U.S. News & World Report is one step closing to becoming yet another publication that moves entirely online. Forgive me if that sounds ominous, it doesn’t seem like a bad thing. As we’ve seen with the rise of reading news by computer and recently tablets, it is inevitable that publications will go digital. And so we’ll cut down fewer trees and be able to carry many newspapers and magazines at once....
A wanted parolee’s Ice Bucket Challenge video on Facebook didn’t inspire donations – it inspired a tipster to call the cops. Jesean Morris, 20, was wanted for an outstanding warrant, and Omaha police received a tip on his specific location from someone who saw Morris’ Facebook video. According to the Omaha World-Herald, Morris was hauled in by police on Friday and booked for criminal impersonation, resisting arrest, and assaulting an officer....
If you’re among the seven people in America who care about competitive sailing, you may have heard about the America’s Cup World Series regatta in San Francisco earlier this month. It was pretty exciting. Once of the boats even capsized. Even if you can’t distinguish a stern from a bow, starboard from portside, or a main sheet from a main sail, America’s Cup could still be interesting thanks to maritime law....
Getting arrested for an airplane DUI is probably the worst way to try and satisfy one’s pilot license requirements. But that’s exactly what a Nevada man says he was trying to do. Paul Weddle, 47, of Henderson, allegedly took off in a plane from a small airport outside Las Vegas while under the influence Sunday night. After a scuffle with police upon landing, Weddle submitted to a voluntary Breathalyzer test and registered a 0....
As lawyers, we’re not always fans of employee discretion. That’s why we like strong policies and clear guidelines, things that can make sure that a worker’s poorly made decision doesn’t result in a company-wide f— up. But too much restraint, and too few opportunities for employees to use their own good judgment, can be counteractive. Indeed, according to Harvard Business School professor John Deighton, it might even lead employees to have your customers dragged off airplanes, bruised, bloody, and primed for internet outrage....
An “aggressive” wolf dog hybrid that was set to be euthanized will instead serve a “life sentence” as a prison guard dog, a Louisiana judge has ruled. The judge originally ordered Chief, a British Columbia wolf and German shepherd mix, be put down after the dog kept escaping from its owners’ property and allegedly “terrorized” neighbors, The Advocate reports. A law in Pointe Coupee Parish, La., where Chief lived, requires dogs to be leashed or confined to an owner’s property....
In Oaktree Capital Mgmt., LP. v. Bernard, No. B207865, the California Court of Appeals for the Second District faced defendant’s challenge to the arbitrator’s award of $12.3 million in damages and $6.7 million in attorneys fees in favor of defendant’s former real estate investment hedge fund for breach of his fidiciary duties. As stated in the decision: “The law narrowly circumscribes judicial review of an arbitration award. Proper grounds for vacating an arbitrator’s award are statutory and limited…An award reached by an arbitrator pursuant to a contractual agreement to arbitrate is not subject to judicial review except on the grounds set forth in Code of Civil Procedure sections 1286....
The DC Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a challenge to the DC Sex Offender Registry on Tuesday. In its decision, the court concluded that the registry was not created as a punitive measure, thus mandatory registration for sex offenders convicted before the registry’s enactment was not an ex post facto punishment. Appellant Grant Anderson was convicted in 1988 of assault with intent to commit rape while armed, among other crimes, and was sentenced to prison for 18 years to life....
Judge Edith Jones of the Fifth Circuit was the subject of a judicial misconduct complaint before the D.C. Circuit this past Wednesday, stemming from alleged racially biased statements made by Jones during a speech in February. Chief Justice Roberts reassigned the complaint from the Fifth Circuit to the D.C. Circuit’s judicial council, which will decide if the complaint warrants investigation, reports The Associated Press. As the D.C. Circuit prepares to evaluate complaints of Jones’ misconduct, it seems certain that she will have a long way to go before this is over....
Gaston v. Shinseki, No. 09-7104, concerned a petitioner’s claim for an earlier effective date for his award of total disability based on individual unemployability (TDIU). In affirming the judgment of the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims denying his claim, the court held that under 38 U.S.C. section 5110(b)(2), a veteran is only entitled to an earlier effective date if an increase in his disability occurred during the year before he filed his claim....
The Department of Justice recently announced the largest nationwide elder fraud sweep ever conducted. In terms of sheer size, the sweep involves approximately $750 million and over 260 fraudsters, globally. And as the ABA Journal points out, one group of fraudsters were targeting attorneys in a rather sophisticated way. Not surprisingly, given the scammers’ methods and the law of probabilities, the group bilked lawyers out of nearly $30 million. The attorney scammers basically laid out a fake debt-collection case for a lawyer to send a demand out on, which would lead to a settlement, because the debtor was in on the scam and happy to settle the claim....
Fiat Chrysler installed ’engine management’ software on more than 100,000 of its diesel vehicles, allowing them to release increased pollutants, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. The software was installed on 2014, 2015, and 2016 Jeep Grand Cherokees and Dodge Ram 1500 trucks, the EPA says, and resulted in extra emissions of nitrogen oxide, a toxic pollutant and one of the main contributors to smog. The accusations harken back to Volkswagen’s emissions fraud, which was discovered in September 2015....
Ex-Yankee Jim Leyritz is headed to trial in the fatal DUI crash that took the life of 30-year-old Fredia Veitch back in 2007. The DUI trial comes on the heels of a wrongful death suit Leyritz settled earlier this year in which he paid the victim’s family a $250,000 lump-sum payment and is scheduled to make one hundred $1,000-a-month payments starting in 2011. Leyritz, 47, was at a local Florida bar celebrating his birthday the night before the deadly collision, CNN reports....
Don’t believe the headlines that the Grumpy Cat won a lawsuit. Sure, the “Grumpy Cat” is an internet sensation since her owner posted the pouty feline’s pictures online years ago. And yes, her owner did win a $710,000 award against a father-and-son business that tried to capitalize on the cat’s popularity. But no, this is not like the selfie-monkey’s copyright case. This licensing award goes to the cat’s owner, Tabatha Bundesen, and Grumpy Cat Limited....
Once again, someone has tried to deny a mother’s right to breastfeed. A Florida judge is in hot water after he refused to allow an attorney breaks during trial to pump breast milk. Last week, assistant public defender Marissa Altman Glatzer was in Judge Fred Seraphin’s courtroom at the Miami-Dade County Court. Glatzer is currently breastfeeding. During a trial hearing, Glatzer requested a 15-minute break every three to four hours so that she could pump breast milk....
Working in law is stressful – why do you think so many attorneys are depressed, turn to alcohol, and in very sad circumstances even commit suicide? Before you get there, it’s extremely important to learn how to manage stress. There’s a reason they call stress the “silent killer.” I know what you’re thinking, your typical go to stress relievers like a yoga class, massage or manicure are not an option when you’re in the heat of the moment at work....
Unlike the billion and half holidays created by marketing companies to sell greeting cards, flowers, gifts, keepsakes, and legal services, Human Rights Day is a legit, international holiday. Back in 1948, on December 10, the United Nations signed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. That document, in short, declares that all humans have certain rights, such as to be free from slavery, forced servitude, forced marriage, and arbitrary arrest, as well as declaring that everyone is entitled to privacy and other human rights....
In a dispute involving the payment of disability indemnity, the decision and award of the Workers Compensation Appeals Board is annulled and remanded where: 1) part of the overpayment credit sought by plaintiff is barred by Labor Code sec. 4062 as the statute did not extend the permanent and stationary date until the time the agreed medical examiner rendered an opinion that the worker’s condition was permanent and stationary; and 2) the record does not support an equitable bar to the overpayment credit....
Ice ice baby. Glacier ice ice baby. That’s all a Chilean man wanted this week when he drove down to the country’s Patagonia region. But his trip ended early when police tossed him behind bars. He’s accused of stealing approximately 5 tons of glacier. The Jorge Montt glacier, that is. Yeah, guy’s a bona fide glacier thief. And probably proud of it, too. He allegedly planned to sell the stolen glacier to upscale bars in the capital city of Santiago, reports the Guardian....
Thousands of unprepared new law students will be heading off to law school in the next week or two, ready to give three years of life and thousands of dollars over for the chance of becoming a lawyer. The first stop on that journey? Law school orientation – that weird, week-long introduction to law school. If you’re stressed about orientation, don’t worry. If you’re extremely excited, maybe bring your expectations down a bit....
