Archive for April, 2008
Thompson on Eyewitness Identification Testimony
Houston Law Prof Sandra Guerra Thompson (my own crim law prof) has posted a new paper, Beyond a Reasonable Doubt?: Reconsidering Uncorroborated Eyewitness Identification Testimony, to SSRN, publication forthcoming at UC Davis Law Review.
Pointing out that “eyewitnesses identify a known wrong person (a “filler” or “foil”) in approximately twenty percent of all real criminal line-ups” […]
Plaintiff Moves for an Erection
As hard as it is to believe, this motion was actually argued in an actual court -
New Haven attorney Rob Serafinowicz opened his civil case against former Middlebury First Selectman Edward B. St. John by asking Judge Jane S. Scholl to force St. John to submit to a photograph of his penis, fully aroused.
Who […]
Must Read Literature: Posner, How Judges Think
Last night I got my copy of Judge Richard Posner’s How Judges Think which was released well… today (damn Amazon’s fast).
I only allowed myself time enough for the first chapter before study-guilt caught up with me, but I’m getting excited about this one -
Judicial preconceptions are best understood, we shall see, with the […]
Public Interest Lawyers - Thank You for Not Being Evil
As part of its continuing campaign to encourage students and graduates to pursue careers in public interest, the law school held a “Thank You For Not Being Evil” ceremony last Wednesday recognizing graduates who chose to take jobs with employers who are not primarily dedicated to destroying weaker businesses, poor people, or the environment.
Former SCOTUS Clerks Drafted into Arguing Abandoned Cases
From Law.com’s Supreme Court Justices Turn to Ex-Clerks for Unusual Role, comes the surprising news that Supreme Court litigants sometimes decide, ‘hey, you know what you were right after all, no need to waste SCOTUS’ time with this argument’ at which point SCOTUS say, ‘Whoa, not so fast, we’re the only ones who get to […]
WSJ: Law Firms Curtail Associate Programs As Economy Slows
This time last year, salaried lawyers at many of nation’s largest firms had just scored a pay bump, as business was blazing and firms were scrambling to keep talent. Now, due largely to a slowdown in work relating to mortgages, real estate, mergers and private equity, some firms are rescinding offers to incoming associates and summer associates, asking first-year lawyers to start several months later and shortening their summer programs to save money.
The Long Tail of Book Authoring
According to Noam Cohen’s article He Wrote 200,000 Books (but Computers Did Some of the Work) in tomorrow’s New York Times, Philip M. Parker, a professor at Insead, has generated more than 200,000 books using computer algorithms and publicly available information. As an experiment, it’s fascinating; as commerce, less so.
The books themselves, unsurprisingly, leave […]
SueEasy, So Easy It Can’t Be Good, Really
From SueEasy.com. Artful use of clip art guys.
I have a feeling SueEasy is joining the ranks of Avvo and OverLawyered in websites lawyers love to hate. The premise is an interesting one. The implementation….. not so much. I would be interested to know if there are any lawyers out there thinking - ‘wow, what a […]
Scheduling and Law School Classes
From PT Law Mom, comes a tale of scheduling angst.
Every time I think I have it planned, a new wrinkle pops up. Just found out that I have to take tax (despite my every intention to avoid it completely!) because it is a prerequisite for 22 (yes, 22) classes at school (i.e., Mergers & […]
Lending Crisis roils Students Financial Aid Options
Tuition at public and private universities alike has just kept rising over the last decade, fueled in large part by the belief that any increase in tuition, regardless of how the money is spent, cannot help but increase the value of the degree and that students subject to the hikes should thank their lucky stars […]