Overlawyered » Chicago

April 23 roundup

Walter Olson — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 04:07:43 +0000

Fearful of adverse Supreme Court ruling, Department of Justice said to have exercised pressure on city of St. Paul to buckle in housing-disparate-impact case [Kevin Funnell]
Justice Janice Rogers Brown: we can dream, can’t we? [Weigel] The Brown/Sentelle opinion everyone’s talking about, questioning rational basis review of economic regulation [Hettinga v. U.S., milk regulations; Fisher, Kerr]
Claim: “The Bachelor” TV franchise discriminates on basis of race [Jon Hyman]
Chicago sold off municipal parking garages. Good. It also promised to disallow proposals for private parking nearby. Not good [Urbanophile]
Bad day in court for Zimmerman prosecution [Tom Maguire, more, Merritt]
“I want some systematic contacts wherever your long arm can reach” — hot-’n'-heavy CivPro music video satire [ConcurOp, language]
Federal judge dismisses charge against man who advocated jury nullification outside courthouse [Lynch, Sullum, earlier]

Tags: broadcasters, Chicago, competition through regulation, disparate impact, fair housing, jury nullification, Martin-Zimmerman case, procedure, Supreme Court

April 23 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

April 18 roundup

Walter Olson — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 04:05:17 +0000

“MPAA: you can infringe copyright just by embedding a video” [Timothy Lee, Ars Technica]
NYC: fee for court-appointed fire department race-bias monitor is rather steep [Reuters]
Larry Schonbron on VW class action [Washington Times] Watch out, world: “U.S. class action lawyers look abroad” [Reuters] Deborah LaFetra, “Non-injury class actions don’t belong in federal court” [PLF]
Will animal rights groups have to pay hefty legal bill after losing Ringling Bros. suit? [BLT]
You shouldn’t need a lobbyist to build a house [Mead, Yglesias]
“Astorino and Westchester Win Against Obama’s HUD” [Brennan, NRO] My two cents [City Journal] Why not abolish HUD? [Kaus]
“Community organized breaking and entering,” Chicago style [Kevin Funnell; earlier, NYC]

Tags: animal rights, bloggers and the law, Chicago, class action settlements, class actions, fair housing, land use and zoning, loser pays, mortgages, movies film and videos, NYC, real estate

April 18 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Cook County jail lockdown settlement

Walter Olson — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 19:22:57 +0000

“The Cook County Board on Tuesday agreed to pay more than $1 million in taxpayer money to settle a federal lawsuit brought by female County Jail inmates who said their civil rights were violated during repeated weekend lockdowns at the massive detention facility. The bulk of the settlement — $850,000 — will go to attorneys who represented the four inmates in the nine-year court case. Two inmates won federal judgments totaling $143,000, and the county opted to pay two others $5,000 to end the suit. … In addition to the $1 million settlement, the county spent at least $732,144 over the years to pay an outside firm to defend it against the suit, according to county records.” The plaintiffs had failed in a bid for class action status. [Chicago Tribune]

Tags: attorneys' fees, Chicago, prisoners, taxpayers

Cook County jail lockdown settlement is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Prosecution roundup

Walter Olson — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 16:08:03 +0000

Six-year-old charged with sexual assault [Channel3000.com, Wisconsin; Radley Balko]
“Beware: Cities Hunting You Down For Reagan-Era Parking Tickets” [David Kiley, AOL]
Waco, Texas: “McLennan DA fights DNA testing because exonerations override juries” [Grits for Breakfast] Robert Mosteller, “Failures of the Prosecutor’s Duty to ‘Do Justice’ in Extraordinary and Ordinary Miscarriages of Justice” [Legal Ethics Forum]
Controlled substances: “Could a US lawyer lawfully counsel clients about this proposed new law?” [John Steele, LEF]
Mens rea erosion a “deeply troublesome trend” [Kevin LaCroix on WSJ] “Trial penalty,” long sentence minimums give prosecutors muscle to extract plea deals [NYT, Sullum] “Settlements feed U.S. prosecutor overreach” [Reynolds Holding, Reuters BreakingViews] “Responsible corporate officer doctrine” worries pharma defense lawyers [WSJ Law Blog] “The continuing quest to criminalize business judgment” [Kirkendall]
“More than three-quarters of turn-of-the-century Chicago homicides led to no criminal punishment — not because the perpetrator could not be identified, but because no jury would convict.” [William Stuntz's posthumous book via Cowen]
“Scalia criticizes narcotics laws” [for over-federalization] [WSJ]

Tags: Chicago, crime and punishment, illegal drugs, prosecution, traffic laws

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

November 4 roundup

Walter Olson — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 10:29:23 +0000

“Kentucky antidiscrimination law doesn’t bar discrimination based on litigiousness” [Volokh]
“Lawyer sues to stop fireworks show; now wants $756K in fees from taxpayers” [CJAC, San Diego]
Leahy bill reauthorizing VAWA (Violence Against Women Act) includes language codifying OCR assault on campus due process [Bader, Daily Caller, Inside Higher Ed, FIRE, earlier here, here]
“One-Ninth the Freedom Kids Used To Have” [Free-Range Kids] “WARNING: Baby in pram! Anything could happen!” [same]
New Zealand considers criminalizing breaches of fiduciary duty [Prof. Bainbridge]
From libertarian Steve Chapman, a favorable rating for Rahm Emanuel as Chicago mayor [Chicago Tribune]
Did California privacy legislation just regulate bloggers? [Eric Goldman, Paul Alan Levy]

Tags: attorneys' fees, bloggers and the law, California, Chicago, discrimination law, New Zealand, privacy

November 4 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Labor and employment law roundup

Walter Olson — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 05:18:04 +0000

Ohio vote looms on Wisconsin-style public labor reform [NRO Corner, Columbus Dispatch, Atlantic Wire, Buckeye Institute "S.B. 5", Brian Bolduc/NRO]
Florida lawmaker proposes leave for some employees with domestically abused pets [Eric Meyer]
UK proposal: let employers have frank talks with underperforming workers without fear of liability [Telegraph]
“Wisconsin legislation could restrict punitive damages for job bias” [AP]
No, your mover can’t enter the building: a Chicago lawyer encounters union power [Howard Foster, Frum Forum] An insider’s game: “Two teachers union lobbyists teach for a day to qualify for hefty pensions” [Chicago Tribune]
Alternatively, we might just want to go back to freedom of contract: “An employer’s bill of rights” [Hyman]
Michael Fox on “Healthy Workplace Act” proposal creating rights to sue over on-job bullying [Jottings]
Feds put employer use of “independent contractors” under microscope [Omega HR] FLSA risks to employer of using unpaid interns [SmartHR]
A bit of health care deregulation from Obama [Tyler Cowen] Related on nurse practitioners: [Goodman]

Tags: bullying, Chicago, labor unions, wage and hour suits, Wisconsin, workplace

Labor and employment law roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Upcoming Midwest speeches

Walter Olson — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 05:23:47 +0000

Tomorrow, Tuesday, I’ll be on a lunchtime panel at Capital University Law School in Columbus to discuss Gov. John Kasich’s proposals for revamping public-employee labor law in Ohio. And next Tuesday, I’ll be in Chicago speaking at an Illinois Policy Institute breakfast on my new book on legal academia, Schools for Misrule (sign up here). Afterward, I’ll talk with students at Northwestern thanks to a kind invitation from the Federalist Society.

To book me for a speech at your group, contact Diane Morris at dmorris – at – cato – dot -org or contact me directly at editor – at – overlawyered – dot – com.

Tags: Chicago, live in person

Upcoming Midwest speeches is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Fall speaking (and your chance to book): Chicago, S.C., Denver…

Walter Olson — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 17:02:50 +0000

I’m currently planning speaking trips that will take me to Chicago Nov. 7-8, Greenville, S.C. Dec. 7, Denver Dec. 13, and possibly Phoenix Dec. 1. If you’ve got a speaker’s series or organization that’s in one of these places or an easy travel jump away, consider saving on travel expenses by booking me for a talk around these dates. You can contact me directly at editor – [at] – overlawyered – dot – com or Diane Morris at the Cato Institute: dmorris – [at] – cato – dot – org.

Tags: Chicago, Denver, live in person, Phoenix, South Carolina

Fall speaking (and your chance to book): Chicago, S.C., Denver… is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

August 29 roundup

Walter Olson — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 16:44:12 +0000

Even before federal raid on Gibson, Lacey Act scared owners of vintage instruments: “I don’t go out of the country with a wooden guitar.” [Eric Felten/WSJ, AW, PoL, Trevor Burrus/Cato]
Dear NYT contributor Bakan: getting your kids’ attention may not require overthrowing world corporate economy [Nancy French, NR "Home Front"] More: Sullum.
“West Memphis Three” freed [Damon Root, Greenfield]
Forest Labs case: after outcry, feds drop effort to force firing of drug company CEO not charged with wrongdoing [WSJ, WLF] Background: Charles Hooper & David Henderson, Hoover (“The FDA’s War on Drugs”), The Economist (“The government seeks to sack an innocent boss”, Diana Furchtgott-Roth, Steve McConnell/Drug and Device Law, Josh Wright/Truth on the Market]
Google paid dearly in smartphone deal for our dysfunctional patent system [Gordon Crovitz] “Google Should Publicly Oppose Software Patents” [Timothy Lee, Forbes]
Lawyer’s suit: Kasowitz firm ignored his “superior legal mind” [Lowering the Bar, Above the Law]
“In Chicago, You Need a License To Help Others Get a License” [Mark Perry]

Tags: cellphones, Chicago, child protection, environment, Google, music and musicians, patent quality, pharmaceuticals

August 29 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

August 2 roundup

Walter Olson — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 13:45:48 +0000

Yikes! “House Committee Approves Bill Mandating That Internet Companies Spy on Their Users” [EFF; Julian Sanchez, New York Post/Cato and podcast]
Australia courts skeptical about claim that sex injury is covered under workers’ comp [Herald Sun]
Well-off community doesn’t need annual HUD grant, seeks to sell it [Dan Mitchell]
Report: playful City Museum in St. Louis has taken down signs criticizing lawyers [Bill Childs/TortsProf, earlier]
Chicago neurosurgeons pay $4500 a week in med-mal premiums, blame lawless Illinois Supreme Court [Medill Reports] Supreme Court declines to review Feres doctrine, which shields military doctors (among others) from suits [Stars and Stripes] Why is the most widely cited number of medical-misadventure deaths such an outlier? [White Coat; more here, here, etc.]
After “Facebook broken heart” suit, will pre-nups for Mafia Wars relationships be next? [Tri-Cities Herald]
Another horrific report of poppy seed positive drug test followed by child-grabbing [Radley Balko]

Tags: Australia, Chicago, Child Protective Services, Facebook, illegal drugs, medical malpractice, workers' compensation

August 2 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system