Now it’s Kurt Andersen calling out the Gray Lady on its dreadful reporting (“Rape, Justice, and the ‘Times’”, New York, Oct. 16). See Aug. 30, etc.
Archive for October, 2006
Unintended consequences of on-line gambling ban
Not only does the bill effectively destroy useful information markets (Robert W. Hahn and Paul C. Tetlock in the New York Times), but it also creates incentives for new undetectable forms of money laundering (Robert X. Cringley (h/t D.H.)).
October 10 round-up
- David Lat has much more detail on the $46 meal-skipping criminal case; and the St. Petersburg Times reports Ralph Paul was acquitted because his defense attorney misrepresented to the jury the legal standard, and the prosecutor didn’t correct it. [Above the Law; St. Petersburg Times]
- Amber Taylor isn’t impressed with Dahlia Lithwick’s proposal of new rules for Supreme Court clerkships. [Law. com; Prettier Than Napoleon]
- Legalized extortion of banks over Enron scandal. [Point of Law]
- Round-up of links of Sherwin-Williams’s suit against Ohio municipalities that are using contingent-fee plaintiffs’ lawyers against it. [Point of Law]
- Possible settlement in the Million Little Pieces class action. [TortsProf]
- California kennel works can’t sue dog owners for bites. [Bashman]
- Defense prevails in first federal welding trial. See also POL Nov. 21 and Dec. 9. [Products Liability Prof]
- David Bernstein on phony associations in epidemiological research. [Volokh]
- Aleksey Vayner doesn’t just have an impressive video resume, he can send a bogus cease-and-desist letter with the best of them. [IvyGateBlog]
“Anthrax and Lawyers”
Peter Huber in Forbes on the lack of a mass-distributed anthrax vaccine, and a related discussion on Volokh. (Cross-posted at Point of Law.)
Check it out: new ShopThisBlog.com bookstore
Longtime readers of this site will remember our affiliated Amazon bookstore, which we maintained for a few years but gradually stopped updating as other duties seemed more pressing (you can still find it near the bottom of our ever-handy “General Links” page). Recently I was approached by the founder of a clever new service, ShopThisBlog.com, which comes up with customized bookstores keyed to popular blogs (based on books the bloggers have mentioned or reviewed, or which are closely related, etc.) ShopThisBlog.com then divides the resulting Amazon affiliate revenue with cooperating bloggers. It did not take long for me to realize that the bookstore ShopThisBlog had devised for Overlawyered was far better designed and more useful than the one I’d done on my own, and had thoughtfully been updated with newer books I’ve mentioned favorably in my writing.
So you’ll notice a box in the right-hand column of the front page which showcases ShopThisBlog recommendations. (I expect to tinker further with its presentation as we go along.) By all means check it out, check out the parallel shops keyed to other sites, and if you’re a blogger with reasonable traffic consider checking out the possibility of getting a ShopThisBlog bookstore of your own.
UK: False rape accusations
If the charges of rape turn out to be bogus — worse yet, if they have led to the locking up of an innocent defendant later exonerated — should the accuser still enjoy the privilege of press anonymity? The case of Warren Blackwell, jailed for three years for a crime he never committed, vs. “Miss A”. (Carol Sarler, “Do fake rape victims have a right to anonymity?”, Daily Mail (U.K.), Sept. 13; Michael Horsnell, “Man jailed over sex attack clears his name”, The Times (U.K.), Sept. 13). More: accuser’s name is disclosed, prompting further controversy (Strange Justice, Oct. 23).
Senate spotlight: Chafee-Whitehouse (R.I.)
As if trial lawyers didn’t already have enough good friends in the U.S. Senate, Democratic challenger and former state attorney general Sheldon Whitehouse is making a strong bid to unseat incumbent Lincoln Chafee for a Senate seat from Rhode Island. (Jim Baron, “Poll: Senate race even; Gov. surges”, Pawtucket (R.I.) Times, Oct. 3; “Democrats bet on former attorney general to take back Senate seat”, AP/WPRI, Sept. 14). Of the fifty state attorneys general, Whitehouse was the only one willing to sign up for the Motley Rice law firm’s crusade to attach retroactive liability to former makers of lead paint and pigment; see Jun. 7, 2001, Oct. 30-31, 2002, Mar. 5-7, 2003, Feb. 23, 2006, etc. For more on Whitehouse’s enthusiasm for such creative litigation, see Oct. 26, 1999 (latex gloves).
$217M stroke verdict on the radio
Some time after 1PM Eastern, I’ll be on “The Buzz” on WBAL-1090-AM (Baltimore), discussing the $217M stroke verdict (covered Oct. 5 and Oct. 7).
Update: Well, I was told we were going to be talking about the stroke verdict, but the host wanted to argue about the McDonald’s coffee case instead. Chip Franklin could not be dissuaded from the idea that coffee “should not” cause third-degree burns, and that McDonald’s must have done something wrong, but courts note that even coffee served below the optimum temperature are capable of such burns.
Florida reform in trouble?: Jeff Kottkamp
Florida has staggered towards reform in the last few years under Governor Jeb Bush, bush GOP candidate Charlie Crist’s running mate, Jeff Kottkamp, is a trial lawyer, reform opponent, and plaintiff in a ludicrous suit blaming a hospital construction contractor for medical complications he had following heart surgery. (John Kennedy, “GOP candidate breaks rank on tort reform”, Sun-Sentinel, Oct. 5) (via Childs). Earlier coverage: Sep. 18 and links therein.
Elsewhere in Florida, the Florida Supreme Court has essentially undone a 2004 reform voters passed in a referendum (Nov. 3, Mar. 1: it will allow attorneys to avoid the effect of a constitutional amendment capping medical malpractice attorneys’ fees, so long as their clients sign a waiver saying they’re willing to pay more. (Aaron Deslatte, “Court lets lawyers bypass lawsuit cap”, Tallahassee Democrat, Sep. 29). I actually applaud this step to the free market, but just wish doctors had the same rights to get their patients to sign waivers. Apparently courts and consumer advocates are willing to trust only lawyers with the freedom of contract or speech.
“Illegal immigrants sue Wendy’s”
“A group of illegal immigrants who worked for Wendy’s International Inc. is suing the restaurant chain because the company fired them after discovering it had missed a deadline for joining a federal program that would have helped them attain legal status.” (Rasha Madkour, AP/Houston Chronicle, Oct. 6).
More: the restaurant company blames a series of “mistakes made by others” that began before it bought the Cafe Express chain. In particular, Houston-based business law firm Boyar & Miller failed to take steps needed to enroll workers in the program. Commenter David Schwartz points out:
It might be worth noting that the employees *paid* to partipicate in the program. Surely if I pay my employer for legal services and I don’t get them, either my employer or their law firm is at fault, no?
Isn’t missing a filing deadline a classic example of attorney malpractice?