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Should you date other law students? While many of you may have entered law school at the point in your lives where you’re lucky enough to already be with a committed, loving partner, there are also the (somewhat vast, at times) majority of law students who are, how do we put this … sorely single? It’s not uncommon for folks who work or go to school together to end up dating, but, law school is an especially particular animal when it comes to dating and love....

Conviction for first degree murder and other crimes and sentence to death is affirmed where: 1) the trial court did not abuse its discretion in allowing the admission of postmortem photographs of the victim and in the admission of evidence of defendant’s prior rape; 2) the evidence presented at trial was sufficient to support the conviction and the finding of the special circumstance that the murder was committed during the commission of a rape; 3) the court did not err in its jury instructions related to defendant’s prior rape, or in declining to instruct the jury that the prosecution was required to prove that he harbored the intent to rape her while she was alive; 4) the court’s failure to dismiss a juror based on a conversation the juror had outside the courtroom did not violate defendant’s right to an impartial jury; 5) the court did not abuse its discretion in declining to grant defendant a continuance of one day; 6) the court did not err in the disputed instructions it did and did not give to the jury during the penalty phase of the trial; and 7) California’s death penalty statute does not violate the state or federal constitution....

Attorney Ronald Clarke Mattson is an American hero. Nay, a martyr. His cause? Exacting vigilante justice on the perpetrators of bad parking jobs in one downtown Seattle parking garage. His method? A couple of keys and some nasty notes. In other words, after keying at least three poorly-parked cars, the 63-year-old veteran attorney has been charged with 2nd degree malicious mischief, which the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports is a felony punishable by up to 60 days....

His Internet popularity and following may not be as large as singing sensation Susan Boyle, but Edward Muscare is a YouTube star with lots of fans. Muscare, 77, has been called the singing sex offender and his YouTube videos has attracted hundreds of thousands of views. Currently, Muscare is in a Florida jail and awaits sentencing on parole violation charges. His YouTube videos have logged more than a million “views.”...

We’re in the final months of the presidential campaign season, so we all know that the outstanding judicial nominees for the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals - Caitlin Halligan and Sri Srinivasan - will not see a confirmation hearing this year. If Srinivasan were to get a hearing, he would probably be approved. He is currently serving as Deputy Solicitor General in the Obama administration, and his conservative credentials include clerkships with Justice Sandra Day O’Connor and Fourth Circuit Judge J....

In a recent ruling by the California Court of Appeals, the court reviewed a wage and hour lawsuit and addressed the issue of employer-provided meal periods and rest periods. The employer in question is the Petitioner in the case, namely, United Parcel Service (UPS). In the wage and hour lawsuit, the California Court of Appeals looked at the Labor Code and discussed the liability of an employer who failed to provide a meal and rest period to employees....

Taboo Tabou isn’t just any Chicago sex shop. There’s a certain refinement, a sophistication if you will, that one must bring when entering this purveyor of crotchless panties, silicone third legs and Japanese neck massagers. So when Cook County prosecutor Sarah Naughton showed up, feeling naughty but also spitting, sputtering and stumbling about after a day of drinking, the ladies of Taboo Tabou asked her to leave. When that didn’t work, they dragged her butt to the curb....

The results from Vault’s 2014 Law Firm Associate Survey are in, reports TaxProf Blog. Wait, why is TaxProf Blog reporting on this? Probably because “Tax” is the practice area with the highest associate satisfaction. Take that, antitrust! So what makes tax law so interesting? “Tax law may be satisfying work because it is often described as solving a puzzle, allowing lawyers to find creative solutions to their clients’ problems,” Vault opines on its website....

Prosecutors didn’t have to search far to find Jennifer Mercado, who was accused of stealing a credit card and taking lunchtime shopping sprees while serving on jury duty. Mercado, 20, is accused of stealing credit cards from a fellow juror and making purchases from stores near the courthouse while on the jurors’ lunch hour, AOL News reports. John Postrik, 49, reported that Mercado, his fellow juror returned to the courthouse with shopping bags that matched corresponding charges on his credit card statements....

Being an in-house lawyer is not without its attendant risks and ethical obligations. Both new and experienced in-house counsel can make mistakes both as a lawyer and just in terms of the business they work for. However, knowing about some of the more common mistakes can help you avoid them. To that end, below you’ll find five of the most common flubs in-house lawyers can make. If you have the power to choose outside counsel, you may be tempted to choose a former colleague or a friend, rather than who the company has always used....

As the bar exam creeps ever closer, you’re probably finding yourself scrambling to get the UCC under your belt, trying to up your memory, or just generally panicking. It’s normal. But don’t let your dread and apprehension blind you to the best part of taking the bar: being done. In just about a week you will be done with the bar exam and once again remember what it’s like to be a part of humanity again....

Boy, does Jacob Clark have a good excuse for getting out of jury duty: He’s only 9. But that didn’t stop the Massachusetts court system from sending young Jacob a summons to serve on a jury in his local Orleans District Court. “I was like, ‘What’s a jury duty?’” the third-grader told the Cape Cod Times. Jacob’s grandmother helpfully explained that jury duty meant he could skip a day of school....

The Animal Legal Defense Fund is suing a New Orleans amusement park that allegedly lets its chimp smoke cigarettes and drink Coca Cola. The rights group is using a new law that classifies captive chimpanzees as endangered, just like those in the wild. It is reportedly the first suit of its kind. The chimp’s name is Candy and the suit, filed this week in Baton Rouge, states that she is lonely and needs company....

The school year is in full swing, and so are high school sports. Athletes love to play, and students love to watch. Often, the more contact, the better! But what happens when a student-athlete is injured? Is the school liable, specifically in the case of high school football? In the East Bay of Northern California, on the same Friday night, two football players from two different schools in two different games both ended up with major nerve trauma and were flown to same hospital....

This may have been the last year for the roach-eating contest at the Ben Siegel Reptile Store in Deerfield Beach, Florida, after the winner died shortly after the event. Edward Archbold ate 26 roaches to win the female ivory ball python offered as the grand prize, the Associated Press reports. But shortly after the contest ended, Archbold became ill and collapsed outside the pet store. He was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead when he arrived....

Probate court’s order granting a declaratory relief petition brought by a trust beneficiary to determine that a proposed petition to modify an irrevocable trust is not a contest is affirmed as the proposed modification petition explicitly states that it is being pursued under section 15409 and as such, it does not violate a no contest clause. Read Balian v. Balian, No. B214434 [HTML] Read Balian v. Balian, No. B214434 [PDF]...

The Bryan Stow lawsuit seemed inevitable. After it was revealed that the Los Angeles Dodgers had reduced security for the home opener that Bryan Stow was beaten after, a lawsuit against the team was almost a foregone conclusion. On Tuesday, the Bryan Stow lawsuit became a reality. The Giants fan’s family sued the Dodgers, naming owner Frank McCourt’s “lavish lifestyle” and his messy divorce as reasons for why Dodgers Stadium was unable to provide adequate security detail on the night of Stow’s beating....

Nina Pillard’s nomination to the D.C. Circuit was blocked by Senate Republicans on Tuesday, prompting Senate Democrats to further consider changing the filibuster rules. ABC News reports that Pillard’s nomination to one of three empty seats on the D.C. Circuit was stymied by a “procedural vote” of 56-41, with Democrats sorely missing the four votes needed to block a filibuster on the issue. Is Pillard’s blocking going to be a continuing trend?...

Shelden v. Marin County Employees Ret. Ass’n, A124912, involved a former deputy sheriff’s petition for writ of mandate and administrative mandamus, claiming that Marin County Employees’ Retirement Association and its governing Board of Retirement calculated his retirement benefits incorrectly. In affirming the trial court’s denial of the petition, the court held that the trial court’s conclusion that plaintiff’s work on the arrest warrant service team was not part of his “normally scheduled or regular working hours” is well supported, and thus, it was procedurally fair for the defendants to decline to include plaintiff’s work on the arrest warrant service team in his retirement calculation....

Selena Scola scrolled through Facebook like millions of other people, except it was her job – and it made her sick. She worked as a content moderator, looking for objectionable content to flag for removal. What she saw – “videos, images and livestreamed broadcasts of child sexual abuse, rape, torture, bestiality, beheadings, suicide and murder” – caused her psychological trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder. In a new lawsuit filed in California, Scola alleges the social media giant is to blame for negligently failing to maintain a safe workplace....