Cleveland – Overlawyered

Cleveland police union plans to sue toy gun makers

Walter Olson — Thu, 04 May 2017 04:15:14 +0000

“The Cleveland Patrolmen’s Association announced it will soon be filing a lawsuit against toy gun manufacturers in federal court… [seeking] to restrict the design of toy guns, so they don’t look so realistic.” City police came under nationwide criticism following the fatal police shooting of Tamir Rice, 12, who was in possession of a toy gun at a park. [WEWS News 5 Cleveland]

Tags: Cleveland, guns, police unions

Cleveland police union plans to sue toy gun makers is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Police unions roundup

Walter Olson — Mon, 03 Aug 2015 04:05:44 +0000

Police union files grievance to regain job for University of Cincinnati cop charged in Sam DuBose death [WXIX] Also Ohio: “Forget Criminal Charges. Disciplining Officers In Cleveland Is Hard Enough” [Carimah Townes, ThinkProgress] “How Police Unions Contribute to the Police Violence Problem” [Ed Krayewski]
Profile of Fraternal Order of Police head [Politico via Radley Balko, who comments] When taking on public employee unions, GOP governors often sidestep police, firefighters [New York Times in March]
FOP president says Law Enforcement Officers Bill of Rights (LEOBR/LEOBOR) laws don’t “afford police any greater rights than those possessed by other citizens” Reality check please [Scott Greenfield on NY Times “Room for Debate“, Marshall Project “Blue Shield” in-depth look, earlier on these laws]
El Paso union contract “gives cops two days to get their stories straight after a shooting” [see “Responsive Documents,” p. 55, in public records request via @TimCushing] Frequent-flyer testifier in police shootings: “His conclusions are consistent: The officer acted appropriately.” [New York Times]
Private sector unionism, public, what’s the difference? Now we’re finding out [Greenfield]
Trying to picture a US politician talking back to organized constabulary the way the UK’s Theresa May did a few weeks back [BBC]
“‘It seems like the citizens would appreciate a lack of police presence, and that’s exactly what they’re getting,’ he said.” [Washington Post (“vacate the streets and see how the community likes it”)] “Baltimore killings soar to a level unseen in 43 years” [Juliet Linderman/AP “Big Story”; WBAL; earlier on NYPD’s “strike while still getting paid” tactics]

Tags: Baltimore, Cincinnati, Cleveland, expert witnesses, police, police bill of rights laws, police unions

Police unions roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Police and law enforcement roundup

Walter Olson — Thu, 14 May 2015 04:05:22 +0000

The magic of immunity: DEA commandeered truck for fatal sting, but doesn’t owe owner even the cost of bullet holes [Houston Chronicle, Radley Balko, Scott Greenfield] More: Lowering the Bar.
Federal takeover of local policing is a truly bad idea [Glenn Reynolds, USA Today; Elizabeth Price Foley]
Some of government’s worst messes come when there’s bipartisan agreement, as with lack of police accountability [Coyote]
“Is Rakoff the Only Judge Not In Love with DOJ?” [Matt Kaiser, Above the Law on Judge Jed Rakoff’s “Mass Incarceration: The Silence of the Judges,” New York Review of Books]
San Antonio cop “held his wife and children at gunpoint, striking his wife in the head with his gun, and had a 20 minute standoff with police before surrendering” but will keep law enforcement officer license [Cato National Police Misconduct Reporting Project, “worst case” for February] “Arbitrator says Cleveland police officer who sexted crime victims, visited women on duty, should keep job” [Cleveland.com, with a related series including “Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson says arbitration process keeps bad cops on police force“]
“We Should Be Wary of Federal Body Camera Funds” [Matthew Feeney, Cato, related from Feeney here, here, and here] More on bodycam programs from several points of view: Uri Friedman via Althouse, Bloomberg editors (anti), Alex Tabarrok, Radley Balko;
Those ATF sting operations were even more exploitative and predatory than imagined [Balko, earlier]

Tags: Cleveland, police, police unions

Police and law enforcement roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Police unions roundup

Walter Olson — Tue, 24 Feb 2015 05:05:03 +0000

Quite a story: “Las Vegas cop behind controversial killing now influential union leader” [Las Vegas Review-Journal]
Strife betwen NYPD union and City Hall long predates current NYC mayor [David Firestone, Quartz; Guardian]
“Report: Massachusetts police grant ‘professional courtesy’ to other officers caught driving drunk” [Radley Balko; earlier on cops’ refusal to ticket cops]
“Cleveland police union defends fired cop, saying others did far worse” [Cleveland Plain Dealer, earlier]
After cartoon ire, did union chief tell police departments not to give information to Bucks County, Penn. paper? [Jim Romenesko via Balko]
Oldie but goodie: “hit it with a flashlight until we gain compliance” [Officer.com]
Miami FOP: chief’s view of the Eric Garner case isn’t ours [Washington Post via Amy Alkon]
And for a contrasting view, check out the generally pro-police-organization site of Ron DeLord;

Tags: Cleveland, Massachusetts, Nevada, NYC, Philadelphia, police, police unions

Police unions roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

“When We Tell You to Do Something, Do It”

Walter Olson — Sat, 20 Dec 2014 17:16:00 +0000

No need for reformers like Will Wilkinson to make the case against police unions when guys like this make it so eloquently. More: Radley Balko (MSNBC on video versus police-union account of Tamir Rice shooting in Cleveland); Cleveland Plain Dealer (woes of officer in earlier police job). “If you work in private sector, it can be mind-blowing to see mistakes you can make and still be employed as a cop” [@conor64]

Just one more story for now, from the Akai Gurley case in New York: “Instead of calling for help for the dying man, [sources told the newspaper, the NYPD officer who fired the shot] was texting his union representative.” [New York Daily News] “If there’s one thing that will turn liberals against public sector unions, it’ll be stuff like this.” [@timfernholz] Update: Flint Taylor, In These Times, gives one view from the left.

Tags: Cleveland, police unions

“When We Tell You to Do Something, Do It” is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

“What Is a Photocopier?”

Walter Olson — Tue, 29 Apr 2014 10:16:36 +0000

Making the rounds, this dramatization of an Ohio deposition (we covered it in 2011) arising from a lawsuit over photocopy fees at the Cuyahoga County Recorder’s Office. [New York Times, Cleveland Scene]

Tags: Cleveland, discovery

“What Is a Photocopier?” is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

An expensive night’s entertainment

Walter Olson — Tue, 08 Apr 2014 13:59:47 +0000

Music rights organization BMI has sued a Cleveland bar seeking up to $1.5 million over one night’s performance by a cover band that allegedly performed ten well-known songs without paying license fees, including “Bad Moon Rising,” “You Really Got Me,” and “Some Kind of Wonderful” [OnStage]

Tags: Cleveland, copyright, damages, music and musicians, restaurants

An expensive night’s entertainment is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Lawyers roundup

Walter Olson — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 11:56:49 +0000

Feds investigating prominent Texas attorney and many-time Overlawyered mentionee Mikal Watts [MySanAntonio via PoL]
Florida high court: lawyers not privileged to defame parties during informal witness questioning [Delmonico v. Traynor]
Client’s story: not only did attorney try to kill me, he also gave me bad advice [Lowering the Bar]
Some lawyers for city of Cleveland seek union representation, following municipal attorneys in S.F., D.C. and Houston [Cleveland Plain Dealer]
Watch what you say about lawyers, part CLXXVI [NYLJ, “shakedown”]
Former ATLA president Barry Nace fights disciplinary proceeding in W.V. [Chamber-backed WV Record]
Minnesota lawyer who billed client for time he spent having sex with her won’t be allowed to practice for more than a year [TheLawNet, earlier on this candidate for “ultimate Overlawyered story”]
Should she take the job offer from an apparently unethical attorney? If she has to ask… [Elie Mystal, Above the Law]

Tags: Cleveland, discipline, don't, ethics, lawyers, libel slander and defamation, Mikal Watts

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

Food roundup

Walter Olson — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 04:15:08 +0000

New thinner-isn’t-healthier study should give pause [Paul Campos, NYT]
Inspectors order Minnesota soda shop to yank candy cigarettes, bubble gum cigars [Daily Caller]
Cleveland might have its own version of Pike Place or Reading Terminal Market, if not for… [Nick Gillespie]
Regulators took it down: “San Francisco’s Libertarian Food Market Is Closing” [Baylen Linnekin]
How brutal is vegetarianism to animals? [Mike Archer via Tyler Cowen]
Crazy: S.F. mulls zoning ban on new restaurants to protect existing ones [Linnekin] How Chicago suppresses food trucks [Katherine Mangu-Ward]
Federal calorie labeling rules will burden restaurants [Wash. Times]

Tags: animal rights, Cleveland, obesity, restaurants, San Francisco, tobacco

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

Speeches this week: Syracuse, Cleveland, Pittsburgh

Walter Olson — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 12:01:11 +0000

I’ll be discussing Schools for Misrule today at Syracuse University College of Law, tomorrow in Cleveland at Cleveland-Marshall College of Law at 4 p.m., and Thursday in Pittsburgh at noon at Pitt Law with critical commentary from Prof. Peter Oh. Federalist Society student chapters are sponsoring the events, which are open to the public. Come out and introduce yourself!

Thanks to my hosts over the past two weeks at Fordham (where I debated Prof. Zephyr Teachout), Brooklyn Law School, and Yale (where Prof. John Fabian Witt contributed generous comments).

Why not book me to speak at your own city or campus? You can contact me directly at editor – at – overlawyered – dot – com, call the Cato Institute at 202-789-5269, or, if you’re a Federalist Society chapter, through the Society’s home office.

Tags: Cleveland, Federalist Society, live in person, Pittsburgh, Yale

Speeches this week: Syracuse, Cleveland, Pittsburgh is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system