“A disabled woman who unsuccessfully sued her mother’s doctor for wrongful life has won the right to take her case to the High Court.” Alexia Harriton, 24, born with multiple handicaps, says a doctor was negligent for not diagnosing her mother’s rubella infection during pregnancy; had the infection been diagnosed, mom would have had an abortion. (AAP/News.com.au, Apr. 29). More on wrongful life/wrongful birth cases: Sept. 16, 2004 and links from there. Update May 27, 2006: court rules against wrongful life concept.
Author Archive
Update: Miss. judge’s wife may cooperate with prosecutors
Jennifer Diaz, ex-wife of Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Oliver Diaz Jr., has struck a plea agreement with prosecutors and may become “a witness against him and others charged in a federal corruption probe”. “In 2000, Jennifer Diaz received a loan for campaign funds that was guaranteed by prominent trial lawyer Dickie Scruggs in the amount of $80,000,” but did not report the amount as income when Scruggs forgave the debt. Scruggs was not charged in the investigation, which led to indictments of the Diazes, prominent trial lawyer Paul Minor, and two former judges; trial on the charges “is set to begin May 9 in Jackson”. (Jerry Mitchell and Julie Goodman, “Judge’s ex-wife might be prosecution witness, officials say”, Jackson Clarion-Ledger, Apr. 26). See Feb. 22, 2004 and links from there.
“Wealthy suspect is serial litigant”
“During the two decades [millionaire murder defendant Fred] Keller has lived in Palm Beach County, he has filed more than 160 lawsuits. Most were landlord-tenant actions in connection with his commercial real estate empire,” but there were also a large assortment of others, including suits naming several relatives and a former girlfriend against whom he waged a 16-year campaign to collect a $2,225 debt. Keller, 70, is headed for a retrial next month after a jury deadlocked on charges that include “first-degree murder in the death of his fifth wife, Rosemarie, and attempted first-degree murder in the wounding of her brother in November 2003.” (Larry Keller, Palm Beach Post, Apr. 25)(via Sploid).
Accolades
It’s time to round up and thank some of those who’ve said or done kind things on our behalf recently. That would include Denise Howell, one of the earliest and best-known lawyer-bloggers (Bag and Baggage), who’s recently helped launch a new group blog at Corante on technology, culture and the law called Between Lawyers, featuring Ernest Svenson and others; in the comments section she calls Overlawyered “an excellent blog I recommend highly” (Mar. 28, comment section). Kevin O’Brien at Aero-News.net calls us “always-interesting” (Apr. 21) and while glad to return that nice compliment we note that it lacks intensity compared with what Donna Baver Rovito, dynamo of Pennsylvania physician activism, wrote recently (Mar. 17):
…just for the record, I would walk on broken glass for Walter Olson and Ted Frank in gratitude for the unbelievable research offered up on their websites Overlawyered.com and PointofLaw.com.
Wow. Evan Schaeffer probably wouldn’t go along completely with that sentiment but has lately extended congratulations to one of us and coffee mugs to both. We’ve also been recommended recently by Frazzle.com (Apr. 23), by Australia’s WogBlog (Apr. 27, calling us “terrific”), and, in Portuguese, Lado Negro da Web (Apr. 24). And the new legal blog aggregator Juris Novus, which fills the same general niche left by the late and lamented DailyWhirl, gives prominent placement to this site among its offerings. More: Precision Blogging (Apr. 29) calls us the “perfect antidote for a beautiful Spring day,” but seems to mean that in a complimentary way.
Rogers v. Merck
Until today it looked as if the first Vioxx wrongful-death action to go to trial against Merck & Co. since the painkiller’s withdrawal from the market would be Cheryl Rogers’ lawsuit in an Alabama state court over the death of her late husband Howard. Now, at the request of a federal judge who is presiding over other Vioxx cases, the parties have agreed to postpone trial in the Rogers case, which had been set to start next month. (Theresa Agovino, “First Vioxx trial to be postponed”, AP/Business Week, Apr. 28). That’s a pity, since it would have been illuminating to get to the bottom of the allegations about the case aired in recent weeks. Per AP:
Pharmacists’ rights
Dave Boaz of the Cato Institute, a friend of this site, is debating the matter over at Legal Affairs’ Debate Club this week with Judy Waxman of the National Women’s Law Center. See Apr. 13 (linking to Steve Chapman column)(& letter to the editor, May 10).
Antiquities trade
Various nationalist governments and well-intended archaeologists are trying to shut down the worldwide trade in antiquities, but it’s far from clear that declaring governments to be the sole rightful owners of historical relics leads to better conservation or better public understanding of them. As the U.S. government increasingly shows itself willing to enforce foreign states’ claims of ownership in artifacts, collectors in this country are tangled in legal uncertainties and faced with demands that they affirmatively document long-ago provenances, an often impossible task. And some of the “cultural patrimony” subject to demands for repatriation is of distinctly recent vintage: China seeks title to “calligraphy and paintings dating from as recently as 1912”. (Steven Vincent, “Ancient Treasures for Sale”, Reason, Apr.). Inasmuch as governments such as those of China, Cambodia and Afghanistan have themselves been pre-eminent destroyers of their own store of cultural antiquities — the damage done during China’s Cultural Revolution period is incalculable — the dispersal of an ancient culture’s artworks around the world may turn out to be an important safeguard in making sure that in future such episodes at least a portion of the treasure survives the wreck.
Live from Wendy’s
Anne Haight is photoblogging the scene of the finger incident (Apr. 25)(via Instapundit)(see Apr. 22, etc.)
Go Cathy go
If you oppose one or another agenda item of the organized religious right these days, you’re apt to get accused of “anti-religious bigotry”. Gordon Smith (Apr. 26) provides a handy summary with links of the current flap over judicial nominations. Longtime readers will find it little surprise that I think Cathy Young (“An ugly new chapter in the religious wars”, Boston Globe, Apr. 25) has the better of the argument (also check out Mark Kleiman, Apr. 26) while Prof. Bainbridge is barking up a desperately wrong tree (Apr. 25) when he declares that Senate Democrats’ actions have a disparate impact on nominees “of faith”; the disparate-impact concept has done enough damage already in the realm of employment discrimination law without encouraging it to debilitate the rest of American discourse.
P.S. Were I a Senator I would no doubt happily vote to confirm most of the disputed nominees. But between the Schiavo case and the collaboration of Hill Republicans in demagogic events like “Justice Sunday”, is it any wonder GOP popularity is plummeting?
Law Day
David Giacalone has some reflections (Apr. 24). Irresistible first paragraph:
Sherman Adams, chief of staff to President Eisenhower, almost prevented the creation of Law Day, in 1958. Adams burst into the President’s office yelling “Do not sign that paper praising lawyers!”