I’ll get you, my pretty, and your little dog too! Okay, so maybe Paul Brock isn’t quite so … poetic. But police in Lafayette, Ind. do allege that he threatened to “hunt them down and eat them, their dogs and their entire families.” Yeah, he threatened to eat the police dogs. After he kicked one of the dogs in the head – twice. Brock is accused of stealing a vehicle from a local gas station, according to the Journal & Courier....
There wasn’t much of a home-field advantage on a recent Sunday when the New York Giants’ dismantled the San Francisco 49ers. The home 49ers were destroyed. But while their cars sat at home in New Jersey, several New York Giants team members had their cars burglarized. When the Giants arrived back in New Jersey, they found out that five cars were broken into and one car belonging to defensive tackle Marvin Austin was stolen, reports Reuters....
Sufficiency of jury instructions for attempted murder charge People v. Favor, B215387, concerned a challenge to a conviction of defendant for first degree murder, attempted murder and second degree-robbery. In affirming, the court held that the trial court’s instructions were sufficient with respect to the natural and probable consequences doctrine as applied to attempted willful, deliberated and premeditated murder, as the jury was properly instructed on the elements of attempted murder based on natural and probable consequences, and on the requisite findings for willful, premeditated and deliberate attempted murder....
In a prosecution of defendant for felony murders, judgment of a court of appeal setting aside a superior court’s ruling prohibiting the prosecution at issue based on the doctrine of nonmutual collateral estoppel is affirmed where: 1) a verdict regarding one defendant has no effect on the trial of a different defendant, and courts should determine the propriety of a prosecution based on that prosecutions’ own record, not a different record; and 2) nonmutual estoppel does not apply to verdicts in criminal cases....
Bush v. Dist. of Columbia, No. 08-7016, involved an action by six minority members of a police department claiming that defendant police supervisor’s racially discriminatory conduct and the district’s complicity impaired plaintiffs’ employment contract. As the court of appeals wrote: “Plaintiffs are six minority members of the Metropolitan Police Department. They sued their supervisor, … and the District of Columbia. [The supervisor], who is white, allegedly insulted them frequently and profanely, gave them unduly harsh performance evaluations, and denied them equipment, overtime, and promotions - all because of their race....
D.B. sounds like a thug who deserves to be locked up in juvie. Regardless of what he deserves, California law was on D.B.’s side in a recent juvenile commitment appeal. Since carjacking is an offense listed in California’s Welfare and Institutions Code §707, D.B. could have been committed to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Division of Juvenile Facilities (DJF). That is, he could have been if carjacking was his most recent offense when he appeared before the juvenile court....
Unlike lawyers who choose a field of practice for the money, immigration attorneys are often motivated by something else. Perhaps they are immigrants or children of immigrants. It may run even deeper to a less complicated time when the United States was a nation of immigrants. Whatever the impetus, it takes due consideration to pursue a career in immigration law. It begins with choosing the right law school. Clinical Work Immigration law is hands-on, often pushing lawyers from their desks to the forefront....
Ten ex-football players’ concussion-related lawsuits are pending against the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). But the cases may soon be consolidated to streamline the settlement process. A two-year-old concussion lawsuit against the NCAA is in settlement talks – now nine other lawsuits may enter the mix. But what does it mean to consolidate cases? Potential Consolidation Cases can be “consolidated,” or combined, when two or more lawsuits or matters involve a common question of law or fact....
A World Trade Center BASE jump has landed four men in legal trouble. Three skydiving enthusiasts and their alleged accomplice have been arrested on burglary and reckless endangerment charges for a daring parachute jump in September. Marko Markovich, 27; Andrew Rossig, 33; and James Brady, 32, are professional BASE jumpers – standing for “building, antenna, span, earth” – who set their sights on the rebuilt World Trade Center, the tallest building in the United States, The Associated Press reports....
If I’m going to spend extra on organic produce and products, they better well be fully organic. We’re talking pesticide-free, earth-friendly, non-synthetic organic here. If I get a product labeled organic that doesn’t meet those standards, I’m going to feel cheated. And, as of today, I could sue. In an opinion released today, the California Supreme Court ruled that consumers can sue over “misrepresentations in labeling,” when products are misleadingly labeled as organic....
Is one pudgy cartoon character to blame for the beating and bullying of junior high aged redheads in Calabasas, California? According to a Facebook page, November 20th was official “Kick a Ginger Day.” For those who do not speak fluent South Park, that translates to: beat up a redhead. And, since kids take everything literally, it turned into just that at a California junior high. As reported by numerous news outlets, the Facebook page that incited the painful and downright stupid actions drew on a 2005 South Park episode which attempted to parody racial prejudice....
Let’s say you’re a corrupt FIFA executive. And let’s say you just saw Swiss police raid a swanky Zurich hotel and scoop up 14 of your corrupt FIFA executive bros in an organized raid about six months ago. Would you ever book a room in that swanky Zurich hotel? And could you even act surprised if Swiss police scooped your corrupt FIFA executive self up in that same swanky Zurich hotel?...
It’s a big year for ch- ch- changes in California law. Starting in 2015, everything from human trafficking to massage therapy to emotional support animals will see some tweaks. Here’s what you should know in order to keep up to speed with some of the more high-profile changes to state law coming in the new year: Throughout the country, homicide defendants have successfully used this bizarre defense to argue that they hate gay people so, so much that the very thought of encountering a gay person drove them into a reasonable heat of passion, turning murder into manslaughter....
Law students in these modern times are certainly equipped with more technology than any generation of law students that came before them. However, not much of that new tech is actually going to help with law school. Beyond a laptop and smartphone, you don’t need much more. Sure, an Apple Watch might look great and be helpful in the gym, but in the classroom, it’s an unneeded distraction, but one you might still want....
The archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Rio de Janeiro is rather upset. It seems that Columbia Pictures did not receive their permission to use the image of the huge statue of “Christ the Redeemer,” the iconic image of the city of Rio, in its blockbuster disaster movie 2012, out last November. The Church claims it turned down the request by the studio to license the copyright of the statue for use in the film and is not quite ready to forgive Columbia’s trespass against it....
Personal injury attorneys intuitively understand that the potential payout for injured plaintiffs is inversely related to both the dangerousness of the plaintiff’s personal conduct at the time of the injury and the foreseeability of his injury. In a recent California case, the Third Appellate District drew a line in the sand in favor of defendants. It’s just another reminder that those engaged in anything more dangerous than a simple job run the risk of losing certain premise liability suits against landowners in California....
In plaintiffs’ action against the County of Los Angeles and officials seeking damages for violation of their civil rights under the Civil Code section 52.1 and 42 U.S.C. section 1983 for breach of bailment, and seeking an injunction, arising from an incident when the District Attorney’s Office searched and seized plaintiffs’ property pursuant to a warrant and retained and damaged some of the property, trial court erred in denying defendants’ motion for summary adjudication on all causes of action as defendants are immune to the claims....
Mixed-motive termination cases in California just got a little more interesting. The California Supreme Court ruled last week that a jury in a mixed-motive case alleging unlawful termination should be instructed that it must find the employer’s action was substantially motivated by discrimination before the burden shifts to the employer to make a same-decision showing, and that a same-decision showing precludes an award of reinstatement, backpay, or damages. At trial, the City asked the court to instruct the jury that if it found a mix of discriminatory and legitimate motives, the City could avoid liability by proving that a legitimate motive alone would have led it to make the same decision to fire her....
A New York lawyer pleaded guilty to cyberstalking after being charged with an extensive, four-year long campaign of harassment and threats targeting someone he once dated. Sadly, for the victim, the guilty plea cannot undo the harm done, and four years is a long time to endure targeted threats. The online harassment was not solely directed at her email, but her employer also received emails accusing her of being a drug user, a thief, and violating HIPAA (among other things)....
Halo Electronics makes electronic packages for use on printed circuit boards. It has three patents on this technology, filed in 1995. Pulse Electronics also makes electronic packages for use on printed circuit boards. Uh oh. Thankfully, though, Pulse only sells its products in Asia. Or does it? After Pulse incorporated some of its electronics into equipment sold by Cisco in the United States, Halo sent Pulse a polite letter asking if Pulse would like to enter into a license agreement....
