“Peter Q. ‘P’Ta Mon’ John, who advertises himself as ‘The Thugs Lawyer,’ was indicted Thursday on charges that he conspired to have attempted murder charges against two local rap music executives dropped.” [Baton Rouge Advocate via Above the Law] Earlier coverage of John here and here (his advertised $500 “Expungement Special”).
Bar exam preparation app
A $1,000 iPhone application, cheap compared with BarBri, is stirring interest.
Welcome National Review Online readers
Yesterday’s roundup item wondering whether Massachusetts Democrats had secured the requisite photo permissions for women portrayed as rape victims in a controversial campaign flyer drew many readers thanks to a link from Kathryn Lopez at the Corner.
IRS moves to tighten tax preparer licensing
Coyote is wondering about some of the claimed consumer protection rationales.
Can’t clear the copyrights, cont’d
Everyone seems to be willing in principle to re-release public-domain Jack Benny shows that are milestones in early TV comedy, but CBS balks at paying for all the lawyering that would be needed. [BoingBoing] More: JackBenny.org.
CPSC reports to Congress on CPSIA
The full report is here (PDF); the commission’s Democratic and Republican members managed to reach consensus on enough points to allow for a bipartisan report. Deserving of particularly close attention are the supplementary views (also PDF) by Commissioners Nancy Nord and Anne Northup, and Northup appends to her remarks many letters from those whose businesses are being ravaged needlessly by the law. The same two commissioners also blog on the subject.
As Nord observes, the full CPSC report:
* acknowledges that the agency needs additional flexibility to implement the lead provisions of the CPSIA, though it does not address how that flexibility should be crafted (since we could not reach agreement on that point);
* acknowledges that books probably were not intended to be regulated under the CPSIA and suggests that Congress may want to consider addressing this issue;
* recommends that the retroactive nature of the law be repealed as the lead limits move from 300ppm to 100ppm; and
* outlines the efforts the agency has made to date to assist small manufacturers and artisans in complying with the CPSIA and states our willingness to work with Congress to address the problems small manufacturers continue to face.
The Handmade Toy Alliance has published some reactions from Rob Wilson as well as its own recommended changes to the law, as has Rick Woldenberg.
Alas, the commission was not exactly a model of transparency in its deliberations: its majority turned down requests from Commissioners Nord and Northup for it to open its debate to the public.
P.S. And more from Rick Woldenberg, Commissioner Anne Northup, and Carter Wood/ShopFloor.
Faces of Lawsuit Abuse “worst lawsuit” poll
Word Around the Net and Construction Risk Blog report on the results of a contest that featured some doozies.
January 18 roundup
- Already-infamous Coakley-for-Senate rape-ad mailer: did they really line up all those photo permissions? [Lopez, NRO] Earlier on photo-permissions legal exposures here, here, here, here, here, here, here, etc.
- “Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Peyton Thomas: Blame the Libertarians!” [Balko, earlier]
- Georgetown lawprof Robin West takes such a rude tone with homeschoolers, it’s enough to make you wonder who brought her up [Common Room, Izzy Lyman/Big Journalism, “The Harms of Homeschooling” (PDF)] Parents charged with child endangerment for homeschooling their kids without submitting lesson plans [Albany Times-Union]
- Videogames and the ADA: “Sony Launches Defense to Gamer’s Equal Access Suit” [OnPoint News, earlier]
- Regulations may spell end for independent New England fishermen [AP/MSNBC, earlier]
- Veteran California pol Willie Brown criticizes civil service entrenchment [Kaus] Government employment has its privileges [Stuart Greenhut, Reason]
- New Jersey appeals court reverses $260K award over student’s fatal window fall at Fairleigh Dickinson U. [Star-Ledger]
- Georgia federal judge orders plaintiff to pay $268K costs of discovery for stretching patent claims [Fulton County Daily Report]
Welcome WTIC listeners
I was a guest on Ray Dunaway’s Hartford-based show this morning to discuss the important trial lawyer/state AG earmark lately discovered in the health care legislation. I mentioned the earlier attempt to sneak a massive trial lawyer bonanza into the bill; for details on that, follow links here, here, here, here, and here.
“Posner Blasts ‘Out of Control’ Class-Action Lawyer in Fee Fight”
Rex Carr of East St. Louis is fighting his former partners at Korein Tillery. [ABA Journal]