BMI, Freddies find harmony
May 28, 2008
It looks like Freddies Bel Air finally faced the music.
The Harford County bar and restaurant, which was sued early last month by Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI) for neglecting to pay annual license fees to the performance rights organization, filed a stipulation of dismissal Thursday, indicating the case in U.S. District Court in Baltimore has been settled.
According to a BMI spokesman, this usually means the establishment has agreed to buy a license and pay damages, attorneys’ fees, and court costs.
BRENDAN KEARNEY, Legal Affairs Writer
Sphere: Related ContentKids can be cruel — but teachers?
May 28, 2008
A Florida woman says her son’s kindergarten teacher led the class in an exercise where each child got to say what they did not like about the boy. The mother says the teacher then took a vote on whether her son should be allowed to stay in class, which he lost 14-2.
The mother says her son likely has Asperger syndrome, a mild form of autism that can cause, among other things, socially awkward behavior. Back at home after the incident, the child kept repeating to himself the words “I’m not special,” the mother alleges.
According to a spokeswoman for the Port St. Lucie, Fla., Police Department, the teacher admitted the incident occurred. No criminal charges were filed because prosecutors determined the incident did not rise to the level of child abuse, the spokeswoman said.
The mother is considering filing a lawsuit.
I’m no professional teacher or child psychologist, but I have taught religious school, including three years with kindergarteners, and I cannot imagine how anyone, teaching degree or no teaching degree, could think this would be a good idea.
Thanks to ABA Journal for the link.
CARYN TAMBER, Legal Affairs Writer
Sphere: Related ContentJudge: Leave ‘the honorable’ at work
May 27, 2008
A federal judge should never use his or her letterhead stationery — or the courtesy titles “judge” or “the honorable” — when conducting personal business, according to Frank H. Easterbrook, chief judge of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Easterbrook’s blanket note of prohibition was one of the “relatively few public comments” received on proposed revisions to the Code of Conduct for United States Judges, according to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.
A proposal (PDF) to bar judges from using their “judicial letterhead to gain an advantage in conducting personal business” is not strict enough, Easterbrook stated.
“The phrase ’to gain an advantage in conducting’ should be deleted,” he wrote. “Use of judicial letterhead is never appropriate when conducting personal business. Gaining an advantage may be the goal of this misuse of office, but the rule should be absolute. Trying to determine, case by case, why a judge used the letterhead is a mistake.”
The judicial code of conduct should also bar the use of courtesy titles in personal business, to avoid the appearance of undue influence, Easterbrook added. For example, the title of judge should not be used when the jurist is a party to a lawsuit “unrelated to the judicial office,” he wrote. (PDF)
The current code (PDF) has no express prohibition on the use of letterhead or courtesy titles.
Anyone out there experienced (or committed) a violation of the “Easterbrook prohibition”?
STEVE LASH, Legal Affairs Writer
Sphere: Related ContentThis week in Maryland Lawyer
May 27, 2008
Uncertain economy? You wouldn’t know it by looking at what law firms are paying newly minted lawyers.
At least the new J.D.s are generous: See who’s bringing back the class gift and who’s matching that money.
Also:
- A judge in Baltimore County has awarded Wells Fargo Bank about $750,000 in attorneys’ fees in a dispute over a troubled shopping center;
- Public defender Paul B. DeWolfe takes the reins of Montgomery County’s bar association;
- A pro se plaintiff who took his med-mal case all the way to trial gets a settlement while the jury deliberates;
- Judges Murphy and Krauser look at the biblical roots of jurisprudence;
- Shannon Avery talks about her first Court of Appeals argument, where Chief Judge Bell stumped her with a question about buffalo farming and opposing counsel Mary Ellen Barbera taught her the value of civility;
- The Editorial Advisory Board weighs in on the role of lawyers in maintaining judicial independence, Jack L.B. Gohn discusses the ways in which lawyers compromise and are compromised, and “Judge on the Jury” Dennis M. Sweeney offers suggestions for holding the jurors’ attention.
Plus:
- On the Move
- Briefs and Week in Review
- Summaries of recent decisions by the Court of Appeals, Court of Special Appeals, 4th Circuit and Maryland’s U.S. District Court.
Law blog round-up
May 27, 2008
Good morning, and welcome back from the long (though not long enough, naturally) holiday weekend. Here’s what’s new around the Web today:
- The AmLaw Daily suggests a novel approach to getting more female partners.
- Above the Law links to Legal Blog Watch, which posts about a survey in Las Vegas in which attorneys rated male judges higher than female judges on “courteousness.” The Las Vegas Review-Journal story says that two-thirds of the survey respondents were males, and that people tend to identify with those who are like them. I would also suggest that men sometimes perceive assertive women (as presumably these judges are, having advanced so far in their legal careers) as rude or domineering. (Ahem, Hillary Clinton.) Also, women in power sometimes have to bend over backwards to be taken seriously, which means that, yes, female judges may smile and joke a little less in the courtroom.
- Should a law clerk who wants to open a solo practice go first to a big law firm to take advantage of the $50,000 clerkship bonus? Carolyn Elefant offers some advice.
CARYN TAMBER, Legal Affairs Writer
Sphere: Related ContentThe global pool of money
May 27, 2008
I try to listen to NPR podcasts regularly. I admit, it’s partly because I feel obligated as a Web-based journalist - but it’s also because the content is top-notch.
I’m a fan of This American Life, a weekly radio program (and cable TV show, now) out of Chicago. (It airs locally on WYPR, Sundays at 4 p.m.) The show excels at what the radio medium is best suited for: storytelling.
But this blog post isn’t about how great TAL is, it’s about a podcast I listened to last weekend (on the treadmill, no less) that knocked my socks off.
A couple weeks ago, TAL did a show entitled “The giant pool of money.” It was in collaboration with NPR news, and it explains the mortgage crisis by talking to the actual people who got everyone into this mess. Or, as they put it, “the human beings who accidentally created the international financial crisis.” You can listen to a promo here.
Now, most - if not all - of the readers of this blog probably understand what a NINA loan or a mortgage-backed security is better than I do, but there’s more to be reaped from the 60-minute episode than a global understanding of how the foreclosure crisis came about.
The show asserts that the subprime crisis has connected the people facing foreclosure and the higher-up finance guys. Along the chain there were bankers, brokers and homeowners, all of whom deluded themselves. During the program, the NPR producers ask (and answer) “How did it even work?” and “What were they thinking?”
This is how you would find out what it felt like to be Mike Gardner, a former bartender-turned-mortgage broker, during the so-called “Valentine’s Day massacre” at Silver State Mortgage, when the Nevada employer defaulted on its loans and, without warning, laid everyone off.
Give it a listen and tell me what you think.
JACKIE SAUTER, Web Editor
Sphere: Related ContentLaw profs rank the top courts
May 27, 2008
Three law professors have written a paper ranking the top courts of all 50 states based on how many opinions the judges put out, how often those opinions are cited by other states’ high courts, and how non-partisan they are. That last criterion is determined by how often judges vote with colleagues who belong to the opposite political party. It looks like these guys (and/or their students) did a whole mess of work on this.
Anyway, if you give equal weight to all three criteria, Maryland’s Court of Appeals is the 14th-best top court in the country. If you don’t give the criteria equal weight, then… well, maybe someone can tell me what happens then, because I’m not confident that I understand this part of the study. (There’s a reason I became a journalist instead of fulfilling that first-grade dream of being an astronomer: less math.)
When the authors ranked the high courts by citations per judge by out-of-state courts, Maryland placed sixth. The Court of Appeals fell pretty much in the middle on the other two measurements.
Bottom line: there is a “strong case” that California’s top court is the best, the researchers conclude.
Hat tip: How Appealing.
CARYN TAMBER, Legal Affairs Writer
Sphere: Related ContentIt’s no secret: ‘Tarnished’ Victoria wins trademark suit
May 23, 2008
The name was changed eight years ago, and even a Supreme Court victory in 2003 didn’t bring it back. Now, a federal judge has ordered “Victor’s Little Secret” to remain under wraps forever.
To recap: Victor’s Little Secret was an adult novelty and lingerie store operated by Cathy and Victor Moseley in Elizabethtown, Ky., not far from Louisville. Mega-retailer Victoria’s Secret learned of the store and, in true Victorian fashion, was not amused. It went to court and obtained an order blocking the Moseleys from operating under Victor’s name.
The Moseleys changed the name to Cathy’s Little Secret. But they also fought all the way to Supreme Court, which ruled in their favor and remanded the case to the 6th Circuit, with instructions to send it back to the federal court in Louisville for a new ruling.
A funny thing happened on the way to the remand, though. For reasons that aren’t specified, the 6th Circuit sat on the case for awhile. For FOUR YEARS, in fact — until July 2007.
Meanwhile, due in large part to the Supreme Court’s 2003 decision, Congress rewrote the law in a way more to Victoria Secret’s liking. The Trademark Dilution Revision Act took effect in 2006.
Thus, by the time the 6th Circuit sent the case back to the trial court, the rules had changed. While the Moseleys cried foul, U.S. District Judge Charles Simpson [PDF] applied the new standard and ruled in favor of Victoria’s Secret.
“The use of the remarkably similar ‘Victor’s Secret’ or ‘Victor’s Little Secret’ in connection with the sale of intimate lingerie along with sex toys and adult videos tarnishes the reputation of the Victoria’s Secret mark,” Simpson wrote.
No word yet on whether the Moseleys will continue their fight.
BARBARA GRZINCIC, Managing Editor/Law
Broadcasting SSN turns out to be a bad idea
May 23, 2008
I just caught Todd Davis, CEO of Lifelock, on the Today show - trying to explain to Matt Lauer how his company’s ad doesn’t technically guarantee your identity won’t be stolen, only that Lifelock will handle the mess if it does.
He’s in hot water today, since a bunch of Lifelock customers - from Maryland, West Virginia and New Jersey - are suing him, saying his service didn’t work and he knew it, since it failed him, too. On Today, he pointed out that only one of the 87 people who have tried to steal his identity has walked away with cash in hand.
From the AP story:
Davis acknowledged in an interview with The Associated Press that his stunt has led to at least 87 instances in which people have tried to steal his identity, and one succeeded: a guy in Texas who duped an online payday loan operation last year into giving him $500 using Davis’ Social Security number.
[The plaintiffs’ attorney] Paris said the fact Davis’ records were compromised at all supports the claim that Tempe, Ariz.-based LifeLock doesn’t provide the comprehensive protection its advertisements say it does.
On Today, Davis only got about 90 seconds to defend the Lifelock ads, which claim “We aim to stop identity theft before it happens” and “Protect yourself, your family, and all you’ve worked for. Guarantee your good name now.” His argument: The company states on their Web site that the guarantee relates to the costs incurred in the “unfortunate event your identity is stolen” and that no one can prevent identity theft completely. He says Lifelock’s actions on behalf of clients reduce the chances of it happening to them.
I’m not a lawyer, but their ad seems binding to me - though it does say “See Web site for details”. What do you think? Will Lifelock and Todd Davis prevail? Or is his service taking advantage of consumers?
JACKIE SAUTER, Web Editor
The value of ocean air
May 22, 2008
While doing the reporting for today’s story on Ocean City’s summer tourism expectations, I learned about — and experienced — something I’ve come to call the “ahhhh” phenomenon.
It’s that feeling you get when you cross the Bay Bridge and get to the Eastern Shore. (That is, unless you are sitting in beach traffic, in which case you are probably experiencing a different phenomenon I can’t repeat here.)
Maybe it’s the thrill of knowing you can top off for at least 10 cents a gallon cheaper in Easton or Cambridge. Maybe it’s the sprawl of farmland and low, unassuming buildings. Or the quiet produce stands that come to life during the summer weekends with smells of berries, fresh produce and the occasional fresh baked apple pie.
Or maybe it’s just the fact that I grew up about an hour’s drive from a beach (albeit a cold one), and it makes me think of being a kid.
Whatever the reason, there’s a sense of peace and ease that’s unique to that part of our state. People make eye contact with you as you pass by on the street, drivers on the roads suddenly keep an appropriate distance from one another other and remember to use their turn signals, and the odds of getting a tan by mid-May are pretty good.
But I’m wondering with the economic climate the way it is today, will the “ahhhh” phenomenon still be enough to draw people out this summer to let off some steam? Or will the squeeze at the pump — and at home — convince people that staying put is less stressful?
Where are you getting your “ahhhhs” this summer?
LIZ FARMER, Business Writer
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