RSS FeedWeird Legal News: Collapsing Courthouses and the Constitutional Right to Rap
Here’s another digest of some articles I collected this week that are either funny, interesting, or just plain weird.
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Just two years after being constructed, a new courthouse in the Bronx is already falling apart. Stairwells are cordoned off, windows are boarded up, sewer flies are infesting the lower levels, and the parking garage is “sinking.” The project is now the subject of a “legal quagmire” of litigation. I wonder if the cases will be heard inside the building, or whether the judges would have to recuse themselves for being too self-interested in the outcome.
- Rapping Your McDonald’s Order Is Not A Crime – Consumerist
A teenager in Utah has been found not guilty of disorderly conduct after he rapped his order at a McDonald’s drivethru. The defence argued that “singing an order, whether profanity was used or not, is speech that is protected by both federal and Utah constitutions.” The judge reserved decision on whether local police should be making better use of their time. - Officer arrested for pulling motorists over, charged ‘roadside fee’ – Sun Sentinel
An enterprising Florida police officer was arrested for offering motorists the opportunity to pay traffic fines in cash… directly to him. Upon payment of the “roadside fee”, the cop would void the offender’s traffic ticket. He even escorted one motorist to an ATM so that the “roadside fee” could be paid forthwith. Amusingly, the Sheriff’s department is referring to motorists who paid as “victims,” even though they were in a better position than if they had simply pled guilty to the traffic offences and paid the legitimate fine — the “victims” received no demerit points and no insurance penalty.
Sound Cannons Come to Toronto
The Toronto Star reports:
Riotous protesters marching at the G20 summit next month may be greeted with ear-splitting “sound cannons,” the latest Toronto police tool for quelling unruly crowds.
Toronto police have purchased four, long-range acoustic devices (LRAD) — often referred to as sound guns or sound cannons — for the upcoming June 26-27 summit, the Star has learned.
Maybe they’re expecting some big green guy?
Weird Legal News: Capricious Juries, Secret Recipes, and the Constitutional Right to Swear
Here’s a digest of some articles I collected this week that are either funny, interesting, or just plain weird.
- Blind Justice? Attractive Get Breaks with Juries – CBS News
In completely unsurprising study results, Cornell researchers have found that juries are significantly more likely to convict an ugly person than an attractive person in identical circumstances. Where evidence is strong and the case is serious, attractiveness plays less of a role. But where the charges are minor, or the evidence is ambiguous, ugly people are at a serious disadvantage. They get higher sentences too — way higher! - Toilet Brush ‘Blunder’ Death – The Sun (UK)
A man is taking legal action after an inquest found that his wife died due to serious errors by her examining doctors. The woman had somehow fallen onto a toilet brush handle which embedded itself in her buttock. The foreign object was missed by doctors. The woman died of complications during surgery to finally remove the handle — four years after she had fallen on it. - Pizza in Naples ‘cooked with wood from coffins’ – Telegraph (UK)
Prosecutors in Italy are claiming that the oak wood being used in Naples’ pizza ovens has come from a grisly source. It is alleged that gangs are digging up coffins from the local graveyard and selling the wood to owners of local pizza parlours looking to save on costs. - U.S. rights group sues to protect right to swear – Vancouver Sun
The American Civil Liberties Union is taking action against Pennsylvania police. Apparently, the cops have been arresting (and in some cases jailing) about 750 people per year simply for uttering profanities or making profane gestures. The ACLU claims that the disorderly conduct charges are unconstitutional, because swearing is protected speech under the First Amendment.
I’ll post more articles when I get some free time.
Spider-Man Thwarts Robbery in Australia
You hear about that movie about the kids that dress up as superheroes, without any superpowers? Well those kids might be on to something.
Michael Baulderstone is a 45-year-old comic book owner in Australia who dressed up in a Spider-Man costume for a promotional event at his store. He just happened to catch a shoplifter, and lucky for him the Jedi Knights were nearby to lend a hand.
The Times Online has the story:
Mingling among the customers in fancy dress — including a Wolverine, a Catwoman and someone dressed as Kick-Ass, the character from the recent British film about a hapless American teenager who creates his own superhero character to fight crime — Mr Baulderstone noticed someone acting suspiciously.
The customer, who was dressed as himself — a comic fan in an overcoat and jeans – allegedly picked up an X-Man Omnibus (worth $AU160, or £97) from the shop window display.
Okay, it’s not exactly foiling a bank robbery or defeating a super crime villain. But can you say,”I’m going to jail”?
George Lucas Doesn’t Like Legal Bloggers…
Ewok! At times I feel like legal blogging is like Mark Hamill’s career. It will lead to Broadway and cartoon voiceovers rather than Bay Street or serious advocacy.
I look after my brother who is a big Star Wars fan. I’ve been to two Star Wars conventions because of him. So when Star Wars Celebration V (“SWCV”) was announced for Orlando, August 12 – 15, 2010, I thought it may be an opportunity to do some legal blogging among one of popular culture’s leading franchises. My brother had already booked the room and I had enough airmiles to make the trip cost effective.
When SWCV’s official web page was launched, I immediately applied for media credentials. As a law student and a legal blogger, the idea of writing stories of importance to the legal profession from the Star Wars universe was literally out of this world for me.
I pitched my involvement in terms of the great depository of legal material available at the convention. Issues of intellectual property, copyright, trademarks, contract, and entertainment law have obvious importance. The geek in me asked, “Could Luke sue in tort for having his hand sliced off by his father?” Or for that matter, “Could Anakin have a claim as well when he lost his right arm years before during a duel with Count Dooku?” Then there was the ever complicated contractual issue involving the clone armies produced by the Kaminoans for the Jedi Council, commissioned by a Jedi long since dead.
I waited for the three week turnaround for approval but nothing. I email the contact at Reed Exhibitions, the company running the convention, and who I must say was always prompt and professional. Eventually I was notified that my request for media credentials was declined. Being a bit of a tie-fighter, I appealed. Lucasfilm’s press department through Reed Exhibitions made it known that www.lawiscool.com did not match “the criteria that they’re looking for to provide a media badge to the event”.
What? I was at Indianapolis and Los Angeles in 2005 and 2007. My bar tabs nearly killed me. What did George Lucas have against law students or lawyers for that matter? Then the asteroid in the room hit me.
Reed Exhibitions is owned by Reed Elsevier who also owns Lexis Nexis, its legal publishing wing. The quicklaw of conspiracies entered into my mind. None of the six motion picture Star Wars films, nor the Clone Wars animation series, and not even the cult favourite Star Wars the Christmas Special featured lawyers. Sure they have bounty hunters, the Sand People, and Hutt mobsters but alas none from the learned profession.
George doesn’t like lawyers. The darth of examples are abundantly clear. It is like lawyers were the Jar Jar Brinks of the money-interested professions, trying to blow up the Star Wars world through the death star of blogging.
By experience, I understand that the Star Wars Celebration gatherings are a wretched hive of scum and villainy but then I went to law school. By Princess Leia’s slave costume, in Indianapolis I even had coffee at Starbucks across the street from the event with Barrie Holland, the English actor who played the Imperial Officer who quipped to Han Solo, “You Rebel Scum” in The Empire Strikes Back. A nice chap, we both were taking a time out from Star Wars fandom.
I’m sorry to droid on like this but I feel like a rebel challenging the dreaded empire. What does the Lucas brand have to lose by giving a legal blogger a media pass? I might increase the interest level in an active and professional market while addressing legal issues affecting more than just the Star Wars universe? I will never force the issue but I do look forward to a new hope.
The Author at Celebration IV in Los Angeles, 2007
Why Québéc Cannot and Should not Ban the Niqab
An article jointly written by David Shulman and Lawrence Gridin
Last week the government of Québéc announced that it would restrict female Muslims from covering their faces with the niqab. This article is about the fundamental freedoms that we enjoy as Canadians and human beings, and the power of the government to encroach upon those freedoms.
The legislation proposed in Québéc will prevent a woman wearing a niqab from being able to access public services, including consulting doctors at a hospital or attending classes at university. It also prevents all government employees from wearing a niqab, including those employees who have no contact with the public. More details can be found here.
Prime Minister Harper and Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff have announced that they support the ban, and a large (if not overwhelming) majority of Canadians agree with them.
A Primer on Freedom
Let’s begin our discussion with a review of the Ann Coulter affair, which bears some analogues to the Québéc niqab issue.
We cannot think of another person whom we personally disagree with more on virtually every dimension than Ms. Coutler. We have difficulty thinking of anyone else who spews out as much vile hate, ignorance and prejudice as Ms. Coulter. We’re bothered by the fact that there is any demand — outside of perhaps morbid curiosity — for her wares at all.
Here are three pieces, taken from Ms. Coulter’s repertoire, that support our opinion:
“They’re [Democrats] always accusing us of repressing their speech. I say let’s do it. Let’s repress them. Frankly, I’m not a big fan of the First Amendment.”
- University of Florida speech, October 20, 2005.
“I have to say I’m all for public flogging. One type of criminal that a public humiliation might work particularly well with are the juvenile delinquents, a lot of whom consider it a badge of honor to be sent to juvenile detention. And it might not be such a cool thing in the ‘hood’ to be flogged publicly.”
- MSNBC, March 22, 1997.
“I think [women] should be armed but should not vote…women have no capacity to understand how money is earned. They have a lot of ideas on how to spend it…it’s always more money on education, more money on child care, more money on day care.”
- Politically Incorrect, February 26, 2001.
Despite our profound disagreement with her views, we would fight vigorously to protect Ms. Coulter’s right to express them. The right to freedom of expression is guaranteed by our Charter of Rights and Freedoms. We would proudly defend her right to freedom of expression in any court with every ounce of our ability and integrity, just as vigorously as we would defend our own right to criticize and disagree with her views.
Why?
Canada Goes for Another Hockey Gold
Hot on the heels of the victorious Canadian women’s hockey team is the men’s team, which is aiming for its own hockey gold. The game against the rival United States promises to be an Olympic classic!
Beginning at 12:15 p.m. PST (3:15 p.m. EST), you can watch USA v. Canada online at CTV’s Olympics website. The site offers full HD streaming video, which is perfect for me, since I don’t have a TV. The link to the video is here.
And since this is a law blog, I’ll see if I can do a haphazard legal tie-in to end this post.
If you ever had any doubt that hockey was one of Canada’s true national sports — not just lacrosse — check out the National Sports of Canada Act, S.C. 1994, c. 16. The Act provides:
2. The game commonly known as ice hockey is hereby recognized and declared to be the national winter sport of Canada and the game commonly known as lacrosse is hereby recognized and declared to be the national summer sport of Canada.
Another sign that Canadians are obsessed with hockey: have a look at how many times “hockey” comes up on a CanLII case law search. I come up with over 7000 results, beginning with a case called Hockey v. Hockey from the BC Court of Appeal. You can’t get much more Canadian than that!!
Go Team Canada!
The Other Google Spot, and Florida Divorce Attorneys
Google’s ad last night attracted quite a bit of attention.
Kenneth Corbin of Internet News said,
For Google, Super Bowl Sunday was something of a departure.
In the third quarter of the game, Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) aired a nearly full-minute ad promoting its search engine, marking one of the few television appearances for the company that rarely advertises and its first spot during a Super Bowl.
At it happens, the ad, “Parisian Love,” had been online for several months, posted on Google’s “Search Stories” page on YouTube where it has been viewed more than a million times.
Dan Goldgeier of AdPulp points out that so has this parody from Slate:
Florida divorce attorneys almost make the cut. Is Google trying to tell us something? Is Slate?
h/t Paull Young
Vinny Guadagnino, Coming Soon to a Law School Near You?
Vinny Guadagnino of MTV’s Jersey Shore might be a future member of the bar.
See more on WSJ and US Magazine.
Former AG of NB, “Pants on the Ground”
T.J. Burke, the former Attorney-General of New Brunswick, made this interesting statement to the Legislature recently:
Burke resigned from Cabinet in July of last year to practice law, but remained a Member of the Legislative Assembly.
If you still have no idea what Burke is talking about, you have to see this episode of American Idol.
7 Police Myths Perpetuated by Media
Cezary Jan Strusiewicz of Cracked has the 7 Bullshit Police Myths Everyone Believes (Thanks to Movies):
#7.
Forensic Science is Magic
#6.
The Insanity Defense Lets You Get Away With Murder
#5.
Not Talking To Cops Equals Obstruction of Justice
#4.
Undercover Cops Have To Identify Themselves If Asked
#3.
Tracing a Call Takes a Long Time
#2.
Criminals Must Be Read Their Miranda Rights or They Will Go Free
#1.
Everyone Gets One Free Phone Call
(n.b. it’s American law, for interest sake only)
ABC’s The Deep End
The stories of young associates in big law firms are legendary among law students, and it seems there’s enough fodder her for a television sitcom. Starting January 21, 2010, ABC is launching The Deep End, which follows the careers of five lawyers in Los Angeles.
Check out the interview with David Hemingway, the lawyer who quit his career to write and produce the show, on Bitter Lawyer.
