The Legal Reader^™

Can the Supreme Court Still Rule On Johnnie Cochran's Freedom-of-Speech Case?

Johnnie Cochran, the all-star attorney who defended high-profile clients such as O.J. Simpson, Michael Jackson, and Snoop Dogg, died yesterday of a brain tumor. Just last Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in Tory v. Cochran, a case in which the famous lawyer was the respondent. Will the court go ahead and make a ruling now that he's dead?

Maybe. For a criminal case, there would be no ambiguity—the death of a criminal defendant makes a case moot. But Tory v. Cochran is a civil case concerning freedom of speech, and the way in which it was decided by lower courts makes it quite peculiar.

Details here from Daniel Engber at Slate. (via How Appealing)

UPDATE: SCOTUSblog reports: "We're advised (by a student in Erwin Chemerinsky's class, who sent along a helpful note) that the Court has called for briefing on the mootness question, with a brief from Cochran's lawyers in seven days and Tory's lawyers three days after that."

Fred Korematsu Dies at Age 86

Fred Korematsu, the unassuming Oakland draftsman who unsuccessfully challenged the detention of Japanese-Americans during World War II -- but was vindicated 40 years later -- died Wednesday of respiratory failure at the Marin County home of his daughter.

Korematsu was 86.

To many Japanese-Americans and other civil libertarians, Korematsu was a civil rights icon who risked not only the legal wrath of his own government, but the scorn of his own people when in 1944 he challenged the internment of 120,000 Japanese Americans.

Details here from the San Jose Mercury News.

Firm Promotes Lawyer After Reprimand

Holland & Knight makes the lawyer chief operating partner just months after he was ordered to attend a sexual harassment seminar.

A Tampa lawyer has been promoted to the top ranks of Holland & Knight just months after an internal investigation recommended he be reprimanded for harassing young female colleagues.

Douglas A. Wright, 44, is now chief operating partner of the powerful 1,250-lawyer firm, a position that ranks third on the corporate ladder and puts him atop all business operations, including the firm's human resources department. . . .

[L]ast year, nine female lawyers at Holland's Tampa office complained that Wright was a bully who constantly demeaned women with sexually suggestive comments, according to confidential company documents obtained by the St. Petersburg Times. According to the documents, he badgered the women with pointed questions about their sex lives, sometimes in front of other lawyers at the firm, and insisted that people feel his biceps or "pipes."

"Pipes"? Details here from the St. Petersburg Times. This can't be a good move for Holland & Knight, which is among the top firms in the business of defending employers in discrimination and harassment cases.

UPDATE (4/11): Wright has stepped down. (via the St. Petersburg Times)

La. Judge Doesn't Go Far for Jury Duty

Ville Platte, La. (AP) -- Judge Thomas Fuselier didn't have far to go to report for jury duty — he just walked across the hall.

Fuselier was summoned for possible jury duty in the trial of a Morrow couple accused of killing and then dismembering a Texas couple.

The only other judge in the 13th Judicial District is the one presiding over the trial — Judge Larry Vidrine.

Alas, Judge Fuselier was not selected. Details here from the AP via the San Francisco Chronicle.

U.S. Barred From Sending 13 Detainees Abroad

A federal judge yesterday barred the Bush administration from transferring a group of detainees from the U.S. military prison in Cuba to the custody of foreign governments without first giving the prisoners a chance to challenge the move in court.

U.S. District Judge Henry H. Kennedy Jr. said he was preventing transfers without advance notice to bar the government from "unilaterally and silently taking actions" to move detainees outside the reach of U.S. courts. The government must give detainees' lawyers 30 days' notice of any proposed transfer, the judge ruled, so their lawyers have time to object.

The judge also chided the Justice Department for arguing it was giving detainees what they had originally requested: freedom from U.S. control at the naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. About 540 men are held at the prison based on the government's claim that they are enemy combatants or have ties to terrorists. Some have been there for three years.

Details here from Carol D. Leonnig of The Washington Post.

Longtime Boy Scouts Official Charged

(AP) - DALLAS-A former high-ranking Boy Scouts of America official has been charged with possession and distribution of child pornography.

Douglas Sovereign Smith Jr., who as program director coordinated scouting programs with schools and churches, was accused of receiving images over the Internet in February of children engaging in oral sex, intercourse and other sexually explicit conduct. The charges were filed by federal prosecutors March 21.

"We're shocked and dismayed to learn of this," said Gregg Shields, national spokesman for the Boy Scouts, based in the Dallas suburb of Irving. "Smith was employed by the Boy Scouts for 39 years and we had no indication of prior criminal activity."

Details here from the AP via FindLaw News.

Federal Judge Awards $31 Million in Fees -- Again

A federal judge has once again awarded more than $31 million in attorney fees to the team of lawyers who secured a $126 million settlement from the accounting firm KPMG for its alleged failure to blow the whistle on financial shenanigans at Rite Aid Corp.

The ruling by U.S. District Judge Stewart Dalzell of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania comes just two months after an appeals court ruled that the fee award may have been too generous because Dalzell erred in his application of a lodestar "crosscheck" by focusing only on the hourly rates for the top lawyers.

The appellate panel found that "in all respects but one," Dalzell had "performed an exemplary analysis" in his rulings on the fee award, and rejected nearly all of the challenges to the fee lodged by a sole objector.

Details here from The Legal Intelligencer via Law.com.

In Broadband Case, Justices Seem Attuned to Internet Services' Arguments

In a high-stakes dispute over the regulation of Internet access, the Supreme Court struggled Tuesday over how much deference it should give to a 2002 Federal Communications Commission decision freeing cable modem providers from the rules that govern telephone companies.

The outcome of National Cable & Telecommunications Association v. Brand X Internet Services could affect the cable industry's share of broadband Internet access and whether cable will have to offer competitors' Internet services on an equal footing with their own.

Details here, also from Tony Mauro of Legal Times, via Law.com.

High Court Divided in Grokster Case

The Supreme Court appeared wary Tuesday of punishing peer-to-peer downloading services like Grokster for copyright violation. The Court was clearly divided, with several justices expressing frustration over the dearth of factual findings about the magnitude of infringement. Several justices voiced a concern that shutting down downloading might keep future innovators from developing a market for noninfringing uses -- a market that might not emerge until after the illegal uses establish the software's brand.

Details here from Tony Mauro of Legal Times via Law.com.

Lawyer Accused of Murder Plot to Start Sex Club Enters Plea

You can't make this shit up:

DOYLESTOWN, Pa. (AP) — A lawyer who was accused of plotting a murder because a real estate deal to start a sex club went awry pleaded no contest to attempted murder Monday.

Joseph P. Guarrasi, 38, of Warwick, also pleaded guilty Monday to attempted aggravated assault, attempted kidnapping, attempted burglary and related counts. In exchange, prosecutors dropped charges of soliciting the same offenses.

The judge postponed sentencing for up to 90 days for an evaluation of Guarrasi's mental condition.

Good idea! Details here from the AP via PennLive.com.

Supreme Court Declines to Hear Appeal in Judge Child Porn Case

The Supreme Court has declined to hear the appeal of a former California judge accused of storing child pornography on his court computer.

Without commenting, justices let stand a federal appeals court ruling in favor of prosecutors who want to present graphic images allegedly taken from former Orange County Superior Judge Ronald Kline's computers.

Details here from KESQ NewsChannel 3.

Cool Site for Teachers: "Landmark Supreme Court Cases"

From the site:

This site was developed to provide teachers with a full range of resources and activities to support the teaching of landmark Supreme Court cases, helping students explore the key issues of each case. The "Resources" section features basic building blocks such as background summaries and excerpts of opinions that can be used in multiple ways. The "Activities" section contains a range of short activities and in-depth lessons that can be completed with students. While these activities are online, many of them can be adapted for use in a one-computer classroom or a classroom with no computer.

That's a pretty cool idea. In fact, it's an absolutely fantastic idea. Landmark Supreme Court Cases was put together by Street Law and the Supreme Court Historical Society. If you blawg, please consider linking to Landmark Supreme Court Cases. Spread the word to any teachers or educators you might know. (hat tip to Macando Law)

BlawgCast.com

Interested in podcasting about law? Look no further than BlawgCast.com, hosted by Kevin J. Heller's techlawadvisor.com.

Disbarred Lawyer Pleads Guilty to Forging 11 Judges' Signatures

A former Chicago bankruptcy attorney pleaded guilty Thursday to fraud for forging the signatures of 11 Bankruptcy Court judges on bogus orders allowing him to garnish wages of at least 40 clients.

Prosecutors contend that Michael G. Roberts, 53, of Evergreen Park pocketed more than $145,000 in the scheme.

Now he faces four years in prison. Details here from the Chicago Tribune.

Opponents Fight Calif. Domestic Partners

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - A California law that gives gay couples who register as domestic partners nearly the same responsibilities and benefits as married spouses should be overturned because lawmakers undermined the will of voters, lawyers for two groups argued Friday.

The law, which went into effect Jan. 1, grants registered couples virtually every spousal right available under state law except the ability to file joint income taxes. That includes access to divorce courts, automatic parental status and responsibility for each other's debts.

The law represents the nation's most sweeping recognition of domestic partner rights after Vermont's recognition of civil unions for gay couples. New Jersey and Maine also have domestic partner registries.

Opponents of the law told a three-judge appeals court panel the law violates a California ballot initiative that defined marriage as between a man and a woman. Supporters said the law was unrelated to the ballot measure. Proposition 22 passed five years ago with 61 percent support.

The panel that heard arguments against the law did not seem impressed. The 3rd District Court of Appeal now has ninety days to decide the case. Details here from the AP via My Way News.

Redesign at SoCalLawBlog

SoCalLawBlog's got a whole new look, now including comments!

It's a new boogie in a new style. Let's rest awhile.

(Lyric by Lightnin' Sam Hopkins.)

'Stalingrad' Defense Tactics Prove Costly in Divorce Case

Stamford Superior Court Judge Kevin Tierney found himself at a loss for words recently when attempting to describe the divorce trial of Jacqueline Anom and John Ofori-Tenkorang.

So he borrowed a term that, according to his research, had never been used in Connecticut jurisprudence, and only appeared in one other state court opinion: the "Stalingrad defense."

Anom's marriage only lasted 23 months, but the case has been pending 43 months and the bitter divorce trial stretched from Oct. 8, 2003, to Dec. 23, 2004. In a March 10 motion to reargue, the husband contends Tierney's solution is "impermissible palimony and non-contractual property division" between two people who had never been married at all.

In addition to alimony, child support and whatever else, the judge "ordered the husband to immediately pay his wife's legal fees of $150,491." This article makes me thankful for two things: First, that I don't practice family law; and second, that I've never been married. Details here from The Connecticut Law Tribune via Law.com.

Top Attorneys Tapped for High Court Tech Cases

In a pair of cases this week, the Supreme Court has a chance to dramatically shape the way that many people use and get on the Internet. Scheduled for argument Tuesday are MGM Studios Inc. v. Grokster Ltd. and StreamCast Networks Inc., which could decide whether peer-to-peer downloading of songs and movies violates copyright, and National Cable & Telecommunications Association v. Brand X Internet Services, a struggle to determine which regulatory regime should govern cable Internet services.

"They are two cases that will have huge meaning for the technological development of the country," says Arthur Brodsky of the group Public Knowledge, which advocates for broad public access to technology. Both cases have attracted top intellectual property and telecommunications lawyers from firms around the country, eager to be in on what could be landmarks in the unpredictable history of the digital age.

Details here from Tony Mauro of Legal Times via Law.com.

Schiavo Case Demonstrates Tensions Between Courts, Congress

The sparring in the Terri Schiavo case illustrates a relationship between Congress and the federal courts that has always been contentious. But to many court-watchers, the discourse has reached a new level of hostility. With increasing frequency, Congress is trying to curb the judiciary's power; with equal vigor, the courts are fighting back. As the Schiavo case escalated in the wake of clashes over the Ten Commandments, the Pledge of Allegiance and same-sex marriage, some saw a judiciary under siege.

Details here from Legal Times via Law.com.

NY Surge as Weil Gotshal Profits Hit $1.7m Per Partner

Top 10 US firm Weil Gotshal & Manges is set to break the $1bn (£521m) fees barrier this year as the New York leader unveils double-digit growth in revenue and partner profits for 2004. The results, which underline the increasing gap in partner profits between top US firms and their London rivals, see Weil Gotshal’s 2004 fee income hit $908m (£473m), compared with 2003’s figure of $801m (£417m). The firm’s average profits per partner were up by 13% to $1.7m (£885,000), against 2003’s figure of $1.5m (£781,121).

The results maintain Weil Gotshal’s record of posting annual double-digit growth following sustained US and international expansion that last year included office launches in Munich and Shanghai. The 1,200-lawyer firm is also regarded as having been insulated from the corporate slump of 2001-02 by its market-leading US bankruptcy practice.

Details here from the UK's Legal Week.

Kazaa Case Goes To The Judge in Australia

The trial pitting Australia's recording industry against the makers of Kazaa may be coming to a highly anticipated end. With closing arguments complete, Judge Murray Wilcox of Australia's Federal Court is expected to rule whether or not the makers of the P2P client are liable for copyright breaches and lost income resulting from files being shared across the Kazaa expanse.

According to E-Commerce Times, Judge Wilcox is "troubled" over whether or not Kazaa offers a legitimate reason for its existence.

Details here from webpronews.com.

Asbestos Verdict Against Caterpillar Is a First, Plaintiff Counsel Says

A San Francisco jury says a bulldozer operator with mesothelioma should be paid $2.2 million for his injuries in what a plaintiff attorney calls the first verdict in the nation involving asbestos exposure from Caterpillar Inc. machinery.

Philip A. Harley of Paul, Hanley & Harley said Caterpillar's portion of the judgment should be about $900,000 because the jury found it only partially liable.

According to Harley, plaintiff Daniel Johnson was exposed to asbestos from Caterpillar bulldozers while doing brake work and other maintenance. Harley said in a post-verdict statement that Johnson was diagnosed with mesothelioma in March 2004 and was recently told he will only live another three to six months.

Details here from the Asbestos Litigation Reporter via FindLaw.

9th Circuit: Cause of Action for Copyright Infringement Not Assignable

By a vote of 7-4, en banc Ninth Circuit panel rules that an assignee who holds an accrued claim for copyright infringement, but who has no legal or beneficial interest in the copyright itself, cannot institute a lawsuit for infringement: You can access today's ruling at this link. Interestingly, one of the disagreements between the majority and two of the dissenters is whether today's ruling creates a circuit split: the majority says "no"; the dissenters say "yes."

Stolen verbatim from How Appealing.

UPDATE: Screenwriter snubbed by appeals court in S.F., from the San Francisco Chronicle.

Judge Orders Attorneys to Sit in the Corner

In a high-profile murder case that gets more theatrical with each hearing, a Miami-Dade County judge on Wednesday ordered defense attorney Ellis Rubin and his partner to sit in a corner of a courtroom and write letters of apology to the lead prosecutor for allegations of misconduct they have made against her.

As if the schoolhouse-style reprimand wasn't surreal enough, Circuit Court Judge Rosa Rodríguez issued the order during a hearing in which prosecutors sought permission to have doctors cut into the shoulder of the defendant in the case to retrieve a bullet now pivotal in the case.

Details here from Florida's Sun-Sentinel.

Going Once, Going Twice, Going to Court Over Dispute With eBay

A minor billing dispute between eBay Inc. and one of its customers, San Francisco litigator Richard Hardack, has escalated into all-out war. Their battles began nearly two years ago when eBay suspended Hardack's account amid a $58 disagreement and Hardack took eBay to San Francisco's small claims court -- the first time. He's since filed two more small claims suits against the company, the most recent in February. This week, eBay sued back.

Details here from The Recorder via Law.com.

Judge: Ohio's Anti-Gay-Marriage Amendment Invalidates Domestic Violence Law

The Cleveland Plain Dealer has an article that begins:

Ohio voters who approved a constitutional amendment last fall that denied legal recognition of unmarried and gay couples probably didn't envision the measure being successfully used as a defense in domestic violence cases.

But now Ohio Judge Stuart Friedman has held that part of the domestic violence law is unconstitutional under that amendment, and that the domestic violence law cannot be applied to unmarried people. The voter initiative, known as "Issue 1," added the following to Ohio's constitution:

Article XV Section 11. Only a union between one man and one woman may be a marriage valid in or recognized by this state and its political subdivisions. This state and its political subdivisions shall not create or recognize a legal status for relationships of unmarried individuals that intends to approximate the design, qualities, significance or effect of marriage.

Judge Friedman found this amendment directly contradictory to part of the domestic violence law:

Friedman said that because Ohio's domestic violence law recognizes the relationship between an unmarried offender and victim as one "approximating the significance or effect of marriage," it represents a direct conflict with the amendment's prohibition against such recognition and is thus unenforceable.

In the case involving Frederick Burk of Cleveland, who was arrested in February on a charge of domestic violence against a woman [not his wife], Friedman reduced that charge (a fourth-degree felony with a possible prison term of six to 12 months) to simple assault (a first-degree misdemeanor with a maximum six-month jail term).

That's going to make Judge Friedman a very unpopular man. But perhaps this result is well deserved by those Ohio voters who chose to amend their state's constitution to intentionally discriminate against same-sex couples. (article via How Appealing)

In Own Hands, Some Take the Law Too Personally

Pro se is a way of describing people who file lawsuits without attorneys. It is Latin, say the lawyers, for "for self."

Either that, I suspect as someone who used to cover the federal courts, or for "Get out the decoder ring."

Mike Nichols of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes about the tin-foil-hat crowd that exists at almost every courthouse, including Bart Ross, the man who committed suicide after killing the husband and mother of federal Judge Joan Lefkow. Details are here.

Schiavo Appeal to Reconnect Tube Denied

ATLANTA - A federal appeals court refused early Wednesday to order the reinsertion of Terri Schiavo's feeding tube, denying an emergency request by the severely brain-damaged woman's parents.

The three-judge panel ruled 2-1 to deny the request, a day after a federal judge in Florida also refused a similar appeal.

Schiavo's parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, vowed yet another appeal Wednesday.

That was quick. Details here from the AP. Or read the Court's 2-1 Opinion here.

The majority opinion concludes with this:

There is no denying the absolute tragedy that has befallen Mrs. Schiavo. We all have our own family, our own loved ones, and our own children. However, we are called upon to make a collective, objective decision concerning a question of law. In the end, and no matter how much we wish Mrs. Schiavo had never suffered such a horrible accident, we are a nation of laws, and if we are to continue to be so, the pre-existing and well-established federal law governing injunctions as well as Pub. L. No. 109-3 must be applied to her case. While the position of our dissenting colleague has emotional appeal, we as judges must decide this case on the law.

High Court Appears Unsympathetic to Cochran's Plight

By Tony Mauro, Special to First Amendment Center Online

WASHINGTON — It looks like famed lawyer Johnnie Cochran won't be ridding himself of his personal nemesis anytime soon.

The Supreme Court appeared roundly unsympathetic yesterday [Tuesday 3/22] as a lawyer for Cochran tried to defend an injunction issued by a California judge against Ulysses Tory, a disgruntled former client who picketed outside Cochran's Los Angeles office with signs describing him as a liar, cheat and worse.

The injunction bars Tory, along with his agents and representatives, from picketing or even speaking about Cochran in any public forum, apparently forever. A California appeals court upheld the injunction and Tory, backed by numerous press and free-speech organizations, asked the Supreme Court to strike it down in Tory v. Cochran.

Details here from the First Amendment Center.

Lawyer: Schiavo Ruling Expected Soon

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - Warning that Terri Schiavo was "fading quickly" and might die at any moment, her parents begged a federal appeals court Tuesday to order the severely brain-damaged woman's feeding tube reinserted.

The appeals court didn't indicate when it might rule, but George Felos, the attorney for Terri's husband, Michael Schiavo, told the Associated Press that he expected a decision before daybreak Wednesday.

Before daybreak? A lot of people, including the House of Representatives, President Bush, and District Court Judge James Whittemore and his staff have been logging some extraordinary hours on this case.

Details here from the AP via My Way News.

UPDATE: Thar she blows!

Preliminary Hearing Waived by Ex-District Judge

Our favorite penis-pumping judge is back in the news:

SAPULPA, Okla. (AP) -- A former judge accused of exposing himself during court cases waived his right to a preliminary hearing today in Creek County District Court.

Former Creek County District Judge Donald Thompson is charged with three felony counts of indecent exposure for allegedly using a sexual device called a "penis pump" while presiding over three trials in 2003. Formal arraignment is set for April 18th.

Defense attorney Clark Brewster says Thompson firmly denies the charges and is looking forward to his day in court.

Did they have to say that he firmly denies it? Details here from KOKH 25 FOX TV.

Mom Sentenced to 12 Years-Plus for Sex Abuse of Kids

A federal judge Monday sentenced a mother who sexually abused her two young sons to more than 12 years in prison. U.S. District Judge Paul Cassell cited the woman's repeated abuse of her children, then both under 7, in handing down the maximum sentence available for sexual exploitation charges. The children's stepfather recorded their mother performing sex acts on them and then put the images on the Internet. The Salt Lake Tribune is not naming the defendants or relatives to protect the children's privacy.

In a tearful statement to the judge, the boys' biological father said they are having difficulty adjusting to a normal life. "My sons are forever scarred by the pain and anguish of what she has done to them," he said. "I thought I could trust their mother to keep them safe."

The father said he now often has to reassure his sons whenever they see lightning, as it reminds them of the flash of having pictures taken during the abuse.

They were both under seven???!!! That's some seriously sick shit. Details here from The Salt Lake Tribune.

A Corporal's Death Starts a Dispute on E-Mail Ownership

When Lance Cpl. Justin Ellsworth was killed in Iraq, his death sparked a controversy about e-mail ownership, with his parents suing for access to his Yahoo account. If Ellsworth had printed his e-mails, they likely would have been the property of his estate. But, says attorney Mark D. Rasch, ownership of electronic information is tied to ownership of the medium in which the information is stored. The case is the first of its kind to be widely reported, but the issue is apt to recur.

Details here from IP Law & Business via Law.com.

U.K. to Open Up Law Profession

The British government outlined a radical reform program for the legal system Monday that could for the first time feature law firms owned by outsider investors or even listed on the stock market. It would also allow lawyers to go into partnership with other professionals.

Lord Falconer, the lord chancellor and secretary of state for constitutional affairs, proposed sweeping changes that would also largely do away with the current system of self-regulation.

"These new measures will help [consumers] to receive better service from the legal sector while at the same time enabling providers to develop better, more competitive, consumer-focused businesses," Lord Falconer said. . . .

[T]he impact of the Falconer reforms may now affect the consumer and small business market more than big law firms.

Details here from The Deal via Law.com.

In other news, new European Union labor laws may make the "lock step" compensation system used at most large British law firms illegal: Lockstep threat emerges under Euro labour laws, from Legal Week.

Prosecutor Testifies He Tainted Death Penalty Jury

A former California prosecutor testified Tuesday that he colluded with a judge to exclude Jews from the jury in a capital case that ultimately sent the defendant to death row.

John "Jack" Quatman said he and the late Alameda County Superior Court Judge Stanley Golde, at the judge's urging, conspired to shape the jury so it would likely send the killer to San Quentin State Prison.

Details here from the AP via the San Francisco Chronicle.

Website Rouses Informants' Fear, Investigators' Ire

When a team of police, federal agents, and a drug-sniffing dog burst through the front door and scoured every corner of the house, the woman and her boyfriend figured they knew who had turned them in. So she struck back: In the shadowy realms of cyberspace, she publicly identified the informant who she suspected had ratted on her boyfriend, landing him in court on drug possession charges.

On a website launched seven months ago from the North Shore, the woman posted a note saying her alleged informant, a 27-year-old man from the Tewksbury area, was a "narc" who made a practice of snitching on others to minimize his own legal problems. . . .

[T]he website, which was launched by Sean Bucci, who is battling his own marijuana charges, has quickly become the largest online database of its kind. It currently holds more than 800 profiles of alleged informants, and new additions appear frequently, posted by people who want to take revenge on federal agents, former friends-turned-snitches, and others who they believe have informed on them to law enforcement agencies.

You gotta love the internet. Details here from The Boston Globe via LexisONE.

"Boundless Overreaching" Behind Congress' Schiavo Bill

Whether Terri Schiavo will live or die in the coming days has come down to this: Can federal district judge James Whittemore set aside virtually every bedrock constitutional principle on which this nation was founded, just so members of the United States Congress may constitutionalize the nowhere-to-be-found legal principle that a "culture of life" is a good thing?

This morning's decision by Congress and President Bush—to authorize new federal legislation that will obliterate years of state court litigation, and justify re-inserting a feeding tube into Terri Schiavo, based on new and illusory federal constitutional claims—is not about law. It is congressional activism, plain and simple; legislative overreaching and hubris taken to absurd extremes.

Details here from Dahlia Lithwick at Slate.

Congress Passes Schiavo Measure

Bush Signs Bill Giving U.S. Courts Jurisdiction In Case of Fla. Woman

Congress gave jurisdiction over a brain-damaged Florida woman's case to federal courts early today, an extraordinary legislative move that could empower a U.S. judge to order the reinsertion of a feeding tube that a state court allowed to be removed Friday.

Voting 203 to 58 at 12:42 a.m., the House joined the Senate in approving the measure and rushing it to President Bush. He signed the bill into law at 1:22 a.m., saying, "I will continue to stand on the side of those defending life for all Americans, including those with disabilities."

I'm hoping that our House of Representatives was just temporarily drunk. As George Bernard Shaw once said: "Alcohol is a very necessary article. It enables Parliament to do things at eleven at night that no sane person would do at eleven in the morning." However, I'm afraid they were actually sober. [Click the link below to keep reading . . . . ]

With their votes and signature, the Republican-controlled Congress and president wrote another chapter in an emotionally charged saga that has divided the patient's family and many other Americans over right-to-die questions. . . .

[T]he legislation requires a federal judge, upon the family's request, to launch a new inquiry into the legal and medical questions surrounding Schiavo, who suffered a severe loss of oxygen to her brain when her heart temporarily stopped 15 years ago.

Let's hope the poor federal judge into whose lap this mess falls has more sense than either house of congress, and puts an end to this 15 year nightmare. According to every medical professional who has actually examined her, Terri Schiavo has NO cerebral cortex and, therefore, NO hope of ever recovering consciousness. From the Second District Court in Florida:

Over the span of this last decade, Theresa's brain has deteriorated because of the lack of oxygen it suffered at the time of the heart attack. By mid 1996, the CAT scans of her brain showed a severely abnormal structure. At this point, much of her cerebral cortex is simply gone and has been replaced by cerebral spinal fluid. Medicine cannot cure this condition. Unless an act of God, a true miracle, were to recreate her brain, Theresa will always remain in an unconscious, reflexive state, totally dependent upon others to feed her and care for her most private needs.

What part of this do people fail to understand? Theresa Schiavo no longer exists, and hasn't for 15 years. What remains is just a biomass that may have once contained her "soul." Even assuming that it once did, it doesn't any longer.

Details here from the Washington Post.

PS - This whole saga is just a disgusting political charade. The evangelicals have glommed on to the case because they can't be seen to give an inch on the "right to life" issue. The Republicans have glommed on because they can't be seen not fully supporting the evangelicals, who elected them.

Meanwhile, the whole framework of the separation of powers is thrown into question.

I ask you:

What most concerns Tom Delay and his Republican cronies?

1) Is it the Constitutional framework of our government, and its continued health and viability? Such as the separation of church and state? The limited power of the legislature, and the separate power of the judiciary?

2) Is it deflecting public attention away from the personal transgressions of Tom Delay?

3) Could it be the diversion of public attention from Republican/neo-con goals such as drilling for oil in Alaska? Bankrupting Social Security? Enabling mercury pollution from coal burning power plants and smelters? Packing the Supreme Court with conservative ideologues? Profiting from the war in Iraq? Perhaps?

They sure have us focused elsewhere, don't they?

Court Disbars Former Head of Bar Association

A former president of the Louisville [KY] Bar Association was permanently disbarred yesterday by the Kentucky Supreme Court for taking nearly $93,000 owed to clients.

Jack W. Steiner Jr., who led the bar in 1998, asked the court for a more lenient punishment, citing a series of personal traumas, including the death of his son from a drug overdose and a traffic accident that nearly claimed his life.

But the Supreme Court, ruling unanimously, affirmed a Kentucky Bar Association recommendation that Steiner be barred permanently from practice.

"Six years of pilfering, in over 100 instances, even without a prior disciplinary record, is not something that reassures us of a more honest approach in the future," the court said.

Before becoming a lawyer (which he was for 20 years), Steiner was a cop for 10 years. How far they fall . . . . Details here from The Courier-Journal.

DA to Prosecute Unlicensed Former Defender, Judge Rules

A Monterey County [CA] judge ruled Friday that the former deputy public defender who practiced law without a license will be prosecuted by her former adversaries at the District Attorney's Office rather than state prosecutors.

On behalf of Margaret O'Shea, Santa Cruz defense lawyer Enda Brennan had argued that the state Attorney General's Office should handle the case because the District Attorney's Office has several conflicts, including that it essentially was a victim of O'Shea's alleged crimes.

Judge Wendy Duffy denied Brennan's motion, which was opposed by the attorney general.

0'Shea, 38, has been charged with a misdemeanor for practicing law without a license and felony grand theft for cashing paychecks on the premise that she was licensed to practice law in California when she worked for the Monterey County Public Defender's Office from August until late September.

I posted about Ms. O'Shea's problems earlier here. Details of the latest doings in her case are here from Monterey's The Herald.

Lawyer Learns He Was Robbed After Being Disbarred

A lawyer's office manager has been indicted on charges of stealing some $1.2 million from the firm, a theft the lawyer discovered only after he learned he had been disbarred, Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau said Friday.

Carol Ruiz, 44, of Brooklyn, was charged with first-degree grand larceny, second-degree forgery and falsifying business records. Grand larceny, the indictment's top count, is punishable by up to 25 years in prison.

Morgenthau said Ruiz worked for Nathan L. Dembin & Associates for about seven years, controlling virtually all of Dembin's finances and administrative matters. She screened all calls, sorted all mail and prepared all bills to be paid, he said.

For three years, Morgenthau said, Ruiz used a stamp to forge Dembin's signature and transfer some $1.2 million to herself and her husband. During that time, he said, she forged checks worth $100,000 to rent a vehicle she could have bought for $30,000.

Dembin discovered the thefts when he learned he had been briefly disbarred for failing to respond to an inquiry from the State Supreme Court's Appellate Division, Morgenthau said. After finding that Ruiz had signed the receipts for the registered mail from the court, Dembin began an audit that revealed more than $1 million missing.

Details here from New York Daily News. (via Small Town Lawyer)

The Terri Schiavo Charade

Rupert Rufus over at Running With Lawyers is a bit displeased about Congress' asinine rush into the Terri Schiavo case. I couldn't agree more.

Drugs Cause Ex-Mo. Prosecutor's Downfall

Former Mo. Prosecutor Dies From Cocaine Injections After Long Decline, Loss of Family and Home

MACON (AP) — A former prosecutor and family man once known for a firm grasp of the difference between right and wrong, David Masters arrived at his death bound to a chair, his final stop along a road of poor choices.

Two housemates are accused of being his judge and jury, condemning Masters for owing three weeks of rent and making passes at a woman with whom he lived. When the woman pulled out a gun, court papers say, Masters said he'd rather die from drugs so the father of seven was injected with syringe after syringe of cocaine.

The 52-year-old's body was found the next day near a river in the Ozarks, a couple hundred miles from this small town where he made his name upholding the law.

"No one in their wildest imagination would ever dream he would succumb to an illicit drug problem and associate with the people he did," said James Foley, a former Macon County prosecutor and retired judge. "They try and rationalize it, but you couldn't even make this up in TV fiction. That's what his life became."

Details here from the AP via ABC News.

Justices to Weigh Key Copyright Case

The most important copyright challenge in decades will unfold in the U.S. Supreme Court next week [Tues. Mar. 29] with potentially enormous damages and the future of Internet innovation at stake. The entertainment industry is asking the justices to find Grokster and StreamCast -- makers and distributors of peer-to-peer software -- liable for "mind-boggling" infringement by their users. A cross-section of the tech industry, consumer groups, the Bush administration and academics have filed over 50 friend-of-the-court briefs.

Details here from the National Law Journal via Law.com.

UPDATE: Thanks to SCOTUSblog, here is a link to some 59 briefs filed in the case, and here is a handy PDF summary of the arguments in the briefs from Jonathan Band of MoFo (you may have to rotate the PDF counter-clockwise in Adobe Acrobat).

Flasher Suspect ID'd as Former Stamford Cop

A former Stamford [CT] police officer on probation for lewdly confronting women in 2000 was arrested Saturday for placing a toy banana in his pants and flashing people in Greenwich.

Arthur Bertana, 62, of 271 Belltown Road, Stamford, was charged with breach of peace and interfering with a police officer.

Greenwich police say Bertana was arrested Saturday afternoon but had been seen on Greenwich Avenue for about a week, acting in a lewd manner.

"Over a span of time, there were several reports of a subject wearing extremely tight pants with an obvious bulge stuffed down his pants," Sgt. Roger Petrone Jr. said.

Bertana would allegedly greet passersby on the busy street while trying to draw attention, Petrone said. At times, he placed a bag in front of his pants, then moved it and show[ed] the bulge, he said.

Mr. Bertana kind of reminds me of one of the all-time heroes of The Legal Reader -- William Rhode III. Details about Mr. Bertana and his "toy" banana are here from Greenwich Time.

Plaintiffs: Law Firm Disclaimer Did Not Waive Confidentiality

SAN FRANCISCO -- A disclaimer at the end of a law firm's online questionnaire did not waive the confidentiality of information supplied by prospective clients even though it did not establish an attorney-client relationship, plaintiffs argue in a March 1 petition for a writ of mandamus seeking the reversal of a federal judge's ruling (Andrew Barton, et al. v. U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, No. 05-71086, 9th Cir.).

The five plaintiffs, who are involved in the Paxil withdrawal MDL and have a trial scheduled for May 2, are asking the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to overturn U.S. Judge Mariana Pfaelzer of the Central District of California's Jan. 28 order requiring the production of online questionnaires submitted to their attorneys before they were clients. Judge Pfaelzer found that although the questionnaires constituted preliminary consultations that the Ninth Circuit has held are privileged, the plaintiffs waived their right to confidentiality when agreeing to the disclaimer at the end of the questionnaire.

Interesting issue. I wonder what those online questionnaires reveal that is making plaintiffs fight so hard to keep them confidential? Details here from Mealey Publications via LexisONE.com.

Fake Lawyer Gets More Than 12 Years

A convicted felon who posed as a lawyer and represented hundreds of clients has been sentenced to 12 1/2 years in prison. Harold David Goldstein told the federal judge at his sentencing hearing Wednesday that he made sincere efforts to represent his clients despite his lack of a law license.

Goldstein, 59, told U.S. District Judge David Carter that he won 25 cases in the eight months that he operated a busy Newport Beach law practice.

"I lied about being a lawyer but other than the lie, everything else was totally legit," Goldstein said.

Goldstein represented hundreds of clients, including many immigrants at deportation hearings, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Stolper. "It's a disaster," he said. Authorities are reviewing cases handled by the fake lawyer but nothing can be done for the immigrants who were deported, Stolper said.

Goldstein has a long history of convictions and served six years of a 10 year sentence in the 1980s. Details here from the AP via LexisONE.com.

Lawmaker Seeks to End Sexy Cheerleading

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - The Friday night lights in Texas could soon be without bumpin' and grindin' cheerleaders. Legislation filed by Rep. Al Edwards would put an end to "sexually suggestive" performances at athletic events and other extracurricular competitions.

"It's just too sexually oriented, you know, the way they're shaking their behinds and going on, breaking it down," said Edwards, a 26-year veteran of the Texas House. "And then we say to them, 'don't get involved in sex unless it's marriage or love, it's dangerous out there' and yet the teachers and directors are helping them go through those kind of gyrations."

Under Edwards' bill, if a school district knowingly permits such a performance, funds from the state would be reduced in an amount to be determined by the education commissioner.

Edwards said he filed the bill as a result of several instances of seeing such ribald performances in his district.

What a jackass! I guess Texas has no more important issues for its lawmakers to address. Details here from the AP via My Way News.

Agence France-Presse Sues Google Over News Site

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Agence France-Presse has sued Google Inc., alleging the Web search leader includes AFP's photos, news headlines and stories on its news site without permission. The French news service is seeking damages of at least $17.5 million and an order barring Google News from displaying AFP photographs, news headlines or story leads, according to the suit filed on Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Google was not immediately available for comment. AFP's lawyers could not immediately be reached for comment on the suit.

AFP sells subscriptions to its content and does not provide it free. Google News gathers photos and news stories from around the Web and posts them on its news site, which is free to users.

I'll have to think twice before linking to any material that originates from AFP. Details here from Reuters. (via How Appealing)

"Getting a Bit Chippy During a Deposition in Texas"

The following is a lively exchange at the end of a recent deposition in a Texas civil case:

Lawyer 1: "Mr. Lawyer 2, if you ever imply that I manufactured testimony again, I'll fucking kick your ass. I'll do it right here in front of all these attorneys, okay? Because we're off the record. Did you hear what I said?"

Lawyer 2: [To the Court reporter] "Did you get that on the record?"

Lawyer 1: "No, it's not on the record. I said 'we're off the record, end of deposition.'"

The Reporter: "You have to agree, per the Rules. I mean, that's just my -- I'm sorry."

Lawyer 1: "That's fine. Whatever."

Here is the motion for sanctions resulting from this exchange.

Excellent! All of the above was shamelessly stolen verbatim from this post at Houston's Clear Thinkers.

U.S. House OKs Bill to Delay Schiavo Case

Can you say "Bill of Attainder"?

WASHINGTON - The House passed legislation late Wednesday intended to delay the removal of the feeding tube keeping alive a brain-damaged woman whose husband has been given permission by a state court to allow her to die.

Earlier in the day, a Florida appeals court refused to block the removal of Terri Schiavo's feeding tube. For years her husband has battled her parents over his efforts to allow her to die, which he contends she would prefer rather than live in a vegetative state.

The House bill, passed on a voice vote, would move such a case to federal court. Federal judges have twice turned down efforts by the parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, to move the case out of Florida courts, citing a lack of jurisdiction.

Senate Republicans are introducing a separate bill to give Schiavo and her family standing in federal court, and they hope it can be debated on Thursday, a GOP aide said.

For fuck's sake! When are these throwbacks going to learn that their religious beliefs have no place in the workings of the state, including the House, Senate or the judiciary? When will they learn that the Constitution will not bend to their beliefs? Details here from the AP.

Woman Planted Nude Pix of Daughter in Ex-Husband's Home

PRATTVILLE [AL] -- A Prattville woman Tuesday was charged with planting nude images of her child in her ex-husband's home, just one day after police accused her of conspiring to kill the man over a custody dispute, law enforcement officials said.

Shannon Marie Lorenzo, 32, is accused of breaking into her ex-husband's home and taking a picture of her 2-year-old child naked while holding an erotic toy. She is also accused of planting other images of child pornography, officials said.

She is charged with two counts of permitting a child to engage in production of obscene material, one count of possession of obscene material, and one count of conspiracy to commit murder, officials said. She also faces burglary and theft charges, some unrelated to the case involving her ex-husband, Chad Baker.

"This is definitely not the way to resolve a custody dispute," District Attorney Randall Houston said.

She faces a maximum of up to three life sentences. Details here from the Montgomery Advertiser. (via The Obscure Store)

The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005

Can 104 non-partisan professors of bankruptcy and commercial law be wrong? In this letter, the professors argue that the recent incremental increase in personal bankruptcies is not due to "abuse" by people trying to shun their debts, but rather to "abuse" by the credit card industry:

The bankruptcy filing rate is a symptom. It is not the disease. Some people do abuse the bankruptcy system, but the overwhelming majority of people in bankruptcy are in financial distress as a result of job loss, medical expense, divorce, or a combination of those causes. In our view, the fundamental change over the last ten years has been the way that credit is marketed to consumers. Credit card lenders have become more aggressive in marketing their products, and a large, very profitable, market has emerged in subprime lending. Increased risk is part of the business model. Therefore, it should not come as a surprise that as credit is extended to riskier and riskier borrowers, a greater number default when faced with a financial reversal. Nonetheless, consumer lending remains highly profitable, even under current law.

This Act is a bad idea. It benefits the credit industry at the expense of the little guy. Hell, even conservative professor Glenn Reynolds is against it. (hat tip to Instapundit) Unfortunately, many Democratic senators who should have known better supported the bill. (Because they've been bought off with campaign contributions from the credit industry?? You decide.)

If you don't like it, please tell your representative in the House now, before the damn thing passes and goes on to Bush for his certain signature: Click here to email your representative with your thoughts.

Chitchat Between Detectives Improbably Solves Two 15 Year Old Mysteries

Chitchat between two detectives working together on a triple murder case appears to have improbably solved two mysteries dating back more than 15 years in St. Louis and Belleville.

If science backs up preliminary indications, it may bring some closure for a grieving mother who has held the belief that her son must have been murdered - and answer the question of just who died in a high-speed crash into one of the Metro East area's best known landmarks.

Wow. Details here from the St.Louis Post-Dispatch.

Jackson Prosecution Heading South?

(CBS) If prosecutors were hoping that Michael Jackson's accuser would come to the witness stand Monday and cement into place their case, they surely are disappointed, and perhaps even mortified, by the young man's courtroom demeanor and testimony. The alleged molestation victim did not talk or act like one in court. And on Monday, during the heart of the prosecution's case, no part of his story was immune from serious and substantial questions about its accuracy or reliability.

At times sullen and combative, cheeky and evasive, acting more like a punk than a crime victim, and often mumbling so badly that the court reporter had to ask him to repeat his answers, the young man did little to persuade jurors that he is telling the truth and Jackson is lying about their alleged encounters together. . . .

[I]f I were a member of the jury tonight, I would more likely be wondering why this case was brought in the first place than I would whether or not Jackson is guilty of the charges against him.

CBS News' Andrew Cohen reports the details here.

Blackmun Papers Show Late Justice to Be Fan of 'A Prairie Home Companion'

When Justice Harry Blackmun retired in 1994 and died in 1999, many of the articles about him repeated the oft-quoted label once applied to Blackmun by "A Prairie Home Companion" radio host Garrison Keillor: "The shy person's justice."

But based on Blackmun's file at the Library of Congress, Blackmun was anything but shy about his fondness for the show, for Keillor, and for all things relating to Minnesota Public Radio, which produces the show. Blackmun's hometown pride shows through for the radio phenomenon that may have done more than anything or anyone else to publicize St. Paul, Minn., where the show is usually taped.

The 13 file folders in the collection about "A Prairie Home Companion" are full of correspondence and memorabilia, including an Oct. 17, 1981, ticket stub for a taping of the show Blackmun attended.

Many more interesting details in this charming article by Tony Mauro of Legal Times via Law.com.

Disney Seeks to Recoup Court Costs From Pooh Royalties Case

Ah, the never-ending Pooh case:

Nearly a year after winning a hard-fought battle over Winnie the Pooh royalties, Walt Disney Co. wants its longtime adversaries to pay more than $1 million in court-related costs that the Burbank-based entertainment giant incurred to prepare and present its case.

In a hearing this afternoon, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Carolyn Kuhl is scheduled to consider Disney's request to recoup $1,083,057 from the heirs of Stephen Slesinger, a New York literary agent who, in 1930, acquired Pooh merchandising rights from author A.A. Milne.

Among other things, Disney seeks to be reimbursed for the $803,528 it paid to accounting experts, court-appointed mediators and referees during the case that began 14 years ago.

Details here from the Los Angeles Times via LexisONE.com.

My earlier posts about the Pooh case can be accessed here.

California's Ban on Same Sex Marriages Unconstituional

Judge Richard Kramer's Statement of Decision is here. Reuters' report on it is here. The AP reports on it here.

Update: From The Recorder: Opponents of Gay Marriage Vow to Appeal Calif. Ruling

Update: The most comprehensive and balanced article yet, from the Los Angeles Times: Judge Rules State Can't Bar Gay Marriage

Attorney Accidentally Sues Himself

ALTON [IL] - Alton attorney Emert Wyss thought he could make money in a Madison County class action lawsuit, but he accidentally sued himself instead. Now he has four law firms after his money - and he hired all four.

Wyss’s boomerang litigation started in 2002, when he invited Carmelita McLaughlin to his office at 1600 Washington St. in Alton. Acting as her attorney when she bought a home in Alton and when she refinanced it, on both occasions she had chosen Centerre Title--a company that Wyss owned--to close her loans.

In the course of the attorney-client relationship, Wyss advised McLaughlin she might have a claim against Alliance Mortgage, holder of the first mortgage. Wyss believed Alliance Mortgage might have broken the law by charging a $60 fax fee when she refinanced.

It turns out that it was Wyss' company that charged the fee. Now he and his company have been added as defendants, and the four law firms he hired are proceeding against them.

Details here from The Madison Record.

F. Lee Bailey Tries to Regain Law License

Three years after F. Lee Bailey was disbarred for allegedly misusing $6 million in stock that belonged to a client, the famed attorney is trying to pick up the pieces of his shattered legal career. Bailey appeared in a Boston courtroom Thursday to ask for a hearing on his bid to regain his law license.

His attorney, Joseph Balliro, told a panel of three judges in U.S. District Court that his client's disbarment was a "grave injustice."

Balliro said new evidence has surfaced since Bailey was disbarred in Florida in 2001 - evidence, he said, that federal attorneys gave conflicting testimony about Bailey's handling of his client's assets.

The judges did not rule, but gave Bailey's lawyer 30 days to present his arguments in writing. Details here from the AP via LexisONE.com.

Irate Federal Judge Imposes Lifetime Ban on Defense Lawyer

A federal judge on Long Island has banned from his courtroom for life a defense lawyer who claimed the judge improperly communicated with a co-defendant's lawyer.

Eastern District Judge Leonard D. Wexler said the "lies" contained in an affidavit submitted by attorney Joseph J. Fleischman made him so furious that he could not proceed with an ongoing trial in which Fleischman represented the main defendant.

"I think the half-truths and the lies by Mr. Fleischman have messed this up," Wexler said, according to a transcript of a March 1 hearing. "And therefore I declare a mistrial."

The judge barred Fleischman from ever again practicing before him and he also barred Fleischman's law firm, Bridgewater, N.J.'s Norris McLaughlin & Marcus, so long as Fleischman remained a partner at the firm.

Details here from the New York Law Journal via Law.com.

Bad News for Bloggers

Apple Wins Legal Dispute Over Published Trade Secrets

A California judge on Friday ordered three independent online reporters to divulge confidential sources in a lawsuit brought by Apple Computer Inc., ruling that they were not protected by the First Amendment because they published trade secrets.

The ruling alarmed speech advocates, who saw the case as a test of whether people who write for Web publications enjoy the same legal protections as reporters for mainstream publications. Among those are protections afforded under California's "shield" law, which is meant to encourage the publication of information in the public's interest.

The reporters -- who run sites followed closely by Apple enthusiasts -- allegedly published product descriptions that Apple said employees had leaked in violation of nondisclosure agreements and possibly the U.S. Trade Secrets Act.

Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge James Kleinberg ruled that no one has the right to publish information that could have been provided only by someone breaking the law.

Details here from the AP via Law.com.

Suspect in Judge Murder Case Held Grudge Against Government

He would come to court and sit quietly in the front row, an angry man with a disfigured face, a tormented mind -- and an all-consuming grudge against the doctors he claimed had botched his cancer treatment and ruined his life.

Bart A. Ross, the 57-year-old Polish emigre who killed himself in a Milwaukee suburb Thursday, left a suicide note in his van saying that he had killed the husband and mother of U.S. District Judge Joan Lefkow, Chicago police said.

Lefkow was one of several judges who had ruled against him in a long-running series of medical malpractice suits. Lefkow's decision was upheld in January by a federal appeals court.

This is frightening. Most courts in large urban areas have their own casts of "vexatious litigants": people who repeatedly litigate in pro per and are convinced that the whole world -- including the legal system -- conspires against them. Is this a recognized psychological disorder or mental illness? It should be. There are a lot of these people.

Details here from the AP via Law.com.

Candyman Bronx Lawyer is 'Balled' Out

A Bronx Family Court lawyer has been suspended for six months because of his peppermint potty mouth.

The lawyer, Robert Kahn, admitted that "he frequently consumed peppermint-ball candies in the courthouse and, when offering candies to adversarial female staff attorneys, consistently made sexually offensive comments," a state Appellate Division ruling released yesterday says.

One of Kahn's crude candy comments: "Do you want to suck one of my balls?" . . .

[K]ahn, 67, "conceded that he never made similar comments to men or to Family Court judges."

I should think not. Details here from the New York Post.

Prosecutors Subpoena Dog in Murder Case

Bentonville, Ark. (AP) - Prosecutors hoping for a witness in a murder case to roll over were barking up the wrong tree.

They sent out a batch of subpoenas for anyone who had contact with Albert K Smith while he was jailed awaiting his murder trial. One of those subpoenas went out to five-year-old Murphy Smith - Smith's dog, it turned out.

The defendant had written his dog a letter from his cell, and that is how the shih tzu's name got on the witness list.

Prosecutors realised the mistake on Tuesday after the defendant's brother brought in Murphy to answer the subpoena and a deputy would not let them into the courthouse because no dogs were allowed.

Details here from the AP via News 24 from South Africa.

Ex-Kelley Drye Partner Quits Bar Over Pilfered Petty Cash

This is a sad story:

Rather than face disbarment, a former partner at Kelley Drye & Warren has resigned from the New York State Bar for stealing at least $110,000 from the firm.

Jay R. Kolmar, 46, a real estate partner at Kelley Drye until last October, stole the six-figure sum over a 10-year period in $250 increments. He thus likely committed more than 400 individual acts of theft from his firm. . . .

[T]he money Kolmar took was from the 317-lawyer firm's petty cash account. He generally claimed to be seeking reimbursement for gratuities paid to title companies during real estate closings.

Kelley Drye disbursed some $161,383 to Kolmar for this purpose. In his affidavit, Kolmar stated that he thought around $50,000 was legitimate reimbursement for work-related expenses, but he admitted he used the rest for personal matters.

People do the strangest things . . . . Details here from the New York Law Journal via Law.com.

Teen Convicted Under Internet Piracy Law

PHOENIX - An Arizona university student is believed to be the first person in the country to be convicted of a crime under state laws for illegally downloading music and movies from the Internet, prosecutors and activists say.

University of Arizona student Parvin Dhaliwal pleaded guilty to possession of counterfeit marks, or unauthorized copies of intellectual property.

Under an agreement with prosecutors, Dhaliwal was sentenced last month to a three-month deferred jail sentence, three years of probation, 200 hours of community service and a $5,400 fine. The judge in the case also ordered him to take a copyright class at the University of Arizona, which he attends, and to avoid file-sharing computer programs.

The article goes on to note that federal investigators referred him to the local county attorney's office so that he'd be prosecuted under state laws, which have lesser punishments than federal copyright laws, in part because he was a minor when he committed the crimes. It also notes that he had downloaded movies that were not yet available on DVD, and then copied them and sold the copies.

Details here from the AP via LexisONE.

Curtains Raised for Change at DOJ?

Concerns about terrorism, law enforcement and politics aside, this is what people really want to know about the new attorney general, Alberto Gonzales:

Is he going to take those curtains down?

For three years, a pair of partially nude statues in the Great Hall of the Justice Department have remained hidden behind blue curtains, courtesy of Gonzales' predecessor, John Ashcroft, who felt that the statues were too risqué.

It may seem silly to worry about curtains when the nation confronts the threat of terrorist attacks. But to many inside and outside the department, the answer will symbolize whether Gonzales plans to change the partisan tone set by Ashcroft during his tenure as attorney general.

Details here from Legal Times via Law.com.

Secondhand Smoke Gets Neighboring Attorney Fired Up

A tax lawyer who fled his offices because of secondhand smoke coming from the adjacent suite of another tax attorney can sue his neighbor, the building and its managers for breaching his right to quiet enjoyment of his property, a judge has ruled.

Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Richard F. Braun said the plaintiff had demonstrated that he may have been constructively evicted, a necessary element of a claim for breach of the covenant of quiet enjoyment.

Details here from the New York Law Journal via Law.com.

More Charges For Courtroom Outburst?

Twenty-two-year-old Austin Later had just been sentenced to five years in prison for an aggravated battery charge when the judge asked him if he had any questions. Besides threatening the prosecutor, Later also threw a file, hitting the judge's clerk in the face. After the outburst, [Idaho] Judge Jon Shindurling added another ten years to Later's sentence. He'll now serve 15 years, and could be charged for his actions and words.

Later had plead guilty to kidnapping two men during a drug deal. Now he may face additional charges for his courtroom outburst, on top of the extra 10 years he already got. Details here from NBC Newschannel 6.

Man Attacked by Chimpanzees

St. James Davis owned a pet chimpanzee, but had to give it up to an "animal sanctuary" after it bit off part of a woman's finger in Davis' home.

On Thursday, Davis and his wife went to visit their former pet at the sanctuary to celebrate the pet's birthday. Two other chimps escaped their enclosures and attacked Davis and his wife.

The chimps chewed most of Davis' face off and tore off his testicles and foot, Chealander said.

You might want to read that again. And again . . . .

The two chimps were shot to death, and Davis barely survived.

The lesson? Don't try to keep undomesticated, wild animals as pets. For their sake primarily, but also for yours. Details here from ABC News.com.

The Supreme Court: Kill, Steal, Commit Adultery

Today, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in two cases concerning Ten Commandment displays on government property. Tony Mauro of Legal Times points out that there is such a display within the Supreme Court's chamber, part of a frieze around the top of the room carved by sculptor Adolph Weinman.

The frieze depicts a parade of "great lawgivers of history," as Weinman put it, along with Hammurabi, the king of Babylon, among others. Among them is Moses, carrying a tablet clearly meant to represent the Decalogue.

What is less clear is why Weinman used Hebrew text rather than the typical Roman numerals in depicting the Ten Commandments in Moses' hands, and why he shows only commandments six through ten -- usually viewed as the more secular of the Ten Commandments.

Some have even asked why Moses' beard obscures enough of the Hebrew that instead of reading "Though Shalt Not Steal," it says "Steal," and similarly appears to command viewers to kill and commit adultery, to boot. An Israeli sculptor named Avrahaum Segol has bombarded the Court and the media with letters questioning Weinman's motivations. Earlier this year a Court official wrote Segol that "It is clear that the sculptor intended for the tablet to represent the entire text of the Ten Commandments."

Details here from Law.com.

Michael Jackson Trial Witness Refuses to Answer Questions, May Face Contempt

MARTIN BASHIR was yesterday [Tuesday] warned that he could face contempt of court charges and be thrown into jail after refusing to answer questions during the second day of Michael Jackson’s trial.

If the British television presenter is found in contempt, all his comments on the witness stand, as well as his controversial 2003 documentary about Mr Jackson, could be struck from the court record.

That could deliver a severe blow to the prosecution’s case, which is based heavily on Mr Bashir’s 100-minute film. As the first evidence to be presented to the jury, the documentary was thought to be the prosecution’s strongest card.

The battle over Mr Bashir’s right to not answer questions began as soon as the short, unassuming journalist entered the Santa Maria courtroom where Mr Jackson is on trial for child abuse, extortion and abduction. The dispute turned into open warfare, however, after Mr Bashir’s documentary, Living with Michael Jackson, was shown to the jury. That was when cross-examination began of Mr Bashir, a former BBC journalist who now works for America’s ABC News.

Details here from London's timesonline.