My new post at Cato at Liberty examines the latest EPA about-face following pushback against its ambitious regulatory schemes. Alarms by farmer and rancher interests over EPA’s proposed curbs on dust in the atmosphere had led to ongoing political headaches for President Obama and Senate Democrats. More: Politico; Robert VerBruggen/NRO and more; welcome Neal Boortz readers.
Police lineups and eyewitness accuracy
A human-interest story in the Times about the business of recruiting “fillers” for police lineups raises uncomfortable questions about the accuracy of eyewitness identification [Scott Greenfield].
Calmer = more conscientious?
Lawyers who practice stress reduction techniques want discounts from their malpractice insurers [ABA Journal]
Divorce detective’s DUI entrapment
“A whistle-blower tells how a private detective arranged for men to be arrested for drunk driving at the behest of their ex-wives and their lawyers — and that entrapment using decoys was only one of many alleged misdeeds.” [L.A. Times; Contra Costa County (Bay Area), Calif.]
That should take care of the annoyance problem
A judge has ruled that the notice to class members of a class action over unsolicited faxes should be delivered by … fax [Christina Stueve, Madison County Record; related editorial]
October 17 roundup
- “Convicted King of Class Actions Builds Aviary, Regrets Nothing” [Lerach, Bloomberg profile]
- Teva/Baxter suits: Latest Nevada you-made-the-vials-too-big propofol verdict makes no more sense than first [Glenn Lammi, Forbes; Ted at PoL]
- EPA malicious prosecution in Hubert Vidrine case won’t be “isolated” unless we change our thinking [Ken at Popehat]
- Title IX coordinator training: “How federal regulations are making college ‘risk management’ lawyers rich” [Robert Shibley, Daily Caller] A lawyer spots more problems with Department of Education regulations on campus sexual assault [Robert Smith, RCP]
- Time to admit: on consequences of protecting big banks from capitalism, “Occupy” has a point [Nicole Gelinas, City Journal]
- Lawsuits accuse Boeing of engine-air-in-cabin “fume events” [MSNBC]
- About those “Topeka decriminalizes domestic violence” stories [Lowering the Bar]
“The main force letting protesters stay in the park is old-fashioned crony capitalism”
Gordon Crovitz at the WSJ tells how muddled property rights, combined with the dependence of real estate developers on the good will of New York’s City Council, have resulted in the continuing occupation of Zuccotti Park.
Louisiana: secondhand dealers must report customers to police
The law is meant to reach anyone who buys or otherwise deals in used items at least once a month, and requires noncash payment methods. And that’s just the start: [Ackel & Associates]
…For every transaction a secondhand dealer must obtain the seller’s personal information such as their name, address, driver’s license number and the license plate number of the vehicle in which the goods were delivered. They must also make a detailed description of the item(s) purchased and submit this with the personal identification information of every transaction to the local policing authorities through electronic daily reports. If a seller cannot or refuses to produce to the secondhand dealer any of the required forms of identification, the secondhand dealer is prohibited from completing the transaction.
P.S. According to James in comments, the quoted account exaggerates the stringency of the law in question as well as its novelty. More: Volokh, Opposing Views, Greenfield, Masnick.
Unions sue against Wall Street bonuses
The suit was just a political stunt, writes Marc Hodak:
…Last week, the Delaware Chancery Court decided that in the absence of any substantiation whatsoever, and insisting on these things called facts, that they had to dismiss the case.
I only wish that the fiduciaries who brought this fact-challenged suit could be held accountable for the far more provable waste of their investors’ resources…
U.K. discrimination lawyer sued by banker client
“A banker is suing her former sex discrimination lawyer who she says advised her ‘to start crying’ the next time she had a meeting with her boss.” [Daily Mail]