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Miscellaneous

court-o-rama.org

About the courts.
By Anne Skove, Esq.

Post Frequency: 12/day

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

If Only He Had Been Flanked By Louis Armstrong and Ellen DeGeneres

Posted on April 18, 2008
OK, one more time...here's the rule about religious imagery in public places: it must be but one choice in a smorgasbord of traditions. Not to be confused with cafeteria Catholics, it's possible to display a Christian (or other religious) image in a public place if other traditions are also represented...

DWI in New Mexico Just Got Messier

Posted on April 17, 2008
Alcohol-impaired drivers have long posed problems in New Mexico. The combination of poverty and highway expanse results in a rate of alcohol-involved traffic fatalities that is twice the national average. One response was to create a system by which misdemeanor DWIs may be filed in state magistrate court rather than in municipal court...

Jury Fun Around the World

Posted on April 17, 2008
When we first envisioned court-o-rama, I swore not to cover jury stuff...been there, done that. But we would be remiss if we neglected to mention To Russia With Judge Mize, Deliberations (April 8, 2008). This is Judge Mize's report from his recent stint in Moscow, where he attended the Russian Jurors' Summit...

One from the Hip Lands Lawyer 90 Days

Posted on April 16, 2008
It's one thing to dislike prosecutors; quite another to make a lewd gesture at one in court. An Austin attorney "fluctuated between apologizing for offending [the judge] and justifying his behavior as a zealous attorney defending his client." Guess he didn't count on being sentenced by a visiting judge who spends his free time teaching courtroom decorum...

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So You Want to Cover the Courts?

Posted on April 16, 2008
From the Fray to bloggers, everyone is commenting on what a good Supreme Court reporter should be. Frankly, we're less worried about how the media fails the SCOTUS than we are about everyday reporter doofishness. We have a past with reporters who cover the courts...

Yet More Tax: Fine with Us

Posted on April 15, 2008
Congratulations (some) library patrons who have amassed fines over $10! The Virginia Department of Taxation just paid your fines for you by docking your refund! At least one court uses this tactic, too. In Iowa, $4 million in unpaid fines and fees were collected by offsetting (the preferred term) tax refunds, withholding lottery winnings, and denying new drivers' licenses until fees and fines were paid...

More Tax (or Taxing) Fun

Posted on April 15, 2008
We swear this will all be over at midnight! Today the SCOTUS released an opinion in US v. Clintwood Elkhorn Mining. This is a huge Tucker Act case, meaning that we have not done anything more than read the SCOTUSwiki cursorily. Who says the SCOTUS doesn't have a sense of humor? They also released an opinion in Meadwestvaco v...

From Whatever Source

Posted on April 15, 2008
Here are some fun (?) tax facts to take the pain away: What's a tax court? How do they function? State tax courts are an unusual animal in that they are often part of the executive branch. Who knew? Now you do. As you might expect, the TaxProf Blog is extra-busy and bloggy this time of year, with a Tax News roundup; a chart depicting the IRS's budget, employees, and structure; and colorful graphics illustrating where all the money goes...

Looks Like a Job for the AAJ

Posted on April 14, 2008
The American Association for Justice (plus the rest of us) are forever having to explain legal legends. Now comes Judge Battaglia, who slipped and fell in his own courthouse and is...guess what! a) Leaving the legal profession for a post at the New York Daily News...

Rushing In

Posted on April 01, 2008
All sorts of news and developments from around the blogosphere and reality, too, today only -- Justices Scalia and Thomas have decided to form a three-person embryo with Valerie Bertinelli. "The world needs a perky originalist," Bertinelli explained...

Swiper

Posted on March 31, 2008
Those of you with Dora-sized fans at home know about Swiper. He's a fox who sneaks through the scene every so often. We guarantee he is up to no good. When they see him, kids are supposed to yell "Swiper! No swiping!" to alert our didactic-yet-upbeat little amiga...

Rain on Our Parade

Posted on March 31, 2008
Today was a wet opening day here in Cincinnati. Better for the Reds if it had rained out, because they lost to those newbie Diamondbacks. Normally we would leave the baseball musings to Tom, who actually knows what he's talking about, but we wanted to mention the National Constitution Center's new exhibit on...

Blog of the Week(end): SC Bankruptcy and Consumer Law Blog

Posted on March 31, 2008
We try to stay away (some) from the ad-blogs, those serving their writers rather than audiences. Blogs from big firms that do little but self-announce, blogs from newspapers that do little but verify the fact that "we have a blog." The SC Bankruptcy & Consumer Law Blog is written by a private lawyer, Sheryl Schelin...

The Rights Stuff

Posted on March 29, 2008
Do victims have rights? And if so, what are they, and from whence do they spring? The Constitution says precious little about victims' rights. Rather, it focuses on the rights of the accused. The legal system purposefully leaves victims out of the equation...

Hitting the Links in South Carolina

Posted on March 29, 2008
No, not the green links -- we've tried golf, but those darn windmills always trip us up!* South Carolina Summary Court Judges Association, Inc.: Get a seal for your summary court room, download the latest orders from Columbia, and check out their apparel store...

Legislation Attempts to Solve Common Problem of Common-law Marriage

Posted on March 28, 2008
Probate judges see families at their worst: grieving, fighting, and with unresolved issues. Probate judges believe that allowing common-law marriage, which South Carolina does, exacerbates conflicts over estates. Will ending common-law marriage stop these types of conflicts? Would that it would! But the question of whether a couple was actually married would no longer be part of the debate...

Habla South Carolinese?

Posted on March 28, 2008
A few things you might want to know when speaking to a South Carolinian: BBQ is a noun, not a verb, and "coke" means any kind of pop.* And, the state courts is desperately trying to increase its use certified interpreters. Certification involves a 2-day orientation, 3-hour written test, and an oral proficiency test...

No Secrets: Settlement Agreements in South Carolina

Posted on March 27, 2008
There are many South Carolina traditions: mustard BBQ, insanely sweet tea, and giant tiger paws painted in the middle of the street. We can also add the presumption of openness regarding settlement terms to this list. Per R. 41.1, Sealing Documents and Settlement Agreements, "South Carolina has a long history of maintaining open court proceedings and records...

Mumia Supporters: Start Thinking about New T-Shirts

Posted on March 27, 2008
Mumia Abu-Jamal (not to be confused with Mumm-Ra) is set for a new penalty hearing. Convicted in 1982 of killing a white police officer, Mumia has a slew of fans and supporters who agree with his claim that racism was a factor in his trial, that he was framed by Philly police, etc...

How to Find Us, Accidentally Or on Purpose

Posted on March 27, 2008
We never fail to be amused by the search word queries that lead unwary surfers to court-o-rama! free wedding pictures drug court coordinators salaries how to pronounce oyez civil gideon foreclosures new york polygamy match maker tom carlson musical genius do chancery courts still exist in virginia john ritter and court trial ohio court cases in 2008 that are ngri pursuing diversity in kentucky courts rama fact file three person embryo security clearance drunk in public Of course the easy way is http://court-o-rama...

Resolving Conflict in South Carolina

Posted on March 26, 2008
They may never cause a Clemson - USC lovefest, but the ADR community in South Carolina is alive and well. The state court ADR office is housed in the state bar. Both mediation and arbitration are part of the program. Besides the usual arbitration and mediation programs, South Carolina has a few special programs and rules...

Family Day

Posted on March 26, 2008
Being on vacation with family is a good opportunity to consider the family courts here in South Carolina. (Not that we are considering dissolution!) As mentioned earlier, South Carolina has a uniform, statewide family court. How unusual is this? If you're in a state like this, you'd be surprised...

Defending South Carolina's Defendants

Posted on March 26, 2008
What have you done for your state lately? If you're a member of the South Carolina State Bar, you may have taken an indigent defense case. South Carolina is unique in its rule that all attorneys admitted to practice in the state be on call for such cases...

Specialties in S.C.

Posted on March 25, 2008
Once upon a time we were given a list entitled "How to Kill an Idea." We added to this list over time, and noticed that opposite states of being are equally capable of killing an idea. Take smallness and largeness. "We're too small" and "we're too large" are both common reasons for not doing something...

Update from the Palmetto State

Posted on March 25, 2008
Wow, 24 hours without a post! We hope the Peeps-show kept you entertained in the meantime. As we are in South Carolina for spring break, the next few days will be all about the courts here. Let's start at the top: Chief Justice Toal. If there's a gun ban in the state supreme court, they shouldn't let her in -- she's a pistol! She's been (and may still be, for all we know) a field hockey goalie, the better half of the only husband-and-wife team to edit the South Carolina Law Review, a mother, Carolina Gamecocks fan, and first (and only, to date) woman to serve on the state's highest court...

Where Did All the Felony Cases Go? Mediation!

Posted on March 23, 2008
Last Friday, 18 out of 19 of one court's felony cases disappeared. Senior judges trained in mediation techniques are mediating felony cases. Case types include burglary, drug trafficking, theft, assault, fleeing and evading law enforcement, and manufacturing meth...

Happy Easter Peeps!

Posted on March 23, 2008
Whether you're feasting on a giant ham, making Jell-O eggs, or opening the annual jar of beet horseradish, or even if you're not celebrating Easter at all, all of court-o-rama's peeps will love the Peep Spa!

3Ls at W&L

Posted on March 22, 2008
Drive to New Orleans for Mardi Gras? Collect ding letters? Worry about your loan-fraught future? What did you do during your third year of law school? At W&L Law, 3Ls will spend their time learning something. Long a leader in clinical programs (how many other law schools take black lung cases?), everybody's third year will now consist of a third-year practicum course...

Are Depressed Lawyers a Majority?

Posted on March 22, 2008
Lawyers are 3.6 times more likely than average to suffer from depression 26% of respondents to a North Carolina Bar Association study exhibited symptoms of clinical depression; 12% reportedly contemplated suicide at least monthly Of 104 professions studied, lawyers had the highest rate of depression By spring of their first year in law school, 32% of one group of study subjects were depressed; the number climbed to 40% by spring of the third year...

Payback, or the Usual Audit? Conflict in Connecticut!

Posted on March 22, 2008
We've seen judges and court administrators get a bit edgy when put together in the same room, but we've never seen anything like this. If a judge writes an article entitled "Probate Court Administrator Needs No More Power," does it look suspicious if that administrator orders the judge to reimburse the state for money spent on an audit? To Judge Kimes of Connecticut's New Canaan Probate Court, it's all very fishy...

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