There was an interesting article last week in the Wall Street Journal concerning recent developments in the Checvron Ecuador litigation, and substantial changes to the plaintiffs’ litigation strategy that new counsel Patton Boggs has been implementing in the wake of revelations of possible fraudulent conduct by another lawyer involved with representing the plaintiffs. I don’t…
Right on Crime?
That’s the title, minus the question mark, of a new website launched by the Texas Public Policy Foundation. The site bills itself as “the sone-stop source for conservative ideas on criminal justice.” As a conservative, and as a lawyer involved in the representation of criminal defendants, I will confess to a little confusion over what…
Welcome Home, Cliff Lee
The headline pretty much says it all. That’s the news here in Philadelphia, today. Thank you to Ruben Amaro, Jr., and to Cliff Lee, for giving Phillies fans one heck of an early Christmas gift!
Looking for deep pocketed 5 year olds
Evidently a New York state judge thinks that its ok to force 5 year old children to defend themselves against lawsuits. What a horrible, disgraceful idea. Any lawyer who files such a lawsuit – not to mention said lawyer’s client – should be ashamed of himself.
Forget the principal, call the DOJ
The federal government clearly doesn’t have enough important things to do, what with chasing down all the evil old baseball players who used steroids and hounding escort service owners to their deaths. This week brings the news that the feds intend to insert themselves into the process of school discipline. Its not sufficient, apparently, to…
Roger Clemens: enemy of the State
So the Department of Justice has finally decided to stop wasting its time chasing escort service owners and that clown governor (oh, that’s right – they’re still after HIM) and moved on to really important matters: prosecuting Roger Clemens for allegedly lying to Congress about whether he used performance enhancing drugs or not. Big…
Episcopal Church Pokes Itself In The Eye Again
Like Lord Voldemort, the embodiment of pure evil from the Harry Potter stories, Charles Bennison, the once defrocked Episcopal Bishop of Pennsylvania, is back. The Episcopal Church’s top appelate tribunal, the Court of Review of the Trial of a Bishop, last week issued an opinion that in effect exonerated Bennison of charges that he covered…
Short Stay for Lohan
According to one of the British tabloids, looks like Lindsay Lohan will be released from jail soon, having likely served not more than 9 days of a 90 day sentence imposed last week for her for violations of the terms of the probation she was serving for various prior offenses, including charges for drunk driving…
Free Jeff Skilling
The United States Supreme Court took a substantial step toward doing just that yesterday when it vacated Skilling’s conviction under the federal “honest services” wire fraud statute, and remanded the case to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals to determine whether Skilling’s conviction on other charges against him was so tainted by the government’s reliance…
Kagan’s Notes on Bush v. Gore Raise Significant Questions
According to the Wall Street Journal, among the documents that the Senate Judiciary Committee has posted relating to the Kagan nomination are handwritten notes that the nominee made for a speech she was to deliver to Princeton University alumni in 2003. The notes, according to the Journal’s account of their contents, reveal Kagan’s misgivings about…