Category: Courts

Columns, Congress, Courts, Criminal law, Justice, Lawyering, Media, Politics, Society, Uncategorized

The Real Insurance Frauds

 
Submitted by: Mike Spindell, guest blogger

It’s Christmastime again and since my childhood, long ago, the Frank Capra film “It’s A Wonderful Life” has been shown time and again in this season, providing a message of redemption, hope and joy that we associate with this time of year. You all know the plot about selfless George Bailey (James Stewart) a man who has sacrificed his dreams for others and because of his selflessness winds up running the Bailey Building and Loan Association, of Bedford Falls, NY. Because of George this institution has provided home loans for the poor of this rural community and serves as its bank. With the Company on the verge of bankruptcy, through duplicity, George is on the verge of suicide distraught over the losses to those he loves and worried by needs of the average people of his town. You all know this plot and if you don’t its summary is here. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It%27s_a_Wonderful_Life#Plot . I must warn you, perhaps it’s the time of year but I choked up reading the plot, yet again, as I do every time I see this beloved movie.

This introduction has not been made because I’m about to write about banks, or the depredations of the banking industry. Others here and our host have already written extensively on the predatory nature of the banking industry and the harm it has caused to our country. My point of this opening is that we have all grown up with certain mythologies about businesses that provide financial services to the public. This film has had a place in defining that American mythology, in this instance about a bank of sorts, whose leader believes in aiding the community first and profits second. Myths shape our thinking and from my youth I still remember the ad slogan “You have a friend at Chase Manhattan”.

We’ve discovered that banks are anything but our friends. Their bottom line has surpassed service to the point that each customer is looked at as a “cash cow”, to be plundered incessantly with usurious interest and fees for what should be free services. But what about “You’re in Good Hands with Allstate”, “Nationwide Is On Your Side”, or “Like A Good Neighbor State Farm is There”?  Surely the Insurance industry supplies the safety net we want for our homes and cars. Do they? Last week I was sent an article by the Independent Claims Adjuster handling my interminable case for mold damage to my home. He’s helping greatly so this isn’t about me, but the article he sent certainly puts into context all the delays in the process and how property insurance companies are maximizing their profits at the expense of their customers. Continue reading “The Real Insurance Frauds” →

Academia, Courts, Criminal law, Environment, Free Speech, International, Justice, Lawyering, Media, Military, Politics, Religion, Science, Society, Supreme Court, Torts

The Turley Blog Needs Your Vote! The ABA Competition Is Down To The Wire For Top Opinion Blog

This year’s competition for the top opinion blog by the American Bar Association has become an intense race between our blog and one of the largest conservative legal blogs, Volokh Conspiracy. Even though VC is one of the largest blogs in the country, we are only a couple of dozen votes away with voting closing on December 31st. We need every vote so please spread the word to civil libertarians and others that we need their support to pull off the ultimate David and Goliath victory.
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Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Lawyering

Judge and Former Prosecutor of the Year Accused Of Withholding Evidence That Sent Innocent Man To Jail For 25 Years

Michael Morton, 57, spent nearly 25 years in prison for murdering his wife before he was able to force Texas authorities to finally test DNA evidence that proved his innocence. Now he is demanding that the prosecutor be held accountable for withholding evidence. The problem is that the then-Williamson County District Attorney Ken Anderson, now a district judge in Georgetown (left).
Continue reading “Judge and Former Prosecutor of the Year Accused Of Withholding Evidence That Sent Innocent Man To Jail For 25 Years” →

Bizarre, Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts

Gingrich: I Will Arrest Federal Judges

Former House speaker Newt Gingrich appears to be running against the Constitution as much as against President Obama these days. Gingrich has been promising to round up judges who do not agree with him — statements that have even conservative figures like Michael Mukasey, former attorney general during the George W. Bush administration, denouncing him. Mukasey was the attorney general who blocked prosecutions into torture, but finds Gingrich truly scary. I am currently scheduled to be on Hardball tonight to discuss this latest attack on the judiciary.
Continue reading “Gingrich: I Will Arrest Federal Judges” →

Courts, Criminal law

Border Patrol: It’s A Crime To Give A Ride To An Illegal Alien

-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger

Maclovio Bautista, a legal resident of Washington state and the U.S. for more than twenty years, is under threat of deportation because he was caught giving a ride to an illegal alien. While on their way to see a mechanic, they were pulled over by a Border Patrol agent. Bautista’s companion fled only to be apprehended later. Bautista was held for three days at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma.

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Constitutional Law, Courts, Society

Federal Court Considers Standing in Sister Wives Case

Today I will be appearing in federal court in Salt Lake City, Utah to argue for standing in our challenge to the Utah statute criminalizing bigamy and cohabitation. I have previously written about the constitutional issues raised by the action. This hearing, however, concerns the effort of the state to avoid review of the law by claiming that the family lacks standing, even though the state has declared their family to be a criminal association and prosecutors have declared them to be guilty under the law.
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Congress, Courts, Justice, Politics, Supreme Court, Things That Tick Me Off

Filibusters Gone Wild

Respectfully Submitted by Lawrence Rafferty(rafflaw)-Guest Blogger

Now that I have gotten over the Bears overtime loss to the Bronco’s, it is time for the Night Shift to get to work.  I imagine that most of us remember the so-called “Gang of Fourteen” that came to prominence during the George W. Bush Administration.  This group of Senators actually decided that the Senate should give all Judicial nominees an up or down vote in the full Senate except in some very extreme circumstances. “In 2005, a group of senators known as the “Gang of 14” determined that all judicial nominees should receive an up-or-down vote absent “extraordinary circumstances.”  As Senator Lindsey Graham explained the agreement at the time,’ “ideological attacks are not an ‘extraordinary circumstance.’ To me, it would have to be a character problem, an ethics problem, some allegation about the qualifications of a person, not an ideological bent.” ‘ American Constitution Society  It is a shame that the Gang of Fourteen, or at least the survivors of that group have decided that politics is more important than fairness! Continue reading “Filibusters Gone Wild” →

Constitutional Law, Courts, Politics, Religion

Georgia Bill Will Put “In God We Trust” On All License Plates

-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger

If Republican Sen. Bill Heath’s bill, Senate Bill 293, is enacted the phrase “In God We Trust” will be printed in the area where the county name used to go. While many states sell, at an extra cost, specialty plate with the phrase, the Georgia plate will be the default plate.

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Bizarre, Courts, Lawyering, Science

Scent Lineups

-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger

A scent lineup starts with the collection of scent from a crime scene. Scent samples are also collected from potential suspects. A dog is presented with the crime scene scent and then presented with the scents from the suspects. The dog then communicates the matching scent to its handler. The dog handler then testifies at trial and his testimony has been presented as “scientific identification” in Texas courts.

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Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Courts, Media

Fox: Constitution Demands Kagan Recuse Herself

According to Fox News, the Constitution is a bit vague on privacy but not conflicts rules governing Associate Justice Elena Kagan. The language actually comes from Section 455 of Title 28 of the U.S. Code. Notably, there does not appear to be anything in the Constitution relevant to the recusal of Clarence Thomas.
Continue reading “Fox: Constitution Demands Kagan Recuse Herself” →

Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law

Refusing To Provide Pedigree Information

-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger

Vesselin Dittrich, 64 and speaks with an accent, is an American citizen and resident of Hoboken, New Jersey. He was sitting on a PATH (Port Authority) train in the Hoboken station looking at a heavily tattooed woman. She objected to his staring and asked him to move to another car. He refused. She threatened to call the police and, overhearing this, the conductor summoned the Port Authority police.

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Courts, Justice, Lawyering

Surgery Fires

Submitted By Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger

As if anxiety over the common risks of surgery weren’t enough, a strange story from Florida points up the dangers of flash fires during routine procedures.  Kim Grice entered North Okaloosa Medical Center Outpatient Surgery Center  in Crestview, Fla. for simple surgery to remove cystic growths from her scalp. After about two hours of surgery, an ambulance pulled up to the clinic and emergency personnel rushed past Grice’s mother, Ann, to transport her 29-year-old daughter to the South Alabama Medical Center due to severe facial burns.

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Courts, Lawyering

Court Jesting

Submitted By Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger

Some think  lawyers and judges to be serious folk and devoid of humor as they carry out the public’s business. Here’s some proof to the contrary from Gavel2Gavel.com taken from real case depositions and trial transcripts:

By the Court:  Is there any reason why you couldn’t serve as a juror in this case?

By a Potential Juror:  I don’t want to be away from my job that long.

The Court:  Can’t they do without you at work?

Potential Juror:  Yes, but I don’t want them to know that.

______________________________________________

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Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Free Speech, International, Justice, Lawyering, Military, Politics, Society, Supreme Court

Senate Votes Overwhelmingly To Allow Indefinite Detention of Citizens

In one of the greatest attacks on civil liberties in this country’s history, Democratic and Republican Senators voted yesterday to approve a measure as part of the $662 billion defense bill that would allow for the military to hold both citizens and non-citizens indefinitely without trial — even those arrested on U.S. soil. In a welcomed change, President Obama has committed his Administration to fighting the measure as inimical to the rule of law. The measure was pushed by Carl Levin (D – Michigan) and John McCain (R – Arizona). While some members of Congress like Ron Paul (R., Texas) have denounced the bill, the measure passed at the same time that Administration lawyers publicly declared that the military and intelligence agencies alone should decide whether a citizen should be killed without a charge or hearing (including killing citizens on U.S. soil) — a position supported by President Obama who has ordered the killing of U.S. citizens under his claim of inherent authority.

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