defense lawyers – Overlawyered

When young Hillary Clinton defended an accused rapist

Walter Olson — Tue, 11 Oct 2016 04:05:44 +0000

Although she’s gotten blasted a lot about it, the “criticisms are (mostly) wrong and the defenses are (mostly) right,” argues Ken White at Popehat. On similar themes: Mirriam Seddiq, Not Guilty No Way, and Jonathan Adler/Volokh in 2014.

Tags: defense lawyers, ethics, Hillary Clinton

When young Hillary Clinton defended an accused rapist is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

“Just Because You Did It Doesn’t Mean You’re Guilty”

Walter Olson — Thu, 12 Mar 2015 10:22:47 +0000

Making the rounds, and apparently an actual billboard:

Just because you did it, doesn't mean you're guilty pic.twitter.com/Hd5HwWsFrf

— Ian Jukes (@ijukes) February 5, 2015

Tags: chasing clients, defense lawyers

“Just Because You Did It Doesn’t Mean You’re Guilty” is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Liability roundup

Walter Olson — Fri, 14 Nov 2014 05:05:59 +0000

Kip Viscusi: current structure of tort law gives firms like General Motors reason not to investigate risks/benefits of their designs [Alison Frankel, Reuters]
California woman in trouble after allegedly sending “faked treatment documents and burn photos from a hospital website” to bolster hot coffee spill claim against McDonald’s [ABA Journal]
Despite Kumho Tire, Joiner, and amendments to evidence rules in 2000, Eighth Circuit cuts its own liberal path on expert witness admissibility [Bernstein]
“In the BP case, the rule of law is on trial” [Lester Brickman, The Hill, on cert petition]
“Fighting and Winning Against Pit Bull Defense Lawyers” [Ronald Miller]
Business groups savor victory in racketeering suit over concocted asbestos claims [Barrett, Bloomberg Business Week]
Peter Spiro adds another favorable review of Paul Barrett’s Chevron/ Ecuador book Law of the Jungle [Opinio Juris]

Tags: Chevron, claims fraud, Daubert, defense lawyers, McDonald's

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

Judge-shopping in Rhode Island

Walter Olson — Sun, 07 Sep 2014 15:52:41 +0000

A criminal defendant’s road to lenience? Not if Judge Jeffrey Lanphear has a say about it [Providence Journal]

Tags: defense lawyers, judges, Rhode Island

Judge-shopping in Rhode Island is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Frontiers of lawyerly fraud

Walter Olson — Mon, 10 Mar 2014 04:05:36 +0000

One has to hope this kind of thing doesn’t happen often [press release, Office of the U.S. Attorney, District of New Jersey]:

A former attorney in the Haddonfield, N.J., office of a firm specializing in toxic tort litigation today admitted that he falsified defendants’ names in more than 100 asbestos suits filed in New York State courts in order to increase business and his standing in the firm, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

Arobert C. Tonogbanua, 44, of Sicklerville, N.J., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Noel L. Hillman in Camden federal court to an information charging him with one count of wire fraud. During the proceeding, Tonogbanua admitted that he fraudulently inserted the names of his former law firm’s clients into legitimately filed asbestos suits and charged the clients more than $1 million in attorney’s fees, costs and settlements to defend them.

[via Legal NewsLine; South Jersey Times] For a retrospective on the Lynn Boyd Stites/”Alliance” scam of years ago, in which a circle of defense lawyers in Los Angeles used manufactured litigation to harvest fees, see clips here, here, here, and here.

Tags: asbestos, defense lawyers, fraud

Frontiers of lawyerly fraud is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Most outrageous video lawyer ad ever?

Walter Olson — Sun, 09 Mar 2014 04:28:31 +0000

Pittsburgh criminal defense lawyer Daniel Muessig has set the bar high [Deadspin] More: Scott Greenfield, and yet more about whether criminal defense lawyers really do those things.

Tags: chasing clients, defense lawyers, humor, Pittsburgh

Most outrageous video lawyer ad ever? is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Great moments in defense law

Walter Olson — Wed, 29 Jan 2014 14:12:52 +0000

Menlo Park, Calif.: A 90-year-old lawyer’s BMW SUV jumped the curb and pinned two 6-year-old twin brothers against a wall, seriously injuring them. Now the driver, Edward Nelson, “states in his response to the lawsuit that the plaintiffs ‘carelessly, recklessly and negligently conducted and maintained themselves’ in a way that contributed to the accident. Furthermore, ‘knowing the probable consequences thereof, (they) placed themselves in a position of danger and voluntarily participated in all the activities,’ and so assumed any related risks. Finally, the plaintiffs failed to ‘reasonably mitigate’ any damages they sustained.” [Sandy Brundage, The Almanac (Peninsula communities, Bay Area)]

Tags: Bay Area, defense lawyers, personal responsibility

Great moments in defense law is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Voucherizing indigent criminal defense

Walter Olson — Thu, 09 Jan 2014 13:29:47 +0000

A reform proposal floated in a 2010 Cato Institute policy analysis is now becoming a pilot project in one Texas county. More: Greenfield.

Tags: Cato Institute, crime and punishment, defense lawyers

Voucherizing indigent criminal defense is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Ethics roundup

Walter Olson — Wed, 23 Oct 2013 04:05:32 +0000

Eliciting false testimony among sins: “Ninth Circuit finds ‘textbook prosecutorial misconduct'” [Legal Ethics Forum]
Syracuse: jurors say insurance company lawyer observing trial got uncomfortably close [Above the Law]
South Carolina: “Prosecuting attorney is accused of dismissing charges in exchange for sexual favors” [ABA Journal]
Judge, handing down six-year sentence, calls defense lawyer’s briefing of witness a “playbook on how to lie without getting caught” [Providence Journal]
Kentucky high court reinstates $42 M verdict against lawyers for fleecing fen-phen clients [Point of Law] Accused of bilking clients, prominent S.C. lawyer surrenders license, pleads to mail fraud [ABA Journal]
Former Kansas attorney general accused of multiple professional violations: “Phill Kline is indefinitely suspended from practicing law” [Kansas City Star]
“Nonrefundable ‘Minimum Fee’ Is Unethical When Fired Lawyer Will Not Refund Any of It” [BNA]

Tags: attorneys general, defense lawyers, Kansas, Kentucky fen-phen settlement fraud, prosecution, prosecutorial abuse, South Carolina

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

Police and prosecution roundup

Walter Olson — Thu, 01 Aug 2013 04:05:44 +0000

Detroit police blasted for arresting Free Press photographer who filmed arrest with her iPhone [Poynter]
“The discomfort of principles” in criminal defense matters [Gideon’s Trumpet]
House Judiciary panel on overcriminalization and mens rea shows genuinely useful bipartisanship [Jonathan Blanks, Cato] One in four new bills these days to create criminal liability lacks mens rea [Paul Rosenzweig/Alex Adrianson, Heritage]
Auburn, Alabama: “Cop Fired for Speaking Out Against Ticket and Arrest Quotas” [Reason TV]
Film project on overturned Death Row convictions [One for Ten] “Forensics review reveals hair evidence was possibly exaggerated in 27 capital cases” [ABA Journal]
Critics of Stand Your Ground seem to be having trouble coming up with examples to back their case [Sullum]
Maine: “Hancock County prosecutor admits violating bar rules in sexual assault trial” [Bill Trotter, Bangor Daily News]

Tags: Alabama, defense lawyers, Detroit, Maine, mens rea, photography, police, prosecutorial abuse, stand your ground, U.S. House of Representatives

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