More from the archives:

• Described as funniest Supreme Court amicus brief ever, and it prevailed in the Ohio campaign-law case [Ilya Shapiro, Trevor Burrus and Gabriel Latner for P.J. O’Rourke, via our post]
• Mardi Gras time: “Caution! Non-edible baby inside this cake”
• Most outrageous video lawyer ad ever?
• Lenore Skenazy (Free-Range Kids) spoke at Cato and it was one of the most popular talks I’ve attended there in years;
• “Colorado Man Could Sue Divers Who Saved Him From Submerged Car”
• Ohio school suspends 10-year-old for displaying a “level 2 look alike firearm,” namely his finger;
• “Brady Campaign To Honor Yee For Violence Prevention,” before the California lawmaker’s arms-trafficking indictment;
• Students “told to destroy rare Dodge Viper”

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• The one piece on bar fight litigation to read if you’re going to read only one;
• “Family sues Bronx Zoo after child swallows souvenir penny;”
• U.K.: “Policeman who smashed up pensioner’s car receives £400,000 compensation”
• “New car smell” blamed for fatal accident;
• U.S. Department of Justice: bar examiners improperly discriminate among applicants on grounds of sanity;
• “Just make it up”: undercover investigation exposes fraud in the asylum-request branch of immigration law;
• Fire department, Mennonites among recipients of quilt pattern cease-desists.

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A few highlights from January:

• Who killed traditional Edison light bulbs? “Government did it, at the request of big business.”
• Never saw that one coming: “Psychic Love Spell Center stole my money, lawyer alleges in lawsuit”
• Border agents vs. musical instruments;
• Britain considers criminalizing “emotional blackmail“;
• One of the U.S. Supreme Court’s most celebrated and important tort reform decisions came 50 years ago, you might not guess it at first;
• Mass patent asserter sent 16,000 demand letters to businesses, got 17 of them to pay;
• Maker of Candy Crush Saga asserts trademark rights against various makers of games using the word “Saga”;
• Lawyer defending police in Australia says court cannot rule out the possibility that man Tasered by officer may have been screaming in “joy”;
• Lawyer’s BMW jumps curb and pins 6-year-old twins against wall, his court filing says they “placed themselves in a position of danger“
• “Taxpayer Scores $862,000 from IRS after Tripping over a Phone Cord.”

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Our most heavily trafficked post in July 2013 was “Keep prosecuting until they get the result they want?” The most commented-on posts were that one, “Kickback allegations — and fountains of unearned cash — at the BP gulf spill fund” and “Imagine what a genuine malfunction might have cost.”

August’s most clicked-on post was “Shock! “Double Stuf Oreos Don’t Actually Have Double The Creme” (Update: co. denies)” The most commented-on posts were “Solomon wept: Baby Veronica decision followup“, the Oreos post, and “Can restaurants take your keys if you are intoxicated?”

The most visited post in September was “Boston Globe tackles attractiveness discrimination.” The most commented-on posts were “Just don’t call them quotas: disabled-hiring benchmarks for federal contractors“, the Boston Globe post above, and “The California disease.”

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Our most heavily trafficked post in April 2013 was “Overlawyered: Now a Cato Institute blog.” The most commented-on posts were “Teen throws concrete onto highway, truck driver gravely injured“, “‘Lance Armstrong Lied, Cheated, Doped…’,” and “Great moments in law school outreach.” (Kathy Boudin at NYU)

May’s most clicked-on post was “Daily Caller fires a blank at Lois Lerner.” The most commented-on posts were “Government is simply the name for the things we do together…” (IRS targeting scandal), the Daily Caller post above, and “Liability for the Boston Marathon bombing?”

The most visited post in June was “Storming the homes of political enemies, cont’d.” The most commented-on posts were that one, “Goodbye to most unpaid internships?” and “It’s alive.” (John Edwards)

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Our most heavily trafficked post in January 2013 was “Class Action Suits Against Subway Over ‘Footlong’ Sandwich.” The most commented-on posts were that one, “Loyalty Oaths with Religious Affirmations,” and “What the Aaron Swartz case says about our justice system.”

February’s most clicked-on post was “Donald Trump v. Bill Maher.” The most commented-on posts were “One in ten California drivers has disabled placard,” “Update: ‘Albino Rhino’ beer brand withdrawn following human rights complaint,” and “Lehigh U. student sues over grade, seeks $1.3 M.”

The most visited post in March was “Man stranded on ‘Small World’ wins $8,000 from Disney.” The most commented-on posts were “Letting the nurse perform CPR? Against our policy,” “School offers counseling to kids traumatized by pastry incident,” and “Nevada bill: let patients sue docs, drugmakers over addiction.”

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Here are the five posts published in 2012 that drew the highest traffic over the past year:

Dressing psychiatrists as wizards on the witness stand [January]
Doormat warning [December]
Long-necked beer bottle maker not liable for barroom assault [August]
“Structuring”: who can get away with it, and who can’t [April]
Reluctant to recant rape accusation [May]

Some posts continue popular long after they’re published. Here are the five from previous years that drew most traffic in 2012:

The burglar and the skylight: another debunking that isn’t [2006]
Urban legends and Stella Liebeck and the McDonald’s coffee case [2005]
Lawyers making clients worse off: Nicholas White’s elevator ride [2008]
Lawyer presidents [2008]
From comments: lawyer referral fees [2008]

Finally, here are the five 2012 posts that drew the largest number of reader comments:

He couldn’t prove it was legitimate [May]
Deaf girl’s family sues Girl Scouts for disbanding troop [August]
That treehouse has to go [January]
May 18 roundup [May]
NHTSA to mandate accelerator overrides [April]

And see also our subjective, recently concluded month-by-month list of highlights starting with January.

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• Homeless man wins $200K for exclusion from L.A. buses, and more legal complications ensue.
• LAPD: “Is there any way you or your crew could make a few arrests so we can avoid negative coverage?”
• Hemingway museum needs zoo license for cats.
• Do commercial property owners have a duty to keep defibrillator on site?
• “Do not taunt mat.” Funny doormat warning.
• “State of Kansas hits sperm donor for child support.”

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