From Marty Law.com article on how Google handles copyright complaints and discussionof the Church of Scientology episode. via [The Trademark Blog]
Hooray for Kulpreet Rana, a lawyer who thinks outside the box.
10:56:15 AM
The Best Way of Selecting State Court Judges?
People will debate this, but here's what I know. The only time I speak to someone from a state judge's chambers is if I call about a case...except if they call to invite me to a fundraiser for the judge. And what do you say in that situation? "Uh, no I can't make it because I don't want to fork over the $100 per person that it costs to attend?" The whole pandering aspect is unseemly. And you don't have to be too perceptive to understand how this fundraising infuses the judicial system with politics. To paraphrase Louisiana Governor Earl Long, it's not that everyone doesn't get justice, but obviously lawyers who help the judge get reelected get "more justice."
And I'm not alone in the view that campaign contributions demean and undermine the judicial system. If you are interested in how judges are elected in your state, check this link. How bad is the problem? Well, a lot of judges also think it is a problem. Interestingly, well-known federal judge Richard Posner thinks any form of tenure is undesirable (interesting because federal judges, like Posner, have lifetime tenure). So, maybe merit-selection is the way to go. It's certainly something to think seriously about. I know I think about it every time I go into state court.
9:32:19 AM
"A federal judge in New York on Monday dismissed a class action suit brought by Holocaust victims and their relatives, who were seeking restitution for property seized by the Polish government after World War II. The judge said that U.S. courts had no jurisdiction to hear the claims because the 1976 Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act could not be applied retroactively to actions taken by Poland in the 1940s and 1950s." [Law.com]
Picture if you will, film footage of the heroic struggle of Salmon to swim upstream, fighting to return to their breeding ground to mate and then die. Then picture foreign litigants around the world coming to file lawsuits in the United States. Notice I called the fishes' struggle "heroic."
9:07:04 AM
Apple Bashing From JCD
One question: Where does a guy who wears ties that look like they were painted by Jackson Pollack (and put on before they dried) get off crticizing the appearance of other people?
8:37:02 AM
