News & Politics

If he isn’t dead already, I’d wager that he will be soon. Intelligence sources seem to think he’s the “operational commander of Al Qaeda,” and he is being hunted worldwide. But he’s a clever fellow with a penchant for anonymity, aliases, and escapes. The LA Times has published a very lengthy and very interesting article about this dangerous asswipe and his compadres. I found it fascinating (and disturbing), but don’t start reading it unless you have time on your hands.

I don’t support capital punishment, and I’m certainly no fan of extra-judicial political assassination. That said, if half of what the LA Times says is true, I won’t be losing any sleep when I find out someone has turned this murderer’s head into a fine red mist. And it won’t be long. Sleep tight, Khalid. Your virgins await you.

Esther Dardinger died of cancer at age 49 in 1997, after her insurer balked at continuing to pay for her chemotherapy treatment. The Ohio Supreme Court trimmed an award that originally topped $50 million to $32.5 million — $2.5 million in compensatory, and $30 million in punitive damages. It ordered that $10 million of the punitives go to the victim’s family, and the other $20 million go to charity, after legal fees are subtracted. I’ve never heard of this before, but it sounds like a good idea to me. Read an article about it here, or read the Court’s opinion here (PDF format).

Normally, if a pitcher gets beaned upside the head by a line drive, too bad. He’s assumed the risk by playing the game. Not so if the ball is hit super fast off a specialized aluminum bat, says California’s Second District Court of Appeal in this opinion (PDF format). Read an article about it here.

It sounds like Ford may have been bad. And it was a horrible accident. But none of the occupants was wearing a seatbelt. And $225 million in compensatory damages (not punitives)??? Come on . . . . Read all about it here.

Philip-Morris says even this award to an injured smoker is too rich. Read about it here.

Somebody’s gotta push the envelope, I guess. I like it that they fashioned the suit as a class action on behalf of all their (mostly giant corporate) customers. Read all about this interesting (and probably useless) lawsuit in this article.

Judge Kevin McCarthy ruled today that each of the two competing claimants to Bonds’ 73rd homerun ball owns a 50% interest in it, and ordered it to be sold and the proceeds split. I was in Judge McCarthy’s courtroom this morning when he read his 12-page ruling, and it was pretty exciting. The small courtroom was overflowing with press and curious onlookers — including lots of attorneys waiting to have their cases called on the Law and Motion calendar down the hall. I think I agree with what Judge McCarthy did, and I think the parties should have reached the same result privately before giving so much money to their lawyers. The only thing I would have done differently is that I would have gone for the “full Solomon” and ordered the damn ball sawn in half. Read an article all about it here.

The Salt Lake Tribune is reporting on a Tenth Circuit order upholding the dismissal of an employment discrimination lawsuit in which the plaintiff claimed she was discriminated against after her boss saw her at a public swimming pool in a bikini he considered inappropriately revealing. Read the Tribune’s article here, and the Tenth Circuit’s Order at this link. (Thanks again to How Appealing for the link.)

According to this article in the Wall Street Journal, U.S. and Canadian law schools, with the help of the Law School Admission Council (which administers the LSAT test), may stop giving their students’ LSAT scores to U.S. New & World Report, which relies heavily on those scores for its rankings. (Thanks to How Appealing for the link.)

Her 8th grade gym teacher told her mom that her sexual orientation made other girls “uncomfortable” in the locker room, so she had to sit out gym class in the principal’s office each day. Now she’s suing, with the help of the ACLU and the National Center for Lesbian Rights, CNN reports here. You go, girl!