Legal News

Happy New Year?and Farewell

By Jennifer Forsyth

Dear Law Blog Nation,

It’s New Year’s Eve, a time of revelry and reflection.

Of course, the revelry mustn’t get out of hand. The WSJ’s Stephanie Simon helpfully explains in this Page 1 story today that the Colorado Department of Transportation designed a free iPhone app — R-U-Buzzed — to help party-goers estimate their blood alcohol content and determine whether it’s safe to drive. Click on the app and a slot machine pops up. Dial in your weight, how long you've been drinking and what type of liquor you've been imbibing – and in what quantities. Up pops your estimated blood alcohol content and an accompanying explanation: "No hangover expected," printed in sober gray or "You're buzzed!" in cheery yellow, or, in cautionary red, "Don't even think about driving."

This is likely good news for all of us, except perhaps for our bar brethren who defend DWIs.

As for the reflection, we here at The Wall Street Journal law bureau are amazed at the tremendous legal stories that it’s been our pleasure and privilege to blog on this year. Here are a few highlights:
–Swindler Bernard Madoff pleads guilty to the biggest white-collar crime in U.S. history, wiping out the bank accounts of thousands of victims, and gets 150 years in prison.
–Flamboyant lawyer Scott Rothstein appears to have flown too close to the Florida sun and taken a tumble after his firm folded and he was charged with conspiracy under the RICO statutes for masterminding a $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme out of his law office.
–Another flashy attorney, Marc Dreier, pleaded guilty to securities fraud among other counts for a scheme to pass fake promissory notes that was exposed when he impersonated the general counsel of a Canadian pension plan.
–Supreme Court Justice David Souter said goodbye to all that and ushered in the arrival of Justice Sonia Sotomayor, whose comments about being a “wise Latina” haunted her more often than spirits visited Ebenezer Scrooge at Christmas.
–Federal Judge Samuel Kent resigned to avoid impeachment after he was sentenced to 33 months in prison for lying about an investigation into claims that he sexually abused two female employees.
–The DOJ announced it was dropping all the charges against former Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens, who was convicted last year on corruption charges, due to prosecutorial misconduct.

No wonder we need a holiday! The Law Blog will be in slow motion over the weekend, breaking in for only essential legal news. Ashby Jones will return from vacation next week and will push the speedometer back to 95, assisted by his capable colleagues, Amir Efrati, Nathan Koppel and Dionne Searcey.

On a personal note, today was my last day as Law Bureau Chief and editor of the Law Blog. I am taking another position at the Journal. So this is a goodbye, at least for now, to our smart, savvy readers. Happy New Year!

Yours,
Jennifer Forsyth

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on December 31, 2009 (boomark / email).