Overlawyered: Chronicling The High Cost Of Our Legal System

January 22 roundup

  • Early reactions to Supreme Court’s blockbuster Citizens United ruling striking down ban on independent election advocacy [Point of Law, more, yet more]
  • Vision Media Television Group continues its legal push against online critics, Section 230 or no [Consumer Law & Policy, earlier]
  • Big FBI sting operation could leave firearms business “wounded”, some say [Point of Law]
  • Runaway’s suit against McKeesport, Pa. school district dismissed on statute of limitations grounds [AP/Law.com]
  • “Sandra Day O’Connor Backs Campaign to End Judicial Elections” [Schwartz, NY Times, my two cents]
  • “Sheriff Joe’s Enabler” [Radley Balko on Maricopa County D.A. Andrew Peyton Thomas; earlier here, here, etc.]
  • Why some D.C. lawyers make so much money year in, year out [Hill & Lat, Washingtonian, quotes Ted; Ribstein and more]
  • “Hampshire woman jailed for false rape claim” [BBC]
  • P.S. At this point, politically, Dems almost have to pass something labeled health care reform whether or not the resulting legislation makes any sense [my comment in National Journal blogger’s poll, more]

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2 Comments

  • It sounds like there are multiple grounds for disbarring Andrew Thomas, an approach that has the virtue that the process can be handled outside of his jurisdiction, preventing him or Arpaio from using their positions to retaliate. For instance, Arizona Ethics Rule 8.2 (a) states that:
    “A lawyer shall not make a statement that the lawyer knows to be false or with reckless disregard as to its truth or falsity concerning the qualifications or integrity of a judge, adjudicatory officer or public legal officer, or of a candidate for election or appointment to judicial or legal office.” Several of his attacks on judges would seem to be good candidates for violations of this rule.

  • Do multinational corporations now have the same rights that I do? Or even essentially foreign corporations – they can always claim a stake in the US. Does China have equal speech rights because they own our debt?
    From a different point of view, if I start a corporation do I get two voices? Or is that only if I’m a ventriloquist. Or how about two distinct opinions? Can I only have two distinct opinions if I’m a … never mind.

    • By D