Articles Posted in 2010

In October 2009, the House Judiciary Committee held a contentious hearing on the NFL’s response to brain injuries in current and former players. The chairman of the NFL committee on brain injuries subsequently resigned. In December 2009, the NFL announced stricter guidelines for returning to play after a player sustains a concussion on the field.

The new guidelines require that players who suffer concussions cannot return to a game or practice until they show no further symptoms of concussion and are cleared by both the team doctor and an independent neurologist.

The New York Times ran a fascinating story this week about third-party financiers of lawsuits. The Times, together with the Center for Public Integrity, reported that third-party financing of contingency lawsuits is on rise. Specialized lending firms that cater to law firms have emerged, charging premium interest rates (from 15-24%). The funds are used to pay for increasingly complex and costly plaintiffs’ litigation. The Times reports that total investment in this arena now exceeds $1 billion.

Yeah–you read that right. $1B. This factoid in the article that really caught my attention–litigation financing is a big business, and how many of us really knew it existed? When I first read the article, I didn’t really know how I felt about this–except that it seemed like an ethical minefield, but appears to be above board in most states. The article is accompanied by commentary from a panel of law professors, who discuss some of these ethical issues.

My friends and coworkers know that I’m a big fan of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. This year, interest in the boy wizard and his world was heightened by the spring opening of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando. (That’s me and my wife with the Conductor of the Hogwarts Express). Dozens of new Harry Potter toys and trinkets are available for purchase this holiday season. And, Harry Potter fans will be lining up tonight at their local cineplex to attend the midnight opening of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I.

In Deathly Hallows, Harry Potter finds himself Undesirable No. 1, a fugitive of the law, as the government of the Wizarding World has been taken over by the evil Lord Voldemort. This is not the first time that Harry has found himself at odds with Wizarding Law. In honor of the movie, I am going to look at the laws and legal system of Harry’s world. So, let’s hop aboard the Hogwarts Express to take our introductory course in Wizarding Law at Hogwarts.

Last week, I viewed the FRONTLINE program The Confessions, a documentary about the Norfolk Four. For me, the video really reinforced the importance of the Bill of Rights and its role in protecting the innocent. The Fifth Amendment states that “No person…shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself.” Popularized by the Miranda warning, the privilege against self-incrimination requires that the police adhere to certain procedural safeguards in recognition of the intimidating nature of incommunicado police interrogation. When people fail to forcefully assert their right to remain silent, the results can be tragic.

Last week, Tim and I had the chance to attend a panel discussion at Stanford titled, “The Open Government Initiative and the Promise of a Transparent Government.” The panel reviewed various U.S. and international initiatives designed to get citizens more engaged with their government via transparency, collaboration and participation. Of particular interest to us, given Justia’s focus on law.gov, was listening to the panelists share their thoughts on the challenges faced by groups both in and outside government as they work toward collecting and turning raw government data into usable information, processes and systems. The general consensus is that we still have a long way to go, but it was heartening to hear more about some of the exciting things going on related to the transformation of our civic culture. As an added bonus, after the discussion we had dinner with Daniel Schuman, one of panelists and the policy counsel at the Sunlight Foundation, and Stanford friends Vicky Reich and James Jacobs. It was great to sit down and talk about different ways Justia might help in their efforts to bring more transparency to government. Stay tuned. . .

Also, check out the conference proceedings from the International Open Government Data Conference, the first event of its kind, being held right now in Washington, D.C., November 15 -17.

Thanksgiving is nearly upon us.  A time for being thankful, eating turkey or tofurkey, cranberry sauce, yams, and pumpkin pie.

In Minnesota, the Land of 10,000 Laws, this is a time when Minnesotans had better be on their best behavior when it comes to how their treatment of livestock.

You see, under Minnesota state law, turkey and chicken scrambles are patently illegal.  We’re not talking about scrambled eggs here.  Section 343.36 of the Minnesota Code outlaws ‘turkey scrambles,’ defined as when a “turkey is released or thrown into the air and wherein the object is the capture of the chicken or turkey.”

What exactly gets scrambled when turkeys and chickens are released in the air?  Do they get indigestion?  Do they get dizzy like kids who spin themselves and their friends silly on playground merry-go-rounds (a perfectly legal activity in Minnesota)?  Does the their ability to think straight get a little too gobblery, what with all the brief, momentary period of flying to and fro?

OK, I know I totally missed the boat on this post–National Pro Bono Week was two weeks ago.  I was too distracted by Halloween to notice, but I have been thinking about writing this post for awhile. Better late than never, so here we go!

Doing pro bono work is good for the community and your bottom line. Law school taught us that we have a professional responsibility to give back and to promote professional goodwill toward lawyers. But, this post is not about the warm fuzzy feeling you get from helping people. Instead, I want to explain how volunteering can help your practice in substantial ways.

As we go about our routines on Veterans Day today, we should take time to remember the men and women in our communities who served with the U.S. Armed Forces. Their commitment to serve our country at home and abroad protects the Constitution for all of us.

We owe veterans our compassion, our understanding, and our support for doing what others choose not to: put themselves in harms way to protect our freedoms.

Veterans Days was signed into law by President Calvin Coolidge after the U.S. Congress passed this resolution on June 4, 1926 to make it a legal holiday:

Last week, the State of Oklahoma held a referendum on the use of Sharia Law by the Oklahoma state courts. The referendum garnered 70.08% of the vote, with 695,650 people voting for and 296,944 voting against the proposal. The ballot to State Question No. 755 read as follows:

STATE QUESTION NO. 755

LEGISLATIVE REFERENDUM NO. 355

This measure amends the State Constitution. It changes a section that deals with the courts of this state. It would amend Article 7, Section 1. It makes courts rely on federal and state law when deciding cases. It forbids courts from considering or using international law. It forbids courts from considering or using Sharia Law.

International law is also known as the law of nations. It deals with the conduct of international organizations and independent nations, such as countries, states and tribes. It deals with their relationship with each other. It also deals with some of their relationships with persons.

The law of nations is formed by the general assent of civilized nations. Sources of international law also include international agreements, as well as treaties.

Sharia Law is Islamic law. It is based on two principal sources, the Koran and the teaching of Mohammed.

SHALL THE PROPOSAL BE APPROVED?

FOR THE PROPOSAL — YES AGAINST THE PROPOSAL — NO

In light of Justia’s commitment to “free law”, we wanted to make sure to note last week’s announcement that Google, in partnership with the USPTO, now provides bulk access to current US patent applications and grants.  As noted by Richard Jefferson in his “Science as Social Enterprise” blog, until recently the bulk data available to users was incomplete in that it did not contain 2010 materials.  However, users can now download comprehensive 2010 “Redbook” format data for free, considered the “gold standard” of patent data (and previously sold for thousands of dollars).  Check what’s available in USPTO bulk downloads on Google yourself or search the entire image database of U.S. patents from 1790s to the present at Google patents.

Related Press Releases / Articles

“USPTO Teams with Google to Provide Bulk Patent and Trademark Data to the Public”