A Maryland judge has acknowledged deflating the tire of a car parked in a restricted area near the courthouse.

He isn’t apologizing either.

“Circuit Court Judge Robert C. Nalley tells WUSA, a local TV station, that he let out the air because leaving notes for illegal parkers is not effective.”

“The chief administrative judge for Maryland’s 7th Circuit, which includes Charles, says Nalley acknowledged his actions to him. Judge William D. Missouri suggested to The Washington Post that Nalley might be sanctioned for the action he took Monday.”

“Police in La Plata, Md., say they are investigating the incident.”

The owner of the car is Jean Washington who works part time at the courthouse as part of a cleaning crew. She maintains that she did not know that she couldn’t park in the area and never recieved any warnings.

Check out the original article: Md. Judge Admits Deflating Tire Over Parking

RealDealDocs.com is a division of Practice Technologies, Inc. the creators of SmartRules.com. SmartRules provides step by step guides to local rules and civil procedure for state courts & federal courts throughout the country.

Popularity: 15% [?]

Gettin in the good old gossip game… What is this TMZ??

Yesterday, two Judge’s in TX got into it… Not just an argument, some actual rough and tumble, old fashioned  fisticuffs.

The Dallas Morning News reported that 44th District Judge Carlos Cortez and his Dallas County bench mate 14th District Court Judge Eric Moyé allegedly got into an altercation on Thursday afternoon in Cortez’s chambers.

Reportedly, the altercation started over some  e-mails Cortez sent Moyé about internal court business which lead to Moyé confronting Cortez.

The assault alledgedly happened in front of a court baillif.

“A heated altercation between two Dallas County civil district court judges Wednesday afternoon is now the subject of a criminal investigation, the Sheriff’s Department said.

The confrontation between Judge Carlos Cortez of the 44th Civil District Court and Judge Eric V. Moyé of the 14th Civil District Court occurred in Cortez’s chambers.”

One source claims that there was no altercation, and one source claims there was.

“I went to talk to him about a couple of e-mails he sent, and he was verbally abusive. I pointed my finger at him and he pushed it away. That’s it,” Moyé said.

“Judge Cortez was physically assaulted by Judge Moyé in Judge Cortez’s chambers… Judge Moyé’s conduct is being investigated by the Sheriff’s Department.”

“The sheriff has decided to turn today’s alleged altercation involving two judges at George Allen over to the Texas Rangers to avoid any potential conflict of interest,” she said. “The sheriff feels it is the right decision, considering we look to the attorneys and judges for guidance in civil matters.”

To view the original article, click here.

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SmartRules provides step by step guides to local rules and civil procedure for state courts & federal courts throughout the country.

Popularity: 4% [?]

Florida Judge Thomas E. Stringer spent over thirty years building his legal career. He worked his way up from an assistant state attorney to an appeals court judge in the Tampa Bay area. In 2007, he was even inducted into his law school’s hall of fame.

Well all of that time of hardworking and perseverance has become tarnished by scandal.

“It is axiomatic that ‘Judge‘ and ‘Stripper’ showing up in a headline is never a good thing, especially if you happen to be the ‘Judge,’” then Tampa Tribune columnist Daniel Ruth wrote after the story broke”

Last spring, the well respected married judge found his face plastered all over the place next to a troubled, kimono clad exotic dancer. The dancer claimed that the judge had helped her hide money from creditors, rented an apartment in NYC for her, and claimed that the two had been romantically involved.

“Criminal charges are possible, though the FBI declined to comment. The state agency that oversees judges dropped misconduct charges after Stringer, who stepped down in February and draws monthly retirement benefits of $8,069, agreed never to be a judge again.”

“Stringer, 64, graduated from Stetson University College of Law in Gulfport in the 1970s. He was the first black graduate from his law school. He became an assistant state attorney and later a circuit judge in Tampa’s Hillsborough County. There, in the family law division, he built a reputation as a judge who insisted that all sides be heard.”

In March 2008, Christy Yamanaka, 48, came forward saying that she said she met the judge in 1995, when she was a stripper in Tampa. Five years later, she was deep in debt and turned to him for advice. Later, she said she went public after Stringer refused to repay money he owed her.

The plot gets thicker. Click here to read the original article.

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SmartRules provides step by step guides to local rules and civil procedure for state courts & federal courts throughout the country.

Popularity: 5% [?]

Regarding non-solicitation agreements made between an employer and employee, there have been many cases that address their enforceability. Cases addressing this issue have been litigated in both federal and state court. The issue usually boils down to whether the court believes that the non-solicitation agreement unduly restricts the former employee’s right to “make a living” and fairly compete with the former employer. It is essentially a balancing act between the limitation that the clause places on the former employee to earn a livelihood versus the employer’s legitimate right to protect its trade secrets and restrict its former employees’ from interfering with its clients or current employees.

The issue is not one without real world consequences. Many times if an employee leaves a company, especially on bad terms, that employee may wish to go into business for herself, using the experience and skills learned or acquired at her former employer as a means to promote her business or earn a living. Other times this employee may wish to take with her certain employees from the company that she would like to work for her. Also, she may want to solicit the company’s clients to get her business going. In all the these cases, the court will decide whether the non-solicitation clause is narrowly drafted to protect the employer’s interest, or whether it is too broad and unduly restricts the former employee’s right to earn a living. When drafting these non-solicitation agreements, an employer should be cognizant of these precedents and should carefully draft the contract to protect its interests while minimizing the restrictions on the employee.

RealDealDocs.com is a division of Practice Technologies, Inc. the creators of SmartRules.com.
SmartRules provides step by step guides to local rules and civil procedure for state courts & federal courts throughout the country.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Wayne County Circuit Judge Annette Berry “properly instructed jurors to issue a guilty or not-guilty verdict on the first-degree murder charge, but erred when she failed to include not guilty as a choice for the lesser offenses of second degree murder or involuntary manslaughter.”

As a result, a Michigan state appellate court has overturned an involuntary manslaughter decision.

When I first heard this I was wondering why and how this would happen. I was under the impression that all of those forms are standardized, like a scan-tron or something. But apparently, Judge Berry had made up her own version. I’m wondering if the guy rubbed her in especially the wrong way, or maybe she moonlight as a graphic or web designer in her off time?? Who knows…

“The case involved Michael Jess Wade, a security guard who was convicted in 2007 of fatally shooting a suspected thief at a Detroit Police Department impound yard. He received a three-to-15-year sentence, but will receive a new trial as a result of the mistake made by Wayne County Circuit Judge Annette Berry.”

“Wade’s appellate attorney, Kevin Gentry of the Gentry Law Office in Whitmore Lake, Mich., believes it was an honest mistake.”

“I have no reason to believe otherwise,” Gentry said.

“The jury foreman actually got up and had some confusion. He was stuttering about … and before he could get a question out, the judge said, ‘Just tell me which box you checked,’ ” Gentry said. “And then the judge accepted that as a verdict.”

Since the verdict form was defective, the decision required reversal, it didn’t give the jury the opportunity to return a general verdict of not guilty.

“[B]ecause of the way the verdict form was set up, the jury was not given the opportunity to find the defendant either generally not guilty or not guilty of the lesser-included offenses in violation of his constitutional right to a trial by jury.” The three-judge panel wrote in its opinion on Tuesday.”

Of all of the stuff I come across on the net, I have never heard of this one before. Make sure you double check the verdict form if you ever have a trial with this judge.

To view the original article, click here.

RealDealDocs.com is a division of Practice Technologies, Inc. the creators of SmartRules.com.
SmartRules provides step by step guides to local rules and civil procedure for state courts & federal courts throughout the country.

Popularity: 3% [?]

A recent decision by a N.Y. judge equates pole dancing with a dramatic or artistic performance. Therefore, the cover charges imposed by an Albany-area strip club are exempt from a state sales tax.

Administrative Law Judge Catherine M. Bennett determined that Nite Moves in Latham, N.Y., qualifies for the “dramatic arts” sales tax exemption under state Tax Law §1105(f)(1)  after reviewing DVDs of exotic dancers, including material taken from the Internet site PoleJunkies.com, and hearing testimony from a University of Maryland dance scholar.

“The fact someone may believe that this entertainment is not appropriate for any audience is not the issue,” ruled Bennett. “The fact that the dancers remove all or part of their costume during the performances, that the dance routines are seductive in nature and titillation of a patron is the outcome, simply does not render such dance routines as something less than choreographed performances, or remove them from the exception to the general rule of Tax Law §1105(f)(1).”

The judge cited videos made by the  dancers from the club in question that showed them in action, demonstrating “intricate, closely choreographed routines that elevated them into the realm of art.”

“The videos depicted dance routines that incorporated acrobatic pole maneuvers, splits and other patterned repetitions… The pole maneuvers in particular are no small feat to accomplish, and attempting such a performance without the skill and a planned routine of steps could prove dangerous.”

“Bennett’s decision relieves Nite Moves and its parent company of nearly $129,000 in liability for state sales taxes on cover charges and on the money dancers turned back to the club as its portion of the fees charged for private dances they performed for patrons between December 2002 and August 2005.”

Judge Bennet stated that the tax departments auditor, who had never actually seen the clubs’ dancers perform, had an “erroneous preconceived notion” that cover charges and private couch dances were subject to tax.

Wow I wonder if this can be applied to all strip clubs or if there was a particularly high level of skill from the dancers at nite moves…. Either way, cool story.

Check out the original article here.

RealDealDocs.com is a division of Practice Technologies, Inc. the creators of SmartRules.com.
SmartRules provides step by step guides to local rules and civil procedure for state courts & federal courts throughout the country.

Popularity: 6% [?]

In the blink of an eye, Broward County FLA Judge Ian Richards dropped his gavel, hopped over his bench and tackled a defendant in his courtroom after the defendant attacked a woman who testified against her former boyfriend in a domestic violence case. Score: Judge - 2, Defendant - 0.

“A bailiff was putting handcuffs on the 29-year-old defendant when he bolted around his attorney toward the witness, Nicole Word. She sought refuge in a corner between the bench and the witness box with Reasee close behind. It was then that the judge vaulted the bench to help a court security officer and two Lauderhill police officers subdue the attacker”

Judge Richards, who was elected to the bench in August, remanded John Charles Reasee II into custody Tuesday on domestic violence charges.

“Richards did not return a call for comment by deadline Tuesday. But he told the Miami Herald that the episode was “unfortunate” and he hoped “both individuals can get on with their lives and learn to behave.”

Right on Judge Richards.

To view the original article, click here.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Appealing a case isn’t cheap. However, we’ve got some good news for individuals wanting to appeal! The State Supreme Court of Washington ruled on October 30 that attorney fees awarded to a person who successfully appeals a ruling by an administrative agency will triple.

The case came about when Kathie Costanich, a foster parent whose license was revoked by the state Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS), appealed the revocation in Superior Court. Awarded $25,000 in attorney fees, the max allowed by law but only a fraction of the $160,000 billed by attorneys, Costanich was eventually awarded $46,239 for fees by the state Court of Appeals.

DSHS didn’t like that at all. Claiming that the state Equal Access to Justice Act capped attorney fee awards at $25,000 for all stages of judicial review, the Supreme Court ruled that the cap is $25,000 each for the trial, the appellate level and the Supreme Court.

Popularity: 3% [?]

On trial in Los Angeles for distributing videos of sexual fetishes, including acts of bestiality and defecation is porn filmmaker Ira Isaacs. However, that’s not where the story lies. Are you ready for this one? Alex Kozinski, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals chief judge overseeing the case is the real one under the courtroom’s microscope.

And why is that?

Well, it turns out that Judge Kozinski isn’t unfamiliar with the porn industry. In fact, he’s got it all over his personal site. Ooh, la, la! Kozinski is in the X-rated house! Due to this recent discovery, Kozinski has granted a 48-hour stay in the obscenity trial after prosecutors requested time to explore “a potential conflict of interest concerning the court having a…sexually explicit [web site] with similar material.”

While Kozinski admitted to posting some of the graphic content on his site, he threw his son Yale under the bus, stating that he must have downloaded the majority of it. Sure, we believe you! Wink, wink.

“Yale called and said he’s pretty sure he uploaded a bunch of it,” Kozinski wrote in an e-mail to Abovethelaw.com, a legal news website. “I had no idea, but that sounds right because I sure don’t remember putting some of that stuff there.”

The moral of today’s Pop Legal story is based on that old, cliché saying: Never throw stones if you live in a glass house full of porn.

Popularity: 7% [?]

What happens when you mix a stressful legal situation, video cameras and a machine gun smattering of razor sharp (or not so sharp) questions? We’ve put together our favorite all-time cranky court room outbursts, depositions gone awry and sobering Law School realities to create a hilarious collection of the funniest legal videos ever.

#1 When Judges Attack

This Judge flies off the handle in a menopausal tirade directed at a deserving defendant.

TV Judge Marilyn is probably best known for the explosive tongue lashings she gives to the people in her TV courtroom but this one was over the top for even the courtroom queen of mean. When an arrogant defendant demands “a certain level of respect” he is thrown out court but not before a hilarious exchange of words.

#2 How Not To Handle a Tough Deposition

A cranky old guy deflects questions with a pile of B.S. and an entertaining outburst!

When questioned about an unauthorized use of funds the irritable old dude man in question launches into an Oscar winning performance before completely melting down.

#3 Law School the Musical

A musical tribute to Law School Hell

An insider’s melodic interpretation of the harsh realities of law school.

#4 An Incoherent Deposition

6,912 known languages on Earth and this woman doesn’t speak any of them

Note to Lawyers: When prepping your client for a deposition, you should probably make sure they know their left hand from their right.

#5 The Bird

A lawyer tackles the complexities of vehicular sign language

A man on the stand in earmuffs (?) differentiates the subtleties of highway communication.

Popularity: 6% [?]