The Legal Reader^™

11th Circuit Grants en banc Review of 28 Year Old Opinion

"Atlanta's federal appeals court looks ready to strike down one of its precedents -- a 1974 decision authored by then-Judge Griffin B. Bell concluding that federal wiretap laws did not apply to a husband secretly recording his wife's telephone conversations," law.com reports here.

Strange Strategy for Accused Molester: Fires Lawyer, Offers to Expose Himself

"A Pennsylvania man charged with child molestation fired his lawyer at his preliminary hearing then offered to expose himself to the judge to prove his innocence," it says here.

Court Says Lawyer Must Lop Dog's Tail To Compete

A dog-owning lawyer who refused to cut off his spaniel's tail to meet American Kennel Club competition standards does not have standing to seek civil enforcement of New York's anti-cruelty statute, a divided state appeals court ruled Thursday, according to this.

Judge Removed from Bench for Being "A Jerk"

"Contra Costa County Superior Court Judge Bruce Van Voorhis became the first judge in California to lose his gavel over his demeanor alone Thursday when the Commission on Judicial Performance announced his ouster," it is reported here.

War of the Greedy Associates Boards

In the beginning, a few associates at big law firms gathered in Yahoo! groups to compare and complain about their salaries and firms. Momentum built.

Sniffing steady traffic and thus a steady revenue source, infirmation.com soon created its own bulletin boards and invited the greedy ones to post there. Then there was light.

A bunch of regional and topical sub-boards of "greedy associates" flourished there. They eventually had hundreds of posts per day, and many thousands of page views. Lucrative stuff for infirmation.com.

Most of the posts were rubbish. Some were scatological. Some offensive. Some slanderous. But occasionally there was news. And when law firm news broke (such as the news of the recent demise of Brobeck) the boards were the place to go for instant (if not always accurate) news.

But recently, something happened. I'm not sure what. Everything seems to be shrouded in mystery. The consensus is that infirmation.com has been acquired by some huge corporation, and is suddenly worried about liability.

Anywho, infirmation.com announced out of the blue that it would heretofore delete not only the posts, but the infirmation accounts of all posters who posted anything offensive, including all posts containing either the words "shit" or "fuck." These words had been part of the lingua franca of these boards for years prior to this announcement.

Then, infirmation actually started doing it: deleting not only posts, but the accounts of posters.

So the hardcore greedy ones decided to boycott infirmation.com. They quickly set up an initial alternative message board. But when they tried to post links to the new board on the original infirmation.com boards, the infirmation.com overlords immediately deleted the posts containing the links to the new, competing boards.

Then the new, alternative board's overlords threw the greedy ones out yet again (for reasons that remain unclear), and the greedy ones wandered off into the hinterland once more, in search of a new home. And on it goes.

This may seem somewhat of a tempest in a teapot. But I can tell you that some people are plenty pissed about it. And some are making Herculean efforts to overcome it.

In any event, the new greedy associate boards are here (at least for the moment). (Link updated 2/28/03.)

[You can apply to get email updates about ongoing greedy associates board developments by emailing Tyrone Slothrop and providing him with your board "sock" (anonymous identity) and an email address.]

Personal Injury Lawyers Indicted for Soliciting Scam

"Manhattan District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau Wednesday indicted six New York attorneys who allegedly bribed hospital workers for medical records that revealed prime candidates for personal injury lawsuits," law.com reports here.

California Attorney General Sues Law Firm Using Unfair Competition Law, Alleging Abuse of the Same Unfair Competition Law

California's Business & Professions Code section 17200 has become a potent weapon for plaintiffs. But it is notoriously subject to abuse, and reform of the statute is a current hot topic. Now the State has jumped into the debate by suing Los Angeles' Trevor Law Group, a firm that it alleges "did not investigate claims before it sued, filed against unrelated businesses, made secret settlements with no public benefit, split attorneys fees with non-attorneys and violated rules of civil procedure," as reported here.

Picking on the Little Guy

Are solo practitioners and minority lawyers more likely to be the targets of bar disciplinary proceedings? If so, why? The ABA reports on the issue here.

Juror Anger Leads to Larger Punitive Awards

Statistically, punitive damages awards increased in 2002 in both raw size and as a percentage of the actual damages on which they are based. Law.com reflects on what that means here.

Top Defense Wins of 2002

The National Law Journal reports on the top ten (plus ten more) defense verdicts of 2002 in this interesting article.

Appeal Court Wants Judge Punished for Comments to Jury

"On Tuesday, Sacramento's Third District Court of Appeal referred Placer County Superior Court Judge Joseph O'Flaherty to the state's Commission on Judicial Performance for possible discipline after finding a second instance where he advised prospective jurors to conceal any racist feelings. This only a year after the appeal court had reversed O'Flaherty in People v. Mello for doing the same thing," The Recorder is reporting. You can read the court's opinion here.

Strip Search Case Revived Against Store

"The full 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has reinstated the civil rights suit of an African-American woman who charged she was wrongfully strip-searched at a Dillard’s department store in Cleveland. The Cincinnati-based court ruled that section 1981 civil rights claims aren’t limited to state actors," the ABA Journal reports here.

Trial to Start in Federal Prosecution of Exam Cheats

"A trial opening in Camden, N.J., this week will showcase the first use of the federal mail fraud statute to prosecute students for cheating on standardized tests. Hany Al-Hedaithy is one of about 60 Middle Eastern students charged with hiring impostors to take a college entrance test. Al-Hedaithy has moved for discovery on whether he was singled out based on race, since this use of the mail fraud statute appears unprecedented," law.com reports here.

Supreme Court to Decide "Ineffective Counsel" Capital Case

The legal test for whether a conviction can be overturned because of the ineffectiveness of trial counsel has grown murky since the Supreme Court decided Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, in 1984. Now the Supreme Court has agreed to review the case of Wiggins v. Corcoran, No. 01-311, and many hope that the decision will clarify the test, the ABA Journal reports here.

DNA Dragnets

So far, DNA dragnets have been used more in Europe than here. But a case in Louisiana is pitting the interests of law enforcement in using this incredibly powerful tool against individuals' Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable searches, as reported here.

Fun With the Digital Millennium Copyright Act

As noted earlier, companies are getting creative about using the DMCA in ways its drafters never envisioned to thwart competition. The LA Times has published another interesting article about it (free registration required).

Big Law Firms Suck

Neil Shapiro practiced law for 30 years in big firms. He eventually decided that life there was increasingly unbearable, and moved to a better place. He writes about his move here. I worked at the same Big Firm that Neil recently left for several years before coming to the same conclusion he did (a couple of years before him). No offense to that particular firm, but he is right that things have changed for the worse. Not just at that firm (which is probably better than most), but at Big Law in general. I say: Tune in, turn on, drop out! Greed is dead. This profession used to be a great way to earn a comfortable living doing something you loved and could be proud of. Whatever happened to that?

Flummoxed by "Progress"

California Appellate Justice William W. Bedsworth explains why he would be happier remaining in an earlier century here.

Brouhaha Over Big-Screen Ads

"The practice of showing commercials before the start of movies defrauds the public and should be stopped, according to lawsuits filed against two movie theater chains. The suit accuses the chains of deluging 'captive audiences with unannounced and unwanted advertisements,'" CBS reports here.

Judge Dismisses Antitrust Lawsuit Against Blockbuster, Studios

"A judge on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit against video rental giant Blockbuster Inc. and five movie studios, saying video store operators who brought the case failed to show the defendants conspired to strike favorable deals not available to other video stores. Superior Court Judge Victoria Chaney granted Blockbuster's motion for summary judgment," the AP reports here.

Burglar Gets No Break Because Occupant Was Dead

"A Rochester-area burglar's claim that he could not be convicted of breaking into a 'dwelling' because the 'occupant' was dead split an appellate panel 3-2 but failed to persuade any of the judges on New York's highest court," according to this.

New York State Judicial Conduct Rules Struck

"A U.S. judge in Albany, N.Y., on Thursday delivered a body blow to the New York State Judicial Conduct Commission's power to regulate the political activities of judges. Judge David N. Hurd, ruling in a challenge brought by Albany Supreme Court Justice Thomas J. Spargo, struck all specific prohibitions on judicial activity contained in the New York Code of Judicial Conduct as a prior restraint on protected First Amendment activities." Read all about it here.

Online Archive of Lawsuits by Slaves Offers Glimpse of the Past

The Missouri State Archives has a project to catalogue, manage, and digitize the State's pre-1875 legal filings, including many cases in which slaves sought their freedom, the AP reports
here. You can visit the Archives online here.

Law Schools Enacting Dating Policies in Wake of Dwyer Scandal

Dahlia Lithwick has a humorous take on the matter here from The American Lawyer.

Disbarred Lawyer Sues Judges

"A veteran Queens lawyer who was disbarred last April has filed a federal suit against two state Supreme Court judges, claiming they signed off on a conspiracy to swindle him out of real estate worth $3.8 million," the NY Post reports here.

More Second Amendment Fun from the 9th Circuit

The 9th Circuit has just published another Second Amendment case, Nordyke v. King, which holds that an Oakland, California law banning the possession of firearms or ammunition on county property is constitutional. The law effectively bars gun shows in the county.

In the portion of the opinion discussing the Second Amendment, the panel followed the 9th Circuit's own ruling in Hickman v. Block, 81 F.3d 98 (9th. Cir. 1996), which held that the Second Amendment gives a collective right to a militia to the states, not a right to own guns to an individual . The court noted that it had no choice but to follow Hickman, and criticized the panel that recently decided Silviera v. Lockyer, 312 F.3d 1052 (9th Cir. 2003), for including a detailed analysis of the Second Amendment when such an analysis was unnecessary because of the binding precedent of Hickman.

In a concurring opinion, Justice Ronald M. Brown goes so far as to say that though he is bound to follow Hickman, he believes that both it and Silviera are wrong, and that the correct rule is that the Second Amendment does confer an individual right to gun ownership, as was held by the Fifth Circuit in United States v. Emerson, 270 F.3d 203 (5th Cir. 2001). (In other words, "I know this decision is wrong, but I am bound by precedent to render it.")

Looks like the issue is ripe for a new Supreme Court decision on the Second Amendment, which it has not addressed for a quarter century. Or at least for en banc review in the 9th Circuit, which could result in Hickman's reversal.

UPDATE: Law.com has published an article about today's decision here.

Thwarting a Useful Jury Experiment?

I don't necessarily agree with it, but here is an argument that the recent Texas court decision keeping a documentary crew from videotaping a capital jury's deliberations was wrong. Read it here from the Washington Times.

California Judges Clamp Down on Publicity

"Judges who preside over some of California's highest-profile trials have been clamping down on press coverage despite legal rules and admonitions from higher courts telling them to keep doors and documents open," the AP reports here.

Tech Manufacturers Using Copyright Law to Thwart Competitors

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) was supposed to protect copyrighted materials -- such as music and movies -- from digital piracy. But, as some argued in opposing it, tech manufacturers are beginning to use the DMCA to try to stifle competition. As BusinessWeek reports here, Lexmark has filed a suit under the DMCA trying to stop a chipmaker from selling chips to third-parties who sell remanufactured toner cartridges for Lexmark's printers, arguing that the code in the chips is protected by copyright.

Google Buys Pyra, the Parent of blogspot.com and Blogger

I love Google! Honest I do! If I ever said anything bad about Google, I take it back . . . .

Google now owns the host of the website you are reading, and the software I use to maintain it, according to this article in the San Jose Mercury News. In all honesty, I do love Google. The "Google Tool Bar" is one of the most useful web inventions yet. Plus, Google has given WeirdOfTheNews a "PageRank" of six out of ten, which virtually guarantees that my website will be found by all manner of freaks and weirdoes doing Google searches -- which is an endless source of amusement to me. Just check Disturbing Search Requests if you don't believe me.

Supreme Court to Consider Review Of Case Seeking Release of Vince Foster Suicide Photos

This Friday (Feb. 21), the Supreme Court will decide whether to add the case to next year's docket. The case pits the rights of those who suspect Foster was murdered against the privacy interests of Foster's family, and tests the limits of the Freedom of Information Act, American Lawyer Media reports here.

NY Lawsuit Poses Test of Same Sex Marriages

New York lawyer Neal Conrad Spicehandler died in the hospital three days after suffering a fractured leg when hit by a car on a hit-and-run spree. He was "married" to his partner John Langan under Vermont's civil union law. Langan is now suing the hospital, and the suit will test whether Vermont's civil union law will be recognized in New York, or whether it will be trumped by the federal "Defense of Marriage Act," the NY Law Journal reports here.

Doctor Files Complaint Against Trial Lawyers

West Virginia physician Julie McCammon alleges the lawyers have driven the cost of medical malpractice insurance through the roof by filing frivolous and meritless lawsuits against doctors. She's representing herself, according to this.

9th Circuit Justice Kozinski's Impartiality Questioned After Visit to Death Row Inmate

The California Attorney General's Office is questioning whether Kozinski can continue to hear death penalty cases after he corresponded with and then met inmate Michael W. Hunter. This despite the fact that Kozinski is generally considered an unwavering proponent of the death penalty. Fellow Justice Reinhardt thinks "they have to be nuts" to seek Kozinski's disqualification, the L.A. Times reports here (registration [free] required).

Actor, Producer Trade Lawsuit Tirades

In dueling lawsuits over the move Why Men Shouldn't Marry, actor Sean Penn accuses producer Steve Bing of blacklisting him because of his opposition to a war in Iraq, while Bing accuses Penn of blackmailing him over a movie deal that never materialized. Read all about it here.

Judge Removed for Moral Turpitude

"The Commission on Judicial Conduct has determined that Calvin M. Westcott, a town court judge in Hancock, Delaware County, should be removed for having sex with a mentally retarded woman entrusted to his care, the New York Law Journal reports" here.

'Horse's Ass' Initiative Out Of Starting Gate

A judge has given tentative approval for a voter initiative to have Tim Eyman -- the local king of voter initiatives -- officially labeled a "horse's ass." David Goldstein, the initiative's author, "wants to call attention to what he sees as abuse of the initiative process by Eyman and others," according to this. UPDATE (3/10/02): David Goldstein has a website devoted to his "horse's ass" initiative.

Judge Arrested at Local Outback Steakhouse

Sounds like Judge Dawson, 48, may have had one too many at the bar before he had to be physically hauled out by the cops after refusing to leave, as reported here.

Is The Current Heightened Terror Threat A False Alarm?

ABC News says it may be. Sounds like good (if annoying) news to me.

Litigation Can Be Fun!

In 1997, some Florida lawyers (including lead attorney Jack Scarola of West Palm Beach) convinced about fifteen plaintiffs to opt out of a class action against Prudential concerning life insurance sales, and to pursue their claims on their own instead. At first, the plaintiffs presented a unified front. But then things started getting ugly, and never stopped. Now there's an astonishing tangle of litigation and cross-accusations, law.com reports here.

According to Frode, Pillsbury is Bad, Bad, Bad

Remember Frode Jensen, the Pillsbury Winthrop partner who was leaving for Latham & Watkins when Pillsbury management torpedoed him with a press release including allegations that he was unproductive and a sexual harasser? Well, he has sued, and the allegations of his complaint make entertaining reading. If half of what he says is true, Pillsbury is dumb, dumb, dumb.

Old Allegations Against Michael Jackson

I can't attest to its veracity or authenticity, but The Smoking Gun has posted what appears to be the 1993 sworn declaration of the victim in the Michael Jackson child molestation case. Talk about some twisted allegations! Note: the document includes the alleged victim's identity, which I'm not sure I approve of. You can read it for yourself here (or not).

Asbestos Litigation: "Better Than the Lottery"

Some workers interviewed at a mass asbestos screening conducted by a plaintiffs' firm at their union hall had this to say:

"I saw the notice in the union newsletter and said, 'Why not?'" said an automotive worker from Ford. Sitting on the tailgate of his shiny, new Chevy pickup and lighting a fresh cigarette off the one he had just finished, he added: "It's better than the lottery. If they find something, I get a few thousand dollars I didn't have. If they don't find anything, I've just lost an afternoon."

Asked if he'd ever worked with asbestos, he said, "No, but lawyers say it's all over the place, so I was probably exposed to it."

What they don't realize is that by taking a small payment now, they sign away their rights to sue if they ever really get sick. And they're sucking up a limited pool of funds that should go to those who really need it. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch has a long article about it here .

Brobeck Bankruptcy?

The ABA Journal has an article pondering Brobeck's collapse and what might come next, which you can read here.

Trial Set in "Racist Rhyme" Lawsuit Against Southwest Airlines

I don't mean to be insensitive to other people's (perhaps justified?) perceptions of offensiveness, but this sounds like one of the stupidest lawsuits I've ever heard of. UPDATE (2/18/2003): The Washington Times has a rather angry editorial about the case here.

Drafting Constitutions and Federalism

I've been reading David McCullough's fascinating recent biography of John Adams. There is much in it about states' rights v. federalism, and about the debates on point during the drafting of the Constitution. Those debates ultimately defined the United States and have guided our federal v. state jurisprudence ever since.

The Europeans are currently drafting their own constitution for the EU, and they seem to be struggling over many of the exact same issues the Americans struggled with more than two centuries ago. Fascinating, if you ask me. Read about it here.

Louis Schwartz, Legal Scholar, Dies at 89

I note this because Professor Schwartz taught me criminal law as a "1L", which happened to include the first class of my first day of law school. I'll never forget him.

I'm glad he got a New York Times obit, as he deserved one. But I am disappointed that the NYT neglected to mention several important things about him. First, in addition to the accomplishments listed by the Times, Prof. Schwartz was a prosecutor at the Nuremberg trials, when still a young lawyer. Second, he taught criminal law for many years at Hastings in San Francisco after "retiring" -- well into his eighties. Third, as a Jew growing up between the wars, he was a pioneer in overcoming anti-Semitism in education and in the legal profession. In short, he was a great scholar and a kind man. I'm glad to have known him.

Fake Attorney Busted by His Own Associate

Con man Harold Goldstein was on supervised release from prison for fraud when he decided to open a law office. An attorney he hired as an associate turned him it after seeing a brief Goldstein had filed to modify the terms of his supervised release. Now he's on the lam, and facing a 10 year sentence, according to this. Apparently, he actually tried a few cases without being discovered. UPDATE: He's just been caught in Las Vegas.

Man Poses as Lawyer to Obtain Sex by False Pretenses, Gets 146 Year Sentence

Richard A. Minsky convinced four different women to perform various sex acts with him by first falsely stating that a loved one of theirs had been jailed; then telling them he was a lawyer who could help and instructing them to meet with a witness or victim of the crime of the loved one; and then posing as the victim or witness and convincing the women to have sex with him in exchange for his promise not to testify against the loved one. He was convicted of numerous counts of rape and other sex crimes and sentenced to 146 years to life. The California Court of Appeals affirmed his sentence in this opinion. This proves the old adage that truth is stranger than fiction.

"Why A Recent Supreme Court Copyright Ruling May Have Important Implications for Second Amendment Gun Rights As Well"

Recently, in Eldred v. Ashcroft, the Supreme Court declined to strike down Congress' extension of copyright protection for an additional 20 years. Appellants had argued that the extension was contrary to the preamble to the Constitution's Copyright & Patent Clause, which states "To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts . . .", Congress can give limited exclusive rights to inventors and artists in their creations. The Supreme Court's decision essentially discounted the limiting function of the preamble.

Problem is, the only other specific part of the Constitution that has a similar preamble is the Second Amendment, which the Court is likely to take up soon because of the recent split between the Ninth and Fifth Circuits on an individual's right to bear arms. That preamble states: "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State . . . ." If the Supreme Court similarly discounts that limiting language, it is likely to hold that an individual's right to bear arms is absolute -- well regulated militias be damned. Read Michael C. Dorf's original and interesting observations and analysis on the topic here.

Tort Reform Advances In Mississippi, Elsewhere

Mississippi -- once known as a "tort hellhole" famous for producing giant verdicts in its poorer counties -- is starting to feel the effects of its new laws. And "the tort reform juggernaut is rumbling into other states," it says here.

111 Year Old Chicago Law Firm Closing

Peterson & Ross LLC, a 50-lawyer firm concentrating on insurance defense work, is shutting down "after key members of the firm's litigation team left last month to form their own practice." I guess things are bad all over. The Chicago Tribune has the story here, but you'll have to register (for free) to read it.

Jurors Who Convicted Marijuana Grower Seek New Trial

This may be a first. A federal jury in San Francisco convicted Ed Rosenthal of charges of illegally cultivating marijuana, which carry a minimum five-year prison sentence. But the trial judge, Judge Charles Breyer, had not let the jurors hear that Rosenthal was growing the pot under a contract with the City of Oakland, or that it was being used to treat "medical marijuana" patients in accordance with California state law. The jurors now say they would never have convicted Rosenthal if they had known all the facts, and at least five of them are publicly protesting their own verdict. Read all about it here.

Winnie The Pooh's Case Gets Trashy

Disney is being sued for allegedly cheating Pooh's heirs out of millions of dollars in royalties earned by the Pooh franchise. This litigation had already become quite ugly, as WeirdOfTheNews noted earlier.

Now it seems plaintiffs were recently found to be in possession of thousands of pages of documents they shouldn't have had, including many of Disney's confidential legal documents. Disney lawyer Daniel Petrocelli is accusing plaintiffs of sneaking onto Disney's property and stealing the documents from desktops, and he's seeking to have the case dismissed because of it. But plaintiffs' lawyer Bertram Fields says his private investigators legally took the documents from Disney's outdoor trash bins, the L.A. Times reports here. These guys don't mince words.

ABA May Endorse Limits on Asbestos Suits

Though more often aligned with plaintiffs' lawyers, the ABA is considering endorsing a limitation on asbestos suits aimed at allowing recovery for those who are actually sick and suffering, while eliminating the claims of plaintiffs who show signs of asbestos exposure but have no symptoms of disease, the AP reports here.

Gypsies Suing IBM for $12 Billion

They claim IBM knowingly aided the Nazis and helped automate the Holocaust, making it more efficient. A Swiss court has cleared the way for the case to proceed on March 20, the New York Times reports here.

Duke University Student Sues for "Wrongful Seduction"

When her frat-boy boyfriend tried to jump her bones after his fraternity's Christmas party, student Nora Lindsey Kantor told him to stop. Eventually, he did. But that didn't stop her from filing a civil suit against him and his fraternity for "wrongful seduction" -- an outdated tort that was once used by fathers to sue the "despoilers" of their unmarried daughters, or sometimes by single women claiming they were seduced by false promises of marriage. Ironically, the tort she has chosen recalls a time when women were essentially considered the "property" of men. Read about it here.

Courthouse Brawl Send Three to Jail, Two to Hospital

The near-riot started during a hearing in a family law case in Jackson County, Missouri, when fists flew between a husband and wife and the man's ex-wife and her current boyfriend. The judges are pissed about the bailiffs' delayed and inadequate response, the Kansas City Star reports here.

"Academic Performance Is Still an Issue for Gibson Dunn Well After Law School"

The firm recently turned down a 47 year old lateral partner with a $7 million book of business because he had not graduated near the top of his law school class years ago. What an asinine policy! Doesn't a proven track record as a lawyer overcome that? Apparently not where Gibson partners' ridiculous egos and self-images are at play, according to this.

Skjerven Morril Disbands

"For the second time in less than a week, a Bay Area technology law firm is dissolving: Partners at Skjerven Morrill have voted to disband the firm," law.com reports here.

More Restrictions Against "Practicing Law" By Non-Lawyers?

The ABA is proposing stricter guidelines on who can dispense "legal advice" -- guidelines that "could subject real estate agents, income tax preparers, credit counselors and other laypeople to civil and criminal penalties." The FTC and the DOJ are objecting, saying the proposed guidelines are much too broad, and that their real intent is to protect lawyers' wallets, the New York Times reports here. UPDATE: It looks like doctors are going after the same kind of restrictions at the same time, according to this.

Is Skjerven About To Follow Brobeck?

It is, according to this poster on the SF/SV Greedy Associates board. (But don't believe everything you read . . . .) The firm's homepage is here.

Safe Sex

"In a ruling that might have been pounded out with clubs in some Neolithic cave," writes law.com here, "Sacramento's Third District Court of Appeal held this week that two female corrections officers weren't victims of sexual harassment, despite their boss's penchant for sleeping with -- and then unfairly promoting -- their colleagues."

You can read the court's opinion here (PDF).

New York May Try Alternative to Bar Exam

The proposed test program would allow 200 law grads to gain admittance to the state bar by working for a civil court for three months and then doing 150 hours of pro bono, rather than taking the traditional bar exam, according to the ABA Journal.

Tortious Bagels

A Florida couple is suing a McDonald's restaurant over a "tough" bagel that damaged the husband's teeth and the couple's marriage, according to this.

Divorcing Lawyers Fight Over Splitting Cases At Joint PI Firm

Remind me not to marry either one of these people. Divorces are ugly enough without the added dimension of having to divide a joint personal injury practice, as reported here.

Can Brobeck Avoid Bankruptcy?

This article suggests not. I am still in shock over what has happened. UPDATE: Here's another article from the San Jose Mercury News.

California Supreme Court To Weigh Whether Replacing Jurors Mid-Trial Amounts to Double Jeopardy

The jury in People v. Hernandez convicted Manuel Hernandez of 22 felony counts of sexual abuse against his own daughter, starting when she was only nine. But the trial judge had replaced a juror with an alternate mid-trial after the juror complained that she was "bothered by the prosecutor's tone and believed the judge was biased against the defense." When Hernandez appealed his conviction, the reviewing court found that the trial judge lacked "good cause" for replacing the juror, and that doing so had subjected Hernandez to double jeopardy. They set him free. Now the state Supreme Court is reviewing the case, and may issue an opinion outlining the circumstances in which jury members may be excused and replaced, and whether it constitutes double jeopardy. Read an article about it here.