I’ll be speaking this week at two law schools in Virginia, courtesy of the local Federalist Society chapters, about my new book Schools for Misrule. At noon Wednesday I’ll be talking to students at Washington & Lee in Lexington, Va., and then at noon Thursday I’ll speak at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, with Prof. J. Gordon Hylton slated to respond. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my past visits to both schools and expect that these will be a treat as well. If you’re in the area, consider dropping by.
Posts tagged as:
Virginia
- New DoL classification mandate could tee up wage/hour class actions [Peter Kirsanow, NRO Corner] “Survey of wage and hour settlement highlights risk to employers” [Hyman]
- Why 24/7/365 campaigns? Because politics “has taken over so much of life” [Roger Pilon, Cato at Liberty]
- Nigerian auto tariffs have ripple effects for the worse in Prince George’s County, Md. [Tyler Cowen]
- Virginia AG Ken Cuccinelli’s dubious case against climatologist [Barton Hinkle, Richmond Times-Dispatch]
- Employers and jobs moving from California to… Michigan? [Perry]
- “Huffington Post Law Suit: Should You Work For Free?” [Suzanne Lucas, BNET, earlier here, here, etc.]
- With apparent aim of protecting music rights holders, lawmakers heap burdens on sellers of used CDs [four years ago on Overlawyered]
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The maker of Botox is hit with a $212 million jury award [Richmond Times-Dispatch]
An employee who was kept on the Norfolk, Va. payroll for 12 years without being asked to come in to work has complained that she was wrongfully fired. The employee was originally suspended after misconduct allegations that her agency head for unclear reasons failed to get resolved; his successor dismissed her. [PilotOnline]
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Glenn C. Lewis, a divorce lawyer who “boasts that he is the most expensive lawyer in the [Washington, D.C.] region,” sued a former client “for an additional $500,000 in fees and interest, although he’d already been paid $378,000.” Lewis says the case was a demanding one and that he earned the money fair and square, but things did not go particularly well for his cause before judges in suburban Fairfax County. [Washington Post via Above the Law]
Fairfax County, Virginia prosecutors had charged two bartenders at Jimmy’s Old Town Tavern in Herndon over the trick, which (the report suggests) resulted in no mishap or injuries and which the tavern owner said they had done hundreds of times previously. They still face misdemeanor charges. [Fairfax Times] Scott Greenfield discusses the case (with a mention of yours truly) and proposes a “bartender flambé” rule for knowing when the bubble-ization of everyday life has gone too far.
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Arlington, Virginia taxpayers have managed to pay a law firm $744,000 to pursue it [Sun-Gazette via Ted at PoL]
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- Happy Father’s Day! Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy proposes criminal penalties for parents who skip parent-teacher conferences [WJBK via Welch, Reason]
- Plaintiff’s bar takes to online marketing in big way, Boston’s Sokolove firm has 20-employee team [WSJ Law Blog]
- Stuart Taylor, Jr., “The Myth of the Conservative Court” [The Atlantic]
- Happy Father’s Day, cont’d: that “sex offender” neighbor could turn out to be this poor guy [Stephen Mason, Psychology Today via Alkon]
- Libertarians debate anti-discrimination law [David Bernstein and others, Cato Unbound]
- Despite trial lawyer lobbying push, Congress declines for now to create “aid and abet” securities-fraud liability [Bainbridge] “Overcriminalization in the Financial Reform Legislation” [David Rittgers, Cato]
- As international “human rights” proliferate, they’re being applied for businesses’ benefit too, to some advocates’ displeasure [Bader, Examiner]
- Happy Father’s Day, cont’d: Virginia Supreme Court rules child can sue dad after traffic collision for not strapping her properly into car seat [OnPoint News]
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San Francisco warns against infused bitters, the New York City health department cracks down on raw egg whites, and Virginia’s ABC state commission keeps many exotic spirits out of reach (Reason.tv via Reason “Hit and Run”).
A bill introduced into the Virginia legislature would put payers of child support on the hook for older kids and indeed young adults so long as they are attending college. [Hans Bader, Examiner]
P.S. A reader writes: “We have this in Connecticut. It is a disaster. On paper, the CT court is to consider all factors as to whether it is reasonable to order a parent to pay child support. In reality, it is ordered whether or not the parent can afford to pay, whether or not the adult ‘child’ even speaks to the parent. So you have children who are basically giving their parent no respect or any sort of relationship who are given a free college ride. It is also used as a tool by vindictive parents against the other parent.” More: Alkon.
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“Anyone in Virginia can do yoga, and anyone can teach yoga. But, incredibly, it is illegal to teach people to teach yoga” without fulfilling extensive licensing requirements. The Institute for Justice is on the case.
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That’s one claim in a lawsuit by the government of Arlington, Virginia against such a plan. The chair of the county board says the issue never came up in county discussions and “only arose [in the lawsuit] because the environmental review includes socioeconomic impact”. [MyFoxDC via Below the Beltway]
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- Tiananmen Square events echo today in acrimonious defamation suit against filmmakers [Boston Globe]
- Andrew Ferguson disrespectful toward David Kessler’s nanniferous book on obesity policy [Weekly Standard]
- “Yes, People Dislike The RIAA Because Of Its Actions” [TechDirt]
- The big difference race makes in medical school admissions [Discriminations, Mark Perry/Carpe Diem]
- Texting, workplace flirtation and sexual harassment law [Forbes/MSNBC]
- After real estate firm grabs and uses online pic, photographer finds satisfaction through small claims court [West Seattle Blog h/t @VBalasubramani]
- Virginia: latest case seeking to open emotional-distress damages for death of pets gets help from former White House counsel Lanny Davis [WaPo, earlier]
- Brazil police allege that host of true-crime TV series ordered killings to ensure good footage for the show [AP]
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It’s leading to battles in New York and other states: “In March, Michigan gave schools a week to be certified by the state or cease operations. Virginia’s cumbersome licensing rules include a $2,500 fee — a big hit for modest studios that are often little more than one-room storefronts.” [NY Times]
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You might think such a lawsuit, filed against radio host Marc Bernier in Bristol, Va. two years ago, would not detain the legal system for long or inflict heavy costs. But you’d be wrong about that. [Daniel Gilbert, Bristol Herald-Courier, May 19]
- Judge Posner’s patience snaps in a class action: the case “is an example of the typical pathology of class action litigation, which is riven with conflicts of interest… The lawyers for the class could not concede the utter worthlessness of their claim because they wanted an award of attorneys’ fees.” Complete with a quotation from Leo Rosten about chutzpah [Mirfasihi v. Fleet Mortgage Corporation; NMC @ Folo, Courthouse News and again]
- Erosion of mens rea prerequisite in criminal law should alarm all of us across left-right lines [Doug Berman on John Hasnas WLF paper]
- “Federal drain law forces pool closings” [Boston Globe]
- Gambling habit was no excuse for Woodbridge, Va. lawyer to forge clients’ signature on lawsuit settlements which he pocketed; Stephen Conrad drew a 11-year sentence after doing $4 million damage to clients. Also in Virginia, former Christiansburg attorney Gerard Marks pleaded guilty Nov. 13 to forgery [Va. Lawyers Weekly; earlier here, and, on Marks, first links here]
- Plaintiff family in Anaheim, Calif. police-shooting lawsuit have an unusual demand: that statue of deceased victim be put up on Disneyland’s Main Street [Orange County Register]
- Connecticut state lawyer who assumed bogus identity to send anonymous letter that got her boss fired, then claimed whistleblower protection, is let off with reprimand and nine hours of ethics training [Schwartz, earlier]
- “Patent troll sues Oprah, Sony over online book viewing” [The Register; Illinois Computer Research, Scott Harris, etc.]
- JetBlue incident at JFK: “240,000 dollars awarded to man forced to cover Arab T-shirt” [AFP/Yahoo, Raed Jarrar]
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“The four bloggers named in a lawsuit brought forth by Christiansburg developer Roger Woody have been cleared of all charges by a Montgomery County Circuit Court judge.” The judge did not find it necessary to reach First Amendment issues but instead dismissed the case on demurrer; the four defendants had criticized Woody’s business practices.
Having invested a lot of time and energy into the issue, [defendant Terry Ellen] Carter said she was pleased with the judge’s decision and relieved after having gone through what she described as “the longest 10 and a half weeks ever.”“We have a right to express our opinions without being hauled into court, and that right was upheld,” Carter said.
(Lerone Graham, “Bloggers cleared in lawsuit”, Roanoke Times, Oct. 15; earlier).
