Comments for Overlawyered http://overlawyered.com Chronicling the high cost of our legal system Wed, 30 May 2012 18:30:15 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 Comment on May 18 roundup by May 29 roundup - Overlawyered http://overlawyered.com/2012/05/may-18-roundup-3/comment-page-1/#comment-159928 May 29 roundup - Overlawyered Wed, 30 May 2012 18:30:15 +0000 http://overlawyered.com/?p=29654#comment-159928 [...] “I could have been killed for blogging.” [Patterico, Scott Greenfield] Latest blogger “swatting” (bogus police call) hits RedState’s Erick Erickson [same] Incivility is a hazard for bloggers, but fear for families’ physical safety shouldn’t be [Jonathan Adler, Amy Alkon] Dear authorities in Montgomery County, Md. and elsewhere: you should know it’s not every day Radley Balko calls for tougher law enforcement. Earlier here and here. [...] [...] “I could have been killed for blogging.” [Patterico, Scott Greenfield] Latest blogger “swatting” (bogus police call) hits RedState’s Erick Erickson [same] Incivility is a hazard for bloggers, but fear for families’ physical safety shouldn’t be [Jonathan Adler, Amy Alkon] Dear authorities in Montgomery County, Md. and elsewhere: you should know it’s not every day Radley Balko calls for tougher law enforcement. Earlier here and here. [...]

]]> Comment on “Texas honor student jailed for missing too much school” by Bumper http://overlawyered.com/2012/05/texas-honor-student-jailed-for-missing-too-much-school/comment-page-1/#comment-159927 Bumper Wed, 30 May 2012 17:56:24 +0000 http://overlawyered.com/?p=30027#comment-159927 First, this young lady may not have to work for quite a while: http://www.helpdianetran.com/ Second, I hope the voters of Texas recall Judge Moriarty. Third, I hope the Republican Party throws him out. Fourth, I hope the Texas legislature changes the law.... First, this young lady may not have to work for quite a while:
http://www.helpdianetran.com/
Second, I hope the voters of Texas recall Judge Moriarty.
Third, I hope the Republican Party throws him out.
Fourth, I hope the Texas legislature changes the law….

]]> Comment on Environment roundup by Anonymous Attorney http://overlawyered.com/2012/05/environment-roundup/comment-page-1/#comment-159920 Anonymous Attorney Wed, 30 May 2012 16:54:15 +0000 http://overlawyered.com/?p=30005#comment-159920 I like the jury's approach and I'm relieved they rejected the "spraying hydraulic fluid" fabrication. I agree a non-party could never be made liable by a jury, but that's easy enough to work with: just sustain the verdict and award the apportioned amount left over from named parties. Sadly, the craziness of someone like Dr. Dahlgren just isn't known to the average juror, because that's not a household name. Jurors probably assume anyone who's an "expert" doctor, approved by the court, is sound. But it's a fun addition to the list of cross-examination questions for defense counsel on his next appearance... I like the jury’s approach and I’m relieved they rejected the “spraying hydraulic fluid” fabrication. I agree a non-party could never be made liable by a jury, but that’s easy enough to work with: just sustain the verdict and award the apportioned amount left over from named parties.

Sadly, the craziness of someone like Dr. Dahlgren just isn’t known to the average juror, because that’s not a household name. Jurors probably assume anyone who’s an “expert” doctor, approved by the court, is sound. But it’s a fun addition to the list of cross-examination questions for defense counsel on his next appearance…

]]> Comment on “A trap for small business”: Welcome Baltimore Sun readers by Black Death http://overlawyered.com/2012/05/a-trap-for-small-business-welcome-baltimore-sun-readers/comment-page-1/#comment-159914 Black Death Wed, 30 May 2012 15:47:52 +0000 http://overlawyered.com/?p=30116#comment-159914 Structuring laws are for the "little people." Structuring laws are for the “little people.”

]]> Comment on Apple: a company with little use for Washington, D.C…. by KDP http://overlawyered.com/2012/05/apple-a-company-with-little-use-for-washington-d-c/comment-page-1/#comment-159907 KDP Wed, 30 May 2012 14:28:24 +0000 http://overlawyered.com/?p=30104#comment-159907 "Nice company you have there. Too bad if anything happened to it." I have this vision of organized crime running the government. Would it be much different if we just let "actual" organized crime families run the country? “Nice company you have there. Too bad if anything happened to it.”

I have this vision of organized crime running the government. Would it be much different if we just let “actual” organized crime families run the country?

]]> Comment on Environment roundup by Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/2012/05/environment-roundup/comment-page-1/#comment-159879 Walter Olson Wed, 30 May 2012 09:56:22 +0000 http://overlawyered.com/?p=30005#comment-159879 BP>As I read the Forbes hydraulic fluid elevator story, the jury did not presume to turn the treating doctor into a defendant and slap an award on him, it just assessed that the primary responsibility for his patient's injuries lay with a non-party to a case, and indicated through the handwritten note that they meant him. When the appeals court reviewed the verdict it disapproved the handwritten notation as tantamount to a charge of medical malpractice which should not be turned into an official finding of California courts without more due process than the doctor had been accorded as a non-party. I don't know whether the notation by itself could have gotten the doctor in some sort of disciplinary trouble with state authorities, or served as evidence in some later suit against him by the patient. My guess is that since the jury did not need to add the handwritten notation to give effect to its overall finding, the court felt it could be stricken without affecting the verdict as such. BP>As I read the Forbes hydraulic fluid elevator story, the jury did not presume to turn the treating doctor into a defendant and slap an award on him, it just assessed that the primary responsibility for his patient’s injuries lay with a non-party to a case, and indicated through the handwritten note that they meant him. When the appeals court reviewed the verdict it disapproved the handwritten notation as tantamount to a charge of medical malpractice which should not be turned into an official finding of California courts without more due process than the doctor had been accorded as a non-party. I don’t know whether the notation by itself could have gotten the doctor in some sort of disciplinary trouble with state authorities, or served as evidence in some later suit against him by the patient. My guess is that since the jury did not need to add the handwritten notation to give effect to its overall finding, the court felt it could be stricken without affecting the verdict as such.

]]> Comment on Environment roundup by Bill Poser http://overlawyered.com/2012/05/environment-roundup/comment-page-1/#comment-159865 Bill Poser Wed, 30 May 2012 07:57:00 +0000 http://overlawyered.com/?p=30005#comment-159865 I'm having a very hard time believing the story about the hydraulic fluid case. Surely a jury cannot award damages against a non-party - that would have to be a gross violation of due process. Does California law actually permit this? I’m having a very hard time believing the story about the hydraulic fluid case. Surely a jury cannot award damages against a non-party – that would have to be a gross violation of due process. Does California law actually permit this?

]]> Comment on The trouble with Nicholas Kristof, cont’d by Environment roundup - Overlawyered http://overlawyered.com/2012/05/the-trouble-with-nicholas-kristof-contd/comment-page-1/#comment-159842 Environment roundup - Overlawyered Wed, 30 May 2012 04:30:19 +0000 http://overlawyered.com/?p=29900#comment-159842 [...] Distinguishing the areas of clear vision from the blind spots in Chicago Tribune’s flameproofing series [Coyote, earlier] [...] [...] Distinguishing the areas of clear vision from the blind spots in Chicago Tribune’s flameproofing series [Coyote, earlier] [...]

]]> Comment on Free speech roundup by Hugo S. Cunningham http://overlawyered.com/2012/05/free-speech-roundup-4/comment-page-1/#comment-159824 Hugo S. Cunningham Wed, 30 May 2012 02:27:29 +0000 http://overlawyered.com/?p=29959#comment-159824 @gitarcarver: Hans Bader is right that secession was about slavery. You don't have to take his or my word for it. Read the official explanations by seceding States themselves, starting with South Carolina: http://sunsite.utk.edu/civil-war/reasons.html @gitarcarver:
Hans Bader is right that secession was about slavery. You don’t have to take his or my word for it. Read the official explanations by seceding States themselves, starting with South Carolina:
http://sunsite.utk.edu/civil-war/reasons.html

]]> Comment on “Texas honor student jailed for missing too much school” by Richard Nieporent http://overlawyered.com/2012/05/texas-honor-student-jailed-for-missing-too-much-school/comment-page-1/#comment-159811 Richard Nieporent Wed, 30 May 2012 00:46:32 +0000 http://overlawyered.com/?p=30027#comment-159811 Sorry DD, but that is just not correct. Except in the case of mandatory minimum sentences, a judge has complete discretion as to the penalty. The issue was not whether she was guilty of truancy, she was, but what the penalty would be. There was absolutely no reason that he had to sentence her to a day in jail. In fact, he was being deliberately harsh for no other reason than he is an a**hole. Sorry DD, but that is just not correct. Except in the case of mandatory minimum sentences, a judge has complete discretion as to the penalty. The issue was not whether she was guilty of truancy, she was, but what the penalty would be. There was absolutely no reason that he had to sentence her to a day in jail. In fact, he was being deliberately harsh for no other reason than he is an a**hole.

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