You might think that after Volume 1, Volume 2, Volume 3, Volume 4, Volume 5, Volume 6, Volume 7, Volume 8, Volume 9, Volume 10, Volume 11, Volume 12, Volume 13, Volume 14, Volume 15, Volume 16 and Volume 17 of Things You Can't Do on a Plane, that we'd have exhausted the list of things you can't do on a plane. Nope! The list grows daily.
Here are three more things I've recently learned that you cannot do on a plane:
- Attempt to smuggle 49 live reptiles in your luggage on an international flight. Passengers may not pack 31 spiny-tailed lizards and 18 geckos into their suitcase. This is true even if the passenger claims the reptiles are his "personal food supply" and offers to bite off the head of one to prove it. CONSEQUENCE: The passenger will face a fine of several thousand euros for transporting protected animals. The reptiles will be taken to a local veterinarian to be cared for.
- Attempt to sneak 115 "oven-ready iguanas" into the United States from Mexico. Passengers may not attempt to bring a cooler into the U.S. filled with 159 pounds of the beheaded, skinned, and deboned bodies of 115 green iguanas. CONSEQUENCE: Passenger must serve 24 months in prison.
- Attempt to board a plane while carrying an 18-month old child who is on the "no-fly" list. Passengers may not board a flight with a child who is flagged as being on the "no-fly" list. CONSEQUENCE: Entire family will be removed from flight and ordered to speak with TSA, which will blame the whole thing on the airline.
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Posted by Bruce Carton on May 15, 2012 at 04:20 PM | Permalink
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I've heard it said that "Life is an open-book test," and I believe that this has become even more true as the Internet, Google, smartphones and other fundamental features of the digital age have become ubiquitous. In the year 2012, when you want to understand something, or define something, or test something, or check someone's background, you typically have instant access to the tools you'd need to do so. If you are truly interested, you will take the 10 seconds needed to get an answer or to learn how you can get an answer... unless you are serving on a jury.
If you are serving on a jury, however, the normal rules of life in the 21st century no longer apply, and you must get each and every scrap of information needed to do your job directly from the proceedings in the courtroom so that your ultimate verdict is determined solely by the evidence. Need to look up what a key word means? Too bad -- -put that cell phone down!!
The Palm Beach Post has an interesting article on the rise of "juror mischief," i.e., jurors who revert to the "open book" mentality that governs most of their lives and conduct a bit of their own, basic research to help with their deliberations. Examples include:
- Juror Dennis DeMartin, who wrote in a book about how he drank three vodkas one night during the trial to help him determine whether the defendant was unfit to drive when he crashed his car and killed someone. A Palm Beach judge ruled last week that this drinking experiment did not affect the jury's decision.
- Three Ohio jurors who took showers and timed how long it took their bodies to air-dry. A key issue in the case was whether a victim's body would have been wet if her husband had called 911 immediately. After learning of the jurors' experiment, the trial judge threw out the verdict.
- A juror in a murder trial who Googled the defendant's name and reported to the other jurors that the defendant was a "bad guy" who had run away to Nicaragua after the murder. When another juror told the judge about this, the court was forced to start jury selection over from the beginning.
- A juror who used her smartphone to look up the definition of the word "bolster," which she shared with other jurors. The court later ruled that the definition wasn't key to the case, and let the conviction in the case stand.
- In a case in which the jury had to determine if a defendant acted "prudently" when he fatally shot a neighbor, the jury foreman used his phone to look up that word and shared the definition with other jurors. An appeals court ruled that the word was important and reversed the defendant's manslaughter conviction.
Thaddeus Hoffmeister, a law professor who also blogs about juries, told the Post that, for young people in particular, "digital activity" such as looking up words or finding information on Wikipedia is as normal as breathing. It is therefore more critical than ever, he says, for judges to fully explain why jurors may not conduct their own research and why they must instead rely solely upon the testimony and evidence presented in the case. "Get them to buy in," he says. "Tell them why it's not right."
In Palm Beach, courts now warn jurors against using social media or doing any of their own Internet research before or after they are selected, before they begin deliberations, and each time the jury takes a break. Last week, Palm Beach County also introduced a video intended to deliver that same message to all potential jurors.
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Posted by Bruce Carton on May 14, 2012 at 04:21 PM | Permalink
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Here are today's three burning legal questions, along with the answers provided by the blogosphere.
1) Question: I'm just minding my own business, walking down the street and doing some texting in my home town of Fort Lee, N.J. Why are the police eyeing me so much?
Answer: Because you are committing the offense of TWW. The scourge that is "Texting While Walking" will now carry with it an $85 fine in the town of Fort Lee. (CBS News, Texting while walking banned in N.J. town)
2) Question: I'm enjoying a strawberry Fruit Roll-Up. They are made with real fruit -- Did you know that? It says so right on the label. How many grams of strawberries are in a strawberry Fruit Roll-Up, anyway?
Answer: There are a total of 0.0 grams of strawberries in a strawberry Fruit Roll-Up. But there are some "pears from concentrate" in there, if that makes you feel any better. (Consumerist, General Mills Must Defend Claim That Fruit Roll-Ups Are "Made With Real Fruit")
3) Question: I live in Manhattan and have a child ready to start kindergarten. I just received a letter telling me the public elementary school that my child should be attending is full and we've been placed on a wait list, and that we should consider a new $16,000-a-year private school right down the block instead. Wow! The state is going to pay for my child to attend a fancy private school?
Answer: No way! That was just a friendly suggestion. (New York Post, Crowded Manhattan public kindergarten tells parents whose kids are wait-listed to try private school)
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Posted by Bruce Carton on May 14, 2012 at 03:29 PM | Permalink
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Bracewell & Giuliani's Basis Points blog is holding a haiku contest, with the winning entry receiving Rudy Giuliani’s "primo" Yankees seats (second row directly behind home plate) plus a gourmet meal in the Legends Club for the Yankees' May 23 game against the Kansas City Royals. Before you start breaking out your award-winning lines of haiku from high school, you should know that the haiku that will win these tickets must be Yogi Berra-related:
But here’s the curveball. We don’t want just any haiku. We want one that is clever, well-written and relates to Yogi Berra in some fashion, such as his career, a quote attributed to him, or a made-up quote for him (written, of course, in five-seven-five syllable haiku structure).
Here is my entry. I look forward to seeing you all at the Legends Club in New York on May 23!
Why I Love Being a Baseball Manager
I cannot tell you
What you don't already know
You don't know nothing
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Posted by Bruce Carton on May 11, 2012 at 04:28 PM | Permalink
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Here are today's three burning legal questions, along with the answers provided by the blogosphere.
1) Question: Some loser cut my bike lock with bolt cutters and stole my bike. I was looking on Craigslist for a new one when I saw my stolen bike being offered for sale! Can I just meet up with the thief, pretend to take my stolen bike for a test ride, and never come back?
Answer: It belongs to you, so yes, although the police advise citizens against trying to recover stolen property on their own. (NBC Washington, Vigilante Bicyclist Gets His Stolen Bike Back) (via The Consumerist)
2) Question: I saw your post explaining that there are limits on what you can name your baby (e.g., "Toilet Queen" is not permitted), but how about on name changes for adults? Can I change my name to Tyrannosaurus Rex?
Answer: No problem. (FOX News, Nebraska man changes name to Tyrannosaurus Rex)
3) Question: I feel like the judge's law clerk -- not the judge -- is doing all the work and making all of the decisions in the federal race discrimination case I brought. Can I file a "Motion for Disclosure of Chamber of Papers" demanding access to communications between the judge and his law clerk?
Answer: Nope. (Lawyerist, Silly Litigant, Bench Memos Are For Judges!)
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Posted by Bruce Carton on May 11, 2012 at 04:26 PM | Permalink
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The trial of Joshua Monson ended Wednesday when he was convicted by a jury of first-degree murder. Also of significance -- particularly to the lawyer representing him in the trial -- Monson was stymied from stabbing a fourth lawyer with a pencil. On three separate prior occasions in court, Monson had stabbed his (soon-to-be former) lawyer with a pencil. Detecting a trend, the court in Monson's murder trial imposed stringent security measures for the trial, which thankfully proved to be effective.
As discussed here, the court overseeing Monson's trial required this "Hannibal Lecter of stabbing lawyers with pencils" to be seated at a separate table from his attorney, strapped to a chair with one hand additionally restrained, and wearing "an electric stun cuff that corrections officers can activate if he gets out of line." The Herald reports that the courtroom furniture was also rearranged in such a way as to keep the restraints out of the sight of jurors.
The Herald also notes what must have been a harrowing moment just before the jury's verdict was read, when Monson reached out to shake his attorney's hand and thank him. This final exchange proved to be stab-free, as a corrections officer "kept a firm grip on Monson's forearm."
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Posted by Bruce Carton on May 10, 2012 at 12:18 PM | Permalink
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Here are today's three burning legal questions, along with the answers provided by the blogosphere.
1) Question: Our high school wants to display the Ten Commandments but the local American Civil Liberties Union is now making a huge stink about it. What can we do?
Answer: Have you considered just displaying six of the Ten Commandments? (The Blaze, Judge suggests 10 Commandments be reduced to 6)
2) Question: Unbeknownst to me, my evil wife, with whom I am in a domestic dispute, concealed the hardware of a .40 caliber gun, a magazine loaded with two rounds of ammunition and a firing pin within a Mickey Mouse stuffed animal. The Mickey Mouse was in my carry-on baggage as I tried to board a flight and the TSA found it, along with the gun and everything else. Is this going to be a problem?
Answer: No, and in fact you won't even miss your flight. Just tell the TSA that you didn't know about the gun and that it is your wife's fault. They'll be cool with that and send you on your way. (CBS News, Family dispute behind big airport security scare?)
3) Question: Some guy just pulled a gun on me and demanded that I do the Michael Jackson "moonwalk" dance. I did not want to do the moonwalk but complied (on account of the gun and all). That has to be some crime, right?
Answer: Yes, that sounds like assault. (The Associated Press, Idaho man accused of using gun to force 'moonwalk')
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Posted by Bruce Carton on May 10, 2012 at 11:00 AM | Permalink
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Southwest Airlines has a "Customers of Size Policy" that states:
Customers who encroach upon any part of the neighboring seat(s) should proactively book the needed number of seats prior to travel. The armrest is considered to be the definitive boundary between seats and measures 17 inches in width. The purchase of additional seats serves as a notification to Southwest of a special seating need. Most importantly, it ensures that all Customers onboard have access to safe and comfortable seating. You may contact us for a refund of the cost of additional seating after travel, provided the flight does not oversell (which means having more confirmed Customers than seats on the aircraft).
Southwest adds in its Q&A about the Customers of Size policy that the armrest is the "definitive gauge" for a Customer of Size. "Customers who are unable to lower both armrests and/or who encroach upon any portion of the adjacent seat should proactively book the number of seats needed prior to travel," it states.
For travelers like Kenlie Tiggeman who are close to the line of being a Customer of Size, however, Southwest's policy is inadequate because it is adjudicated by a representative at the gate who simply eyeballs travelers and rejects some of them for being "too fat to fly." This first happened to Tiggeman in 2011, at a time when she had lost over 100 pounds (down from 400 pounds) and says she did fit into the airplane seat. Nonetheless, the representative at the gate flagged her as someone whose size required the purchase of two seats.
Tiggeman blogged about the incident, and Southwest eventually apologized. Tiggeman flew on Southwest a couple of times after that without any issues, but a few months later she was again told at the gate “Well, look at you. Obviously you need two seats.” Tiggeman says she then produced the letter of apology from Southwest’s HQ regarding the last incident, and "their tune changed."
This second incident, however, outraged and embarrassed Tiggeman, who believed that it was wrong that Southwest seemed to arbitrarily apply the COS policy to her based on the whim of the gate representative:
The problem I have with Southwest is not that they may want me to purchase two seats. It’s that sometimes they want that, and other times they don't. I don’t know about you, but I fly a lot. And paying double because a gate agent may or may not have something against overweight people is not realistic ... nor should it be necessary.
Tiggeman announced on her blog last week that she has now filed a lawsuit against Southwest seeking an injunction against the implementation of the Customer of Size policy because it provides no clear definition of the rules and allows the gate agent to discriminate against overweight people. As Tiggeman puts it on her blog, "[c]learly, Southwest wants us to be a certain size, but no one (including Southwest) seems to know what that size is. ... as paying consumers we do have the right to fly if we’re willing to follow the rules. And in order to do that, we need to know the rules."
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Posted by Bruce Carton on May 9, 2012 at 04:17 PM | Permalink
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Here are today's three burning legal questions, along with the answers provided by the blogosphere.
1) Question: I am the tourism director for a county in Florida. It struck me one day that it would be pretty awesome if our county owned a yacht, so without consulting anyone else I used $710,000 in county funds to buy us a yacht. Was that wrong? Should I not have done that? I tell you, I gotta plead ignorance on this thing, because if anyone had said anything to me at all when I first started here that that sort of thing is frowned upon --
Answer: Enough, Mr. Costanza! (UPI.com, Official: Buying county a yacht was wrong)
2) Question: I got drunk and asked my girlfriend to use her hot hair iron to straighten my penis. After I badgered her enough she actually did it, which I now deeply regret. Did she commit an assault on me?
Answer: You asked her to do it, so there is no assault here. (The Local, Squeezing penis with hot iron 'not assault': court)
3) Question: Quick question before I head out on a hunting trip in Texas: Can I kill a Bigfoot if I find one?
Answer: Yes, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department says go ahead and bag one if you can. (Lowering the Bar, Note: In Texas, Bigfoot Is Fair Game)
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Posted by Bruce Carton on May 9, 2012 at 12:32 PM | Permalink
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Last month, The Volokh Conspiracy, which launched on April 10, 2002, celebrated its 10th birthday. On Sunday, May 6, Howard Bashman's How Appealing blog similarly turned 10 years old. Neither of these blogs can claim to be the oldest legal blog out there, as that distinction appears to be held by Walter Olson's Overlawyered blog, which launched on July 1, 1999 and will become the first blog teenager this summer. Other than outliers such as Overlawyered, however, the first wave of legal blogs really started to appear on the scene in late 2001 and 2002, and the recent birthdays marking a decade of blogging at The Volokh Conspiracy and How Appealing are just the beginning of many 10th birthdays that will be coming in 2012.
Back in 2007, Bob Ambrogi attempted to determine, in a post here at LBW, "Who Was the First Legal Blogger?" Ambrogi crowned Overlawyered with that title, and documented the birthdays of many of the other earliest legal blogs. Checking the archives of the longest-running legal bloggers that he knew of, Amrogi identified the following blog birthdates, from youngest to oldest -- notably, every one of the blogs below is still active:
- SCOTUSblog, Oct. 1, 2002
- Inter Alia, Aug. 18, 2002
- Jottings by an Employer's Lawyer, July 17, 2002
- TalkLeft, June 2002
- The Trademark Blog, May 18, 2002
- The Volokh Conspiracy appears to have started on April 10, 2002.
- The Shout, March 10, 2002
- Ernie the Attorney's first post was March 2, 2002.
- Bag and Baggage launched on Nov. 28, 2001.
- Rick Klau's first was, of all dates, Sept. 11, 2001.
- Instapundit's archives start on Aug. 8, 2001.
- Overlawyered launched on July 1, 1999.
Other notable legal blogs with birthdays coming up this year include Votelaw (July 4, 2002); Ambrogi's own LawSites blog (Nov. 19, 2002); and My Shingle (Dec. 2002).
UPDATE: Broc Romanek's excellent blog on corporate and securities law -- TheCorporateCounsel.net -- also turned 10 years old last week.
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Posted by Bruce Carton on May 8, 2012 at 04:27 PM | Permalink
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