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• Wednesday’s Three Burning Legal Questions
  Here are today’s three burning legal questions, along with the answers provided by the blogosphere. 1) Question: I bought some of those "toning shoes" that claim to provide a workout just by walking around in them but my butt is as big as ever. Plus, I wound up just toppling over in the shoes and hurting my ankle. Can I sue someone? Answer: Yes, at least 90 personal injury lawsuits are already pending in federal and state court against Skechers USA Inc. (The National Law Journal, Suits pile up over toning shoes) 2) Question: I just had an awesome meal at Denny’s but now realize I only have $1 with me. Can I pay this tab off with the $1 and a bag of marijuana? Answer: No, Spicoli. And don’t start walking around the restaurant trying to sell the pot to other diners, either. (MSN Now, Stoner tries to pay for meal at Denny’s with a bag of weed) 3) Question: The assistant principal at my son’s elementary school confiscated my son’s iPod. I am thinking about responding to this injustice by creating a fake profile of the assistant principal on a pornographic website, complete with explicit photos. I feel…

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• Tuesday’s Three Burning Legal Questions
  Here are today’s three burning legal questions, along with the answers provided by the blogosphere. 1) Question: My wife has brought 550 cats into our home. I can no longer sleep in my bed because the cats refuse to lie on the floor, and the stupid cats block my access to the bathroom, do not allow me to prepare meals in the kitchen, and steal my food from the dinner table. Is this grounds for a divorce? Answer: Yep. (Times of Israel, Couple splits over 550 house cats) 2) Question: My boss found out that my wife and I are swingers and now he insists that I invite him to our swinger parties, has made sexual advances toward my wife, and asks me to arrange sexual encounters for him through swinger websites. Is this sexual harassment? Answer: Interesting question, as the defense will likely argue that (a) you cannot show you were discriminated against because you are a male, and (b) an employee cannot claim harassment when his boss hits on his wife. Keep an eye on the case of Roessler v. Royal Spa Corp., which is addressing similar issues. (OnPointNews, Swinger’s Suit Against Ex-Boss Tests Harassment Law) 3) Question:…
• A Warning to All of the ‘ABA Certified Paralegals’
  You went to paralegal school. Your school was one of about 280 paralegal schools in the U.S. (out of approximately 1,500) that has been approved by the American Bar Association. You graduated. Your school gave you a certificate when you graduated. You now head boldly into the world as an "ABA Certified Paralegal" seeking a job. Not so fast, says Chere Estrin. According to Estrin, the co-founder and chairperson of the Organization of Legal Professionals, fledgling paralegals are embarrassing themselves and, in some cases, disqualifying themselves from consideration for jobs because they fail to understand that the ABA does not offer certification for paralegals. In short, receiving a certificate for something does not necessarily mean that you are certified for something. Let’s break this down. Certification, as the ABA itself notes, is "a process by which a non-governmental agency or association grants recognition to an individual who has met certain predetermined qualifications specified by that agency or association. It usually involves passing an examination drawn up by the sponsoring organization and meeting specified educational and/or experiential requirements. The American Bar Association does not certify Paralegals. …" A certificate on the other hand is, well, a piece of paper that someone…

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• Things You Can’t Do on a Plane: Vol. 19
  You might think that after Volume 1, Volume 2, Volume 3, Volume 4, Volume 5, Volume 6, Volume 7, Volume 8, Volume 9, Volume 10, Volume 11, Volume 12, Volume 13, Volume 14, Volume 15, Volume 16, Volume 17 and Volume 18 of Things You Can’t Do on a Plane, that we’d have exhausted the list of things you can’t do on a plane. Nope! The list grows daily. Here are three more things I’ve recently learned that you cannot do on a plane: Attempt to bring four yak skulls from Tibet back to the U.S. Passengers may not try to sneak yak skulls into the U.S. in a duffle bag, particularly when the yak skulls still have dried flesh attached. CONSEQUENCE: The yak skulls will be seized and destroyed under high-pressure steam. Fly while wearing a T-shirt that reads, "If I wanted the government in my womb, I’d f*ck a senator!" Passengers may not wear a T-shirt with the above "offensive" language on it. CONSEQUENCE: Passenger will be told mid-flight that she will need to buy a new shirt if she wants to board her connecting flight, and pilot will alert gate crew on connecting flight to be on…

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• Friday’s Three Burning Legal Questions
  Here are today’s three burning legal questions, along with the answers provided by the blogosphere. 1) Question: I’m a land developer. Do I need to tell the buyers of homes in a subdivision that I’m selling that it sits right next to a former World War II bombing range that is laden with unexploded bombs, ammunition, ordnance and related chemicals? Answer: Heck no. (Courthouse News Service, Court Lets Developers Slide Over Explosive Deal) 2) Question: I was trying to start my own methamphetamine lab but I got the recipe wrong and didn’t have the key ingredient I needed to make meth. The cops discovered my ill-fated effort — will I get in trouble for this? Answer: No, because your mistake with the recipe made it impossible for you to make meth. (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Suspected meth lab missing key ingredients) 3) Question: The cops have set up a radar trap in my neighborhood. Can I flash my lights at approaching motorists to warn them? Answer: Yes, those light flashes are First Amendment-protected speech! (The Legal Satyricon, Flashing your headlights to warn other motorists of a speed trap = free speech)
• How to Prevent Your iPhone From Dying a Watery Death
  I have four boys, two under the age of 8. Through the years, our family has accumulated many iPods, iTouches and iPhones, and sometimes the older iTouches become the property of the younger boys. This never lasts for very long, however, as the younger boys consistently find a way to destroy the iTouches by introducing them to the mortal enemy of the iTouch: water. My 7-year-old killed his iTouch by dropping it in the toilet. My 5-year-old ended the life of his hand-me-down iTouch when he decided to "clean" it by scrubbing it with a soaking wet towel. Having witnessed the sad demise of these iTouches, I am acutely aware of the risk of taking my own iPhone to the beach or to the pool this summer, as I do not want to accidentally douse it and kill it off. According to a post today on iPhone J.D., some new products have come out that can protect your iPhone from water, even if it is submerged for hours. Jeff Richardson, the author of iPhone J.D., writes that he tried out two such products at a wireless convention this month and both worked very well. The first product Richardson tried out…

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• Thursday’s Three Burning Legal Questions
  Here are today’s three burning legal questions, along with the answers provided by the blogosphere. 1) Question: I got drunk and was pulled over for diving my car 143 mph in a 55 mph zone. Will this cost me my job as a police officer? Answer: Nope. (The Denver Post, Denver appeals reinstatement of drunk, off-duty cop on 143-mph joy ride) 2) Question: I have a "shy bladder" and cannot urinate in the presence of other people. This is a big problem on drug-test day, when the test is conducted in a public restroom and I cannot perform. My employer is threatening to fire me. Can they do that? Answer: No, "shy bladder syndrome" is now protected as a disability under the Americans With Disabilities Act." (The Daily Caller, Americans with Disabilities Act covers ‘bashful bladder syndrome,’ could cost employers billions) 3) Question: I just had a baby at a Greek hospital. I don’t have all the money to pay the hospital bill right now. Can I set up some kind of payment plan? Answer: If you want with your new baby to go home with you when you leave the hospital, you’re going to need to pay that bill…
• N.J. Case Considers Whether Sender of a Text Is Liable for Injuries Caused by Distracted Driver
  I’ve been following the government’s ongoing battle against "distracted driving" for a while here at LBW, including the growing number of states that have imposed an outright ban on text messaging for all drivers. Indeed, 38 states, the District of Columbia and Guam all now have such a ban against text messaging by drivers. No state, however, has gone so far as to enact laws that would reach the sender of texts to a driver. The theory that the sender of texts to a driver may be liable for a crash that the driver then gets in is set to be tested this week in a state court in New Jersey. On Sept. 21st, 2009, David and Linda Kubert were riding their motorcycle when a Chevy truck crossed the center line and hit them head-on. According to CBS News, the Kuberts actually saw the driver "in the truck steering with his elbows, with his head down. And I could tell he was text messaging." Both David and Linda Kubert lost a leg in the accident. The driver of the car, an 18-year-old male, pleaded guilty to charges including using a handheld device while driving. In the New Jersey lawsuit, the…

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• In Texas, Court Reporters Lose a Key Battle in Fight Against ‘Non-Stenographic’ Recordings
  I have been following some interesting tracking developments in Texas affecting court reporters for about a year now. As I noted in June 2011, an article in the Austin Statesman took a look at the subject and wondered if the job of court reporter was starting to resemble a "system of medieval scribes" that might not be long for this world. Earlier in 2011, the Texas Conference of State Court Administrators had issued a report on the state’s "inefficient" and "baffling" reliance on human court reporters to create transcripts. In August 2011, a Texas organization called the Court Reporters Certification Board wrote a letter asking the state attorney general to opine on whether an oral deposition meant for use in litigation in the courts of Texas can be recorded solely by non-stenographic means (e.g., by video camera or an audio recording), or whether doing so would violate Texas Government Code §52.021(f), which requires that an oral deposition be recorded by a certified shorthand reporter. The Tex Parte blog now reports that the AG has issued a response to the CRCB’s question — and it is not what the court reporters wanted to hear. In the May 14 opinion, Texas Attorney…
• Tuesday’s Three Burning Legal Questions
  Here are today’s three burning legal questions, along with the answers provided by the blogosphere. 1) Question: My mother was watching my kids for the day. They went to McDonald’s and for unknown reasons my mom agreed to let my 10-year-old daughter park her car. Of course, my daughter then proceeded to run into three other cars in the process. Will my daughter get in any trouble for this? Answer: No, but grandma will likely be cited for allowing an unlicensed person to operate her motor vehicle. (Boston.com, South Boston grandmother let 10-year-old drive her car, police say) 2) Question: I am awaiting trial on federal charges. The judge ruled that I can be released on bail but only if I read at least one hour every day, and write reports on certain books for at least 30 minutes every day. Can he do this? I hate to read!! Answer: It would not be the first time a judge has issued a "read or jail" ultimatum. Of course you can always choose jail if the reading and writing is too hard for you. (New York Daily News, Write a book report, avoid jail: Judge orders man freed if he commits…

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• Things That Exist, Vol. 1: Free Lawyer Ads on Craigslist
  I feel like I’m on my computer constantly, poring through hundreds of feeds and stories daily, spanning the globe to bring you the constant variety of legal blogs and information you deserve. But I definitely miss a lot of things that everyone else seems to know about — the type of things where I can only scratch my head and say, "Really?!? They have that? Never heard of it." Today’s thing I never knew existed: Lawyer ads on Craigslist While reading the Simple Justice blog today (it must have been an old post as I know I wrote a fond "Farewell to ‘Simple Justice’ and Scott Greenfield" post back in February 2012 when Simple Justice shut down), I saw two references to young lawyers who tried placing free ads on Craigslist but ultimately rejected this business development tactic as undignified. "I don’t care if it resulted in a client or two," said Jordan Rushie on his Philly Law Blog. "It’s where people go to find hookers and meet people with weird fetishes. Do you really want to advertise professional services there?" Matt Brown adds on his Tempe Criminal Defense blog that he, too, has rejected using Craiglist ads mostly because…

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• Please Stop Trying to ‘Friend’ and ‘Connect’ With Fla. State Court Judges
  Florida’s Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee opined back in 2009 that it was not permissible for a judge to approve a lawyer who may appear before the judge as a "friend" on a social networking site such as Facebook. Nearly three years later, another judge asked the committee a related question: What about LinkedIn? The specific question before the committee — and its unequivocal answer in an opinion (via Legal Profession Blog) this week — was as follows: Whether a judge may add lawyers who may appear before the judge as "connections" on the professional networking site, Linked In, or permit such lawyers to add the judge as their "connection" on that site? ANSWER: No. The Inquiring Judge argued that there should be a distinction between Facebook, "where family and other personal relationships are fostered," and LinkedIn, which the judge said was "for the purpose of conducting professional networking." The Inquiring Judge submitted that unlike Facebook, "a judge’s connection on LinkedIn with lawyers who may appear before the judge does not reasonably convey the impression to the public that a personal relationship of any kind necessarily exists between them." The committee disagreed, stating that Florida Judicial Canon 2B prohibits a judge…
• Friday’s Three Burning Legal Questions
  Here are today’s three burning legal questions, along with the answers provided by the blogosphere. 1) Question: So what, we get drunk … and have sex in the back of Dubai taxis. We’re livin’ young, and wild and free! What are they going to do, throw me in jail? Answer: Yes. (Daily Mail, British woman faces jail for ‘sex in backseat of Dubai taxi after all-day drinking binge’) 2) Question: I am a candidate for a judgeship. Can I still wear my awesome donkey lapel pin? Answer: If a reasonable person objectively viewing the jewelry or apparel would conclude that you are commenting on your affiliation with a political party, then no. (Legal Profession Blog, Elephants, Donkeys And Judges) 3) Question: We want to sell a beverage called "Pomegranate Blueberry," but it contains only 0.3 percent pomegranate juice and 0.2 percent blueberry juice. Is this going to be a problem? Answer: No problem. (The National Law Journal, Ninth Circuit mostly sides with Coke in pomegranate juice wars)

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• False Friend? High School Principal Resigns After Facebook Spying Allegation
  An interesting social media incident played out recently at a high school in Missouri that ended with principal Louise Losos resigning and hundreds of students at Clayton High School wondering: Who is Suzy Harriston? Someone claiming to be "Suzy Harriston" from Clayton friended more than 300 people on Facebook, many of them from Clayton High School, without anyone really bothering to ask who Suzy was. On April 5, 2012, Chase Haslett, the former Clayton High School quarterback who had graduated in 2011, posted the following accusation on Facebook: "Whoever is friends with Suzy Harriston on Facebook needs to drop them. It is the Clayton Principal." According to St. Louis Today, the Suzy Harriston profile on Facebook quickly disappeared following Haslett’s claim. A day later, so did Losos, as she was immediately placed on a "leave of absence." A few weeks later, Losos resigned, reportedly as part of a deal that paid her $140,000. The deal included Losos’ agreement to take no legal action against the school district, the Columbia Daily Tribune reports. The Clayton School District stated only that her departure related to a "fundamental dispute concerning the appropriate use of social media." Why did Losos allegedly friend hundreds of…

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• Thursday’s Three Burning Legal Questions
  Here are today’s three burning legal questions, along with the answers provided by the blogosphere. 1) Question: Here are the important pieces of what I am calling "Operation Rob a Local Internet Cafe." Please let me know if I have forgotten anything: Visit an Internet cafe and hang around inconspicuously using its computers, checking Facebook, etc.; after browsing the Web for a bit, go to the cashier to pay for my usage time and assault the man at the register; demand all the money in the register; get the money and escape on a stolen motorcycle. Foolproof, right? Answer: You forgot to add "Log out of my Facebook account," which is key. (Digital Trends, Two men rob Internet cafe, forget to log out of Facebook prior to robbery) 2) Question: I am a police officer. We caught a man trying to steal a $20,000 diamond, and he tried to hide the evidence by swallowing it! That was several days ago, and while he has had several bowel movements in that time, the diamond has not yet seen the light of day if you know what I’m saying (don’t ask how I know this). We can only hold the alleged thief…
• Gay Judge Candidate Rejected by Va. House Due to ‘Advocacy’ for Gay Rights
  I am a native Marylander but I have lived in the Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C., for almost two decades. I like it here quite a bit, but Virginia is quirky in that it is sharply divided in pretty much every way between the D.C. suburbs in Northern Virginia and everywhere else. As I observed here, Once you travel 100 miles south of D.C. and hit Richmond, you enter old-school Virginia — the Virginia that makes you realize that you are in a state that was a full-blown part of the Confederate States of America. Day-to-day, the cultural differences between Northern Virginia and the rest of the state are not really visible as those worlds don’t collide much. But there are periodic flare-ups that serve as reminders of the state’s deep conservative streak, such as Tuesday when the Virginia House of Delegates rejected Tracy Thorne-Begland, who is openly gay, for a judgeship in Richmond. The Washington Post reports that Thorne-Begland is a Richmond prosecutor who previously challenged the military’s "don’t ask, don’t tell" policy, has advocated for gay marriage and is raising twins with his partner. Thorne-Begland’s opponents argued that they voted against him not because he was gay, but…

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