Monthly Archives: November 2013

Updated Collection of Native American Documents at Library of Congress

30 Saturday Nov 2013

Posted by in Library of Congress, Native American Law, Research

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American Indian Constitutions, by Andrew Weber, a guest post by Jennifer Gonzalez, a Digital Library Technician in the Law Library’s Digital Resources Division, Library of Congress

http://blogs.loc.gov/law/2013/11/american-indian-constitutions/

In celebration of Native American History Month, we have just added 428 Native American documents containing constitutions, charters, and acts from the years 1830 to 1960 to Law.gov. The collection contains two types of material: constitutions from the 1800s produced by the Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Creek; and constitutions and charters drafted after the 1934 Indian Reorganization Act. The latter includes laws produced by the Office of Indian Affairs of the United States Department of the Interior. These materials are divided by region based on the new KI class designations: Arctic-Alaska, US-Northeast Atlantic, US-North Central, US-New Southwest, US-Pacific Northwest, and US-South.

The Sixth Circuit Wrestles With When to Pull the Trigger on the Unconscionability Doctrine in Arbitration Clauses.

30 Saturday Nov 2013

Posted by in 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, Appellate Law, Arbitration, Class Actions, LexisNexis, Research, Trial Tips and Techniques

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Sixth Circuit Affirms District Court, Rejects Attorney’s Bid for Class-Wide Arbitration, by Kprofs2013, edited by D.A. Jeremy Telman, ContractsProf Blog

http://tinyurl.com/p9sryqw

This case started as a disagreement between a law firm and LexisNexis over billing practices. The parties’ disagreement was bound by an arbitration agreement. The law firm decided to bring two class actions over 500 million dollars against LexisNexis. The terms of the arbitration agreement and the lack of any definitive U.S. Supreme Court ruling on whether classwide arbitrability is a “gateway” or “subsidiary” question places the Sixth Circuit in an interesting conundrum.

What follows in this post at ContractsProf Blog is an analysis of the Sixth Court’s opinion, the ambiguous arbitration agreement, and the use, or lack thereof, of the unconscionability doctrine. -CCE 

Court Precludes Testimony of Rehabilitation Witness

30 Saturday Nov 2013

Posted by in Admissibility, Appellate Law, Court Rules, Cross-Examination, Direct Examination, Evidence, Research, Tennessee Supreme Court, Trial Tips and Techniques

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Reputable Source?: Court of Appeals of Tennessee Precludes Testimony of Rehabilitation Witness Under Rule 608(a), by Evidence ProfBlogger, EvidenceProf Blog

http://tinyurl.com/lnf96hp

In Pyle v. Mullins, 2013 WL 6181956 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2013), the plaintiff sought to bolster his credibility after it had been attacked by the defense, but the court precluded this rehabilitation. Why?

Pyle then sought to elicit

character testimony from Jeff Boggan, one of Pyle’s customers. Boggan, a resident of Village Green Subdivision, testified Pyle mowed his lawn and he had known Pyle for 5 years. He testified Pyle was under contract by the homeowner’s association to mow all of the lawns in the subdivision. Pyle asked Boggan whether he was “familiar with [Pyle’s] reputation in that area for honesty?” In response, defense counsel objected as to relevance. The trial court sustained the objection.

Then . . . .

 

Anticipated Merger Nixed between California firm Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe and New York Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pitman

30 Saturday Nov 2013

Posted by in Conflict of Interest, Firm Merger, Legal Ethics

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Orrick, Pillsbury call off big U.S. law firm merger, by Casey Sullivan, Editing by Ted Botha, Phil Berlowitz, and Diane Craft)(with hat tip to Pamela Woldow!)

http://tinyurl.com/oytj4bs

The potential merger between the California-based Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe and Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman in New York would have created one of the largest law firms in the country. It was first reported by Reuters on October 25.

Orrick Chairman Mitch Zuklie and Pillsbury Chairman James Rishwain said in a joint interview that a conflict of interest between clients in Orrick’s public finance practice and Pillsbury’s tax, environmental and real estate practices killed the merger.

 

Changes To Federal Subpoena Amendments Effective December 1, 2013.

28 Thursday Nov 2013

Posted by in Discovery, Federal District Court Rules, Subpoenas

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The Streamlined Subpoena Power under Amended Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 45 – Effective December 1, 2013, Barring Congressional Action, by Tony Lathrop, Litigation Blog

http://tinyurl.com/luyjbu4

 On December 1, 2013, some of the most long-awaited changes to the Civil Rules will take effect – the proposed amendments to Rule 45, which governs the use of subpoenas in federal civil actions.

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The major changes to Rule 45 include: (1) simplifying the rules regarding the court issuing a subpoena, (2) highlighting the notice requirements for document-only subpoenas, (3) clarifying the circumstances under which an officer of a party may be compelled to testify at trial, and (4) permitting the transfer of motions regarding enforcement of a subpoena.  We highlight the substance of these changes below, and provide a brief update regarding the status of the Discovery Amendments.

City Officials Forget A Second Time To Hold An Election.

28 Thursday Nov 2013

Posted by in Election Laws, Municipal Law

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Utah town forgets to hold election — again, by Robert Gehrke, The Salt Lake Tribune (with hat tip to Lowering The Bar Blog!)

http://tinyurl.com/mouuf74

Wallsburg, Utah, is a small town of about 275 people is 40 miles from Salt Lake. It has a mayor and four city council members. It has no staff. If you call City Hall, no one will answer.

Wallsburg forgot to hold an election for the city officials – again. What to do? The state election officials said it was too late to do anything but wait until 2015.

What caused the Town of Wallsburg to forget – again – to hold an election for its city officials? No one reports any suggestion that the city officials deliberately neglected to hold an election. The general opinion is that the eleection was simply overlooked – twice.

It is anticipated that an election will be held in 2015 without fail.  – CCE

Jeff Richardson at iPhone J.D. Blog’s Reviews the iPhone 5x Dock.

27 Wednesday Nov 2013

Posted by in Cell Phones, iPhones, Legal Technology

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English: The logo for Apple Computer, now Appl...

Review: iPhone 5s Dock — charge and hold your iPhone 5 or 5s, by Jeff Richardson, iPhone J.D. Blog

http://tinyurl.com/kujgnkk

 Great deal for $29.99. CCE

If you work at a desk and you are looking for a useful accessory for your iPhone 5 or iPhone 5s — or a gift for someone else who uses one — and if you don’t use a case with your iPhone, I’m a big fan of the iPhone 5s Dock made by Apple.  Back in 2008, I reviewed the iPhone 3G Dock.  In 2010 I reviewed the iPhone 4 Dock and the Apple Universal Dock.  In September of 2013, Apple released its first dock with a Lightning connector, the iPhone 5s Dock.  I bought it as soon as it came out and I’ve been using it for about two months.  It works great with my iPhone 5s, and note that despite the name, it also works with the iPhone 5 since the two iPhones are the same size.

Michigan Court of Claims Changed Rule for Cases Against the State of Michigan.

27 Wednesday Nov 2013

Posted by in Appellate Law, Court Rules, Jurisdiction, Michigan Supreme Court, Trial Tips and Techniques, Venue

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Significant Changes for Michigan Court of Claims, Paul Hudson, James Woolard, Jr., MillerCanfield

http://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/significant-changes-for-michigan-court-o-20324/ 

Parties engaged in litigation against the State of Michigan in the Court of Claims will do so under new jurisdictional rules that were signed into law on November 12, 2013. The law, PA 164, moves the Court of Claims from the Ingham County Circuit Court to the Court of Appeals, where cases will be assigned to one of four designated judges. Those judges are Pat Donofrio (Troy), Deborah Servitto (Troy), Michael Talbot (Detroit) and Amy Ronayne Krause (Lansing). Their terms on the Court of Claims end in May 2015.

The new law takes effect immediately.

How to Add “Ok Google” Command Support to Chrome Using Google Voice Search Hotword.

27 Wednesday Nov 2013

Posted by in Chrome, Legal Technology

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Google Voice Search Hotword Adds “Ok Google” Command Support To Chrome, by Waqas Ahmed, Addictive Tips Blog

http://tinyurl.com/m2lgp9l

If you are a Chrome fan, check out the “Recommended For You” at the bottom of this link. CCE

Are Judges Are Killing the Civil Rights Act of 1964?

27 Wednesday Nov 2013

Posted by in Affirmative Action, Courts, Employment Law, Judges, Race Discrimination, Research, Trial Tips and Techniques

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President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the 1964 Civ...

When it comes to employment cases, judges are killing the Civil Rights Act of 1964, by the Hon. Richard George Kopf, Hercules and the umpire Blog

http://tinyurl.com/phw85vu

After providing some background about rulings on employment cases, Judge Kopf reveals that:

[M]y summary judgment dismissal rate was higher than the aggregate rate for the Northern District of Georgia. That is, my dismissal rate was four points higher than the rate in the Northern District of Georgia (86% v. 82%). That caused me to write this: “The fact is that the law on summary judgment motions in employment cases favors the granting of summary judgment motions in a high percentage of the cases and, not surprisingly, that is what you see happening in the Northern District of Georgia and with ‘yours truly’ too.”

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 [V]ince Powers, my friendly nemesis, advised me about a powerful article that Nancy Gertner has written on this subject. Gertner now teaches law at Harvard, and was for many years one of the most distinguished federal trial judges in the nation. She is also a really great person with a warm and funny sense of humor. Here is Nancy’s article. I urge you to read what she has written. It will make you think hard.

If you have trouble accessing the link to the Nancy Gertner’s article, you can find it here: http://tinyurl.com/olfpxdz. CCE

Cloud Security – What to Look For and Why.

27 Wednesday Nov 2013

Posted by in Clouds, Law Office Management, Legal Technology

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Cloud Computing

[Part 1] Scary Stories Impart Valuable Lesson for Network Security, by Joseph Pedano, Cloud IQ Blog

http://tinyurl.com/p65fmcv

While I really like the advice in this article for the risks involved in using cloud technology, I have not found a cloud center “strategically located in regions with low risk of natural disasters.” A link to Part 2 of this post is at the end of the article. CCE

Cities and Towns Struggle With What To Do For The Homeless.

27 Wednesday Nov 2013

Posted by in Recent Links and Articles

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As Homeless Line Up for Food, Los Angeles Weighs Restrictions, by Adam Nagourney, The New York Times

http://tinyurl.com/qzqthlb

On the day when many of us are concentrating on bringing our families together and giving thanks, we are reminded that many will go without with what many consider the normal Thanksgiving “feast.” TV commercials show families sitting around the table. For weeks, cooking shows have concentrated on giving us dozens of ideas for new twists on how to cook those sweet potatoes and new recipes for cranberry relish.

Cities and towns across the country provide a city-wide Thanksgiving dinner open to anyone who wants to come.  In other cities and towns, free meals are provided for the homeless. Many families and individuals will not sit around the table and carve a turkey today. They simply cannot afford that luxury. They may be homeless or unemployed – or both.

But for many, attracting the homeless and needy to their neighborhoods or other areas of a city is a problem. Many homeless are mentally ill. The question of where the line is drawn becomes a hot issue.

People want to help, but they do not want the homeless to become squatters or a blight in their neighborhoods. This article attempts to tackle the issues of cities with a high homeless population and present both sides. It is a difficult and complex problem with no easy answer. CCE

Opponents Ask Oklahoma Supreme Court To Declare New Workers’ Compensation Law Unconstitutional.

26 Tuesday Nov 2013

Posted by in Oklahoma Supreme Court, Workers' Compensation

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Seal of Oklahoma.

Oklahoma workers’ comp law challenged, by Nolan Clay, The Oklahoman, NEWSOK

http://newsok.com/oklahoma-workers-comp-law-challenged/article/3884295

 In May 2013, Oklahoma’s Governor passed a new controversial workers’ compensation law, in spite of opponents’ arguments that the change will reduce an injured employee’s benefits. The bill passed by the Governor changed Oklahoma’s workers’ compensation judicial system to a “business friendly” administrative system. The new law, which goes into effect on February 1, 2013, allows a business to “opt out” if it provides an injured worker with benefits considered equal to what would have received under the administrative system. The Oklahoma Supreme Court is now being asked to declare the new law unconstitutional. CCE

Excellent Reasons To Use Synchronized Video Depositions.

26 Tuesday Nov 2013

Posted by in Depositions, Discovery

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Why Synchronize Video Depositions?, by Michael Skrzypek and Chris Ritter, The Trial War Room Handbook Blog

http://tinyurl.com/oznds82

 

We believe, as a general principle, that if it is worth having a deposition videotaped, it is worth having it synced. This process matches the video to the transcript and allows you to search for words within the video, as if it were a text document. This search functionality, in turn, allows you to make video clips quickly, because you can immediately find any word in the video simply by clicking on the transcript. Video clips can be used for impeaching live witnesses or they can be played in lieu of live testimony if a witness is either a party witness or outside the subpoena range and cannot be compelled to testify at trial.

Great Blog on Brief Writing!

25 Monday Nov 2013

Posted by in 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, Criminal Law, Legal Writing

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Follow the rules, by Kirby Griffis, Brief Right (with hat tip to Raymond Ward, the [new] legal writer!)

http://briefright.com/follow-the-rules/

 Today’s brief comes from a criminal appeal filed in the Seventh Circuit. A number of things about it attracted my attention. First, it is a brief that the filing lawyer (allegedly) paid a brief writer $5,000 to draft for him. Second, it is an appeal from a decision by the Hon. Chief Judge Joe Billy McDade of the Central District of Illinois, and I don’t believe that Judge McDade is capable of error (though I may be biased). And third, the lawyer who filed the brief was sanctioned for failing to show up for oral argument on it (he said that he was up all night vomiting and didn’t feel well enough to go to court). Though I have great sympathy with feeling ill prior to an oral argument before the Seventh Circuit, it does seem wise to show up anyway when the clerk tells you that you have to.

Sexual Harrassment of Receptionist by Patient Costs Employer $30,000.

25 Monday Nov 2013

Posted by in EEOC, Employment Law, Harassment

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Third-party harassment costs employer $30,000, by Sharon B. Bauman, Alan M. King, Stanley W. Levy and Andrew L. Satenberg, Manatt Phelps & Phillips LLP

http://tinyurl.com/pen4et7

Why it matters: Employers, take note: harassment in the workplace can be committed not just by supervisors and coworkers, but by third parties such as customers, patients, clients, delivery people, or repair workers. The settlement in the Ross case (EEOC v. Southwest Virginia Community Health System) should remind employers that regardless of the source, sexual harassment cannot be tolerated in the workplace – or liability may result.

Thorough Analysis of Attorney-Client Privilege and Attorney Work Doctrine.

25 Monday Nov 2013

Posted by in Attorney Work Product, Attorney-Client Privilege, Discovery, Requests for Production

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Federal Middle District Magistrate Judge Mehalchick Addresses Attorney-Client Privilege and Attorney Work Product Doctrine in Discovery Dispute, by Daniel E. Cummins, TORT TALK

http://tinyurl.com/kw7cdbl

The case before Judge Mehalchick, entitled Dempsey v. Bucknell University, No. 4:11-CV-1679 (M.D.Pa. Oct. 7, 2013 Mehalchick, M.J.), arose out of a breach of contract claim filed by a student against the university relative to student conduct hearings held.  At issue were certain documents withheld from discovery by the plaintiff in response to the defendant’s Rule 34 discovery requests on the grounds of the attorney-client privilege and the attorney work product doctrine.

“Must Read” for HR – Evidence of Hiring Discrimination Using Social Media.

24 Sunday Nov 2013

Posted by in Affirmative Action, EEOC, Employment Law, Gender Discrimination, Race Discrimination

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Everyone knows by now that human resources professionals and employers use social media to screen potential employees. Studies now show that some employers illegally discriminate against applicants based on what they find. CCE 

Study Finds Evidence of Unlawful Discrimination in Using Social Media to Recruit Employees, posted by Jason Shinn, Michigan Employment Law Advisor

http://tinyurl.com/k63s24l

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal (reported on 11/21/2013 by Jennifer DeVries) discussed a study showing bias in the hiring process when social media is used to screen job applicants. Because of the potential for unlawful discrimination and losing out on otherwise qualified job applicants, the article and study should be a “must read” for every human resource professional or anyone with hiring responsibilities.

When You Want Fast and Cheap, Adobe Acrobat Does the Trick in a Pinch.

24 Sunday Nov 2013

Posted by in Adobe Acrobat, Databases, Discovery, E-Discovery, Emails, Evidence, Legal Technology, Pre-Trial, Trial Tips and Techniques

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Acrobat to the Rescue: Searching Unsearchable Productions, by Craig Ball, Ball In Your Court Blog

http://tinyurl.com/paxgrfn

Trial of Historical Patent for Common Web Encryption of SSL in East Texas.

24 Sunday Nov 2013

Posted by in E-Discovery, Evidence, Intellectual Property, Legal Technology, Patent Law, Texas Supreme Court, Trial Tips and Techniques

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Newegg on trial: Mystery company TQP rewrites the history of encryption, by Joe Mullin, Law & Disorder/Civilization & Discontents (with hat tip to Dennis Crouch’s Patently-O!)

http://tinyurl.com/

The story of Michael Jones, his mysterious invention, and the massive patent enforcer he’s working with is finally coming out at a patent trial underway in this small East Texas town.

Jones’ patent, now owned by famed patent enforcer Erich Spangenberg, has scared corporate America into writing one hefty check after another to avoid a trial just like this one. He and his lawyers say the patent covers the common web encryption scheme of SSL combined with the RC4 algorithm. The sums of those checks were revealed in court here on Tuesday when a TQP attorney displayed to the jury a spreadsheet with many of the payments.

Addictive Tips Blog’s Best of the Best for The Week.

24 Sunday Nov 2013

Posted by in Android Phones, Apps, Cell Phones, Chrome, Clouds, Google, iPhones, Legal Technology, Windows

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This is becoming one of my  favorite “go to” blogs whenever I need tech tips or answers to just about anything. It has such a wide diversity. If you’re struggling with learning Microsoft 2013 or any other software or app, I recommend taking a look at this blog for an answer. CCE

Best Apps, Tips And Posts Of The Week [11.24.2013], by Awais Imran, Addictive Tips Blog

http://tinyurl.com/mxauma6

It’s that time of the week again when we round up the most popular (as well as the less-popular but equally useful) apps, tips and tweaks that you may have missed during your hectic workweek. This time around, we discuss a crazy new keyboard for Android, Instagram for Windows Phone, yet another Chrome New Tab page replacement, and a new cloud-syncing service for Windows, among other excellent apps and tips.

Going to Trial – Not Boxes of Documents Anymore.

23 Saturday Nov 2013

Posted by in Legal Technology, Pre-Trial, Presentations, Trial Tips and Techniques

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Pre-Trial and Presentation Databases – Assembling Your Materials, by Michael Skzypek, The Trial War Room Handbook Blog

 http://www.thetrialwarroomhandbook.com/?p=878

Back in the analog days, a parade of lawyers and paralegals would march into the courtroom right before a trial started, carrying dozens of bankers’ boxes filled with documents and other evidence. These days, attorneys in most medium-to-large cases digitize everything from contracts to deposition transcripts, photos, and video and organize them in databases. As such, a trial presentation technician walks into the courtroom carrying just a laptop – but one loaded with a database that contains the equivalent of hundreds of bankers’ boxes of material.

Thanksgiving Travel Tips and More

23 Saturday Nov 2013

Posted by in References, Research

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Travel Tips, USA.gov

http://tinyurl.com/q23pyte

If you plan on flying over the holidays, use the App for MyTSA. 

Also includes Heritage and History (Thanksgiving is not all about pilgrims), Recipes and Food Safety (dinner without food poisoning), Give Thanks and Volunteer (write your own message to US troops). CCE

Why Cases Before the Supreme Court Settle.

23 Saturday Nov 2013

Posted by in Appellate Law, United States Supreme Court

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SCOTUS for law students (sponsored by Bloomberg Law): Why cases settle, by Stephen Wermiel, SCOTUS Blog

http://tinyurl.com/o9ohsjb

 If you want an unusual measure of the power of the Supreme Court, consider why parties to a case sometimes (although rarely) settle their dispute after the Justices have agreed to hear the appeal and as oral argument approaches.

In some cases, the answer may simply be fear of losing, but it can also be much more profound: not only the fear of losing, but also a concern that in the process the loss may establish a legal precedent for the nation that one side of the case considers harmful.