Posts

A Federal Air Marshal was terminated by the TSA after posting sensitive information on an online forum for law enforcement officers, but he claims he made the information up. In Lacson v. U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security and TSA, Jose Lacson petitioned the D.C. Circuit to set aside the TSA’s order which terminated him for leaking sensitive security information (“SSI”) about Federal Air Marshall hiring numbers and assignments on the online forum Officer....

An order of the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board (WCAB) denying Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company’s petition for reconsideration regarding a stipulation entered into by plaintiff and the California Insurance Guarantee Association in 2001 is annulled and the matter is remanded where: 1) CIGA’s stipulations and a subsequently entered order on the stipulations were not a nullity and void; and 2) the WCAB improperly exercised its discretion under the Labor Code section 5803 to set aside the order entered on the stipulations on the ground of illegality and public policy....

A hot night in Florida got even more heated when an apparent swingers party turned into a brawl, sheriff’s deputies say. The sordid affair happened early Sunday in Spring Hill, Fla., where a man and his girlfriend had brought home different people to have sex with, according to the local Hernando Today. But human nature soon got the best of them. The man got mad at his girlfriend for having sex with two men....

Semantic Drift needs you to understand just how much effort is required for a 2L to land a summer gig this year. Above the Law expounds on Curtis Mallet’s odd attempt at humor in explaining its business-casual dress code. The National Law Journal reports that would-be public interest lawyers are annoyed that so many deferred BigLaw associates, armed with firm-subsidized salaries, are taking their jobs. Who saw that coming?...

We’re halfway into November, which is also National Novel Writing Month (or NaNoWriMo, as fervent fans like to call it). So what better time to remind you that earning a law degree is good for more than just practicing law – it’s also excellent training for becoming a novelist. There’s no shortage of lawyer-authors in the world of fiction. John Grisham and David Baldacci are two notable examples, but they aren’t the only success stories....

They say any news is good news. Ask Cumberland Farms. The Massachusetts-based convenience store chain signed on “The Hoff,” David Hasselhoff, to help sell iced coffee. They are using life-sized David Hasselhoff cutouts outside 570 of its stores to hawk the drink. And the ad campaign has been a hit. Just not in a way that the company expected. On its Facebook page, the company asked people to stop pilfering the signs featuring Hasselhoff in a tank top asking if you’re “Thirsty?...

Deputies in Metairie, Louisiana caught up with a local mailbox basher on Sunday after he spent his weekend destroying the city’s letter receptacles. Resident Matthew Burghardt is accused of mowing down ten mailboxes with his pick-up truck, including his neighbor’s – twice. When asked about his hatred for the curbside collectors, he told deputies that he didn’t know destroying them was illegal. No, folks. We are not making this up....

A Connecticut man was arrested after police say he stabbed a watermelon with a butcher knife in a “passive aggressive” manner. Carmine Cervillino, 49, of Thomaston, was picked up by police after his wife claimed he left the watermelon, pierced by a large butcher knife, on the kitchen counter to “intimidate her because he is angry at her,” The Register-Citizen reports. What did the woman do to draw Cervillino’s watermelon-stabbing ire, and what charges is this allegedly passive-aggressive fruit slayer now facing?...

With low unemployment rates, according to reports, the talent war has reached a “fever pitch.” In a tech-world, “talent” often means computer, research, or social media skills. Soft skills and people skills also set employees apart. Surveys say that such candidates are in short supply. In the process, employers are finding new ways to hire people who are the “right fit.” Right Fit “Successful, savvy companies can fill their jobs; they look for a cultural fit and if that person has soft skills,” says Paul McDonald, senior executive director for Robert Half....

Defendant’s home equity sales fraud conviction is affirmed where the warrant issued for Defendant’s arrest was timely, as the applicable statute of limitations was four years because the Civil Code section 1695.8 violation at issue was an offense involving fraud. Read People v. Shetty, No. B205061. Appellate Information APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Judith L. Champagne, Judge. Affirmed.SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICTFiled June 18, 2009...

Back in April, Legally Weird reported on Michael Kevin Lallana, a California man convicted of ejaculating into a water bottle left on his female co-worker’s desk. The judge in that case has now ordered Lallana to pay his victim $27,400 in restitution, covering lost wages, therapy, medical expenses, as well as money expended in having the foul-tasting water tested. She needs to file a civil suit. Motivated by sexual gratification, Lallana twice ejaculated into a water bottle, leaving them on the desk of the woman so that she could later drink their contents....

The Netflix series “Making a Murderer” almost seems echoed by Texas’ Board of Disciplinary Appeals’ decision to disbar a former prosecutor who lied and hid evidence in a death penalty case. Texas Disbars Former Prosecutor, Charles Sebesta The Texas Board of Disciplinary Appeals affirmed a lower decision to disbar Charles Sebesta for his conduct in convicting Graves several decades ago. According to AlJazeera America, Mr. Graves spent 18 years in prison – 12 of them waiting on death row....

In an action for breach of contract, summary judgment for defendant on grounds that a confidentiality provision was void as against public policy is reversed where, although the County had a duty to disclose the severance agreement itself, it had no duty to disclose the circumstances that gave rise to the severance agreement, and any First Amendment right to make the disclosures was waived by the confidentiality provision. Read Sanchez v....

In an action related to California’s state budgetary process, trial court judgment is affirmed in part and reversed in part where: 1) the Legislature’s amendment of Revenue and Taxation Code sec. 7102 is invalid and thus most of the Legislatures appropriations of Public Transportation Account spillover gas tax revenue for the 2007-08 budget year are invalid because they do not serve a transportation planning or mass transportation purpose; and 2) the court properly rejected the Legislature’s transfer of $409 million from the Public Transportation Account to the General Fund for past debt service payments on Proposition 108 bonds as not being consistent with the purposes of the Public Transportation Account....

As the New Year starts, we wanted to look back on the greediest associates of 2012, because who doesn’t love a little schadenfraude? This past year there have been many associates whose antics have made us laugh and feel better about our own crazy lives. We’ve taken note of the stories readers have loved the most and put them together in one easy-to-find place. Whether you’ve revisiting old favorites or enjoying these stories for the first time, pat yourself on the back that your antics aren’t on this list … yet....

Who stole the chicken from the… er, chicken pot? This bizarre police report shows a crime worthy of the Hamburglar. A victim in Northern Virginia reported that someone stole a chicken from her crock pot as it was cooking. For those who don’t spend a lot of time in the kitchen, a crock pot is a cooking device that cooks the food slowly. It’s also called a slow cooker. To put this crime in context, it’s actually a pot with a lid, that plugs into the wall....

The state of Georgia has a lawsuit to fend off, after denying a man’s request for a personalized license plate saying “GAYGUY.” But legally speaking, did state officials infringe on Cyrus Gilbert’s rights, or did they make an allowable judgment call pursuant to an established regulation? Apparently, homosexual identity doesn’t make the cut in Georgia. Two other license plates he requested were also rejected: “4GAYLIB” and “GAYPWR,” Atlanta’s WGCL-TV reports....

For those of you that just finished the bar exam, first and foremost, congratulations! Just getting through law school and the exam is a feat in and of itself. But, the real world is likely calling for most of you, and there are bills, responsibilities, and most of all, the looming (and potentially devastating) student loan payments. Basically, once your feet land back on solid ground after your post bar vacation, you need to start aggressively job hunting, if you’re not already employed as a legal professional....

Last weekend, the University of Kentucky school president banned alcohol at certain tailgating spots ahead of the school’s big game against SEC rival South Carolina, reports The Associated Press. With no real news of fights or especially unruly alcohol-related behavior before or after the game, the ban seemed to have worked. Too bad the success could not be carried onto the field as the Wildcats blew a second half lead and lost to the heavily favored Gamecocks....

Former NBA star Antoine Walker, who won the 2006 NBA Championship with the Miami Heat, has been forced to sell his championship ring as part of a bankruptcy settlement. Walker, 35, sold his ring for $21,500 to a man named Andres Garcia, gossip website TMZ reports. A judge needs to approve the deal before any money changes hands, according to TMZ. But once Walker is paid for his ring, he won’t be allowed to keep the proceeds for himself....