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…
Who Owns the Name of Your Cup of Coffee
Seems that Starbucks has gotten into a rather contentious spat with the Ethiopian government and that country’s coffee farmers over the Ethiopians’ efforts to trademark the names of certain coffee growing locations. Starbucks uses the names of some of these locations in its product names, and has resisted the effort, initially opposing the applications for…
Libby Jury Has More Questions
The Scooter Libby jury has ended its ninth day of deliberations, and apparently has still more questions. 9 days. 4 counts. I am betting hung jury.
Bernie Ebbers Will Likely Die in Prison
The United States Supreme Court yesterday refused to hear an appeal from former Wordcom CEO Bernard Ebbers, which means that, unless Ebbers is pardoned, he will serve most, if not all, of the rest of his life in prison. I’ve said it before and will say it now again – sentences in our criminal system,…
Strange Stuff on Northwest Airlines
This story is weird. Girl falls asleep on a plane. Guy takes the seat next to her. Girl says the guy ejaculates on her. I’m not sure, though, how they can convict the guy, unless they’ve got DNA evidence. I’m betting there’s more to this story.
A Reprieve for Lammers
By the way, I have been meaning to say that I am very, very pleased to see that Ken Lammers has granted his excellent blog, CrimLaw, at least a temporary stay of execution.
California Dog Mauling Homicide Case Reaches State High Court
The California Supreme Court is set to consider whether an intermediate appellate court properly reinstated a second degree murder conviction in the California pit bull presa canario (NB: Thank you, Rachel). mauling/murder case from a few years back. I remember this case when it was tried. Watched most of it on Court Tv. Cheered when…
High Court Throws Out Award Against Philip Morris
On a 5-4 vote, the Supreme Court yesterday overturned a $79.5 million jury award against tobacco company Phillip Morris, holding that the damages award violated the company’s due process rights because, the punitive damages award was intended, at least in part, to punish Phillip Morris for harm allegedly cause to persons other than the plaintiff,…
More on Scooter
Over at the Powe Line blog, a reader offered the following observations on Victoria Toensing’s Washington Post column on the Scooter Libbey witch hunt trial. This prosecution is possibly one of the more pointless, politically motivated exercises to find its way into a court room in quite some time. Read on for the substances of…
Libby is a Scapegoat
So saith attorney Victoria Toensing in tomorrow’s Washington Post. I happen to agree with Victoria. If Scooter Libbly is convicted on this bogus charge by this hyperactive prosecutor, it is an injustice.