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court-o-rama.org

About the courts.
By Anne Skove, Esq.

Post Frequency: 12/day

Last Entry: March 25, 2011 at 00:00:00

Avoiding the "Oops!" Moment

Posted on January 15, 2009
Amputating the wrong limb. Giving the wrong type of blood. Misreading the dosage. Leaving a tool inside of a body. No matter where you stand on medical malpractice issues, read enough cases (or even one very scary one) and you have to admit that reducing the amount of "Oops!" moments can only be a good thing...

Need-to-Know Basis

Posted on January 14, 2009
Does your court have a probate mediation program? If so, court-o-rama desperately needs to know about it! We will be co-presenting "Dead Decedents and Splitting Heirs: How Do We Get Disputants Out of Court and Around the Table?" at this year's ABA Dispute Resolution Section conference, April 15-19 in NYC...

Foreclosure Facts

Posted on January 13, 2009
Does your court count foreclosure cases? Wisconsin, a leader in beer and cheese, is now also a leader in foreclosure data. Not surprisingly, foreclosures are up in the Dairy State. What is surprising (in a good way) is that they're keeping track. It is true: you can't measure what you don't count...

Hot for Truants

Posted on January 13, 2009
As David Lee Roth once said, "I don't FEEL tardy!" According to the Washington State Court of Appeals, it doesn't matter whether you feel like a truant or not, you are still entitled to counsel. Not only that, the right kicks in at the point of your first hearing...

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NY Story

Posted on January 13, 2009
So *that's* why the New York state court administrator has to be a judge -- the better to follow in the footsteps of the retiring chief judge with! Yes, you guessed correctly -- Jonathan Lippman has been tapped to be the next Chief Judge Kaye!

Speech-O-Rama

Posted on January 13, 2009
Political wonks -- will the few days between Bush's closing argument and Obama's swearing in make you edgy? Do you need a speech to satisfy your fix? You're in luck! State court supreme court justices are making the rounds this time of year with their state of the court addresses...

Misery Loves Company

Posted on January 12, 2009
Cuts got you down? You're not alone! Stress with the best! Today's Talk of the Nation featured state budget cuts -- who has them, and what they're doing about it. Commiserate with the callers! See/hear State Budgets Falling Short in the Recession, Talk of the Nation (January 12, 2009).

Comment Icons

Posted on January 11, 2009
Yes, it's a rare post from Tom! In our never ending quest to muck about with the system, we've added comment icons. It's done via a free service called Gravatar, short for Globally Recognized Avatar. If you make an account on Gravatar and upload an image for your email address, then that image will show up next to any comment you make using that email address...

Just Desserts are Not Enough

Posted on January 11, 2009
Current thinking about sentencing seems to hyperfocus on a few tensions: aggravation v. mitigation, public safety v. rehabilitation, and an overuse of plea bargaining. Is there a better way? Yes, says Judge MIchael Marcus of the Multnomah County (Oregon) Circuit Court...

A Nation of Addicts

Posted on January 11, 2009
Are we addicted to prisons? Here's a dose of reality and logic from Judge Michael A. Wolff of the Supreme Court of Missouri and Chief Justice Paul J. DeMuniz of the Oregon Supreme Court: "[W]e use prisons as addicts use drugs: they don't do what the public expects them to do, so we use them even more, with the result that we need more because prison makes many inmates worse when they return to their communities, and prevents them from receiving programs in the community that wuld work...

Could Happen

Posted on January 09, 2009
It could be that municipalities raise funds by issuing traffic tickets. Indeed, many people suspect the inverse proportionality of traffic tickets to economy. One economist, himself a victim (?) of traffic ticketry, conducted a study. Thomas A. Garrett did find a relationship between falling government revenue and an increase in ticketing...

It Takes a Terrier

Posted on January 09, 2009
Court is stressful for everyone, most of all the children caught up in adult-sized conflicts. We've heard of day care in the courts and teddy bear projects, but never a courthouse pet. So we were intrigued by the Howard County (Maryland) clerk keeps a teacup Yorkie in her office to brighten sad occasions...

What We're Reading

Posted on January 09, 2009
Rather, "what we would be reading if everyone took their naps on time." These two are on our list: Art of Justice: An Eyewitness View of Thirty Infamous Trials, Marilyn Church and Lou Young. This is a nifty book covering some of the most (in)famous trials from the 1970s to today -- Fisher, Gotti, Goetz, Simpson, Stewart, and more...

Douglas County Courthouse by the Numbers

Posted on January 05, 2009
Number of weapons confiscated in the Douglas County (Nebraska) Courthouse last month: 40+ Number of knives confiscated: 28+ Number of utility blades: 13 Number of times a firearm has been found in the past two years: 2 Number of loaded handguns found last Friday: 1 Rank of the "I had no idea that was in my bag!" excuse: 1 See More Than 40 Weapons Found in December, OmahaChannel (January 5, 2009).

What Does Justice Look Like?

Posted on January 05, 2009
Unlike most federal buildings in D.C.* the Department of Justice is not open to the public. Now thanks to NPR, you can see inside the belly of the beast. If it sounds odd that this peek inside comes from radio, check out NPR's website. There one can see a photo gallery of the murals discussed in the broadcast...

Judging Pay

Posted on January 04, 2009
Chief Justice Roberts is doing what any top judge in a jurisdiction does: asking the legislature for money. Judges try hard to avoid "the appearance of impropriety." Asking for a raise during tough times may not rise to this level, but it may not pass the red-face test, either...

Time = Money

Posted on January 04, 2009
Does mediation save time and/or money? If we had a nickel -- a penny! -- for every time someone asked us that, we'd be rich. If we had an answer, we'd be even richer. And we'd have all the time in the world! But the real answer is "it depends." Whether the program is run by paid staff or volunteer elves (most are a combination), whether the mediators are any good (and how can one tell?), whether parties will actually go, where in the process cases get to mediation, whether judges feel comfortable referring parties, whether lawyers feel comfortable with the process, whether the program is well-run or being run into the ground, whether the person asking really meant to say "meditation"...

Ringing in the New: What to Watch in 2009

Posted on January 01, 2009
No matter what you dropped from a tall building, we hope everyone is having a safe and happy New Year! We are spending the holidays at a remote Amish outpost in the foothills where we take army showers, hike through woods to get the local newspaper, have a clear view of the night sky (Venus and the moon are doing some beautiful things), and only have access Facebook, Sporcle, and 600 satelite tv channels...

Friday Sleb Roundup

Posted on December 19, 2008
Pelicano Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison, Brooks Barnes, New York Times (December 15, 2008). The Quaids can rest easy now that their baby twins are safe and healthy. And a $750,000 settlement from the hospital that severely over-medicated the babies can't hurt...

Nevada Courts Return Jackpot

Posted on December 18, 2008
Thanks to "Some Anonymous Tool" (court-o-rama's moniker for people who post without giving their name), we learned that the Nevada court budget came out ahead. That's a bonus for the state because the courts have decided to give the surplus to them...

Economy Down, Court Filings Up

Posted on December 17, 2008
That's the math! Even though (actually, because) the economy is down, court filings have increased -- landlord/tenant, foreclosures, bankruptcies, crime, all up up up. It makes sense, and it would seem to be a good thing for courts. Job security, right? Unfortunately, court funding is lagging while the cases keep pouring in...

What Not to Do: Deny Access

Posted on December 17, 2008
Rules about courtroom decorum are often set by the judge. They may be informal or written down, strict or somewhat lax. A family or juvenile court may have different standards than a court of last resort. No matter what standard is set, the right to wear cultural and religious dress should be preserved...

Opiates for the People!

Posted on December 16, 2008
Are the holidays freaking you out? Is work boring? Is your family annoying? Sick of reading blogs? Too tired to Twit? Had enuf of F-Book already? You need a break, yet you feel the need to do something remotely useful. The federal judiciary has the answer: federal court quizzes and games! Play Double Jeopardy! Who Wants to Be a Million-Dollar Citizen? You do! Take quizzes! How are these useful? You can gloat (or not) about your scores...

Juror Gridlock

Posted on December 12, 2008
Like beltway gridlock on a Friday afternoon, juror gridlock can stop a trial cold. Today there are two major examples of juror gridlock. The first is the deadlocked type. These make up the panel who could not reach a unanimous verdict when deliberating in the Brian Nichols case...

Bill Tracks Bills

Posted on December 11, 2008
We fondly recall Januaries of years past when befuddled legislative aides would call NCSC's Knowledge and Information Service to learn about a major issue in 60 seconds or less. Apparently, having an issue be part of your platform during the election does not necessarily translate into action once the real work starts...

Method to the Madness: Some Fool Tried It

Posted on December 10, 2008
If you've ever giggled at the directions on product labels, you know there are some pretty crazy rules out there. They exist for a reason even sillier than the rules themselves: because some fool tried it, or is about to... Not to make light of the issue, but it is the same (to some extent) with human rights...

Swearing In

Posted on December 08, 2008
Jurors, witnesses, and lawyers are sworn in in courts every day. A local (to us) judge has given a whole new meaning to "swearing in court." Hint: if the oath begins with the letter F, avoid saying it in front of Judge Robert Ruehlman in the Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas...

Sentence Structure

Posted on December 08, 2008
You'd think reporters, of all people, would understand a sentence. Make that a prison or jail sentence, and it's a whole 'nother story. Nobody, as Prof. Berman notes, seems to have a handle on the exact amount of O.J.'s time. Some guesses from the presses: NECN: 9 years minimum Blackvoices: at least 15 years Bloomberg: 9 years USA Today: 18 years, with parole possible after 5 Philadelphia Inquirer: 9 to 33 years The Province (Canada): 33 years Long Beach Post Sports: 5-15 years Washington Times (Moonies): 33 years, not eligible for parole until serving at least 9 years (noting, too, that "it is possible the penalty is a life sentence for Simpson, who is 61 years old") Dispatch (South Africa): minimum of 9 years in state prison According to the FOX News transcript (which includes bonus Kato Kaelin commentary), Judge Glass broke down the sentence as follows: Count 1, conspiracy to commit a crime = 1 year in county Count 2, conspiracy to commit a kidnapping = minimum of 12 months, maximum of 48 [months] in Nevada DOC, to run concurrent with count 1...

Celebrity Court

Posted on December 05, 2008
Use the letters O and J in a sentence. You might get "fifteen-plus years." OK that doesn't really make sense but you get the idea. O.J. Simpson, who was so cute running through the airport in those ads (today, "doing an OJ in the airport" would mean something quite different!) was sentenced today for his role in a kidnap/burglary/armed robbery gig...

Courtroom Entertainment Guide

Posted on December 05, 2008
Tired of decidedly unseasonal Law & Order reruns? Disgusted by treacle-filled holiday specials? Want something in-between? Fret not, court-o-rama has your holiday-ish (in that these take place around holidays, but are not so themed) entertainment guide: Looking for something to do in Danbury, Connecticut? Check out the Courtroom Library Series...

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