- In unpublished opinion, California appeals court upholds dismissal of Unruh Act challenge to baseball Angels’ Mothers Day tote giveaway [Lex Icon, earlier]. More: CalBizLit.
- Securities class-action firm Bernstein, Liebhard & Lifshitz perhaps a less credible tribune of fiscal rectitude now that name partner Mel Lifshitz has copped felony plea to lying on federal taxes [NY Post, NYLJ, WSJ law blog] And what’s this about Lifshitz funding one of his firm’s clients? [The Street] P.S. He’s now departed the Bernstein firm, but maybe there’s an opening for him as chairman of House Ways and Means.
- Per one lawyer, “would be a stretch” for website operator to be held liable for teen’s overdose suicide with webcam running [AP]
- Carter Wood finishes up weeklong series of posts looking back on the great 1998 tobacco settlement [ShopFloor links to PoL]
- Eric Holder not a reassuring Attorney General choice for gun rights [Kopel @ Volokh]
- Law bloggers on Twitter: Anne Reed explains what the fuss is about [Deliberations; related, Michelle Golden]
- Compulsory chapel? UC Irvine Prof. Alexander McPherson, who quit supervising students rather than submit to state-mandated sexual harassment training, explains his stand [L.A. Times] Lefty blogs once again empty a bucket over his head [Feministe, Lemieux]
- Presumably unrelated: “Law Grad Accused of Faking E-Mail to Implicate Prof in Harassment” [ABA Journal, Florida Coastal]
Labor minister flays Britain’s asylum laws
Trouble with human rights law, cont’d: Phil Woolas, immigration minister in Gordon Brown’s Labor government, has won attention for his sharp criticisms of U.K. asylum law.
In an interview with the Guardian, Woolas described the legal professionals and NGO [non-governmental organization] workers as “an industry”, and said most asylum seekers were not fleeing persecution but were economic migrants.
“The system is played by migration lawyers and NGOs to the nth degree,” Woolas said. “By giving false hope and by undermining the legal system, [they] actually cause more harm than they do good.”
(Patrick Barkham, “Asylum-seeker charities are just playing the system, says Woolas”, Guardian, Nov. 18). We’ve added a tag on asylum law.
Julie Amero case ends
A judge had overturned the conviction of the former Norwich, Ct. substitute teacher (Jul. 15, Mar. 14 and Jun. 10, 2007, etc.) over the episode in which her computer (almost certainly infected with unwanted malware) displayed a stream of dirty popup windows while her students were watching. To the amazement of many, prosecutors refused to drop the charges and moved to hold a second trial. Now Amero has agreed to resolve the episode by pleading down to a single misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct, as opposed to the 40 years she could have gotten on the original charges. (Rick Green, “Misdemeanor Plea Ends Norwich P0rnography Case”, Hartford Courant, Nov. 22).
More: “What I’d like to see come of it is a computer forensics innocence project.” (Joe Windish, The Moderate Voice; see also Balko/Reason “Hit and Run”, Bill Jempty @ WizBang, Rick Green @ Courant followup).
Microblog 2008-11-21
- “Forensic Experts Aren’t Team Players. Nor Should They Be.” [Balko, Reason “Hit and Run”]
- Australia high court reverses 2 crim convictions, judge snored loudly a lot (not just your innocent-error naplet) [Lowering the Bar]
- Hear that V-3 hum: preview of 2012 post-bailout car from Congressional Motors [Iowahawk satire]
- California Supreme Court gets a Prop 8 amicus brief from “Divine Queen of the Almighty Eternal Creator” [Box Turtle Bulletin]
- Bristol, CT mulls ban on smoking on public streets [Connecticut Employment Law Blog]
- “Singers Sue Label For Failing To Sue Others For Infringement” [TechDirt; Hall & Oates, Warner/Chappell; h/t @tamerabennett]
- Lawyer must spend half her time deflecting jokes about her name [Sullivan & Cromwell]
A “Borat”-suit scorecard
“The ten ‘Borat’ remorse cases filed against the makers of the hit mockumentary turned out to be an almost total washout for plaintiffs,” notes OnPoint News, which has a handy table of case results.
On WMBI (Chicago) discussing eHarmony settlement
I’m scheduled to discuss the eHarmony settlement and litigation between 3 and 3:30 Central on the PrimeTime Chicago show on WMBI Friday.
“Obese have right to 2 airline seats –Canada court”
Declining to hear an appeal by airlines: “Obese people have the right to two seats for the price of one on flights within Canada, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled on Thursday.” (Reuters, Nov. 20; CBC). We’ve covered the issue for years, including, e.g., here, here, here (U.S.), here, and here. More thoughts: Scott Greenfield, Ann Althouse.
Judge Joyce convicted in Pennsylvania insurance fraud
“Former Superior Court Judge Michael T. Joyce was convicted Wednesday on charges that he lied about neck and back injuries and abused his position on the bench to receive a $440,000 payout from two insurance companies following a slow-speed automobile accident. … the judge filed his claims on judicial letterhead, [Assistant U.S. Attorney Christian] Trabold said, and referred to himself as a judge 115 times in the letters.” (Leo Strupczewski, “Former Judge Convicted for Lying About Injuries in Auto Accident”, Legal Intelligencer, Nov. 20). Earlier here and here. The trial was covered extensively in the Pennsylvania press, and the defense called a parade of witnesses, including high-ranking judges, in support of the accused jurist. (Paula Reed Ward, “Fellow jurists defend judge charged with faking injury”, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Nov. 11)
Jones Day vs. BlockShopper: court denies motion to dismiss
A court has declined to dismiss the trademark action by the giant law firm upset at a local real estate publication that had gossiped about condominium purchases by two of the law firm’s associates. (Levy/CL&P, Bayard/Citizen Media Law, Ron Coleman, Eric Goldman). Earlier coverage here and here.
EEOC settlement: pork-handling exemption, prayer breaks for Muslim workers
Minnesota: “In a landmark settlement that could change the way Muslims are treated in the workplace, St. Cloud-based Gold’n Plump Inc. has agreed to allow Somali workers short prayer breaks and the right to refuse handling pork at its poultry processing facilities.” The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission had sued Gold’n Plump Poultry, Inc., along with an employment agency that worked with it, charging religious discrimination and retaliation on behalf of the Muslim workers. The employment agency had required applicants to sign a form saying that they would not refuse to handle pork products if the occasion arose at work. (Chris Serres, “Somalis win prayer case at Gold’n Plump”, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Sept. 10). “The timing of the [paid] added [prayer] break will fluctuate during the year so as to coordinate with the religious timing for Muslim prayers.” The two companies between them also agreed to pay $365,000 as part of the settlement. (Sept. 10; EEOC news release; via Workplace Prof Blog).