News & Media
No man is an island, but WIPO is no man.
By J. DeVoy Catching up on the backlog of interesting stuff I couldn’t address during bar prep, Red Bull lost the UDRP proceeding seeking the transfer of domain names that an Austrian court ruled belonged to Red Bull. In 2003, Red Bull held the Taurus Rubens, an air festival/art show that hopefully had more professional participation than its Flugtag events across America. Anticipating that the event would become an annual one, Reinhard Birnhuber registered the domains taurusrubens.com and rubenstaurus.com among others. When Red Bull discovered this, it offered Birnhuber € 500. Birnhuber demanded one million euros. In April 2005, Red Bull registered its Taurus Rubens as an Austrian trademark and commenced a UDRP proceeding against Birnhuber before the WIPO. Red
2,000th Post
It was January 2007, and I was teaching an entertainment law course at Barry University School of Law. I wanted a way to deliver materials and supplemental reading to my students, without having to make photocopies or maintain an email list. So I tried out using the wordpress platform. I put up a few posts with materials for my students to review. Nothing all that interesting happened. 200 visitors in January. 129 in February. 478 in March. Then, I started getting comments from people who were not students. They were asking questions about legal issues. They were suggesting materials and articles. I responded, and April saw 1600 visits. By the end of 2007, the Legal Satyricon had 54,000 visitors. I
Roger Clemens Indicted
A Washington Grand Jury indicted Roger Clemens for lying to Congress in a deposition and in under-oath testimony before a congressional committee. He falsely denied, while under oath, ever using steroids. Clemens faces 30 years in jail and a $1.5 million fine. (source) And after that, when he finally dies and goes to hell, he will be sentenced to a demon shoving a pineapple up his ass every day for all eternity — for the crime of wearing pinstripes after being a member of the Red Sox. Yeah, fuck you too, Johnny Damon.
Tolerance and the Mosque
by Charles Platt Both sides are claiming tolerance. The Mayor is all in favor of it (actually I assume he is just in favor of saying whatever gets him re-elected). The moslems are in favor of it, seeking merely to “reach out” (actually they are in favor of everyone becoming a moslem, because that’s what their spiritual force tells them). How about opening a Moslem strip club? Call it “The 72 Virgins,” get a guy named Mohammed to run it, subtitle “The closest you can get to paradise without being killed by a suicide bomber.” Now we have a measure by which we can assess tolerance as I understand the word. Will the pious Mayor and his First Amendment speech
Atheists Win Roadside Memorial Case – American Atheists v. Duncan
By Marc J. Randazza The Utah Highway Patrol Association (“UHPA”) put up twelve foot high crosses to honor fallen Utah Highway Patrol troopers. The crosses bore the Utah Highway Patrol (“UHP”) symbol and they were on public land. Funny enough, since Mormons don’t use the cross as a religious symbol, the UHPA actually seems to have had an innocent (if slightly ignorant) intent. They did not intend to send a religious message, but rather used the crucifix as what they thought was a “universal” symbol of a memorial to the fallen. The American Atheists sued to block the displays as violations of the Establishment Clause. The district court found in the UHPA’s favor, but the 10th Circuit reversed yesterday –
Dr. Laura, Bible Spice, and the First Amendment
By Marc J. Randazza Yesterday’s post about Dr. Laura was not a First Amendment post. It was a post about a cultural issue, not a legal issue. However, I got a persuasive email from a friend who all but demanded that I address the First Amendment “issue” in the story. I just wanted to ignore Dr. Laura’s claim that she “wanted her First Amendment rights back.” But Venkat Balasubramani knows how to push my buttons! He sent me this: Dr. Laura isn’t the first one to try and bamboozle us by crying “First Amendment,” when the First Amendment just doesn’t belong in the picture. A number of years ago, I was on South Beach with Jennifer. She was sunbathing topless,
Awesome
Jeb Corliss is working on a plan to skydive and land without a parachute. (source) I initially wrote about Corliss’ case in my article, BASE Jumping and the Law. In that post, I wrote about how Corliss attempted a jump from the Empire State Building, but was apprehended just as he got over the suicide fence. New York then charged him with reckless endangerment on the theory that had he made the jump, he very well could have hurt people below. This theory was successfully argued by the prosecution in United States v. Carroll, 813 F. Supp. 698 (E.D. Mo. 1993). Corliss convinced the court that he planned the jump very carefully — so carefully, that nobody could reasonably call
And in related news, it is time for forced sterilization of a lot of people in this retard laden country
One in five Americans think that Obama is a Muslim. (source) Before you bring out the surgery tools, this seems to be a Fox News focus group. So, really the headline should be “one in five abject fucking retards who get their ‘news’ from Fox think that Obama is a muslim.”
Save the word "nigger"
By Marc J. Randazza A few weeks ago, someone who I despise, Dr. Laura Schlessinger, used the taboo “n-word” on her radio show. She didn’t say it to be mean, nasty, or racist. She was quoting someone else. And that turned into a shit storm. Apparently, now the word “nigger” has become so taboo, that even uttering it means that you’re a racist. Despite Dr. Laura’s protestations that “context matters,” the hysterical boob on the phone with Schlesinger decided that since she lost the argument, she would just focus on the fact that Laura allowed “nigger” to pass through her lips. Dr. Laura was forced to apologize. And now, she’s leaving radio. (source) Personally, I say “good riddance,” because Dr.
Do Republicans Really Support "Tort Reform?"
HR 4364, the Federal Anti-SLAPP bill, was introduced by Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN9) – a two-time First Amendment Bad Ass Award winner. Public Intellectual reports that Cohen has brought on a few more co-sponsors: Rep. Charles Gonzalez (D-TX20), Fortney “Pete” Stark (D-CA13), and Mike Doyle (D-PA14). (source) Does anyone see anything wrong with that picture? Four Democrats support a tort reform measure. Where are the Republicans? Are they only in favor of “tort reform” when the cases are against doctors and chemical companies? Come on, not a single one of you fuckers give a shit about the First Amendment? For those of you out in Satyricon Land, I urge you to call AND WRITE to your congressman, don’t just call.
"The Contours of Actual Malice" or "Rand Paul Learns About Tabloid Journalism"
by Jason Fischer If you’re not a liberal by eighteen, you’ve got no heart; if you’re not a conservative by thirty, you’ve got no brains — as the saying goes. The axiomatic truth behind those words is what makes this GQ story about Rand Paul kinda cute and heartwarming. Some of the senatorial candidate’s Baylor buddies remember that he was quite the rebel back in the day, and what better time to talk to a reporter about it than ninety days before an election? I’m sure the political theater aspect of this whole thing never entered into the minds of GQ’s editorial staff. Understandably, Paul and his campaign staff are a bit upset about the story. It paints the picture
Gay Marriage on Hold – 9th Cir. Issues Stay
It looks like the 9th Circuit may toss out the Prop. 8 appeal for lack of standing after all. Issued today: Docket Text: Filed order (EDWARD LEAVY, MICHAEL DALY HAWKINS and SIDNEY R. THOMAS) Appellants’ motion for a stay of the district court’s order of August 4, 2010 pending appeal is GRANTED. The court sua sponte orders that this appeal be expedited pursuant to Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 2. The provisions of Ninth Circuit Rule 31-2.2(a) (pertaining to grants of time extensions) shall not apply to this appeal. This appeal shall be calendared during the week of December 6, 2010, at The James R. Browning Courthouse in San Francisco, California. The previously established briefing schedule is vacated. The opening
Boycott Target – Flashmob Protest
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7leov_cxssE]
The virtue of telling a client to piss off
Popehat is a blog that I think was born in the same litter of puppies as the Satyricon. We love them. Reason #1 — constant Dr. Who references. Reason #2 — ethics lessons. In this piece, Patrick provides us with a fantsays letter (based on a phone call he had) declining to represent an insurance company that wanted to sue kids who attempted suicide. In their failed attempts, the kids apparently made a mess in their insured’s homes. In this day of the legal profession going to hell, and all of us scrambling to stay with the “haves,” as the income gap widens, Patrick’s “fuck you” letter should be distributed to all first year law students. As a lawyer “I
Applause for Mayor Bloomberg
I have nothing to add: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXm_fUDfJZQ] Transcript of his speech: “We’ve come here to Governors Island to stand where the earliest settlers first set foot in New Amsterdam, and where the seeds of religious tolerance were first planted. We come here to see the inspiring symbol of liberty that more than 250 years later would greet millions of immigrants in this harbor. And we come here to state as strongly as ever, this is the freest city in the world. That’s what makes New York special and different and strong. “Our doors are open to everyone. Everyone with a dream and a willingness to work hard and play by the rules. New York City was built by immigrants, and it’s
Illinois appellate court unmasks anonymous commenters
By J. DeVoy The Illinois Appellate Court’s 3d District recently overturned the LaSalle County circuit court’s decision to preserve online anonymity for two commenters. In the comments section of an Ottowa Times’ online article, the anonymous parties accused the plaintiffs, a local couple, of making bribes in order to secure favorable zoning treatment for land they owned. The dispute’s subject matter raises interesting questions of public importance and privilege for the commenters’ statements. Still, the commenters’ accusations of the officials’ corruption through accepting bribes calls for a more nuanced argument than merely claiming the statements were mere opinion. The Tribune and other news organizations filed amicus briefs in the case, arguing in favor of commenter anonymity for the sake of
Morality Police Deface Public Art in Springfield, MA
Censorship — its not just for rednecks I often rant about the censorship minded former confederacy — but I must admit that my home state of Massachusetts has its share of censorship monkeys. The censorship monkey of the day — the city of Springfield, MA and Gina E. Beavers, director of the Springfield Arts Initiative for the Springfield Business Improvement District (SBID). Springfield, Massachusetts and its Sneaker Exhibit The City of Springfield is essentially a heroin and crack infested slum with three things going for it: The Basketball Hall of Fame, a couple of decent strip clubs, and the Huke Lau (which is actually in Chicopee). To help celebrate the first in the list, the SBID put together the “Art
Checkmate
It looks like the uneducated peckerwoods supporters of Proposition 8 are seriously considering throwing in the towel. They fear that they will lose 5-4 at the Supreme Court. That and they realize that if you have a court case, you can’t just expect to argue “well, gays are ummm, bad, mmmkay?” and expect to win. So rather than risk allowing the 31 states with bigotry amendments “go down in flames” (their words, not mine), they might not appeal at all — and just let the Prop. 8 decision stand. (source) Checkmate, and ha-ha fuck you, bigots.
Waxing Virgins
By Tatiana von Tauber Very young girls these days are turning into women right before our eyes. Just last week CNN reported how today’s girls are beginning puberty as early as 7. The cause for this change is unclear but it’s thought to be attributed in part to chemicals in foods and “other environmental factors”. With the onset of puberty, challenges arise and increased hair growth is one. Unwanted hair is a real problem of course, specifically in certain places. Traditionally adults simply purchase a razor or make a waxing appointment and off we go. However, there’s a deeper issue developing with the hairless look. It’s not just about wishing to shave away from our monkey see, monkey do evolution. Unless hair is
