Claim: Paralympics doesn’t get enough USOC support

According to litigant/athlete Tony Iniguez, it’s a violation of federal anti-discrimination law for the U.S. Olympic Committee not to provide fuller support for regular Olympic sports than it does for the Paralympics, a separate competition for disabled athletes. A federal district court and appeals court have disagreed so far with his urgings. (Alan Schwarz, “Paralympic Athletes Add Equality to Their Goals”, New York Times, Sept. 5).

Brian Schweitzer speech to AAJ

The Montana governor now claims he was just making up all those stories about using underhanded tactics to make sure his candidate won the U.S. Senate race, but his audience at the trial lawyers’ convention seemed to lap it up at the time. (Kirk Johnson, “Montana Officials Chastise Governor Over Boasts in Speech to Lawyers’ Group”, New York Times, Sept. 12; Rusty Shackleford, MT Pundit, Sept. 8; Robert Struckman, “Gov. Schweitzer’s Tampering Comments Spark Controversy”, New West Network, Sept. 10; Charles S. Johnson, “Schweitzer catches heat over July speech”, Helena Independent Record, Sept. 11; Jennifer McKee, “Bit of truth found in Gov. Schweitzer’s joke”, Missoulian, Sept. 12; speech).

U.K.: “Jury decides that threat of global warming justifies breaking the law”

“The threat of global warming is so great that campaigners were justified in causing more than £35,000 worth of damage to a coal-fired power station, a jury decided yesterday. In a verdict that will have shocked ministers and energy companies the jury at Maidstone Crown Court cleared six Greenpeace activists of criminal damage.” (Michael McCarthy, Independent (U.K.), Sept. 11).

Fall speaking: Chapel Hill Nov. 12 (and more?)

I haven’t been doing much traveling to speak over the past few years because of responsibilities close to home, but I’m planning a trip to the University of North Carolina on Wed., Nov. 12 to speak to the law school’s Federalist Society chapter. I might be able to combine it with another event the day before or after, presumably at some town or campus with direct flights to/from Raleigh/Durham. If you’re interested in hosting, let me know at editor – at – [this domain name] – dot – com.

Coughlin Stoia, AmLaw Daily and Prof. John Coffee, cont’d

Yesterday, updating a Tuesday post, I expressed some annoyance that AmLaw Daily’s coverage of the $688 million Enron fee award extensively quoted Columbia lawprof Jack Coffee in support of the fee’s fairness — even casting him as a “frequent class action critic” whose praise for the fee was more credible because “unlikely” — without informing readers that Prof. Coffee had in fact been hired by the plaintiff’s lawyers to support their fee application, a role he has served in earlier cases as well. Now the publication has “updated [the post] with new information” reflecting that relationship. Journalism professor Mark Obbie of Syracuse’s Carnegie Legal Reporting Program is kind enough to credit my criticism with making a difference.

September 11 roundup