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So You Don't Have To

Posted in Truth Is Stranger Than (Legal) Fiction! on Saturday August 28 2010 @ 6:17pm

Recently, it came to our attention that the techie half of court-o-rama hadn't heard about LiLo's misdiagnosis. He was too upset by the news (the fact that it was news, rather than the content of the news) that Paris Hilton had been arrested to notice.

So, we have the celebrity legal news of the week! We read it so you don't have to.

Paris Hilton was arrested for cocaine possession. Will any sleb (aside from Woody Harrelson) ever come out in favor of legalization, rather than using the I was holding it for a friend defense? That didn't even work for Greg Brady! (Yes, perhaps it belonged to the guy who was trying to break into her house.) Plus, she ?smiled in the mugshot. As court-o-rama's brother can tell you, never ever smile during the mugshot process.

Meanwhile, Miss Lohan was misdiagnosed with ADHD. See LIndsay Lohan Misdiagnosed with ADHD, Celebrities with Diseases (August 26, 2010). As if that didn't explain all!

Meanwhile, LiLo's dad wants to open a rehab center. How nice for him. Why does this remind us of Straight, Inc.?

And there you have it -- a complete (more or less) recap of the Hilton/Lilo legal issues of the week!

Quiz Show

Posted in Truth Is Stranger Than (Legal) Fiction! on Sunday August 15 2010 @ 4:04pm

How much do you know about the Blago trial? More than Juror 120? See Time for a Bleepin' Blagojevich Trial Quiz, Mary Schmich, Chicago Tribune (August 15, 2010).

Guess a bunch of Landmark US Supreme Court Cases!

Try to name all the SCOTUS Justices, ever!

In Case You've Ever Wondered

Posted in Truth Is Stranger Than (Legal) Fiction! on Saturday June 26 2010 @ 9:02am

Listen to Supreme Court Trivia: Why No One Wears Wigs, NPR Staff, Morning Edition (June 26, 2010).

Feeling Lucky?

Posted in Truth Is Stranger Than (Legal) Fiction! on Thursday April 22 2010 @ 7:04pm

A few Cochise County, Arizona court clerks are wearing white hats and tin stars after their spectacular records find.

See (and hear) Clerks Find Papers from 1881 Gunfight At OK Corral, Peter O'Dowd, Morning Edition (April 22, 2010).

Sleb Fun

Posted in Truth Is Stranger Than (Legal) Fiction! on Thursday March 25 2010 @ 5:03pm

Or Fun With Slebs...or Slebs Have the Darndest Legal Problems:

Settled! See Oprah Winfrey [Oh, *that* Oprah! -- bloggs.] Settles Defamation Legal Action, BBC News (March 24, 2010).

We don't know who the hell these people are, but they broke up! See Split! Kim Kardashian and Reggie Bush End Their 3-year Relationship, New York Daily News (March 23, 2010).

Medmal complainers, shut up already! See California AG Moves to Stop Jackson's Doctor from Practicing, CNN (March 23, 2010). Can Corey's doctors be far behind?

Betty, be thy name! Everyone else is all Bettty White Must Host SNL! But we're all Betty White Rocks on Craig Ferguson! Meanwhile the world sits and waits...will Oscar-Winner Bullock require the services of a family lawyer? Ms. White weighs in. See Betty White Says She's Deeply Saddened for Sandra Bullock, Katie Stanhope, TV Guide (link goes to Seattle PI, for our Seattle fans!)(March 23, 2010), and Bullock Not Seeking Divorce Lawyer, Rep Says, MSNBC (March 23, 2010) -- because everybody can get over a Nazi-salute-loving spouse, right?

Is Miley too young to work? Court-o-rama's 9-year-old wishes -- he thinks she is satan incarnate! But no, a 17-year-old is just fine with the mentoring job at AI. See Producer: Miley Cyrus Not Too Young to Mentor on Idol, People (March 23, 2010).

Civ Pro students rejoice! See Lady Gaga Countersues Producer/Ex-Boyfriend, Becky Bain, Idolator.com (March 23, 2010)

Chief Bobblehead

Posted in Truth Is Stranger Than (Legal) Fiction! on Friday March 19 2010 @ 7:42pm

Who knew Yale had a Center for the Study, Admiration, and Cataloging of Judicial Bobbleheads?

See Relax, Legal Scholars: Bobbleheads are Safe at Yale, NYT (March 18, 2010).

We look forward to reading the Journal of Bobblistic Legal Studies. And yes, we ARE jealous (even with our princess fabu sparkley c-o-r shirts)! At the very least we want a Groot Bobblehead (we assume it recites the elements of common law burglary if you tip the coffee cup).

And if we sound spazzy it's because a) been a rough week, b) on the road lots, and c) too much time away from blogging makes us giddy, and not in a good way.

I Do, He Does, She Does, We Do

Posted in Truth Is Stranger Than (Legal) Fiction! on Saturday February 13 2010 @ 6:12pm

There's a big holiday tomorrow Pick one: a) President's Day Eve, b) Lunar New Year, or c) Valentine's Day...

If you guessed c, you're right. Courthouse weddings are in season:

The Roanoke City Court Clerk clears her calendar this time each year to make room for the marrying kind. See Couples Flock to Courthouse for Pre-Valentine's Wedding, Meagan Farley, WSLS (February 12, 2010).

The Las Cruces Probate Court is making an exception to its no cameras rule. See Plans Being Made for Valentine's Weddings, Sun-News (February 12, 2010).

One New Mexico judge has presided over thousands of weddings: Judge Celebrates 3,000 Knots Tied, Brendan Giuati, Daily Times (February 4, 2010).

In San Antonio, large groups of people can get married for free. See Free Weddings Set for Valentine's Day, San Antonio News (February 11, 2010). Not to sound cynical, but this almost makes the case for making marriage more difficult to obtain. See Make MARRIAGE Harder, Not Divorce, Susan Levine, The Cheers (2005).

Conservative church leaders in Kankakee are thinking ahead. They took their Marriage, Inc. philosophy to the courthouse steps. See Local Organization Launches Drive to Curb Divorce, Emily Zulz, Daily Journal (February 13, 2010).

Meanwhile, total strangers made a statement by marrying in Florida. See Brian Feldman & Hannah Miller Marry Because Gay People Can't, Jamie Hyman, Watermark (December 21, 2010). Didn't Britney Spears do that once?

Year of the Hoax

Posted in Truth Is Stranger Than (Legal) Fiction! on Monday December 28 2009 @ 7:14pm

Well it looks like 2009 was (and still may be, for a few more days) the Year of the Hoax. To name but a few --

That JFK photo was a fake! Thank you, TMZ, for making our afternoon a little more interesting. First, you're all Leader of the free world liked boating with nekkid women! Then, moments later, you're all Not so much! While we do not doubt that JFK perhaps would have *liked* to be the guy in this photo, we now know he was not. See TMZ.com Should Explain JFK Photo Hoax -- More to Story, SFGate (December 28, 2009). Teaching moment: think about how this could shape jurors' view of experts in coming months.

We don't really know who this guy is, but we did hear his apartment was ransacked. Then (again, within hours!) we heard from his lawyer that it was a hoax. Who can say? Who wants to?

The parent of all 2009 hoaxes has got to be the Balloon Boy's dad. While we don't doubt that a small child could jump into the family hot air balloon and de-sandbag it, hurtling himself into the air, it just didn't happen that way. The FAA is seeking the maximum $11,000 fine for Richard Heene. Both parental Heenes also received 90-day sentences plus fines, probation, restitution, etc.

A (literally) dy-no-mite elf was caught by mall cops in Georgia. The report we link to notes He was not part of the mall's Christmas staff.

A hoaxy mom got early release for Christmas. Bonnie Sweeten will be put under house arrest after serving 6 months of a 9-24-month sentence in Pennsylvania for falsely claiming that two black men (it's always two black men! Hoaxsters, get a better story!) abducted her and her daughter at Disney World. In fact, it was the Pirates of the Caribbean.

Judge with No Name

Posted in Truth Is Stranger Than (Legal) Fiction! on Sunday December 06 2009 @ 8:50pm

Are the Dancing Itos to blame?

Judge Ito seeks anonymity, or at least some peace from having to order a new nameplate every so often.

See Judge Lance Ito Gives Up After Thieves Repeatedly Swipe His Nameplate from Court, L.A. Now (November 24, 2009).

In re: Spaniel

Posted in Truth Is Stranger Than (Legal) Fiction! on Thursday November 12 2009 @ 7:11am

Is it Bring Your Pet to Work Day?

One South Carolina judge claims her dogs are perfectly fit to visit the courthouse. Apparently OK in the old courthouse, the dogs' presence in the newly-built version is causing city council to protest. They are hoping for a new rule allowing only helper dogs in the building. Some dogs help out more than others, apparently.

See S.C. Judge Gets Complaint for Bringing Dogs to Court, AP (November 11, 2009), and Council Hounds Judge about Dogs in Office, ohmidog! (November 11, 2009).

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