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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

The 411 on PFAs

Posted on February 05, 2008
We usually think of protection from abuse (PFA) orders* as protecting women from abusive spouses. But as The Matter of Spears shows, a PFA can protect a person from an allegedly unethical manager. Depending on the jurisdiction, PFAs might cover various family members, exes, or others...

Fun with DNA

Posted on February 04, 2008
The mild-mannered Columbus Dispatch wowed Ohio with its expose on DNA evidence in Ohio. The short version -- Evidence is regularly destroyed Prosecutors routinely oppose DNA testing Judges dismiss requests without giving the required reason Inmates requested DNA in 313 cases; 12 were tested Two inmates have been cleared by DNA evidence; 7 have been confirmed guilty See the multi-media cavalcade Test of Convictions, Columbus Dispatch...

Perfect Attendance

Posted on February 04, 2008
Which Justice of the SCOTUS has a perfect attendance record for all State of the Union addresses? Justice Breyer is a better person than we are. He doesn't watch Netflix or read on the big day. He's never once missed a speech, and was sometimes the lone representative of the least dangerous branch...

Corporate Counsel and Chiefs Speak Out

Posted on February 04, 2008
Are courts inefficient? Under-funded? How do state court judges fare? Metropolitan Corporate Counsel ran a series of interviews and articles focusing on these very concerns. But can such an outlet be impartial on these matters? In its defense, any shortcomings in the courts (and there are many, according to the high-powered lawyers interviewed) may be solved by better court funding and organization...

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New Nichols Judge

Posted on February 04, 2008
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Cobb County Superior Court Judge James Bodiford has been appointed to preside over the NIchols case. Judge Fuller recused himself last week after Toobin (mis?)quoted his views about the case. Judge Bodiford presided over the recent crematory case and other high-profile trials...

Gripping Storytelling

Posted on February 03, 2008
It's not often we get through an entire book that wasn't written by P.D. Eastman or Dr. Seuss. So Scott Sundby's book, A Life and Death Decision: A Jury Weighs the Death Penalty, was a welcome and different change of pace. It's been awhile since we read and reviewed it elsewhere, but we're revisiting the book here for anyone who hasn't heard about it...

Out-of-state = Still Married

Posted on February 03, 2008
Public policy loves marriage almost as much as Elizabeth Taylor does. Marriage is good. Without it, my feet would freeze and I'd eat Cup O' Noodles for dinner every night. Public policy hearts marriage because it creates a small bite-sized society. It's voluntary stability (in theory anyway)...

Raising Hopes

Posted on February 02, 2008
We used to work at a place where a picture-perfect score plus glowing comments on your performance review resulted in a 5 or 6% raise (depending on what kind of year the place was having). A good friend of mine who worked in the private sector told me if he got that kind of raise, it was a sign pointing to the exit door...

Parachini-esque

Posted on February 02, 2008
The paparazzi just can't keep away from Allan Parachini! If you're wondering, "Who?!?" then you must be new here. Allan Parachini is the PIO for the L.A. Superior Court. If the legal issues of Britney or Michael are in the news, Mr. Parachini is right there, too...

Coming in from the Cold

Posted on February 01, 2008
Russians and secrets and spies, oh my! At what point may grand jury transcripts be opened to the public? Scholars, reporters, and the couple's sons seek the release of sealed transcripts from the Rosenberg case. They hope to learn more about the case, particularly with respect to Mrs...

Revival in Mississippi

Posted on February 01, 2008
Four days: one state supreme court, one law library, and one administrative office of the court. The Mississippi Supreme Court will be moving from February 8-11. Amazing to anyone who's ever moved just one family from place to place, the new building will be open to the public on February 12! (Of this same year!) The old building, a relic from 1974, is leaky and reportedly not as nice as the buildings housing the other two more dangerous branches of government...

Crushworthy?

Posted on January 31, 2008
If you're crushing on Lynne Stewart, or even if you're not, you may be interested in her appeal. Stewart, recall, was convicted of providing material support to a terrorist conspiracy (i.e., her client). She is either Belle of the Wrongfully Convicted + Disbarred Ball or Pinko (in a bad way) of the Century, depending on your viewpoint...

Country Ham, Grits, and the Constitution

Posted on January 31, 2008
Are you fond of Italian gestures? Are you a good (if very quiet) listener? Are you the only woman at your office? The Washington & Lee School of Law is hosting Breakfast with the Constitution, in which Dean Smolla serves up constitutional issues, and the audience participates as SCOTUS Justices...

Are Your Roots Showing?

Posted on January 31, 2008
Who are your people? You might be related to one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence or (as Matt Groening says) a "crafty trilobite." Senator Obama found out he was a distant cousin of Vice President Cheney. There have been numerous stories about Obama's Kansan relatives...

Idle Hands

Posted on January 30, 2008
It's no secret that someone serving 19 years might could use a hobby. A Washington state man convicted of first-degree arson for firebombing cars belonging to his opponents' lawyers spends his free (so to speak) time looking up personal information about public officials...

Damned If He Does

Posted on January 30, 2008
Criticized for being too pro-defendant, Judge Hilton Fuller has stepped down from the Nichols case after Toobin quoted him as saying "everyone in the world knows he [Nichols] did it.". See Ga. Courthouse Shooting Judge Steps Down, Harry R. Weber, AP (January 30, 2008).

Funky Cold

Posted on January 29, 2008
The Austin American-Statesman is asking Justice Medina to step down unless he "cannot quickly resolve this mess in Harris County." This is the mess you may have read about here not long ago. Scroll down to see the January 27 item, "Austin American-Statesman on judicial ethics", in the State Editorial Roundup, AP, Dallas News (January 28, 2008)...

Art for Courthouse Art's Sake

Posted on January 28, 2008
You've seen the American Gallery of Juror Art, and viewed trial sketches on the news (or at Turkewitz's site). Courthouses are chock full o' art. Many court websites include a peek: One of Delaware's three counties, New Castle, boasts "a visual feast of brilliant color" and more...

Just Leave It in a Brown Paper Bag on the Courthouse Steps

Posted on January 27, 2008
If you lose a glove in Gotham, it might turn up here. But we're not sure where the Worcester Superior Court can find missing evidence from a 1990 case. Here's a description: cocaine, kilo-sized. (A kilo, for those who ignored the schools' attempts to cram the metric system down our throats, is about 2...

Just the Tax

Posted on January 26, 2008
Upset that there aren't enough tax cases to read? Stressed out by the filed-down legal teeth of administrative rulings? Hankering for a "tax-only" judge? Tax court may be for you! There are many varieties of tax courts -- some are not even in the judicial branch...

Fear of Commitment

Posted on January 26, 2008
Nothing boosts policy reform like a sociopath! Ever since the Virginia Tech massacre, Virginians have been scrambling to change their mental health system. But even before a Hokie opened fire on his fellow classmates and professors, Virginia was on the road to reform...

Yet More Hype

Posted on January 26, 2008
We pat ourselves on the back so you don't have to! But some of you did anyway: Giant thanks to Corrections Sentencing for appreciating great snark! The New York Supreme Court Criminal Term Library gave us a warm welcome, too.

For the Defense?

Posted on January 25, 2008
How wrapped-up in indigent defense funding should a judge be? There's yet another new twist in the Nichols case: the judge has repeatedly delayed the case due to inadequate funding of the defense team. Georgia has a history when it comes to indigent defense...

Palmetto State Hearings

Posted on January 25, 2008
South Carolina is the southern belle of the ball right now, but after the primaries are a memory the quest for justice will continue. Starting in March, the South Carolina Access to Justice Commission will hold regional meetings to gauge the access to courts by citizens of low or modest means...

Say It with Us: "Habeas!"

Posted on January 24, 2008
Evidently, habeas writs are unheard of in Idaho. So much so that court staff in Bonneville, County, Idaho, does not know what they are. Normally, this is not a problem. Now court clerks are learning about habeas the hard way. A defendant was about to be released on bond, but then was told he could not leave because a federal warrant had been issued...

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