Overlawyered » South Dakota

Nicholas Kristof vs. Anheuser-Busch

Walter Olson — Fri, 18 May 2012 15:27:58 +0000

I’ve got a piece out at Reason today in which I de-foam the Times columnist’s highly aerated assertions about beer sales near the Pine Ridge, S.D. Oglala Sioux reservation. And a followup at Cato: Kristof has written about the failures of the Drug War, so why does he not apply those lessons here? See also: NYT “Room for Debate” discussion. A different view: Eric Turkewitz.

Tags: Anheuser-Busch, beer and brewers, Nebraska, New York Times, South Dakota

Nicholas Kristof vs. Anheuser-Busch is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Oglala Sioux tribe sues beer companies over alcoholism

Walter Olson — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 05:07:43 +0000

“An American Indian tribe sued some of the world’s largest beer makers today, claiming they knowingly contributed to devastating alcohol-related problems on South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.” The Oglala Sioux tribe is asking for $500 million. [AP; Lincoln Journal-Star; Don Surber] More: Jacob Sullum, Ted Frank.

Tags: alcohol, beer and brewers, Indian tribes, Nebraska, South Dakota

Oglala Sioux tribe sues beer companies over alcoholism 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

November 9 roundup

Walter Olson — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 16:29:24 +0000

White House panel’s counsel: no evidence corner-cutting caused Gulf spill [NYT, Reuters] Furor ensues [WaPo]
Report: grief counselors assigned to Democratic congressional staffers [Maggie Haberman, Politico]
“Lawyer Sues for Humiliation and Lost Business Due to Misspelled Yellowbook Ad” [ABA Journal, South Dakota]
Argument today in important Supreme Court case, AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion: will courts respect freedom of contract in consumer arbitration context, or yield Litigation Lobby the monopoly it seeks over dispute resolution? [Ted at PoL]
No search warrant needed: armed deputies in Orlando storm unlicensed barbershops, handcuff barbers [Balko, Reason "Hit and Run"]
After Colorado hit-run, banker allowed to plead down to misdemeanors lest his job be at risk [Greenfield]
FDA to decide whether to ban menthol in cigarettes [CEI]
Reshuffling blackjack decks is not “racketeering” [ten years ago on Overlawyered]

Tags: arbitration, BP Transocean oil spill, chasing clients, South Dakota, tobacco, U.S. House of Representatives

November 9 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

April 30 roundup

Walter Olson — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 13:19:40 +0000

“Sioux split on suit seeking money for Black Hills” [Associated Press]
More on nomination of Mothers Against Drunk Driving CEO to head highway safety agency [Balko, see also comments on earlier post]
Push by advocates in Congress to extend shakedown-enabling Community Reinvestment Act to all financial institutions [Victoria McGrane, Politico] And some numbers from Bank of America raise doubts about those oft-heard “CRA default rates lower than regular default rates” assertions [Weisenthal, Business Insider]
Illinois attorney general Madigan to Craigslist: purge vice ads or I’ll see you in court [L.A. Times]
Here and there, acknowledgments in the press of the damaging effects of laws entrenching auto dealers against termination [L.A. Times via Craig Newmark]
How many people get arrested for “contempt of cop”? [Coyote Blog] Blogosphere has helped spread awareness of police-abuse issues [Greenfield]
Virginia Postrel: I told you so on that light bulb ban story [earlier]
U.K. law reform panel: “charlatan” and “biased” expert witnesses put defendants at risk of wrongful conviction [Times Online]

Tags: auto dealership protection laws, Craigslist, expert witnesses, Indian tribes, MADD, mortgages, police, South Dakota

April 30 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Sex with mannequin not unlawful in South Dakota

Walter Olson — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 00:55:14 +0000

At least if there’s no one around watching.

Tags: crime and punishment, South Dakota

Sex with mannequin not unlawful in South Dakota is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

October 24 roundup

Walter Olson — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 04:29:06 +0000

Chemerinsky, other critics should apologize to Second Circuit chief judge Dennis Jacobs over bogus “he doesn’t believe in pro bono!” outcry [Point of Law and update]
New York high court skeptical of ultra-high contingency fee in Alice Lawrence v. Graubard Miller case [NYLJ; earlier here and here]
Panel of legal journalists: press let itself be used in attack on Judge Kozinski [Above the Law]
Unfree campaign speech, cont’d: South Dakota anti-abortion group sues to suppress opponents’ ads as “patently false and misleading” [Feral Child]
Even if you’re tired of reading about Roy Pearson’s pants, you might still enjoy Carter Wood’s headlines on the case at ShopFloor ["Pandora's Zipper", "Suit Alors!"]
Rare grant of fees in patent dispute, company had inflicted $2.5 million in cost on competitors and retailers by asserting rights over nursing mother garb [NJLJ]
Time to be afraid? Sen. Bingaman (D-N.M.) keen on reintroducing talk-radio-squelching Fairness Doctrine [Radio Equalizer]
“Yours, in litigious anticipation” — Frank McCourt as child in Angela’s Ashes drafted a nastygram with true literary flourish [Miriam Cherry, Concurring Opinions]

Tags: Alex Kozinski, broadcasters, campaign regulation, contingent fee, Erwin Chemerinsky, Ireland, nastygrams, New York state, patent quality, pro bono, Roy Pearson, sanctions, Second Circuit, South Dakota

October 24 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

December 8 roundup

Ted Frank — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 08:33:29 +0000

As governor, Huckabee signed a good tort reform package capping punitive and non-economic damages, and reforming joint and several liability and venue law, but the rest of his economic record is big-government. And David Harsanyi is critical of Huckabee’s claimed opposition to nanny-statism. [Insurance Journal; Human Events; Harsanyi; RCP; Michael Tanner @ FoxNews]
Update to the popular Bridezilla flowers lawsuit; florist files opposition. Lots of comments ensue. [Lattman]
South Dakota Supreme Court: no, you can’t sue a pharmacy for being a “drug dealer” when plaintiff steals prescription medicine for a disabled friend and injures himself OD’ing on it. [On Point]
Former litigator hired to invest $100m in court cases for UK hedge fund. [Times Online]
Atkins fallout in Texas and California, as professional anti-death-penalty experts there happily minimize subject IQs to call their intelligent clients retarded. Earlier: Feb. 2005; Sep. 2003. [Science Evidence blog; and again]
Heartbalm tort of alienation of affection withstand constitutional challenge in Mississippi. Earlier: Jul. 5; Nov. 2006, etc. [Torts Prof]
Bob Woodruff biography: I would have died if my injury happened in the United States because of fear of liability. [Murnane]
I’ve updated my paper on Thomas Geoghegan’s new book. [SSRN]
Overlawyered holds slim lead at ABA Blawg 100 popularity contest. But why aren’t any of you voting for Point of Law? [ABA Journal]

Tags: alienation of affection, death penalty, governors, Illinois, Mike Huckabee, Mississippi, safety, South Dakota, third party liability for crime, United Kingdom

December 8 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Jail4Judges: South Dakota Amendment E

Ted Frank — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 00:16:57 +0000

Let’s be clear: one can take the position that there needs to be more judicial accountability and that too many judges overstep their bounds, and still think that Amendment E—the likely-unconstitutional South Dakota ballot proposal to end civil immunity for judges and jurors and establish an unanswerable “special grand jury” to oversee these things—is positively insane cuckoo bonkers. Opponents of the measure have set up a good website discussing the issues.

Tags: politics, South Dakota

Jail4Judges: South Dakota Amendment E is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Stand Your Ground

Dave Kopel — Tue, 21 Mar 2006 15:09:31 +0000

Back in 1987, Florida set off a national trend by enacting a law which allows adults with a clean record, who pass a safety class, to obtain a permit to carry a concealed handgun for lawful defense. Although some states already allowed concealed carry, Florida’s 1987 law led to the concept spreading nationally, so that today 38 states have handgun carry laws similar to Florida’s. Now, a new Florida trend is spreading: “Stand your ground” laws.

Last year, Florida enacted a statute stating that victims of a violent felony attack do not have to retreat from the aggressor (even in a public place), and can use deadly force. Now, Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels has signed a Stand Your Ground law in his state, and the South Dakota legislature has enacted a similar law.

Because most Americans intuitively agree with the principle of self-defense, opponents of the law, such as the Brady Center, have resorted to making silly claims, such as asserting that the laws allow “a person who just feels something bad is going to happen to open fire in public.” A careful look at the Florida model, which I blogged about last year, leads to the conclusion that the Brady Center’s claims are unmerited.

Tags: governors, guns, Indiana, South Dakota

Stand Your Ground is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system