…for our 404 page (“17 brilliant 404 pages and why they are cool”, Royal Pingdom, Mar. 28).
Palo Alto excessive force case
“…Michael Schmidlin successfully contended police used excessive force when they arrested him March 29, 1997, on suspicion of public drunkenness. Unless the city appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court, it could pay $24,000 plus interest to Schmidlin and at least $300,000 in legal fees to his lawyer, Mark Martel. That figure might swell to more than $500,000, said Martel, who will spend the next month or so calculating the exact cost.” Martel says it’s the California city’s own fault for putting up too long a fight in the 11-year legal battle. (Jason Green, “Palo Alto loses longstanding legal fight in excessive force case”, San Jose Mercury News, Mar. 13)(via ABA Journal).
“Are we really that ill?”
“America has reached a point where almost half its population is described as being in some way mentally ill, and nearly a quarter of its citizens – 67.5 million – have taken antidepressants.” The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (latest edition, DSM-IV) is “invoked chapter and verse in schools, prisons, courts, and by mental-health professionals around the world.” But how objective and reliable is its classification of disorders? (Christopher Lane, New York Sun, Mar. 26). More thoughts: Jane Genova.
“Lawsuit Accuses Yale of False Statements”
“A prestigious South Korean university that came under fire for hiring a professor who lied about her credentials is suing Yale, saying the American university wrongly confirmed the woman earned a degree.” (John Christofferson, AP/Washington Post, Mar. 27).
California homeschooling ruling
Obama’s financial regulation speech
Prof. Bainbridge doesn’t like much of what he hears (Mar. 27).
Great moments in custody litigation
An Italian pornographic movie star/politician who was formerly married to wealthy American artist Jeff Koons is back in court with a child support demand, a decade after the two carried out an extraordinarily acrimonious and hard-fought custody battle over their son, now 15. In the course of losing that battle Koons spent $4 million on legal fees, “some of which he later challenged unsuccessfully. Among Koons’ complaints was his lawyers charged him for time they spent watching his ex’s porn films, one of which famously includes” a scene rather too raw for description on this blog involving a reptilian co-star. (Dareh Gregorian, “Porn Star Sues Papa To Pay Up”, New York Post, Mar. 27).
National Practitioner Data Bank
When money is paid out on a medical liability claim, the doctor’s name is automatically entered on this federal database — and that may have more serious consequences for the doctor’s career than the payout itself. (Vicki T. Brenthall, Medical Economics, Feb. 15).
Client-chasing dot-orgs
We’ve previously noted that seemingly public-spirited websites purportedly set up to offer medical information and advice on mesothelioma and other asbestos-related illnesses are usually fronts for law firms. Roger Parloff at Fortune “Legal Pad” takes a look at a couple of such ventures operated by Beasley Allen of Alabama and Early Ludwick of Connecticut. (Mar. 27). NYU’s Stephen Gillers says the “disguised nature of [Beasley Allen’s] web site would not allow it to survive challenge under the New York rules” on attorney promotion but doesn’t have reason to think it violates the (presumably less stringent) Alabama rules. Early Ludwick’s “Mesothelioma & Asbestos Awareness Center”
uses a popular symbol of medicine as its emblem – the two serpents wrapped around a winged staff – and its “about us” blurb says: “Our organization is staffed entirely by volunteer writers and other contributors who recognize the importance of building awareness.”
but if you look hard enough you can find a hyperlink leading to an “Attorney Advertising” notice. And what’s with the law firms’ having managed to secure dot-org domains for these ventures, just as if they were nonprofit or something?
P.S. As several readers point out, those who distribute domains make no attempt to police the recommendation (originally requirement) that .org be reserved for non-profits; for one thing, it’s now routine for .com owners to obtain the .org equivalent of their name and arrange for it to redirect to their main site. I should have phrased my point more narrowly: when they select a dot org as the primary address for their site, law firm marketers make it more likely that unwary readers will mistake the site for that of a medical philanthropy.
Depress the smoking rate, increase the obesity rate
I’m quoted in this morning’s New York Sun on that correlation. (E.B. Solomont, “Post-Smoking Ban, City Gains 10 Million Lbs.”, New York Sun, Mar. 27).