We have all chafed at the limitations placed by courts on filings — limits that often require counsel to drop whole claims or issues. For Bob Kohn, the chairman and chief executive of RoyaltyShare, however, the requirement that he reduce over ninety pages of arguments into five pages was absurd. According, he filed a five-page cartoon strip as his amicus filing.
Category: Lawyering
New York Family Court Judge Bryan Hedges, 65, thought that he had resigned from the bench in Onondaga County in April after allegations that he sexually abuse with 5-year-old deaf niece. However, the state Commission on Judicial Conduct decided to retroactively remove him from the bench and bar him from ever holding a judicial office again in the state of New York despite that fact that the incident occurred 40 years ago and before he become an attorney. It presents an interesting case on the reach of judicial ethics for judges.
Massachusetts Judge Cheryl Ann Jacques is facing a bizarre misdemeanor larceny charge for allegedly misrepresenting the features of a combination crib-and-playpen set she sold on Craigslist. Jacques, 50 sold the Graco Pack ’n Play to Tracey Christopher, 39, for $75. It sells for roughly $150 new. Christopher insisted that there were parts missing but that Jacques refused to return her money. On both this allegation and a prior ethics charge, the level of scrutiny does not appear (in my view) justified by the underlying allegations.
We often discussed the lack of deterrent for prosecutorial misconduct in the United States. When cases are overturned due to destruction or withholding of evidence or other violations, few reporters track down the original prosecutors to hold them accountable. Prosecutors are rarely punished for such acts. The article below in the New York Times details a shocking example of alleged misconduct and the lack of action by the Queens District Attorney in dealing with what appears gross violations by prosecutors in the office.
Continue reading “Lawsuit Details Alleged Prosecutorial Misconduct In New York Murder Case”
Respectfully submitted by Lawrence Rafferty (rafflaw)- Guest Blogger
If you ever wondered why the Justice Department is investigating the office of Maricopa, Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio, this latest story may be all you need to read. Recently, the Maricopa Sheriff’s office arrested and detained Briseira Torres and alleged that she was an illegal alien. Why is this one arrest such an important story? The short answer is that Sheriff Joe’s office and possibly the Prosecuting attorney ignored the most credible exculpatory evidence that was already in their possession. Briseira’s long form Birth Certificate, attested to by the State of Arizona as accurate, was left out of the record provided to the Grand Jury! Continue reading “Sheriff Joe’s Office Lies Again”
On paper, David Holzbach, 52, would appear to have reached an ideal position in life. The married prosecutor with 24-years experience had a secure $129,000 a year job with the Danbury State’s Attorney’s office. However, this year he was fired after an investigation in bizarre conduct photographing women in office and outside his office, including surreptitious photos in courtrooms using a spy pen.
This Olympics has seen a number of clearly bad calls by referees or judges. Some sports like gymnastics allows judges to review videotapes in resolving a challenge such as was the case where the American team successfully challenged the awarding of the bronze medal to the Russian female gymnast on the balance beam. (I loved watching U.S. national team coordinator Martha Karolyi, her husband, Bela, shouting demands for a challenge from the stands to ensure a review in favor of U.S. gymnast Aly Raisman. I have previously admitted to watching solely for the legal challenges). I was struck, therefore, to learn that they do not use instant replay in volleyball — one of my favorite sports to watch at the Olympics. This arose when the Chinese judge made an erroneous call in favor of the American men’s team against the Italians. The Italians were understandably upset since the instant replay clearly showed the American ball falling outside the line (though I was disappointed, as an Italian, to hear that the team is infamous for badmouthing referees). Yet, despite the instant and clear evidence of a bad call, the decision stood.
Continue reading “Question of the Day: Why Do Certain Olympic Sports Resist Instant Replay?”
The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has ruled against professor Lynn Branham who challenged her firing as violating her guarantee of tenure. The case, Branham v. Thomas M. Cooley Law Sch., No. 10-2305 (August 6, 2012) 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 16266, contains some interesting language on the tenure and when it is more rhetorical and real. Ironically, Branham has relocated to the faculty of St. Louis Law School — just time for its dean to resign over the “disrespect” shown her by the University president. Cooley Law School has been getting a fair level of trial practice recently — as a defendant, plaintiff, or witness (here and here and here). That leaves the impression of a type of perpetual legal machine, producing lawyers who produce lawsuits in an endless loop of litigation.
Continue reading “Sixth Circuit Rules Against Cooley Law Professor”
Prestigious law firm Covington & Burling has found itself in an embarrassing position of having its former corporate client, 3M, charge it with betraying its confidence and switching sides in environmental litigation. There is little affection left in the relationship after Covington decided to represent Minnesota in a claim that could bring millions to the law firm. For 3M, the worse moment came when Covington lawyers deposed the same 3M in-house counsel that the law firm once represented on the same subject matter. The company alleges that Covington orchestrated the move to drop it “like a hot potato” to cash in with Minnesota. The lawsuit could prove the most uncomfortably revealing moment since a Covington partner pulled down his pants before a shocked international audience.
Continue reading “Covington Accused Of Switching Sides In Litigation To Make Millions”
There has been relatively little attention given a remarkable ruling by United States District Court Judge Reggie Walton. In ruling that the conservative watch dog group Judicial Watch was entitled to attorneys fees, Walton found that Obama political appointees not only influenced the decision in the controversial Black Panther case but withheld documents that should have been turned over under federal law.
Continue reading “Federal Court Rules Against Obama Administration in Black Panther FOIA Case”
The fencing competition came to a halt yesterday after South Korea fencer Shin A-Lam sat weeping on the piste for over an hour after a controversial ruling in the semi-final. As the father of a couple fencers, I was not surprised by the controversy but I was surprised by one of the reasons for the delay — a lack of cash.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has ruled that the Kentucky State Bar violated the rights of John M. Berry Jr. who was threatened with an ethics charge after criticizing the state Legislative Ethics Commission. In an important victory for free speech, the panel found that the bar violated the first amendment rights of the attorney.
The swimming community in the Washington area has been rocked by news that a prominent swimming coach, Rick Curl, has been accused for having sexual relations with an underaged girl in the 1980s. The report below details a settlement under which the girl agreed to remain silent about the allegations — allowing Curl to continue to coach and participate in the U.S. Olympic team staff. USA Swimming has issued a statement on the controversy.
Continue reading “Leading USA Swimming Coach Accused Of Statutory Rape . . . 23 Years Ago”
Since prospective law professors are suing law schools on the basis of age discrimination, it did not take long for law students to follow suit. C. Michael Kamps of Rockwall, Texas, is suing Baylor Law School for age discrimination on the grounds that he went to college before the use of grade inflation — resulting in a discriminatory impact based on his age.
Continue reading “Law Student Sues Baylor For Age Discrimination”
Donald S. Dobkin, 59, has taken an unconventional approach to getting on a law faculty. Dobkin has repeatedly sued the University of Iowa and the College of Law after they turned him down for a faculty position — alleging age discrimination. Dobkin has sued Iowa before after he learned that an allegedly younger and less qualified lawyer was hired over him.
Continue reading “Lawyer Sues Iowa Over Refusal To Add Him To Law Faculty . . . Again”