Man Bites Dog! - I've been waiting for this story. Now my life is truly complete.
7:31:56 PM
'Survivor' Judge Fuels an Ethics Debate - Georgia Judge Paschal English was likable enough to become one of the final four contestants on the reality show "Survivor: Marquesas." Now that he is back on the bench, a question has come up as to whether judicial ethics canons prevent him from cashing in on his newfound celebrity status. [Law.com]
It's nice to know that Reality TV is helping to forge new ground in the field of legal ethics.
7:22:08 PM
I Pledge Not to Stop Filing Lawsuits - okay, enough already!
4:07:54 PM
You can't discriminate in picking your roomate - That's the law in California, and the Volokh Conspiracy, which has been all over this issue, had this to say recently:
"Someone passed along to me a file containing the text of the DeSantis decision -- the one where the California Fair Employment & Housing Commission punished a woman for stating her preferences in a roommate -- and I've put in on the Web, for those who want to read up on the matter further. It really does seem to be quite unconstitutional to me."
Yeah, it seems unconstitutional to me too. Remember, folks, the Constitution gives everyone a right to speak. And if you've been paying attention over the past 200 years, you'll notice that a lot of speech makes no sense. But, the First Amendment doesn't only protect useful, coherent speech. If it did, a lot of journalists would be out of business.
1:50:38 PM
How long will John Walker Lindh be in Jail? - It depends on how the US Sentencing Guidelines are applied, and divining the guidelines is not for amatuers. Fortunately, the folks at TalkLeft have crunched the numbers for you. Their guess? About 17 years. Seems like a lot to me.
1:46:38 PM
Avoid Link Rot, and Keep Up to Date on The Law of Linking - Denise has a good post on the latest sites and information on the law of linking.
1:30:27 PM
Splitting the Ninth Circuit - in the wake of the pledge ruling, attention has been drawn once again to the unwieldy size of the Ninth Circuit. Howard received some information about proposed legislation to break the Ninth Circuit into two circuits. Apparently, Sen. Murkowski of Alaska (which is in Ninth Circuit) is one of the vocal proponents of this change. You can access a statement by Senator Frank Murkowski (R-Alaska) by clicking on the tenth item found at this link. via [How Appealing]
1:24:28 PM
Meeting Dates
1st Mtg - September 23, 2002 at 6:30 p.m. at Tulane - JOINT MEETING
2nd Mtg - November 12, 2002 - 6:00 p.m. at Federal Court
3rd Mtg - February 4, 2003 - 6:00 p.m. at Federal Court
4th Mtg - April 8, 2003 - 6:00 p.m. at Federal Court
10:56:07 AM
Indict a ham sandwich, or sue a rock - Criminal lawyers are familiar with the phrase that "a grand jury would indict a ham sandwich," which suggests that a prosecutor can pretty much get the grand jury to do what he or she wants. In the civil arena we have something called "in rem" actions. And that means that we civil lawyers can sue inanimate objects. Like, for example, a rock.
9:24:38 AM
Galatoire's Restaurant Brouhaha - Updating my previous post, there is an article in today's local paper with new information on the stirring New Orleans restaurant controversy. Admitedly, this is background radation in the thermonuclear spectrum of important public events. But here in New Orleans we have our own Geiger counter that we use to measure significant news. The phrase "while Rome burns" comes to mind.
