Posts tagged as:

forfeiture

October 14 roundup

by Walter Olson on October 14, 2011

  • Pre-terror-attack antibiotic availability? HHS doesn’t think you’re sophisticated enough to handle that freedom [Stewart Baker]
  • Uh-oh: some New York lawmakers want “a more refined First Amendment” [Slashdot, Lucy Steigerwald]
  • Wal-Mart v. Dukes decision could curb certification of some wage and hour class actions [Fox]
  • “Miss. Supreme Court Removes Judge from $322M Asbestos Case Because of Dad’s Lawsuits” [ABA Journal]
  • Mass. town wants to seize family motel under forfeiture law, IJ objects [Jacob Sullum, Mark Perry]
  • Will FDA use its new tobacco-regulatory power to stub out cigars? [DC]
  • “Dole settles pesticide litigation” [WSJ Law Blog, background]

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September 12 roundup

by Walter Olson on September 12, 2011

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The WSJ has been doing a series on asset seizures and Tim Lynch at Cato sums up some of the highlights.

A near encounter with forfeiture madness in the Pelican State [The Newspaper]:

Under the legislation, impounded vehicles [of third-conviction litterers] would be sold at auction with the revenue split 10 percent to the towing company, 30 percent to the local police or investigative agency, 10 percent to the indigent defender board, 20 percent to the prosecutor and 30 percent to the state. The vehicle would be seized regardless of whether the offender was also the owner of the car. A bank or other lien holder on a leased car would have to pay “all towing and storage fees” before recovering their property.

According to The Newspaper, the bill passed the Louisiana state senate by a vote of 34 to 1 before its defeat 49-46 in the state House.

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March 3 roundup

by Walter Olson on March 3, 2011

  • EU imposes unisex insurance rates [BBC, Wright]
  • Law blog on the offense? TechnoLawyer asserts trademark claim against Lawyerist over “Small Law” [Lawyerist]
  • “Pro-business Supreme Court” meme strikes out yet again as SCOTUS backs “cat’s-paw” bias suit theory by 8-0-2 margin [Josh Blackman, Schwartz, Fox; Lithwick locus classicus]
  • Subprime CDO manager sues financial writer Michael Lewis over statements in his book The Big Short [AW, Salmon, Kennerly]
  • Police in Surrey, England, deny advising garden shed owners not to use wire mesh against burglars [Volokh, earlier]
  • Patterns of intimidation: protesters swarm Speaker Boehner’s private residence [Hollingsworth, Examiner] Unions fighting Wal-Mart in NYC plan actions at board members’ homes [Stoll] Report: GOP lawmakers in Wisconsin fear for personal safety [Nordlinger, NRO] White House pushing street protests [Welch, Nordlinger] Age of Civility short lived [Badger Blogger, Althouse, Sullivan]
  • In clash with trial lawyers, Cuomo proposes pain and suffering limits in med-mal suits [NYDN, more: NYT] “Bloomberg looks to Texas for ideas on changing medical malpractice laws” [City Hall News]
  • Hey, should we seize his drum set? Infuriating video on cop raids and forfeiture laws [Institute for Justice, Michigan]

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“The owners of property seized as evidence in theft cases often have to sue to get it back, even if all charges are dismissed.” [John Eligon, New York Times]

December 4 roundup

by Walter Olson on December 4, 2010

  • Will they get group discounts on lawyers? Groupon vs. MobGob patent brawl [TechCrunch]
  • Why American courts should sometimes recognize Islamic law [series of Eugene Volokh posts]
  • No, it’s not a “public health issue”: “The Case Against Motorcycle Helmet Laws” [Steve Chapman, syndicated/RCP]
  • Failed system of justice on some Indian reservations [McClelland, Mother Jones]
  • Ten years ago: Morgan Lewis & Bockius handed mlb.com domain over to its client Major League Baseball [Ross Davies, SSRN]
  • City of Boston adds insult to injury after employee runs into building [TJIC, Popehat]
  • Citing fans’ drug use, feds seek forfeiture of farm used for Grateful Dead tribute concerts [Greenfield]
  • Johann Sebastian Bach, serial copyright violator [Cavanaugh, Reason]

June 3 roundup

by Walter Olson on June 3, 2010

  • I’ve got a new post at Cato at Liberty tying together prosecutors’ demands for business forfeiture for immigration violations with proposals to criminalize employee misclassification;
  • I can’t believe it’s not a lawsuit: margarine class action melts away [Cal Biz Lit]
  • Guess what, your asbestos trial is scheduled in 11 days [Korris, MC Record]
  • “This website has to be removed”: mayor of Bordentown, N.J. wants to shut down online critic [Citizen Media Law]
  • What is a think tank and what does it do? I and others contribute answers at Allen McDuffee’s Think Tanked blog;
  • No surprise here: Insurer offers policy to cover things that go wrong in medical tourism, but won’t cover USA residents or facilities [Treatment Abroad via White Coat]
  • Pennsylvania law curbing med-mal forum-shopping disappoints lawyers who used to head for Philly or Wilkes-Barre [Sunbury, Pa. Daily Item via, again, White Coat]
  • New Haven pizzeria busted: owners let their kids work at restaurant [Amy Alkon]

“While the Government does not have experience running a French bakery, they are getting very serious about enforcing I-9 regulations.” [Greg Berk, California Labor and Employment Law Blog]

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From the Institute for Justice (via Tim Lynch, Cato-at-Liberty). More: National Law Journal.

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January 30 roundup

by Walter Olson on January 30, 2010

  • Attention journalists: a trademark opposition and a trademark lawsuit are two different things [Legal Satyricon]
  • I explain (slightly rudely) why I think the Citizens United decision will probably help the Dems this cycle [National Journal blogger poll] Plus: no big effect on campaigns? [Ann Althouse] And it’s not as if Chuck Schumer has made up his mind or anything: he’s titled his hearing on Citizens United next week “Corporate America vs. the Voter” [PoL, yet more here and here]
  • Olson and Boies should realize these are not the days of the Warren Court [Dale Carpenter, Independent Gay Forum]
  • Motorists beware Tenaha, Texas: the legal sequel [WSJ Law Blog, earlier here, etc.]
  • “Detroit Lawyer Fined For Chasing Buffalo Air Crash Victims” [Turkewitz]
  • Symbolic venue? Administration chooses to unveil new press-lenders-to-serve-minorities campaign at Jesse Jackson event [N.Y.Times]
  • Remembering pinball prohibition [Popular Mechanics back in August, Radley Balko]
  • Judge cuts “shocking”, “monstrous” $2 million award to $54,000 in Jammie Thomas-Rasset music-download suit [AmLaw Litigation Daily, earlier] Naughty librarians: “Offline Book ‘Lending’ Costs US Publishers Nearly $1 Trillion” [Eric Hellman]

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January 27 roundup

by Walter Olson on January 27, 2010

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November 18 roundup

by Walter Olson on November 18, 2009

  • “Common sense makes a comeback” against zero tolerance in the classroom [USA Today]
  • Slip at Massachusetts antiques show leads to lawsuit [Wicked Local Marion]
  • Update: Washington Supreme Court takes up horn-honking case [Lowering the Bar, earlier]
  • MICRA as model: “California’s Schwarzenegger stumps for medical liability reform” [American Medical News]
  • “Inventing a better patent system” [Pozen, NYT]
  • Google Books settlement narrowed to countries with “common legal heritage” [Sag, ConcurOp]
  • One way to make ends meet: cash-strapped Detroit cops are seizing a lot more stuff [Detroit News via Business Insider]
  • What temperatures are hot coffee actually served at? Torts buffs (including our Ted Frank) want to know [TortsProf exchange with Michael Rustad and followup, more and yet more]

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June 5 roundup

by Walter Olson on June 5, 2009

  • See you in court, ma: “Man awarded $115K after suing mom for lost pinky finger” [Obscure Store, Bergen County (N.J.) Record]
  • Please reassure us Canada’s not going to follow U.S. down abusive road of asset seizure in law enforcement [Moin Yahya and Janet Neilson, Western Standard]
  • What sorts of intellectual property norms prevail in the world of stand-up comedy? [ConcurOp]
  • “Marc Dreier’s Son Sues College Roommate for $1M” [ABA Journal]
  • Intersection of state divorce law with peripatetic military life can lead to harsh results [Bader, CEI]
  • Grape-Nuts contain neither grapes nor nuts! Cap’n Crunch isn’t a real captain! It’s not fair! [comments on our popular "Crunchberries" item]
  • “Lawyer’s ‘Contentious’ Claims Against Landlord Are Rejected” [NYLJ]
  • “Adult” won’t cut it any more, we need a new legal category, more responsible, of “grownup” [Ken at Popehat]

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March 15 roundup

by Walter Olson on March 15, 2009

  • “Intellectual Easter egg hunt”: great Michael Kinsley column on Wyeth v. Levine and FDA drug preemption [Washington Post]
  • Negligent for the Port Authority to let itself get bombed: “Jury Awards $5.46M to 1993 WTC Bomb Victim” [WINS, earlier]
  • “How following hospital quality measures can kill patients” [KevinMD]
  • Owner of Vancouver Sun suing over someone’s parody of the paper (though at least it drops the printer as a defendant) [Blog of Walker]
  • Court dismisses some counts in Billy Wolfe bullying suit against Fayetteville, Ark. schools [NW Arkansas Times, court records, earlier here and here]
  • Law bloggers were on this weeks ago, now Tenaha, Tex. cops’ use of forfeiture against motorists is developing into national story [Chicago Tribune, earlier here and here]
  • Can hostile blog posts about a plaintiff’s case be the basis for venue change? [IBLS]
  • Calls 911 because McDonald’s has run out of chicken nuggets [Lowering the Bar]

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That one Texas town’s habitual seizure of the money of motorists passing through may not have been an isolated incident [NPR, Defending People, Grits for Breakfast].

An appeals court rules against Kentucky’s seizure of 141 offshore-casino domain names [Randazza, Citizen Media Law; earlier here, here, and here] More (via comments): Bill Poser, Language Log.

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June 9 roundup

by Walter Olson on June 9, 2008

  • Florida trial lawyers have funneled millions to Gov. Charlie Crist and GOP state legislators; now guess why Orlando isn’t going to get commuter rail [Bousquet/St. Petersburg Times; Sentinel]
  • What his ex-law firm told the world was “extremely inappropriate personal conduct” was in reality no more than a “brief, consensual kiss” with co-worker, charges attorney in $90 million defamation suit; Kasowitz Benson says it was following zero tolerance policy [American Lawyer]
  • SCOTUS, 9-0, Thomas writing, narrows scope for money-laundering charges over hiding unexplained cash — but will that curb forfeiture abuse? [Grits for Breakfast, Greenfield]
  • After West Virginia high court refuses to review $405 million royalty dispute jury verdict against Chesapeake Energy and another defendant, company scraps plans to build $30 million headquarters in the state [PoL]
  • Even after discounting anti-corporate rhetoric, there does seem to be a story here about aggressive seed patent litigation tactics used by agri-giant Monsanto, a firm known to our readers [Barlett & Steele, Vanity Fair; earlier]
  • Medical liability consequences of much-promoted concept of hospital “never events” [Buckeye Surgeon]
  • Cellphone rage update: Judge Robert Restaino ousted for jailing 46 people after one of the annoying devices rang out in his Niagara Falls, N.Y. courtroom [Buffalo News, earlier]

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