After months of flashbacks and teasing, we’ve finally arrived at the “Winter Finale” of “HTGAWM,” where the question #WhoKilledSam gets #answered. The next question is what tantalizing event they’re going to dangle in front of us for the next half of the season. This week’s episode had nothing to talk about in the realm of “Monster of the Week” or law school, outside of a nod to final exams. Then came the murderousness....
Decorating your home with lights is a holiday tradition. In fact, you and your neighbors may engage in a festive rivalry over who can show the most holiday spirit with Christmas decorations. But what happens when those Christmas lights give you the middle finger salute? In Denham Springs, Louisiana, Sarah Childs didn’t exactly have the Christmas spirit. She decorated her home with lights. But those lights were in the shape of a middle finger aimed directly at her neighbors with whom she was having a dispute, reports the Associated Press....
Some of the most predictable legal job-interview questions are deceptively simple: Choose your responses with care. While open-ended questions like these may seem like softballs, you could end up with your foot in your mouth – and perhaps ruining your shot at landing the job. “Where do you see yourself in five years?” “What are your biggest weaknesses?” “So, do you have any questions for us?” Because your career is on the line, here are 10 things you should never say in a legal job interview:...
A Miami jury convicted agent Bartolo Hernandez and trainer Julio Estrada on conspiracy and alien smuggling charges relating to trafficking Cuban baseball players into the U.S. The trial featured vivid testimony from players who spoke about kidnapping attempts and murder on their way through several Central American countries. Hernandez and Estrada are facing a combined 50 years in prison – their sentencing is scheduled for July 11. The smuggling operation was far from three men in Jerry Seinfeld’s living room....
In a petition for review of the EPA’s area designations for the annual national ambient air quality standard applicable to fine particulate matter, the petition is denied where the EPA satisfied its basic obligation of reasoned decisionmaking in making the designations. Read Catawba County v. EPA, No. 05-1064 Appellate Information Argued April 6, 2009 Decided July 7, 2009 Judges Per Curiam Counsel For Petitioners: Marc D. Machlin, Oakland County, MI...
Thanksgiving. Turkeys, pumpkin pies, hot cider, and…California Bar Exam results. The past weekend marked the release of Bar results from the July 2009 exam. California Bar takers were able to log in on Friday evening to find out if their name was featured on the pass list and the results went ‘world wide web’ on Sunday. It would take intervention from the California Supreme Court, backed by the state governor before Granda received the final okay to take the test....
This is one of those feel-good stories, but it has a not-so-good twist. A prospective juror in an Oakland courthouse was lucky a doctor was in the house when he suddenly collapsed. Dr. James Lilja and his nurse rushed to the man’s side, administering CPR and shocking him with a defibrillator. Paramedics soon arrived and transported the man to the hospital. The doctor stayed behind, however, because he was on trial for medical malpractice....
The arrest of a New Jersey woman for a DUI led to the arrest of two friends who went to pick her up at the police station. What were they busted for? Why, DUI as well, of course. It’s just like that classic chain-letter friendship quote: “Friends bail you out of jail, best friends are sitting right next to you.” Yay, BFFs… Carmen Reategui, 34, started the prison pow-wow on December 16....
Did Rusty Torres sexually abuse an 8-year-old girl? The former Yankees outfielder has been charged with four misdemeanor counts of sexual abuse. Prosecutors say he exposed himself to a young girl in the back of a van provided by the Town of Oyster Bay. He worked as a youth baseball coach and, until his arrest, was on the town payroll. Attorney Scott Carrigan disputes the allegations and insists Torres is innocent....
Welcome to “First Week at the Firm,” a new FindLaw feature for beginning associates, focused on helping you navigate the transition into firm life. We hope you’ll enjoy this new series and come back regularly for more insider tips. The billable hour is one of the defining characteristics of working at a firm. Like the Socratic method in law school, it’s often hated, often criticized and yet remarkably intransigent. If you’re starting as a new associate, get ready to start organizing your day, and your life, around the billable hour....
Even though a federal district court found California’s foie gras ban was pre-empted by federal law, federal district court orders aren’t necessarily binding on nonparties, so the federal case may have to wait for the Ninth Circuit to step in. But earlier this month, the First District Court of Appeal affirmed a state trial court decision that would let a lawsuit by the Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) proceed against a Napa restaurant that served foie gras in violation of the law....
The average Joe would love a taste of the speed and danger professional drivers experience on race day. And at many tracks around the country, they can pay for just that: a few hours of instruction, a supercharged automobile, and a track, just waiting for you and your lead foot. And while a bit of risk is inherent in the thrill of driving fast, we don’t want these tourist tracks to be too risky....
Chris Rock tells us that there’s no sex in the champagne room. Judges’ chambers, however, are an entirely different story. In March, the Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission filed a complaint against Judge Wade H. McCree for making a false report of a felony, making misrepresentations to the Commission, and engaging in improper bench conduct and demeanor, the ABA Journal reports. Part of that improper conduct and demeanor included having sex in his chambers with Geniene LaShay Mott, a witness in a child-support case....
The NCAA is saying that an “unknown person” took the SAT for a 2007-2008 Memphis men’s basketball player, who just might have been current NBA rookie of the year, the Chicago Bulls’ Derrick Rose. If the ol’ SAT switch turns out to have happened, it could wipe out the entire season’s worth of wins including the Tigers’ trip to the Final Four, reports the AP. Memphis’s AD, R.C. Johnson, is saying the school had no part in any of the alleged misdeeds, “We wouldn’t play anybody if we hadn’t checked it out pretty thoroughly”....
Of all the places to get angry, work is probably the worst. Granted, you can’t believe the partner just said you have to come in over the weekend. And look at this: Opposing counsel is categorically denying all your interrogatories. They can’t all be vague, overbroad, compound, and burdensome! It’s times like these when you just want to scream, or hit something, or both. Stop for a second, though: There are better things you could be doing than preparing to get fired....
Everyone has different standards of dress for late-night grocery runs. Some won’t leave the house without a fur coat, while the more adventurous amongst us are willing to head out in our pajamas and a pair of slippers. But 18-year-old Jonathan Payton has taken grocery couture to a new level: A cow suit. Last Tuesday, a man in a cow suit entered a Garrisonville, Virginia Walmart crawling on his hands and knees to the dairy aisle....
Suit challenging exemption for unlawful aliens from paying nonresident tuition Martinez v. Regents of the Univ. of California, S167791, concerned a suit brought by U.S. citizens, who are or were students paying nonresident tuition at a California public university or college, claiming that they have been illegally denied exemption from nonresident tuition under California Education Code section 68130.5, in violation of 8 U.S.C. section 1623, 42 U.S.C. section 1983, the equal protection clause of the U....
Four former NFL players are suing the league, claiming a cover-up in connection with NFL brain injuries. The four ex-NFL players – Jamal Lewis, Dorsey Levens, Fulton Kuykendall, and Ryan Stewart – say they suffered concussions while playing for the NFL, the Associated Press reports. They’re now dealing with a wide range of medical problems. The ex-players also claim an NFL cover-up. The NFL knew about the dangers of NFL brain injuries back in the 1920s, the lawsuit asserts – but the league didn’t tell players, coaches, trainers, or the public until June 2010....
New York landmarks: rightfully famous, visited, beloved. However, there is one freshly minted “landmark” in NYC that may never challenge Lady Liberty or even the Naked Cowboy for iconic status, except in the hearts of three underage city dwellers. They are the 11, 13 and 16-year-old daughters of Melinda Hackett, and the landmark here is their backyard treehouse. Yes, like many other aspects of big city living, the treehouse was the result of a daily fight, not just with the neighbors, but with the permitting office and the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission, among others, reports the Associated Press....
Family law can encompass everything from divorce, child support, and custody to domestic violence, elder abuse, and even immigration status. We write a lot about family law issues and covered a lot of topics over the course of 2018. Here are some of our best legal tips for family law issues from the past year. 1. Shared Custody During the Holidays: A Legal Roundup The holidays can be a challenging time for families who have already gone through a divorce or who are currently experiencing one....
