- The appalling reign of California’s prison guards union [Tim Kowal, League of Ordinary Gentlemen via Tim Cavanaugh; Steven Malanga, City Journal; earlier]
- Defense side, including dozens of sued bloggers, begins to respond in “Rakofsky v. Internet” case [Turkewitz, Popehat, earlier]
- Point/counterpoint on class action arbitration clauses [Karlsgodt]
- Group plans to Twitter-fy the novel Ulysses via crowdsourcing in time for Bloomsday, but let’s hope nobody tells litigation-prone Joyce heir [Ulysses Meets Twitter 2011 via BoingBoing]
- Battle over reform of joint and several liability continues in Pennsylvania legislature [Wajert]
- From Miami, latest dramatic tale of cops vs. citizen video-taking [David Rittgers, Cato at Liberty] New Jersey bill would criminalize taking photos of kids in many circumstances [Nicole Ciandella, CEI, see also]
- Australia: “Man Gets Workers’ Comp for Injury Sustained When Punching Customer” [Lowering the Bar]
Author Archive
Baltimore’s “Injury LawMobile”
The Maryland Daily Record (sub) has a Google-accessible pic of this lawyerly venture into street advertising (via Miller). Compare this 2004 NYC story, where the van actually contained a mobile law office, and its followup.
Worst New Jersey lawyer ever?
If prosecutors are to be believed, Paul Bergrin not only defrauded lenders on a grand scale but “set up witnesses to be murdered before they could testify against his clients”. “I can’t have some [expletive] lawyer in suspenders and I’m supposed say thanks because he got my sentence down to twenty years,” said one murder-rap defendant client. “I’m paying top dollar, and I demand legal brilliance. Someone who will consider all the options.” [New York magazine]
Breaching online anonymity
Some online-speech defenders are alarmed at the readiness with which a Colorado judge agreed to expose the anonymity of Wikipedia contributors in a defamation case brought by the fashion company Façonnable. [Paul Alan Levy via TechDirt; Citizen Media Law]
“Sex accommodation” tale from Brazil
It’s a much–circulated story. But is it true?
June 8 roundup
- Law firm settles with employee who said required high heels led to back injury [ABA Journal]
- Stock listings fleeing U.S. for overseas, legal environment a factor [Ribstein, TotM]
- Partial solution to above? Ted Frank places a stock bet on the Wal-Mart case [PoL, more]
- Wider press coverage of hospital drug shortage [AP, Reuters, my March post]
- Trial judge up north supports certifying as class action unusual suit blaming Newfoundland for moose collisions [Canadian Press via Karlsgodt, earlier here and here]
- Academic revolt against copyright overreach [Chron of Higher Ed]
- Sues deceased grandmother over trampoline injury [Madison County Record]
New frontiers in international human rights
Even for nonpayment of cable bills? “The United Nations has declared Internet access a human right, and disconnecting people from it is against international law.” [Stan Schroeder, Mashable]
More: According to some commenters, what’s going on here is an assertion only of liberty rights (authorities should not block access) and not of affirmative welfare rights to internet access. Accepting this view for the basis of argument, there still arises the question of whether commonly encountered terms of service will now be at risk of being declared contrary to international law; per news coverage, some advocates hope the new initiative will bar closing the accounts of distributors of pirated music etc., and one can readily imagine parallel claims by email spammers, launchers of DDOS attacks and other controversial classes of users.
Ron Smith show this morning; C-SPAN video
I’m set to join Ron Smith this morning at 10:35 a.m. on Baltimore’s WBAL to discuss the federal government’s role in food and nutrition. And C-SPAN has posted the video of my Monday appearance on “Washington Journal” on the same subject. More in my new post at Cato at Liberty.
But the class action fund was just sitting there!
There was weirdly little resistance when a scamster named Kevin Waltzer and his associates posed as investors and defrauded three securities class action settlement funds of more than $40 million. How about better verification mechanisms? [Trask, Trentonian]
“Disabled man puts the squeeze on [NYC] businesses with handicap lawsuits”
The New York Post profiles prolific ADA filer Zoltan Hirsch, who has targeted at least 87 businesses, and his lawyer, Bradley Weitz. “[Hirsch] targeted a pedicure station at the Red & White Spa in SoHo — even though he has no feet.”