New Haven should not have dropped promotion exam, according to the court, because black and only two Latinos were likely to be promoted, based on the results. New Haven went with the "blame it on the lawyers" defense, saying that it had acted to avoid a lawsuit from minorities.

My opinion? I really don't have one. I have not spent the time to get up to speed employment law issues. At a glance, I can certainly see both arguments. My favorite Justice, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, wrote the dissent. Gun to my head, I go with her. But I have an open mind.

Stealing money from hundreds of rich people is jailable offense, no question. But to me, taking the life of someone's mother, someone's daughter is about a zillion times worse. And I'm not sure why stealing $500 billion - or whatever it was - is that much more serious of a crime than stealing $15,000. Stealing is stealing.

Interestingly, Plaintiff claimed his black supervisors in the Baltimore City law department and the police department treated him poorly and disciplined him harshly because he is white. Whether this is actually what happened I have no idea. I don't know what evidence was presented. Stating the manifestly obvious, American history has been almost exclusively filled with the exact opposite type of discrimination.

An unusual settlement to say the least: Of the $200,000 payment the Baltimore Board of Estimates is expected to approve today, $150,000 will go toward Plaintiffs' attorneys' fees and costs and $50,000 will go to Healthcare for the Homeless, a charity just a few blocks from Baltimore's City Hall.

First, cool thing designating proceeds to charity. The odd thing is all the money not going to charity is going to attorneys' fees. But the Plaintiff is now an employment lawyer in Rockville so my guess is that he is handling his own case. Why the settlement would be couched as attorneys' fees is a mystery to me.

These lawyers moved quickly. The FDA issued a warning letter last week linking Zicam nasal gel and swabs to loss of smell. Zicam's manufacturer - to their credit - issued a voluntary recall of its Zicam Cold Remedy nasal gels and swabs.

The Drug Recall Lawyer Blog has more on the background of Zicam claims.

C. Akin Blitz said he was just trying to get ahead of a line of cars following a motorhome over a mountain pass on U.S. Highway 26 -- that he had no idea his BMW 535xi was going 76 mph in a 55 mph zone because of its handling characteristics.

Funny right? But the funnier part is that he made a PowerPoint presentation and offered expert testimony from a mechanic. Now that is funny. Just the same, the judge found him guilty and ordered him to pay a fine.

While this is funny, what is not so funny is this: I'll bet you jurors would award less in a personal injury case if they read this article before giving their verdict. Americans are getting these kind of stories by the barrel. And it just does not help personal injury victims.

One time I can't really "stay busy" is during breaks in a trial or while the jury is out. I'm either getting ready for what I have to do or I'm killing time. One day, I would like to have a Bill Clinton-like (he's second nod on this blog today before 8:45 a.m.!) ability to just compartmentalize and focus on making the most of my time in every moment. But I'm pretty sure I'll be twiddling my thumbs next time I have a jury out.

I don't know how I would vote on this. He failed to keep an IOLTA account which is a huge problem. The second "error" he made was loaning money to his client's relatives. Both are incredibly obvious no-nos.

These are bad offenses but not crimes of intent to cause anyone harm at the lawyer's own expense. But adding salt to the wound in the dissent's view was what brings down most people: the cover-up. Ask Nixon or Clinton. Judge Harrell's dissent makes clear that he did not find he was honest with bar counsel during its investigation.

The absence of “selfish or dishonest motives” generally, as found there by the hearing judge, may influence the sanction, but have no bearing on whether the violative conduct was unintentional or negligent in the first instance... Considered together, we are
confronted with intentional misappropriation, negligent misappropriation, obvious conflict
of interest, and intentional misrepresentations to Bar Counsel in the course of an
investigation. This array, I think, cuts to the core of what we should expect minimally from
a Maryland lawyer. “Candor and truthfulness are two of the most important moral character
traits of a lawyer.”

A footnote to Judge Harrell's dissent indicates that it "is probably of no great moment" to the lawyer whether the court disbars him or not because he intends to retire. I would may have had some impact on the Maryland Court of Appeals decision. I would think that you would hate to send a guy into retirement with a disbarment after what the majority opinion indicated was 40 years in practice. (Of course, this begs the question: why are you operating without an IOLTA account after 40 years of practicing law?)

You can find the full opinion here.

This legal backdrop is an excuse to make a comment on the situation in Iran. It is absolutely incredible what is going on in Iran. I have absolutely no clue what is going to happen. I'm glad the President is letting Iran handle its own affairs on this one. Our interference in what is going on in Iran would have no impact other than making us all feel self-righteous.

Dear friends and colleagues,

It has been my privilege and pleasure to serve as a judge in Baltimore County since 1989. Over that 20 year span I have tried, and I hope I have succeeded in some small way, to have a positive impact on the practice of law here in Baltimore County.

After 20 years, I still am quite passionate about my service as a judge. I enjoy coming to the courthouse each day; I enjoy very much the people I work with in and out of the courtroom; and, most of all, I enjoy working with you, my fellow members of the Baltimore County Bar Association, in making the Baltimore County court system the best in the state of Maryland.

My term of office expires in November of this year. In order to continue my service as an active judge I would have to run successfully for a new term in the election of November, 2010. As much as I enjoy my service as a judicial officer, I must confess I have no desire to spend the next 16 months campaigning for office.

Any political campaign requires a complete and total commitment of time and effort on the part of the candidate. Politically, there is no such thing as a "part-time" campaign. As you all are aware, our "baby judge" on the Baltimore County Circuit Court bench, Judge Sherrie Bailey will be on the ballot in November of 2010. She has already begun an extremely vigorous campaign. Because I can not give a total commitment of time and effort to a campaign, it would be unfair to Judge Bailey and the other judges on the ticket to run as a "hanger on." For that reason, I have decided to advise Governor O'Malley of my intent to take retired status when my current term expires in November.

Needless to say, I wish all of my colleagues on the Sitting Judge ticket success in the election of 2010. It is my sincere hope that the Baltimore County Bar Association will vigorously support the members of the Sitting Judge ticket. They are good people and dedicated judges who deserve your support

At this time, I would like to take the opportunity to thank each and every one of you for your support of me as a judge. I would also like to apologize to you for any time when I was not as courteous or polite as I should have been.

Thank you, thank you, and thank you again for your friendship and support over the years.

Sincerely yours,

Judge Larry Daniels

What is funny is that I think this whole debacle with her chief of staff getting charged with hitting his ex-girlfriend is actually a good thing for Dixon.

By the way, Wikipedia tells us Monica Lewinsky is actually out there working hard for us lawyers. She graduated from the London School of Economics (I know, insane). He graduate thesis was titled “In Search of the Impartial Juror: An Exploration of the Third-person Effect and Pre-Trial Publicity.” I've read it and it is absolutely amazing. (Okay, I'm making that part up.) Even if she wrote it like John Kennedy wrote Profiles in Courage, I'm still impressed she got into the London School of Business. I really can't imagine she got in because of her high profile history (but maybe I'm naive).

Who knew?