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There are many ways to reward students for a job well done. But this isn’t the route most school would go. About 160 Jay Elementary students received a surprise “gift” from Florida administrators this week: X-rated slap-bracelets. The bracelets were rewards for students who excelled in their fundraising efforts. The offending items are made out of recycled metal tape measures that are then covered with a colorful cloth. They are meant to be “slapped” onto a student’s wrist....

Undefeated boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. is wasting away in jail – so much so, it could cause “irreversible damage” to his physique and his boxing career, his lawyers claim in an emergency motion to get him out. Mayweather, 35, began a 90-day jail sentence June 1 after he pleaded guilty to beating his ex-girlfriend, a misdemeanor, in 2010. Jail officials are keeping Mayweather isolated from other prisoners for his own protection, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal....

When you choose an outside counsel, you do it after vetting the firm, and the attorneys that will be in charge of your matter. But when that firm decides to merge with another firm, or your specifically chosen outside counsel decides to move to a new firm, or hang their own shingle, what’s an in-house attorney to do? While it might be natural to panic and preemptively clear your calendar when you find out that your outside counsel is switching firms or their firm is merging with another practice, it should not require you to go into crisis, or damage control, mode....

If you have general counsel duties on your in-house lawyering plate, you may want to consider getting a jump on your holiday season duties. Every year, without fail, the holiday season seems to creep up earlier and earlier, and as such, so do your duties of reminding employees about, and ensuring compliance with, certain policies. While summer might just be ending, it’s actually a good time to review the upcoming holiday season’s legal issues....

Petition for habeas relief by a defendant convicted of murder and related crimes is granted and his sentence is reversed in part and remanded where: 1) defendant’s claim of sentencing error is timely as defendant has shown good cause for any delay in seeking habeas corpus relief based on Cunningham and Apprendi; and 2) defendant’s upper term sentences for kidnapping and two firearm use enhancements violated the rule set forth in Apprendi....

It seems that every time a bounce house is inflated, it’s bouncing away with toddlers inside. And our inflatable water slides are being shut down by federal consumer safety commissions. But we just can’t stop blowing air into things and making them huge. “There’s nothing better than seeing a little kid walk into a giant pumpkin,” Halloween Express owner Jon Majdoch told the Journal Sentinel. “They’re just in awe.” That was reason enough for Majdoch to forego the classic storefront and instead request a custom-made inflatable pumpkin in which to house his temporary costume shop; an inflatable pumpkin that collapsed, flooding the store, damaging goods inside, and leaving Majdoch unable to sell costumes and masks for two weeks leading up to Halloween last year....

Okay, it may seem like a silly question. But in some circles, it’s a completely serious and valid inquiry. In fact, a user recently asked this very question over on FindLaw Answers. That woman – a convicted felon – wanted to know if she can legally marry another felon. Her probation officer said no. Was he right? Is it illegal for a felon to marry another felon? Possibly – but only when at least one of the felons is currently on probation or parole....

Forget about the movie for a second. Let’s go back a bit further in the facts. A prospective juror is asked the following question: “25. HAVE YOU, A CLOSE FRIEND, OR RELATIVE EVER BEEN ACCUSED OF A CRIME, EVEN IF THE CASE DID NOT COME TO COURT?” Well, that seems pretty clear, right? Not so much, if you are Pervies Ary, the eventual foreman of the Boyette jury. According to the opinion, this is his rap sheet:...

Before she left the law, Victoria Lai was on track to be a major legal success story. She’d worked for the Obama presidential campaign, clerked for an appellate judge, practiced at a BigLaw firm, and, at 34, landed an enviable gig as a government lawyer in the Department of Homeland Security. But somewhere along the line, she picked up a home ice cream maker. Soon after, it was goodbye law, hello new career as an ice cream maker....

Say what you will about Meat Loaf, but the guy has imparted his fair share of lyrical wisdom over the years. (And he had a small role in the “Rocky Horror Picture Show.” Respect.) Legal types may be quick to dismiss Meat Loaf because he never waxed poetically about prenuptial agreements or search and seizure, but the guy could teach us all a thing or two about boundaries. For example …...

In an appeal from an order denying Defendant’s application to terminate a domestic violence restraining order, the order is affirmed where the trial court did not abuse its discretion because, although Defendant claimed to have moved out of state, there was evidence that he maintained contact with the local area. Read Loeffler v. Medina, No. D053096. Appellate Information APPEAL from an order of the Superior Court of San Diego County, Christine K....

With so many Walmart stores around the country, there is no shortage of news stories about the chain. But this latest is most amazing for the fact that it doesn’t happen more often. A man in a Virginia location donned a Walmart vest over his clothes and stole multiple televisions from the store, reports UPI. The Daily Grind Dressed just like any other Walmart worker – wearing a blue company vest over his tan cargo pants and gray hooded sweatshirt – the man was caught on video entering the stockroom and loading four flat-screen televisions....

For dog owners, it’s no contest; there is no dog cuter or more special than their own pup. Exhibit A: My dog’s Instagram account. However, when it comes to Miracle Milly, the Guinness Book of World Records holder for smallest dog in the world, her owner has filed a lawsuit alleging that her pup is so special, that a dog cloning lab violated the contract that allowed them to clone Milly 10 times....

North Carolina’s petition for review of a final rule of the EPA removing the northern part of the State of Georgia from EPA’s regulations under its national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) for ozone measured during a one-hour period is dismissed, where reinstating Georgia under that standard would not lower Georgia’s emissions and thus North Carolina failed to meet the redressability requirement for Article III standing. Read North Carolina v. EPA, No....

Wild animals generally keep to themselves but a pack of raccoons attacked a woman in Washington on Monday during her afternoon run. Michaela Lee was out jogging when her dog did what dogs do and chased a few raccoons up a tree. She went to retrieve the dog’s leash to head for home. But when she got close, several more raccoons came at her from a nearby bush. The raccoons chased her about 75 feet and then a few of them knocked her over....

Conviction for committing lewd and lascivious acts on a minor is affirmed where the trial court did not err in denying defendant’s Wheeler/Batson challenge to the prosecutor’s use of peremptories as “people of color” is not a cognizable group for purposes of a Wheeler/Batson motion, and defendant failed to make a prima facie showing of purposeful discrimination by the prosecutor in his use of peremptories. Read People v. Neuman, No. E044869 in PDF...

No matter how smart you think you are, leave the drafting of appellate complaints to a lawyer. Don’t file pro-se in appeals court. ‘Nuff said. The Federal Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of a complaint by the United States Court of Federal Claims on March 9. The dismissal was affirmed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction and for failure to state a claim. Appellant Carlo E. Johnson, a former member of the U....

The ‘Jackson Herd’ is one of the largest elk herds in North America. If you have seen a postcard of the majestic Grand Teton National Park, the herd may have been in the picture. Thousands of the animals roam the park and the neighboring National Elk Refuge. Kent Nelson and Timothy Mayo, wildlife photographers, sued to stop a government plan to allow more elk hunting in the national park. Denying the challenge, the DC Circuit told the plaintiffs to move on....

High school is supposed to be a time for personal growth and increased maturity and responsibility, but for some, it’s just a time to break the law. Four students at Jenson Beach High School in Stuart, Florida were arrested last week after being implicated in a teen counterfeit ring. The fake money was being used to buy school lunch. On April 26, the Jenson Beach High School administration was notified by its bank that a counterfeit $20 bill had been passed in the lunch line....

A federal appeals court knocked out a patent troll’s claims against podcasters. In Personal Audio v. Electronic Frontier Foundation, the U.S. Federal Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a decision that invalidated Personal Audio’s “podcasting patent.” The company had threatened numerous podcasters in recent years, and forced some into settlements. The court ruling ended the patent troll’s seven-year reign over podcasters, with industry observers claiming “the podcasting patent is totally dead.”...