Overlawyered » Bay Area

Lawyer-dad: so what if my son cheated?

Walter Olson — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 04:11:38 +0000

“The parents of a Peninsula high school sophomore are suing the school district for kicking the teenager out of an honors class because he cheated.” Jack Berghouse and his wife do not dispute that their son committed plagiarism, but their lawsuit claims “the school’s policies regarding punishment for cheating are vague and contradictory and shouldn’t be enforced.” [KCBS, KGO, San Jose Mercury News]

Tags: Bay Area, schools

Lawyer-dad: so what if my son cheated? is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Free speech roundup

Walter Olson — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 23:11:10 +0000

Berkeley: “Police chief sends sergeant to reporter’s home after midnight to demand article revision” [Poynter] In 1932, a New York Congressman convened a hearing to blast theater critics for harming the welfare of Broadway shows [Philip Scranton, Bloomberg]
“Blasphemy and free speech” [Paul Marshall, Hillsdale "Imprimis," PDF] “Egyptian Christian Imprisoned for 6 Years for Insulting Mohammed” [Volokh]
What is it about Montana and election free speech these days? [Volokh] Judge denies Ron Paul campaign request to unmask source of anti-Huntsman video [Paul Alan Levy, earlier] “Eliot Spitzer Bucks Liberal Orthodoxy: ‘Citizens United Was Correct’” [TheDC] If you rely on the NY Times for what you know about Citizens United, you’re probably misinformed [Wendy Kaminer, Atlantic]
“In which Ben Bagdikian, alleged scourge of media monopolies, frets at the possibility of more TV channels” [BBC via Jesse Walker]
Guernsey as a haven for libel tourism? [Annie Machon] “Someday I will commission a study of the relationship between defamation lawsuit threats and illiteracy.” [@Popehat on Gawker item]
“Key Techdirt SOPA/PIPA Post Censored By Bogus DMCA Takedown Notice” [Mike Masnick]
Overly aggressive trademark lawyers? “Their mothers love them too, in a prone-to-sudden-weeping sort of way.” [Popehat; earlier on Louis Vuitton v. Penn Law case]

Tags: Bay Area, broadcasters, campaign regulation, Eliot Spitzer, free speech, libel slander and defamation, Montana, police, trademarks

Free speech roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Divorce detective’s DUI entrapment

Walter Olson — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 05:23:36 +0000

“A whistle-blower tells how a private detective arranged for men to be arrested for drunk driving at the behest of their ex-wives and their lawyers — and that entrapment using decoys was only one of many alleged misdeeds.” [L.A. Times; Contra Costa County (Bay Area), Calif.]

Tags: alcohol, Bay Area, divorce

Divorce detective’s DUI entrapment is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Ban on smoking by renters

Walter Olson — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 05:09:59 +0000

The Bay Area town of Larkspur plans to forbid most apartment and condominium tenants from smoking in their own units. [Marin Independent Journal; related]

Tags: Bay Area, real estate, smoking bans

Ban on smoking by renters is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Radio: Dennis Prager show today, Ronn Owens show tomorrow

Walter Olson — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 11:31:27 +0000

I’m scheduled to be a guest on two of the nation’s leading radio programs, both California-based: Dennis Prager’s today (Tuesday) (broadcast times vary; find a station), and Ronn Owens at San Francisco’s KGO AM 810 tomorrow (Wednesday) at 11 a.m. Pacific. Tune in and listen!

P.S. Both shows were a pleasure; host Prager generously singled out the book as “so devastating” and “mandatory reading,” and said it was “difficult to overstate the importance of this book.”

Tags: accolades, Bay Area, California, on TV and radio, San Francisco

Radio: Dennis Prager show today, Ronn Owens show tomorrow is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Judge tosses exploding-snail case

Walter Olson — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 20:59:09 +0000

The complainants never established what the restaurant did wrong, or how it breached a legal duty, in the unfortunate episode of squirting garlic butter. [Marin Independent Journal, earlier]

Tags: Bay Area, food safety, restaurants

Judge tosses exploding-snail case is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

“In San Rafael, ‘exploding’ escargot ignite saucy lawsuit”

Walter Olson — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 05:14:11 +0000

The little-known dangers of snails as a menu item: it seems the interior can be under pressure and squirt hot garlic butter. [Marin County, Calif. Independent Journal]

More: Legal Blog Watch (citing “no less robust a source than Overlawyered”); Cal Biz Lit (with proposed “Danger: Snails May Explode” warning)

Tags: Bay Area, restaurants

“In San Rafael, ‘exploding’ escargot ignite saucy lawsuit” is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Oakland: “Suspect shot by cops sues”

Walter Olson — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 11:58:03 +0000

“A drug suspect who was shot and critically wounded after he crashed his car into another vehicle and struck a police officer at the end of a chase in East Oakland is suing the city for $1.5 million.” [Henry K. Lee, San Francisco Chronicle]

Tags: Bay Area, police

Oakland: “Suspect shot by cops sues” is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

28 felony counts in California crash-faking indictment

Walter Olson — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 23:06:56 +0000

“For several years, [defendant Susana] Chung ‘acted as the conduit’ of fraudulent insurance claims filed in connection with staged crashes in Northern California, said Larry Blazer, an Alameda County assistant district attorney.” Nearly 100 persons, mostly “victims” of bogus accidents but also including three chiropractors, have been found guilty in the scheme. [San Francisco Chronicle, Oakland Tribune via ABA Journal]

Tags: Bay Area, California, crash faking, insurance fraud, San Francisco

28 felony counts in California crash-faking indictment is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Illicit Christmas woodburning

Walter Olson — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 13:11:38 +0000

A Bay Area crackdown nets 47 holiday violators of the fireplace ban [Contra Costa Times via David Freddoso, Examiner] Earlier here, here, etc.

Tags: Bay Area, environment

Illicit Christmas woodburning is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system