Category: Lawyering

Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Justice, Lawyering, Politics, Society, Supreme Court, Uncategorized

The Supreme Court Versus the Common Man

220px-Antonin_Scalia,_SCOTUS_photo_portrait

Respectfully submitted by Lawrence E. Rafferty (rafflaw)-Guest Blogger

A recent United State Supreme Court decision has made it almost impossible for small businesses and individuals to bring class action lawsuits against large corporations who may be in violation of antitrust laws. Not only did the case fly under the mass media radar, it also may allow corporations to use contractual language to insulate them from many other federal laws.  I am talking about the American Express v. Italian Colors case that was decided by a 5-3 margin.  What the Supreme Court majority did here was to allow American Express to force its small business customers to sign a contract that included language that precluded those same customers from having any viable access to judicial review of American Express’ business practices. Continue reading “The Supreme Court Versus the Common Man” →

Courts, Criminal law, Lawyering, Politics, Society

Proposed Findings and Sanctions Against the Government Filed In The World Bank Case

As discussed in the media (Washington Post and Associated Press), the plaintiffs in the World Bank case have filed their final proposed findings before the Special Master, including recommendations that D.C. Attorney General Irving Nathan and top aides be referred to the Bar for investigation. The case (Chang v. United States) has been going on for over ten years and involves the mass arrest of bystanders without probable cause during demonstrations against the World Bank and IMF. The case has been under investigation by Special Master John M. Facciola, United States Magistrate Judge for the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, who is looking into the loss or destruction of key evidence in the possession of the District of Columbia as well as false statements and filings made before the Court by District officials. Because I am co-lead counsel in the case with Dan Schwartz of Bryan Cave, I must remain circumspect in what I can say about the case. To relieve the burden on my secretary, I am posting the filing this week which is in the public record.

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Bizarre, Criminal law, Lawyering, Politics

Zimmerman Prosecutors Demand Investigation Of Defense Counsel Over Daughter’s Instagram

225px-Instagram_logoAngelaCoreyProsecutors in the George Zimmerman trial are facing a collapsing case and renewed question over whether Angela Corey succumbed to the political pressure and overcharged the case. The prosecution’s case has thus far been a disaster and many are now questioning whether charges should have been brought at all, let alone charged as second degree murder. For some inexplicable reason, the prosecutors led with Rachel Jeantel, who was one of the least compelling witnesses that they could have called from earlier perjury to ever-changing testimony. Now Angela Corey (right) and her office appear to be turning toward alternative areas of prosecution involving the daughter of one of the defense counsel.

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Lawyering, Society

Covington & Burling Disqualified Over Major Conflict Of Interest in Environmental Case

We previously discussed the finding of a Minnesota judge that the leading firm of Covington & Burling committed a serious conflict of interest in representation in a large environmental case against 3M corporation. Now, a state appellate court has upheld the disqualification — an embarrassing blow for the law firm, which continues to generate bad publicity in the litigation for its current and future clients.

Continue reading “Covington & Burling Disqualified Over Major Conflict Of Interest in Environmental Case” →

Criminal law, Lawyering, Politics, Society

The Everyone-Did-It Defense: Oklahoma Supreme Court Refuses To Disbar Former Prosecutor Who Withheld Evidence in Capital Cases and Used False Subpoenas

yvonnekauger-busThe Oklahoma Supreme Court has rejected a request from the state bar association to disbar Robert Bradley Miller, former assistant district attorney for Oklahoma County, and given him just a suspension from practicing law for 180 days and court costs for egregious misconduct in two capital cases twenty years ago. We have often discussed the lack of deterrence for prosecutors who are rarely disciplined for conduct leading to reversals or false convictions. In this case, the bar wanted Miller out of its ranks for hiding a key deal with a witness and using falsified subpoenas to coerce cooperation from other witnesses. The novel defense — accepted by the state Supreme Court — was that lots of prosecutors acted abusively back then. The shocking opinion was written by Oklahoma Justice Yvonne Kauger (left).

Continue reading “The Everyone-Did-It Defense: Oklahoma Supreme Court Refuses To Disbar Former Prosecutor Who Withheld Evidence in Capital Cases and Used False Subpoenas” →

Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Justice, Lawyering

The ABCs Of The Surveillance State: Six Gun Toting Alcohol Agents Pounce On College Kid Buying Bottled Water [Corrected]

By Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger

The Offending Contraband That Almost Got A UVa Student Shot
The Offending Contraband That Almost Got A UVa Student Shot

University of Virginia student Elizabeth Daly thought she was doing a good thing buying some La Croix bottled water and cookie dough ice cream from the Harris Teeter Supermarket to share at a charity event.  It was 10:15 p.m. and the twenty-year-old, along with her female roommate were trying get to a police sponsored “Take Back The Night” event where she thought  she would be listening to stories from sexual assault victims and developing strategies to combat the scourge of most college towns. Instead, as she crossed the dark parking lot and got into her vehicle, she was set upon by six people, one of whom jumped on the hood of her SUV and another who pulled a gun.

“I couldn’t put my windows down unless I started my car, and when I started my car they began yelling to not move the car, not to start the car. They began trying to break the windows. My roommates and I were … terrified,” Daly stated. Not wanting to become a victim herself, Daly heeded the words of her panic-stricken front seat passenger and took off.  As she did, she grazed two of the assailants.

“They were showing unidentifiable badges after they approached us, but we became frightened, as they were not in anything close to a uniform,” she recalled Thursday in a written account of the April 11 incident.

Continue reading “The ABCs Of The Surveillance State: Six Gun Toting Alcohol Agents Pounce On College Kid Buying Bottled Water [Corrected]” →

Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Environment, International, Justice, Lawyering, Media, Politics, Science, Society, Supreme Court

Obama and the War on Drugs: Hypocrisy in Action

Submitted By: Mike Spindell, Guest Blogger

President_Barack_ObamaPresident Obama has admitted that while in school he was a frequent marijuana smoker. George W. Bush also alluded to smoking marijuana and possibly to using cocaine. Bill Clinton claimed to have smoked it but not inhaled it, which is the type of ridiculous statement Clinton is capable of asserting for political gain. Thus the last three Presidents of the United States have admitted that one time or another they have broken the law and used a banned substance. While each of those Presidents presided over the continued witch hunt and prosecution of the “War On Drugs” I believe that Barack Obama has been the most hypocritical.

Had either G.W. Bush, or Bill Clinton been arrested for smoking marijuana there is no doubt in my mind that they would have neither served jail time, nor would they have had their careers stained by a criminal record. Bush, as the scion of a great political family would have had his record expunged, or possibly have had the police back off when they discovered who he was. Bill Clinton was a student at a prestigious University and while not rich, came from a politically connected family in Arkansas. What they also had in common was that they were White men. Barack Obama on the other hand would have likely been arrested, despite his status as a Harvard student and while he probably would have escaped jail time he would have been forced to take a plea which would remain on his record. If such a thing had occurred it is highly probable that Barack Obama would never have been elected Senator, much less President. There is a likelihood that he might never even have been allowed to enter the Bar as an attorney, since that entrance requires extensive background checks. Whatever you might think of him Barack Obama is a very intelligent man. Surely he must realize how fortunate he was to not get caught smoking grass and yet as President he has stepped up the War On Drugs and has allowed egregious prosecutions in States that have passed medical marijuana laws. To my mind this is blatant hypocrisy, but beyond that political position lies a destructiveness that can only rationally be seen as the continuance of the oppression of Americans of color, particularly Blacks, by our Federal Government. I will deal with our President’s hypocrisy and use it as the basis of my condemnation of the War On Drugs. Continue reading “Obama and the War on Drugs: Hypocrisy in Action” →

Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, International, Lawyering, Politics, Society

Federal Judge Dismisses Abu Ghraib Case Under Sweeping Ruling Under The Alien Tort Statute

ph_leeU.S. District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee has issued a sweeping victory for the Obama Administration and its contractors in seeking to bar any recourse for people injured or killed in U.S. camps or prisons like Abu Ghraib. Lee dismissed a lawsuit detailing well-supported accounts of abuse of detainees at the Abu Ghraib prison — holding that the injured parties could not use U.S. courts to seek judicial review and relief for the abuse. He closed the door to the U.S. judicial system to four Iraqi plaintiffs under the Alien Tort Statute (ATS) as well as one plaintiff who was deemed as barred under Iraqi law.

Continue reading “Federal Judge Dismisses Abu Ghraib Case Under Sweeping Ruling Under The Alien Tort Statute” →

Criminal law, Lawyering, Science, Society

California Man Cleared After Contaminated Paramedic Equipment Found To Be Cause Of DNA Found On Murder Victim’s Body

Raveesh KumraThere is an interesting story out of San Jose where a man was falsely accused of being an accomplice to murder despite being in a hospital at the time of the crime. Defense attorneys often argue contamination in DNA cases and the attorneys for Lukis Anderson, 26, insisted that either contamination or sheer negligence had to be the reason for the finding of his DNA on the body of robbery victim and Monte Sereno businessman, Raveesh “Ravi” Kumra (LEFT). It turns out that that is precisely what happened. The same ET crew that had worked on Anderson earlier responded to the home invasion of Kumra and used the same equipment — transferring the DNA to the body.

Continue reading “California Man Cleared After Contaminated Paramedic Equipment Found To Be Cause Of DNA Found On Murder Victim’s Body” →

Free Speech, Lawyering, Society

The Name That May Not Be Spoken: Paula Deen,The “N” Word, And The ’60s South

By Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger

deenI never much liked Paula Deen’s cooking. Filled with butter and gravies and things like Krispy Creme Donuts for hamburger buns, Paula seemed too culinarily eccentric … to foodie excessive … too health oblivious even for a southern cook in 1813 much less 2013. Her story though, like her southern twang, had a certain charm to it: single mother of two left penniless makes ends meet by selling food-to-go out of her home kitchen and works her butt off until she reached the top of the sundae’s cherry with three shows on the Food Network and some spin off shows for her two sons.

Continue reading “The Name That May Not Be Spoken: Paula Deen,The “N” Word, And The ’60s South” →

Courts, Lawyering, Politics

Michigan Judge Removed From Office For Lying Under Oath

bildegavel2The Michigan Supreme Court voted yesterday 5-2 to remove Wayne Family Circuit Judge Deborah Ross Adams from office for lying under oath and other violations of judicial ethics. In removing Adams, the court found that a 180-day suspension recommended by the Judicial Tenure Commission was manifestly too low for a judge lying under oath. Continue reading “Michigan Judge Removed From Office For Lying Under Oath” →

Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Lawyering, Politics, Society

Brooklyn District Attorney Ordered To Testify On Pattern Of Prosecutorial Abuses By His Office

220px-Charles_J._HynesThe Brooklyn district attorney Charles J. Hynes is not have a particularly good week. First, Hynes had to fire one of his top people after Gang Bureau head Deanna Rodriguez used racist and anti-gay language. Now he will have to testify about allegations that his office ignores and even promotes prosecutorial misconduct. The testimony will occur in the case of Jabbar Collins, who has filed a civil rights lawsuit against the office of District Attorney Charles J. Hynes after he won his release after 16 years in prison for murder. He claims that his case is only one of an array of cases showing a pattern of egregious abuses and misconduct by Hynes’ office and prosecutors.

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Courts, Lawyering, Uncategorized

Tennessee Judge Under Fire For Warning Female Lawyers About Professional Dress

taylor_royceCircuit Judge Royce Taylor in Murfreesboro, Tennessee is embroiled in an interesting controversy after he urged female attorneys to dress appropriately in courthouses. It is common for judges to instruct male attorneys on the need to wear jackets, ties, and appropriate shoes. However, for a male judge to write a memo on female dress is a different matter for some. It raises a long-standing issue for attorneys. Male attorneys privately grumble that there appears to be no serious limits on female dress codes while men are called to account before judges.

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Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Lawyering, Society

The Price of Silence: Supreme Court Rules That Pre-Miranda Silence Can Be Used Against Defendant To Prove Guilt

225px-010_alitoIn a major loss for individual rights vis-a-vis the police, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that prosecutors could use a person’s silence against them in court if it comes before he’s told of his right to remain silent. The prosecutors used the silence of Genovevo Salinas to convict him of a 1992 murder. Because this was a non-custodial interview, the Court ruled that the prosecutors could use his silence even though citizens are allowed to refuse to speak with police. It is of little surprise that the pro-police powers decision was written by Samuel Alito who consistently rules in favor of expanding police powers.

Continue reading “The Price of Silence: Supreme Court Rules That Pre-Miranda Silence Can Be Used Against Defendant To Prove Guilt” →

Bizarre, Lawyering, Society

Prospective Law Student Posts Vile Video Attacking Dunkin’ Donuts Employees

receipt12n-2-webabid2Taylor Chapman, 27, has been preparing for law school after graduating from Nova Southeastern University. That may not be the most promising career choice after Chapman posted a video (below) that has now gone viral showing her abusing workers at a Dunkin’ Donuts as she taunts them with racist and unhinged insults. Few law schools would welcome an application from such a person and even fewer bars would welcome such a person as a bar member. [Warning: both the video and the transcript below contains racist and profane language]

Continue reading “Prospective Law Student Posts Vile Video Attacking Dunkin’ Donuts Employees” →