...
Pennies from Hell
Posted on August 24, 2008You'd think that with the budget problems courts are seeing these days they would be thrilled to get any payment of fines and fees. But the Massillon Municipal Court was not happy to receive a traffic fine -- in pennies! A man with two traffic violations is dead-set on paying his $243 fine in cents as a message to the court...
OTR Dissent in Mississippi
Posted on August 24, 2008Can a dissent be off the record? It can in Mississippi. Last week a majority of the state supreme court denied a fellow justice his dissent. He wrote it, but it was not made public or filed with court documents. The case in question was a wrongful death suit filed by a court employee against the Mississippi State Veterans Affairs Board...
Upset in Madison
Posted on August 23, 2008There's Miss Wisconsin, Miss Wisconsin National Teenager, and other Misses. In Madison, Wisconsin, there are allegations of Miss Appropriation. Madison's court administrator was arrested and charged with second degree official misconduct, third degree theft by deception, and fourth degree tampering with records...
Zoo Animal Demonstrates Need for Security of Perimeter
Posted on August 22, 2008How far should court security extend, geographically? Does it begin and end at the x-ray machine in the hall? Does it stop at the front door? The courthouse steps? Anyone who's ever walked a frightened client to her car knows that court security needs to include the parking area...
Vermont Court Budget Dwindles
Posted on August 21, 2008"Not constitutionally required." If it's in this category, it could be gone from Vermont's court budget to make room for constitutionally mandated services. This is the case in Vermont, but we hear it around the country. Budget cuts are as popular as the Jonas Brothers, and will not be going the way of the Croc any time soon...
Remembering Ester
Posted on August 20, 2008What would happen if the widow of a former Black Panther was selected as a juror in a civil trial? What if it was Rodney King's case against the city of L.A.? Who would make your juror list? Would you pick a mediator? Would you select a female minority? An Asian-American? The daughter of migrant workers? A mother? Someone who worked closely with the courts? Ester Soriano was all of the above...
Number 44
Posted on August 19, 2008The NLADA ranked Michigan 44th (out of 50 or 51, it's not clear) in the nation insofar as indigent defense goes. They blasted a problem we've known about for ages -- the county-by-county system of everything. This setup is a pain for anyone who has ever surveyed Michigan courts for any reason -- medmal, guardian ad litem, etc...
It Could Happen to You (Or Your Dog)
Posted on August 19, 2008You're upstairs in your home, changing clothes after work. Your mother-in-law is cooking in the kitchen, your wife will return shortly. Another Pleasant Valley Sunday... Suddenly people break in. Shots are fired; you hear screams. Still not entirely clothed, you are handcuffed by masked men...
ACR's Call for Papers
Posted on August 19, 2008Scissors, rock...nope, the Association for Conflict Resolution (ACR) wants paper! Specifically, article proposals. Here are the details: Half-page (150-300 words) description of proposed article Proposed title/headline Your name and contact info (so they can find you, fool) Three lines (no more!) of biographical information Specify whether you would prefer to write a major (at 2,700 words) or minor (at 1,300 words) feature Deadline: September 9, 2008 Send proposals to publications@ACRnet...
NewTalk's New Conversation: Should Losers Pay?
Posted on August 18, 2008Earlier we noted that NewTalk would discuss "loser pays" in the near future. Well, that near future is tomorrow, August 19, thru the 21st! Panelists have been announced. They include former Colorado Justice Rebecca Love Kourlis of the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System; Indiana Chief Justice Randall Shepard; Victor Schwartz of Shook, Hardy & Bacon; Stuart Taylor of the National Journal, and other luminaries (none of them losers)...
Resolute: ABA DR Section Needs Presenters
Posted on August 18, 2008If you've never attended a meeting of the ABA's Section of Dispute Resolution, you've missed out. Great people, terrific programming, fabulous speakers (really!), convenient and fun conference locations...what are you waiting for? Plus, there's always the slim hope that the goodie bags will attain some sort of relevance (really, our only complaint about past conferences!)...
Borderline
Posted on August 17, 2008Madonna, who turned 75 this week, used to sing a song about how someone was pushing her love over the borderline (whatever that means). Federal magistrate judges and other federal court employees stationed near the U.S./Mexico border are feeling the same way (assuming they understand the lyrics better than we do)...
Ohio Needs Mentors
Posted on August 17, 2008Yes there is a Mentor, Ohio, but volunteers for Ohio's Lawyer to Lawyer Mentoring Program can be from anywhere in the state. The program is described as "a voluntary program for new lawyers designed to help ease the transition from law school to law practice through an ongoing relationship with an experienced attorney...
The Other Edwards
Posted on July 29, 2008No, not the cool-coifed, alleged-love-child-fathering Edwards, we're talking about the one whose case went before the SCOTUS this past term. Slate took a break from yakking about the former and gave some belated ink to the latter. A fresh spray of Cullen Seltzer claims that Indiana v...
Does Bad Googling Make Bad Law?
Posted on July 29, 2008A new study from the University of Chicago weighs the effects of no-brainer research (i.e., Googling) on science. The author found that too much Googling leads to less citation of other articles. He also found that the little research cited tends to be extremely recent...
New in New Jersey
Posted on July 28, 2008Meet New Jersey's new state court administrator, Judge Glenn Grant. Judge Grant is a family court judge, vegan, former college wrestler, and New York City marathon runner. He's known for bringing the Newark Municipal Court back from the brink of backlog, and for presiding over one of New Jersey's most notorious family cases...
Land of Enchantment Gets New Jury Video
Posted on July 28, 2008Thanks to our New Mexican mole, we have in our e-possession a letter from the New Mexico Defense Lawyers Association calling for help presenting the state's new jury video to high schoolers: Dear NMDLA Member: The New Mexico Supreme Court recently prepared a jury orientation video to be used in trial courts and for public education...
Now How Much Would You Pay? Contracting for Indigent Defense in Fulton County
Posted on July 28, 2008The long and twisted saga of indigent defense in Georgia has taken another odd turn. After years of trying to replace contract attorneys with a public defender system, it appears that the contractors are a necessity. But, given the low pay and high workload, one contract attorney figures she made about $2/hour in one case...
The Litigation Solution
Posted on July 27, 2008Recently we asked what can be done when extremely important court-related functions are cut from the budget. Cry? Write angry letters to the editor? Hold elected officials accountable? Wait for a disaster to prove our point? In Toledo, the court is suing the mayor and city council to provide adequate protection of the courthouse...
Blog of the Week(end): ADR ProfBlog
Posted on July 27, 2008Wow, what can we say? The ADR Prof Blog is great! We love ADR, we love talking about it, we love thinking about it, we love the conferences and the people involved. Our only complaint about the ADR Prof Blog is that Nancy doesn't post often enough! But the others do a great job covering negotiation, mediation, arbitration, and other DR issues...
That's NORTH Dakota
Posted on July 27, 2008Congratulations to Chief Justice VandeWalle of North Dakota, who is the recipient of the American Inns of Courts 2008 Professionalism Award for the Eighth Circuit. The award honors "a senior practicing judge or lawyer whose life and practice display sterling character and unquestioned integrity, coupled with ongoing dedication to the highest standards of the legal profession...
Friday Comix
Posted on July 25, 2008Q: In Ohio, is it a felony to dis the Buckeyes? A: Yes. (Pay attention, this could turn up on the state bar exam!) Q: Are smores an effective trial tactic? A: Yes. Q: Are jurors paid too little? A: They used to be, but $14/day plus mileage is looking better all the time...
Funding Constitutional Mandates
Posted on July 24, 2008Everyone's in a budget crunch. Courts are no exception. The indigent defense system is fast approaching indigency itself. Awhile back, Rick asked how can this be? The best teachers ask the best questions. The easy answer is that non-essential services are first in line for cuts...
Bankrupt
Posted on July 23, 2008We have always thought that, boring and depressing as it is, bankruptcy is fraught with legal issues beyond the obvious. State courts should not discount bankruptcy stats. If one person or one company files for bankruptcy, it's likely that an entire family is suffering...
Wanted: A Few Good Hoosiers
Posted on July 23, 2008Nominations for the Indiana Judges Association annual awards are due August 8. One is the Indiana Judges Association Commendation for Excellence in Public Information and Education. The nominee must be an individual member of the media or a media firm (newspaper, television, or radio only -- no bloggers, please!)...
Resources for Ohio's Children
Posted on July 23, 2008One of whom is falling asleep on our lap as we type...(some of our most inspired work is dictated by her). The Supreme Court of Ohio has posted resources from the Ohio Summit on Children, which took place in Columbus in May. This is a nice selection of materials on child welfare, county data, courts, collaboration tools, a report on education, summit materials (including videos), and links to pertinent websites...
ND Practice Tips: Parrots and Ponies
Posted on July 23, 2008The North Dakota Supreme Court's appellate practice tip of the week: "A Petition for Rehearing will not succeed by simply parroting the dissent." Earlier tips, any one of which is suitable for your next needlepoint project or for wrangling with children, include: Drop the hyperbole!!! Cheap shots at the other side will only hurt your case...
Probate Mediation: What Are We Waiting For?
Posted on July 22, 2008Probate mediation is up there with glue dots and white popsicles as one of the greatest inventions ever. Yet, it seems about as popular as erasable ink. Probate cases meet anyone's standard when it comes to "fitting the forum to the fuss." Most ADR folks agree that when the fuss involves family members, emotional issues (as opposed to legal novelty), and no-win stakes, it's time to call a mediator...
New Names in the Courts
Posted on July 22, 2008Washington state Chief Justice Gerry Alexander named Jeff Hall State Court Administrator. North Carolina's Governor Easley appointed Brian C. Wilks, an assistant D.A., District Court Judge in Durham. The Governator appointed attorneys John D. Freeland and Nan C...
Arguing for Attitude
Posted on July 22, 2008The little stick figure on the t-shirts advises us to do what we love and love what we do. And so it is, says Barry Sullivan, for oral arguments. Attitude trumps all. He cites Justice Jackson: "If making an argument is not a great day in your life, don't make it; and, if it is, give it everything in you...
Stuck in the MIddle Court with You
Posted on July 21, 2008What if parole were moved? Not just the offices or the funding (though that, too), but moved up in time? So if you pictured the timeline of a criminal case (something we never covered in Montessori), instead of parole coming late in the case, it would occur earlier on...
Gone to the Dogs
Posted on July 21, 2008What happens when illegal dogs are found and confiscated? Usually we expect the worst: sick, violent, unteachable dogs that cannot be saved. You may have heard a thing or two about the notorious case of Michael Vick. What you may not have heard: many of the dogs were not only saved but are now thriving...
Charlie Rose's Chief Guest
Posted on July 20, 2008Amazing things happen when one has small children. Who knew that Massachusetts Chief Justice Margaret Marshall would be featured as a guest on Charlie Rose? We know, because we happened to be awake at 2 a.m. or whatever godforsaken hour this show aired...
Court to Defense: Don't Cry Out Loud
Posted on July 19, 2008Recently we mentioned the story of the local prosecutor who filed a motion asking the defense to stop crying during capital cases. Now the court has granted that motion. If attorneys seem to be losing their composure, they may ask for a break. But no crocodile tears (the judge admits that distinguishing them from the real deal may be difficult)...
Blog of the Week(end): Cincinnati Blog
Posted on July 19, 2008Cincinnati isn't always a happening place. Sometimes we have to make our own fun here. But what a great week for this town! A mere 7 years after the city experienced its most recent race riots, Mayor Mallory, the police chief, and others worked together to bring the NAACP here for their annual convention...
Friday Comix
Posted on July 18, 2008Our 3 NY readers might find Jim Borgman's answer to the New Yorker amusing. The Comic Strip Doctor overanalyzes a Wizard of Id strip on jury duty. Ever wonder what jurors are thinking? Wonder no more, just read this Making It panel. Mediators, don't try this at work...
The Lawyering Emmys
Posted on July 17, 2008Why do people like legal tv shows so much? It's because each case, like every crime, disease, or wannabe model, has a story. Drumroll please...here's a list of legal shows nominated for Emmys: Outstanding Director, Comedy: The Office, "Goodbye, Toby," Paul Feig...
Can Law School Be Fun? W&L Welcomes New Asst. Dean
Posted on July 14, 2008Did you have any fun whatsoever in law school, did you learn how to bring more to the party, or did you just break out in hives? We're here to tell you that law school can be fun, enjoyable, and useful not only to students but to members of the community...
A Tale of Two Cold Cases
Posted on July 14, 2008No, it's not a double-feature on tv. Two notorious unsolved cases have come to the forefront of the media (if nothing else) recently. One is the JonBenet Ramsey case. While no alternative suspects seem to have been found, and while the parents were always under the unofficial microscope of public shame, the father has been exonerated by science, at least...
Belated Blog of the Week(end): Grits for Breakfast
Posted on July 14, 2008Like orange juice or O.J., grits are not just for breakfast anymore! There are two things true about Texans: 1) they tell great stories, and 2) they make for great stories. That's why Molly Ivins was so good at writing about W. Had they both been from, say Indiana, it might not have been quite so entertaining...
Frank Talk About Punitive Damages
Posted on July 10, 2008In today's WSJ, Ted Frank (whom we seem to remember as the guy who posted flyers all around Hyde Park that one time...we still wonder whether it worked!) paraphrases Walter Olson as saying about those nasty outliers "that's like saying that Californians don't have to worry about earthquakes because the median quake is barely noticeable...
Nurses, Stand Up to Malpractice
Posted on July 10, 2008Heparin, forgotten sponge, wrong leg...what can be done about medical mistakes? There's a person close to the doctor, present during procedures and available during much of the recovery process. Yet, this person may live in the shadow of fear. If only nurses could speak up! Being in the room (as a patient, no less) while a doctor berates a nurse is awkward, to say the least...
Now and Later: Michigan Reform Group Puts Changes on Ballot
Posted on July 08, 2008Remember those chewy candies that must have been invented by dentists? They were called Now & Laters (but everyone called them Now Or Laters, and don't think there weren't fierce debates over the proper name!). They sort of tasted like cardboard at first...
Speculation: NY's New Chief
Posted on July 08, 2008Normally, we leave speculation and news about all things NY to the bloggers who live and work there: David "Sweathog" Giacalone of f/k/a, Scott Greenfield of Simple Justice, and Eric Turkewitz of the NY Personal Injury Law Blog. But when it comes to judicial selection, we just can't be quiet! Chief Justice Kaye is retiring, a new Chief is needed, and so the hunt is on...
New: New Talk
Posted on July 08, 2008Straight from our inbox, an announcement from a Common Good subsidary, New Talk, about this week's conversation: "What is the Role of the Courts in Making Social Policy?" We want a nickel every time someone utters the phrase "activist judge!" We want a dime every time someone types "legislating from the bench!" Panelists include Walter Dellinger; Michael Traynor, ALI President; Lord Hoffmann, Lord of Appeal in Ordinary; Ted Frank; Bob Joffee of Cravath, Swaine & Moore, LLP; Stuart Taylor of the National Journal; and Philip K...
Now How Much Would You Save? The Cost Savings of Ending Civil Unions in Kern County
Posted on July 07, 2008Recall that Kern County, California, had decided to stop all civil weddings *not* as a protest against the state supreme court's decision on gay marriage, mind you, but to save taxpayer money. Now a report says the total cost savings would amount to (drumroll, please): $171...
Five to Four in Utah and Elsewhere
Posted on July 07, 2008If it were non-employed us, the four-day workweek would be a quadruple threat. But for most people, one less day of the week spent commuting, drinking horrific coffee, and working -- even if the remaining four days last ten hours each -- would be a tremendous time- and money-saver...
Your Day in Court, According to Doug
Posted on July 07, 2008Earlier we promised we'd keep looking high and low for one of our favorite law review articles. It has been found! Thanks to the author, Doug Van Epps, of the Michigan Supreme Court, we now have our very own copy. The rest of you will have to go to a library or Hein or Lexis or something, because we cannot find a complete version online for linking purposes...
Blog of the Week(End): Torts Prof Blog
Posted on July 06, 2008Salmonella in produce, bad beef, dangerous amusement park rides, lead paint -- Torts Prof Blog will make you afraid to get out of bed in the morning! If there's anything that gets our dander up, it's the public's misunderstanding of the legal system...
Cell Fine
Posted on July 05, 2008Even if you have a Matlock ring tone, your ringing cell could mean a fine in some (if not all) courtrooms. The latest: two men were held in contempt of court and fined when their phones rang during in the courtroom. Apologies and excuses were no excuse...
Warrant-Free
Posted on July 05, 2008Do hard times require warrant amnesty? The Fairborn Municipal Court in Greene County, Ohio, is letting citizens declare their independence from warrants. What to do: come to court, pay $50, and sign a payment plan. In exchange, the court will recall the warrant...
Storytelling in Traffic Court
Posted on July 05, 2008Most people get a ticket, become irate, pay up, and move on. But some people do show up in court to contest. Who are they, and what do they want? In L.A. (hardly a barometer for the rest of the world's traffic court, but interesting nonetheless), police issue about 1...
Tattoo Regret
Posted on July 05, 2008Here's one reason to avoid getting your forehead tattooed: you might regret it later. Once upon a time, an angry young man caught up in the juvenile court system got some naughty mean anti-court words inked onto his forehead. Perhaps it seemed like a good idea at the time...
Mistakes Were Made
Posted on July 04, 2008On the heels of the so-called "mistake" made by the SCOTUS regarding which jurisdictions bar capital punishment for child rape, the DOJ has taken responsibility for the error. See Justice Dept. Admits Error in Not Briefing Court, Linda Greenhouse, NYT (July 3, 2008)...
What Not to Do: Work Naked
Posted on July 04, 2008It may be OK if you're a high-powered consultant working from the privacy of your own home. But if you're a public employee, it's probably not cool to walk around the building after hours in your birthday suit. It may be even less OK if you're a prosecutor...
Fen-Phen: Done-Done
Posted on July 03, 2008Today was the dead last day. Judge Bertelsman told jurors that if they didn't decide by today, he'd declare a mistrial. And that's exactly what happened. See Mistrial in Fen-Phen Case, Jim Hannah, Cincinnati Enquirer (July 3, 2008).
No Vacancy for (Some) Documents in the Crossbar Hotel
Posted on July 03, 2008Just how much information can inmates obtain? Do convicted felons have fewer rights than the rest of us? The answers to these questions are as follows: "not too much" and "yes" (though here we are reminded by Groot's maxim, "people go to prison AS punishment, not FOR punishment")...
Hair Today, Guilty Tomorrow
Posted on July 02, 2008Just when you thought the Nichols trial would either a) never happen, or b) not possibly get any weirder, here we go. The defendant, accused of shooting up an Atlanta courthouse and several people in it, is contesting the use of cameras in the courtroom...
The Dead Kennedys Defense
Posted on July 02, 2008Too drunk to conspire? That was what passed for good news for one defendant in the federal fen-phen trial taking place across the river from us. Yesterday jurors acquitted Mel Mills, Jr. on a charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Lucky for Mills, his former assistant testified that by 10:00 a...
Flaws and Laws
Posted on July 01, 2008What happens when the Supremes make a mistake? Linda Greenhouse pointed out that a military law blog caught Justice Kennedy's error when he noted in Kennedy v. Louisiana that only 6 states allow the death penalty for child rape, and that no federal court allowed it...
Virginia Attorneys Wanted for DNA Project
Posted on July 01, 2008No, they don't want to clone you. Thank goodness for small favors. The Virginia State Bar put out a call for volunteers to help the state Department of Forensic Science (DFS) accomplish an unfunded (is there any other kind?) mandate. In 2005, then-Virginia Governor Mark "Ken Doll" Warner (not to be confused with Senator John "Mr...
One Step Away from a Chip in the Head
Posted on June 30, 2008How much information about you is out there? Google, Dogpile, Intelius, YouTube, Zillow, IP address locators, plus our own confessions -- it's a growing body of evidence. In Harris County, Texas, it's quite a bit. Voter tracking (creepy, yeah, but apparently it's public record) is well-established; it was only a matter of time before jury consultants jumped all over the practice (or, more accurately, that the VoterHistory guy jumped into the jury business)...
Well-Preserved Women Rescue Courthouses
Posted on June 30, 2008It's like The Full Monty (only with women and courthouses). A bridge club from Indiana had a novel idea when county commissioners voted to demolish the courthouse: pose nude (sorta) for a fund-raising calendar. They are the Courthouse Calendar Girls of Farmland, Indiana, and they're on a mission to save Indiana's historic courthouses...
New Courthouses All Around
Posted on June 30, 2008A new federal courthouse sounds like good news for Yuma, AZ. After years of planning and wishing, several million dollars "has been found." (That must be what Bill Gates says when he cleans his couch cushions.) The new courthouse will mean safer facilities, more jobs, and -- hopefully -- redevelopment in the downtown area...
Fen-Phen Jury Ends Week with Question
Posted on June 28, 2008"In a class action, prior to court ordered fees, is it legal to take attorneys fees on the common settlement fund once claimants have been settled and paid?" See Fen-Phen Jury Adjourns for Weekend without Verdict, Beth Musgrave, Herald-Leader (June 28, 2008), and Fen-Phen Jury Questions Law on Lawyer Fees, Jim Hannah, Cincinnati Enquirer (June 28, 2008)...
Cincinnati Looking for Business
Posted on June 28, 2008Are business courts an evil plot? An unnecessary layer of bureaucracy? Too pro-business to be non-satanic? A "welcome" sign to commercial interests? Or all of the above? Turns out that business courts are like any other innovation -- good if done right...
Hendersonville Needs Volunteers
Posted on June 26, 2008Historic courthouses require enormous time and effort from volunteers. If you're anywhere near Hendersonville, NC, near the amazingly beautiful Pisgah National Forest, the Henderson County Sheriff's Office needs help. Volunteers are needed at the historic courthouse to greet visitors, staff the front desk, etc...
The Results Are In: Court Polls
Posted on June 26, 2008It's amazing to think that anyone has an opinion about something besides Obama or guns or Heather Locklear's emotional state. In fact, citizens have made their feelings about the courts known in a few recent polls. A poll about the SCOTUS (which, unfortunately, predates today's decisions) shows that only 26% of voters rank it good or excellent...
It Looks Good on Paper: Washington Clerks Await Raise
Posted on June 26, 2008Did you ever get a raise, but didn't know when you'd actually see the result? It happens. In Snohomish County, Washington, court clerks have been negotiating a new salary and benefits package since 2004. A new contract was approved by the County Council...
What Does the Yellow Light Mean? Tenn. High Court Rules on Slow Driver
Posted on June 25, 2008How slow can you go? If you've ever driven through Tennessee, you know that slow-moving vehicles are a rarity. You might even think they were illegal. As if to prove our point that traffic cases are far more exciting and meaningful than anyone gives them credit for, the Tennessee Supreme Court ruled that going under the speed limit can be grounds for a stop if the driver impedes other traffic...
Budget Casualties in Florida: The Domino Effect
Posted on June 25, 2008When a budget is cut, "somethings' gotta give." The latest victim of Florida's budget axe: the Orange County Domestic Violence Court. Do we need special courts for domestic violence? Before this trend began, domestic violence cases were often heard in family court or criminal court...
L.A. Traffic Court: The Worser of Two Evils Just Got Better
Posted on June 24, 2008What's worse than L.A. traffic? L.A. traffic court. The backlog, as you can imagine, resembles rush hour on a Friday afternoon. Arraignments only take a few minutes to process, but there are many, many cases! The court tends to 500-1000 in a typical month...
Professor Halper
Posted on June 24, 2008A sad note from W&L Law this afternoon: Professor Louise Halper passed away. Property is nobody's favorite subject, but under the guidance of Professor Halper we learned to love it anyway! She was approachable, kind, and made everyone feel welcome. Southern hospitality abounds in Lexington, Virginia, but for those not fitting the mold (or even ever figuring out what that mold was) it can be a difficult place, so her support meant a lot...
Swearing Required
Posted on June 24, 2008What if they had a trial and nobody swore? An area plagued by non-oath-swearing judges and justices, upstate New York has had its share of problems related to informality in local courts. This time, a conviction was reversed after jurors were not properly sworn...
Fine Locally: Wisconsin Town and Gown Court
Posted on June 24, 2008We love useful, creative solutions, so a new (to us) idea from Whitewater, Wisconsin, caught our eye. Here's the problem: UW-Whitewater students are inconvenienced by having to go to another town to contest traffic tickets or pay fines in state court...
R.I.P. George Carlin
Posted on June 23, 2008"So my name is a footnote in American legal history, which I'm perversely kind of proud of." -- George Carlin We're big believers in celebrating the lives of people, so here's a link to F.C.C. v. Pacifica Foundation.
Blog of the Week(end): Deliberations
Posted on June 21, 2008Once upon a time when we edited the Jur-E Bulletin for NCSC, we received correspondence from one Anne Reed, a cheesehead lawyer starting a jury blog. Cool! We love blogs (obviously), and some of our favorite people are cheeseheads, so we were all for the idea...
Kansan Juveniles Have Right to Jury
Posted on June 21, 2008Hundreds of retried cases, scads of summonses, umpteen questions for prospective jurors, and a higher caseload for courts -- these are just a few of the scenarios courts have to look forward to after this week's Kansas Supreme Court decision giving juveniles the right to a jury trial...
You Heard It Here Last: Chief Judge Kaye Retiring
Posted on June 20, 2008Is this news to you? Here's hoping we have some under-the-rock readers! We first read about it here: Help Wanted: Chief Judge, No Experience Necessary, Simple Justice (June 19, 2008). SHG is the early bird, once again! Our best to Chief Judge Kaye. She has always been a pleasure to work with: smart, friendly, and with good ideas pouring out of her...
Don't Cry for Me, Defense Counsel
Posted on June 20, 2008Admit it: you see flashing lights in your rearview mirror, you get pulled over, you roll down the window, and promptly start bawling. Does it help? Sometimes. Did you do it on purpose? Hmm... We've all heard about (and perhaps been involved in) proceedings that move us to tears...
When in Williamsburg...
Posted on June 19, 2008If you're feeling colonial, head on out to Williamsburg, VA, September 26 & 27 for the Institute of Bill of Rights Law Supreme Court Preview conference. Panelists include Robert Barnes from the Washington Post, Joan Biskupic of USA Today, Lyle Denniston from SCOTUSblog, Linda Greenhouse from the NYT, David G...
Sufficiently Uncertain: The Borderline Case of Indiana v. Edwards
Posted on June 19, 2008Justice Breyer, in his Indiana v. Edwards majority opinion, seems to notice the fine line between competency to stand trial and competency to proceed pro se. What that standard might be, though, is "sufficiently uncertain." We know what it's not, because the Court found Indiana's suggestion that the standard kick in where the defendant "cannot communicate coherently with the court or a jury" unacceptable...
Risk Among Drug Offenders
Posted on June 18, 2008We are so inundated with touchy-feely stories about drug courts that it's surprising we haven't gone into diabetic shock, or at least caught a good case of the willies. From the Utah courts, another story: coveted (in a sense) drug court spaces are now reserved for hard-core offenders...
What We Were Wondering: Numbers from Massachusetts
Posted on June 18, 2008Just as we were wondering how many same-sex weddings California courts will have to cope with to see whether some courts' claims of a coming deluge were valid, the NYT provided interesting numbers from Massachusetts: In 2006, according to the US Census Bureau, there were 23,655 same-sex households in Massachusetts Since May 17, 2004, at least 10,500 same-sex couples wed there 6,121 of those married within the first 6 months that such weddings were legal In 2005, there were 2,060 same-sex weddings in Massachusetts In 2006, there were 1,442 In the first 8 months of 2007, there were 867 (do you see where this is going?) Nearly 2/3 of the weddings have been between women Nearly 1/3 of the couples are in their 40s, compared to the 1/2 of straight marrying couples who are under 30 According to lawyers, same-sex couples are more likely to have prenups See Gay Couples Find Marriage Is a Mixed Bag, Pam Belluck, New York Times (June 15, 2008)...
Arizona Expert Limits Unconstitutional
Posted on June 17, 2008You know you're a parent when you hear yourself say "It's only fun until someone gets hurt!" Similarly, tort reform sounds great, until it's held unconstitutional. Today an Arizona court overturned the state's rule on expert witness qualifications in medical malpractice cases...
More What Not to Do: Swearing In or At?
Posted on June 17, 2008Citizens who come to support their defendant siblings are usually welcome in court. That is, until they start yelling and swearing at the assistant prosecutor, refusing to leave when asked, and produce more swearing upon being forcibly removed from the courtroom...
Help for Chiefs Who Want to Improve Mental Health/Criminal Justice
Posted on June 17, 2008Is your state's mental health in trouble? If you're a chief justice, you can help. Thanks to the NCSC's Federal Funding Report, we hear that the Council of State Governments is accepting applications from state court chief justices interested in establishing statewide task forces to work on improving outcomes for individuals with mental illness in the criminal justice system...
Justice Talking Won't Be
Posted on June 16, 2008After nine years of helping the public learn about and discuss major justice-related issues of the day, Justice Talking has lost its funding and will be going off the air. The rights of individuals with mental illness, the roles of bail bondsmen and private prisons in the criminal justice system, First Amendment issues, election reform, the right to a jury trial...
Graduation Day: Clarence, Sandra, and Bianca
Posted on June 16, 2008Inviting Justice Thomas to give a commencement address seems about as good of an idea as inviting Marcel Marceau to a Toastmasters meeting. The Sunday NYT, which we've only just now had a chance to glance at, devotes an entire page to Commencement Addresses by Famous People...
Blog of the Week(end): Law Professor Blogs
Posted on June 15, 2008Wow, to keep finding new blogs for you all each weekend is tougher than it appears! The number of actual blogs in cyberspace is actually quite tiny. There are only about 15 or so! How do we keep finding more? One way is to go to a place where much great bloggery is captured on a single site...
What Were You Thinking?! (or Were They?) Juvenile Competency Issues
Posted on June 14, 2008"Put on your socks." "I can't find them!" "Look for them!" "I *am* looking!" [Note: socks are within 5 inches of his body.] Welcome to a typical morning at our house! We love our kids, but the idea of competency and children sometimes seems like an oxymoron...
Mediation Failure or Case Success? Pregnancy Discrimination in NC
Posted on June 13, 2008Sometimes failure is not only an option, it's the best option. "Fitting the forum to the fuss," a time-honored concept in conflict resolution, is an art. It's also a test of the conflict and the disputants. When mediation "fails," it's often because the parties and/or conflict was not a good fit for that particular forum...
Magna Carta, Shmagna Shcarta! UK Seeks to Detain Terror Suspects
Posted on June 12, 2008Is the Magna Carta part of the western world's legal and cultural heritage, or just a nifty historic document? Should we indulge in ancestor worship or mere ancestor curiosity when it comes to the m.c.? In the UK, a repeal of sorts is in the works. A 42-day detention of terror suspects, without charge, passed the House of Commons...
A Day in the Life
Posted on June 12, 2008The issue of judicial pay makes us wonder just what, after reading about a day (really, just part of a day) in the life of a juvenile court judge, an appropriate salary would be. We've read Judge Lederman's many articles over the years (she is a frequent contributor to the annual Future Trends in State Courts)...
Vacation Plans: Supreme Court Preview in Chicago
Posted on June 12, 2008It's never too early to start thinking about the next SCOTUS term! If you'll be anywhere in the Windy City (that's not just an expression, we know someone who blew off her bike while riding along the lake!) on July 15, be sure to stop by the beautiful Standard Club for the Supreme Court Preview...
Latest Word from NY: Justice Orders Raise
Posted on June 12, 2008Wouldn't it be great if you could just order the legislature to give you a raise? The latest episode in the NY judges' quest for a raise is an order from a justice, who opines that separation of powers (among other things) dictates the increase. Recall the NY judges have not gotten a raise since just about ever...
How Do You Say *Ka-Ching?* Court Saddled with Huge Interpreter Bill
Posted on June 11, 2008It's a settled rule that defendants in criminal cases are entitled to interpreters. The rub in nearly every jurisdiction is how much more is needed? Who other than criminal defendants gets the service? Mother of the defendant? Very special cousins who wish to be present? Any and all spectators? What other cases? Civil? And which types? Family? Dependency? Bankruptcy? All hearings, or just the "important" ones? What about jurors, petit and grand? And what types of interpreters? Those interpreting signed languages for the deaf may be required under the ADA...
Living in Sin: No Marriage in Butte County, CA
Posted on June 11, 2008Like Kern and Merced Counties, Butte County, California, will also stop performing wedding ceremonies. Nothing to do with the same-sex business coming down from the high court not at all...that's the Batsonesque reason given, anyway. Just how costly are weddings? How necessary? Unlike other court functions, weddings can easily be conducted elsewhere...
Excitement in Ohio: No Lethal Injection, Rules Judge
Posted on June 10, 2008We might bore people to death. We might stun people into an early grave. But in Ohio, we don't use the 3-drug cocktail recently upheld by the SCOTUS. So says a Lorain County Court of Common Pleas judge (more proof that the law trickles up). The SCOTUS case trickled up from Kentucky...
Smokin' in the Boys Room
Posted on June 10, 2008We believe that bans on [pit bulls, smoking, adult ads, transfats, sheep offal, peanut butter, you name it] are like diets: easy to talk about, difficult to do. One criminal justice center recently banned smoking. See how easy that was? Smoking! Everybody, even most smokers, hates it...
Comings and Goings in Tulsa
Posted on June 10, 2008Congrats to Tulsa County court administrator Ann Domin on her new position as deputy director of the Indian Nations Council of Governments. That means an opening at the court, which attorney Vicki Cox looks forward to filling. Best of luck to both! See Attorney Tapped as County Court Administrator, Tulsa World (May 31, 2008).
How Public is LAX?
Posted on June 10, 2008The typical "public forum" for First Amendment purposes is a town square. Los Angeles, we suppose (we've never been), has no such thing. Hare Krishnas are claiming that the airport is to LA what the bandstand is to River City. Interesting enough in itself...
One through Nine: Pitfalls of Juror Notetaking
Posted on June 10, 20081. Could get splinters from biting pencil 2. Writers' cramp could kick in, preventing them from sending the judge important missives during deliberations 3. Paper cuts could render them sympathetic to plaintiffs 4. Kills trees 5. Temptation to fashion paper airplanes 6...
Excellence in Cape Cod
Posted on June 09, 2008Kudos to Cape Cod court workers on their recent awards: Ethel "Dee" Walkus and Karen M. Wehner received Massachusetts Trial Court Employee Excellence Awards, as a leadership team for their work as operations supervisors at the Barnstable Probate and Family Court Barbara Dinn, office manager at the Southeast Division of the Housing Court, who served on a team working on a new Housing Court in Plymouth (oh, if those pilgrims arrived today!), was likewise honored by the Mass...
Will Blog for Benefits
Posted on June 09, 2008How court-o-rama differs from public broadcasting: No pledge week here! No sound! No hilarious game shows (yet!) No furry puppets (usually!) How we're alike: Both rely on the kindness of strangers You may or may not have noticed the brand-spanking-new "donate" button...
The Jury Is Out: Munsterman Rocks!!!
Posted on June 09, 2008If a group of 12 people got together in a room after reading a classic such as Jury System Management or attending one of his well-put-together meetings (few can fill a room with such an interesting group of people!) they would no doubt conclude that the G in G...
Blog of the Week(end): New York Personal Injury Law Blog
Posted on June 08, 2008Were we to tell our non-law-geek friends about the New York Personal Injury Law Blog, we'd probably get a funny look. It sounds like anyone's worst nightmare: a lawyer from New York with his own blog! Discussing his lobbying efforts! But we're here to tell you that the NYPILB is a heck of a lot better than you'd expect! It's one of our frequent reads...
Appeal-on-Appeal Action
Posted on June 06, 2008Today the Supreme Court of Virginia explained a doctrine called "the law of the case:" It is this: "[when] there have been two appeals in the same case, between the same parties, and the facts are the same, nothing decided on the first appeal can be re-examined on a second appeal...
Kern County Clerk Is First to Say I Won't
Posted on June 06, 2008Earlier we noted that the San Diego court decided to allow its employees to opt out of working on same-sex marriages. Now, we hear that a clerk in Kern County is refusing to conduct all* marriages. She claims the court does not have the resources to deal with the coming wedding deluge...
Giant Slashing Sound: Budget Cuts Cost Jobs
Posted on June 06, 2008Budget deficit, in dollars (as opposed to krones), of the State of Minnesota Board of Public Defense: $3.8 million Amount (again, dollars!) by which the state legislature slashed the Board's budget: $1.5 million Percent of Minnesotans accused of felonies who rely on public defenders: 85 Percent of Minnesotans accused of misdemeanors who rely on public defenders: 50 Average cases per year handled by a public defender in Minnesota: 714 Number of FT positions cut, starting next month: 72 Number of those positions currently vacant: 19 Number of those eliminated via early retirement and other voluntary departures: 30 Number of public defenders facing layoffs: 23-24 Current number of FT public defenders in MInnesota: 441 See 72 Public Defenders to Budget Cuts, AP/WCCO (June 5, 2008)...
Effective Assistance
Posted on June 05, 2008After writing about ineffective assistance of counsel claims (and we should clarify that the rarity was the success, not the making of the claims themselves) we heard from a Washington state trial judge on the matter: * * * Ineffective assistance is a very common claim on appeal in Washington...
A Frost-y Juvenile Sentence
Posted on June 05, 2008You might call it The Trial by Existence. Whose house this was they did not know. The poet died so long ago. Teenagers who vandalized the Vermont home of Robert Frost were sentenced to lectures on the poet by Middlebury College professor and Frost biographer Jay Parini...
Making West Virginia More Appealing
Posted on June 05, 2008If you're in Texas, you probably think every state has two courts of last resort. If you're in New York (or watch way too much Law & Order) you might think that courts of general jurisdiction everywhere are called "supreme." If you're in West Virginia, you might think the intermediate court of appeals and court of last resort are one and the same (bka Supreme Court of Appeals), but you could soon be mistaken...
O-CAFA
Posted on June 04, 2008The WSJ says "We can't find a single issue on which Mr. Obama has broken with his party's left-wing interest groups." They must not be looking back too far. One of the first bills he voted for was the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 (CAFA), which passed on February 10, 2005...
Mo' Money in NC
Posted on June 04, 2008Twenty-five years on a job requiring crucial decision-making and 24/7 availability...surgeon? Law enforcement? President (apparently they get a lot of 3 a.m. calls)? One more detail: the salary is $53,000 (that's after the 25 years of service). Answer: North Carolina magistrate...
Urban Legend Debunked
Posted on June 03, 2008Claims of ineffective assistance of counsel are approaching stories about pop-tops and naughty gerbils. Everybody *says* they are the victim of ineffective assistance of counsel, but after reading some of these cases one wonders if there is such a thing...
Ethically Speaking
Posted on June 03, 2008FYI Texans, the Houston Bar Association will present a CLE, "Ethics in Municipal Courts for Lawyers". We often look to muni courts when trawling for court-o-rama news because that is where the action is and where the people are. A wise (tho perhaps not so tech-savvy) person once explained that public trust and confidence starts at small claims, traffic, and muni courts...
Ever-Higher Rankings, or Is VP Next for C-O-R?
Posted on June 03, 2008Like Obama and Clinton (sorta), Court-O-Rama is now in the top two! We know many fine Bennetts but not these Texan Bennetts. We wish we did, though, because they just picked us as one of their top two (of two, in no apparent order). They also have nice words for many fine blogs that didn't make the Top 100 Criminal Justice Blogs...
We're Number 96!
Posted on June 02, 2008Check it out! Listed at #96 in the "Miscellaneous" section of The Top 100 Criminal Justice Blogs, is court-o-rama. Thank you, Criminal Justice Degrees Guide!
Justice Delayed is Judge Reprimanded
Posted on June 02, 2008Do case processing time standards mean anything? We often wondered this as we tracked time standards -- both aspirational and, uh, less aspirational. Where do they come from? What happens when they're not followed? Does efficiency (or lack thereof) count for anything in the courts? Yes they do...
Help All the Lawyers
Posted on June 02, 2008From the Virginia State Bar News this morning comes an announcement that Lawyers Helping Lawyers (LHL) needs volunteers. LHL is starting two groups. One is described as "a peer-led support meeting for legal professionals who live with addictions such as alcoholism or other substance abuse...
Blog of the Week(end): beSpacific
Posted on June 01, 2008Sabrina Pacifica is a generalist in the best sense of the word. There isn't much territory she hasn't covered, and what's left she can navigate using her mad library skillz! Her blog, beSpacific, is the source of all things all things, though her focus is law and technology...
Show Me the Money: Federal Funding Ops
Posted on May 30, 2008The Government Relations Office at the National Center for State Courts has just released a new issue of its Federal Funding Report. Of note: The Juvenile Indigent Defense Action Network (JIDAN) will grant $100,000 for one year to support reform efforts...
School's Out but Polygamists Return Home
Posted on May 30, 2008While most kids are celebrating the end of school for summer, some of the Texas polygamist children are headed back to the compound on Monday. According to the AP, a tentative agreement would allow parents to reclaim their children if they show proper identification, take parenting classes, and remain in Texas...
Rewarding Good Work: Same-Sex Marriage Article Digs Deep
Posted on May 30, 2008Is there an Oscar(tm) or some type of pat on the back for Nice Use of Legislative Information? It's not often that we read an article with in-depth explanations of complex issues. Lawsuit Expected in N.Y. Same-Sex Marriage Recognition, Joseph Spector, GNS (May 20, 2008) is a great example of "how to...
Medtronic Plus: The Face and Future of Preemption
Posted on May 30, 2008Thirteen million dollars' worth of punitive damages awarded by a jury tossed: this is what preemption looks like. While the Texas Vioxx award, tossed due to lack of evidence, seems to be getting more ink ("evidence" is apparently easier for reporters to spell than "preemption"), the New Jersey ruling based on preemption is a far more likely and, for those interested in the Seventh Amendment, dangerous future...
Resolving Conflict in the Ohio AG's Office
Posted on May 29, 2008How do you resolve conflict in an office whose head honcho has been tossed out amid scandal? Appoint a mediator. Ohio Governor Ted Strickland has happily astounded us all (even the Enquirer editorial staff) by appointing OSU Moritz College of Law Dean Nancy Rogers as interim attorney general...
Elected PD Problems
Posted on May 29, 2008What kind of election-race mishaps can occur when public defenders run for office? The same kinds that happen to everyone else. No, I am not making this up just to bait the defenders (both of the public and of merit selection) out there in court-o-ramaland! See PD Candidate Files Complaint against Incumbent, Aisling Swift, Naples Daily News (May 29, 2008).
Clerks May Say I Don't to Gay Weddings
Posted on May 29, 2008Can court employees who have some type of conscientious objection to same-sex marriages opt out of doing the work related to the process? Yes, says the San Diego County clerk, who will give employees that option. It's not clear how those saddled with the extra work (and it will be a **lot** of work, we'd love to hear from a court regarding plans to deal with the rush) feel...
Judicial Selection in Los Angeles
Posted on May 29, 2008Everyone hates judicial elections, or some aspect of them. Court-o-rama hates them less than you do. Power to the people! But what kind of power, and which people? Two pols in L.A. took a break from screenplay-writing to dialogue about (note: we hate that phrase almost as much as we hate backroom appointments, but it sounded L...
Law Professors Say the Darndest Things
Posted on May 28, 2008How do you say "I'm freezing my ass off!!!" in Attic Greek? Chicago Law students are on the prowl for memorable "quotes by students, faculty and alumni of the Law School for a project [...] (and also because it's just neat to collect such quotes)...
Empathy for the Devil
Posted on May 28, 2008Oh, my. It's happened again: another editor wrote another op-ed about the a-word. "Auckland?" "Asperger's?" "Alito?" "Activist!" Court-o-rama will be collecting a nickel every time this phrase is used in the press or by pols...
Magnetic Personality
Posted on May 25, 2008Here's something fun to do over the long weekend: print out this list of top search words people used to find court-o-rama, cut them apart, and glue them onto magnets. Presto! Your own magnetic court-o-rama kit! court rama in 2008 o county the to judge courts probate for a of ohio new dooley tadhg florida and budget blog federal virginia does law york mediation south buffalo We're interested to see what haiku, fridge notes, or ransom note y'all can come up with using these words...
Tit for Tat in PA?
Posted on May 25, 2008We've given the League of Women Voters (LWV) much virtual ink over the past week. Now comes a very different side of that organization: the Pennsylvania LWV is suing the state's (really, commonwealth's) former chief justice. Lest you think the LWV is limited to hosting free lunches and town hall meetings, promoting citizen involvement, educating voters (for better or for worse), and cranking out white papers, here is the story...
Less Frisky in Washington State
Posted on May 24, 2008When can a person be frisked in Washington state? Not too often, it turns out. The state's court of last resort held that evidence was obtained during an illegal frisk and should be suppressed, and reversed the defendant's conviction. The Washington state constitution uses the U...
Blog of the Week(end): Archive Edition
Posted on May 24, 2008Somehow (because we never made one up, is why) there never has been a specific Blog of the Week(end) tag, so these get filed under various categories. That makes it hard to remember where we've pointed folks from week(end) to week(end). Honestly, this week(end) we're not sure where the blogs end and where our minds begin...
Fen-Phen Phun: Judge Is Poster Boy for Mass Tort Education
Posted on May 24, 2008Anyone following the federal trial of the fen-phen lawyers has read that Circuit Judge Bamberger admits to being "embarrassed" that he relied on Stan "The Man" Chesley for advice during the settlement process. Judge Bamberger and others like you...
Judicial Selection Town Hall Meeting: The Wrap-Up
Posted on May 22, 2008A small group discussion with fearless facilitator Darrell Miller from UC Law, involved the question of what makes a good judge. Goodness, according to our members, encompassed knowledge, experience, morals, impartiality, apolitical-ness, and following the law...
Judicial Selection in Ohio: More Fun Than American Idol!
Posted on May 21, 2008Next up at the town hall meeting on judicial independence was magistrate Kathy King. Her tale of running for office (particularly the party nomination part) struck fear into all hearts present. Although Ohio's judicial elections are supposedly nonpartisan, the parties are involved in choosing nominees...
Judicial Selection in Ohio: Common Cause's Cause
Posted on May 18, 2008Next up at the town hall meeting on judicial independence was Bill Woods state chair of Common Cause. Mr. Woods gave a brief history of merit selection efforts in the Buckeye State. In the late 1980s, while the rest of the world mourned the breakup of Twisted Sister, interested parties were busy getting merit selection on the ballot...
Blog of the Week(end): f/k/a
Posted on May 17, 2008Haiku, tulips-r-us, local news from non-NYC New York, oh, and lawyer stuff: that's what f/k/a is made of. The layout is an amazing thing, sort of a text/graphic illustration of a train of thought that would make e.e. proud. Small avatar-esque pictures (a photo of a mug reading "kill all the lawyers!", a baseball player, ice skaters, a parking meter...
The History of Everything! Judicial Selection in Ohio
Posted on May 16, 2008Following Charles Gibson (in talking head form) at yesterday's forum was UC Law professor Michael Solimine (live and in person!). Solimine has read and given more thought to the Ohio constitutional conventions than most people, claiming "It's not as boring as it sounds!" (To the assembly of wonks, it probably did not sound boring at all!) He is the author of The False Promise of Judicial Elections in Ohio, Capital University Law Review (2001)...
More on Ideas: Naughty and Nice
Posted on May 15, 2008The second half of Jeremy Waldron's review of Anthony Lewis's biography of the First Amendment book (see previous post) dealt with the protection of hate speech. Why protect this, asks Waldron? It's all well and good for noble attorneys to vow to "hate the speaker, protect the speech," but shouldn't we consider the harm done by such speech? One step away from that lefty soapbox and we've got families moving away from neighborhoods, children afraid to go to school, employees facing intolerable situations every day...
You Can Pick Your Friends: Judicial Selection in Ohio
Posted on May 15, 2008Today we walked up Clifton hill to UC to catch a town hall meeting on judicial selection. The local League of Women Voters and the League's imPACT program put the meeting together. What a great group of people! Truly a microcosm: students (both there for credit, and just for kicks), academics, interested citizens, a former judge, and even a blogger...
The Surreal Language of Searches
Posted on May 14, 2008We're always amused (sure sign we need to get out more) by the search queries leading people (do robots use search terms, too?) to court-o-rama: clementina verge doorbell ditch rama org tadhg dooley court o rama blog how to pronounce oyez crafty trilobite crazy tort cases See also What Brings You to a Joint Like This? David Giacalone, f/k/a (May 14, 2008).
The Superstore of Ideas: Bush, Goya, Eden, and So Much More!!!
Posted on May 14, 2008We once had a friend from Canada who was amazed by the number of choices at the Winn-Dixie in Williamsburg, Virginia. Twenty different brands of canned beans! Ten brands of dried beans! Several more types of bean dip! "Oh my," he would say. Canadian supermarkets didn't have this array...
With Bells On: Judicial Independence Forum
Posted on May 13, 2008This Thursday the local League of Women Voters, UC's Taft Research Center, and Common Cause will host a town hall meeting on judicial independence. Speakers include Prof. Michael Solimine of UC Law, William K. Woods of CommonCause Ohio, and Kathleen King of the Hamilton County Domestic Relations Court...
List in Our Heart
Posted on May 12, 2008Here's a list of lists, in no particular order: Classes My Top-Tier Law School Should Have Offered as Warnings about the Profession, E. Noakes, McSweeney's Internet Tendency (April 16, 2008). We hear there's a forthcoming list of clinical programs, too...
Jury Selection: So Simple Even a Magistrate Can Do It!
Posted on May 12, 2008This morning the SCOTUS ruled that federal magistrates may preside over jury selection if defense counsel (as opposed to the actual defendant) consents. Justice Kennedy wrote the opinion: "If the parties consent, federal magistrate judges may preside over the voir dire and selection of prospective jurors in a felony criminal trial...
Shout Out to Moms
Posted on May 11, 2008This rainy morning we write from inside a baby corral, where a 2-year-old is trying to build the "Pancake Home" out of blocks as his little sister tries to destroy it, and he retaliates by trying to hit her on the head with a toy cash register...
Just Don't Answer Their E-Mail: Combatting Corruption in Nigeria
Posted on May 11, 2008Proving our theory that examining problem-solving court specialties leads one directly to the top seemingly unsolvable problems of the day, now comes the anti-corruption court. Corruption is the result of the lack of civil society, the breakdown of one or more of the estates (usually the fourth, but who's counting), and vast differences in the distribution of wealth (though not necessarily poverty per se, say researchers)...
Sleb Alert
Posted on May 10, 20081. The Cruise of a Lifetime Got summer plans? How about going on The Nation Cruise? Judging from the full-page ad in the New York Review of Books, we believe that the Jackson 5 were all unavailable. How else to explain the double-bill of Jesse Jackson and Jackson Browne? Can Victoria Jackson be far behind? The Jackson 2 are the Special Guests...
Simple Injustice
Posted on May 10, 2008Thanks to Simple Justice for elaborating on our recent post about New York court employees. Having spent over a decade working with court administrators (as well as judges, none of whom were escorted on the gilded divans of which Simple Justice speaks, at least not to our knowledge), we have to remind ourselves that this is a forgotten demographic...
Blog of the Week(end): Commentaries by Bea V. Larsen
Posted on May 09, 2008If there is a warmer, more inviting read online than Bea Larsen's Commentaries, we haven't seen it. Bea Larsen is a mediator, lawyer, and stellar person to boot. Her blog (though "blog" seems like an ugly word to describe something so very nice) is about mediation and much more...
For the Want of a Key
Posted on May 09, 2008The Boston Globe's Jonathan Saltzman always has his finger on the pulse of the Massachusetts courts. This week is no exception. See Courthouse Feud Erupts over Bathroom Key, Jonathan Saltzman, Boston Globe (May 9, 2008). But the prosecutor claims the dispute is not a "feud" and that it is not simply over a key...
A Sip of COLA for NY Court Employees
Posted on May 08, 2008In the private sector (so we hear) getting a 6% raise is what they do when they're too lazy to fire you. In the public sector (as we well know) it's considered a great honor. Guess how honored New York Unified Court System employees feel right now? Their union just negotiated a 4-year agreement, retroactive to April 2007...
French Skills Helpful but Not Required
Posted on May 08, 2008Want to sit on the Supreme Court of Canada (aka Cour supreme du Canada)? You may or may not be required to be bilingual. Prime Minister Stephen Harper has tried to make bilingual skills a priority in replacing vacancies on the bench, but one former judge claims that this is not necessary...
Those Crazy Canadians!
Posted on May 08, 2008And you thought you were having a bad day. A judge has banned a divorcing couple (and we use that word loosely) from appearing before him in Ontario Superior Court. The two were married for a year (one wonders how the union ever came to be) and, sadly, have an 8-year-old child...
Veterans' Court Update
Posted on May 08, 2008More news about Buffalo's Veterans' Court aired on Talk of the Nation yesterday. Picking up on the earlier NPR story by Libby Lewis (who was also a guest), Mr. Conan spoke with a PTSD expert and others. Callers provided valuable insight from the vets' point of view...
Insanity in Seattle
Posted on May 08, 2008The man who killed one and wounded five when he shot up the Jewish Federation in Seattle believes he was on a mission from God, though we think God would be shocked to hear it. An expert retained by defense counsel testified that the shooter, Naveed Haq, is bipolar...
Yes, Virginia, There Is a Sanity Clause
Posted on May 07, 2008We think we know crazy. Gnarls Barkley remembers when he lost his mind and asks, "Does that make me crazy?" Patsy Cline (and Willie Nelson) thought they were "crazy for feeling so lonely." Fine Young Cannibals blamed a woman: she drives me crazy...
Congrats, in Five Words Or...
Posted on May 06, 2008Oops, too many! Congratulations to the ABA Journal on its Webby win! Now they have to come up with a 5-word acceptance "speech." Haikuists and other fans of brevity, please help them out! See The Webby People's Voice Award Goes to...ABA Journal, Edward A...
Florida Budget Cuts: Not Just for Breakfast Anymore
Posted on May 06, 2008Why, it was just a few years ago that Florida courts went from county to state funding. Remember the drill? All court services had to scramble to categorize themselves, all hoping for the coveted "essential court services" status to guarantee state funding...
One Fine Day in Wisconsin
Posted on May 05, 2008Access issues aside, here's yet another reason to avoid imposing fines, fees, and surcharges: they can get taken away with the stroke of a pen. Thus, organizations who depend on such income may have their cash flow cut off rather quickly. Case in point: the Wisconsin legislature recently enacted a law prohibiting judges and prosecutors from requiring defendants to pay their fines to a specific organization...
If You're Going to San Diego
Posted on May 05, 2008...you won't be entering the federal courthouse, at least not today. Yesterday the building was hit by an apparent pipe bomb. It appears that only the lobby was damaged, but the investigation and cleanup are ongoing. Jurors scheduled to serve should call 800-98-9035 after 6 p...
Law, Order, and Comics
Posted on May 03, 2008Is there such a thing as a free comic? Yes! More graphically interesting than Law Day, able to leap a tall stack of graphic novels in a single bound, it's a free lunch, it's a reason to go to the comic store around the corner, it's the holiday quickly overtaking Law Day in stature...
Tennessee Chief Retires
Posted on April 30, 2008At noon on September 1, Tennessee's highest court will have a job opening. That is when (even the "noon" part) Chief Justice Barker plans to retire. He has spent 25 years on the bench per the Tennessee Plan. See Native Chattanoogan Retiring as Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice, Times Free Press (April 29, 2008); Retiring Chief Justice Barker Says State's Judiciary in Excellent Shape, Chris Echegaray, Tennessean (April 30, 2008); and Chief Justice William M...
Travels with His Clerks: Souter Gains Perspective at Gettysburg
Posted on April 30, 2008Some people celebrate their employees with cake or lunch out. Justice Souter took his trusty clerks and staff (and, we assume, a few containers of yogurt) to visit Gettysburg. There, he found insight and a new sense of purpose. It's a good thing they didn't go to the Corn Palace...
Funky Cold, Part 2
Posted on April 30, 2008Remember the Medinas? It could only (?) happen in Texas: Justice Medina and his wife were indicted for arson and tampering. The indictment was ruled invalid due to an improper extension of the grand jury term. Now the wife has been indicted again. See Texas Supreme Court Justice's Wife Re-Indicted in House Fire, Juan A...
Old Problems, New Venue: Buffalo's Veterans' Court
Posted on April 29, 2008Veterans have always had problems in this country: homelessness, mental illness, and coping with military life generally. Now, veterans have their own court. It makes sense. The spectrum of specialized courts includes drug courts, bankruptcy courts, mental health courts, family courts, gun courts, and truancy courts, to name a few...
Kentucky: Appointment of New Court Administrator Challenged
Posted on April 28, 2008We've bid adieu to Kentucky's Chief Justice Lambert. Now it's time to say hey to the new state court administrator, Jason Nemes. Or is it? Nemes has been acting director since January 1, 2007. Much is being said about the way Nemes was appointed. The state senate did not confirm the appointment...
Could It Happen Here?
Posted on April 28, 2008Everywhere people are shocked by the Austrian man who kept his daughter captive in his cellar. His wife, six grown children, neighbors, and adoptive (somehow, but that's another story) "grandchildren" never suspected a thing, not for 20+ years, not while the woman gave birth to seven children in the basement of the family's home, not while he bought and brought them food and clothing...
Scalia: On the Air, but Still No Cameras
Posted on April 28, 2008If you missed it, you can catch Justice Scalia talking with Nina Totenberg about the Space Age (come to think of it, he does kind of remind us of Mr. Spacely!), McCain (of McCain-Feingold), and cameras in the court (or lack thereof). NPR has audio and text...
Law Day Fun
Posted on April 27, 2008Law Day is May 2. This year's theme is The Rule of Law. It's the 50th anniversary of the holiday, which makes us feel very young. It's nice to be younger than something! If you do nothing more than send a cash-stuffed card plus something from Green and Black's for your favorite law-loving people (just saying), check out the map of Law Day events...
Blog of the Week(end): CrimLaw
Posted on April 26, 2008Not just because Ken knows the words to the Kentucky state song, but also because his was one of the first blawgs I ever started reading, and because we were part of the same secret society at W&L Law (OK, not really, and there is not a secret society in the world that would let me in), this week's pick is CrimLaw...
May The Sun Shine Bright
Posted on April 25, 2008Once upon a time in Kentucky we were honored to be guests at a function at which the state song was sung. Topping our Most Embarrassing Moments list: not knowing the words, except "oh the sun shines bright on my old Kentucky home!" Proper etiquette prevented us from making up our own words, or explaining to the group that, being from Ohio, we were forbidden to learn this song in grade school...
At Least They Didn't Drop the H-Bomb
Posted on April 24, 2008...you know, "hellhole." While the rest of us remove the hidden crayons from our car before it gets too hot out and wonder whether it's time to mow the lawn, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is ranking state courts. What new this year? The difference, perhaps due to global warming or the upcoming Miley Cyrus big book o' memoirs, is that this time nobody used the phrase judicial hellhole...
Tomatoes Are Safe to Eat: Virginia v. Moore
Posted on April 23, 2008Remember this: The Fourth Amendment Loooooove Apple, court-o-rama (January 13, 2008)? Well, it's official! The SCOTUS unanimously agrees that probable cause is probable cause, never mind what Virginia state law says. Check out everything from briefs to analysis on the Virginia v...
Costs: Pass 'Em On
Posted on April 23, 2008How do courts deal with budget shortfalls? The same way any other business does: pass the cost onto the consumer. Florida's legislature has just approved a 10% increase in court fees. Users who file for divorce, contest traffic tickets, or sue negligent motorists will start coughing up the extra money July 1...
Earth Day Special
Posted on April 22, 2008Everybody wants in on the Earth Day act. Google creates special holiday-themed logos each year. Our second-grader imposed Screen Turnoff Week on the household (we asked for a blogging waiver, so as not to disappoint readers). Even Disney, god of consumerism, is launching a new nature film label...
World Washington Web
Posted on April 21, 2008The Washington Courts Web site is known for its clarity, clean design, and lack of superfluousness. But for some reason they're redesigning it. To do this, they've posted a survey. Take a look-see to help them improve, but also to see what types of questions they ask the public...
Fired for Testimony: There Oughtta Be A Law
Posted on April 20, 2008It makes sense: you can't be fired for reporting for jury service or being called up by the miliatary. Why should employers be free to retaliate against employees who have "subpoena duty?" A counselor fired by a Seattle mental health group is suing his former employer and the court probation supervisor for wrongful termination and violation of his First Amendment rights...
All Traffic, No Magic Tricks: Night Court Isn't What You Think
Posted on April 20, 2008It never fails: a non-judicial government-type person decides that what the town needs is a good night court. We think they are confused by too much TV Land. Night court isn't all Harry Anderson illusions and goofy bailiff banter. Most night courts are not at night per se; they often operate after-hours, but not too late...
Blog of the Week(end): Guardian ad What?
Posted on April 19, 2008This week's pick is a reality check in blog form: Guardian ad What? No sepia-toned, feel-good froth here. Rather, it's a real look at a real GAL with real cases. Why do babies have babies? Cutting diagnosis of issues that only a magic bubble can possibly solve...
Strange Bedfellows in Lesbian Custody Case
Posted on April 18, 2008"Dogs and cats, living together...mass hysteria!" Anyone who has ever even thought about taking the LSAT knows that many legal issues are matters of categorization. When the law doesn't quite know how to categorize something, all heck breaks loose...
Amnesty Calamity or Purge Surge? Hamilton County Weighs Warrant Issue
Posted on April 18, 2008You say "potato," I say "potahto." You say "purge," I say "amnesty." Well, that's not quite as catchy, but you get the idea. The question is an old one: what to do with stale warrants? Old traffic violations, bad checks (but only teensy-tiny ones), and the like are clogging Hamilton County's municipal courts...
If Only He Had Been Flanked By Louis Armstrong and Ellen DeGeneres
Posted on April 18, 2008OK, one more time...here's the rule about religious imagery in public places: it must be but one choice in a smorgasbord of traditions. Not to be confused with cafeteria Catholics, it's possible to display a Christian (or other religious) image in a public place if other traditions are also represented...
DWI in New Mexico Just Got Messier
Posted on April 17, 2008Alcohol-impaired drivers have long posed problems in New Mexico. The combination of poverty and highway expanse results in a rate of alcohol-involved traffic fatalities that is twice the national average. One response was to create a system by which misdemeanor DWIs may be filed in state magistrate court rather than in municipal court...
Jury Fun Around the World
Posted on April 17, 2008When we first envisioned court-o-rama, I swore not to cover jury stuff...been there, done that. But we would be remiss if we neglected to mention To Russia With Judge Mize, Deliberations (April 8, 2008). This is Judge Mize's report from his recent stint in Moscow, where he attended the Russian Jurors' Summit...
One from the Hip Lands Lawyer 90 Days
Posted on April 16, 2008It's one thing to dislike prosecutors; quite another to make a lewd gesture at one in court. An Austin attorney "fluctuated between apologizing for offending [the judge] and justifying his behavior as a zealous attorney defending his client." Guess he didn't count on being sentenced by a visiting judge who spends his free time teaching courtroom decorum...
So You Want to Cover the Courts?
Posted on April 16, 2008From the Fray to bloggers, everyone is commenting on what a good Supreme Court reporter should be. Frankly, we're less worried about how the media fails the SCOTUS than we are about everyday reporter doofishness. We have a past with reporters who cover the courts...
Yet More Tax: Fine with Us
Posted on April 15, 2008Congratulations (some) library patrons who have amassed fines over $10! The Virginia Department of Taxation just paid your fines for you by docking your refund! At least one court uses this tactic, too. In Iowa, $4 million in unpaid fines and fees were collected by offsetting (the preferred term) tax refunds, withholding lottery winnings, and denying new drivers' licenses until fees and fines were paid...
More Tax (or Taxing) Fun
Posted on April 15, 2008We swear this will all be over at midnight! Today the SCOTUS released an opinion in US v. Clintwood Elkhorn Mining. This is a huge Tucker Act case, meaning that we have not done anything more than read the SCOTUSwiki cursorily. Who says the SCOTUS doesn't have a sense of humor? They also released an opinion in Meadwestvaco v...
From Whatever Source
Posted on April 15, 2008Here are some fun (?) tax facts to take the pain away: What's a tax court? How do they function? State tax courts are an unusual animal in that they are often part of the executive branch. Who knew? Now you do. As you might expect, the TaxProf Blog is extra-busy and bloggy this time of year, with a Tax News roundup; a chart depicting the IRS's budget, employees, and structure; and colorful graphics illustrating where all the money goes...
Looks Like a Job for the AAJ
Posted on April 14, 2008The American Association for Justice (plus the rest of us) are forever having to explain legal legends. Now comes Judge Battaglia, who slipped and fell in his own courthouse and is...guess what! a) Leaving the legal profession for a post at the New York Daily News...
Rushing In
Posted on April 01, 2008All sorts of news and developments from around the blogosphere and reality, too, today only -- Justices Scalia and Thomas have decided to form a three-person embryo with Valerie Bertinelli. "The world needs a perky originalist," Bertinelli explained...
Swiper
Posted on March 31, 2008Those of you with Dora-sized fans at home know about Swiper. He's a fox who sneaks through the scene every so often. We guarantee he is up to no good. When they see him, kids are supposed to yell "Swiper! No swiping!" to alert our didactic-yet-upbeat little amiga...
Rain on Our Parade
Posted on March 31, 2008Today was a wet opening day here in Cincinnati. Better for the Reds if it had rained out, because they lost to those newbie Diamondbacks. Normally we would leave the baseball musings to Tom, who actually knows what he's talking about, but we wanted to mention the National Constitution Center's new exhibit on...
Blog of the Week(end): SC Bankruptcy and Consumer Law Blog
Posted on March 31, 2008We try to stay away (some) from the ad-blogs, those serving their writers rather than audiences. Blogs from big firms that do little but self-announce, blogs from newspapers that do little but verify the fact that "we have a blog." The SC Bankruptcy & Consumer Law Blog is written by a private lawyer, Sheryl Schelin...
The Rights Stuff
Posted on March 29, 2008Do victims have rights? And if so, what are they, and from whence do they spring? The Constitution says precious little about victims' rights. Rather, it focuses on the rights of the accused. The legal system purposefully leaves victims out of the equation...
Hitting the Links in South Carolina
Posted on March 29, 2008No, not the green links -- we've tried golf, but those darn windmills always trip us up!* South Carolina Summary Court Judges Association, Inc.: Get a seal for your summary court room, download the latest orders from Columbia, and check out their apparel store...
Legislation Attempts to Solve Common Problem of Common-law Marriage
Posted on March 28, 2008Probate judges see families at their worst: grieving, fighting, and with unresolved issues. Probate judges believe that allowing common-law marriage, which South Carolina does, exacerbates conflicts over estates. Will ending common-law marriage stop these types of conflicts? Would that it would! But the question of whether a couple was actually married would no longer be part of the debate...
Habla South Carolinese?
Posted on March 28, 2008A few things you might want to know when speaking to a South Carolinian: BBQ is a noun, not a verb, and "coke" means any kind of pop.* And, the state courts is desperately trying to increase its use certified interpreters. Certification involves a 2-day orientation, 3-hour written test, and an oral proficiency test...
No Secrets: Settlement Agreements in South Carolina
Posted on March 27, 2008There are many South Carolina traditions: mustard BBQ, insanely sweet tea, and giant tiger paws painted in the middle of the street. We can also add the presumption of openness regarding settlement terms to this list. Per R. 41.1, Sealing Documents and Settlement Agreements, "South Carolina has a long history of maintaining open court proceedings and records...
Mumia Supporters: Start Thinking about New T-Shirts
Posted on March 27, 2008Mumia Abu-Jamal (not to be confused with Mumm-Ra) is set for a new penalty hearing. Convicted in 1982 of killing a white police officer, Mumia has a slew of fans and supporters who agree with his claim that racism was a factor in his trial, that he was framed by Philly police, etc...
How to Find Us, Accidentally Or on Purpose
Posted on March 27, 2008We never fail to be amused by the search word queries that lead unwary surfers to court-o-rama! free wedding pictures drug court coordinators salaries how to pronounce oyez civil gideon foreclosures new york polygamy match maker tom carlson musical genius do chancery courts still exist in virginia john ritter and court trial ohio court cases in 2008 that are ngri pursuing diversity in kentucky courts rama fact file three person embryo security clearance drunk in public Of course the easy way is http://court-o-rama...
Resolving Conflict in South Carolina
Posted on March 26, 2008They may never cause a Clemson - USC lovefest, but the ADR community in South Carolina is alive and well. The state court ADR office is housed in the state bar. Both mediation and arbitration are part of the program. Besides the usual arbitration and mediation programs, South Carolina has a few special programs and rules...
Family Day
Posted on March 26, 2008Being on vacation with family is a good opportunity to consider the family courts here in South Carolina. (Not that we are considering dissolution!) As mentioned earlier, South Carolina has a uniform, statewide family court. How unusual is this? If you're in a state like this, you'd be surprised...
Defending South Carolina's Defendants
Posted on March 26, 2008What have you done for your state lately? If you're a member of the South Carolina State Bar, you may have taken an indigent defense case. South Carolina is unique in its rule that all attorneys admitted to practice in the state be on call for such cases...
Specialties in S.C.
Posted on March 25, 2008Once upon a time we were given a list entitled "How to Kill an Idea." We added to this list over time, and noticed that opposite states of being are equally capable of killing an idea. Take smallness and largeness. "We're too small" and "we're too large" are both common reasons for not doing something...
Update from the Palmetto State
Posted on March 25, 2008Wow, 24 hours without a post! We hope the Peeps-show kept you entertained in the meantime. As we are in South Carolina for spring break, the next few days will be all about the courts here. Let's start at the top: Chief Justice Toal. If there's a gun ban in the state supreme court, they shouldn't let her in -- she's a pistol! She's been (and may still be, for all we know) a field hockey goalie, the better half of the only husband-and-wife team to edit the South Carolina Law Review, a mother, Carolina Gamecocks fan, and first (and only, to date) woman to serve on the state's highest court...
Where Did All the Felony Cases Go? Mediation!
Posted on March 23, 2008Last Friday, 18 out of 19 of one court's felony cases disappeared. Senior judges trained in mediation techniques are mediating felony cases. Case types include burglary, drug trafficking, theft, assault, fleeing and evading law enforcement, and manufacturing meth...
Happy Easter Peeps!
Posted on March 23, 2008Whether you're feasting on a giant ham, making Jell-O eggs, or opening the annual jar of beet horseradish, or even if you're not celebrating Easter at all, all of court-o-rama's peeps will love the Peep Spa!
3Ls at W&L
Posted on March 22, 2008Drive to New Orleans for Mardi Gras? Collect ding letters? Worry about your loan-fraught future? What did you do during your third year of law school? At W&L Law, 3Ls will spend their time learning something. Long a leader in clinical programs (how many other law schools take black lung cases?), everybody's third year will now consist of a third-year practicum course...
Are Depressed Lawyers a Majority?
Posted on March 22, 2008Lawyers are 3.6 times more likely than average to suffer from depression 26% of respondents to a North Carolina Bar Association study exhibited symptoms of clinical depression; 12% reportedly contemplated suicide at least monthly Of 104 professions studied, lawyers had the highest rate of depression By spring of their first year in law school, 32% of one group of study subjects were depressed; the number climbed to 40% by spring of the third year...
Payback, or the Usual Audit? Conflict in Connecticut!
Posted on March 22, 2008We've seen judges and court administrators get a bit edgy when put together in the same room, but we've never seen anything like this. If a judge writes an article entitled "Probate Court Administrator Needs No More Power," does it look suspicious if that administrator orders the judge to reimburse the state for money spent on an audit? To Judge Kimes of Connecticut's New Canaan Probate Court, it's all very fishy...
How Much for that Justice in the Window?
Posted on March 22, 2008The one with the black robe and gavel? Could be millions, says James Sample of Justice at Stake, who calls for publicly-funded judicial campaigns. Better for the system, says Sample, than having the dirty moneyed mitts of the Chamber of Commerce, lawyers, and business donors on the coat-tails (or robe-tails) of sitting state court justices...
Blog of the Week(end): Simple Justice
Posted on March 22, 2008Simple Justice's subhead is "a New York Criminal Defense Blog." We're pretty far outside the NY box, and we're not criminal defense lawyers. That just proves there's something there for everyone. SJ is interesting. So many blogs and blawgs are not...
98% Success: Mediation in Delmarva
Posted on March 21, 2008First, a fun (if somewhat obvious) fact: the Delmarva peninsula takes its name not from your great aunt Delmarva, but from DElaware, MARyland, and VirginiA, the three states (OK, two states and a commonwealth) of which it consists. Here's another fun fact about the area: in Worcester County, Maryland, a one-person mediation office (scroll down the link for info) has taken over 360 misdemeanor referrals in a three-year period...
Fallout Down Under
Posted on March 21, 2008What happens when a family court process is delayed? Children grow older. Parents go bankrupt. Valuations grow stale. Divorcing parents in Australia's family court can wait as long as 2 1/2 years for finality. Mediation, introduced as a helpful measure, is also time-consuming...
New Look
Posted on March 21, 2008The Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System has a big, shiny new Web site! Bells, whistles, kazoos, you name it, it's there. Slick new intro, easy-to-read categories, large type, and navigation so simple even a tired mom on a Friday night can do it! p...
If Minnesota Courts Were On Idol
Posted on March 20, 2008These past two weeks have been Fab Four time for American Idol wannabes. If the Minnesota courts were in the race, what would their song choice be? (And we'll let them be Dylan fans; he was, after all, born in Duluth): Changing of the Guards: Chief Justice Russell Anderson is retiring...
Spring Break or Spring Broke? Budget Cuts Gone Wild in Florida
Posted on March 20, 2008While certain demographics head south for spring break, Florida courts are bracing for massive budget cuts over the next few years. Over the next budget year, cuts will result in the firing of 971 court employees. That's just the beginning! Recall, too, that Florida recently moved from local to state funding...
Update: Baristas Win Super Grande Award
Posted on March 20, 2008We recently noted the employment case against Starbucks. Guess who won? Let's just say that they're going to laugh at nickel you drop into the tip jar. See Court Awards Starbucks Baristas $86 Million in Tip-Pooling Case, Greg Moran, San Diego Union-Tribune (March 20, 2008)...
Our Mr. Brooks: SCOTUS Rules on La. Batson Case
Posted on March 19, 2008If we learned anything in our decade of court-helping, it is that nothing that happens in Louisiana surprises us. Something bubbles beneath the swampiness there, mingling with the Napoleonic Code, the parish system, Cajunisms, and Mardi Gras madness to create a legal landscape unlike any other...
Million Amici March: Does Heller Have Too Many Friends?
Posted on March 18, 2008We've ignored D.C. v. Heller thus far, because others are doing such a great job, and anyway we were too enthralled by sunshine, Mormons, and mediators to notice. But the long list of amicus briefs amazes us, from a court perspective. Petitioner's supporters include Erwin Chemerinsky, former DOJ officials, criminal justice professors, district attorneys, the NAACP Legal defense and Educational Fund, the ABA, several states, linguistics and English professors, and certain members of Congress...
Open Sesame: How Much Access is Enough?
Posted on March 18, 2008Open records are like gossip...wonderful, unless they're about us. The move of court and other public records from dusty courthouse file room to clean and easy Internet has caused such a ruckus in recent years, pitting privacy fundamentalists (who can find a right to privacy in a bowl of Alpha-Bits) against sunshine Nazis (for whom even TMZ is never TMI)...
Pro Se Wins One for Himself
Posted on March 18, 2008They say even a blind pig finds an acorn every once in awhile. So maybe it's not a huge surprise that a pro se defendant won his own murder case after all. How did he do it? Three days, no witnesses, and deliberations lasted less than an hour! Some judges would kill (well, not literally) for that kind of efficiency...
Science v. Law: Looking for a Few Solid Truths
Posted on March 18, 2008Truths are hard to come by, so we'll offer a few: The thing a toddler wants to share, you probably don't want Greg Kinnear has never been in a bad movie Goetta is tastier than you'd expect Unfortunately, you'll have to take our word. These truths won't be tested in court any time soon...
Wanted: A Few Good Mediators
Posted on March 17, 2008Scholarships to the Third National Minority Professionals in Alternative Dispute Resolution Training Institute are being made available by the Supreme Court of Ohio. Training focuses on basic mediator skills, truancy mediation, employment discrimination mediation, and understanding conflicts that arise form the impact of poverty...
SCOTUS Watcher: Cool Competition Edges out Huggable Populism
Posted on March 16, 2008Ralph Nader never tires of losing, but lawyers for his Public Citizen outfit do. According to a recent piece by Jeffrey Rosen examining pro-business leanings of the Supreme Court, Nader claims that some Public Citizen lawyers got so tired of fighting the power that they left...
Federal Judges Agree to Sunshine
Posted on March 15, 2008We love the federal courts for their uniformity. Unlike state courts, the feds stand still long enough to be counted and studied. (FJC people are laughing right now, but trust us -- each individual state court is its own crazy quilt!) Now, we can love federal courts for their openness as well...
Blog of the Week(end): JudgesOnMerit
Posted on March 15, 2008From our inbox: "Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts and PMCAction are proud to announce the launch of JudgesOnMerit, our new blog committed to implementing a Merit Selection system for choosing appellate judges in Pennsylvania." Court-O-Rama neither favors nor disfavors merit selection of judges...
Ritter Doctors Cleared by Jury
Posted on March 14, 2008The family of the late John Ritter was not able to show that doctors who treated him made faulty diagnoses or failed to act to save him from a fatal heart condition. Nine out of 12 jurors voted to clear the doctors on trial. One explained that the panel decided other doctors would have acted similarly under the same circumstances, with the same sad result...
Cameras and Pay Raises: A Solution for the Federal Judiciary
Posted on March 14, 2008This week the SCOTUS approached Congress to try to remedy low federal judicial salaries and oppose starring in their own reality show. Article III judges do get perks that most people don't, such as lifetime appointment, no concrete qualifications, and fabulous benefits...
True or False? Urban Legal Legends Exposed!
Posted on March 13, 2008Pop quiz time! True or false: Prince Leonard of Hutt River Province bestowed his title on himself, created his own currency, and conducts a booming tourist business in his very own country (which he co-rules with his wife, Princess Shirley) after seceding from Australia Crazy tort cases illustrate what's wrong with the world Web site operators are immune from prosecution by dint of the Internet Privacy Act In California (where else?) you must have a hunting license before setting a mousetrap Defendants who can demonstrate that they've subsisted on a diet of snack cakes may invoke the Twinkie defense and get away with murder This is why we love Snopes!
What The Law Owes Diversity
Posted on March 13, 2008It's been said that if the Amish weren't so darn cute, Wisconsin v. Yoder might have turned out differently. (Picture a non-adorable Jerry Rubin in place of bonneted country children!) Likewise, if Mormons were cuter, perhaps they would have left a different imprint on our legal system...
Not-So-Grande! Baristas Say They're Not Getting the Tips
Posted on March 12, 2008First, a confession. There is probably a Starbucks on the nearby campus, but we spend much time getting caffeinated and chewing up the wi-fi at Brutopia, where the chess-playing barista has more tats and piercings than a pirate. Yet, he has never made us walk the plank for not tipping...
Oyez, Aloud
Posted on March 11, 2008Does it rhyme with oy veh, oil of olay, cafe au lait, okay, oh yes, or fez? Ever wonder how to pronounce "oyez?" There's a wonderful recording available from (where else?) Oyez!
Birthday Wishes
Posted on March 11, 2008Today Justice Scalia makes Senator John McCain look like a youngster! The tuxedo-wearing, originalist Justice turns 72. No doubt he's spending it gesturing to young whipper-snappers. He's a veritable late-spring chicken on the SCOTUS. Justice Kennedy is just a few months younger, Justice Ginsburg is a few years older, evil twin Justices Souter and Breyer are a few years younger, and next month Justice Stevens celebrates #88! Happy Birthday!
Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow: Georgia Supremes Rule on Dreads
Posted on March 10, 2008It's an ongoing battle reminiscent of Catholic schoolchildren and administrators who play cat and mouse with the rules. Here's how it works: the administration makes a rule; their subjects try to find a way around it. No long hair? OK, what about shaved heads? Ties required? Bring on that 80s fixture, the skinny piano tie! Sometimes the loophole hunt is just for kicks...
Well, Recuuuuuuse Me!
Posted on March 09, 2008Chief Justice Roberts's recusal caused an even split on the High Court recently, sending SCOTUS watchers into a frenzy. (It certainly doesn't take much!) CJ Roberts recused himself in Warner-Lambert, making the case a 4-4 tie. Earlier this term, J. Kennedy recused himself in two public school cases, one of which had the same cat's game result...
Further Reading: Ex Linkus and Blog of the Week(end)
Posted on March 08, 2008If you haven't already done so, check out our Ex Linkus section in the column to your right. No, your *other* right. There! There is so much to read out on the Internets, we just don't know where to start or stop sometimes. Whether you're snowed in or sleeping in, here's our very first "Blog of the Week" for your perusal...
Weird, or Just Lots of Pictures? Ranking the World's Strangest Pleadings
Posted on March 07, 2008Slate's Bonnie Goldstein calls it The Weirdest Legal Pleading Ever. We beg to differ, 'cause we've been around some. Frivolous filings by redemptionists top our list. Next, see the hilarious collection of Unforgettable Pleadings, Legal Antics (January 28, 2008)...
Big, Bigger, Biggest: Fairfax County's New Courthouse
Posted on March 07, 2008Number of people who enter the Fairfax County court each week: 20,000 Number of new square feet in expanded courthouse: 316,000 Number of new courtrooms: 14 Age of old juvenile courthouse: 208 Number of traffic cases handled each day in Fairfax: 2,000 Total cost: $120 million See Courthouse Expansion Opens Monday, Tom Jackman, Washington Post (February 21, 2008)...
Old Courthouse, New Use
Posted on March 07, 2008Daniel Webster spoke there, Bartolomeo Vanzetti was tried there, and it's served as the center of town for hundreds of years. Now, the historic and symmetrical Plymouth County courthouse needs a new mission. Visitors' center? Museum? Office space? It could turn into all three...
Will the Supremes Say Cheese?
Posted on March 07, 2008While it snows here, in DC the Senate Judiciary Committee approved the Sunshine in the Courtroom Act. We are psyched that Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) is such an expert on cameras in the courtroom. We've been following the issue for a long time, and frankly we thought we were alone in this exciting (to us!) pursuit! The arrival of the young and photogenic Chief Justice Roberts has led some to believe that cameras would follow soon after...
Ain't Never Caught a Rabbit
Posted on March 05, 2008Even if you're an Elvis impersonator, you probably shouldn't attend your pretrial conference in rhinestones and sunglasses. And even if you're the King, do not show up drunk. Just don't. Assuming arguendo that you did anyway, don't tell the judge you only had a few drinks the night before...
Keeping Score
Posted on March 05, 2008If you're keeping track of mental health parity laws (discussed earlier), the AP has a nice write-up on House votes. See also House Approves Mental Health Bill, Andrew Miga, AP (March 5, 2008).
Preempt-O-Rama
Posted on March 05, 2008Q: Is there any current SCOTUS Justice not in favor of federal laws preempting laws of the states? A: Not really! Earlier, we noted Medtronic's huge win. (Which, come to think of it, makes that crazy Britney document a wee bit more sensible, in the way that two people saying something utterly ridiculous sounds better than just one...
No Money Blues
Posted on March 04, 2008What happens when courts run out of money? Wonder no more. Take a look at Houston County and the rest of Minnesota's Third Judicial District, which is experiencing this type of fallout: Court services office closed from 8:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Fewer legal research positions, resulting in delayed court appearances and judicial decisions One morning a week: no walk-in counter or phone service (probable result: people milling around trying to figure out where to go) Fewer conciliation court hearings Extended jury terms will cut down on summoning and orienting new jurors Extended case processing times, with possible delays in filing, scheduling, and obtaining documents No marriage ceremonies performed during business hours...
Question All the Answers
Posted on March 04, 2008He looks unassuming, but don't let that fool you. He's one of the smartest, most engaging thinkers of our time. We love to see Justice Breyer's mind at work! Mark Sherman from the AP has a nice piece out that provides insight into that amazing mind. It includes stories about his famed hypotheticals (see, law school really *does* teach you something!), even the more imaginative ones such as "tomato children" or the domestic oyster scenario...
Hurricane Help
Posted on March 04, 2008What happens to the legal community when disaster strikes? We've seen pictures and heard stories about the effects of Hurricane Katrina on the population. But did you know what happened to the Louisiana Supreme Court? Employees cleaned up as much as possible before mold and heat got the best of the courthouse, then moved to higher ground...
Schooled in Utah
Posted on March 03, 2008Can justice be taught? No, not in Utah anyway. Previously we noted that the Beehive State's justice courts were in for an overhaul. The change wasn't what reformers had in mind. Rather than increase education requirements, the bill was amended to allow those with a high school diploma or GED to serve as justice court judges...
One-Man Show
Posted on March 02, 2008The very interesting and inspiring life and times of Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall now constitute a one-man show starring Laurence "Cowboy Curtis" Fishburne. It's called Thurgood. Where is it? Where the neon lights are bright (so they say) -- on Broadway...
Clinton, Not Duff
Posted on March 02, 2008Hillary: The Movie is here, but you may or may not be able to view ads about it. Sorry to disappoint, but the Citizens United film stars Dick Morris, Ann Coulter, Newt Gingrich, Kathleen Willey, and Tony Blankley as The Beaver. The movie's site claims that HTM "is the first and last word in what the Clintons want America to forget!" What's this got to do with the SCOTUS? The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is restricting ads about the movie...
Finding Court-O
Posted on March 01, 2008We are endlessly amused by the phrases people use to search for court-o-rama, either accidentally or on purpose. Thanks to Tom's mad techie skillz, we're able to find out these kinds of things! Here are a few: "triple threat rama" (yikes!) "attorney general obama sunstein" (you heard it here first!) "chuck o rama in utah" (hunh?) "can papparazzi cause mental harm" (clearly Lindsey Lohan is a fan!) "deciding who pays for lunch" (hint: it's not us) "tom carlson musical genius" Have a great Saturday morning!
Because a Fence Would Cut off Our Airport Access
Posted on February 29, 2008We first heard the very last snippets of this story on tv news: someone wanted courts to keep tabs on the number of undocumented workers they encounter. "Sure," we thought, "in the court's free time!" We've heard this type of research proposed before in other states...
Gavels All Around
Posted on February 29, 2008It sounds like the judicial version of whack-a-mole, but Gavel Grab is actually a blog focusing on "impartiality, accountability and the war over the courts." The mouthpiece of Justice at Stake, categories include judicial elections, accountability, nominations, diversity, reform, etc...
Hey Mr. Jury Administrator
Posted on February 29, 2008Entertainer, Material Girl, dancer, Mrs. Sean Penn, mom, La Isla Bonita tourist, virgin (well, *like* one), pop diva, safe-sex promoter, wearer of uncomfy (so it would seem) Gautier, Kaballah-ist, Peron-portrayer, Wesley Clark supporter, Shanghai Surpriser, Live Earth performer...
Unimaginable Departures
Posted on February 29, 2008Some people become such a part of their workplace that they define it. So how amazing to hear that -- Linda Greenhouse is leaving the NYT Cass Sunstein is leaving Chicago for Harvard ...and Peggy Rogers is leaving the National Center for State Courts after 30(!) years of excellent service! All good things must come to an end! Best of luck to everyone!
Medically Necessary
Posted on February 29, 2008How does a disease become a disease? Sometimes inclusion in the DSM (whatever version we're up to now), or some other sign of acceptance by the medical community, will suffice. But patients with commonly-known disorders such as anorexia and bulimia are being denied insurance coverage...
Maryland Finds Prints Not So Charming
Posted on February 29, 2008Like a feminist princess, one Maryland trial court will not wait for prints to come to the rescue...(hey, it's Friday!) The fact that it was a capital case may have made all the difference. "Death is different," opined the court. So it's not clear whether the rejection of partial latent fingerprint evidence as not establishing a reliable factual foundation would apply in other types of cases, or whether it could be one of many factors in a case with different facts...
Closer to Gideon?
Posted on February 28, 2008Is the oft-hoped-for Civil Gideon in sight? If so, foreclosures could be the impetus for change. That's the hope of Robert B. Newman, a local (to me) lawyer. Newman wants court-appointed lawyers for homeowners in danger of losing their homes. The foreclosure crisis hurts everyone -- government, neighborhoods, businesses, and families...
Throwing the Book, Lightly
Posted on February 27, 2008The public wants judges who mete out tough sentences to criminals, right? Keep guessing...it's a true-or-false question, so two guesses is plenty. Here's the story: Australian judges rode the circuit to meet with the public. They presented a case to their audiences, giving them as much information as possible, including the maximum...
Nevada Gambles on Fairness
Posted on February 27, 2008Where else are prosecutors and judges responsible for paying public defenders? (Thought you'd heard everything, hunh?) Nevada's public defender system has been in disarray, to say the least. Now an order from on high ensures that the system has independent administrators, performance standards (somewhere a Researcher is crying tears of joy!), and ethically-sized caseloads...
Knowing, Voluntary, and Classified
Posted on February 27, 2008What makes a guilty plea stick? What constitutes effective assistance of counsel? What happens when much of a defendant's information is classified? Criminal defendants challenge legal norms and push the procedural envelope. Like bleeding-edge artists, they make the rest of us question our legal sense...
Ripped from the Headlines
Posted on February 27, 2008It sounds like an episode of Law & Order: main suspect in a assault/multiple murder case killed in a shootout. His mother is successfully prosecuted on complicity charges after the police say she visited the scene in the middle of the night to destroy evidence...
Photo Finish
Posted on February 26, 2008Why not use photo lineups? Let us count the ways! 1. Studies show that simultaneous lineups (where all pictures are grouped together) cause the viewer to compare the suspects to one another rather than to his or her own memory. Experts recommend, instead, the use of sequential lineups (pictures shown in a sequence)...
No Deal
Posted on February 26, 2008Can the defense agree not to challenge a jury on the basis of race? The Georgia Supreme Court, Sixth Amendment, conflicts of interest rules, and duty to zealously represent say: nope! See State Supreme Court Throws out DeKalb Man's Drug Conviction, Bill Rankin, Atlanta Journal-Constitution (February 25, 2008).
Political Poison
Posted on February 26, 2008Are politics infecting the judiciary? Justice O'Connor (ret.) thinks so, and she's taken her battle to the pages of Parade Magazine. Political pressures can and do interfere with judicial independence. Justice O'Connor tells horror stories about judicial elections in particular, and calls for merit selection with retention elections to fix the problem...
Tx Gone Bad?
Posted on February 25, 2008Courts are now accustomed to ordering defendants to treatment. What happens when that treatment turns out to be a bad trip? Recovering heroin addicts ordered to work at the Seattle Drug and Narcotic Center, Inc., are suing the center for back wages. The center takes a "work therapy" approach, which plaintiffs say involved wageless jobs at a for-profit recycling plant...
ADR Idol
Posted on February 23, 2008The American Idol of ADR is happening again! The ABA Representation in Mediation Competition is being held March 8 at American University in D.C. (and perhaps elsewhere -- check local listings). Volunteer judges are needed!!! Here's the schedule, sign up for as much as you can but we hear that Saturday is under-staffed: Round One: Saturday, March 8, 8 a...
More Job-Hunting
Posted on February 23, 2008Still looking for a job? Wondering how long you can put "blogger" on your resume? Here are some more job-hunting resources: The ABA may have openings in Chicago or D.C. One can also find assistance and encouragement from the Career Counsel section of their site...
Contemptible?
Posted on February 22, 2008Should tv judges be sanctioned? Once upon a time a woman contacted the Knowledge and Information Service at the National Center for State Courts to complain about Judge Judy. Could we do something about this judge? She was so mean to people! Our intake coordinator deftly handled the woman's questions and concerns...
Rerun
Posted on February 22, 2008What did we do before Real Audio? If you missed it yesterday, take a listen to The Diane Rehm Show. Guest host Susan Page interviewed Judge George "Woody" Clark about DNA evidence, double jeopardy, and the "CSI effect." Callers were, as always, chock full o' good questions.
Way-Back Machine
Posted on February 22, 2008We try not to be too Buckeye-centric, but it's hard not to be when the state supreme court has such a nifty website and a deft PIO who keeps the court news up-to-date. If only every place else were so fabulous! This week Ohio's highest court upheld the state's 10-year statute of limitations on products liability claims, but also held that a plaintiff injured before the statute's creation need not meet that limit...
Retro
Posted on February 20, 2008If you had asked us about retro floors before today, we might have answered parquet or light-up disco. But now we know better, thanks to Danforth v. Minnesota (06-8273), in which the SCOTUS ruled that as far as retroactivity in the states are concerned, Teague is a floor, not a ceiling...
A Win (for Some)
Posted on February 20, 2008Score one for Medtronic, zero for patients with inflatable catheters and state court fans. The SCOTUS, in a 8-1 decision, held that the medical device company cannot be sued in state court because its devices have been approved by federal regulators...
Sound Familiar?
Posted on February 20, 2008"Merchants and industrial developers were stymied in their desire for a coherent doctrine of commercial laws because juries in different locations applied different norms. Furthermore, business leaders were concerned that their commercial agreements might be upset by the whim of a local jury...
Three Bites and You're Out
Posted on February 19, 2008Number of people in the U.S. who seek medical care for dog bites annually: 800,000 Number of those under age 14: 400,000 Rank of dog-bite accidents among other causes of death or ER visits (in 2003): 5th Number of bites a dog is allowed, under common law and most state and local legislation, before the owner is liable: 1 Number of people in the U...
Holiday Road
Posted on February 18, 2008Pausing to violate the separation of powers here, we understand that a select few of you have the day off on account of President's Day. We suppose the lack of holidays honoring former Supreme Court Justices could be solved in part by taking time to think about former Chief Justice *and* President William Howard Taft...
Sugar-Free Pokey
Posted on February 18, 2008As someone who may or may not have violated South Beach rules on Valentine's Day (hey, champagne, Ghiradelli, and the little toast rounds beneath the caviar were at stake!), we found it interesting to learn that inmates in NYC jails not only lose access to the outside world, but also to unhealthy food...
There Oughta Be a Law
Posted on February 18, 2008Do paparazzi and charitable donations need more legislation? In California, some people need a motorcade to get their ambulance to the hospital. New legislation would require professional sleb watchers to leave a "personal safety zone" around their subjects...
Not-So-Fresh Pursuit
Posted on February 18, 2008When is a "fresh pursuit" not? When it crosses county lines and it's based on a non-arrestable offense. So says the New Mexico Court of Appeals. Sure, suspicion of DWI is cause for arrest, but the initial stop here was for violation of a city noise ordiance...
Kudos to Kentucky
Posted on February 16, 2008Hmm, why would a state create a mass tort/class action ethics committee? When a few of its finest are in the pokey. Kentucky, which has seen its share of ethics violations in these cases, has formed a Mass Tort and Class Action Litigation Committee "to safeguard against potential abuses in tort litigation...
Part of the Solution
Posted on February 16, 2008Gandhi said "You must be the change you wish to see in the world." The ABA's Lawyer as Problem Solver Advisory Committee (yes, Virginia, there is such a committee) is looking outside itself for someone who represents that change. Nominate a problem-solver today! See ABA Lawyer as Problem Solver Award Call for Nominations, Michael Moffitt, ADR ProfBlog (February 14, 2008)...
Event-Full
Posted on February 16, 2008We haven't posted events here for a number of reasons, but one upcoming occasion merits special notice. In Louisville on March 25, the Kentucky courts will sponsor Equal Treatment for All: Pursuing Diversity in Kentucky Courts. Kentucky's AOC has been hard at work on diversity projects (including jury issues) for some time now...
Oops, Removal?
Posted on February 15, 2008Are people making a federal case out of Britney's conservatorship? We mean that literally! The Civil Procedure Prof Blog has nothing on this *yet* but TMZ and the e-rags are all over it. A lawyer for Sam Lufti (Britney's so-called friend and manager) is trying to get her conservatorship case removed to federal court...
Land of Ten Thousand Cuts
Posted on February 15, 2008Minnesota's courts are hurting, and went to the legislature (as promised last year when the cuts were made) to prove it. Here's what they've cut so far: Civil arbitration Travel Training Law books (and don't say "well everything's online now") Conciliation court calendar (cut by 1/3) Also: positions have been abolished or frozen...
"Almost Always"
Posted on February 15, 2008That's how often Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Moyer believes court records should be open to the public. A recent press release from the court details the history of openness of records, from a Cincinnati case in 1901 to coping with the challenges of online records...
The Wedding Court
Posted on February 14, 2008Court weddings seem so unromantic -- somehow bailiffs don't quite evoke the spirit of the occasion like ushers and bridesmaids do. But many courts are busy busy busy today performing wedding ceremonies: In New Orleans, "The Love Judge" makes every Valentine's Day wedding special, with roses, and historic views...
This Day in Legal History
Posted on February 12, 2008What did we do before Wikipedia? On February 12... The Treaty of Stralsund resolved border disputes between Mecklenburg and Pomerania (1354) Lady Jane Grey was executed (1554) Pirate advocate, spectral-evidence expert, and noted Puritan minister Cotton Mather was born (1663) Abraham Lincoln was born (1809) Utah women received the right to vote (1870)
Mediation to the Rescue
Posted on February 11, 2008Ohio has long been on the forefront of mediation, from Capital University Law grads who set the ADR world on fire (not literally) to Dean Rogers's efforts at OSU. Unfortunately, Ohio is also one of the top foreclosure states at the moment. Recall Chief Justice Moyer encouraged Ohio lawyers to mediate these cases...
Court-O-Bama
Posted on February 11, 2008And the nominees are... Nope, Grammys are over. We're talking about the McClobbees! It's too early to tell who will be nominated or elected, so it's insanely early to tell who that person would nominate for the SCOTUS. But that series of long-shots doesn't stop some interesting speculation from all sides...
Good Job
Posted on February 11, 2008Is your job thankless? We believe court employees are among the least-thanked. They deal with cranky, stressed-out members of the public and their attorneys (who may be of equal or worse disposition). They are not highly-compensated, although the legal system depends on them for everything from scheduling cases to making crucial forms available to keeping the courthouse safe...
Cruel, Unusual, and Impossible?
Posted on February 08, 2008While Callahan, et al, wait for the SCOTUS to make up its mind regarding the constitutionality of lethal injection, one state court of last resort has issued an opinion regarding the electric chair. Nebraska's high court, in State v. Mata (S-05-1268), held the chair constituted "cruel and unusual punishment," and hence is unconstitutional...
Take A Chancery
Posted on February 08, 2008Show of hands: who wants to be known as Lord High Chancellor? Wow, that's so many of you! Sadly, only West Virginians need apply. The state is considering bringing back the chancery system. This, when every other state has merged law and chancery, and some seem to have erased chancery altogether! But chancery court is a wonderful invention...
Year of the Blog
Posted on February 07, 2008Happy Year of the Rat! Celebrate by catching up with these blawgs and blogs: Chinese Law Prof Blog: Learn about "house arrest" in China, property law, grants for rule-of-law projects, and more. China Law Blog: Fascinating post about the power of the middle class, imported products, plus other fine information from the firm of Harris & Moure...
Growing Up Too Fast
Posted on February 07, 2008As a high school student, then ask a parent. You'll get wildly different answers to this question: is a 17-year-old an adult or a child? Rhode Island courts are siding with the parents' view. State law there had treated 17-year-olds as adults, but now the court says they are juveniles...
Drug Court Dispute
Posted on February 07, 2008Who doesn't love a drug court? With a few exceptions, drug courts are the darlings of the judges and prosecutors who run them. Scads of warm and fuzzy success stories can't be wrong, can they? In Macomb County, Michigan, the police department was concerned with the local drug court sentencing...
See You in Court!
Posted on February 06, 2008Everybody "knows" that the reason big companies use arbitration clauses is because they hate litigation. Right? Wrong! Empirical evidence (is there any other kind?) gathered by Eisenberg, Miller, and Sherwin, shows that in fact companies use such clauses only when it comes to consumers...
Mother-Daughter Issues
Posted on February 06, 2008If you're following Lynne Stewart's case (which see), you may want to know that her daughter is now making news for all the wrong reasons. Oh, it's not as bad as all that. She hasn't taken a Lohanesque turn or finally saying "yes" to rehab...
Ritter Rx
Posted on February 05, 2008How come the aptly-named Jack Tripper never sued Mr. Roper or Mr. Furley? He certainly could have, what with the gender-based renting policy and malfunctioning swinging door. Now the real-life family of the late John Ritter is suing doctors for medical malpractice...
Can Your Court Spare $800,000?
Posted on February 05, 2008The inexplicably landlocked Rhode Island is facing a huge deficit. To help out, the state court system has volunteered to contribute $800,000 of its own money. The money comes from Superior Court arbitration fees. Per statute, those fees were supposed to have been deposited into the state's general fund...
Parenthood x 3
Posted on February 05, 2008There are single moms, single dads, and various couplings thereof. But until now, nobody, not even a so-called "test-tube babies," has three biological parents. How radical is this? Much less so than it first appears. Not to paint all these possibilities with the same brush, but we have grown accustomed to step-parents, surrogate moms, sperm donors, IVF, open adoptions, same-sex parents, and grandparents as primary caregivers...
The 411 on PFAs
Posted on February 05, 2008We usually think of protection from abuse (PFA) orders* as protecting women from abusive spouses. But as The Matter of Spears shows, a PFA can protect a person from an allegedly unethical manager. Depending on the jurisdiction, PFAs might cover various family members, exes, or others...
Fun with DNA
Posted on February 04, 2008The mild-mannered Columbus Dispatch wowed Ohio with its expose on DNA evidence in Ohio. The short version -- Evidence is regularly destroyed Prosecutors routinely oppose DNA testing Judges dismiss requests without giving the required reason Inmates requested DNA in 313 cases; 12 were tested Two inmates have been cleared by DNA evidence; 7 have been confirmed guilty See the multi-media cavalcade Test of Convictions, Columbus Dispatch...
Perfect Attendance
Posted on February 04, 2008Which Justice of the SCOTUS has a perfect attendance record for all State of the Union addresses? Justice Breyer is a better person than we are. He doesn't watch Netflix or read on the big day. He's never once missed a speech, and was sometimes the lone representative of the least dangerous branch...
Corporate Counsel and Chiefs Speak Out
Posted on February 04, 2008Are courts inefficient? Under-funded? How do state court judges fare? Metropolitan Corporate Counsel ran a series of interviews and articles focusing on these very concerns. But can such an outlet be impartial on these matters? In its defense, any shortcomings in the courts (and there are many, according to the high-powered lawyers interviewed) may be solved by better court funding and organization...
New Nichols Judge
Posted on February 04, 2008The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Cobb County Superior Court Judge James Bodiford has been appointed to preside over the NIchols case. Judge Fuller recused himself last week after Toobin (mis?)quoted his views about the case. Judge Bodiford presided over the recent crematory case and other high-profile trials...
Gripping Storytelling
Posted on February 03, 2008It's not often we get through an entire book that wasn't written by P.D. Eastman or Dr. Seuss. So Scott Sundby's book, A Life and Death Decision: A Jury Weighs the Death Penalty, was a welcome and different change of pace. It's been awhile since we read and reviewed it elsewhere, but we're revisiting the book here for anyone who hasn't heard about it...
Out-of-state = Still Married
Posted on February 03, 2008Public policy loves marriage almost as much as Elizabeth Taylor does. Marriage is good. Without it, my feet would freeze and I'd eat Cup O' Noodles for dinner every night. Public policy hearts marriage because it creates a small bite-sized society. It's voluntary stability (in theory anyway)...
Raising Hopes
Posted on February 02, 2008We used to work at a place where a picture-perfect score plus glowing comments on your performance review resulted in a 5 or 6% raise (depending on what kind of year the place was having). A good friend of mine who worked in the private sector told me if he got that kind of raise, it was a sign pointing to the exit door...
Parachini-esque
Posted on February 02, 2008The paparazzi just can't keep away from Allan Parachini! If you're wondering, "Who?!?" then you must be new here. Allan Parachini is the PIO for the L.A. Superior Court. If the legal issues of Britney or Michael are in the news, Mr. Parachini is right there, too...
Coming in from the Cold
Posted on February 01, 2008Russians and secrets and spies, oh my! At what point may grand jury transcripts be opened to the public? Scholars, reporters, and the couple's sons seek the release of sealed transcripts from the Rosenberg case. They hope to learn more about the case, particularly with respect to Mrs...
Revival in Mississippi
Posted on February 01, 2008Four days: one state supreme court, one law library, and one administrative office of the court. The Mississippi Supreme Court will be moving from February 8-11. Amazing to anyone who's ever moved just one family from place to place, the new building will be open to the public on February 12! (Of this same year!) The old building, a relic from 1974, is leaky and reportedly not as nice as the buildings housing the other two more dangerous branches of government...
Crushworthy?
Posted on January 31, 2008If you're crushing on Lynne Stewart, or even if you're not, you may be interested in her appeal. Stewart, recall, was convicted of providing material support to a terrorist conspiracy (i.e., her client). She is either Belle of the Wrongfully Convicted + Disbarred Ball or Pinko (in a bad way) of the Century, depending on your viewpoint...
Country Ham, Grits, and the Constitution
Posted on January 31, 2008Are you fond of Italian gestures? Are you a good (if very quiet) listener? Are you the only woman at your office? The Washington & Lee School of Law is hosting Breakfast with the Constitution, in which Dean Smolla serves up constitutional issues, and the audience participates as SCOTUS Justices...
Are Your Roots Showing?
Posted on January 31, 2008Who are your people? You might be related to one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence or (as Matt Groening says) a "crafty trilobite." Senator Obama found out he was a distant cousin of Vice President Cheney. There have been numerous stories about Obama's Kansan relatives...
Idle Hands
Posted on January 30, 2008It's no secret that someone serving 19 years might could use a hobby. A Washington state man convicted of first-degree arson for firebombing cars belonging to his opponents' lawyers spends his free (so to speak) time looking up personal information about public officials...
Damned If He Does
Posted on January 30, 2008Criticized for being too pro-defendant, Judge Hilton Fuller has stepped down from the Nichols case after Toobin quoted him as saying "everyone in the world knows he [Nichols] did it.". See Ga. Courthouse Shooting Judge Steps Down, Harry R. Weber, AP (January 30, 2008).
Funky Cold
Posted on January 29, 2008The Austin American-Statesman is asking Justice Medina to step down unless he "cannot quickly resolve this mess in Harris County." This is the mess you may have read about here not long ago. Scroll down to see the January 27 item, "Austin American-Statesman on judicial ethics", in the State Editorial Roundup, AP, Dallas News (January 28, 2008)...
Art for Courthouse Art's Sake
Posted on January 28, 2008You've seen the American Gallery of Juror Art, and viewed trial sketches on the news (or at Turkewitz's site). Courthouses are chock full o' art. Many court websites include a peek: One of Delaware's three counties, New Castle, boasts "a visual feast of brilliant color" and more...
Just Leave It in a Brown Paper Bag on the Courthouse Steps
Posted on January 27, 2008If you lose a glove in Gotham, it might turn up here. But we're not sure where the Worcester Superior Court can find missing evidence from a 1990 case. Here's a description: cocaine, kilo-sized. (A kilo, for those who ignored the schools' attempts to cram the metric system down our throats, is about 2...
Just the Tax
Posted on January 26, 2008Upset that there aren't enough tax cases to read? Stressed out by the filed-down legal teeth of administrative rulings? Hankering for a "tax-only" judge? Tax court may be for you! There are many varieties of tax courts -- some are not even in the judicial branch...
Fear of Commitment
Posted on January 26, 2008Nothing boosts policy reform like a sociopath! Ever since the Virginia Tech massacre, Virginians have been scrambling to change their mental health system. But even before a Hokie opened fire on his fellow classmates and professors, Virginia was on the road to reform...
Yet More Hype
Posted on January 26, 2008We pat ourselves on the back so you don't have to! But some of you did anyway: Giant thanks to Corrections Sentencing for appreciating great snark! The New York Supreme Court Criminal Term Library gave us a warm welcome, too.
For the Defense?
Posted on January 25, 2008How wrapped-up in indigent defense funding should a judge be? There's yet another new twist in the Nichols case: the judge has repeatedly delayed the case due to inadequate funding of the defense team. Georgia has a history when it comes to indigent defense...
Palmetto State Hearings
Posted on January 25, 2008South Carolina is the southern belle of the ball right now, but after the primaries are a memory the quest for justice will continue. Starting in March, the South Carolina Access to Justice Commission will hold regional meetings to gauge the access to courts by citizens of low or modest means...
Say It with Us: "Habeas!"
Posted on January 24, 2008Evidently, habeas writs are unheard of in Idaho. So much so that court staff in Bonneville, County, Idaho, does not know what they are. Normally, this is not a problem. Now court clerks are learning about habeas the hard way. A defendant was about to be released on bond, but then was told he could not leave because a federal warrant had been issued...
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Ten months later, Fed must reveal names of emergency lending recipients #FOIA
On 08-25 at 19:02PM
Squeaky Fromme, would-be Ford assassin and Manson devotee, released from prison
On 08-14 at 15:19PM
Likely unintended consequence of cash-for-clunkers stimulus is dampening of 2010 spending
On 08-14 at 14:34PM
Palm seeks to halt Palm Pre Android theme on copyright and trademark ground
On 08-12 at 17:30PM
Congressional investigation demonstrates Karl Rove lied about his active role in US attorney's firing
On 08-12 at 16:20PM
Family of New York City swine flu victim to sue city for failure to secure school #nyc #swineflu
On 08-12 at 12:59PM
Real Network's DVD copying software deemed to break DMCA's anti-circumvention provisions
On 08-12 at 12:57PM
Prepaid funeral operators indicted for $100 Million fraud
On 08-12 at 12:53PM
NY Jets join Cincinnati, Dallas, Green Bay, Houston & Seattle #NFL teams offering branded state lottery games
On 08-12 at 12:43PM
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How do i go bout geting a free laywer to sue the durham police department for drug raids and nothing is found?they have been in my house 4 or 5 times seems like every 4 months or so and breaking down my door tearing up m
They need a warrant to get into your house...if they never showed you one...you ...
Is a child fathered out of wedlock by an American diplomat to a foreign women on foreign soil entitled to US Citizenship by jus sanguinis?
This is a very tough situation your friend is in. It is difficult to know the ex...
Did I harass someone?
Oh, yes. This can be taken in as so many things, especially since you had testif...
How can I get my parents away from my bulling brother?
First of all, if you are paying your lawyer, you should not be on the back burne...
I was fired on June 3, 2002 in Massachusetts because I reported discriminatory behavior by the employer towards a particular nationality. In July I filed a discrimination/retaliation complaint against the employer with t
It seem sin your case that the fact you filed the complaint prior to being dissa...
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