Posts

It all began with an Eleventh Circuit judge’s repeated use of “inter alia.” It must’ve been dropped fifteen times in the first three pages before I gave up, went to another (more interesting) opinion, and blogged on. Seriously. Why “inter alia” instead of “among other reasons?” Coming from someone who has to read four or five appellate opinions per day for our Circuit Court Blogs, the best and most persuasive arguments are those presented in plain English, with well-organized headings and sections, and presented in as few words as possible....

An ex-restaurant manager from Illinois had the mean ol’ government put a stop to his frequent trips to Disney World, mostly because he was allegedly stealing people’s identities in order to foot the bill. Huge Disney fan and slightly smaller alleged identity thief Alexander Pera, 26, was arrested last week for using stolen identities to fund two Disney cruises and 15 trips to Disney World – a five-month Disney vacation bender that cost about $50,000 in stolen funds, reports CNN Money....

It’s awkward enough when a parent asks about your sex life, but the State Bar?! In California, at least, the State Bar is asking lawyers about their sexual orientation. Apparently, it’s to support “greater access to, and inclusion in, the legal system.” When attorneys log in to the State Bar website, they can participate in a voluntary survey and state their gender identity. So it’s not that awkward. Notably, the gender choices are far more inclusive than in the past....

Anonymous is kind of a big deal. But for some reason, lawyers at Puckett & Faraj had never heard of the group. That is, until the firm got hacked recently. Anonymous went on a hacking spree over the weekend, in an “attempt to expose and combat the failures of the military justice system, which let a murderer off the hook,” explains Gawker. Attorney Neal Puckett just so happens to have defended that accused murderer....

Last week we looked at the many celebrities who graduated law school, from Gerard Butler to Jerry Springer. But for every budding actor, singer, and talk show host who made it through three years of law school, there are plenty of famous men and women who said, simply, “Screw this!” and dropped out. They’re hardly failures, either. Famous law school dropouts include Supreme Court Justices, Presidents (lots of Presidents), and some of the world’s most famous movie stars....

A California appellate court ruled last week that a surrogate for a party to a pending lawsuit against a public entity may obtain documents under the California Public Records Act (CPRA) relating to the attorney fees charged by litigation counsel for the public entity. The court concluded that the CPRA “does not allow limitations on access to a public record based upon the purpose for which the record is being requested, if the record is otherwise subject to disclosure....

In a breach of contract action against the United States, Court of Federal Claims’ final judgment of dismissal is affirmed where: 1) the court erred in dismissing the plaintiff’s breach of contract claims for all years prior to 2001 as the claims were not barred by the statute of limitations; 2) the court properly dismissed plaintiff’s breach of express contract claim as plaintiff cannot establish that its express United States government obligations (USGO) contract included a duty exempting the USGOs from taxation by the Guam Territorial Income Tax and thus the government did not breach the USGO contract by imposing the tax; 3) the court properly dismissed the breach of implied-in-fact contract claim as plaintiff cannot prove the existence of an implied-in-fact contract entitling it to the requested relief; 4) the court properly dismissed plaintiff’s reformation claim; and 5) since all of plaintiff’s claims are dismissed, it is impossible for plaintiff to prevail on its request for declaratory relief....

In Bennett v. Islamic Repub. of Iran, No. 09-5147, proceedings arising from a deadly bombing in Jerusalem, wherein plaintiffs sought to satisfy a default judgment against the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Iranian Ministry of Information and Security, the court affirmed the district court’s order quashing writs of attachment against five of Iran’s former diplomatic properties located in the District of Columbia, holding that section 201 of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act precluded the attachments....

For recent grads not looking to spend their days shuffling pleadings around, scrolling through ediscovery, or commuting from court to court, leveraging that JD for more pay in a non-legal industry job is actually a viable alternative. Not surprisingly, employers that want JD degrees are looking for people who can understand legal terminology and documents, and apply the law or legal terms practically. For instance, employees that routinely negotiate contracts would certainly benefit from having graduated law school....

In an opinion published earlier this week, the California Supreme Court upheld a Superior Court decision imposing the death penalty sentence on Sean Vines, reports the Sacramento Bee. Vines was sentenced back in 1997 for the murder of Ronald Joshua Lee, 21, at a McDonald’s in Sacramento. For criminal defense attorneys or those attorneys interested in evidentiary or constitutional death penalty arguments, the recently published Vines opinion is an interesting one....

If you ever watched the Fresh Prince of Bel Air, or even vaguely know about it, one of the things you are likely to know is the Carlton Dance. Alfonso Ribeiro, also known as Carlton Banks from the 90s hit TV show, and the current host of America’s Funniest Home Videos, seems to be losing his fight for copyright protection for his signature comedic dance, which strangely, he wishes people would stop asking him to do....

Could it be … a college football playoff? Perhaps. A federal probe into the BCS system may bring about the changes so many college football fans and schools have been arguing for. Utah’s attorney general recently met with members of the Justice Department to discuss their concerns and the possibility for a much larger investigation, according to the Associated Press. Attorney General Mark Shurtleff is investigating the BCS for some potential antitrust issues....

Earlier this month, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals dealt a small blow to big oil. Chevron, as you may recall, has an $18 million liability in Ecuador. The oil company was sued by several Ecuadorean citizens who alleged that Chevron caused environmental damage in Ecuador. In order to obtain expert reports to support their claims, the citizens hired Weinberg Group to provide data. Once Chevron was found liable in an Ecuadorean court, it accused the Weinberg Group of making fraudulent statements....

In People v. Vang, No. C059700, the Third District faced a challenge to a conviction for firearm and drug related offenses, claiming that the his sentence for felon in possession of a firearm should have been stayed pursuant to Penal Code section 654 because it was inseparable from possession of methamphetamine while armed. In affirming the conviction, the court held that, because the offenses involve distinct dangers, separate acts, and separate intents, substantial evidence supports the court’s conclusion that a felon in possession of a firearm was a separate offense from possession of methamphetamine while armed....

In TiVo Inc. v. EchoStar Corp., No. 09-1374, the Federal Circuit faced a challenge to the district court’s decision finding EchoStar in contempt of its permanent injunction order relating to TiVo’s patent infringement action of its digital video recorder (DVR). TiVo’s patent infringement action against EchoStar began in 2004 when the jury found that EchoStar’s accused receivers, the “50X” series and the “Broadcom” series infringed the asserted hardware and software claims and awarded TiVo $74 million in lost profits and reasonable royalties....

The wife of former Syracuse basketball coach Bernie Fine is set to sue ESPN over an allegedly doctored audio recording that she says smeared her “as a monster.” Laurie Fine announced her intention to sue ESPN for libel at a press conference Wednesday, Syracuse’s WSYR-TV reports. Her lawyers released the lawsuit to reporters, but they have not yet filed it in court. Fine’s husband Bernie was fired in November after two former ball boys publicly accused him of child sex abuse in interviews with ESPN....

Tax day was earlier this week and a recent case before the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals came out just in time, elaborating the prerequisites of bringing a refund claim. As with most tax claims that reach the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, the case doesn’t break down tax issues as much as it talks about appellate procedure in tax cases. Here, the Federal Circuit struck down the refund claim of married taxpayers, citing that they had not gone through the proper avenues for their case to be under the jurisdiction of the Court of Federal Claims....

Jantavia Taylor was arrested by Florida police on Monday night and is now facing felony charges for perpetrating a sex toy assault upon her girlfriend, Tamara Cadet. Police were called to the couple’s Bradenton home after an argument broke out, spilling out of the house and onto the street. Unfortunately for one neighbor, the weapon also managed to make its way out of the house, landing in his front yard across the road....

What’s the biggest regret of my life? That’s a tough one. However, it wasn’t the decision to go to law school. Most of my student loan debt was from University of California at Davis. (Got to pay off the pepper-spraying cops somehow, right?) But for many regretful recent law grads, they’ll all scream in unison to pre-law students: STAY THE [EXPLETIVE] AWAY! They’re not being protectionist (at least, not completely). They speak from experience....

No, this title is not quite as catchy as “How the Grinch Stole Christmas!”, but that’s why Dr. Seuss got the big bucks. At this time of year, children, it’s not sugarplums that dance in legal bloggers’ heads, it’s whimsy such as: Exactly what crimes did the Grinch commit during his reign of terror over Whoville? In other words, would a legally accurate title for the Great Seuss’ work be:...