Atlanta lawyer and inventor Scott Horstemeyer has responded to a critical posting on one of his patent as “stupid patent of the month” by filing what is clearly the stupid lawsuit of the month. The defendant is the Electronic Frontier Foundation which only expressed its opinion on the patent but Horstemeyer appears to believe that the expression of such opinions can be defamation. Also named is Daniel Nazer, the EFF lawyer who wrote the post.
Category: Lawyering
LawDragon has released the results of its increasingly popular survey of the top lawyers in America. I was fortunate to again make the list this year. This year is the 10th anniversary of the annual report which has become very popular in the profession. I have been honored to be on the list in prior years and it is always gladdening to see so many friends and GW graduates on the list.
Continue reading “Turley Selected Among The Top 500 Lawyers in Annual Ranking”
Respectfully submitted by Lawrence E. Rafferty (rafflaw)-Weekend Contibutor
It has happened again. Several big banks have been caught with their hands in the cookie jar and are paying billions in fines for their admitted transgressions.
“On Wednesday, four large global banks — Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland — pleaded guilty to a series of federal crimes over a scheme to manipulate the value of the world’s currencies. The Justice Department accused the banks of collusion in one of the largest and yet least regulated markets, noting that at one bank one trader remarked “the less competition the better.”
That lack of oversight, coupled with the pressure to squeeze profits from a relatively middling business, set the stage for this scandal, one that unfolded nearly every day for five years. The crimes described on Wednesday also painted the portrait of something more systemic: a Wall Street culture that enabled many big banks to break the law even after years of regulatory black marks after the crisis.” New York Times Continue reading “Bankers Make a Mockery of the Law, and No One Goes to Jail”
At 10 a.m. tomorrow morning, Judge Rosemary M. Collyer of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia will hear argument on the motion to dismiss filed by the defendants in U.S. House of Representatives v. Burwell, et al., No. 1:14-cv-01967 (D.D.C.). The defendants are the Departments of Health and Human Services and Treasury, and the secretaries of those two executive branch agencies. The Administration is seeking to prevent the Court from reaching the merits of this historic case, which was authorized by an affirmative vote of the entire House of Representatives on July 30, 2014, and which the House filed for the purpose of protecting our constitutional structure.
Continue reading “FEDERAL COURT TO HEAR HISTORIC CHALLENGE OVER SEPARATION OF POWERS”
Respectfully submitted by Lawrence E. Rafferty (rafflaw)-Weekend Contributor
The answer to the question posed in the title, in the state of Wisconsin, is $8 Million dollars. For those of us who think Judges are not and should not be politicians, the situation in Wisconsin is especially disturbing. However, Wisconsin is not alone in this dilemma. Thirty nine states elect their judges and the money flowing into those campaigns is increasing the concerns of special interests “purchasing” justice. Professor Turley has also commented in the past about the alarming amounts of money flowing into judicial elections.
In a recent United States Supreme Court decision, Chief Justice Roberts weighed in on money and politics in judicial elections. “Last week, the United States Supreme Court upheld a Florida judicial rule that prohibits candidates for election to state judgeships from personally soliciting money for their campaigns. ‘ “Judges are not politicians,” Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., wrote in the majority opinion in the 5-4 decision, “even when they come to the bench by way of the ballot.” He went on, “Simply put, Florida and most other States have concluded that the public may lack confidence in a judge’s ability to administer justice without fear or favor if he comes to office by asking for favors.” ‘ New Yorker Continue reading “What is the Cost to Purchase a State Supreme Court?”
There is an interesting decision in the case of Ohio Northern University law professor Scott Gerber (left), who sued over what he described as a pattern of bullying by this colleagues, including assault and battery law professor Stephen Veltri (right), who had served as associate dean and interim dean in 2011 and 2012, in grading and squeezing his shoulder. U.S. District Judge Jack Zouhary ruled that Berber could pursue claims of assault and battery, but not intentional infliction of emotional distress. The case is Gerber v. Ohio Northern Univ., 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 56767
“B.B. Wolf” has done it again. Faced with a double murder and attempted murder of the Three Little Pigs, the Big Bad Wolf gave a howl of joy with two hung juries after trials before the fourth grade classes of Churchill Elementary from McLean, Virginia. We held our annual field trip for elementary students to learn about the legal system and it was a smashing success. Adding to the fun this year was the flyover of vintage World War II planes and the hatching of ducklings in the George Washington quad as we took the kids outside. Just try to get that level of service at Georgetown.
Our amazing cast this year included Shirin Ahlhauser, Garrett Henderson, Sarah Keller, Justin Matarrese, and Ariel Oxman. The organizer was our own Claire Duggan who handled every possible detail from the treats to the buses. Our partner in crime was Churchill teacher Claire M. McHale and her colleagues. My assistant Seth Tate also served as Johnny on the spot for everything from missing kids to wayward buses. Against all odds, we held two trials and lost nary of kid . . . and even finished ahead by eight ducklings!
Continue reading “B.B. Wolf Walks After Hung Jury In Double Murder And Attempted Murder Trial”
Respectfully submitted by Lawrence E. Rafferty (rafflaw)-Weekend Contributor
You may not have heard of it before, but the government has the ability to shut off cell phone service at any time, under the guise of National Security. The Department of Homeland Security has an operating procedure known as Standard Operating Procedure 303( SOP 303) and it has been labeled as the cell phone “kill switch”.
I knew very little about the “kill switch” before today, but according to a recent Al Jezeera America article, the kill switch authority is being currently debated in Federal court. Continue reading “Is The Cell Phone Kill Switch in the Wrong Hands?”
Like many, I am still waiting for the evidence used as the basis to charge the six officers in Baltimore for the death of Freddie Gray. This morning, however, I was disturbed to read that an effort to create a fundraising site for the defense of the officers was taken down on GoFundMe. It appears that the site has a very questionable standard for funding that does not afford accused parties a presumption of innocence in asking for support to fund their defense.
Continue reading “GoFundMe Site For Six Charged Baltimore Officers Taken Down After 41 Minutes”
I will have the honor of serving as the moderator on a panel at the American Bar Association’s conference in Washington, D.C. today. The panel is entitled “Stranger in a Strange Land: Cross Cultural Issues in the Courts.” This is part of an internationally successful program organized by Judge Hon. Delissa A. Ridgway of U.S. Court of International Trade. Judge Ridgway has brought together jurists and lawyers from around the world to discuss difficult cultural issues that are increasingly appearing in criminal and civil cases. These cases deal with arguments or defenses that turn on the cultural norms or practices of a given defendant or litigant. The cases have forced the question of when and how courts should recognize such defenses.
Continue reading “Stranger in a Strange Land: ABA To Hold Session On The Cultural Defense”
Philadelphia Common Pleas Court Judge Paul Panepinto appears immovable on a controversial roughly $1 million sanction imposed on insurance defense lawyer Nancy Raynor after a witness discussed a bar subject in his testimony. Raynor insists that she told the witness not to discuss that a woman in the case was a smoker. Various witnesses have come forward to say that they heard Raynor give such instructions, but Panepinto has dismissed the new evidence and refused to budge on the sanction. Many lawyers are worried about the standard being set by the case since witnesses will sometimes stray in their testimony without any direction or knowledge of counsel.
Michigan attorney Todd Levitt is again in court this month. Levitt recently lost a controversial libel lawsuit over a parody Twitter account by a Central Michigan University student that mocked his “badass” approach to legal marketing. The opinion (here) found that the site by was obviously a parody and that Levitt, who teaches at CMU as an adjunct, sued Zachary Felton without cause for his “badass parody.” Now, Levitt is suing his opposing counsel, who also teaches at CMU as an adjunct.
San Diego University Law Professor Shaun P. Martin has prevailed in a bizarre lawsuit filed by Melanie Welch, who sued Martin for defamation after he discussed her case on his blog. In addition, the court imposed attorney fees against Welch for the litigation. The case is Welch v. Univ. of San Diego (Cal. App. 2015) and constitutes a victory for free speech protections.
Continue reading “San Diego Law Professor Prevails In Defamation Lawsuit Over Blog Article”
West Allis, Wis., police had a bit of a surprise when they responded to a call about a mysterious man in the neighborhood near Milwaukee in July 2013 and found Dwayne S. Powell, a private detective, with two laptop computers, binoculars, a GPS tracking device, a stun gun, two rifles, four handguns, 2,000 rounds of ammunition and a homemade silencer in a rented SUV. While first resisting to give his name, Powell reportedly admitted that he was hired to keep continual watch on the father of David Miscavige, the leader of the Church of Scientology, who had separated from the church. Powell further stated that, after seeing what he believed was a possible heart attack, he contacted David Miscavige, who allegedly told him to let his father Ronald Miscavige Sr. die and not intervene or call help. The case has not led to litigation but it could.
There is an remarkable sanction imposed recently by the Virginia State Bar Disciplinary Board which suspended lawyer Wayne Hartke of Reston for intoxication and disruptive behavior. What makes it notable is that the conduct did not occur with clients or in court or even in a firm. It occurred as a continuing legal education seminar. Hartke will be suspended for six months and have to enroll in a two-year treatment program.