If Alan Dershowitz’s accusations are to be believed, the Florida prosecutor in the Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman case behaved in grossly unprofessional fashion. [Jacksonville.com “The Gavel,” more, Jeralyn Merritt/TalkLeft]
Iditarod musher sues knife maker
Product liability reaches the famed Alaskan dogsled race:
Iditarod mushers are known for missing digits. …
When Mitch Seavey nearly lost his index finger last year in Ophir, however, his Iditarod was over. In a lawsuit in U.S. District Court, the former champion now says the blame lies with the Oregon company that made the knife he sliced his finger with, and Sportsman’s Warehouse, which sold it to him.
Attention! Citizens of Portland!
Your city is counting on you to report on neighbors who violate the recycling and composting rules by using the wrong bin. An army of anonymous informers cannot be defeated! [Tung Yin; OregonLive.com]
Prosecution roundup
- John Edwards mistrial is umpteenth setback for DoJ white-collarers; FEC’s failure to charge might have been tipoff [BLT] One lawyer on the campaign finance implications of the Edwards prosecution [David Frum]
- Jeralyn Merritt analysis of Martin/Zimmerman evidence dump indicates once again that Stand Your Ground issue is likely to prove a red herring [TalkLeft, earlier]
- Letter writer doesn’t care for my recent structuring-forfeiture op-ed [Baltimore Sun] More on civil forfeiture: when cops become robbers [Nita Ghei, Washington Times]
- Deferred prosecution and NPAs: “The Justice Department may be in the next cubicle” [Jim Copland]
- Converting tickets into “court costs”: ploy raises funds for courts in Atlanta and elsewhere [Consumerist via Alkon]
- When lawyers advise innocent clients to plead guilty [John Steele, LEF on Brian Banks case]
- “Jailtime for twittering on your office PC? The federal courts are split” [Appellate Daily via @andrewmgrossman] “12 steps for overcoming overcriminalization” [TPPF via Vikrant Reddy, Right on Crime]
Mississippi AG transparency
Peeking under the Hood, cont’d: Mississippi has finally passed sunshine legislation exposing to public scrutiny dealings of its attorney general with outside law firms, which can make large sums in contingency arrangements representing the state [Maggie Haberman, Politico] Not exactly unrelatedly, a Mississippi court has ruled that a settlement of the state’s case against MCI can’t funnel $14 million separately to private lawyers representing Hood on the theory that it was just a side payment and never represented public funds [YallPolitics, earlier on now-disbarred lead private lawyer in case]
Abraham Lincoln’s career-making patent case
Competition through patent suits, circa 1857: I’ve got a new post at Cato on how loser-pays works to improve the general fairness of an inevitably imperfect litigation system.
“Discrimination lawsuits double as definition of ‘disability’ expands”
File under intended and expected effects of Congressional action: the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 reversed various court decisions that had limited the number of claimants who could invoke the Americans with Disabilities Act. [Luke Rosiak, Washington Times] More here, etc.
“Publicity-hound lawyer: Cannibalism is bad”
How would we come to realize these things if not for Gloria Allred? [Fred Grimm, Miami Herald]
June 7 roundup
- Not only did Wisconsin turn back the effort to recall Gov. Walker, but voters in San Jose and San Diego embraced public employee pension reform by convincing margins [Steven Greenhut, Cal Watchdog] Union immediately sues to overturn measure backed by 70 percent of San Jose voters [Greenhut, PSI] Illinois and Ohio have ducked the need for reform, Wisconsin and Indiana haven’t [Malanga] Did it make a big difference that recall proponents were outspent? [John Samples, Cato Institute; Ira Stoll] “Comparing the Impact: Public Sector Labor Reform in Wisconsin and Indiana” [Josh Barro via Reihan Salam] Where next — on to Michigan? Maryland? More: Althouse;
- New Mexico ruling: “Why Not Force Somebody Who Hates You to Photograph Your Wedding?” [Reason, Kincaid/Box Turtle Bulletin, Volokh and more, Bader, earlier]
- Suddenly, the science of salt casts less odium on sodium [Gary Taubes/NYT via Alkon; Bader]
- For making up authority without statutory basis: “Supreme Court spanks HUD” [Mark Calabria/Cato]
- Another way to think of Oglala v. Bud: “Native American Tribe files lawsuit requesting discrimination on alcohol sales” [Rob Green/Abnormal Use, earlier]
- It’s not every day the New York Times agrees with me in favoring broader use of loser-pays in litigation [editorial on shifting costs of document translation]
- GOP sinks misnamed, lawsuit-promoting Paycheck Fairness Act [Steve Chapman, Caroline May/Daily Caller, WSJ, David Harsanyi, earlier]
“Bloomberg’s Long History of Nannying”
Caleb Brown interviews me in this new Cato Institute podcast, in which we discuss the futility of Mayor Bloomberg’s effort to turn NYC soda fans into two-fisted drinkers (that is, they’ll need to carry one in each hand); the role of federal grants from the Obama administration; and more broadly, the creepily intrusive ambitions of the New York City Health Department. If the embedded version doesn’t work, you can find it here.
Related: “The issue is freedom, not soft drinks.” [Jonathan Tobin, Commentary]. “Over himself, over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign,” wrote John Stuart Mill [Patrick Basham, U.S. News] A new study finds restricting people’s junk food choices doesn’t help them lose weight [Reuters] James Lileks offers a helpful picture gallery distinguishing “Poison” from “Not Poison,” and classes a-burger-and-a-Coke in the latter category. Contrariwise, a ban backer at the Daily Beast is happy to contemplate future rules limiting hamburger sizes: “why not? Eight- and ten-ounce burgers are sick things.” And from earldean71: “If history is any guide at least one Atlanta suburb will pass an ordinance requiring giant soda drinks if NYC has a ban.” Earlier here, here, here, here, etc.
More: Watch me on the video version, just up on YouTube: