Mark Fuller, possibly the most reviled judge in recent history, has finally resigned. Fuller came into the spotlight in summer 2014, when he was arrested on a domestic violence charge. The assault occurred after his wife accused him of carrying on an illicit relationship with a clerk. During his time on the bench, Fuller came under scrutiny for his private business interests that allegedly conflicted with his obligations as a judge....
In plaintiff’s Federal Employers Liability Act (FELA) action against the defendant-railroad company, trial court’s verdict in favor of defendant is reversed as to the portion of the cost award that allowed defendant to recover expert witness fees as costs as federal law does not authorize an award of expert witness fees to a defendant who has made a rejected offer of settlement and then obtains a defense verdict. Read Kinsey v....
An apparently hungry driver was issued a citation for “eating while driving” after an officer saw him eating a cheeseburger while behind the wheel. Madison Turner says he purchased a cheeseburger at a McDonald’s in Marietta, Georgia, but was pulled over while eating it a few minutes later, reports Atlanta’s WSB-TV. The officer reportedly told Turner that he had been observing him eating the cheeseburger for 2 miles. “He said specifically three times, you can’t just go down the road eating a hamburger,” Turner told WSB....
Divorce and custody battles are so painful, they can almost kill you. In this case, the fight over custody of a child did actually result in the death of one parent. In a sad and twisted plan to gain child custody of his son, 20-year-old Dwayne Lamont Moten was shot and killed by his friend. According to MyFOX.com, Dwayne Moten had lost the fight over custody of his 3-year-old son Dwayne Jr....
Here’s a legal riddle: How can two twins, born four minutes apart, be citizens of different countries? Not because they were born in different countries or to different mothers. And not through any “separated at birth” shenanigans. No, it was because the U.S. State Department determined they had slightly different DNA – one twin from a father who was a U.S. citizen, and the other from a father who was not....
In an appeal from a trial court’s order summarily revoking defendant’s probation on the basis of a petition charging a violation that the prosecution later failed to prove, the order is affirmed where, once the expiration of a probation period is tolled, then as long as a probationer is found to have committed some probation violation during the probation period, as charged in a petition filed during the probation period, the trial court retains jurisdiction to revoke probation after the expiration of the probation term, even if the tolling was based on a violation the prosecution did not ultimately prove....
General counsel are naturals at project management, even though they may not realize it. It’s like the kid who has a natural pitching arm, but only throws rocks. They need to get out of the corn field and onto the playing field. At a time when more law firms have project managers, companies need in-house lawyers with comparable skills. It’s about managing the teams. Counsel-to-Counsel Law practice management duties are not the sole responsibility of outside counsel....
The California Supreme Court issued a ruling in the highly watched Liberty v. Ledesma matter, and it may have insurers across the state upset. The case reached the California Supreme Court thanks to the Ninth Circuit’s certifying the question to the state’s high court. In short, the court held that when an employee intentionally inflicts harm on a third party, an employer’s insurer may actually have to cover the loss as an accident....
The Senate unanimously confirmed Judge Evan Wallach for the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday in a 99-0 vote. There was no debate on Wallach’s nomination. Judge Wallach enjoyed a relatively short confirmation process; President Obama nominated Wallach for the Federal Circuit vacancy in July. He is Obama’s 23rd nominee to be confirmed to a Circuit Court of Appeals. Wallach will bring over 15 years’ judicial experience to the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals....
While for many families the holidays are a time to come together, that’s not true, or always possible, for some families. And while some child custody arrangements go smoothly and everyone is on the same page, that also is not always the case, and the holidays can exacerbate any existing custody issues. Regardless of your situation, a little foresight and preparation can avoid making the holidays a battle ground for child custody disputes....
Brady violations. Massiah mishaps. Perjury. And snitches. Nobody likes snitches. Except the Orange County District Attorney’s Office. Actually, we’d venture a guess that all D.A.’s offices like snitches, since they make prosecutors’ jobs easier. But the utility of a snitch is limited by Massiah, which prohibits the government from eliciting incriminating statements from a defendant after the right to counsel attaches. And if the Orange County Public Defender’s Office’s motions are to be believed, that’s exactly what the D....
Well, his odds of a successful run for Secretary of State just diminished greatly. State Sen. Leland Yee, one of the most well-known California lawmakers, was arrested this morning on bribery charges, while houses and office buildings were raided throughout the Bay Area and Sacramento. Also arrested was Raymond “Shrimp Boy” Chow, reportedly the head of Ghee Kung Tong, a fraternal organization in San Francisco’s Chinatown. According to ABC 7, Chow’s rap sheet dates back to 1978, but he has been out of prison for more than a decade after claiming that he’d turned his life around....
In an interesting but not so surprising twist, several state attorneys general are suing a federal agency for violating the Administrative Procedure Act and changing a rule arbitrarily and capriciously. The case, filed on behalf of New York, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Illinois, and New Jersey, alleges that the Department of Labor and OSHA improperly rescinded the 2016 rule requiring large employers to report workplace injuries and illnesses. The states contend that the 2016 rule would have done quite a bit to help, in addition to improving transparency and accountability, which are often lacking when it comes to workplace safety....
A recent decision certified for publication out of California’s First Appellate District rejected a potential taxi driver class action against Uber. The claims in Goncharov v. Uber were based on allegations of income and passenger appropriation as a result of Uber, essentially, not playing by the rules. However, as the appellate decision explains, even though Uber didn’t play by the rules, the rules didn’t quite exist. As a result, Uber reached a settlement with the CPUC to allow them to operate while the final rulemaking for TNCs (Transportation Network Companies) were still underway....
U.S. News & World Report released its law school rankings with the top spots going to the usual suspects – Yale, Stanford, and Harvard. The race was closer this year in the top 10 with three law schools sharing the tenth spot – Duke, Northwestern, and Berkeley. Through the top twenty, Virginia switched places with Michigan and USC stepped over Vanderbilt. But the most interesting news depends on your point of view....
The Russians are putting your job at risk. No, that’s not the latest tweet from President Trump. That’s just the cyberchain that connects the modern lawyer’s job security to some hacker a world away. This is no joke, or at least not a very good one, especially to Yahoo’s general counsel. Ron Bell was fired after the company discovered massive security breaches, including activity from a state-sponsored actor. Like I said, the Russians....
Something stinks, literally, about Margarita Salais’ used car. The Michigan motorist is suing the dealership where she bought her SUV – which came not with a “new car” smell, but a “dead body” smell. Talk about bad B.O. Remember the Seinfeld episode about the body odor in Jerry’s car that wouldn’t go away? Salais claims the stench in her car is even worse, and she’s alleging a cover-up, The Detroit News reports....
Ah, the criminals just keep getting brighter and brighter. Or not. Recently released court documents reveal the amusing details of a December drug smuggling arrest in Blaine, Wash. The smuggler – Jasmin Klair – was reportedly caught riding in an SUV marked with license plates that spelled out “SMUGLER.” Even better, officers spotted the vehicle as it pulled into the parking lot at the Smuggler’s Inn Bed and Breakfast. She was carrying nine bricks of cocaine....
The Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) became federal law recently, which gives employers more legal power to protect their trade secrets. This is good news and bad news for the workplace: The good news is that employers have more remedies when hackers get into their computer systems. The bad news is that employees are the usual suspects. The new federal law, and most state anti-hacking laws, are intended to protect against unauthorized usages of computer systems and data....
All suicides are tragic, but especially ones that could have been prevented. Jordan Hankins’ may fall into that category. Hankins, a sophomore guard for the Northwestern University women’s basketball team, was found hung in her dorm room nearly two years ago. Her mother alleges that Hankins became severely depressed and anxious after severe hazing by the sorority she was pledging, Alpha Kappa Alpha (AKA). Hankins Expressed She Feared She Was Becoming Suicidal Jordan Hankins joined the sorority as a pledge in October 2016....
