Don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time, right? But how about, don’t set the bail because the system’s a fail? That’s what judges are saying from New York to California. It’s not fair that many people are in jail – often for misdemeanors – only because they can’t afford to pay the bail. Judges are saying it is also unconstitutional to impose bail without considering defendants’ financial ability to pay....
If you have had cause to shop for kids’ gear in the last few years then you know that there’s a lot of fun stuff out there now. New technologies allow for new materials to be integrated into fabrics, resulting in wondrous items like sneakers that roll or light up, or both. But Payless Shoe Source this week pulled some illuminated sneakers after a Texas family reported that the shoes were flammable, according to the Huffington Post....
Conviction for first degree murder, attempted second degree robbery and drug crime is affirmed where: 1) substantial evidence supports defendant’s conviction for attempted robbery; and 2) defendant’s argument that the court erred by admitting hearsay evidence is forfeited as trial counsel failed to object to admission of the evidence at trial. Sentence is vacated where: 1) the court erred in the sentencing of both attempted robberies as it incorrectly determined the length of one of the terms; 2) one of the sentences for attempted robbery must be stayed pursuant to Penal Code sec....
Probation condition imposed after conviction for second degree robbery is reversed where a condition prohibiting defendant from attending any court hearing or being within 500 feet of any court in which he is neither a defendant nor under subpoena is overbroad and imposes unnecessary restrictions on his right to access the courts and government offices. Read People v. Perez, No. B213114 in PDF Read People v. Perez, No. B213114 in HTML...
An incoming freshman at Western Kentucky University, Tyler Webster was made the subject of a planking ban last week, effectively barring him from setting foot on campus until university officials determine whether he will be allowed to start classes in two weeks. Apparently WKU didn’t appreciate a recent article in the Bowling Green Daily News chronicling Webster’s planking adventures on university grounds. Or his alleged defacing of school property. In addition to the article making reference to a variety of planking incidents on campus statues, The Herald-Leader reports that Webster also discussed distributing stickers declaring “This spot has just been planked....
Seattle police aren’t all looking to hand out citations at the city’s three-day marijuana festival, billed as one of the world’s largest. Instead, some officers are handing out snacks to help pot-friendly partiers beat the “munchies” – and learn about the law. Hempfest 2013 kicks off today with the support of Seattle’s police department, which plans to dole out bags of Doritos to festival-goers – along with a mini-guide on Washington’s new marijuana law, reports NBC News....
A California appeals court re-wrapped its pre-Christmas decision, allowing a class-action to proceed on behalf of janitorial workers for wage violations. In the ABM Industries Overtime Cases, the First District Court of Appeals certified the class action on Dec. 11, 2017. But the court made a minor modification and published the decision on Jan. 10, 2018. For some 35,000 janitors, it was all’s well that ends well. But for the trial judge, maybe not so much....
Texas is going to get another chance to get it right. Is it wishful thinking that they will finally remove an illegal anti-gay statute still on its books? Or will it punt again, dragging this out another two years? The Texas Penal Code contains a law that states “(a) A person commits an offense if he engages in deviate sexual intercourse with another individual of the same sex. (b) An offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor,” which is punishable by up to a $500 fine, but not jail time....
‘Shoestring budgets,’ according to American Heritage, came from British prisoners who lowered shoes by their laces from windows to collect money from passers-by. Fact or fiction, everybody who starts a company knows the meaning of a shoestring budget. It means they don’t have a lot of money to run the business. Still, the British tale works because to start a business you may have to beg, borrow, but not steal – unless you want to join the prisoners in the story....
Distressed homeowners everywhere, here’s a unique way to deal with your bank: When facing foreclosure, bulldoze your house so that the bank gets nothing. Well, no, please don’t take that as actual advice of any fashion; it’s actually a terrible idea for many reasons. But a man in Ohio certainly decided that bulldozing his house was a sure-fire way to vindicate himself against the banks. Terry Hoskins was a struggling homeowner in Moscow, Ohio....
Another week, more 1L questions. We feel for y’all – these first few months are downright terrifying, aren’t they? Our first question is about outlining: how, when, why? And another reader, fresh off his first Socratic smackdown, complete with a warning that he’d be “on call” next class, wants to know why – why do they do this to students? Whoa! Ten books? I’m reminded of advice from the the chubby, nerdy guy (well, one of the chubby, nerdy guys) in “The Paper Chase” (if you haven’t seen it, add it to the list)....
Well, they found Sam – or what’s left of him, anyway. After Sam’s sister, Hannah, learns about his demise, she gets all accuse-y with Annalise. Now every lawyer in town – nay, every person in town – thinks she killed Sam. In the meantime, there’s some baloney about a search of a shipping container that everyone thinks was super-illegal, but was really totally fine, but because this show’s technical adviser (assuming they even have one) never even cracked open so much as a bar review guide, it’s aaaaall unconstitutional....
As we move into November, we also move into exam season. At many law schools, Thanksgiving will mark the end of regular classes, or very close to it. And after that, final exams are nigh. Before you get started studying the wrong way, check out these five tips to make sure that you’re not wasting your time doing things inefficiently – or even badly: There’s no better way to study for an essay exam than to take that professor’s old exams....
In a dispute over the rights of a patented monoclonal antibodies used for detecting malignant carcinoma, district court’s grant of defendant’s motion for summary judgment is vacated and remanded as plaintiff lacks the statutory right to bring an action for infringement without joining the patent owner, Harvard. Although the license effected a broad conveyance of rights to plaintiff, Harvard retained substantial interests under the patents. Read Asymmetrx, Inc. v. Biocare Med....
The Federal Circuit decided two cases involving patent infringement and requests for declaratory relief. In Delaware Valley Floral Group, Inc. v. Shaw Rose Nets, LLC, No. 09-1357, the court faced a challenge to the district court’s grant of plaintiff’s motion seeking declaratory relief against an inventor and owner of a patent relating to a process for producing larger rose heads by placing elastic, porous nets over the rose heads during the growing process....
National Memo Day is a thing. But really, it should be called the National Day of Mystery because the origins of the “national” day are unknown. Here are our top memo-related posts this National Memo Day. BigLaw 101: How to Write Your 1st Professional Legal Memo One of the first assignments you may receive as a junior associate at BigLaw is to write a memo, and we’ve given you easy seven steps to writing a professional memo....
So we all like to vent online, and Twitter provides a worldwide platform for some epic rants. Look no further than our Commander in Chief for evidence of that. Given that the targets of those rants are people, and that when we’re venting we tend to invent or at least exaggerate some negative aspects of those people, we run the risk of libel. And anywhere there is risk, insurance is sure to follow....
Blame it on the Boise. It won’t ever be a top 10 hit, but one Boise, Idaho man is doing just that. In a suit filed Monday, much tasered plaintiff Gerald Amidon is suing individual Boise Police officers and the city for excessive force and breach of his 4th amendment right against unreasonable search and seizure. Upon entering without announcing themselves, (a fact confirmed by the police investigation) the officers quickly wrestled Amidon to the ground, applied taser shock number one and threatened to apply the taser further to very, very sensitive parts of Amidon’s body....
A Florida parent of a high school football team captain complained on Twitter about the school’s athletic director “falling down drunk and driving on school property multiple times while supervising students.” Curiously though, the parent is now facing a legal battle. Here’s a closer look at the legal spat. Larry Little’s son is the captain of the Pompano High Golden Tornadoes football team and Little was volunteering as a coach for the team until he was suspended about six months ago....
In a divorce matter, the trial court’s order granting reconsideration is reversed, where although the trial court announced it was granting reconsideration on its own motion of a support order, it in fact improperly ordered a new trial. Read the full decision in Furton v. Herr, No. C058019. [html]Read the full decision in Fulton v. Herr, No C058019. [pdf] Appellate Information: APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of El Dorado County, John J....
