Never Bring a Chainsaw to a Gunfight
As you probably know, it is difficult enough to chase somebody while waving a chainsaw without having to worry that the person is going to suddenly turn and pull a gun on you, but I guess this is something that…
October 2009
Court Criticizes Everybody Involved in Briefing That Totaled 5,415 Pages
A while back, I made fun of a brief that was filed on behalf of Jeffrey Skilling (of Enron fame, or infamy), not because it was bad but because it was 239 pages long. At the time, I thought that…
Experts Agree: Chances of Governor’s Message Being Random Are Tiny
As you have probably heard, things are going just great in California, apart from the state being massively in debt, occasionally on fire, and thoroughly riddled with active fault lines. Also, our bridges suck, but on the bright side, the…
Gang Member to Get Makeover for Trial, Says Attorney
"Clothes make the man, and a mustache couldn't hurt either," will apparently be the trial theme in Richard Rodriguez's case against the city of El Monte, California. Rodriguez sued the city in July, alleging that a police officer used excessive…
State Assistant AG Fired After Inappropriate Cemetery Visit
A 66-year-old deputy assistant attorney general is now no longer employed by South Carolina after a police officer noticed him and another person engaging in an unspecified activity in a "secluded part of a downtown cemetery." He and the 18-year-old…
French Court Finds Church of Scientology Guilty of Fraud
On October 26, a French court held that the Church of Scientology and six of its members were guilty of fraud, sentenced the members to as much as two years in jail (suspended) and fined them up to $600,000 each. It did…
Pilots Who Forgot to Land No Longer Allowed to Fly
The Northwest Airlines pilots who failed to respond to air-traffic controllers for 90 minutes, missed their destination by 120 miles, and claimed they had "lost track of time" while using their laptops, have been stripped of their licenses by the…
Judge Reprimanded for Jailing Guy Who Gave Him the Raspberry
I think I'm with the judge on this one, even if the state supreme court said he screwed up. Municipal Court Judge Emery Toth was reprimanded last month for violating the New Jersey Code of Judicial Conduct by "speaking disrespectfully…
Another Consumer Says He Was Duped by Froot Loops
As I wrote this past summer, a number of lawsuits have been filed in California over the past couple of years by people who say they were deceived by certain representations on cereal boxes. Specifically, three different plaintiffs alleged they were…
Lowering the Bar at Microsoft
As I think I have mentioned before, I occasionally do presentations based on "Lowering the Bar" for law firms, in-house legal departments, bar associations, and/or anybody else who might be interested. I gave one of these at Microsoft on October…