Attorney General Rob McKenna of Washington discusses the need to roll back a combination of legislation and judicially created doctrine that leaves the state uniquely exposed to liability lawsuits. “Calls to attorneys general offices in other states reveal we pay much more than states with similar-sized populations: eight times more than Tennessee, five times more than Arizona and at least three times more than Massachusetts. These disparities date back at least 15 years.” [Seattle Times; my 2005 take]
Politico (the website) vs. “College Politico”
Ron Coleman examines a trademark brouhaha that has roused blogosphere interest.
“California Town Abandons Facebook Page Amid Legal Concerns”
“The city of Redondo Beach, Calif., is abandoning its Facebook page after hearing about potential legal problems.” [ABA Journal, Daily Breeze]
The egg and I
The New York Times invited me to contribute to its “Room for Debate” feature on the big egg recall and here is an excerpt from my reply:
…Advocates cite the current outbreak, at last report limited to two related Iowa egg farms, as reason to enact pending legislation that would intensify federal regulation of food-making in the name of safety. Large food and agribusiness companies have generally signed off on most of the new proposals as acceptable. Many smaller producers, on the other hand, suspect there will be less room for them, and for local variety generally, in this reassuring new world of business and government cooperation.
I go on to cite the CPSIA debacle, in which a safety enactment devastated small producers of children’s goods while entrenching some of the dominant industry players. Read the full post here. Some other perspectives worth checking out: Ronald Bailey, Ira Stoll, Ann Althouse. (cross-posted from Cato at Liberty; and welcome Nick Gillespie/Reason “Hit and Run” readers).
“Felony charges dropped in fire-breathing bartenders case”
Fairfax County, Virginia prosecutors had charged two bartenders at Jimmy’s Old Town Tavern in Herndon over the trick, which (the report suggests) resulted in no mishap or injuries and which the tavern owner said they had done hundreds of times previously. They still face misdemeanor charges. [Fairfax Times] Scott Greenfield discusses the case (with a mention of yours truly) and proposes a “bartender flambé” rule for knowing when the bubble-ization of everyday life has gone too far.
Ready, set, cringe
“US admits human rights shortcomings in UN report” [AP] Not to get too far ahead of the game, but the enthusiasm of legal academia for the international human rights movement is one of the major themes of my forthcoming Schools for Misrule, and the fruits of that movement — including the United Nations’ new “periodic review” procedure, by which it scrutinizes ours and other nations’ human rights records — figure prominently in the narrative.
More: Michael Cannon at Cato notes that the Obama administration cited, as evidence of the nation’s human rights progress, its enactment of “legislation that threatens U.S. residents with prison if they fail to purchase health insurance.”
Lawsuit demands $38 quadrillion
That sum, demanded by a Las Vegas man in a suit against three Utah attorneys, is far in excess of all the money in the world, so there may be collectibility problems. [Provo Daily Herald]
Worker’s comp in California
The state’s onetime crisis abated after Gov. Schwarzenegger presided over serious reforms in 2004, but now rates are on the rise again following court decisions that have let lawyers bypass medical-eligibility guidelines. [Orange County Register]
Credit card agreements now average 31 pages long
Elizabeth Warren denounces the proliferation of fine print, but does she understand why it’s happened? [Ted at PoL]
Illinois candidate “wants to shutter law schools”
The idea from the Green Party candidate for state treasurer has people talking. “[Candidate Scott] Summers would board up the windows at the law schools of both Northern Illinois and Southern Illinois Universities. Did we mention Summers graduated from NIU Law?” [Legal Blog Watch]