Legal Commentary

Developer Lawsuit Seeks $12.3 Billion in 9-11 Damages

Posted on March 28, 2008
Larry Silverstein, president and CEO of Silverstein Properties, the developer of the World Trade Center in New York is seeking $12.3 billion in damages from the airlines and other companies for damages related to the September 11 terrorist attacks. The defendants include American Airlines, United Airlines, Continental Airlines and Boeing...

New Jersey Supreme Court Limits the Use of Punitive Damages

Posted on March 28, 2008
Across the country, there is an expanding trend of state supreme courts limits the use of class actions, punitive damages, and industry-wide liability theories. This week brought another major such ruling out of New Jersey. In Tarr v. Bob Ciasulli’s Mack Auto Mall, the court ruled that punitive damages can only be used [...

Rep. Frank to Introduce Legislation to Decriminalize Some Pot Violations

Posted on March 28, 2008
“Real Time With Bill Maher” is not usually the forum for legislative proposals, but Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) used it to announce legislation in Congress that would strip the federal government of its authority to arrest for some cannabis violations...

?Lad of War?: Administration Gave 22-Year-Old?s Company $200 Million for Faulty Chinese Ammunition

Posted on March 28, 2008
Congress is set to investigate a contract under which the Defense Department contracted with 22-year-old Efraim E. Diveroli’s AEY Inc. for $200 million to supply ammunition to the Afghan Army and police. Instead of supplying Hungarian bullets, the company allegedly committed a series of false statements to supply shoddy Chinese products...

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Billy and the Bullies: Family Sues High School Bully and May Soon Sue an Arkansas School District

Posted on March 27, 2008
A case in Fayetteville, Arkansas could prove very interesting as a family has sued a high school bully and may soon sue the school district over a prolonged and dangerous pattern of bullying directed against 15-year-old Billy Wolfe. It appears that the school district left this family few choices other than litigation after their son [...

Wal-Qaeda v. Wal-Mart: Superstore Loses Trademark Lawsuit Intended to Shutdown Internet Critic

Posted on March 27, 2008
Charles Smith has done something that thousands and mom-and-pop stores have failed to do in decades: he beat Wal-Mart. The computer store owner from Convers, Georgia prevailed after being sued by Wal-Mart in a trademark case seeking to shutdown his internet sites entiteld Wal-Qaeda and Walocaust...

The Decline of the American Criminal: Video of Liquor Store Break-In Shows a Comedy of Errors

Posted on March 27, 2008
Larry C. Bynum, 30, is hardly what one might call a master criminal. Bynum is filmed in a series of disasters as he tries to break into a Fort Worth liquor where he proves more a danger to himself than the public. I only just saw this 2006 videotape and had to share it...

Second Grade Constitutional Law

Posted on March 27, 2008
This last week, I had the pleasure of teaching 150 second grade students from the Kent Gardens Elementary School in McLean Virginia. This was the final three such field trip to the law school by the second, third, and sixth grade class to learn about the Constitution and the law...

Prison Officials Finally Relent to Outrage Over Dying Girl?s Last Request

Posted on March 27, 2008
The federal bureau of prisons finally relented to overwhelming public condemnation over its refusal to release a father to be with his dying daughter. People were aghast at the federal prison officials refusing a dying 10-year-old girl, Jayci Yaeger, her last wish: to spend time with her dad who is serving time for [...

A Fool and His Lawyer: Can You Be Competent to Stand Trial But Unfit to Represent Yourself?

Posted on March 26, 2008
Today, the Supreme Court will hear the case of Indiana v. Edwards and explore the question of the limits as self-representation — the subject of the column below. It is a well-worn cliche that a man who represents himself in court has a fool for a lawyer...

Big Box, Small Heart: Wal-Mart Wins Judgment Against Brain Damaged Woman to Get Back Insurance Money

Posted on March 26, 2008
Wal-Mart has always been a target for many people who a monster corporation that strangles local stores and offers low-paying jobs with little benefits to locals. A story, however, in Jackson, Missouri has left many gaspingL Wal-Mart has successfully sued Debbie Shank, a brain damaged former employee, for insurance money that she received before [...

Circus Slavery Arrests Made in Rome

Posted on March 26, 2008
In Rome, Italian police broke up a circus that makes you wonder about our progress as a species. The circus entertained Italians by having teenage girls swimming with piranhas and fending off snakes. Reuters is reporting that one 19-year-old Bulgarian girl was forced to swim with flesh-eating piranhas in a [...

Rare Butcher Convictions Secured in Nebraska Over Wildlife Violations

Posted on March 26, 2008
In Omaha, Nebraska, federal wildlife officials secured a rare conviction against Jack McClanahan, 66, was convicted for butchering illegal shot game in his garage. The federal investigation lasted 18-month and included undercover agents. Federal investigators raided his home and found a detached garage containing maggots and mouse droppings and lead contamination...

11-Year-Old Girl Dies of Untreated Diabetes as Parents Pray for Spiritual Healing

Posted on March 26, 2008
In Wisconsin, another case of alleged religion-based abuse is being investigated after 11-year-old girl Madeline (”Kara”) Neumann died of untreated diabetes as her parents prayed for divine intervention. The last time Kara had reportedly been to a doctor was at age three...

Innovation or Litigation? Beer Table Taps Could Present Novel Dram Shop Questions

Posted on March 26, 2008
One of my students spotted the video below on a restaurant that is placing open beer taps at tables. The idea presents not just novel possibilities for parties but also lawsuits. There are 47 states with variations of dram shop laws, but there language differs greatly...

Virginia Tech Offers Settlement to Families of Victims in 2007 Shooting

Posted on March 25, 2008
Virginia Tech massacre is offering $100,000 to each of the 32 families of victims killed in the 2007 shooting rampage of Seung-Hui Cho. The offer is a relatively low ball offer given the clear negligence of the University and the averages for wrongful death awards...

Lock and Unloaded: India Offers Gun Permits in Exchange for Vasectomies

Posted on March 25, 2008
India has come up with a novel idea to lure men into free vasectomies: give them guns. Indian officials have been struggling with the perception that vasectomies reduce manhood, so they have matched vasectomies with gun permits to balance out the manliness quotient in the state of Madhya Pradesh...

Alabama Judge Orders Courtroom into a ?Circle of Prayer?

Posted on March 25, 2008
In Alabama, Presiding Covington County Circuit Judge M. Ashley McKathan has long been criticized for his insistence on practice religion and law at the same time. Now, he is being cited for ordering 100 people to form a “circle of prayer” and then dropping to his knees in prayer in his [...

Man Shoots and Kills Wife While Using Gun to Drill Holes

Posted on March 25, 2008
In Missouri, prosecutors are considering criminal charges against Ronald Long after he shoot his wife, Patsy, in the chest while using his .22-caliber handgun to try to put holes in a wall. Ronald Long appears to have been frustrated after several unsuccessful attempts to to put a hole in the exterior wall of their [...

Run in Drag Could Lead to Stint in Joint

Posted on March 25, 2008
In Connecticut, Garrett A. Dalton was hoping to win Hannah Montana tickets by running in women’s clothing and high heels for 40-yards. He now may lose his job and faces fraud charges. Prosecutors charged Dalton of Naugatuck hwith workers compensation fraud...

Justice Department Seeks to Strip Lawyer of Privilege to Gain Confidential Records

Posted on March 24, 2008
Joseph Goldstein today is reporting that the Justice Department is now trying to strip an attorney of confidentiality protections in a long-standing investigation of Muslim charities, including the SAAR Foundation and the the International Institute of Islamic Thought...

Indian Tantrik Tries to Kill Man on Television with Black Magic

Posted on March 24, 2008
  Now, this is reality TV at its best. This month, Indians were glued to their television as India’s leading tantrik or black magician Pandit Surinder Sharma tried repeatedly to kill atheist Sanal Edamaruku first with a death-causing tantra and then later with the ?ultimate destruction ceremony? on live TV...

Spitzer?s Socks and Stone?s Secret: Political Intrigue and Personal Hosiery Cited in Spitzer Scandal

Posted on March 24, 2008
Not since Sandy Berger have socks figured so prominently in a major Washington scandal. It appears that former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer may have been fingered by Republican political operative Roger Stone. Strangely, Stone’s lawyer cited the fact that Spitzer never took off his knee high socks during a sexual encounter as [...

Pilot?s Gun Goes Off in Cockpit on US Airways Flight

Posted on March 24, 2008
There were many objections to arming pilots after 9-11 — not the least with the danger of intentionally adding a gun to flights that could be taken by terrorists or mishandled by pilots. For those critics, a US Airways flight from Denver will likely be cited often: a pilot accidentally discharged his weapon [...

Ready to Serve: Clinton Aide Sidney Blumenthal To Plead Guilty to DWI

Posted on March 24, 2008
Sidney Blumenthal, a top aide to Hillary Clinton and a past aide to Bill Clinton, will plead guilty in New Hampshire to drunk driving. It makes this a particularly bad day for the Sen. Clinton. She is being pummeled by questions over her Iraq vote after the death count passed 4000...

Craig List Prank Leads to Ransacking of Oregon Home

Posted on March 24, 2008
There is a fascinating case emerging from Oregon. Someone posted a couple of hoax ads on Craigslist that announced that Robert Salisbury had left the area and that all of his possessions were free for the taking, including a horse. Salisbury found people ransacking his home and tried to stop people who had [...

Detriot Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick Criminally Charged and Could Faced 15 Years in Prison

Posted on March 24, 2008
Prosecutors have charged Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick with perjury and other criminal counts tied to his effort to conceal and deny an affair with his former aide, Christine Beatty. Beatty was hit with perjury and obstruction charges as well. Things are likely to get worse before they get better for both of the defendants...

Congress and the President Force Mars Rovers to Be Shutdown Temporarily Due to Budget Cuts

Posted on March 24, 2008
It is hard to express the anger that comes with the following story. It appears that after refusing to cut billions in pork and wasteful earmarks, Congress and President Bush have cut the NASA’s budget and forced scientists to curtail their research on Mars...

Tourist Trap: Tiger vs. Man and Elephant

Posted on March 23, 2008
In our expanding video library of large cats in action, this video is simply astonishing. It shows an attack by a tiger of a man on elephant in India. What is clear is that nature tourism in India is not subject to the same tort liability rules as in the United States...

Immigration Official Arrested After Allegedly Trading Sex for Green Cards

Posted on March 22, 2008
A case out of New York has shown how immigration officials can prey upon immigrants for green cards and administrative measures. The arrest of Isaac R. Baichu, 46, an adjudicator for the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, was particularly enlightening due to a recording made of his threats against a married Colombian woman [...

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