Got behind on posts this week because on Thursday I gave a presentation in Santa Monica on legal-ethics issues that arise in connection with electronic discovery. (Okay, I was there as moderator/jokester and the panelists were the ones with knowledge, but I was physically present.) And although you might think that with a topic like "legal-ethics issues that arise in connection with electronic discovery," the jokes basically write themselves, turns out this is not so. Somehow—partly due to funny panelists and a couple of decent hecklers—it all turned out fine.

Now back to the important matters of our day.

• Bob Filner, the former San Diego mayor who once complained that the city had not trained him not to harass women (see "Mayor Complains That City Didn't Train Him Not to Harass Women" (Aug. 8, 2013)), and who later resigned, has pleaded guilty to three criminal charges. Though one is a felony, under the plea deal he will avoid any jail time. He did agree not to run for office again, which seems like it should be unnecessary but: Marion Berry. 

• Updating a more recent story, some Maryland state troopers are further upset with state AG Doug Gansler, who they have accused of being a horrible backseat driver, because he called their leader a "henchman" of his political opponents. That's bad but better than being called a "lackey" or "flunky," at least according to the results of an alcohol-fueled debate I once had about the hierarchy among minions. Henchmen rank more highly and so bear more responsibility for dirty deeds, or so we concluded. I think.

• A Peruvian magistrate has ordered a stop to the annual cat races (Carrera de gatos) that are a customary part of the Curruñao festival in the small town of San Luis, says The Guardian. Actually, I guess it was not so much the races themselves as the fact that the townsfolk eat the losers. Either way, congratulations to el Colegio de Abogados de Lima for its successful defense of los gatos.

• Meanwhile in Iran, the ayatollahs are debating whether to execute a human being for the second time. A man convicted of meth possession was hanged earlier this month, but a morgue worker noticed the corpse was still breathing. He was immediately taken to a hospital, where authorities were said to be "waiting for him to make a full recovery before they hang him again." But this week, the ayatollah whose fatwa had been cited to justify the re-execution said he had "another view" on the case. He didn't say exactly what it was, but presumably it involves not hanging him again. 

• TIP: you are not entitled to immunity from DUI laws just because you happen to be participating in a stock-car race. Such is the lesson taught by this incident last weekend, in which a driver who had been forced out of a race not only went back in, he intentionally crashed into another car. Witnesses said they had seen him drinking between races, and officers smelled alcohol on his breath, leading to the driver's arrest.

• RELATED TIP: you are also not entitled to immunity from negligence or other claims that may result from a crash under these circumstances. Crashes do happen, but drinking will take you right out of the assumption-of-risk-defense category. This is also true, although less obvious, if you were participating in a demolition derby at the time.