Overlawyered » juries 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 More FCPA acquittals http://overlawyered.com/2012/02/more-fcpa-acquittals/ http://overlawyered.com/2012/02/more-fcpa-acquittals/#comments Thu, 02 Feb 2012 11:34:57 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=27290 Defenders of the government’s aggressive prosecutions under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act are finding more and more to be defensive about. The latest in the string of setbacks for the Department of Justice came Monday, when a jury acquitted two defendants in the Justice Department’s 2009 Gabon “sting” operation and the case against three others ended in a mistrial. Alison Frankel: “So far, the Justice Department has not managed to convict a single Gabon sting defendant who contested its charges.” [WaPo, WSJ blog and related, earlier]

More: “A Guest Post From The Africa Sting Jury Foreman” [FCPA Professor]

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]]> http://overlawyered.com/2012/02/more-fcpa-acquittals/feed/ 0 January 31 roundup http://overlawyered.com/2012/01/january-31-roundup/ http://overlawyered.com/2012/01/january-31-roundup/#comments Tue, 31 Jan 2012 05:06:21 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=26199
  • Latest of periodic Towers Watson (formerly Towers Perrin/Tillinghast) surveys: tort costs fell in 2010 excluding oil spill liability [Towers Watson]
  • “Will Newt Neuter the Courts?” [James Huffman, Defining Ideas] Obama’s high court appointees are fortunately friendlier toward civil liberties than he is [Steve Chapman]
  • Unanimous Cal Supremes: companies not legally responsible for other companies’ asbestos products used as replacement for theirs [Cal Biz Lit, Jackson, Beck, Mass Tort Prof]
  • Claim: jurors considered policy implications of verdict and you can’t have that [On Point; defense verdict in Baltimore, Maryland school-bullying case]
  • Airfare display mandate: “‘Protecting’ Consumers from the Truth About the Cost of Government” [Thom Lambert, TotM]
  • Critical assessment of AP-backed new copyright aggregator “NewsRight” [Mike Masnick] Promises not to be “Righthaven 2.0″ [Cit Media Law]
  • Restatement (Third) of Torts drafters vs. Enlightenment scientific views of causation [David Oliver in June]
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    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2012/01/january-31-roundup/feed/ 2     July 12 roundup http://overlawyered.com/2011/07/july-12-roundup-2/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/07/july-12-roundup-2/#comments Tue, 12 Jul 2011 12:42:47 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=23782
  • Not for first time, Dahlia Lithwick misrepresents Wal-Mart case [Ponnuru, Whelan, earlier here and here]
  • Merciful gods, please spare us ghastly “Caylee’s Law” proposal [Josh Blackman, Reuters, Greenfield, Frank] More on constitutional flaws [Robson, Tribe]
  • Mark Perry on efforts to replace the relatively open-entry Washington, D.C. taxi system with NYC-style cartelization via medallion;
  • “Wrongful Convictions: How many innocent Americans are behind bars?” [Balko]
  • “Persaud identified himself as a juror, offering to fix the verdict for a fee.” [CBS NY; Long Island med-mal case]
  • “Is the Common Law the Solution to Pollution?” [Jonathan Adler, PERC]
  • “Rice Krispies class action settlement” [Ted Frank]
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    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2011/07/july-12-roundup-2/feed/ 0     Jurors as grown-ups http://overlawyered.com/2011/07/jurors-as-grown-ups/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/07/jurors-as-grown-ups/#comments Thu, 07 Jul 2011 21:04:30 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=23729 New Michigan rules allow juries to ask questions and judges to summarize evidence for their benefit. Michigan Chief Justice (and Overlawyered favorite) Robert Young Jr. “says jurors will no longer be treated like kindergarteners” under the new rules. [ABA Journal; my take back when]

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    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2011/07/jurors-as-grown-ups/feed/ 7     June 23 roundup http://overlawyered.com/2011/06/june-23-roundup-3/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/06/june-23-roundup-3/#comments Thu, 23 Jun 2011 13:38:20 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=23514
  • Michigan sex abuse prosecution of dad falls apart; it was premised on ultra-controversial technique of “facilitated communication” with autistic daughter [Detroit Free Press; Ted Frank/Point of Law]
  • Do demagogy and hardball work as trial techniques? [Steve McConnell vs. Ronald Miller and Max Kennerly]
  • When lawyer-pundits consent to chase cameras [Scott Greenfield]
  • Lawyer dad sues middle school girls over Facebook video [Houston Chronicle]
  • So-called Precautionary Principle slipping into Restatement (Third) of Torts? [David Oliver]
  • U.S Attorney in Maryland didn’t think Lauren Stevens case was strong enough to indict [Sue Reisinger/Corporate Counsel, White Collar Law Prof, Legal Ethics Forum, my Cato take]
  • “The SLAPP-Happy Story of Rakofsky v. Internet” [Citizen Media Law, Atlantic Wire ("Meet the Lawyer Who Sued the Internet"), Popehat, earlier here and here]
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    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2011/06/june-23-roundup-3/feed/ 3     Swiss sledders, skiers seldom sue http://overlawyered.com/2011/03/swiss-sledders-skiers-seldom-sue/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/03/swiss-sledders-skiers-seldom-sue/#comments Wed, 09 Mar 2011 12:33:51 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=21860 “The tree trunks, exposed banks and other hazards whizzing past represent a cornucopia of potential tort suits under U.S. law, yet somehow the Swiss manage to operate these runs without being sued into oblivion.” Dan Fisher at Forbes has a go at explaining why. More: Bill Childs, TortsProf (many U.S. states relatively protective of winter sports providers).

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    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2011/03/swiss-sledders-skiers-seldom-sue/feed/ 5     February 22 roundup http://overlawyered.com/2011/02/february-22-roundup-2/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/02/february-22-roundup-2/#comments Tue, 22 Feb 2011 14:04:46 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=21600
  • He wuz framed? Lawyers say wearing glasses will help a criminal defendant win acquittal [NYDN, ABA Journal]
  • “Are Judges ‘Employees’ Covered by State Antidiscrimination Law?” [Volokh, Fox]
  • Pursuing food safety, Congress ensures only unintended consequences [Paul Schwennesen, The Freeman]
  • High cost of litigation for Louisiana cities and towns [LLAW, PDF, via NJLRA; Daily Comet]
  • Calif. Kwikset decision not entirely a debacle for defendants [Russell Jackson, earlier] More: Cal. Civil Justice.
  • Pennsylvania lawmakers consider reform of joint and several liability [Post-Gazette]
  • Lawsuit fears tame a Frederick, Md. ice playground [Free-Range Kids]
  • Following scrutiny by Albuquerque newspaper, lawyer drops life insurance class action settlement [ten years ago on Overlawyered]
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    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2011/02/february-22-roundup-2/feed/ 3     November 30 roundup http://overlawyered.com/2010/11/november-30-roundup/ http://overlawyered.com/2010/11/november-30-roundup/#comments Tue, 30 Nov 2010 16:25:07 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=20391
  • Sooooo glad to be an American: that’s how Patrick at Popehat feels following latest Canadian-libel-law outrage directed at conservative blogger Ezra Levant (& see comments for alternate view);
  • Obama has pardoned more turkeys than people. Why? [Dan Froomkin, HuffPo]
  • “Reforming medical malpractice liability through contract” [Michael F. Cannon, Cato Institute working paper, PDF]
  • Memoir of jury foreman in criminal case [Tux Life]
  • Not too sharp: Massachusetts school district disavows policy of not letting students bring pencils to school [Slashdot]
  • State governors have big plans for liability reform. Maybe even loser-pays? [Carter at PoL, more; Florida, Indiana, Tennessee, Texas]
  • Parent who sent buzzworthy demand letter to Kansas City school board is a jazz musician [Wayward Blog, earlier]
  • From comic books to violent videogames: “Our puritanical progressives” [George Will]
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    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2010/11/november-30-roundup/feed/ 15     Demand for $38 quadrillion, cont’d http://overlawyered.com/2010/08/demand-for-38-quadrillion-contd/ http://overlawyered.com/2010/08/demand-for-38-quadrillion-contd/#comments Fri, 27 Aug 2010 05:19:28 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=19031 Kevin at Lowering the Bar points out that the suit we reported on yesterday doesn’t actually carry the highest damages demand ever; it is topped by one man’s suit last year against Bank of America for 1.7 septillion dollars. In third place — maybe — is “a claim for three quadrillion and change filed by someone against the federal government after Hurricane Katrina.”

    Meanwhile, the story of the $38 quadrillion lawsuit moves Adam Freedman at Ricochet to consider some perhaps drastic legal reform remedies.

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    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2010/08/demand-for-38-quadrillion-contd/feed/ 4     June 23 roundup http://overlawyered.com/2010/06/june-23-roundup-2/ http://overlawyered.com/2010/06/june-23-roundup-2/#comments Wed, 23 Jun 2010 05:07:19 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=17906
  • Judge blocks sweeping Obama administration ban on new offshore drilling [Roger Pilon, Cato] Some reasons judge may have found ban irrational [Lowry, NRO, scroll to reader comment; Gus Lubin, Business Insider] More on Jones Act waivers in the Gulf [Bainbridge, earlier]
  • Connecticut AG Blumenthal launches investigation of Google Street View [Rick Green, Courant]
  • Florida judge tosses out $10 million libel verdict against St. Petersburg Times [St. P.T.]
  • Lawyer in British Columbia suspends practice after bizarre jury tampering charges [CBC]
  • “Disclosed to death”: why laws mandating disclosure are so overused and overbroad [Falkenberg, Forbes on work of Omri Ben-Shahar and Carl E. Schneider, via PoL]
  • Judge dismisses controversial Pennsylvania case against Johnson & Johnson over Risperdal marketing, Gov. Rendell had hired major donor to run suit on contingency [LNL, McDonald/NJLRA, earlier]
  • Rick Hills vs. Ilya Somin on federalism and constitutional enforcement of property rights [Prawfsblawg, Volokh]
  • Beware proposed expansion of Federal Trade Commission powers [Wood, ShopFloor]
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