Great moments in criminal defense, as revealed at a murder trial in Washington, D.C. [WaPo] Eric Turkewitz has many more links on the story, and also is put in mind of a lawyer advertising angle.
Posts Tagged ‘Washington D.C.’
The value of a liquor license moratorium
A moratorium on new liquor licenses in Washington, D.C.’s popular Adams-Morgan neighborhood might account for why an existing license appears curiously valuable. [Matthew Yglesias]
The unfairness of bargain prices
Don’t know whether to laugh or weep: why one local activist thinks Washington, D.C. would be better off without Wal-Mart [Mark Perry]
Sued if you do dept., immigrant workforce division
After Chipotle restaurants in Washington, D.C. sacked about 40 workers for lack of immigration papers, some of the workers approached the D.C. city council in search of remedies for grievances that include “unjust dismissal” and inadequate notice. [NBC Washington]
“Why reinstate teachers fired for bad performance?”
An arbitrator has reinstated 75 teachers dismissed by the Washington, D.C. school system during their 2-year probationary period — not after achieving tenure — for such infractions as perennial absence or tardiness, “rude and aggressive” behavior and “sketchy or nonexistent lesson plans.” “[Arbitrator Charles] Feigenbaum said that the teachers had been denied due process because they were not given reasons for their terminations. It’s a mind-boggling decision that essentially affords probationary teachers some of the rights that protect tenured teachers.” [Washington Post editorial] For another indication of the legal constraints on employee selection faced by the D.C. schools, see this 2001 post.
Worst argument in history against letting Wal-Mart into one’s neighborhood?
“[District of Columbia Ward 4 ANC Commissioner Brenda] Speaks said young people would get criminal records when they couldn’t resist the temptation to steal.” [Robert McCartney, Washington Post via Michael Cannon, Cato at Liberty]
Redskins owner sues Washington City Paper
“Indeed, the cost of litigation would presumably quickly outstrip the asset value of the Washington City Paper,” wrote one Redskins official in a lawsuit-threatening letter to an investor in the alternative weekly. Not that owner Dan Snyder is a bully trying to silence his critics or anything! [letter from City Paper editor Amy Austin; Romenesko, TBD]
Court tosses Alan Grayson calling-card suit
Washington, D.C.: “The D.C. Court of Appeals ruled Friday that two plaintiffs who hoped to bring claims under the Consumer Protection Procedures Act did not have reason to do so. One of those plaintiffs was former U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson, who called himself a ‘whistleblower’ when he sued AT&T over unused balances on calling cards.” [John O’Brien, Legal NewsLine via David Freddoso, Examiner]
January 14 roundup
- When naming a new law, please, no acronyms, no victim names, and no assumptions about what it will accomplish [WSJ Law Blog on Brian Christopher Jones’s recommendations] More: Wood.
- America’s Most Irresponsible Public Figure® — that would be RFK Jr. — sounds off on Tucson massacre [Hemingway, Examiner]
- More press attention for CPSC’s dubious consumer complaint database [Washington Post; my take last month]
- An appellate win for Internet anonymity in Pennsylvania [Levy, CL&P]
- Santa Clara lead paint case: Supreme Court won’t review government misuse of contingency lawyers [Wood, ShopFloor]
- DC cops’ “post and forfeit” policy deserves scrutiny [Greenfield]
- “Philosophy Explains How Legal Ethics Turn Lawyers Into Liars” [Kennerly]
- “Marshall, Texas: Patent Central” [six years ago on Overlawyered]
Relentless growth of Washington, D.C.
I posted a few data points last week at Cato at Liberty (& welcome Glenn Reynolds, Ira Stoll readers).