Cris Arguedas, the renowned California defense lawyer, links on her law firm’s website to an outstanding article that she wrote some years ago in which she describes what are, and what are not, the duties of a criminal defense lawyer. I strongly urge everyone who is interested in the justice process, as well as those…
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The Federal Hate Crimes Bill Is a Dangerous Expansion of Federal Authority
Jacob Sullum of Reason magazine on the federal hate crimes bill: “Hate crimes have no place in America,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi boldly declared last week, “no place in a nation where we pledge every morning ‘with liberty and justice for all.’” Pelosi was urging her colleagues to approve a bill aimed at violence motivated…
Guilty Plea in OxyContin Case
From yesterday’s Times: The company that makes the narcotic painkiller OxyContin and three current and former executives pleaded guilty today in federal court here to criminal charges that they misled regulators, doctors and patients about the drug’s risk of addiction and its potential to be abused. To resolve criminal and civil charges related to the…
A God Awful Day
My apologies for not posting today. Sometimes the horror of life intervenes. My prayers are with those killed in the shootings at Virginia Tech today, and their families.
Philadelphia Lawyer Faces Additional Charges
Philadelphia lawyer Larry Charles, about whom I posted previously when he was found naked with a 14v year old girl in a room in the Criminal Justice Center, faces charges for assaulting 5 other women, the Inquirer reported this morning. Mr. Charles was found in a Bucks County motel, apparently having suffered a drug overdose.
“Girls Gone Wild” Mastermind Indicted on Federal Tax Charges
Taking a break from the Duke Lacrosse Hoax, the Smoking Gun reports that Joe Francis, the brains behind the “Girls Gone Wild” franchise, has been indicted on federal tax evasion charges. This on the heels of Francis’s arrest and detention on a federal civil contempt rap. Not a good week for Mr. Francis. It is…
Government to Re-Try Merrill Lynch Execs on Enron Related Charges
Federal prosecutors in Houston will re-persecute prosecute three Merrill Lynch executives on charges arising out of the so-called”Nigerian barge” deal, the Associated Press reported this week. The Fifth Circuit Court of appeals had reversed convictions on most of the counts against the three investment bankers. Lawyers for the defendants have apparently engaged in discussions with…
Gekko Vindicated – Seems Greed Really Is Good
At least Mark Vanos, the editor of Fast Company magazine seems to agree. Fast Company, while business friendly, isn’t really a hotbed of unbridled laissez faire capitalism. So needless to say, I was a bit surprised to see that Vanos was willing to give truck to the idea, of which I have long been convinced,…
Cable Companies Suffer Setback in DVR Case
The New York Bar Journal reports today that Judge Denny Chin of the federal Southern District of New York has ruled that the DVR service provided by Cablevision infringes the copyright rights of entertainment producers whose content is copied by and stored for consumer use by Cablevision’s system. Judge Chin found that Cablevision’s system differed…
Splenda and NutraSweet Headed to Trial
Federal judge Gene E.K. Pratter, in a lengthy opinion, recently denied a summary judgment motion filed by McNeil Nutritionals, the manufacturer of Splenda in a case filed against McNeil by Merisant, Inc. the manufacturer of NutraSweet. Pratter’s ruling clears the way for a trial of Merisant’s Lanham Act claims against McNeil, in which Merisant alleges…