University of Alberta Faculty of Law Blog

Spam

Apparently, the university's spam filter thinks that those messages from the bank soliciting confidential information are legit, but email from LSN and Refworks must be scams or junk mail.

Good work!

Muy Caliente Topic

If you haven't heard, the Swiss voted on Sunday to ban the building of minarets. It might be one of the worst days for Muslims in Europe since the Battle of Tours.  Depending on whom you read, it was either a victory or tragedy for democracy.  The following articles contain some mixed reactions: Wall Street Journal, Examiner.com, Al Jazeera.  

This is the far-right party that got the ball rolling with a poster campaign that offended many.

Gratuities and Gratuitous Grammar

Here is an interesting story about a Chinese judge who was charged with taking bribes and possessing unaccounted assets.  He hanged himself in jail.

As an aside, it does appear that 'hanged' also applies in the reflexive.  So, all together: I hung the ropes, I hanged Smith, and then I hanged myself -- although there seems to be some argument about whether 'hung' and 'hanged' can both be used to describe the act of causing death.

That is about all the grammar up with which I will put, I will include a comma splice just in case I made any other mistakes.

Happy Gilmore meets Tort Law

Apparently golfing a la Happy Gilmore can do wonders for distance. By taking a few steps back and running up to the tee in full swing, one can add a full 10 percent...so long as you keep it straight, and not into the hand of your buddy. Luckily we now have authority that these movie-imitating antics are both a breach of standard of care, and not seriously contemplated as falling within volenti: Bezanson v. Hayter, 2008 NSSC 280. Fairly substantial damages too.

For those less interested in reading the case, here's a short write-up by the Wall Street Journal Law Blog. Fairly thick condescension towards our Nova Scotian cousins, I might say.

Some quick links

1. For those following Bruce's post on (former) Judge Samuel Kent, here is an interesting article about his judicial writings. Judge Kent was the author of an opinion where he lambasted both sides' lawyers:

Both attorneys have obviously entered into a secret pact – complete with hats, handshakes and cryptic words – to draft their pleadings entirely in crayon on the back sides of gravy-stained paper place mats, in the hope that the Court would be so charmed by their child- like efforts that their utter dearth of legal authorities in their briefing would go unnoticed.

2. Next time some hottie tries to FB friend you, you better figure out who she is (h/t Radley).

 

3. Also, when the Rules of Court say "double-spaced", they mean double-spaced, even if you are Blackwater's lawyer.

 

4. The ACLU and the Heritage Foundation on the same side? Say it ain't so! This NYT article profiles the new coalition that is taking aim at the increasing over-use of criminal law be the US Federal Government.

In Which Faces Appear in Books

Seems like facebook has been making appearances in the law and in the news lately.

In Quebec, a woman suffering from depression was collecting insurance benefits. Then some photos surfaced from a trip to Mexico where she seemed in quite good spirits. The insurer denies pulling the plug for this reason, but we'll see what comes out in trial. I wonder how they found out anyhow. Did she "friend" her insurer?

Then of course there's Stephane Dione's wife, Janine Krieber, who has the internet equivalent of foot-in-mouth syndrome (Ctrl Z disease? Any takers for a better formulation?).

The Globe and Mail ponders what happens to people who die yet whose accounts remain active. Spooky.

Law enforcers in college towns are finding social networking to be a useful tool. Why make a fuss over closing jails when a tweet will get the message across.

Facebook and pop-psychology? Yes, please.

And lets not forget that it's been nearly a year since Australia has recognized facebook as a valid method of serving notice in civil litigation. As far as I can tell, Alberta will have to wait until February to celebrate its anniversary of recognition of the practice - Knott v. Sutherland (5 February 2009), Edmonton 0803 02267 (Alta. Q.B.M.).

Osgoode as it Gets

The Toronto Star is running an interesting piece about a former sex worker whose grit and tenacity landed her a spot in Osgoode Hall this year, and one of ten students whose requirement of a previous degree was waived. As the reporter notes, this Pretty Woman meets Legally Blonde scenario is perfect for a movie script. It is a remarkable and inspiring story of personal achievement against the odds.

Perversion of Justice

The December issue of Texas Monthly has the sordid tale of "the most powerful jurist in Galveston" and the brave woman that brought his disgraceful act to an end - Perversion of Justice (unfortunately it's behind a subscription wall right now.)

Cathy McBroom went to work for Judge Samuel Kent as a case manager in 2002 and what started as a dream job for Cathy became a nightmare as the lecherous and misogynistic 'sex judge' began to frequently harass her.  His misdeeds were well known but "none of the lawyers dared openly question the judge's behavior" lest they get on his bad side.  Same with his employees.

In 2007, Cathy built up the courage to file a complaint against the jurist a local newspaper called a "seemingly impenetrable force" but she faced an uphill climb from a skeptical FBI and a string of lawyers that wanted nothing to do with it.  That is until she called the "famously theatrical Rusty Hardin, one of Houston’s best criminal defense attorneys."   Hardin had no compunction in going after the feared judge. 

In August 2008, Kent was indicted on charges of abusive sexual conduct and attempted sexual abuse and earlier this year Kent plead guilty to charges of obstruction of justice.  In the end Kent was sentenced to 33 months of lying to investigators about sexually abusing the two employees. 

From the article:

It was the most spectacular downfall the justice system had seen in decades. A federal judge, who in nineteen years on the bench had presided over more than 12,000 cases, had been caught himself in a flagrant abuse of power. In February 2009 the courtroom was packed as Kent stood before a visiting federal judge and, in a voice that barely rose above a whisper, pleaded guilty. “Gone was the thunderous voice, the swelling, megalomaniacal demeanor, the vehement proclamations of innocence,” wrote a Houston Chronicle reporter.

SNL does Obama

Plead Guilty

I have always wondered what quality of advice do defense lawyers really give their clients. The quality is very important when it becomes relevant for post-sentencing issues, such as immigration status, ability to find a job, or sit on the board of directors of a coproration. Tont Mauro previews a relevant case in front of the US Supreme Court. In the US, the consequences may be:

Depending on the offense, a guilty plea or verdict can, in addition to the penalty for the crime, also make it impossible for a defendant to vote, live in public housing, become a cosmetologist, carry a gun, drive a car or receive a growing array of government benefits. If you plead guilty to public urination or if, as a 19-year-old boy, you had a relationship with a 16-year-old girl, you can in some states be marked as a sex offender for life.

Of course, what is assumed here is that the defendant would have been found not guilty had they plead not guilty and fought the case, based on the proper advice. In my very limited experience, defendants look to their lawyers for the best advice they can get, even if that means pleading guilty.

Failure to Tweet

Apparently when they want you to tweet, you must obey.

Palin and Obama revisited

An interesting debate on the merits and demerits of Sarah Palin and Barack Obama has exploded on this blog.  Let us consider the function of a political party and its leader.

Essentially, a political party functions by agglomerating incomplete information which is then filtered through a supposedly coherent ideology and then formulated (quickly and rarely logically) into a normative statement about how the group in question collectively ought to act or not act. David Hume has addressed the problem of the sometimes subtle transition from descriptive to normative (or prescriptive) thought in his Treatise on Human Nature; specifically, he writes:

" [...] the author proceeds for some time in the ordinary way of reasoning, and establishes the being of a God, or makes observations concerning human affairs; when all of a sudden I am surprized to find, that instead of the usual copulations of propositions, is, and is not, I meet with no proposition that is not connected with an ought, or an ought not."

I had the humble privilege of researching an unnamed politician's biography for the History Dept. of the University of Regina this summer. In so doing, I had the chance to read literally hundreds of articles on Saskatchewan's politics, and I was struck by both the vapidity and short-sightedness of all parties' policy statements and the reactive political environment in which these policies were forged. As to whether they actually conformed to any coherent political philosophy (if there indeed is any to be found), I cannot say, but the formulation of policy was prima facie ad hoc.

How does this relate to the great Obama/Palin debate? Party leaders are usually misguided ideologues, opportunists, or foolhardy devotees to a blind cause: as there is no known system through which utility in human affairs can be objectively measured (or be assured), any attempt at a prescriptive ordering of affairs in accordance with a party's platform by one such foolhardy devotee will not necessarily accrue benefit to his or her constituents.

I am not advocating voting at random, but we ought to be wary of believing that our vote or opinion is doing much good.

"Science is answers that must always be questioned.
Philosophy is questions that may never be answered.
Religion is answers that must never be questioned.
Politics is answers that lobbyists pay for."

- source unknown

Twitter one more time

A state court in Maryland has allowed it.

Mexed Missages

How does the Chronicle of Higher Education do it. You wonder if anyone else was scratching their heads when they released these two articles on the same day:

1) Panelists say White House should do more to make sure everyone gets a college degree

2) Hiring outlooks for college graduates look bleak

Kangaroo Justice

Okay, maybe kangaroo isn't the best term. But why is Khalid Sheikh Mohammed headed for trial in New York? Pat Buchanan weighs in.

Sarah Palin on Oprah

So Sarah Palin appeared on Oprah yesterday. Here's the youtube link for those who missed it. Many people have their own opinion on her. Here's mine. In every way she was more qualified for the presidency than Obama. She had far fewer flubs on the campaign trail than Obama. And as we've seen since she has been released from the clutches of campaign organizers, she has her own articulate stances on pressing issues. She is of course never going to win, and while she did her best to avoid answering directly whether she will run in 2012, she really shouldn't. But she is an intriguing figure, whose very presence exposes the turbulent biases lurking within the media, the Republican Party, and the national culture. Anyone else buying her book?

Let's do the Time Warp for the First Time.

There is a new version of user-friendly Linux coming out in April, and it represents a significant step in the right direction for computing.  It is known as Lubuntu.  Lubuntu is based on Lxde and Ubuntu, and it will apparently run quickly on a Pentium III.

Why is this important?

The Pentium III was originally released in 1999.  I think this is an important step because it represents a move away from faster computers that chase unnecessarily complicated and demanding software.  I have used Xubuntu, another light-weight operating system, as a primary operating system for several months at a time, and I have been amazed at its complete functionality and the minimum burden it places on my computer's hardware.

Hopefully, Lubuntu will catch on.

Color Photos from WWI

Color photos from the early part of the last century are rare, so this is just plain neat. (h/t Balko)

John O'Connor RIP

US Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's husband passed away a few days ago.

Dr. Seuss on Civil Procedure

Civil Procedure instructors can rejoice now. No longer is their subject the most boring subject in law school (just kidding), for now FSU's Elizabeth Burch has worked the magic of Dr. Seuss onto personal jurisdiction. (h/t Bashman)

Most of the material should be accessible to Canadian readers. By the way of background, however, the title of the article refers to the foundational case on personal jurisidction in the US: Pennoyer v. Neff, 95 U.S. 714 (1877).