A lockdown and evaluation results, and now authorities are recommending that the student and his parents get counseling. The project in question was an empty half of a Gatorade bottle with some wires and other components, intended to work as a motion sensor; the school is a tech magnet school. [San Diego Union-Tribune, Greenfield, Alkon]
John Stossel on the Amirault case
Didn’t realize the newsman had covered the story (quite a while back, it would appear from the look and feel of the video):
Via Andrew Sullivan. On Massachusetts AG and Senate candidate Martha Coakley’s role, see this earlier post, as well as critical videos here and here, Popehat, Jury Box, and Radley Balko.
“Electrosensitives tortured by a radio tower that had been switched off for six weeks”
A news item that recalls this recent comment thread.
January 16 roundup
- Caution: Warning label overload. Why wacky warnings matter. [Ted Frank @ Sphere]
- Further evidence of efficiency of product liability limits when federal safety regulation is already in place. [Philipson/Sun/Goldman NBER Working Paper No. 15603]
- Army seeks to court-martial soldier in Afghanistan for possessing “child pornography” when his mother sends him family photos that include a four-year-old in a swimsuit. [AP/WaPo via Riehl; WQAD]
- Burger King coffee is hot, too. [Virginian-Pilot]
- The “slush pile” disappears, in part because of fear of plagiarism litigation. [WSJ]
- Schwarzenegger faces fight on his proposed tort reforms. [Legal Newsline (I’m quoted)]
- I’m speaking at NYU Law January 21 at an American Constitution Society panel on class action issues. [NYU Law]
- Off topic, but I believe that this may be the first time I’ve been listed in the index of a book.
“Mother sues party mates of dead teen”
A late-night binge drinking outing by some high school friends in Norfolk, Mass. ends badly. The mother says her late daughter “is absolutely 100 percent responsible” for what happened to her but is still is suing seven (7) teenagers and adults for their roles. [Boston Globe]
John Stossel on CPSIA
In his show last night on “Crony Capitalism”, with CPSC Commissioner Anne Northup as a guest, he told how Mattel and Hasbro are fine with the law that is wiping out many of their smaller competitors. Other segments of the show can be watched here.
Martha Coakley and the Amirault case
The Massachusetts attorney general and Senate candidate poses as the guardian of justice and civil liberties. Dorothy Rabinowitz knows better (earlier on the Amirault case here and here; on Coakley’s prosecutorial record here).
More (via Memeorandum): Bronwyn’s Harbor, No Quarter (citing views of Jeralyn Merritt/TalkLeft and Arthur Leonard); Dan McLaughlin, RedState; Dan Riehl (Woodward, Souza cases). Yet more: on Coakley’s offer to a deal to one defendant on condition that the experienced defense counsel handling the deal agree not to represent a second defendant in future, see Scott Greenfield (characterizing the move as “a deliberate effort to undermine the constitutional right to counsel”), Kenneth Anderson/Volokh, and John Steele/Legal Ethics Forum.
Actual funny lawyer TV ad
Via Scott Greenfield, from the New York firm of Trolman, Glaser & Lichtman:
Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission: Coughlin Stoia in catbird seat
As longtime trial lawyer ally Phil Angelides gears up his banker-bashing hearings, the law firm formerly known as Lerach Coughlin (yes, that Lerach) has reason to smile [WSJ, WSJ Law Blog] Earlier at Point of Law here, here, and here.
Aggressive in all the wrong ways
Martha Coakley’s record as a criminal prosecutor. [Radley Balko, Politico] More: Ed Brayton. Update: Dorothy Rabinowitz has not forgotten the Amirault case, nor should we.