Posts

The Los Angeles Dodgers’ Manny Ramirez has become the latest athlete to get some bad advice, and subsequently test positive for a performance-enhancing substance … or at least that’s his explanation, Sports Illustrated reports. Apparently, the performance-enhancing substance at issue was a woman’s fertility drug known as HCG, or human chorionic gonadotropin, that helps the body produce testosterone. The story noted that even though the substance is “not classified as a steroid”, it is “clearly defined as a banned performance enhancer” under the agreement between MLBPA and the league....

National Mining Ass’n. v. Mine Safety & Health Admin., No. 08-1241, involved a petition for review of the Mine Safety and Health Administration’s (MSHA’s) decision to enforce a final exposure limit standard addressing health risks presented by exposure of miners in metal and nonmetal underground mines to diesel particulate matter (DPM) in diesel exhaust. The court of appeals denied the petition, on the grounds that 1) there was no inconsistency between MSHA’s earlier position that it could enforce the DPM standard of 160 TC and its statement in 2006 that to enforce the standard it needed “to validate a TC sample result, which cannot be done without an appropriate conversion factor for EC at that level”; 2) an agency does not enact a new rule when a transition rule expires or when the agency decides not to modify a rule, states that additional study is needed, or concludes that no new transition rule is needed; and 3) only Department of Labor entities could be proper respondents to a petition filed pursuant to the Mine Act....

Telcordia Technologies, Inc. v. Cisco Sys. Inc., No. 09-1175, involved plaintiff’s suit for infringement of patents ‘306, ‘763, an ‘633, related to transmission of data in telecommunications networks. The court vacated and remanded part of the district court’s judgment denying defendant’s JMOL motion on invalidity of the ‘306 patent, as the district court erroneously construed the only term on which it based its denial. With respect to remaining claims, the court affirmed the district court’s denial of defendant’s JMOL motion that the asserted claims of the ‘763 patent are indefinite....

With all of the pro-business and anti-consumer arbitration decisions lately (we’re looking at you, SCOTUS), it’s a bit refreshing to see a decision, albeit a California-only appellate court decision, go the other way, and fall on the side of the consumer. Even if the decision does seem to contradict, somewhat, the language of the contract. Lawyers should especially pay attention, as this case dealt with a retainer agreement. The three plaintiffs here are elderly residents of a Section 8 (low income) apartment complex....

If you’re working at smart law firm, chances are you already have a bio or profile page on your firm’s website. So, do you really need to create your own professional website? The answer is an emphatic “yes!” If you are not so easily convinced, read on to find out why creating your own professional website will be in your best interest. No job is forever, so it would be silly to solely rely on your firm’s website as your professional online presence....

California Attorney General Kamala Harris brought suit against Johnson & Johnson on Tuesday, accusing the company of violating advertising laws in marketing its pelvic mesh devices. Pelvic mesh, also known as transvaginal mesh, is a net-like implant that’s used to treat prolapse and incontinence in women. But the devices can also cause serious complications, including urinary dysfunction, constipation, loss of sexual function, and debilitating pain. For years, Johnson & Johnson, along with its Ethicon unit, falsely marketed the device as safe and even superior to other treatments, despite being aware of significant evidence to the contrary, California’s suit alleges....

Opening the rarest opportunity for college-bound women in America, a state appeals court said a tiny all-men’s college in California may now accept women. Deep Springs College, the smallest college in the United States, had been open to men only since its founding in 1917. The school admits 12 to 15 people a year, and has a student body of 25 to 30 in its two-year program. The private college was established by a trust that said it was “for the education of promising young men,” but the college trustees voted 7-2 to open the school for women in 2011....

Recently, Scott Shafer, host of KQED’s The California Report, interviewed California Supreme Court Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye about some issues facing the California justice system. For California lawyers without the time to listen to the full discussion, here are some of her thoughts as expressed in the interview. Budget Costs Chief Justice Cantil-Sakauye stated that budget cuts resulting in layoffs, court closures and reduced hours has had the effect of undermining justice....

A juvenile defendant’s petition for a writ of prohibition to bar the juvenile court from imposing a Fourth Amendment waiver condition is granted and the condition vacated as a juvenile court does not have the authority to impose a Fourth Amendment waiver as a condition of informal supervision under Welfare and Inst. Code sections 654 and 654.2. Read Derick B. Sup. Ct., No. D055446 [HTML] Read Derick B. Sup. Ct., No....

The Dodgers bankruptcy filing seems to be just one of the latest developments in the baseball team’s role in owner Frank McCourt’s divorce from Jamie McCourt. The Dodgers’ Chapter 11 filing will now likely allow McCourt to keep the team running. The bankruptcy was filed in Delaware, reports USA Today. McCourt had been seeking approval of a TV deal with Fox Sports, reportedly worth up to $3 billion. Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig had blocked the deal....

At a roast, at least one joke cuts so close that the audience laughs only because people aren’t sure how to react. It happened at a roast recently for Jes Staley, chief executive officer for Barclays. The bank was hosting its annual shareholder meeting, where Staley got the brunt of jokes about a prankster who fooled him with a message posing as the bank’s chairman. Staley had to laugh it off for the shareholders, but the spoofed email was a serious matter....

From 1977 to 1996, Commander Judith Cronin was an active-duty Navy officer. Throughout her service, she had several ailments, ranging from heel spurs to PTSD. In 1996, she was placed on a Temporary Disability Retired List (TRDL), and by 2000, she was permanently retired due to her physical condition. Cronin filed suit to challenge this determination. Over the course of several appeals, the case went back and forth. The question before the Federal Circuit this time was whether Cronin’s non-PTSD claims were time-barred....

A former inmate scaled a fence topped with razor-sharp wire and was injured while trying to break into jail. He was later charged with a probation violation. Jiles, 25, was reportedly sentenced to 15 years in prison for trespassing, resisting an officer and violating his probation. Officials said the Florida man returned to jail three days after his release last summer and begged deputies to take him back into custody. Slyvester Jiles said he feared retaliation outside the prison....

Who among us hasn’t needed a drink or a few, only to be stuck with the kids? (Or maybe you need a few drinks because you’re stuck with the kids.) Well, one Florida mom thought she found the perfect solution – leave the kids in a Waffle House and go drink in the bar across the street. What could possibly go wrong? Bacon, Eggs, and Babysitting. Turns out, Waffle House is a terrible babysitter....

Whatever you do, don’t search for “2 Girls, 1 Cup” after reading this. I did, to learn more about producer Ira Isaacs being sentenced to prison for making the viral video. And the automated images Google includes in its results may not be something you want to see today, or any other day. I’ve never personally seen the entire clip. But the number of reaction videos on YouTube, and even Stewie’s reaction on “Family Guy,” gives you some sense that if you watch, you’ll want to watch with an empty stomach....

Some people answer to the law of the land and some answer only to their religion. This is essentially the legal argument of Lyle Jeffs, the interim leader of a polygamous sect, the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day Saints (FLDS Church). He is charged with welfare fraud and is a wanted fugitive. Despite this, his lawyers are demanding that charges against him be dropped after Jeffs recently slipped out of his GPS monitor while on supervised release....

The criminal phase of the Great iPhone Prototype Caper of 2010 has come to a close. Brian Hogan and Sage Wallower, the two men who sold the iPhone 4 prototype to Gizmodo last year, pleaded no contest on Tuesday to theft of lost property, reports the BBC. Hogan and Wallflower were sentenced to 40 hours of public service and ordered to pay $250 each in restitution to Apple. In case you missed the iPhone prototype dustup news due to Blackberry outages, we’ll recap....

An alleged iPhone thief got beaten up by the rightful owner of the phone. But with video footage of the assault, the victim of the theft could potentially find himself charged with a crime as well. The iPhone’s owner, Kenneth Schmidgall of San Diego, is not a man to mess with. This is especially true when it comes to his beloved digital device. So when the 26-year-old lost his iPhone at a reggae concert, he and his roommate (who happens to be a freelance news photographer) set out on a mission to get it back, reports The Huffington Post....

For those law students that will be taking an actual vacation for Spring Break, you might want to just leave the books at home. After all, can you really relax if you have to lug around a hundred pounds of law school reading? While law textbooks make excellent drink trays on the beach (minus the whole binding getting filled with sand problem), your torts book will probably just end up being a constant reminder of the zone of danger you are entering every morning that you order a pile of pina coladas for breakfast?...

Of course, salaries rose modestly for attorneys working in civil legal services organizations. How else would they rise? Enormously? No, these attorneys work for peanuts. But a small increase is certainly better than nothing. And fortunately for the public servants, there’s more to law practice than colorful clothes and a showy lifestyle. Modest Pay Increase A new survey says civil legal service attorneys earn more now than ten years ago, but still less than all other lawyers....