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Here’s a good, old-fashioned lesson in etiquette for you – don’t talk smack about someone. Especially to the actual subject. The email version of this happened recently when lawyer and former state bar president Warren Whitted Jr. emailed some of his associates after an oral argument, the ABA Journal reports. “You did a great job and dealt with some ill-conceived and uninformed questions very well,” Whitted wrote. Yikes. Remedying the Situation Whitted must have noticed his faux pas fairly quickly, because within hours, an apologetic response was zipped off to Heavican (directly, and only him this time)....

Manny Pacquiao has settled his defamation lawsuit against Floyd Mayweather Jr. Who says the judicial system moves slowly? The resolution of this lawsuit has come much faster than the highly anticipated fight between the two fighters largely considered the best pound-for-pound fighters on the planet. In fact, there’s still no scheduled fight between the two despite hype that it may finally happen in 2013. But this could be one less hurdle to a fight actually happening....

You may have the right to have an attorney present at your questioning – until the attorney gets arrested for being present at your questioning. Believe it or not, a San Francisco deputy public defender was arrested yesterday for allegedly interfering with police questioning. Or, as those of us in the criminal defense field call it, “Doing your job.” Attorney Jami Tillotson was meeting with a client at San Francisco’s Hall of Justice when she learned that another client, who was waiting in a hallway after a court appearance, was being questioned by police....

Henley Puts Recording of “The Eagles Greatest Hits: In Pig-Latin!” On Hold to File Lawsuit Don Henley, songwriter and founding member of The Eagles, has filed a lawsuit against Chuck DeVore, over the U.S. Senate candidate’s uniquely crappy spin on the crappy 1984 song “All She Wants to Do Is Dance.” DeVore, who is vying for Barbara Boxer’s U.S. Senate seat, pokes fun at Boxer by re-working the tune as “All She Wants to Do Is Tax” (see lyrics from DeVore’s parody on his website)....

It wasn’t too long ago when people regarded online classes for higher education to be something that rested between “passing fad” and the “real thing.” But as time passes, the inevitable creep of technology has moved more permanently into the classroom – this time, into Syracuse Law. The only other school to be ABA approval for an online J.D. program is Mitchell Hamline School of Law in Minnesota. But there are plenty of other non-ABA approved offerings out there....

A 25-year-old construction worker partaking in the massive renovation of Texas A&M’s stadium fell to his death from the fourth level of the building. Angel Garcia fell while working on the north end of Kyle Field. Sadly, in the world of construction – a potentially high hazard industry for those who work in it – falls top the list of construction safety hazards. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, falls are the leading cause of fatalities in the construction industry....

It’s fair to say that attorney Donald Franz had poor communication skills. He left the wrong message on voicemail at the attorney discipline office. The message was: “You destroyed me, you filthy Democrat. Burn in hell.” That was a paraphrased transcription, but still. Some things you just can’t say in print. Wrong Message The voicemail was actually worse than that – Franz was already on probation for drunk-driving and weapons offenses....

In the wake of declining enrollments at law schools across the country, Whittier Law School will become the first ABA-accredited law school to close its doors to new students. According to reports, Whittier trustees voted not to enroll new first-year students in the fall and to start shutting down the program. They had explored other possibilities, including merging or selling to other entities, but decided closing was their only option....

A senior New Mexico woman is fighting to get back to playing bingo in her local bingo hall, even attempting to enlist the help of New Mexico’s attorney general. Evangeline Shelland, 70, was barred from playing bingo at the Fraternal Order of Eagles club in Alamogordo, New Mexico, nearly two years ago. According to Albuquerque’s KRQE-TV, Shelland has spent most of that time fighting tooth and nail to play at the venue she’s attended since 1985....

New York’s highest court has ruled that a marriage between a half-uncle and his half-niece does not violate New York law. The case involved a 19-year-old woman from Vietnam who married a 24-year-old naturalized American citizen. An investigation by United States Citizenship and Immigration Services uncovered that the man’s half-sister was his wife’s mother and an immigration judge subsequently ruled that the marriage was void and ordered that the woman be deported....

Religion has been around for thousands of years, leading to many well-established religions. But over time, less conventional and less established religions have also sprouted up, such as Pastafarianism. Another less established religion belongs to members of the Hundred Harmonies Association of Faith, a “cannabis church” in La Puente, California. According to the church’s head minister, the cannabis is vital and central to the church’s religious beliefs. However, when cannabis is central to your religion, it’s likely that you’ll have an uphill battle with police accepting your religion....

A cantankerous senior citizen was arrested at Golden Corral for instigating a food fight among the “early bird” diners. Polly Richards, 64, faces two counts of assault and battery after a food fight broke out at the all-you-can-eat buffet restaurant about 3:45 p.m. last Tuesday, according to Greenville’s WITN-TV. Richards allegedly throttled Linwood Moore, 69, while in line and threw a plate of food at Fay Cardwell, 62. What allegedly ruffled this angry early bird’s feathers?...

There’s a reason Santa uses chimneys instead of grease vents. But some people have to learn the hard way. And this suspect might learn that when he does hard time. A man in San Lorenzo, California was freed two days after shimmying his way down the cooking vent of a closed Chinese restaurant and getting stuck. Evidently the combination of a wide outside opening, narrowing chute, and cooking grease was enough to get the suspect lodged in such a way that he couldn’t find any traction to climb his way out....

It’s so yesterday to say, “Happy New Year!” Let’s change it up and say, “Happy Old Year!” It’s our prerogative to change our perspective, especially for students with fresh minds to be bent one way or another. After all, there were some real law school triumphs in 2017! 1. Law School Debt Finally on the Decline? When educational debt was scaring off law students, a new report said that students were graduating with less debt than three years ago....

Every year law students across the country, just like normal everyday people and actual lawyers, set New Year’s resolutions that will probably fail or putter out after a few months, weeks, days, or hours. After all, you only get what you give. Don’t worry, it’s not too late if you forgot. And, if you’re going to go through the ritualistic exercise this year and attempt to better yourself, the five resolutions below may serve you well:...

Note to former Alabama Judge Herman Thomas: We’re not in the nineteenth century anymore. Thomas, a current candidate for Alabama State Senator, was disbarred on Monday, after a five member panel decided to revoke his license to practice law in a closed hearing in Mobile, Alabama. But his attorney, Robert “Cowboy Bob” Clark, says that they will appeal the decision. Under the Alabama State Bar Association decision, Thomas will not be able to practice law in the State of Alabama for five years....

In an employment discrimination action against the U.S. Capitol Police, dismissal of the complaint is affirmed in part where the Capitol Police’s administrative appeal process is jurisdictional and thus equitable doctrines, such as vicarious exhaustion, do not apply to excuse compliance with it. However the ruling is reversed in part where: 1) neither the Congressional Accountability Act (CAA) nor the procedural rules of the Office of Compliance require in-person attendance by the employee at counseling or mediation; and 2) receipt of written notice of the end of mediation from the Office of Compliance triggered the CAA’s 30 to 90-day period for electing whether to pursue judicial or administrative relief and demonstrated the employee’s completion of counseling and mediation....

In 2008, California voters approved Proposition 1A, authorizing the sale of bonds to fund a high-speed train that would run from Sacramento to Los Angeles. Ever since, the project has stalled due to lawsuits filed by everyone from the ever-present Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association to Central Valley farmers who object to rights of way through their land. Opponents of the bullet train breathed some relief in 2013 when a Sacramento County Superior Court judge found the California High Speed Rail Authority’s plan to sell bonds didn’t comply with legal requirements and ordered signed contracts for construction to be rescinded....

There will soon be new blood at the California Judicial Council, the administrative policy-making body of state courts. California Supreme Court Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye announced ten Judicial Council appointments last week, including seven new members and three reappointments. Judges Rosenberg and De Alba now serve as advisory members. New advisory members are Presiding Judge Laurie M. Earl, Superior Court of Sacramento County; Judge Morris D. Jacobson, Superior Court of Alameda County; Presiding Judge Brian L....

“#!$&.” That comment can get you a $300 fine and up to 90 days in the slammer in Pennsylvania, where according to the Penn state chapter of the ACLU, the local police don’t know the difference between obscenity and profanity. You don’t either? Here is the most important thing to know; obscenity is not protected by the First Amendment, profanity is. That, and the fact that the government is not permitted to punish one of its citizens for lawful use of protected speech....