Everyone who tries to enter a specialized industry is faced with the same dilemma: You need industry specific job experience to get jobs in most specialized industries. It’s no different than that age old saying: You need money to make money. For law students, there’s a certain art to landing the highly coveted legal summer jobs to build up your resume, as landing a summer job at a law firm or legal non-profit is as competitive as it has ever been....
Conviction for attempted murder, assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury, aggravated mayhem, and the unlawful taking of a vehicle is affirmed where although trial court erred when it refused to hear defendant’s Marsden motions during the period when criminal proceedings were suspended, and should have conducted a hearing even though defendant’s competence to stand trial was undetermined, the error was harmless and unprejudicial. Read People v. Govea, No....
Trial court’s imposition of enhanced sentencing on a defendant convicted of receiving stolen property while on a release from custody on his own recognizance (O.R.) is vacated as Penal Code section 1318 was not complied with in connection with defendant’s release from custody and defendant did not commit a new felony while on an O.R. release. Therefore, since defendant’s release did not qualify as an O.R. release under applicable law, the enhancement findings under section 12022....
Yesterday, you smiled for “Candid Camera.” Today, you smile for a selfie. In any generation, however, you really don’t smile for a police officer who is taking your picture. That was the case for a CVS clerk caught selling alcohol to a minor in Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control v. Alcoholic Beverage Control Appeals Board. Police had sent the teenager into the store as a decoy, then asked the clerk and the boy – beer in hand – to pose for a photo....
Pierre Garcon is a very talented football player and makes a substantial amount of money for being good at football. FanDuel is a quasi-legal gambling website and makes an even more substantial amount of money based on Garcon being good at football. FanDuel doesn’t share any of the substantial amount of money it makes based on Garcon’s performance with Garcon and Garcon is not too happy about it. So Garcon has sued FanDuel on behalf of himself and other NFL players, claiming the daily fantasy site is profiting from the players’ names and popularity without compensating the players....
Cambridge, Minn. appears to be getting ready for Halloween a bit early this year, as reports claim that a 5-year-old girl named Zoe Zachrison was bitten by a bat at Walmart late last month. The girl, riding in a shopping cart, was being pushed down the pizza aisle when a bat flew by, made a 180-degree turn, and then attacked, twice biting her in the leg. Holly Townley, Zoe’s mother, has requested that Walmart help pay the medical bills, but they have refused....
An Ohio woman will spend her next five Christmas holidays in jail as punishment for a driver’s license scam. One can only wonder about her stocking stuffers… Soap on a rope, anyone? Scrooge Judge Michael J. Holbrook imposed what many refer to as the “Holbrook holidays” sentence on Betina Young, 44, for issuing state ID cards and driver’s licenses to immigrants who’d entered the country illegally. Young made it onto Judge Holbrook’s – and likely Santa’s – naughty list by accepting bribes....
In plaintiffs’ breach of contract case against United States, acting through the FDIC, the Court of Federal Claims’ judgment is affirmed in part, revered in part and remanded where: 1) the judgment of the Court of Federal Claims is affirmed as to jurisdiction, liability, and the assessment of damages for lost value in the amount of $276 million, net of the receivership deficit, and with an appropriate tax gross-up; 2) judgments as to the award of $67 million in non-overlapping restitution damages and as cumulative the award of wounded bank damages of $28 million are reversed; and 3) dismissal of intervenors’ claims relating to the liquidation surplus is reversed and remanded....
Wonder why some lawyers insist on printing out all their cases and briefs? Not because they hate trees, but because a physical copy can help with retention and comprehension. Research shows that comprehension is greater with physical media, like paper, than electronic media, meaning that whoever reads your snail mail letter is likely to remember the contents better than if it had been an email. So, when you’re looking to make an impression, remember: email isn’t the only option....
Every lawyer knows that defamation cases are hard to win – especially if your client is a public figure. You have to get over the First Amendment, New York Times v. Sullivan, and all those privileges you learned in law school. Even if you can prove actual malice, the ultimate question is damages. “It’s not about the money,” some clients say. But let’s face it, some lawsuits are just not worth it....
I was skimming my second-favorite law blog this morning, and ran across an interesting post by Elie Mystal on Upstart.com, a crowdfunding site where “Upstarts” sell their soul pledge a percentage of their income for the next ten years in exchange for present-day funding. The gist is “give me money now, and if I don’t fail at life, I’ll give you a percentage of my income, per my tax filings, for the next ten years....
Public displays of affection can be sickening in most situations, but a Kansas couple may have taken it to an extreme when they were arrested for putting on a Walmart sex show. The Kansas couple was reportedly so enamored with each other that they just had to get it on in the middle of the Walmart. Right in front of other customers, 22-year-old Julian Call and 35-year-old Tina Gianakon allegedly began “sexually fondling” each other, reports the New York Daily News....
The courtroom is a place of judgment, so every part of a litigator’s knowledge is important. While the merits of an argument and a strong understanding of the procedural rules are crucial in winning a case, never underestimate the value of your image as an attorney. Attorneys, particularly those appearing in court, should know the how to manipulate fashion to their advantage. If you run a Google search on “what to wear to court,” you’ll undoubtedly come across many articles talking about courtroom attire for litigants; discussing the impact that attire can have on how the judge and jury perceive the litigants, both parties and witnesses....
Do lawyers disappear more than other people? To some clients, attorneys are notoriously hard to find – especially when they don’t return calls. But it seems like more lawyers are literally disappearing these days. Perhaps they are so busy or stressed they just have to get away for a while. Then maybe they are running away from life – or the law. Lawyers On the Lam Sven Eric Marshall, an elder law attorney, is probably on the lam....
A strange case of a man impersonating a TSA agent and giving “screenings” at San Francisco International Airport turned even stranger when prosecutors decided not to file charges against him. San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe told San Francisco’s KPIX-TV that Eric Slighton, 53, would not be charged for allegedly posing as a TSA agent and giving at least two women pat-downs in July. Wagstaffe explained that while the allegations may sound vile, authorities have been unable to identify the two victims, giving the DA no case to pursue....
It’s been over 300 years since the Salem Witch Trials. Today, children parade down the street in witch costumes, Hollywood’s leading actresses line up to play sorceresses, and Seattle-area high schools consider opening football games with satanic invocations. A witch even sued a warlock in Salem District Court – and won! Whatever happened to good, old-fashioned witch burnings? Heretics, Slaves, Rebels, and Other Incendiaries While the burning of witches is a pop-cultural touchstone, in real life, those who met their end on a fiery pyre were often condemned as heretics, rebels, and other ne’er-do-wells who challenged the established norms of society....
The California Supreme Court dismissed the Quarry v. Doe Oakland clergy abuse case on Thursday, ruling that the statute of limitations barred the plaintiffs from bringing the case, reports the Mercury News. The issue in the case was how the Supreme Court should interpret California Civil Code section 340.1, which states that an action for recovery of damages suffered as a result of childhood sexual abuse must be commenced within three years of discovering that injury occurred as the result of the abuse, or within eight years after the plaintiff attains the age of majority, whichever is later....
Twitter can be hard. Politicians accidentally tweet out compromising photos, prosecutors embarrassingly follow porn stars, and Courtney Love accidentally accuses her attorney of being “bought off.” And Love’s Twitter mishaps are just the tip of the crazy iceberg that floated in to California’s Second District Court of Appeals after Love’s former attorney unsuccessfully sued her for the allegedly defamatory tweet. Courtney Love, lead singer of Hole, all-around crazy rock-n-roll icon, and wife to the late Kurt Cobain, isn’t known for keeping her mouth shut....
At long last, the California woman who received the first-ever traffic ticket for wearing Google Glass while driving is free to once again snap on her high-tech gear. The officer who ticketed her, however, may want to Google the question “What is evidence?” As we previously suspected, the citation was dismissed for evidentiary reasons. The San Diego traffic court commissioner found insufficient proof that Cecilia Abadie was using her Google Glass while driving....
A ruling reversing a workers’ compensation judge’s findings and awards in favor of claimant is affirmed where the Worker’s Compensation Appeals Board did not err in concluding that claimant’s new injuries are not compensable under the Worker’s Compensation Act because they clearly occurred outside the reasonable geographic area of her employer’s compensability risk. Read Esquivel v. Worker’s Comp. Appeals Bd., No. D054197 Filed October 13, 2009 Judges Opinion by Judge Nares...
