A much-linked L.A. Times account seemed somehow “off,” and George Wallace now explains why.
Most popular Overlawyered posts of 2011
These are the posts last year that drew the biggest readership:
- “‘White shoe’ law firms” (on the origins of that footwear association);
- “‘Hot Coffee’ (HBO) documentary reviewed”
- “Diane Schuler’s husband suing state, brother-in-law over wrong-way Taconic crash”
- “Ex-Colts cheerleader sues team over nude body-paint photos”
- “BoingBoing applauds cops’ lawlessness”
- “California bill would mandate fitted, rather than flat, sheets on hotel beds”
- “Drinking is a ‘handicap,’ fired former Florida State administrator says”
- “Rep. Dennis Kucinich sues House cafeteria over olive pit in sandwich”
- “It’s sad that we can’t…report on experiences freely” (moms’ club forum)
- “Schools for Misrule is off to the printer”
“Austrian Court Upholds Conviction for ‘Denigrating Religious Beliefs'”
“An Austrian appellate court has upheld the conviction of Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff, a Viennese housewife and anti-Jihad activist, for ‘denigrating religious beliefs’ after giving a series of seminars about the dangers of radical Islam.” [Soeren Kern, Hudson New York via Volokh]
Criminalization of wild egg collecting
Newt’s “two out of three” notion
Some of Newt Gingrich’s curious ideas about the role of the judiciary are nowhere to be found in the constitution, observes my Cato colleague Roger Pilon [Philadelphia Inquirer] Related, Damon Root: “The Left-Wing Origins of Newt Gingrich’s Attack on the Courts” [Reason]
The wrong guy
How often does Los Angeles County throw people in jail due to mistaken identity? In some years “an average of once a day.” [L.A. Times]
Overdiagnosing mental disorders
My new podcast at Cato discusses the American Psychiatric Association’s ongoing project of redefining and often loosening the criteria for diagnosing mental illness, and some of its legal implications in fields like disability law (earlier).
Best-of-2011 lists and awards
Listicles and award contests from around the blawgosphere: Popehat on censorious clowns, Legal Ethics Forum, Trask on class action cases and articles, White Collar Crime Law Prof, Heritage on worst federal regs, Greenfield on best criminal law blawg post (and winner), Faces of Lawsuit Abuse (Chamber) on most ridiculous lawsuits, Balko on worst prosecutor (and finalists).
P.S. From The Week, “8 craziest lawsuits of 2011.” This in turn prompted a NYC personal injury attorney named David Waterbury, taking up valuable real estate at Eric Turkewitz’s, to write a counter-article saying the cases weren’t so bad, which involved me in the comments section after I observed Waterbury spreading the trial lawyer-favored line that the “Kara Walton” series of bogus lawsuit stories was a purposeful political fabrication.
December 30 roundup
- “Copyright troll Righthaven in its death throes, domain going up for auction” [Cory Doctorow, BoingBoing]
- Controversy over litigation finance continues [WaPo, NYPost]
- Presumably unrelated to above: “Unpaid Bills Land Some Debtors Behind Bars” [NPR]
- “Rent Control Violates Property Rights and Due Process” [Ilya Shapiro and Trevor Burrus, Cato, on Harmon v. Kimmel cert petition]
- Child abuse horrors result in dubious policy proposals including moves to abolish statutes of limitation, cast wider mandatory-reporting net [Howard Wasserman/PrawfsBlawg, Kyle Graham/Concurring Opinions]
- Schwab IRA class action settlement: lawyers get $500K while benefit to class is unclear [Lawrence Schonbron, Washington Times]
- “State Court Challenges to Legislatively Enacted Tort Reforms” [Andrew Cook and Emily Kelchen, Federalist Society “State Court Docket Watch”]
“Business Leaders for Loser-Pays”
In a new Cato post, I explain why I wish such an organization existed.