News & Media
Crazy, meet Racists. Racists, meet Crazy.
Man skipped in line allegedly beats McDonald’s manager with bat | www.wftv.com. Come for the workers’ compensation story, stay for the racist commentary. Seems like some guy has been reading the Consumerist too much and decided that the executive e-mail carpet bomb was insufficient. So, he registered his complaint with management with a baseball bat. Legal stuff: while I know MA law better than FL, generally, he can collect workers’ comp, and file a third-party suit against the customer. Maybe a products liability claim against Louisville Slugger?? Oh, and the comp carrier would have subrogation rights in any third party recovery. No suit against McDonald’s or the co-worker, due to the century old trade-off. Anyhow, I thought that would be
U.S. v. Heicklen Explained – a Win for the Wizened and Worried
By Larry Sutter, Special to the Legal Satyricon The Southern District of New York recently issued its order dismissing the United State’s case against Julian Heicklen. The order is available here. While this is an interesting case about the protection of speech advocating jury nullification, what is even more interesting is the story behind it – from both the people involved to the affect it has had on New York’s legal community. The Defendant: An 80-year-old retired chemistry professor who believes in freedom and liberty. Like, a lot. He stands in front of the federal courthouse in lower Manhattan handing out pamphlets advocating jury nullification. Calling him “cantankerous” is an understatement that does violence to the language: With his counsel’s
Why I feel very little pain
I knew that letting David Mamet ghost write my daily speech was good for my health. Now lets go play hide and go fuck yourself.
Bitch of the Century
I hereby pledge that anyone who ever works for me will not be treated like this.
ABA Journal Magazine Tackles Righthaven in May 2012 Issue
Remember Righthaven? While it has been stripped of its intellectual property and claims against it keep piling up, the fat lady has not yet sung – and the ABA has noticed. The May 2012 ABA Journal’s cover story is the aftermath of Righthaven. Eriq Gardner, who Righthaven once sued for posting an image of an exhibit from one of its court pleadings, examined both sides of the copyright enforcement equation. Marc Randazza and Ron Coleman are quoted in the lengthy piece, which centers on Righthaven but touches on the RIAA’s litigation campaign, the mass-joinder suits brought by porn studios, and the realities of plaintiff-side copyright enforcement. Righthaven’s CEO, Steven Gibson, is quoted with the following observation: “One of the questions
Every Now and Then, Arizona Gets it Right.
This weekend is the Phoenix Pride Festival. It’s true that most Pride celebrations are later in the year; usually June or July. A friend asked me why so early for we here in Arizona. The answer is deceptively simple. Have you BEEN to Phoenix in July?? And yesterday it was hot- over 100 degrees- which is warm even by Arizona standards for this time of year. That didn’t stop the Mesa Police Department and even a couple of members of the Maricopa County Sherriff’s office from marching in uniform in this year’s Pride Parade. Source. Mesa Police Chief Frank Milstead’s decision to permit his officers to march in their uniforms was not without controversy. Those opposed to the decision have
Your tax dollars at work
The FCC is still insisting that it couldn’t possibly be wrong, and is appealing the Janet Jackson nipple case to the Supreme Court. (MSNBC)
Happy 4/20
Ever wonder where “420” came from? No it isn’t the police code for “marijuana smoking in progress.” The true story ishere. here. Note: For some reason, there was a link to the Honey Badger video in the original post. Oops.
Challenging The Copyrightability Of Porn
Attorney Marc Randazza wrote an article for XBiz discussing the copyrightability of pornography. Randazza writes: In its current efforts to stop theft of its content, the adult industry is once again confronted with a twin-engined erotophobic attack with new life being breathed into an old theory by feminists (both of the male and female variety). The idea that porn can not be copyrighted is not new. Read More…
Tupac Hologram at Coachella
This is pretty bad ass. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=TGbrFmPBV0Y#!]
Drinking, Large Breasts, and the Law
PSL woman Maureen Raymond says her ‘big breasts’ hindered her DUI test performance, affidavit states. While one might think think I posted this article for the prurient interest, it is actually because of a statement in the article that annoyed me. I quote: It wasn’t clear whether large breasts could be cited as part of a DUI case defense or whether case law supports such a contention. Okay, Will Greenlee from Scripps, why did you feel the need to include this masterful insight? It wasn’t clear to whom, to you? How much research did you do to check? What is the purpose of this statement? While Marc is a Florida licensed attorney and I am not, I am going to
Are Topless Photos Worth $50,000,000?
The lawyer for Sheriff’s Deputy Krystal Rice seems to think so. Click here and here to see for yourself. Nutshell version: while a cadet, a superior officer convinces her to let him take risque photos, which he promises will only be used for official business in investigating sexual predators. While she should have been tipped off when he claimed he was storing them on a 3 1/2″ floppy disk in 2004, not 1994, she nevertheless consented. Lo, and behold! He shared the photos and hit on her. She claims defamation of character, IIED, and some nebulous respondeat superior breach of duty claim. Umm, who blew the Title VII sexual harassment deadline? Or, heck, how about a 1983 claim? I see no
When Disabilities Compete
Gentlemen, start your engines. The city of Indianapolis is facing a lawsuit arising from competing disability claims. In one corner, a person using a service dog to help them with their disability (while the typical scenario is the seeing-eye dog, apparently this is a paprika-sniffing dog). In the other, a person with a dog allergy. The Americans with Disabilities Act (along, likely, with the Indiana state law equivalent), in a nutshell, requires employers to not discriminate against employees in the terms and conditions of their employment on the basis of a disability, so long as the employee can perform the essention functions of their job with or without reasonable accommodation. Here is where it gets sticky. Let’s first assume both employees in
Robot Prison Guards
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=HCIYGdlH9Y0] I guess it is only a matter of time before we have robot TSA agents. At least they’ll smell better than the swine that work for the TSA now — and they’ll be capable of slightly more independent thought.
Whores in Columbia? Say it ain't so!
Hey, you. Yes, you. The guy over there, whining about the fact that some military members and Secret Service agents went whoring in Cartagena. (source) Come over here. COCKPUNCH There, that’s what you get. Here is what the law should be: If your job is to take a bullet for another man, you have the right to go whoring the night before you might get shot — as long as you get a good night’s sleep and a shower afterward. (After all, we don’t want you all sleepy and sticky when you’re supposed to be protecting The Eagle). I don’t even mind if you use my taxpayer dollars for it. I’d even pay more taxes if it went into a
Nevada: want in on the tech bubble 2.0? Get a better anti-SLAPP statute.
By J. DeVoy Earlier this week, Facebook announced its $1B acquisition of hipster staple Instagram. Everywhere you look, social media companies based on seemingly fragile social momentum are receiving gigantic valuations and making initial public offerings. Zynga has $8.8 billion in market capitalization – it’s best known for FarmVille, brogrammers and abusing trademark law. Groupon has lost more money than many firms will ever see, yet IPO’ed, reifying billions of dollars of wealth for shareholders. Yet California does not have a monopoly on tech. In fact, California is absurdly expensive. Nevada, in contrast, is dirt cheap. And, based on the success of firms like SirsiDynix and Adobe in Utah – seriously, Utah – it’s clear that Silicon Valley does not
The Dulcet Tones of Slayer Just Got a Little Better.
Not sure what to get that friend who’s a wine enthusiast AND head banger? The Almighty Slayer has come through like a champ and delivered unto us “Reign in Blood” Red, a California Cabernet being marketed out of Sweden. Who cares if it is so terrible that it would be better suited to salad dressing? The inverted cross on the label is enough for me to seriously consider stocking it in at least one of my wine racks. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8ZqFlw6hYg&feature=related]
Old People Writing on a Restaurant's Facebook Page
http://oldpeoplefacebook.tumblr.com/ Current favorite: I AM APPALEDNATN THE COMMERCIAL AND THE WOMAN ACTING AS A SLUT. I AM A MOTHER, GRANDMOTHER, GREAT GRAND MOTHER, AND I WOULD LIKE THEM TO POISE THIS. MY WILL NOT BE GOING INTO A CARLS JR. UNTIL YOU CLEAN UP SLIZE Remember, young people, as tax day approaches: A significant amount of your income goes to keeping these people alive as long as possible.
Gay Marriage Suit in Nevada
A lesbian couple has filed suit in the District of Nevada seeking full marriage equality in the Silver State. (source) We have a lot of good thoughtful judges on the bench here. Lets hope this gets somewhere.
