Something strange happened to us in law school. We started removing people from our thoughts. We learned detachment, objectivity, and logical rigor. Character and passion mattered less and less to us. Syllogisms crowded them out.
The U.S. Supreme Court apparently has regressed. Today, for example, it started a 5-4 majority opinion in Uttecht v. Brown
Today, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned two Ninth Circuit decisions that held insurers potentially liable under the Fair Credit Reporting Act for failing to give "adverse action" notices to customers. The Court gave GEICO a full pardon because the company would have charged the plaintiff Ajene Edo the same premium even if it hadn’t considered
Courtesy of www.scotusblog.com, see the Court’s FCRA decision in Safeco Ins. Co. of Am. v. Burr, No. 06-844 (U.S. June 4, 2007).
Barry Barnett
William E. Gladstone (1809-98).
The four-time Prime Minister of Great Britain said:
Liberalism is trust of the people tempered by prudence. Conservatism is distrust of the people tempered by fear.
He also said that "justice delayed is justice denied."
Gladstone’s political opponent, Benjamin Disraeli, called him a "sophistical rhetorician, inebriated with the exuberance of his
Fuel tanks for JFK International Airport.
When Blawgletter heard yesterday about the foiling of an Islamist terror plot — to blow up fuel tanks and a pipeline at New York’s JFK International Airport (reports here and here) — we wondered how authorities discovered the conspiracy. Did covert interception of phone calls provide an essential
If you’ve never heard of The International Competition Network, don’t feel too special. The name sounds more like a cable channel than a gathering of antitrust agencies from more than 80 nations.
Blawgletter saw a press release about the ICN — specifically, its 6th annual conference — and decided to look into it. The
Trial lawyer Clarence Darrow (1857-1938) worked as corporation counsel for a big railroad before turning to labor and criminal law. The early experience may explain his sardonic take on commercial law:
The law does not pretend to punish everything that is dishonest. That would seriously interfere with business.
Barry Barnett
You may have seen news reports (example here) about letters that people submitted in support of or against leniency for I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby. The trial judge announced that he’ll release the letters after redacting them to protect Mr. Libby’s privacy. He’s scheduled a sentencing hearing on June 5.
Yesterday, lawyers filed a Sentencing
Nathan Koppel reports today in the WSJ that Milberg Weiss partners "had a meeting at the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles to discuss terms of a possible deal" and that possible terms "included Milberg’s paying a fine and agreeing to increased oversight of its business practices." Mr. Koppel also notes that "a settlement deal
