News & Media
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
My favorite Christmas Carol
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvkzd6xQKF8]
A Zombie Christmas
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UqEhUm2B_8]
A Gwar Christmas Carol
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PY8Fr7bcLa8] H/T: Bob
I love Wisconsin: 17 U.S.C. § 505
By J. DeVoy Copyright law has some interesting game theory-like features, which is rational when considering that most producers of copyrighted content are more sophisticated than your average consumer. Thought experiment: Who’s more likely to be detail-oriented, someone who shoots video for a living or a person who slips in a puddle of water at Target? Thought so. These provisions
Rational Christmas Gift Appreciation
By J. DeVoy [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wC1O50az108&fs=1&hl=en_US] H/T: D. Waite
Welcome to the Satyriconroll
I would like to welcome some new authors to the SatyriconRoll. Shit!!! Planet!!! Authored by the pseudonymous Metasonix, whose blogger profile lists one interest: “ABUSING YOU. He’s not all that abusive to us though. Well, he hates Charles Platt, but as I’ve often said, my admiration for people has little to do with how much I agree with them. Keep
Spain rejects US-authored copyright laws
By J. DeVoy Julian Assange may have dealt a blow to the international fight against content piracy. Cables released by Wikileaks reveal that a copyright bill pending before the Spanish house of representatives was authored by the United States, with significant influence from Hollywood studios. The proposed legislation would have outlawed the operation of file-sharing sites and services within the
