News & Media
Only the ABA….
The ABA has finally acknowledged that the legal profession is in a tailspin by publishing The Value Proposition of Attending Law School. The document essentially just says that law school is really expensive, salaries are not as high as prospective law students think, and that most people who go to law school will graduate into a lifetime of being screwed. Noticeably absent the “The Value Proposition,” is the ABA’s hand in this mess. Yes, the ABA — that festering slop bucket of do-nothing bozos who stamped their seal of approval on every head injury clinic that wanted to call itself a law school, as long as its faculty and administration dropped to their knees and fellated the ABA’s absurd “educational”
The hazards of citing to Wikipedia
By J. DeVoy This should be obvious, but the TTAB has commented on the matter in a surprisingly important case. The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board’s decision in General Motors LLC v. Sweeney, gave GM a dangerous warning that the Corvette brand is not to be taken for granted. GM’s counsel submitted a sparse evidentiary record in opposing the registration of Sweeney’s proposed mark, Corvoltte, under International Class 12 (for “electric vehicles, namely, automobiles”). One of those sources, comprising a non-trivial percentage of the evidentiary record, was the Wikipedia entry for Corvette – presumably the Chevrolet Corvette, as there is more than one. As the colloquialism goes – and the TTAB concurs – talk is cheap: There is no evidence
Good News; Racism Solved
by Jason Fischer Regular readers of the LS know how we feel about thought control through the implementation of Newspeak. (We think it is retarded). Apparently, there are at least a few out there who have a hard-on for eradicating crimethink. In their latest effort, a newly sanitized edition of Mark Twain’s classic, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, will be published as part of a collection that is more suitable for classroom consumption, i.e., sans all uses of the “n-word.” In its place, the publishers, NewSouth Books, have inserted the word “slave.” Also deemed too offensive for print: “injun” H/T Evren Seven
Your homeland security dollars at work
The Center for Investigative Reporting gives us this glimpse into our war on terror: Soon after hijackers obliterated the World Trade Center towers eight years ago, Marin County received more than $100,000 in surveillance equipment to keep its water treatment system safe from a terrorist attack. But four years after the funds were awarded, state authorities found more than $67,000 worth of the gear still boxed in its original packaging. It had never been used. It gets worse — read the whole article here. H/T: Rogier van Bakel
Honor Captan Honors – and piss on the crybabies who have a problem with him
Navy Captain Owen Honors was, until today, in command of the U.S.S. Enterprise. He made a series of raunchy videos three or four years ago. He was relieved of command today because of them. (source) But despite the official condemnation from Navy leadership, the sailors who served under Honors on the “Big E” are coming to his defense on the ship’s Facebook page, calling the controversy a witch hunt. “I too was on that deployment. Capt. Honors brought up our morale and provided well needed and appreciated comic relief. We were underway for long durations, supporting two theaters of war simultaneously, he brought many smiles to a worn out & tired crew. I can easily say that all of the
Vermont Supreme Court declines to disbar attorney who caused motorcycle accident, fled scene, lied in investigation, and got his wife to lie for him.
Vermont (suspended) Attorney Melvin Neisner Jr. is a piece of trash. Here is part one of what he did. The operative facts in this case are largely uncontested and are laid out below with additional facts following in the body of the opinion.[1] Defendant, a lawyer in Rutland County, was driving to his office alone one Saturday evening in September 2007. Turning north onto the Killington Access Road, a three-lane road with two north-bound lanes, he approached two motorcycles, which were traveling slowly and occupying both north-bound lanes. Defendant moved to pass the motorcycles, pulling into the left lane directly behind one of the riders—testimony conflicts as to how close to that motorcycle he came, possibly within eighteen inches. The
Latest Filing from Wolk Connects the Dots Between Incest and Banking Policy
by Jason Fischer For anyone who has been following the story of Arthur Allan Wolk, Esquire, it will come as no surprise that Attorney Wolk’s opposition to Amici, Eugene Volokh, Glenn Reynolds, Edward Whelen, and Marc Randazza, reads like a paranoid diatribe. It seems that a massive blogger conspiracy, with ties to incest, pedophilia, bestiality, and opposition to banking regulations, has taken up arms against a poor lawyer in an internet smear campaign. You can read the full text of the opposition here, if you are so inclined. On a practical note, in between the ramblings on conspiracy theories, I noted a subtle legal issue in Attorney Wolk’s opposition that I thought warranted a bit of discussion. For one of
Have two free hours?
By J. DeVoy Check out this review of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. Yes, it is a 110-minute-long review of the crappiest Star Wars prequel, evinced by the merely 90-minute review of Episode II: The Clone Wars and 70-minute dissection of Episode I: The Phantom Menace.
WTF Wisconsin?
by Jason Fischer The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled this week that committing a sex crime is not necessarily a prerequisite for ordering a convict to register as a sex offender (source). I tried reading the opinion to figure this nonsense out, but my head nearly exploded when I read the excerpted sentence below, and I had to stop. In the present case, the parties agree that a fundamental right is not implicated . . . . (source)
Improve your blogging in 2011
By J. DeVoy Here’s the guide I’ve been using, created by Roosh a few years ago. It’s time-tested and ABA Journal approved. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VS-Oq2YbiNE&fs=1&hl=en_US] But Roosh is a man of many fratboy humor-related talents. Here he is displaying his basement-level D.C. apartment in a mashup of Tim & Eric Awesome Shoe Great Job and MTV’s Cribs. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubMNBQwvV0I&fs=1&hl=en_US] And Roosh is a traveler. Here is his sardonic (and shocking) insider’s guide to Medellin, Colombia. If the joke isn’t obvious at the beginning, it will be by the end. Given the apparent earnestness with which the video begins, it’s some of the finer non-4chan trolling I’ve seen that deeply offends the uninitiated. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJdQS3v76Cs&fs=1&hl=en_US]
Practice Pointer: If you don't have a law license….
If you don’t have a law license, then you probably should not practice law. If you decide to practice law anyway, and the court orders you to stop, you should probably stop. If both of those things happen, and you don’t stop, you really shouldn’t sue your client for $845,000 in unpaid legal fees. Strangely enough, that is how far you seem to need to go in order to be prosecuted for the unlicensed practice of law in Massachusetts. (source)
DUI laws and the Constitution
by Charles Platt Florida has joined the growing list of states that are raising revenue by stopping drivers at random (not with probable cause) and forcing everyone to be breathalyzed–on the understanding that if anyone refuses, a judge on-site will issue a warrant authorizing the cops to take a blood sample by force, if necessary. Naturally Mothers Against Drunk Driving endorses this as a great idea. Here’s the news item. For years I have had a gut-level aversion to MADD. The name alone is manipulative (who would ever dare to oppose that most sacred group, mothers, against that most reviled subspecies, drunk drivers?). The tactics are abhorrent (such as going to the Feds for help in forcing states to conform,
Rest in Slack, Brother
In honor of Cliff Heller, who merged with the infinite on this day in 2006, the Legal Satyricon flag is lowered to half mast and there will be no posts today. If you happen to find yourself with a bottle of tequila nearby, I would like to invite you to take a shot in his honor.
Germany requires copyright license for children's songs
By J. DeVoy Kindergartens across Germany are receiving notice that they must pay for licenses to reproduce a number of songs, the rights to which are held by GEMA (Germany’s music licensing agency). Slashdot has the story here. Leave it to the Germans to find a way to make children useful.
Student speech codes: A year+ in review
By J. DeVoy Greg Lukianoff and Azhar Majeed of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) recently compiled two years’ worth of academic publications mad possible through FIRE’s Jackson Legal Fellowship. If you’re in a position to make end-of-year donations, you may do so here. FIRE is on the list of Satyriconista charities. [N.B., the following article descriptions were written by FIRE.] “The Misapplication of Peer Harassment Law on College and University Campuses and the Loss of Student Speech Rights,” by Azhar Majeed Published May 2009, The Journal of College and University Law (Notre Dame Law School) This article argues that colleges and universities often misapply sexual and racial harassment law to the detriment of campus speech rights, and that in doing
Being a douche nozzle is no way to keep clients
by Jason Fischer Of course the headline here seems like common sense, but what’s surprising is that many attorneys have trouble with this bit of wisdom. As surprising as it may be, understanding why practicing attorneys have trouble controlling their aggressive tendencies is not difficult when you think about it. The problem is, when you have to spend 80% of your time dealing with deadbeats and scam artists, you end up in a near-permanent state of cynicism. Hell — in a lot of instances, it helps to be a bit of a dick. This, of course, is the motto of any self-respecting alpha. Good attorneys, however, know how and when to turn off the bloodlust. The best attorneys manage to
Practice Pointer
Siouxsie digs up a great pwning from the 1970s here. For more of the same, check out Jackass Letters.
The NFL and Socialism
In an article that isn’t really about politics or economics, the sports page brings a little insight to both: How many people had the moxie a few months ago to predict that not only would the Kansas City Chiefs win the AFC West but that the San Diego Chargers would also not even make the playoffs? Well, at least one group got that Chiefs thing right. That’s part of what has made the National Football League the dominant sports enterprise in the country: The socialistic economics of the league gives fans in most cities hope at the beginning of each year that their team might have a shot. (source) Precisely. And that is why some forms of socialism (think Norway,
ABA 100 Recommendations
By Randazza & DeVoy Every year, the ABA Journal has a run-off of its top 100 Blawgs, which are selected by reader votes. Others have made their recommendations so far, and now the time has come for us to offer ours. Indeed, it is our hope to use this blog’s status as last year’s winner in the IMHO category to be the Kingmaker deep into this competition. If you haven’t voted yet, you can register here, and then vote in each category (links to the categories are in bold). Here’s the category-by-category breakdown: Law Biz: What About Clients? Dan Hull is no pussy. If lawyers laid eggs and hatched their young, Randazza would have been in Hull’s nest. Highly educated
Perfect 10 thinks that DMCA takedown demands should be protected by copyright
Perfect 10 is at it again – this time still pressing the argument that its DMCA notices may not be reproduced. (source). Most copyright attorneys know that if they send a DMCA notice, it very well may wind up on chillingeffects.org. If you send a DMCA notice to Google, it absolutely, positively, will. There are many of my own DMCA notices up there, and I am neither uncomfortable with that fact, nor do I mind my efforts being held up to scrutiny. If I am going to issue a DMCA notice, having content taken off the Internet without any judicial review at all, my maneuvers should be at least subject to the prying eyes in the marketplace of ideas. Perfect
