best of – Overlawyered

Best of Overlawyered

Walter Olson — Sat, 30 May 2020 15:59:48 +0000

More than once a “best of Overlawyered” book was envisioned, but the project never panned out. We did, however, occasionally assemble January roundups of the best posts of the previous year, or sometimes of the most popular or clicked-on posts. You can read those, along with a number of anniversary and other themed posts, at our Best Of tag.

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Best of Overlawyered is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Most popular Overlawyered posts of 2018

Walter Olson — Tue, 01 Jan 2019 10:59:02 +0000

The dozen most popular Overlawyered posts of 2018, in ascending order:

#12: “Challenge to Seattle law banning choice of tenants”

#11: “‘Illinois 13-year-old charged with eavesdropping felony for recording meeting with principal’”

#10: “California judge: Prop 65 requires warnings on coffee”

#9: “Union group: Amazon should be prosecuted for threatening to pull jobs over per-worker tax”

#8: “‘They like a Quarter Pounder without cheese. So they’re suing McDonald’s for $5 million’”

#7: “‘I forced a bot to watch lawyer commercials and then asked it to write a lawyer commercial of its own.’”

#6: “‘More Comic Conventions Change Their Names After Crazy SDCC Attorney’s Fees And Injunction Ruling’”

#5: “‘County compels 91-year-old woman to tear down home wheelchair ramp’”

#4: “Yale admissions office responds to my WSJ piece”

#3: “‘Trump proposes biggest civil service change in 40 years’”

#2: “Pickup crosses interstate median, strikes oncoming vehicle. Guess who pays $89.6 million?”

And this year’s #1 most popular post: “18,000 Facebook shares later: a tale of legal misinformation”

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From ten years ago: electing judges, pro and con

Walter Olson — Sun, 04 Nov 2018 17:03:53 +0000

Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s announcement put me in mind of one of the issues on which she spoke out following her retirement from the Court, namely the practice in many states of electing judges. In response to a business-backed campaign to promote more direct election of judges, I wrote:

I am not at all convinced that electioneering and noisy public campaigns make a good way of selecting judges. In fact, I think there’s plenty of evidence that those practices contribute to some of the most serious problems of the state courts, and specifically to some of the worst problems facing business in those courts.

I expanded on the thought here, and gathered some of the reactions here.

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From ten years ago: electing judges, pro and con is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Best of Overlawyered — December 2017

Walter Olson — Tue, 30 Jan 2018 10:59:55 +0000

FATCA, the expatriate financial reporting law, may soon vex the British royal family;
Passenger asked to leave US Airways flight after emotional support pig becomes disruptive;
Quebec lawmakers to shopkeepers: don’t greet customers with “Bonjour hi,” might make English speakers feel too welcome;
“Now unsealed: official report on Wisconsin John Doe probes“;
Philadelphia city council votes to ban bulletproof glass in many delis, and more;
D.C.’s ordinance requiring child care workers to have degrees in early childhood development: the year’s worst law?
Penalties mount skyward: Oregon appeals court upholds $135,000 cake fine.

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Best of Overlawyered — December 2017 is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Best of Overlawyered — November 2017

Walter Olson — Fri, 26 Jan 2018 11:14:46 +0000

From the comments: Braille at drive-through ATMs;
“If the Law Is This Complicated, Why Shouldn’t Ignorance Be an Excuse?”
Burger workers class action makes Happy Meal for lawyers;
HOA mailbox spat turns into three-year court battle;
“Why the trial by ordeal was actually an effective test of guilt”;
“Robot Patrols Grocery Store To Prevent Slip-and-Falls”;
Will regulation submerge Baltimore’s favorite cookie? A drama in two acts.

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Best of Overlawyered — November 2017 is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Best of Overlawyered — October 2017

Walter Olson — Tue, 23 Jan 2018 11:02:50 +0000

Prop 65: “Coffee sold in California could carry cancer warning labels”;
“The Dead Man Who Sued to Make Himself Alive”;
“Third Circuit OKs ADA suit demanding tactile interpreter for deaf/blind movie patron”;
Mom’s “3-year-old for sale, $12” joke prompts human trafficking investigation;
“Florida law firm sanctioned; many clients had not authorized it to sue“;
DoJ subpoenas Twitter accounts that were tweeted at;
Florida first-grader disciplined for bringing butter knife to school;
“Woman caught stealing cement pavers threatens to sue for back injury”

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Best of Overlawyered — October 2017 is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Best of Overlawyered — September 2017

Walter Olson — Fri, 19 Jan 2018 11:02:23 +0000

“Utterly worthless,” “no better than a racket”: Subway sandwich settlement comes in for criticism at Seventh Circuit;
Defamation suit after being called patent troll;
Publishing a gun design online = arms export?
Drug company hands patents over to Indian tribe;
No, “The Star-Spangled Banner” is not an “ode to slavery” as some have mistaken it;
“Public interest” lawyer sues to end bottomless brunches;
“Starbucks robber to sue customer”;
“Mouse attacked, traumatized me in Home Depot, woman says in suit.”

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Best of Overlawyered — September 2017 is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Best of Overlawyered — August 2017

Walter Olson — Tue, 16 Jan 2018 11:02:57 +0000

“California: ADA lawsuit mill destroys family’s restaurant dream“;
“UK tourists abroad file wave of food poisoning claims“;
Brady Campaign talks couple into suing gun dealer, guess who gets left high and dry;
EEOC: “gentleman’s club” broke law by refusing to hire male barkeep;
$41.7M verdict against school for failing to warn of tick bites on field trip to China;
“If you’re an eclipse viewer and you’re hurt on someone else’s property, you could have a claim“;
“Seattle landlords aren’t to know about would-be tenants’ criminal records“;
“Maybe the best outcome in the case would be if the [New York Times paid Sarah Palin] $0 damages, but the editor who wrote the false words resigned in shame.”

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Best of Overlawyered — August 2017 is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Best of Overlawyered — July 2017

Walter Olson — Fri, 12 Jan 2018 11:01:29 +0000

“$600,000 award for not accommodating employee’s ‘Mark of the Beast’ beliefs“;
“Teen steals machete and kills her Uber driver,” resulting lawsuit seeks damages from Walmart;
“Maine tried to raise its minimum wage. Restaurant workers didn’t want it.”
Delaware man spends $40,000 in legal battle with neighbors defending his right to build a garage;
Court rejects Orange County, Calif. police union’s argument that smashing merchant’s surveillance cameras should give cops “reasonable expectation of privacy” thus ruling out admission of videotape of their misconduct in store afterward;
“To: brandenforcements@… Mr. Forcements — may I call you Branden?”
Hearsay? “Parrot said to have repeated ‘don’t (expletive) shoot’ in murder victim’s voice; wife convicted”;
“Sangria served to kids by mistake and someone must pay” despite lack of any reported ill effects

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Best of Overlawyered — July 2017 is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Best of Overlawyered — June 2017

Walter Olson — Mon, 08 Jan 2018 11:04:17 +0000

More tales of motorist-beware Tenaha, Texas;
Indigenous advocates propose UN measures to make cultural appropriation illegal worldwide;
“Man who jumped from ambulance says it’s New York City’s fault”;
Tenants of London’s ill-fated Grenfell Tower “repeatedly complained about safety concerns; their landlord hired a lawyer who threatened to sue them for libel.”
4 x 4 lumber isn’t really four by four in dimensions, and if that comes as news to you, you might be a class action plaintiff;
From 1890s to 1920s: “The Forgotten War on Chinese Restaurants.”
Eleventh Circuit: “the practical problems with suing a dog are virtually endless.”

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Best of Overlawyered — June 2017 is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system