We’ll update this story as it develops, but Mojo just brought to our attention that a 5.4 magnitutde earthquake rocked downtown Los Angeles today. The Hypo’s hopes and prayers go out to those affected. Since this is a legal blog, this includes those poor slobs who were taking the California Bar today.
I’m not making that up.
Today was the first day of the California Bar, and was being administered at three locations in Los Angeles. Generally regarded as one of the hardest bar exams in the country, the mind boggles about what they are going to do if the exam was significantly interupted?
Sometimes the news is just chock full of interesting legal stories that we just don’t know where to turn. the last two days have presented an embarrassment of riches, and so I’ve decided to throw them all together in our first installment of “Legal Briefs.”
Anyone Surprised?
The Justice Department’s Inspector General released a report yesterday stating that former employee Monica Goodling (go Regent!) and D. Kyle Sampson broke the law by asking politically based questions of potential Justice Department hires. According to may of those interviewed, Goodling’s interviews frequently in included perhaps my favorite phrase in the history of the Republic “What is it about George W. Bush that makes you want to serve him?” I’ll also note that Ms. Goodling’s attorney’s went to Emory and Michigan, so I guess that settles the ranking questions we’ve been kicking around.
That Was Fast.
Dick “Quick Draw” Heller was back in Court yesterday, filing a lawsuit against the District Government for a revised handgun regulatory scheme that in his opinion, contravenes the Supreme Court’s ruling. Heller has also announced that he will continue to file lawsuits until he is permitted to own a M1 Abrams Main Battle Tank.
I Wonder if His Nickname in the Joint Will be “Klondike?”
Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) was indicted today on seven counts of making false statements on his financial disclosure forms. Seems he neglected to mention $250,000 in gifts he received from an Alaskan oil company. Whoops! We at the Hypo wish the Senator all the best, and hope that this kind of corruption eventually makes its way over to the Judicial branch so we can get some of that cheddar.
Last night, I found myself watching a documentary about Heidi Fleiss, and her attempts to open a male brothel in Nevada. Like most HBO documentaries, I found myself unable to turn away. Partly, it was to stare, wide-eyed, at the plastic surgery Fleiss has had, which makes her look like Skeletor. I also found myself scratching my head in wonderment at the chaos which attends every aspect of her life. This includes her current imbroglio involving a legal brothel owner, federal indictments, substance abuse, and a homeless guy who occasionally lives with her.
Since this is a blog about law school and legal stuff, what I found most amazing about the whole thing is the misdirected empathy that Fleiss had for animals. You remember Tony Soprano and the ducks? Well I’ll be dammed if Fleiss isn’t obsessed with tropical birds. I don’t follow these things closely, but to best of my knowledge, Fleiss has never said she was sorry for what she did. Never apologized for facilitating the exploitation of the women who worked for her. Never said she was sorry if they got the Clap, or AIDS, or the holy hell beat out them by a disgruntled John.
But there she was, getting out the sack cloth and ashes for a red macaw named Dalton. Plastic Faced, Black Hearted Sociopath crying her eyes out over a bird. It was just such a bizarre spectacle.
It made me wonder what it would be like to spend your days working amongst the criminal element, either prosecuting or defending. Anyone out there got any thoughts?
Being a life long resident of Washington, D.C., I’m used to seeing Members of Congress engage in all types of election year high jinks. You’ve got to go and sell it to the good people back in Omaha or Sacramento that you’ve getting it done for them. Similarly, you don’t want your opponent to be able to represent that you’ve failed.
I would argue however, that demonstrating success to the citizenry would require you to show some basic knowledge of how government worked. Like the Constitution maybe? Article I, Section 9 would be a good place to start, as it specifically enumerates the things that Congress is prohibited from doing. This would include
No bill of attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.
Fascinating. Perhaps the 4th Amendment, which states Continue reading ‘4th Amendment? Never Heard of It.’
One of the reasons that I was interested in Catholic is that it had the highest average age of an evening cohort in D.C. Hearing of the brutality of the law school grading curve, I convinced myself that this was a good thing, since it meant that I would be competing against people with similar, age appropriate pressures, including jobs, family, kids.
Wrong.
Continue reading ‘The Myth of the Evening Student.’
’Ritche” by Bill Owens from his photo essay “Suburbia.” (1973)
While the Sherpa is knocking back cabernet in Napa, and I’m golfing my brains out, we thought we would let all of you get your creative juices flowing. Let us know what “Ritche” is thinking. We’ll reveal his monther’s thoughts and pass out prizes on Monday. Happy 4th!
The murders of Corporal Richard S. Findley and the prime suspect in the case Ronnie L. White have opened some old wounds here in the D.C. area. The Prince George’s County Police department has long had a history of excessive force in its policing, culminating in a 2004 memorandum of understanding between the County and the U.S. Department of Justice requiring the County to revise itsuse of force policies. Anecdotal evidence also suggests racial bias is pervasive in the Department, such that it has even been pointed out by Amnesty International. This is why the first thing my mother told me when I got my driver’s license was “whatever you do, don’t get pulled over there.”
Now my heart goes out to Corporal Findley and his family. I can’t imagine the pain they must be going through. I would love nothing more than to see Mr. White - assuming he was found guilty - get the book thrown at him. At the same time, I can’t imagine what his family must be going through, coming to grips with the fact that their son a) may have killed a cop, and b) was strangled to death while in police custody. Continue reading ‘Do We Ask Too Much From Cops?’
