Sunday, February 16, 2003 at 8:37AM This Friday (Feb. 21), the Supreme Court will decide whether to add the case to next year's docket. The case pits the rights of those who suspect Foster was murdered against the privacy interests of Foster's family, and tests the limits of the Freedom of Information Act, American Lawyer Media reports here.
Sunday, February 16, 2003 at 8:29AM New York lawyer Neal Conrad Spicehandler died in the hospital three days after suffering a fractured leg when hit by a car on a hit-and-run spree. He was "married" to his partner John Langan under Vermont's civil union law. Langan is now suing the hospital, and the suit will test whether Vermont's civil union law will be recognized in New York, or whether it will be trumped by the federal "Defense of Marriage Act," the NY Law Journal reports here.
Sunday, February 16, 2003 at 7:35AM West Virginia physician Julie McCammon alleges the lawyers have driven the cost of medical malpractice insurance through the roof by filing frivolous and meritless lawsuits against doctors. She's representing herself, according to this.
Sunday, February 16, 2003 at 7:29AM The California Attorney General's Office is questioning whether Kozinski can continue to hear death penalty cases after he corresponded with and then met inmate Michael W. Hunter. This despite the fact that Kozinski is generally considered an unwavering proponent of the death penalty. Fellow Justice Reinhardt thinks "they have to be nuts" to seek Kozinski's disqualification, the L.A. Times reports here (registration [free] required).
Saturday, February 15, 2003 at 6:29PM In dueling lawsuits over the move Why Men Shouldn't Marry, actor Sean Penn accuses producer Steve Bing of blacklisting him because of his opposition to a war in Iraq, while Bing accuses Penn of blackmailing him over a movie deal that never materialized. Read all about it here.
Saturday, February 15, 2003 at 6:18PM "The Commission on Judicial Conduct has determined that Calvin M. Westcott, a town court judge in Hancock, Delaware County, should be removed for having sex with a mentally retarded woman entrusted to his care, the New York Law Journal reports" here.
Saturday, February 15, 2003 at 6:02PM A judge has given tentative approval for a voter initiative to have Tim Eyman -- the local king of voter initiatives -- officially labeled a "horse's ass." David Goldstein, the initiative's author, "wants to call attention to what he sees as abuse of the initiative process by Eyman and others," according to this. UPDATE (3/10/02): David Goldstein has a website devoted to his "horse's ass" initiative.
Thursday, February 13, 2003 at 5:19PM Sounds like Judge Dawson, 48, may have had one too many at the bar before he had to be physically hauled out by the cops after refusing to leave, as reported here.
Thursday, February 13, 2003 at 2:45PM ABC News says it may be. Sounds like good (if annoying) news to me.
Thursday, February 13, 2003 at 1:17PM In 1997, some Florida lawyers (including lead attorney Jack Scarola of West Palm Beach) convinced about fifteen plaintiffs to opt out of a class action against Prudential concerning life insurance sales, and to pursue their claims on their own instead. At first, the plaintiffs presented a unified front. But then things started getting ugly, and never stopped. Now there's an astonishing tangle of litigation and cross-accusations, law.com reports here.
Tuesday, February 11, 2003 at 6:09AM Remember Frode Jensen, the Pillsbury Winthrop partner who was leaving for Latham & Watkins when Pillsbury management torpedoed him with a press release including allegations that he was unproductive and a sexual harasser? Well, he has sued, and the allegations of his complaint make entertaining reading. If half of what he says is true, Pillsbury is dumb, dumb, dumb.
Monday, February 10, 2003 at 2:50PM I can't attest to its veracity or authenticity, but The Smoking Gun has posted what appears to be the 1993 sworn declaration of the victim in the Michael Jackson child molestation case. Talk about some twisted allegations! Note: the document includes the alleged victim's identity, which I'm not sure I approve of. You can read it for yourself here (or not).
Monday, February 10, 2003 at 12:53PM Some workers interviewed at a mass asbestos screening conducted by a plaintiffs' firm at their union hall had this to say:
"I saw the notice in the union newsletter and said, 'Why not?'" said an automotive worker from Ford. Sitting on the tailgate of his shiny, new Chevy pickup and lighting a fresh cigarette off the one he had just finished, he added: "It's better than the lottery. If they find something, I get a few thousand dollars I didn't have. If they don't find anything, I've just lost an afternoon."
Standing nearby, a Boeing worker 10 days from retirement volunteered, "The lawyers said I could get $10,000 or $12,000 if the shadow is big enough, and I know just the fishing boat I'd buy with that."
Asked if he'd ever worked with asbestos, he said, "No, but lawyers say it's all over the place, so I was probably exposed to it."
What they don't realize is that by taking a small payment now, they sign away their rights to sue if they ever really get sick. And they're sucking up a limited pool of funds that should go to those who really need it. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch has a long article about it here .
Monday, February 10, 2003 at 12:27PM The ABA Journal has an article pondering Brobeck's collapse and what might come next, which you can read here.
Monday, February 10, 2003 at 8:23AM 