Overlawyered » domestic violence

April 25 roundup

Walter Olson — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 04:15:01 +0000

Eugene Volokh on civil liberties problems with the Violence Against Women Act reauthorization [first, second posts]
More coverage of the “N.C. vs. diet advice blogger” story we noted in February [Sara Burrows/Carolina Journal, Brian Doherty/Reason]
A case for an administrative alternative to asbestos litigation [Michael Hiltzik, L.A. Times] More on administered compensation funds [Adam Zimmerman, Prawfs]
Scuttle-the-boat insurance fraud scheme goes amusingly wrong [Lowering the Bar]
“To lower prices at the pump, abolish the boutique fuel regime” [Steven Hayward, Weekly Standard]
Supreme Court denies certiorari in NYC rent control case [Trevor Burrus, Cato; earlier here and here] But it does grant cert in Cato-backed property rights action [Ark. Fish & Game v. U.S.; Shapiro]
New Zealand’s innovative public policies: left, right or something else? [Eric Crampton] Let’s be more like the Scandinavian countries [Tim Worstall, UK] Don’t forget loser-pays…

Tags: asbestos, bloggers and the law, domestic violence, eat drink and be merry, insurance fraud, loser pays, New Zealand, North Carolina, oil industry, Supreme Court, Sweden, Victim Compensation Fund

April 25 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

New Massachusetts restraining-order law

Walter Olson — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 05:01:35 +0000

A new Massachusetts law that went into effect last year allows neighbors and other unrelated complainants to seek restraining orders against each other, a legal remedy formerly confined mostly to use between family members. But there’s been a surge of filings seeking the new “harassment prevention orders,” and according to the clerk of the Boston municipal court, the law has wound up empowering “every kook in the world” to “file a harassment order against their neighbor or landlord or someone who just annoys them.” Among cases: “One man took his neighbor to Malden District Court for allegedly blowing leaves on his property, and a woman in Boston Municipal Court insisted that actor Chuck Norris used high frequency radio transmissions to harass her at home.” [Boston Globe]

Tags: domestic violence, harassment law, Massachusetts

New Massachusetts restraining-order law is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

February 7 roundup

Walter Olson — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 05:13:26 +0000

Paper by Lester Brickman previews his much-anticipated new book Lawyer Barons [Mass Tort Lit, SSRN] More: Sheila Scheuerman, TortsProf.
“A Players’ Class Action Against the NFL for Concussions?” [Russell Jackson]
C’mon, DoJ, stop spreading domestic violence myths [Christina Hoff Sommers, USA Today]
“Historians as Experts: A Plea for Help” [Bill Childs, TortsProf; related, Nathan Schachtman]
Might not really work, though: “A call for aviation liability reform in South Dakota” [PoL]
“Chevron Turns Tables on Ecuador Plaintiffs; Sues Them” [WSJ Law Blog, ShopFloor, more, yet more, NYLJ]
Hedge funder plays race card against NYC’s famed Dakota co-op. How plausibly? [Business Insider]
N.C. official: citizen who challenged road plans might be practicing engineering without a license [N&O]

Tags: aviation, Chevron, domestic violence, expert witnesses, football, Lester Brickman, real estate, South Dakota

February 7 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Fateful friending

Walter Olson — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 05:20:21 +0000

A Florida man was arrested for violating a protective order prohibiting contact with his estranged spouse after he attempted to “friend” her on Facebook [Slatest via Josh Blackman]

Tags: domestic violence, Facebook

Fateful friending is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

France makes “psychological violence” a crime

Walter Olson — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 12:36:44 +0000

Ken at Popehat laments, “My Entire Existence Is Now Against The Law In France.” [New York Times]

Tags: bullying, domestic violence, France

France makes “psychological violence” a crime is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

“Lawsuit accuses GPS firm of aiding domestic abuse”

Walter Olson — Tue, 04 May 2010 11:24:10 +0000

“Jane Doe” has sued a Missouri company, Foxtrax Vehicle Tracking Inc., in a Wisconsin court, saying it aided and abetted her domestic partner in tracking her whereabouts, thus enabling him to commit assault and battery on her. [Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel via Masnick/TechDirt and Siouxsie Law]

Tags: domestic violence, technology

“Lawsuit accuses GPS firm of aiding domestic abuse” is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Tiger Woods and domestic violence law

Walter Olson — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 02:34:35 +0000

Everyone else in the country has been talking about it, we may as well too. [Hanna Rosin, Slate via WSJ Law Blog] Another view: Cathy Young, Real Clear Politics.

Tags: domestic violence, golf

Tiger Woods and domestic violence law is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Persons accused of domestic violence have right to hearing

Walter Olson — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 18:34:21 +0000

That’s a more controversial proposition than you might think; the Connecticut Supreme Court was split 5-2 in agreeing that a hearing was necessary to confirm the validity of a protective order against a defendant who has been accused but not convicted. The case pitted the state ACLU against the Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence. [Connecticut Law Tribune via Amy Alkon]

Tags: ACLU, Connecticut, domestic violence

Persons accused of domestic violence have right to hearing is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

United Airlines liquor service caused husband to beat wife

Walter Olson — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 19:43:19 +0000

Such is the contention of Yoichi and Ayisha Shimamoto, who are suing UAL “for ‘negligently’ overserving alcohol during a flight from Osaka, Japan, to San Francisco, saying the carrier’s drinks fueled the domestic violence involving the two shortly after their plane landed.” (Julie Johnsson, “Couple accuse United Airlines of overserving husband, causing him to beat wife”, Chicago Tribune, Dec. 17).

Tags: airlines, alcohol, domestic violence, dramshop statutes

United Airlines liquor service caused husband to beat wife is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Judge locks up 46 people over ringing cellphone

Walter Olson — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:08:05 +0000

Jurists behaving badly dept.:

According to the commission report, [Niagara Falls, N.Y. city court judge Robert] Restaino was presiding over a domestic-violence case when a ringing mobile phone interrupted proceedings. When no one took responsibility for the ringing phone, Restaino ordered that court security officers search for the device.

About 70 defendants were in the courtroom that day to take part in a monitoring program for domestic violence offenders. … After all the defendants denied having the phone or knowing who it belonged to, Restaino sent 46 people to jail. Fourteen who were unable to make bail were handcuffed and jailed for several hours.

The New York state Commission on Judicial Conduct removed Restaino from office Tuesday, calling his action “a gross deviation from the proper role of a judge.” (Janine Brady, “Panel gives judge a ringing rebuke”, CNN, Nov. 28; Elefant, Nov. 28).

Tags: crime and punishment, domestic violence

Judge locks up 46 people over ringing cellphone is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system