Pursuing law enforcement authority under USC 1983 or other Federal law is always an uphill climb for the plaintiffs but these young ladies and their counsel show the kind of grit and toughness necessary to give themselves the best possible shot. The facts look to support them as well. The claims are based largely on […]
Many of the physicians I come into contact with from the other end of medical malpractice litigation are miserable, haughty, overly defensive, and rude. While a certain amount of that can be attributed to defending oneself in negligence litigation, two points need making: 1) it doesn’t help the doctor, it helps my case; 2) if […]
While firearms manufacturers and dealers are shielded in part under the 2005 Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, which limits liability when their products are used in crimes, New York state passed a law last year designed to allow civil suits to be brought against the gun manufacturers. Unlike politicians, trial lawyers find ways to act […]
I can remember when I first started reviewing medical records. They don’t teach that skill in law school and it felt more like looking for needles in a haystack, turning the pages, and trying to decipher the different handwriting, acronyms, and shorthand. Some mysteries never get solved and some were solved with the help of […]
Turns out, politics isn’t the only place where misinformation is used to ply the soil that grows bad ideas. In the 1980’s, health care providers and insurance carriers deliberately and falsely yelled that the sky was falling due to negligence claims and payouts. Their solution? Caps on damages in the most righteous and significant cases. […]
Sentencing Mitchell, Recorder of Leeds, Judge Guy Kearl QC, said: “I don’t doubt you didn’t intend to undermine the course of justice but that is the effect of what you were doing.” As a solicitor, he added, Mitchell knew “the importance of court orders and the consequences of breaching them”. “I have formed the view […]
“Your Honor, I distinctly heard someone at Mr. Thompson’s table say the word “cheeses”.” I thought I’d mumbled it under my breath. Apparently not. It was a bench trial and there was no jury so things had gotten a little loose after a day or two of everyone getting comfortable with one another. Maybe too […]
A North Carolina appellate court recently ruled that civil litigants need counsel physically present when they are deposed. This wholesale ban on personal attendance of Defendant’s counsel at depositions of its own employees and witnesses presented the constitutional issue Defendant asserts in this appeal and was not supported by existing law, emergency orders, or evidence. […]
And sometimes the critical need to focus on persuasion can understandably affect a trial lawyer’s focus on sometimes mundane legal issues. Behind every good trial strategy lies a series of arguments, objections and rulings that could – theoretically – set a case up for appeal regardless of the verdict. I know this better than most, […]
I watched the American Bar Association’s recommendation of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s nomination to the Supreme Court. It all made sense. She’s highly qualified. We can all celebrate that she served as a public defender, tried civil rights cases, and served as a trial judge before being elevated. These are qualities that are historically underrepresented […]
