Spock Cited

Law Librarian Blog suggested a great paper topic: how many times has Spock been cited in judicial opinions? The question is based on a Wall Street Journal article which cites the most recent example. If this type of paper is up your alley, but you're not entirely sure how to aggregate all the cases  (including unpublished opinions if you're so inclined), stop by the library for some suggestions. Because American Jurisprudence is good for telling you all the key cases regarding federal search and seizure law but not so good for Star Trek quotes.

Legality vs. Morality - Trademark Edition

Pixar is working on a film with the theme or subject Dia de los Muertos, the Mexian holiday honoring the deceased. As film companies typically do, Disney, Pixar's parent company, applied for trademarks using the anticipated name of the film in relation to a variety of merchandise.

Needless to say, people of Mexican heritage were upset. To quote one commenter, "This is not Ok. You cant trademark my culture! [ ]"

But is that necessarily true? For example, the NFL football team, the Washington Redskins, has in fact registered WASHINGTON REDSKINS for "Entertainment Services-Namely, Presentations of Professional Football Contests." So it does seem to be perfectly legal to register cultural marks. Even the cheerleaders have their own trademark.  (Note, the Supreme Court declined to decide a case which argued that use of the Washington mark was offensive.)

Section 2(b) of the Lanham Act prohibits the registration of a mark that “consists of or comprises immoral, deceptive, or scandalous matter; or matter which may disparage or falsely suggest a connection with persons, living or dead, institutions, beliefs, or national symbols, or bring them into contempt, or disrepute.” 

In Trademarks Laid Bare: Marks that May be Scandalous or Immoral, the authors delve into this issue and more. The take away for future lawyers is this, however: how will you conceive of your job? Do you give legal advice, providing guidance on legal risks and the likelihood of violations of the law? Or do you give business advice: something perfectly legal may nonetheless be inadvisable. But perhaps you must know your client to assess what role they'd like you to fill. 

Naked TSA Protester Fights Fine

We have talked in the past about TSA lawsuits, but suing is not the only way travellers have expressed their displeasure at the TSA.

Last April, John Brennan took off all his clothes at the TSA checkpoint in Portland, as a protest against additional screening procedures.

Lowering the Bar has been covering this story from the beginning (here, here, and here), including Brennan's not guilty verdict for indecent exposure.

But now, Brennan is back in court, appealing the TSA's fine of $1,000.

KATU Portland (with video of TSA workers surrounding Brennan with containers, to shield him from view)

ABA Journal

Huffington Post

Police Manhunts and Ensuing Litigation

For better or worse, we live in a wildly litigious society. On one hand, the U.S. tendency seems to be to seek redress in court rather than through personal vendetta. On the other hand, folks seem to sue for everything under the sun. How Stuff Works has an article about the ten biggest manhunts of all time. Number four on the list is a recent one: former police officer Chris Dorner is alleged to have murdered a police officer and attempted to do the same for various other individuals. A manhunt ensued.

The manhunt is believed to have been predicated by Dorner's lawsuit for wrongful termination after he was fired from the police force for lying about an on-the-job incident.

In the wake of the manhunt, more lawsuits have been proposed and pursued:

Attorney for man carjacked by Christopher Dorner threatens lawsuit claiming full $1 million reward
Rick Heltebrake, Camp Ranger, Files Lawsuit For $1 Million Christopher Dorner Reward

Slain ‘Cop Killer’ Christopher Dorner’s Mom Being Urged To Sue LAPD Over Son’s Death

Dorner manhunt: Will lawsuits result from Torrance mistaken-ID shootings?

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11 (colloquially known as Rule 11), states "By presenting to the court a pleading...an attorney...certifies that to the best of the person's knowledge, information, and belief, formed after an inquiry reasonable under the circumstances...(2) the claims, defenses, and other legal contentions are warranted by existing law or by a nonfrivolous argument for extending, modifying, or reversing existing law or for establishing new law." Ohio's rule is similar.

So, think before you file a claim on a client's behalf. For more on Rule 11, check out our selection of books, tapes, and movies on the subject.

Developing Research Skills this Summer

The law library is offering training sessions for faculty research assistants, and you may be scheduled to come in for one of those. But perhaps you are not or you're not a research assistant this summer. You can still learn a thing or two if you have any questions.

We'll keep our reference desk hours as you've come to expect them during the week: 10am-5pm, Monday-Friday. (During the school year, we will pick up our 1pm-5pm on Sunday schedule.)

You're also welcome to pop your head in one of the librarian's offices (back and on the right on the main floor of the library) and ask if we're available to chat.

Perhaps you haven't quite figured out legislative history, case precedent, where to find foreign or international law, or how the library's online databases work. We're happy to answer all those questions and more, and summer's the time to brush up on those legal research skills.

To Kill a Mockingbird - Lawsuit

To Kill a Mockingbird author Harper Lee is suing her literary agent in a copyright dispute. For many lawyers and law students, Atticus Finch, the adult protagonist in the book, is the inspiration for their legal careers.

If you'd like to revisit the work as inspiration during exams, we have a number of options:

1. E-Book
2. Print
3. Movie

What You Can't Find on the Internet

Some of the reason old fogies like myself cringe when people say "I Googled it and couldn't find anything" is because some stuff just isn't available online. Or, you have to know where to look if you want to find it. In other words, the Internet is good for some stuff, but not everything.

Take Ohio criminal law from 1973. If you need to know what a particular Ohio statute looked like in 1973, where would you turn? Westlaw has historical Ohio statutes but only back as far as 1993. Lexis isn't much better: it's Ohio Historical Archive (OHARCH) database gives you statutory text back to 1992.

HeinOnline recently began offering older state statutes as well. The benefit to these is that you get the pdf of the item you are looking for. That is, the image you see is a scanned copy of the actual print version. Alas, while Hein does go way back, it only brings you up to 1940 for Ohio---other states have different dates of coverage. (LLMC also has some historical statutes available, but it too doesn't provide much 20th century content.)

To get coverage for Ohio statutes from 1941-1991, you're in luck: we have the Ohio Revised code in print going way back on the main floor of the library. Feel free to come in, e-mail, or give a call if you can't find what you're looking for, like that 1973 Ohio criminal statute.

Twelve Angry Men...er, Six or Nine?

A Slate.com article reminded me of something I never knew before law school: juries come in all sizes. What’s the Best Jury Size? takes a mathmatical look at the number of jurors assigned to a matter and assesses whether there is a "right" number of jury members to achieve un unbiased verdict.

Looking to revisit the classic notion of 12 jurors? Check out the library's copy of 12 Angry Men.

Celebrate Law Day!

You may know May Day is International Workers Day, attended by marches and demonstrations around the world.  But it is also Law Day, a day to celebrate the rule of law.  The ABA designated the theme of gender equality, and encourages us to consider "the movement for civil and human rights in America and the work that remains to be accomplished."     

We know many of you are studying for your Con Law final, and Law Day comes complete with its own expression of constitutional powers.  President Obama issued a Law Day proclamation, tracing his action to a public law. 

In the words of the President, "Law Day is a chance to reaffirm the critical role our courts have always played in addressing those wrongs and aligning our Nation with its first principles. Let us mark this occasion by celebrating that history, upholding the right to due process, and honoring all who have sustained our proud legal tradition."  And perhaps also by cramming for con law.

Online Privacy - New Tech Developments - Part II

Following up on Monday's blog post, here's the second news story raising new legal issues regarding online privacy. Companies are utilizing algorithms to track down potential employees who do not fit the typical mold. If you have your Facebook privacy settings on lockdown, you just may miss the opportunity of a lifetime as this data-gathering method measures how well you interact on social media sites as one factor in assessing whether you'd be a good fit for a company:

Of late, growing numbers of academics and entrepreneurs are applying Big Data to human resources and the search for talent, creating a field called work-force science. Gild is trying to see whether these technologies can also be used to predict how well a programmer will perform in a job. The company scours the Internet for clues: Is his or her code well-regarded by other programmers? Does it get reused? How does the programmer communicate ideas? How does he or she relate on social media sites?
 

In other words, the company trolls the Internet for information about potential employees, applies an algorithm to what is found, and creates a profile to suggest whether the person would be a good match for a particular company.

In addition to general online privacy issues, how do you advise your company from an employment perspective if they're the company doing the hiring? Try these resources for starters:

• The Employment Law Sourcebook: A Compendium of Employment-Related Laws and Policy Documents
• Information Security and Privacy: A Practical Guide for Global Executives, Lawyers and Technologists 
• Closing the Ambiguity in Federal Privacy Law as Employers Cyber-Snoop Beyond the Workplace (on Westlaw)
• Intrusive Monitoring: Employee Privacy Expectations are Reasonable in Europe, Destroyed in the United States (on Westlaw)

 

Ohio Supreme Court: Doctor's Words of Sympathy Not Admissible

When patient Jeanette Johnson was transferred to a new facility following complications with her gall bladder surgery, Dr. Randall Smith took her hand and said, "I take full responsibility for this.  Everything will be okay."

During the subsequent medical malpractice trial, the statement was not admitted, due to Ohio's "apology statute," R.C. 2317.43.  The jury found in favor of Dr. Smith.

Last week, the Supreme Court of Ohio overruled the Eleventh District Court of Appeals and reinstated the jury's verdict, finding that the apology statute did apply to Dr. Smith's statement.

You can read the full opinion here and watch the oral argument here.

Court News Ohio

Legal Newsline

Online Privacy - New Tech Developments - Part I

Two recent news stories raise new legal issues regarding online privacy. If you're an attorney (or soon-to-be) looking for work, mining the news to discover these developments can put you ahead of the curve.

First, Reddit, a website that bills itself as "the front page of the internet," crowd-sources news stories, sometimes with wildly inaccurate results. According to a recent NY Times article, "[a]fter site members, known as Redditors, turned into amateur sleuths and ended up wrongly identifying several people as possible suspects, Reddit went from a font of crowdsourced information to a purveyor of false accusations, to the subject of a reprimand by the president of the United States himself, to the center of another furious debate about the responsibilities of digital media."

While Redditors may argue they're not responsible for misinformation or they have the right to say whatever they want, they might be wrong from a legal standpoint. Conceivably they could be held liable for defamation, violations of privacy, or other torts. And Reddit may or may not be contributorily liable. If you're counsel for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the surviving Boston bombing suspect, or an individual whose privacy was invaded by over zealous Redditors, can you sue and get redress?

To find out, try researching four subjects: right to privacy generally, online/Internet issues (including online privacy), contracts (e.g., can terms of service protect an online company like Reddit?), and good old fashion tort law. There may be limited case law in this area, so working by analogy to create a new legal cause of action may be your best bet. Here are a few resources to get you started:

• Books discussing online privacy
• Internet Crimes, Torts, and Scams
• The Privacy Law Sourcebook
• Cloud Computing for Lawyers
• Liability of Internet Service Provider for Internet or E–mail Defamation (ALR article on Westlaw)

Check back Wednesday for the second online privacy story with cutting edge legal issues.

Miranda Warnings

The question of when to read the Boston bombing suspect the Miranda warnings raises an interesting issue for attorneys: in order to build a case, they're left with the work of police officers and other investigators who acted before attorneys were brought in. Whether, when, and how Miranda warnings were given is at the crux of a huge percentage of criminal cases. For example,

• Supreme Court: Miranda Warning Not Required for Inmate Questioned About Second Crime in Prison
• Court Weighs Whether a Prosecutor Can Use a Defendant’s Refusal to Answer a Question
• Kentucky Students Must be Read Miranda Rights at School if Police are Present
• Supreme Court Rules Against N.C. in Juvenile Miranda Rights
• Miranda warning Rights Trimmed Bit by Bit by High Court

What does this mean for you? Your job as an attorney is to work with the case and the facts you're given. If a criminal law practice is in your future, become expert on Miranda law and keep current on any changes in the law. Also, get to know law enforcement and what they're taught with respect to the Miranda warnings.

• Evaluating Capacity to Waive Miranda Rights
• The Miranda Ruling: Its Past, Present, and Future (also available for free online)  
• Miranda: The Story of America's Right to Remain Silent
• Written and Interpersonal Communication: Methods for Law Enforcement (with a chapter dedicated to Miranda called "Questioning")
• Constitutional Limitations of Interviewing and Interrogations in American Policing  

Judge Holds Self in Contempt

When his new phone began speaking during a trial, Chief Ionia (MI) Judge Raymond Voet held himself in contempt (and to the same standards as everyone else in his courtroom).  In violation of his own rule against cellphones, Judge Voet filled out a contempt of court form, fined himself the usual $25, and went downstairs to pay it.


ABA Journal

Wall Street Journal Law Blog

Lowering the Bar

Pet Law

When I moved to Columbus almost a year ago, one of the things I looked into was whether the city or Ohio had breed-specific legislation in place. My pooch came from the Humane Society, and who knows what breed she is, though she could be perceived as a "pitt bull." Fortunately, Ohio had recently amended its laws regarding breed-specific legislation right around the time I was considering moving.

Laws affecting pets are numerous, and one could start a practice dedicated exclusively to assisting pets and their owners. Consider it the perfect kind of general practice. Here are a few recent headlines for news stories where legal issues and pets have arisen:

• In Honor of Kim Kardashian (advice from divorce lawyers, including the best state in which to seek a divorce if custody of a pet is at stake)
• Owners of Dog Slain by Police are Awarded Attorney Fees
• ‘Don’t Shoot My Dog’ Bill Moves Forward, Would Require More Police Training
• How Much is that Doggie in the Window? Not Much, Texas Justices Rule (addressing whether---in Texas---a pet euthanized by a shelter is more than mere property)
• Witness for the Poo-secution (Ira Glass tells the story of how science is being used to fight the ultimate neighborhood plague: Dog poop.)

And though these stories deal mostly with dogs, a number of firms have made a name addressing the needs of horse owners.

So, what do we have in the library to assist you?

• New York's Poop Scoop Law: Dogs, the Dirt, and Due Process
• Pet Law
• How Shelter Pets are Brokered for Experimentation: Understanding Pound Seizure
• Fat Cats & Lucky Dogs: How to Leave (Some of) Your Estate to Your Pet