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April 2008 - Posts
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The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered Don Siegelman, a former governor of Alabama, released last month pending his appeal of a conviction on bribery and corruption charges. The conviction has been the focus of controversy in recent months, primarily over allegations that it was politically motivated. While we are not in a position to comment on the verdict, the case certainly raises some red flags, and the 11th Circuit seems justified in having released Siegelman pending appeal.
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While I'm no clotheshorse, I have pretty strong views on appropriate professional attire. I've watched the evolution of what lawyers wear for the past 25 years with interest, and I'm not a big fan of the trajectory. On Wall Street in the mid-1980s, things sartorial were pretty hidebound, but, that changed at the time of the "Internet Bubble." The Young Turks of technology didn't wear ties and so we shouldn't either. But my suit is my uniform. It marks me off from the rest. I'm comfortable with that.
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The high court recently heard oral arguments in a case about the propriety of a large punitive damages award against Exxon arising out of the grounding of the Exxon Valdez and the spilling of millions of gallons of oil into Prince William Sound, Alaska. The real issue is whether a $2.5 billion exaction is reasonably necessary to punish and deter. Given that Exxon never intended to hurt anyone yet already has paid more than $3.4 billion in damages, settlements, remediation costs and fines, the answer is no.
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With recent years of difficult foreign relations, there is much discourse in the United States as to how it might better wield influence and renew its global leadership. Many point to more consistent leadership on rule of law matters. One way to start is by acceding to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). In October, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted, 17-4, to recommend accession. Recent developments have added urgency for our country finally to accede to this accord.
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In July, leaders of diverse professions from many nations, will gather in Vienna, Austria, with a shared belief: We will all gain by strengthening the rule of law. The World Justice Forum is striking for who will attend.
Besides judges and lawyers, there will be leaders in architecture, arts, business, education, engineering, environment, faith, human rights, labor, law enforcement, media, military and public health. Can nonlawyers make significant contributions in advancing the rule of law? Absolutely.
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Congress and the U.S. Supreme Court have begun addressing problems in our patent system. Now it's our turn to help. Simply put, there are too many patents of questionable quality. Studies assert that patents of poor quality cost the economy $4.5 billion annually. We need to create a set of metrics that measures patent quality.
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Law schools getting real means getting hands-on practice in the real world, not somewhat more realistic make-believe activities, writes a George Washington University law professor. Plus, more of this week's letters to the editor.
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The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered Don Siegelman, a former governor of Alabama, was released last month pending his appeal of a conviction on bribery and corruption charges. The conviction has been the focus of controversy in recent months, primarily over allegations that it was politically motivated. While we are not in a position to comment on the verdict, the case certainly raises some red flags, and the 11th Circuit seems justified in having released Siegelman pending appeal.
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While I'm no clotheshorse, I have pretty strong views on appropriate professional attire. I've watched the evolution of what lawyers wear for the past 25 years with interest, and I'm not a big fan of the trajectory. On Wall Street in the mid-1980s, things sartorial were pretty hidebound, but, that changed at the time of the "Internet Bubble." The Young Turks of technology didn't wear ties and so we shouldn't either. But my suit is my uniform. It marks me off from the rest. I'm comfortable with that.
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The high court recently heard oral arguments in a case about the propriety of a large punitive damages award against Exxon arising out of the grounding of the Exxon Valdez and the spilling of millions of gallons of oil into Prince William Sound, Alaska. The real issue is whether a $2.5 billion exaction is reasonably necessary to punish and deter. Given that Exxon never intended to hurt anyone yet already has paid more than $3.4 billion in damages, settlements, remediation costs and fines, the answer is no.
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In September, the European Union publicly disavowed a resolution passed by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), which stressed the importance of states avoiding unilateral action on aviation emissions and the environment. Its reasoning for doing so was simple: The Kyoto Protocol to the United Nation's Framework Convention on Climate Change clearly recognizes ICAO as the international leader in finding an equitable solution to environmental damage that may be caused by civil aviation.
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Next to his 2004 convention speech, Barack Obama's speech on race was his most important. It was the most honest and complex analysis of race made by a candidate seeking political office in recent memory. He did what he needed to do meet head-on the hardest criticisms, with substance, context, humility and analytical clarity.
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Here are some million-to-one shots: dying in a fireworks accident, drawing a royal flush on the first five cards dealt in a hand of poker and catching the governor of New York paying for sex in a fancy hotel in Washington. Financial institutions file more than a million suspicious activity reports each year with the Treasury. New York's ex-governor was a data needle, albeit a shiny one, in a giant haystack of data needles.
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The Homeland Security Act of 2002 not only reflected the intent of Congress, but it also spurred the largest reorganization of government in more than a
generation: Not since the creation of the Department of Defense and the CIA more than 50 years earlier had Congress ordered such a massive realignment of federal resources. Now five years old, the Deptartment of Homeland Security has demonstrated impressive victories and stunning failures.
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The D.C. Circuit opinion in the gun case now before the U.S. Supreme court was certainly radical enough it produced three broad new layers of Second Amendment law. First, it ruled that the amendment confers a right on individuals to bear arms. Second, it ruled that the amendment confers rights specifically to own and use handguns. Third it ruled that no state or city can bar the ownership of handguns for household self-defense. All three together pose a real threat to state and local handgun control
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It's the 15th anniversary of the annual top 10 tribute to wackiness in employment law. The crystal anniversary features a strong field. Find out whether it's legal to drive a Zamboni drunk or to give a crime lab employee a corpse porno. It seems each year the cases just get stranger.
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