You knew it wouldn’t take long for a “Fifty Shades of Grey” porn parody to come along, and surprise surprise, one already exists. Now Universal Studios, the Hollywood powerhouse that purchased the rights to make the movie adaption of the book for $5 million, is suing Los Angeles-based Smash Pictures for beating it to the punch with a skin flick entitled “Fifty Shades of Grey: A XXX Adaptation,” reports The Week....
Prosecutors argued that a California woman was raped when a man impersonated her boyfriend and had sex with her as she slept. But a California appeals court has ruled that an unmarried woman is not capable of being raped by trickery such as impersonation. The court explained these laws protect married women only. Since the woman in this case was not married, the court reversed the man’s rape conviction. But prosecutors will be able to try him again on a different legal theory....
According to a letter from Monsignor Michael Meyers to parents of students at Saint James Catholic School in Torrance, California, two nuns at the school – one of them a retiring principal – embezzled school funds for a decade and used the money to pay for gambling trips to Las Vegas. While the exact figure is still being tabulated, Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper and Sister Lana Chang could have siphoned off at least half a million dollars during that span....
The University of Georgia football team is making more appearances in court than touchdowns this season. Caleb King is the helping keep the legal score high, becoming the 11th Georgia Bulldogs football player to be arrested this year. Even UGA’S athletic director has been arrested in recent times. Like any good team does to vary up the plays, the bulldogs are at least varying up their criminal charges. Caleb King is a junior running back for UGA....
Chicago Bears wide receiver Sam Hurd faces federal drug charges in an alleged scheme to buy and distribute cocaine. Hurd, 26, was arrested Wednesday in Chicago and was set to appear in court Thursday after getting caught in a months-long investigation, ESPN reports. The investigation ended with Hurd’s arrest at a Chicago steakhouse, where Hurd allegedly met with a man he thought was a drug supplier. The man was really a confidential informant....
Trial court’s judgment denying appellants’ petition to determine survival and to determine persons entitled to distribution of the estate of their grandmother is reversed and remanded where: 1) although the trial court was correct in finding that the will contained no survivorship requirement, it erred in denying appellants’ petition on this basis as it did not understand the legal consequences of the lack of survivorship requirement in the will; and 2) the trial court should have held an evidentiary hearing on the issue of testator’s son’s time of death....
Fortunately for me, my not-so-illustrious baseball career ended long before being forced to stand in the batter’s box while coaches hurled balls at my hip and rib cage, in order to teach me “muscle memory to avoid potential injuries in an actual game.” Getting hit with a baseball, even a training ball that is supposedly lightweight and soft, is not a pleasant experience. Not so pleasant that a mom whose son participated in the drill reported the coaches to the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services and the Knox County Sheriff’s Office....
Trial court judgment ordering defendant’s monthly spousal support obligation be reduced is reversed where the court erred in ordering the reduction as plaintiff’s rights to access the retirement accounts on a penalty-free basis and to any increase in their values are insufficient to constitute a material change of circumstances permitting a reduction in her spousal support under Family Code sec. 4320. Read In re Marriage of Dietz, No. G040640 in PDF...
Donate sperm, get … a child support order? That’s what happened to one Kansas man after a judge ruled that in his case, he was more than just a “sperm donor” in the eyes of the law. Judge Mary Mattivi ruled Wednesday that William Marotta, who donated sperm to a lesbian couple, is their child’s legal father. Judge Mattivi determined that a lack of formal medical arrangements forced the law to recognize Marotta as the father, who should be required to pay child support, reports The Topeka Capital-Journal....
You’re finished with law school, you’ve survived the bar, and you’re officially licensed to practice law in the Golden State. It’s time to sue some people. If you’re a neophyte attorney at a law firm, you probably have a mentor who can guide you through the process of turning on your computer, using the electronic filing system, and finding the local coffee shop courthouse. If you decided to hang out a shingle and work for yourself, you’ll have to figure out the finer points of legal practice — like California filing fees — on your own....
Calling for tougher discipline, the Georgia Supreme Court rejected a proposed reprimand for a lawyer who was convicted of sending harassing and stalking email to opposing counsel. John Michael Spain faces discipline after pleading no contest to misdemeanor charges of sending harassing and stalking messages, which resulted in one-year probation sentence. Spain and the State Bar had agreed on a reprimand as discipline, although Spain wanted it to be private....
When law firms hire, they tend to look for signs of skill, intelligence, and dedication. For new associates, this may mean seeking out candidates with degrees from top schools, or involvement in time-consuming activities like law review. For laterals, firms may look for years of experience with a prestigious firm, or a history of grinding out hours. In-house legal departments look for these things too. But much more so than their law firm counterparts, the corporate world emphasizes “culture fit,” that elusive quality that seems to indicate “you’ll do well here....
Naked Cowboy, Legal Grounds has missed you. The trademark dispute between you and Naked Cowgirl was a watershed and you have been pretty quiet since then. True, there was that report of your potential run for president, but since you had to put a shirt on for that event, we didn’t count it. Now we are back in the full glory of Naked legal incidents. This time, it was a ticket for being shirtless....
A naughty nude swimmer distracted a Tennessee man in an alleged burglary plot that made quite a splash in his neighborhood. Stephen Amaral, 54, of Crossville, Tennessee, claimed a menacing mermaid woman asked to go skinny-dipping in his pool while, unbeknownst to Amaral, the woman’s husband burglarized his home. Here’s the skinny on how it happened: Amaral said the couple, whom he knew from the neighborhood, visited his house Saturday afternoon....
If you have been following the river of lawsuits that is the Asian Carp controversy, there is recent news that may be of interest. Currently out of the hands of the courts after the last Supreme Court decision which declined to close the locks linking Chicago and the Great Lakes, the federal government has decided to implement a $75.8 million attempt to control the slippery interlopers. MSNBC reports the Obama Administration is considering four different options regarding the navigation structures leading to the Great Lakes, including opening two primary locks for just three or four days a week, or closing the locks one week per month, or every other week....
Pennsylvania’s famed groundhog prognosticator Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow this year, supposedly signaling an early start to spring. However, the weather has not cooperated in many parts of the country. So officials in Butler County, Ohio, have “charged” the groundhog and even drafted a fake indictment of the rodent. As tradition has it, if Punxsutawney Phil does not see his shadow on February 2, that means there will be an early spring....
Trial court’s order of commitment of defendant to the Department of Developmental Services for one year under Welfare and Institutions Code section 6500 is affirmed where: 1) due process and equal protection do not require the court to affirmatively advise the proposed committee under section 6500 of his or her right to a jury trial and, because commitment proceedings are civil in nature, the right may be waived as in civil proceedings generally by the failure to request a jury, and on the record, defendant’s right to a jury trial was waived; and 2) even if the court were required to and did not advise defendant of her right to a jury trial and obtain an express waiver of that right, on the record, any such error would be harmless beyond a reasonable doubt....
Athletes frequently get injured, even when players wear padding or play non-contact sports. Some injuries are just accidents, while others are the result of unsatisfactory coaching, refereeing, or a complete lack of supervision. If it is determined that a coach was negligent, they can be held liable for the injuries sustained by their players that are a result of the negligence. Because of this potential for liability, it is a rather important for coaches to ensure they are covered by some form of liability insurance....
Popular wisdom seems to indicate that lawyers fall someplace along the spectrum between petty thief and outright psychopath. If this stereotype holds true, then asking whether you should marry a lawyer is like asking whether you should marry a cold-blooded serial killer. According to Forbes, psychopaths are most highly attracted to the job titles of CEO and, indeed, lawyer. So, stereotypes hold at least some weight. However, there are still many good reasons why lawyers should consider marrying each other....
The Bill Cosby criminal retrial is underway, and while what’s happening inside the courtroom has been making headlines, outside the courtroom on the first day of trial, a former Cosby Show actress stole the show. Actress and singer Nicolle Rochelle pulled off a rather provocative stunt during the demonstration happening outside the Pennsylvania courthouse where Cosby’s trial was set to begin. Rochelle didn’t just jump the barricade and rush Cosby with a fist in the air, as he was entering the courthouse, she did so while topless....
