Former Justice O’Connor Not Happy With Roberts Court

She seems to have noticed what the current Court is up to:

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. — Retired Supreme Court justice Sandra Day O'Connor says she regrets that some of her decisions "are being dismantled" by the current Supreme Court.

O'Connor, who generally has avoided questions on the substance of the court under Chief Justice John Roberts, made the observation during a wide-ranging and unusually candid panel discussion over the weekend.

Source: Sandra Day O'Connor says rulings are being 'dismantled' - USATODAY.com

Anyone who thinks the Supreme Court decides major cases on law instead of values is smoking crack.

In retrospect, it seems really obvious a lawsuit was coming…

If I were an employer, and the wife of one of the most famous Constitutional law scholars worked for me, I’d make sure not to let her be sexually harassed.

In an e-mail to the Washington legal community in the summer of 2008 to announce that he and wife Kyndra Rotunda had found new jobs in California, professor Ronald Rotunda wrote an eye-catching final line: "We are...pleased to be leaving George Mason University."

Behind that less-than-fond farewell lie accusations of sexual harassment and discrimination and, ultimately, dismay that drove a noted constitutional scholar and his wife to quit their jobs at George Mason University School of Law.

Source: Law.com - Ex-Professor Sues George Mason Law School for Harassment

Justice Thomas Offers a Compelling Reason to Waive Oral argument

Honestly, if I’m ever given the chance to skip oral argument, I probably will.  Why work yourself up into a frenzy to try and distill a complicated issue down to 30 minutes of argument?  Appellate judges probably will have decided the case before the argument anyway.

In response to Olson's questions about the value of oral arguments, Thomas said that sometimes they made a difference but rarely did they change votes, and never did they make a difference on a sustained basis.

Source: Law.com - Justice Thomas Speaks About His Silence on the Bench

No one saw this one coming after D.C. v. Heller

Of course, the wingnuts will still be convinced that Obama is gonna grab all their guns.

In orders released Wednesday morning by the Supreme Court, the justices granted review in 12 new cases for the fall term, including a major sequel to the D.C. v. Heller Second Amendment decision of 2008. At issue is whether the individual right to bear arms declared in Heller applies -- or is incorporated, to use the legal term -- against state, rather than just federal laws restricting that right. The case, which will likely be argued early next year, is McDonald v. Chicago, a challenge to Chicago's handgun ban. Significantly, the Court did not act on other petitions raising similar issues, including Maloney v. Rice, an incorporation case in which Justice Sonia Sotomayor ruled while on the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Presumably those cases will await a ruling in the Chicago dispute.

Source: Law.com - Supreme Court Grants Review in Chicago Handgun Ban Case

Accuracy and truth are not the same?

Well, I guess it’s better than just showing up to court and shrugging your shoulders, but this argument doesn’t persuade me.

The prosecutors from U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald's office on Sept. 18 filed a motion for reconsideration in the case, telling U.S. District Judge Joan Lefkow that the government witness who she determined gave false testimony at the trial actually "was truthful, but inaccurate." When taking into account additional evidence not cited in Lefkow's decision and viewing the case as a whole, no finding of misconduct is justified, the prosecutors argued.

Source: Law.com - Prosecutors Defend False Testimony as 'Truthful, but Inaccurate'

Will Congress Undo The Supreme Court’s Iqbal Decision?

We often hear a lot of complaints about “judicial activism.”  Definitions vary, but most would agree that it occurs when a judge or judges substitute their own judgment instead of the law.  The Supreme Court’s Iqbal decision is a double dose of judicial activism.  First, the Supreme Court ignored decades of existing case law to make new rules.  Second, the rules they made invite future judges to subjectively decide whether to dismiss a case without any reference to guiding principles.  Perhaps Congress will undo it:

On May 18, the U.S. Supreme Court gave corporate defendants a gift that keeps on giving: the Iqbal decision, which has made it easier than ever for defendants to shut down lawsuits before they get to the costly discovery stage.

Now, four months later, civil rights and consumer groups and trial lawyers are beginning to push back. They met on Sept. 14 in Washington, D.C., to lay plans for a two-pronged battle to undo what they see as a devastating blow to their lifeblood litigation. The campaign will be aimed at Congress as well as the rulemaking process for federal courts. Hearings are being planned for October in the House and the Senate.

"This ruling has threatened to upend the way we have been doing things for a very long time," said John Payton of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, which is part of the growing coalition. "The alarm is quite real."

Source: Law.com - Plaintiffs Groups Mount Effort to Undo Supreme Court's 'Iqbal' Ruling

Tardive Dyskinesia and Primary Pulmonary Hypertension

What do those two illnesses have in common?  They can both be caused pharmaceutical products.

Tardive Dyskinesia is a movement disorder that particularly affects the face.  People who suffer from it can’t control their lips and eyes.  It can cause people to make some really awful looking faces.  Tardive Dyskinesia is a known side effect of Reglan, or its generic form, Metoclopramide.  Reglan is generally prescribed for people who have Gastroesophageal reflux disease.  However, usage of Reglan for more than 12 weeks greatly increases your risk of movement disorders such as Tardive Dyskinesia.

Primary Pulmonary Hypertension, or PPH, is abnormally high blood pressure in the arteries of the lungs.  One of the causes of PPH is even short-term usage of Fen Phen.  Even short term use of Pondimin or Redux can cause a person to develop PPH.  The scary thing is that you might not develop PPH until many years after you stopped taking one of the drugs.  That’s why lawyers are just now starting to file PPH lawsuits.

If you think you’ve developed a movement disorder from taking Reglan, or PPH from taking Fen Phen or another weight loss drug, email me at justinian at justinian dot US.  I’d love to help you find an attorney to help you hold the manufacturer responsible.

Tort Reform, Health Care Reform, and Socialism

Brian Wilson has a great post about the contradictory stance some people have on all of the above.

And while we're on the topic of "socialism," those opposing health care reform have recently begun to argue that the federal govenmnent has no constitutional right to even pass federal health care reforms; rather this whole issue should be left to the states, they chirp. Yet, out of the other corner of their mouths, these same interest groups are DEMANDING intervention of the federal government in passing federal "tort reform" with the principal argument that your individual rights to hold wrongdoers accountable should be limited "for the good of the whole" so that insurance companies can save money and (certainly) pass all those savings on to all of us. Gee, this sounds like...socialism? Government stay out of health care reform, yet pass federal legislation that limits the rights of all Americans? Perhaps the medical interest groups lobbying for these mixed messages should look up the definition of schizophrenia: "a state characterized by the coexistence of contradictory or incompatible elements."

Source: The Nicodemo & Wilson Bull's-Eye Blog: Tort Reform Won't Lower Health Care Costs...And... It's Socialism!

Dems can learn a thing or two from McCain

I don’t think he can run the country, but he can run his town hall meetings:

PHOENIX - Sen. John McCain met with an angry crowd at a town-hall meeting about health care reform Wednesday, sometimes having to fight to talk and telling one woman who wouldn't stop yelling that she had to leave.

The Arizona senator hadn't yet opened up the meeting at McCain's central Phoenix church to questions when one audience member continuously yelled over him.

"You're going to have to stop or you're going to have to leave," McCain told the woman. When security guards approached to escort her out, he told her "Goodbye, see ya" to a round of applause.

Source: McCain evicts angry woman from town hall - Health care reform- msnbc.com

Note to Dems: When you’re faced with screaming/shouting/disruptive citizens, kick them out.  There’s a difference between a spirited discussion and a shouting match.  Welcome the former, and refuse to engage in the latter. 

Sure, Fox News will accuse you of trying to censor the opposition, but the only way to please Fox would be to resign.  So take a page from John McCain and refuse to allow angry asshats to ruin your town hall meetings.

Curious About Tort Reform?

One of the topics that keeps coming up again and again in the health care debate is whether or not we need to change the civil justice system. Many people proposing these changes call it tort reform. Others, like myself, call it tort "reform" or tort deform, because we believe that the these so-called reforms have more to do with protecting profits than reforming anything.

I've put together a website that explains what many of the words mean. For example:

Statute of Limitations
Summary Judgment
Damage Caps

Or, follow this link to learn more about tort reform.

Tips For The First Day of Law School

I know that law school starts for some schools tomorrow, and for others on next Monday.  The first day of any semester is always the most important because it determines who you’ll end up sitting next to.

I know you’re probably over-eager to be a superstar, but take my advice: Find a seat near the back of the class.  We all have off days, and on those days, it’s nice not to be four feet away from the professor.  He or she can easily tell if you’re goofing off or just out of it, and will therefore call on you.

It’s also nice to sit near the back so you can see what other people are doing on their laptops.  One girl I had in several classes did nothing except for surf TMZ and Perez Hilton.  Another person spent a lot of time perusing Match.com.  And half of the class spent at least part of the time using Facebook.  Being in the back means that (a) you can see them goof off, and (b) they can’t see you do it.

You’ll also want to try to find a seat somewhat near the aisle.  Some people take an inordinately long amount of time to pack up and get out of class, and you don’t want to be stuck waiting for them.  If you’re one of those people, don’t sit near the aisle and hold everyone up.

Try not to sit next to anyone you find yourself attracted to.  You don’t need that kind of distraction.  And while you’re at it, make yourself this promise right now: “I don’t care how hot or rich my fellow law students are, I will not date them or sleep with them.”  It will save you and everyone else a lot of drama and hassle.  Think of how uncomfortable it will be if you nail the person you’re sitting next to, break up, and then have to sit next to them for the rest of the semester.

You know what I wore on my first day of class?  Jeans and a t-shirt along with a pair of nice shoes.  Don’t over think your first day wardrobe.  It’s law school, not a fashion show.  If you’re a guy and you show up in a suit, everyone will think you’re a d-bag.  If you’re a girl and you show up in a short skirt and/or a tight blouse, everyone will think you’re a slut.  Yes, it matters (to some extent) what your classmates think of you.  But it matters more what they think of your legal ability than your fashion sense.  And for God’s sake, don’t worry about impressing the prof.  You’re paying hundreds of dollars for every hour you’re in class – he or she should therefore worry about impressing you.

As for trying to impress everyone with your class prep?  Don’t bother.  Here’s how it works: If you see someone who obviously spent less time than you preparing for class, that person is an idiot for not taking law school seriously.  If you see someone who obviously spent more time than you preparing for class, then that person is an idiot for taking so long to “get it.”  Don’t worry about impressing anyone.  Especially since everyone is going to either (a) lie to you or (b) refuse to tell you about how they did on the final exam anyway.

My last and most important tips are these: Don’t show up late on the first day, and make sure your cell phone is off or on silent.  You really don’t want to show up late or have your cell phone go off in class.  If you do both on the first day, you may as well drop out.

Lawsuit filed against college for allowing a culture of drug and alcohol abuse

The lawsuit is against Utah State University:

Utah State University officials long tolerated "a culture of drug and alcohol abuse" at a fraternity house where a teenage freshman pledge died of alcohol poisoning after an alleged hazing last fall, his family claims in a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Logan's 1st District Court.

The Sigma Nu fraternity chapter had long been the scene of misconduct, including an alcohol-related suicide by hanging, underage drinking, arson, thefts, vandalism, false fire alarms and assaults, contend lawyers representing the teen's parents, Jane and George Starks, of Salt Lake City.

Here's the rest of the article.

Isn't the whole point of joining a fraternity to become part of a culture of drug and alcohol abuse?

Legal Reader Reborn!

My name is Justinian Lane, and I've been a fan of LegalReader.com for many years. When I saw a few months ago that John's interest in the site had waned, I offered to take it over. The two of us procrastinated taking it any further, but he's now officially passed the torch to me and I'm proud to be pick up where he left off.

If you have comments, suggestions, etc. for me, I'd love to hear them. My plans are to continue this site as an irreverent blog focused mainly on the law, and as John said, "Other Fancy Stuff."

It will take me a little bit of time to learn the ins-and-outs of Moveable Type, but I anticipate adding goodies to this blog like a Google Reader widget, etc.

I plan on keeping all of the content on this site, but if there's anything here you really love, you might want to make a backup copy "just in case." Some of the ads and the "I plan on voting for Obama" button will go away, though. (Although the latter may come back in 2011.)

I'd like to personally thank John for the hard work he put into this, and hope to continue providing the fine content he did.

Thoughts on Gay Pride Day

[I first published this 6 years ago, in 2003. I thought I would bump it back to the top of the list.]

Tomorrow (Sunday) is the annual Gay Pride Parade down Market Street in my home town, San Francisco. I moved here nine years ago to attend law school. That June, my then-girlfriend and I went to see the Parade for the first time.

I think we were hoping to see outrageous behaviour from people dressed in leather and various acts of public indecency, just for the thrill factor. What we saw instead warmed my heart.

For example, I saw a large contingent of gay San Francisco Police officers -- men and women -- marching proudly down Market Street, in uniform, some riding in official police vehicles with lights flashing and sirens wailing to excite the crowd. Better yet, I saw tens of thousands of San Franciscans leap to their feet to loudly cheer their gay policemen and policewomen. In fact, the official, uniformed folk - police and firefighters, etc. - got some of the most animated applause of the day.

Just forty short years ago, the police were beating the crap out of people for being gay at Stonewall. Today, gay policemen (and women) are cheered in the streets by the general public, gay and straight alike. That's progress, as the Supreme Court finally saw this week in Lawrence v. Texas.

It's a big week for Gay Pride. I hope (and fully expect) that Sunday will be one hell of a party. Congratulations!!!

Why Are There No Black Gummy Bears?

I'd never thought about this before. Is it a racist conspiracy? My cat is black, and I'm certain that if he liked Gummy Bears he would be pissed off about it too.