Maryland Lawyer Blog

Please note: I made up the Hurricane Irene segue.

• The first Hurricane Irene lawsuits have been filed in Maryland. (Again, people, I'm link baiting. There have not been any Hurricane Irene lawsuits filed in Maryland.)
• Who will replace the esteemed Judge Murphy on the state's highest court? That, plus some previews of upcoming cases coming before the court, in The Daily Record's preview of the new term.
• "A Baltimore City Circuit Court judge has allowed a negligence lawsuit against the state to proceed, despite defense objections that Maryland is not the proper defendant in the case."
• Never tell a judge he's "in over his head," and other advice from Paul Mark Sandler.
• To hold yourself out as a Maryland lawyer you must, uh, be an actual Maryland lawyer.
• A Maryland teenager is in "secret U.S. custody" for allegedly trying to help "Jihad Jane."

The Volokh Conspiracy has a blog post about what electives lawyers wish they had taken in law school.

My response: You didn't take evidence in law school? Seriously?

People move to Fallston to get away from a little bit if the hustle and bustle. But Fallston is in the spotlight now as homes in a community called Grafton Ridge are worried about their drinking water.

Apparently, there is an unacceptable amount of lead in the residents' drinking water. I used to defend lead paint cases years ago. One thing is for sure: lead causes brain injuries in children.

Are their potential lawsuits here? Sure. Against who? No one knows. An investigation is ongoing. The second hurdle for successful claims is going to be the lead exposure levels. Lead is ubiquitous. My kids are exposed to lead and so are yours. The question is what are the levels.

You can find the story on Channel 2 here.

• There's been a conviction in the horrific Stephen Pitcairn stabbing murder. Reporters were camped out during my trial with a bank of microphones. After our verdict Wednesday, I stepped into the microphones and pretended to give a statement. Okay, you had to be there but it was funny.
• Starting your own practice: you're doing it wrong.
• Legalize medical marijuana, says The Sun.
• Should legendary Ocean City nightspot Seacrets be held liable under dram-shop law for a boating accident caused by someone who got drunk at the club? The boater and the plaintiff were actually ferried to the boater's vessel by Seacrets. My views are here.
• Law schools should set up law firms as training grounds for students, says a Maryland Law professor.
• "Is it wrong for an older attor­ney to use ethics as a weapon against younger attor­neys? If by that you mean to beat some­body with a bound Rules of Pro­fes­sional Respon­si­bilty, then yes. If you mean to increase aware­ness of the poten­tial pit­falls for a newly barred attor­ney going solo, then no."

The Maryland Court of Appeals published its opinion in Wietzke v. Chesapeake Conference Association, a Silver Spring, Montgomery County case dealing with the law of nuisance (which I know nothing about).

The nutshell is that the church - Seventh Day Adventists - built a new parking lot which causes “repeated and continu[ed] flooding” of the residents next door. The neighbors demanded $3 million in damages which, you know, is what you ask for when someone floods your property a bit. Neighbor loses at trial but gets another crack because Maryland high court reversed trial judge.

• What will the discriminating defendant be wearing this fall?
• In other Snoop news, Above the Law notes that her plea to conspiracy to distribute heroin is not so much life imitating art as life imitating life.
• Paul Mark Sandler advocates limiting pre-trial discovery. I wish I could agree. It would save me a lot of money. But I can't.
• In case you missed this, a Maryland lawyer was involved in a weighs in on the robocall scandal.
• "Peninsula Regional Medical Center has agreed to pay $1.8 million to settle allegations that the hospital failed to act to prevent medically unnecessary cardiac stent procedures by a former cardiologist." These stent cases may be the next big thing.

The Rockville District Court Building is now open at its new location as of August 1, 2011:
191 East Jefferson Street Rockville, MD 20850.
.

Maybe this judge was following the law. But, boy, he was on the wrong side of history.

Oh, pro se plaintffs. They are so cute. When they file lawsuits, they come out a little bit silly.

This U.S. District Court opinion is another in a long line of rambling, illogical complaints that don't really form proper causes of action.

What? The plaintiff is a lawyer who has been practicing law for over 11 years? Oh.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics report that the median salary for a law clerk is $39,780 a year. I didn't clerk because I had a job lined up and figured it would be best to get started. Is clerking a good idea? First, there is the obvious question: do you have a choice? If you don't have a choice and clerking is your only option, you jump on that opportunity.

If you have choices, I think it really depends on the judge. Because the reports of the experience very from "Awesome! Invaluable!" to "Torture!"

• F. Michael Higginbotham will serve as interim dean of UB Law.
• More on the dean resignation mess, courtesy of Above the Law. Elie Mystal envisions the major players as characters from The Wire.
• Mike Miller thinks Maryland's legislature will approve gay marriage next session.
• It's kind of hard to respond to a 911 call when you don't have the caller's number and location.
• A lawyer who has had ethics issues for years has been disbarred by consent.
• The National Bar Association is in town this week.
• Should you bet on bar exam results? HT: On the Record.