Overlawyered » judges http://overlawyered.com Chronicling the high cost of our legal system Tue, 14 Feb 2012 11:28:52 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 Getting a bad judge off the bench http://overlawyered.com/2012/02/getting-a-bad-judge-off-the-bench/ http://overlawyered.com/2012/02/getting-a-bad-judge-off-the-bench/#comments Mon, 13 Feb 2012 03:47:01 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=27551 Sinking deeper into substance abuse, a prominent Tennessee judge spins ever further out of control. How long does it take before he’s removed and the public alerted to his problem? Way too long for comfort [Knoxville News Sentinel]

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]]> http://overlawyered.com/2012/02/getting-a-bad-judge-off-the-bench/feed/ 0 Defense: Judge’s “Mr. Guilty” slip-up was prejudicial http://overlawyered.com/2012/01/defense-judges-mr-guilty-slip-up-was-prejudicial/ http://overlawyered.com/2012/01/defense-judges-mr-guilty-slip-up-was-prejudicial/#comments Fri, 06 Jan 2012 15:34:44 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=26648 The defense says a new trial is warranted by an Ontario judge’s advice to jurors that the presumption of innocence “is only defeated if, and when, Crown counsel has satisfied you beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Guilty – I’m sorry, that Mr. Wilson – is guilty of the crime charged.” [Globe and Mail]

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]]> http://overlawyered.com/2012/01/defense-judges-mr-guilty-slip-up-was-prejudicial/feed/ 0 Trying cases in the press http://overlawyered.com/2011/12/trying-cases-in-the-press/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/12/trying-cases-in-the-press/#comments Fri, 02 Dec 2011 12:59:27 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=26003 Yes, media coverage does affect the outcome of court cases, and here are some of the ways [Andrew Trask]

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]]> http://overlawyered.com/2011/12/trying-cases-in-the-press/feed/ 0 “Don’t tell anyone that this petition has been assigned to me” http://overlawyered.com/2011/08/dont-tell-anyone-that-this-petition-has-been-assigned-to-me/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/08/dont-tell-anyone-that-this-petition-has-been-assigned-to-me/#comments Mon, 29 Aug 2011 05:40:03 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=24330 The disclosure of a Pennsylvania judge’s email to interested parties in a politically charged redistricting case may have stalled his hopes for advancement to the federal bench. [The Legal Intelligencer]

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]]> http://overlawyered.com/2011/08/dont-tell-anyone-that-this-petition-has-been-assigned-to-me/feed/ 1 “Happier than a tick on a fat dog” http://overlawyered.com/2011/07/happier-than-a-tick-on-a-fat-dog/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/07/happier-than-a-tick-on-a-fat-dog/#comments Sat, 30 Jul 2011 11:21:14 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=24089 A Kentucky judge’s colorfully worded order is grist for my latest post at Cato.

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]]> http://overlawyered.com/2011/07/happier-than-a-tick-on-a-fat-dog/feed/ 2 “For the organized bar, it is an article of faith…” http://overlawyered.com/2011/07/for-the-organized-bar-it-is-an-article-of-faith/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/07/for-the-organized-bar-it-is-an-article-of-faith/#comments Wed, 20 Jul 2011 12:10:19 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=23883 “… that a lawyer’s participation makes judicial proceedings more fair, not less fair.” So should we be shocked that the U.S. Supreme Court does not partake of this article of faith? [earlier on Turner v. Rogers and Civil Gideon] Related: Are we sure we want judges who are “great lawyers”? [Chiang, Prawfs, Greenfield]

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]]> http://overlawyered.com/2011/07/for-the-organized-bar-it-is-an-article-of-faith/feed/ 3 But is it constitutional? http://overlawyered.com/2011/05/but-is-it-constitutional/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/05/but-is-it-constitutional/#comments Tue, 31 May 2011 18:47:33 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=23189 “Philly judges tell reporter he can’t take notes in court” [Legal NewsLine]

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]]> http://overlawyered.com/2011/05/but-is-it-constitutional/feed/ 0 April 19 roundup http://overlawyered.com/2011/04/april-19-roundup-2/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/04/april-19-roundup-2/#comments Tue, 19 Apr 2011 11:28:31 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=22591
  • Environmental milestone? “Bolivia is set to pass the world’s first laws granting all nature equal rights to humans.” [JoNova via Coyote]
  • Add another to the list of judges who file suits over critical discussion of their rulings, in this case by the losing party, a newspaper [ABA Journal]
  • “Obama on presidential signing statements then … and now” [Bainbridge, Outside the Beltway]
  • “The never-ending stream of futile petitions suggests that habeas corpus is a wasteful nuisance.” [Joseph Hoffmann and Nancy King, NYT, via Lat, Frank] A different view: Scott Greenfield, The Briefcase.
  • Global warming suits “a misuse of the judiciary branch” [Laurence Tribe, Boston Globe via WLF]
  • Competing for the HuffPo reader? On link between chemical exposures and cancer, Salon.com perpetrates “utter nonsense” [Orac, Respectful Insolence]
  • Iqbal/Twombly: “Reports of pleading’s demise may have been exaggerated” [Wasserman, Prawfs]
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    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2011/04/april-19-roundup-2/feed/ 4     “The hungry judges soon the sentence sign…” http://overlawyered.com/2011/04/the-hungry-judges-soon-the-sentence-sign/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/04/the-hungry-judges-soon-the-sentence-sign/#comments Fri, 15 Apr 2011 13:14:23 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=22539 “…And wretches hang that jurymen may dine.” And now there’s even empirical evidence. (h/t Sam S.)

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    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2011/04/the-hungry-judges-soon-the-sentence-sign/feed/ 1     New Benjamin Barton book, “The Lawyer-Judge Bias in the American Legal System” http://overlawyered.com/2011/02/new-benjamin-barton-book-the-lawyer-judge-bias-in-the-american-legal-system/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/02/new-benjamin-barton-book-the-lawyer-judge-bias-in-the-american-legal-system/#comments Fri, 25 Feb 2011 12:54:47 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=21684 A review copy arrived recently and I’ve much enjoyed reading the first chapters. It’s discussed by Larry Ribstein, by Glenn Reynolds, and by Cato’s Dan Mitchell (with special reference to the problem of tax complexity). The publisher’s description:

    Virtually all American judges are former lawyers. This book argues that these lawyer-judges instinctively favor the legal profession in their decisions and that this bias has far-reaching and deleterious effects on American law. There are many reasons for this bias, some obvious and some subtle. Fundamentally, it occurs because – regardless of political affiliation, race, or gender – every American judge shares a single characteristic: a career as a lawyer. This shared background results in the lawyer-judge bias. The book begins with a theoretical explanation of why judges naturally favor the interests of the legal profession and follows with case law examples from diverse areas, including legal ethics, criminal procedure, constitutional law, torts, evidence, and the business of law. The book closes with a case study of the Enron fiasco, an argument that the lawyer-judge bias has contributed to the overweening complexity of American law, and suggests some possible solutions.

    Earlier on Barton’s book, including a video, here.

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