U.S. News & World Report ranked the top law schools in the country. Mine still remains at #5, behind Harvard, Yale, Stanford, and Columbia.
WI Court Upholds Conviction Of Man Who Had Sex With A Dead Deer
The statute forbids sex with an animal. Since the deer he had sex with was dead, and since "animal" implies a living creature, he cannot be convicted (so argued his appellate lawyer). It looks from the opinion that the appellate court was somewhat convinced by that argument. However, it still upheld the conviction on the grounds that the man pleaded … Read More
It’s Illegal To Serve Sangria In Virginia
What? Really? That’s dumb.
Your PIN Number Has Been Discovered!
And it’s revealed — publicly — on this website.
“Reasonable Expectation Of Privacy”
So I was perusing the legal brief (pdf) that the ACLU wrote in support of Larry Craig (the Idaho senator who was caught attempting to engage in hanky-panky in a Minnesota airport restroom). And I came across this passage: Now, I happen to think that the law for which Craig stands accused is unconstitutional, at least as applied to the … Read More
Glenn Greenwald On “Judicial Activism”
Glenn Greenwald writes the post that someone (myself included) should have written a long time ago. He skewers rightwing bloggers and pundits who bluster uncontrollably about "judicial activism". The thrust of Greenwald’s post is this: Our public discourse has taught conservatives that any time a court issues a ruling that produces an outcome that they dislike, that’s "judicial activism." But … Read More
CLE
I’m stuck all day in a Holiday Inn Select, listening to 12 hours of lectures as part of my annual Continuing Legal Education Requirement. Sigh. Why can’t legal education be more like this?
Recommended Reading
Slate’s Top Ten Bush Administration’s Dumbest Legal Arguments of the Year. It’s a doozy. Number one: 1. The United States does not torture. First there was the 2002 torture memo. That was withdrawn. Then there was the December 2004 statement that declared torture "abhorrent." But then there was the new secret 2005 torture memo. But members of Congress were fully … Read More
Good Advice
Michigan Law Abuse Watch (MLAW) is an organization tracking how runaway lawsuits is resulting in seriously ridiculous warning labels and signs. Like, after the hot McDonald’s coffee lawsuit, we are now seeing "Caution: coffee is hot" warning labels. They held their annual contest of the dumbest warning labels. This year’s winner cautions us to "avoid death". Someone get me a … Read More
Tweety On The Stand
How come I never get a case like this? Tweety may get a chance to take the witness stand and sing like a canary. An Italian court ordered the animated bird, along with Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and his girlfriend Daisy, to testify in a counterfeiting case. In what lawyers believe was a clerical error worthy of a Looney Tunes … Read More
Why You Shouldn’t Go To Low School
Now they tell me. For what it’s worth, I have a hard time placing myself in any of the three categories set out in the above essay. I’m certainly not "the sucker" (the lawyer working long hours in a small firm for little pay), nor "the underpaid do-gooder" (the underpaid public interest lawyer). I’m probably closest to the "corporate serf", … Read More
Dewey, Bangham & Howe: Sex With Lawyers
Every lawyer knows — because it’s drilled into us — that it is unethical to have sex with a client. It violates the Rules of Professional Conduct in every state bar, and can lead to fines or suspension of your legal license. The rationale is that having sex with a client creates a conflict of interest. Also demeans the profession, … Read More
Two Important Bills
I’ve sort of noticed that I’m not as political on this blog lately, and I think that is for three reasons. First of all, there’s the burnout factor. I mean, when you’ve seen all the outrages by this Adminsitration over the past several years — from Iraq to Katrina — then the smaller outrages (which would have been big ten … Read More
About The Juice
Well, as you know, O.J. is at it again. He was arrested Sunday and faces multiple felony charges in an alleged armed robbery of collectors involving the former football great’s sports memorabilia. Professor Volokh asks (and answers) an interesting question: If O.J. is convicted, can the sentencing judge take into account his past "crime" — the one for which he … Read More
Chemerinsky Is Back As UC Irvine Dean
I had a feeling that L’Affaire Chemerinsky would end this way: UC Irvine Chancellor Michael V. Drake and Erwin Chemerinsky have reached an agreement that will return the liberal legal scholar to the dean’s post at the university’s new law school, the university announced this morning. With the deal, they hope to end the controversy that erupted when Chemerinsky was … Read More