Dallas – Overlawyered

Dallas businessman calls cops 100x to report local crime. And then…

Walter Olson — Sat, 01 Feb 2020 17:05:36 +0000

Under a nuisance abatement law enacted by the city of Dallas, the city can designate local businesses that it considers to be the scene of recurrent crime, and then shut down those businesses. It did this to a car wash whose owner proceeded to obtain from the city and make public more than a hundred 911 call records in which he had pleaded with the city to come do something about criminal activity. “Neighborhood leaders have been licking their chops on social media talking about what they’ll do with his two large corner lots when the city finally squeezes him hard enough to make him sell.” [Jim Schutze, Dallas Observer via Tim Cushing, TechDirt]

Tags: crime and punishment, Dallas, nuisance

Dallas businessman calls cops 100x to report local crime. And then… is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Arresting bystanders for taking photographs of emergencies

Walter Olson — Sun, 17 Nov 2019 17:01:59 +0000

A reminder that if police try to invoke HIPAA, the health privacy law, to keep you from photographing a medical or police incident in a public place, they are almost sure to be talking through their hat. That isn’t how HIPAA works [Tim Cushing, Techdirt, Dallas transit case; earlier on Denver case]

Tags: Dallas, HIPAA, photography, police

Arresting bystanders for taking photographs of emergencies is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

A shoplifters’ holiday in Dallas?

Walter Olson — Sun, 19 May 2019 15:58:35 +0000

“Most controversially, [Dallas County District Attorney John] Creuzot also plans to decline prosecuting anyone caught stealing $750 or less worth of necessary personal items, like baby formula, diapers or food.” [Stephen Young, Dallas Observer]

Tags: Dallas, prosecution

A shoplifters’ holiday in Dallas? is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

January 18 roundup

Walter Olson — Wed, 18 Jan 2017 10:59:40 +0000

Another day, another lawsuit charging a social media company with material support for terrorism. This time it’s Twitter and IS attacks in Paris, Brussels [Benjamin Wittes, Lawfare; Tim Cushing, Techdirt] More: And yet another (Dallas police officer versus Twitter, Facebook, and Google; listed as one of the filing attorneys is 1-800-LAW-FIRM, no kidding, complaint h/t Eric Goldman);
“Woman Sues Chipotle for $2 Billion for Using a Photo of Her Without Consent” [Petapixel]
“Hot-Yoga Guy and His Cars Are Missing” [Lowering the Bar, earlier]
From Backpage.com to unpopular climate advocacy, state attorneys general use subpoena power to punish and chill [Ilya Shapiro]
Dept. of awful ideas: California assemblyman proposes registry of hate crime offenders [Scott Shackford]
But oh, so worth it otherwise: “Not one Kansas state senator is a lawyer, making compliance with obscure statute impossible” [ABA Journal]

Tags: Dallas, hate crimes, Kansas, lawyers, photography, sex offender registries, social media, subpoenas, terrorism, third party liability for crime, Twitter

January 18 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Police and community roundup

Walter Olson — Mon, 11 Jul 2016 04:05:44 +0000

“Eliminating the biases of all police officers would do little to materially reduce the total number of African-American killings”; that goal will require other reforms to police practice [Sendhil Mullainathan, New York Times; Peter Moskos and Nick Selby; Washington Post analysis of 2015 police shooting deaths; Heather Mac Donald, WSJ]
“End Needless Interactions With Police Officers During Traffic Stops” [Conor Friedersdorf] “Thin Blue Lies: How Pretextual Stops Undermine Police Legitimacy” [Jonathan Blanks, Case Western Reserve Law Review]
Dallas police department has lately enjoyed some of the best community relations in the country. Will murder of officers change that? [Radley Balko, his previous] Bonus: extraordinary story of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s leadership through personal crisis after the massacre [Austin American-Statesman]
A failure of body cameras? Matthew Feeney on Baton Rouge shooting of Alton Sterling [Cato Daily Podcast] People who aren’t cops don’t get a day off before a shooting investigation [Jonathan Blanks, PoliceMisconduct.net] LEOBRs aside, “Police union contracts in 72 of 81 cities reviewed make it harder to hold police accountable” [Anthony Fisher, Reason]
Missouri judge strikes down post-Ferguson state law limiting how much municipalities can keep from fines and fees [St. Louis Post-Dispatch]
Elected Florida public defender, endorsed by police union, vowed not to oppose cuts to own office funds [Radley Balko]
“Proposed Minneapolis ballot item would require police to carry insurance” [Minneapolis Star Tribune]

Tags: Dallas, Florida, Minnesota, Missouri, petty fines and fees, police, police bill of rights laws, police unions

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

“Slain basketball player’s family files suit against Dallas ISD”

Walter Olson — Sat, 28 Mar 2015 14:46:52 +0000

“The mother of slain Wilmer Hutchins basketball star Troy Causey Jr. has filed a federal lawsuit alleging that illegal recruiting practices at Dallas ISD schools led to her son’s death a year ago. … [She] alleges that coaches visited her 18-year-old son while he was in custody at Dallas County Youth Village during an eight-month stint there following an assault arrest and convinced him to play basketball.” Subsequently, Causey died after a beating at his residence, and a roommate who also played basketball for another Dallas school was charged with manslaughter in the case. Lawyers for the mother, Tammy Simpson, said school sports officials had helped place many players in such private living arrangements and should have known they were dangerous. [WFAA]

Tags: Dallas, schools, sports, third party liability for crime

“Slain basketball player’s family files suit against Dallas ISD” is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Texas “Law Hawk”

Walter Olson — Tue, 30 Sep 2014 09:09:36 +0000

More tasteful advertising, this time for a Fort Worth practitioner.

Tags: chasing clients, Dallas, Texas

Texas “Law Hawk” is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Police and prosecution roundup

Walter Olson — Thu, 05 Jun 2014 04:05:13 +0000

As condition of bail, federal magistrate orders arrestee to recant charge of government misconduct [Eugene Volokh]
Possible life sentence for pot brownies shows “utterly irrational consequences of pretending drugs weigh more than they do” [Jacob Sullum, Radley Balko] Life sentence for guy who sold LSD: “the prosecutor was high-fiving [the] other attorneys” [Sullum]
Do low-crime small towns across America really need MRAP (mine-resistant ambush-protected) armored vehicles and other military gear, thanks to federal programs? [Balko]
Minnesota reforms its use of asset forfeiture [Nick Sibilla, FIRE] Rhode Island, Texas could stand to follow [Balko]
If not for video, would anyone believe a story about Santa Clara deputies “spiking” premises with meth after finding no illegal drugs? [Scott Greenfield]
Falsely accused of abuse: “He Lost 3 Years and a Child, but Got No Apology” [Michael Powell, NY Times “Gotham”; Amine Baba-Ali case]
Two federal judges denounce feds’ “let’s knock over a stash house” entrapment techniques as unconstitutional [Brad Heath, USA Today]

Tags: child abuse, Dallas, forfeiture, illegal drugs, Minnesota, police, prosecution, Rhode Island

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

“Dad suing over son’s lack of playing time on lacrosse teams”

Walter Olson — Wed, 09 Apr 2014 12:33:46 +0000

An attorney dad in Dallas “says a group of coaches coerced wealthy parents to pay thousands of dollars for their sons to play lacrosse”; his own son’s varsity involvement, however, proved a disappointment. His suit invokes the federal RICO (racketeering) statute. [KDFW]

Tags: Dallas, racketeering and RICO, schools, sports

“Dad suing over son’s lack of playing time on lacrosse teams” is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Fullerton police lawyers: man in custody beat himself to death

Walter Olson — Thu, 05 Dec 2013 04:05:05 +0000

Explaining how Kelly Thomas came to meet his gruesome decease called for some creative lawyering from defense attorneys John Barnett and Michael Schwartz, who often represent California law enforcers charged with misconduct [OC Weekly, disturbing images]

Also: Why let accused cops delay answering questions after an episode of alleged excessive force? To let them shape their story? [Scott Greenfield on new Dallas policy] And on the brighter side: Radley Balko, the nation’s premier reporter on police and prosecutorial abuse and someone regularly linked in this space, is joining the Washington Post. [Poynter]

Tags: Dallas, Los Angeles, police

Fullerton police lawyers: man in custody beat himself to death is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system