Illinois has passed a new dog law, which seems like a really complicated solution to a fairly simple problem.
Nick Tarasen of “Chicago Report” explains (pretty convincingly) why he thinks that the law is a bad idea.
Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
Ladies Man
Col. Kassem Saleh has apparently been making himself a little too popular with the ladies. It’s a fascinating question of whether one can get in trouble for “just talking” if one didn’t actually engage in any harassment at all. Indeed, the women seem to be complaining that they wanted more Saleh, not less.
Greetings
Hello all. My name is Will Baude and I’m very thankful to Mr. Olson for letting me blog here. I’m a student at the University of Chicago, and normally you’ll find me at the group-blog Crescat Sententia.
What with Howard Bashman on vacation, I’m happy to get email about any interesting law-related news, so if you see anything interesting, don’t hesitate to drop me an email.
New guestblogger tomorrow
Another newcomer will be arriving tomorrow to contribute a week’s worth of guest posts. Drop by and see for yourself.
Update: Fox gets skinned
Federal judge Denny Chin in Manhattan rebuffed Fox News’s request for an injunction to prevent the Penguin Group from releasing humorist Al Franken’s new book with a title mocking the network’s “Fair and Balanced” slogan (see Aug. 12). “There are hard cases and there are easy cases. This is an easy case,” said Judge Chin. “This case is wholly without merit both factually and legally.” “During arguments held before his ruling, Chin asked Fox lawyer Dorie Hansworth if she really believed that the [book’s] cover was confusing. ‘To me, it’s quite ambiguous as to what the message is,’ she said. ‘It’s a deadly serious cover … This is much too subtle to be considered a parody.” The book’s cover is dominated by its title, “Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right”. (Gail Appleson, “Fox Loses Bid to Stop Sale of Franken Book”, Reuters/Yahoo, Aug. 22). Ernest Svenson (Ernie the Attorney) chides Fox not only for the weakness of its substantive trademark position but also for using its complaint as a vehicle for personal attacks on Franken: “the courts aren’t there for litigants who want retribution.” (“A lawyer’s take on Al Franken’s First Round Legal Victory”, Blogcritics, Aug. 22). Eugene Volokh also comments.
Welcome Phila., Denver, Okla., Jacksonville readers
We’re named among the weekly “Web Winners” picks of Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Reid Kanaley, who recommends us for “such class-action gems as the one in California demanding discounts for men on ‘ladies night.'” (Aug. 14). Vincent Carroll, writing in Denver’s Rocky Mountain News, predicts that the forthcoming Kobe Bryant trial is unlikely to resemble the atrocious O.J. Simpson trial, and quotes our editor on the question of jury selection and its abuse (“Spectacle of O.J. trial won’t repeat itself here”, Aug. 16).
More on comics clerk’s conviction
Reader William Dyer (BeldarBlog) writes that he “was disappointed to see your brief entry today on Overlawyered regarding the Jesus Castillo obscenity case. The stories you linked today are filled with factual errors and generally overblow the story.”
Interview with our editor, and more publicity
Steven Martinovich at Enter Stage Right talks with our editor about what’s wrong with the legal system and how this site came to be (“The case against lawyers: An interview with Walter Olson”, Aug. 18). Doug Bandow’s review of our editor’s new book The Rule of Lawyers, which appeared in National Review this spring, is finally online now (“Shyster Heaven”, National Review Online, Apr. 21). More recent publicity: “Lawsuit lockdown” (editorial on malpractice crisis), Las Vegas Review-Journal, Aug. 7; Anne Marie Borrego, “Fairer Class Action” (on the Class Action Fairness Act), Inc. magazine, Aug.; “Shame on you Rush”, Cut on the Bias (Susanna Cornett’s blog), Aug. 9.
Biggest NY staged-accident bust ever
The operation staged thousands of car accidents around the New York City area, investigators say, following the classic modus operandi of having a ring member pull in front of an unsuspecting driver and slam on the brakes to force a collision so as to generate insurance claims. (New York has a no-fault insurance law; similar scams are found in states with both fault and no-fault systems). A second car would then drive up, often discharging more claimed passengers while whisking away the original driver of the scam vehicle (so that his name would not turn up in too many claims). “Those indicted included doctors, psychiatrists, chiropractors, dentists and nearly 20 bogus health-care clinics … Lawyers whom prosecutors said were aware that the claims were false often called the insurance companies and threatened to file suits if the claims were not paid.” (Patrick Healy, “Investigators Say Fraud Ring Staged Thousands of Crashes”, New York Times, Aug. 13)(see Apr. 2, 2001, Aug. 25-27, 2000, Sept. 13, 1999).
Comics? Must be for kids
“Earlier this [month], the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of Jesus Castillo’s 2000 obscenity conviction for selling a comic book. … In September 1999, Castillo, manager of Keith’s Comics in Dallas, sold a copy of ‘Demon Beast Invasion: The Fallen’ No. 2 to an undercover police officer. The adults-only comic (an English translation of a Japanese manga) was labeled as such and was stocked in an adults-only section of the shop. The police officer was an adult. … ‘I don’t care what kind of testimony is out there,’ the prosecuting attorney said. ‘Comic books, traditionally what we think of, are for kids.'” (Franklin Harris, Pulp Culture Online, Aug. 7) (via Unqualified Offerings)(Comic Book Legal Defense Fund). More: reader William Dyer (BeldarBlog) writes taking issue with the linked stories.