blue-ribbon excuses – Overlawyered

Points for creativity dept.: back from the dead

Walter Olson — Sat, 16 Nov 2019 17:04:35 +0000

“A man convicted of murder was rushed from the Iowa State Penitentiary to the hospital in 2015 where his heart was restarted five times. Now he claims his life sentence was fulfilled in his short-lived death, and that he has over-stayed his prison time.” [Anna Spoerre, Des Moines Register]

Tags: blue-ribbon excuses, prisoners

Points for creativity dept.: back from the dead is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Department of creative arguments

Walter Olson — Sun, 06 Jan 2019 17:05:07 +0000

“A Knoxville woman was convicted of drunk driving after a jury disagreed with her claim that several parked cars struck her, instead of the other way around.” [WATE via Kevin Underhill, Lowering the Bar]

Tags: blue-ribbon excuses, DUI

Department of creative arguments is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Great moments in what-I-told-the-officer

Walter Olson — Sun, 25 Feb 2018 16:57:23 +0000

Suspects in possession of 4,000 kilos of oranges, or four metric tons, said they had no idea where they came from [Lowering the Bar, Spain]

Tags: blue-ribbon excuses, crime and punishment, Spain

Great moments in what-I-told-the-officer is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Blue-ribbon excuses: “Lawyers for quadruple murder suspect blame low sodium levels”

Walter Olson — Thu, 11 May 2017 10:32:07 +0000

“Medical experts testifying in Erbie Bowser’s capital murder trial Tuesday blamed his deadly rampage on a ‘perfect storm’ in his brain, ultimately triggered by low sodium levels in his body. Bowser, 48, is on trial in the killings of four women — including his girlfriend and his estranged wife — and the injuring of four children in two attacks at homes in Dallas and DeSoto on Aug. 7, 2013.” [Tasha Tsiaperas, Dallas News via Jackie Salo, New York Post]

Tags: blue-ribbon excuses, expert witnesses

Blue-ribbon excuses: “Lawyers for quadruple murder suspect blame low sodium levels” is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Blue-ribbon excuses: beer batter fish fry to blame for DUI

Walter Olson — Sat, 11 Jun 2016 17:50:52 +0000

“A Wisconsin man who blamed his beer-battered fish fry after he was pulled over the 10th time for drunken driving is going to prison.” A judge didn’t buy his excuse that the smell of alcohol on his breath noted during the Dell Prairie traffic stop was from the savory ingredient. [Chicago Tribune]

Tags: blue-ribbon excuses, DUI

Blue-ribbon excuses: beer batter fish fry to blame for DUI is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Blue-ribbon excuses: lawyer says he was hiding cash from wife, not law

Walter Olson — Wed, 12 Nov 2014 05:15:40 +0000

A lawyer who resigned abruptly from the office handling BP oil spill claims has denied allegations he accepted kickbacks from lawyers with claims pending in the process, saying the money was paid for earlier work and that his aim was to hide it from his wife — who also happened to work at the claims office — rather than to conceal anything improper. [New Orleans Times-Picayune]

Tags: blue-ribbon excuses, BP Transocean oil spill, New Orleans

Blue-ribbon excuses: lawyer says he was hiding cash from wife, not law is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

“Xbox games may have spurred synagogue attacks, lawyer says”

Walter Olson — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 13:44:05 +0000

“A man accused of firebombing three New Jersey synagogues may have been influenced by violent Xbox video games that aggravated his mental issues, his attorney said Tuesday. … [Anthony] Graziano’s attorney, Robert Kalisch, speaking outside court after the hearing Tuesday morning, described Graziano as a young man with mental health issues who had few friends and played violent games on his Xbox.” [MSNBC, Patrick Scott Patterson/Examiner](& Elie Mystal, Above the Law)

Tags: blue-ribbon excuses, videogames

“Xbox games may have spurred synagogue attacks, lawyer says” is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Blue-ribbon excuses: shoplifting California lawmaker

Walter Olson — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 14:01:45 +0000

Assemblywoman Mary Hayashi (D-Hayward), who chairs the Committee on Business, Professions and Consumer Protection, has “pleaded no contest to charges that she tried to walk off with $2,500 in clothes.” [L.A. Times via Amy Alkon] “Hayashi spokesman Sam Singer has called the incident ‘a mistake and a misunderstanding.'” [Dublin Patch, KGO] “Hayashi’s attorney, Douglas Rappaport, told reporters that the lawmaker is taking medication for a benign brain tumor and that the ailment may have been responsible for her behavior.” But that doesn’t mean she’ll be taking a medical leave from her duties: according to her attorney, the tumor “is being treated with medication and no longer affects her,” reports the Sacramento Bee, which continues in a skeptical vein: “Medical experts said Monday that it is very rare, however, for a brain tumor that does not require surgery to influence behavior so significantly.” “I am confident that with the close of these proceedings, she will continue to ably serve her constituents with the same talent and passion she has displayed throughout her time in office,” wrote Assembly Speaker John Pérez in a supportive statement.

Tags: blue-ribbon excuses, California, legislature

Blue-ribbon excuses: shoplifting California lawmaker is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

The defense rests

Walter Olson — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 05:40:21 +0000

“Sleepwalker not responsible for brutal attack” [Calgary Sun via Lowering the Bar, who also contributes the headline above]

Tags: blue-ribbon excuses, Canada

The defense rests is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Hiccup Girl lawyer may blame Tourette’s

Walter Olson — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 05:07:38 +0000

Annals of unusual criminal defenses: the lawyer defending Hiccup Girl Jennifer Mee on murder charges says he may blame her actions on Tourette’s Syndrome, a medical condition not ordinarily linked to violence or criminality. [CBS News/WFOR/AP, Lowering the Bar]

Tags: blue-ribbon excuses

Hiccup Girl lawyer may blame Tourette’s is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system