Immigration, Government, Criminal
Prosecutorial indiscretion: marijuana and immigration
By James Raza Lawrence, Allison B. Margolin
The DOJ is walking back guns and promises not to prosecute medical marijuana cases; is Obama's new immigration policy next? By...
Last Term, the U.S. Supreme Court decided two cases implicating a debate that has divided the justices for nearly 50 years. ...
Brush up on the proper procedures for making and responding to criminal motions. By Thomas Rubinson of the Los Angeles County ...
Humor in judicial opinions takes many forms, ranging from tired jokes to sly wit to satire so powerful as to make us laugh. By...
U.S. Supreme Court, Constitutional Law
Kelo and the shrinking approval of the Supreme Court
By Gideon Kanner
Recent polls suggest that only 44 percent of Americans approve of the job the Supreme Court is doing.
In the decade since Hope v. Pelzer, the Supreme Court repeatedly has found qualified immunity based on the absence of a...
Civil Litigation
eDiscovery: Eaton v. Frisby, discovery’s first Watergate scandal?
By A. Marco Turk
A lengthy, ongoing dispute in Mississippi has the judge sorting through a predecessor's lapse of judgment. ...
Letters, Judges and Judiciary, Alternative Dispute Resolution
'You can lead a horse to water...': the pros and cons of mandatory mediation
By Scott Slater Markus
"Court-ordered mediation often fails to deliver" (June 8) generalizes and oversimplifies the issue. ...
Letters, Judges and Judiciary, Alternative Dispute Resolution
Denouncing the fables of forced mediation
By Joseph DiMonda
Lawyers don't need to be told that alternative dispute resolution methods are available.
The 50-employee requirement is outdated and too inflexible. ...
Recently issued guidance on electronic discovery practices in criminal cases doesn't even mention the discovery database optio...
Innocent mistakes or leading indicators of a deeper problem? By William Domnarski ...
Malicious prosecution: taking exception Mr. Kaus' advice. By Richard C. Leonard of Leonard, Dicker & Schreiber LLP
Health Care & Hospital Law
Medical malpractice settlements: who benefits?
By Bruce G. Fagel
Protecting the public health is a critically important function of government. ...
Law Practice
Transformative listening: invigorating your life with each conversation
By Timothy A. Tosta
It is powerful, and can even prove career or life changing. ...
Anti-SLAPP: Why we need a federal counterpart
By Mark Goldowitz
Forum shopping among state courts remains a viable option for litigants seeking to avoid one state's anti-SLAPP protections. B...
Family
When is a premarital agreement unconscionable?
By Mitchell A. Jacobs, Navid Moshtael
Take caution when waiving certain rights in premarital agreement, no matter which side you're on. ...
Language cutting to the quick can crush a lawyer's ego when reading the appellate opinion of a case. By William Domnarski ...
Busy books, the decimation of the third branch and, of course, mediation.
Marin County residents won the battle against a Lucasfilm expansion project; now George is looking to sell to a low-cost housi...
Civil Litigation, Alternative Dispute Resolution
eDiscovery: Digital-age evidence facing off with Facebook
By A. Marco Turk
Lesson: winning at all costs is not the goal; playing the game by the rules must be the barometer.
Litigation & Arbitration, Letters, Alternative Dispute Resolution
Sun rises in the west
By Nathaniel J. Friedman
A response to Judge Waddington By Nathaniel J. Friedman ...
Law Practice
An object lesson in thinking twice before suing for malicious prosecution
By Steve Kaus
Anti-SLAPP is a powerful tool and can bite back if you're not careful pursuing malicious prosecution claims. By Stephen Kaus o...
Law Practice
Ten of the smartest things ever written about lawyers
By William Domnarski
They consider the tensions I have felt, tensions which I suspect many lawyers have felt. By William Domnarski ...
Litigation & Arbitration, Alternative Dispute Resolution
Statutorily approved arbitration clauses could provide relief
By Lawrence Waddington
Providing statutorily approved language could help end the flood of challenges to arbitration clauses. ...
It takes more than an in-migration of pseudo-hippie latte drinkers to revive a city.
The First Amendment applies only to state action, so can private employers restrict political banter in the office?
Real Estate/Development
Looming wave of debt maturities begs cautious foreclosure practices
By Fernando Landa
Foreclosure can further deteriorate collateral value; if done correctly, a receiver sale can greatly expedite litigation and r...
Dispatches from the reading room: movies and television
By William Domnarski
Judges watch TV and films too, and sometimes it shows. By William Domnarski ...
The first charges stemming from the BP oil spill provide a valuable lesson: don't delete images from your smart phone. ...