The Daily Judge

BurtLaw's Daily Judge is not an online newspaper and is not affiliated with or intended to be mistaken for any existing or previously-existing newspaper or journal. Rather, this is a so-called "blawg," a law-related personal non-profit pro bono publico First-Amendment protected "web log" or "blog," one with a subjective, idiosyncratic, and eccentric sociological and social-psychological slant that focuses not on the latest judicial decisions of supposed great legal importance but on a) the institution of judge in the United States and in other countries throughout the world, b) the judicial office and role, c) judicial personalities, d) the great common law tradition of judging as practiced here and throughout the world, e) judges as judges, f) judges as ordinary people with the usual mix of virtues and flaws, etc. We link to newspapers and other sources in order to alert you to ideas, articles, stories, speeches, law books, literary works and other things that have interested us and that may interest you. In linking to another site or source, we don't mean either to suggest we necessarily agree with views or ideas expressed there or to attest to the accuracy of facts set forth there. We urge you in every instance to click on the link and read the entire story or other printed source to which we link. We often use the linked piece as a springboard for expressing our opinion, typically clearly labelled "Comment."

About links. a) Links, like judges, eventually retire or expire, some sooner than others. b) Access to all stories via these links is free, at least initially, although some sites require free registration. c) Free access often turns to fee access after a day or a week or some such period. d) Entries, following the typical blog format, are in reverse chronological order.

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About Burton Hanson. Burton Hanson is a graduate of Harvard Law School, admitted to practice in the District of Columbia and Minnesota. He worked one year as Hennepin County District Court Special Term (Civil) Law Clerk, two years as law clerk for the late Justice C. Donald Peterson of the Minnesota Supreme Court, and over 26 years as Deputy Commissioner of the Minnesota Supreme Court. He was a nonpartisan candidate for Chief Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court in the general election in November 2000 and a liberal anti-war candidate for Congress in the Republican primary in the Minnesota Third District in September 2004. He was one of the first law bloggers (blawgers). He began planning his first blog, BurtLaw's Law And Everything Else in 1999 but delayed starting it until after the 2000 general election. His campaign website, the no-longer extant VoteHans.Com, contained a personal campaign weblog, possibly the first such use of a weblog or blog. In 2004 he also used the personal blog format in his primary campaign for Congress. That site, BurtonHanson.Com, has morphed into a personal political opinion blog and also contains the archives of his 2004 campaign web pages and blog postings.

Beating up the judge - literally. "Authorities are reviewing possible formal charges against at least one man, and possibly other suspects, accused by a Milwaukee County judge of beating him up at a downtown rock concert last month. Children's Court Judge David Borowski, 40, said Tuesday he was at a Kid Rock concert at the Eagles Ballroom on July 22 when he was assaulted...'I was just a victim. This was completely unrelated to my being a judge,' Borowski said. 'I never asked for or received any special treatment. And I would hope the justice system plays itself out fairly.'" More (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel 08.09.2006).

Town admits responsibility for death of judge's dog. "[South Kingston] is revisiting its animal-care procedures after a beloved St. Bernard owned by Providence Municipal Court Judge Frank Caprio died at the pound last week. The 6-year-old dog, Caesar, died of heat exposure at the South Kingstown pound last Wednesday after being picked up by a Narragansett animal control officer the previous afternoon. South Kingstown provides pound services at the Asa Pond Road facility for the Town of Narragansett. Town Manager Stephen Alfred said South Kingstown takes full responsibility for the incident and will reexamine its policies at the pound as a result...Caprio explained that he realized Caesar was missing when he went to feed him Wednesday morning...Caesar had apparently wandered off when the power went out, disabling the electric fence on the Caprios' Ocean Road property, the family said. The dog had a kennel there, as well as access to a guest house on the 3.5 acres. The dog was wearing an identification tag, with his and the judge's name on it, and a collar designed to shock animals that wander too close to an electric fence, Caprio said...The incident has raised the ire of the Defenders of Animals, a Providence animal-rights group, which claims Caesar should have been returned to Ocean Road...Defenders of Animals...plans to introduce a bill [in the legislature] to require animal control officers to use identification tags to return stray animals to their homes...." More (Providence Journal 08.09.2006). Comment. I recently sat up all night during an eight-hour power outage on one of the hottest nights of the year because I wanted to monitor the condition of and otherwise protect our beloved Mathilda, Wonder Dog, who is ailing. Earlier. Iowa judge nixes dog-friendly cafe (with extended comments); Appeals court: 'We're for dogs'; The courthouse dog; Judge caught on tape demeaning man with service dog; Annals of eccentric judges; The courthouse dog -- or, what are dogs up to?; Judge under fire for saying dog rescuer should have shot dogs; Dog saves courthouse from deliveryman; Courts are going to the dogs.

Judicial candidate's divorce file is circulated. "Judicial candidate W. Scott Wynn threw barbecued chicken at his wife, repeatedly hit a nephew and mailed a doctored court order to a former employee, according to public records compiled and circulated by lawyers who support his opponent, Michelle Morley. The dossier also contains records from Wynn's ongoing divorce file, including an e-mail from a parenting coordinator who concluded the Groveland lawyer has an 'anger-management problem.' Wynn, 49, said the documents attack him unfairly...." More (Orlando Sentinel 08.09.2006). Comment. Every man, including every judge, is a character in one soap opera or another, since everyone belongs to a family and every family is a soap opera. These are the sorts of revelations that might sink a lawyer's chance of being appointed by the governor. But voters are able to (and, we believe, more likely to) weigh such "stuff" in the context of all the various factors on which they base their votes. Personally, as a voter, I'd be inclined to hold it against a candidate's opponent that his or her supporters compiled and circulated this sort of stuff.

Annals of telephonic marriages - Why don't Canadian judges lead the way? "The long-distance ceremony between a Pakistan man and his Canadian bride was not a valid marriage in Alberta, a Calgary judge has ruled. Justice Barbara Romaine, in a written decision, said the Islamic wedding between Muhammad and Zuhra Hassan two decades ago wasn't a legitimate union. Romaine, in the judgment obtained yesterday by the Sun, said the ceremony, performed by phone while Muhammad Hassan lived in Saudi Arabia, didn't meet Alberta marriage criteria...The husband had sought a ruling their now failed union was lawful so he could get a decree of judicial separation and a share of matrimonial property...." More (Ottawa Sun 08.09.2006). Compare and contrast, Same sex marriage in Canada (Wikipedia). Further reading. We're for all sorts of marriage, including, secret marriage (Sting), telephonic marriage, marriage by proxy, marriage by postcard, virtual marriage, dog marriage, marriage of convenience, marriage of true minds, marriage outside the church, marriage inside the church, marriage in the park, marriage underwater, marriage while skydiving, marriage in Bermuda, marriage made in heaven, marriage on a budget, and trial marriage, so how can we not be for same-sex marriage? See, Marriage and the Law.

Judge returns from tour in Iraq. "Bob Freitag was face to face with Saddam Hussein, but didn't think the deposed Iraqi dictator looked that tough...reitag, an associate judge in McLean County, was serving in the U.S. Army Reserves when he encountered Hussein...A major in the Reserves, Freitag was a judge advocate and military brass sought his advice...It was Freitag's job to make sure detainees, such as Hussein, received proper medical care. Ironically, while in Iraq, Freitag stayed at Abu Ghraib prison, once notorious for prisoner mistreatment. Freitag, who plans to resign his commission, said he has 'grave concern about a lack of foresight on how to end this thing (the war in Iraq).' He believes there's a civil war in Iraq and that the country could be broken up or divided...." More (Bloomington Pantagraph 08.09.2006).

A half-century's experience judging carrots. "The judge with about 50 years experience suspected the carrots in question had spent some time in plastic bags on supermarket shelves...." More (Reading Eagle - PA 08.09.2006). Comment. We note that superannuated judges with 50 years of experience judging are not barred but welcomed as judges of vegetable competitions at community fairs, etc. Only in the law do we automatically presume that highly-experienced judges, with years and years of valuable experience, are incapable of judging. See, my widely-read 2000 essay, BurtLaw on Mandatory Retirement of Judges. (If you Google the words "mandatory retirement of judges," the first link that pops up is this one.)

Air conditioning failure shuts down courthouse. "The Habersham County Courthouse closed for the day at 1 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 8, due to air conditioning failure. Monday night's thunderstorm resulted in a lightning strike, which initially knocked out the elevator, clock and air conditioning pump. The elevator and clock were restored Tuesday morning but the air conditioning pump will not be repaired until at least Wednesday...." More (Northeast Georgian 08.09.2006). Earlier. To kill a mockingbird with heat and humidity (with comments).

Response to fractured court's free speech decisions. "President Bill Clinton was called all sorts of obscene names by lawyers in the Senate and House. Abraham Lincoln was publicly accused of being black, being part ape and of suffering from syphilis of the brain. Every day, conservatives slander liberals on the airwaves. But the rules should be different, apparently, for our precious little sensitive Michigan judges...." Jack Lessenberry, So much for free speech (Detroit Metro Times 08.09.2006), commenting on one of the fractured, frictionalized Michigan Supreme Court's recent free-speech decisions, of which we, too, were critical.

Three judges are scolded for courtroom behavior. "The Washington State Commission on Judicial Conduct has admonished two local judges, one for leading a football cheer before sentencing a man for manslaughter and one for forcing a Muslim woman out of the courtroom when she wouldn’t take off her head scarf. Superior Court judge Beverly Grant, who led the cheer, and Tacoma Municipal Court judge David Ladenburg, who removed the Muslim woman, agreed with the commission and promised not to err again...." More (News-Tribune 08.08.2006). Actually, three judges were "scolded": "The third admonishment involved Spokane County Superior Court Judge Robert D. Austin, who told jurors he was surprised by their guilty verdict in a 2005 drug case." More (Seattle Post-Intelligencer 08.09.2006).

High-ranking judge arrested in bribery scandal. "Prosecutors on Tuesday arrested a former senior judge on suspicion of taking kickbacks in return for influencing court proceedings. Earlier in the day, a Seoul court issued an arrest warrant for Cho Kwan-haeng, 50, who is suspected of receiving 130 million won (US$134,680) worth of luxury gifts and cash from a broker in exchange for meddling in five to six civil and criminal cases for years, according to prosecutors...[Cho] resigned on Friday as a senior judge of the Seoul High Court, a vice ministerial level post, after being questioned by prosecutors over the influence-peddling suspicions. Prosecutors sought the warrant as part of the investigation into a high-profile corruption allegations involving a dozen senior judges, prosecutors and police officers...." More (Hankyoreh 08.09.2006). Update. Five indicted in judicial bribery scandal (Korea Times 08.23.2006).

When a judge gives birth. "Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Tammy Chung Ryu was home yesterday after giving birth to her third child on Friday...Ryu explained that because they are state officers rather than employees, judges are not subject to a specific maternity leave policy. The arrangements have to be worked out by the individual judge with the court, she said. Her decision to take three months off was fully backed by her supervising judge, John Cheroske, Ryu said...[I]t is relatively rare for judges to have babies while in office, and Ryu said she was told that no Compton judge had given birth in at least 14 years. It was probably more common before court unification, which came to Los Angeles County in 2000, she said, because there were younger women judges on the municipal courts...." More (Metropolitan News-Enterprise 08.09.2006).

Courthouse destroyed by inferno. "Yellow police tape zig-zagged in front of shops and cafes and blocked off main town roads where firefighters kept a wary eye on the ashen skeleton of the Morgan County Courthouse Tuesday afternoon...." More (Martinsburg Journal - WV 08.09.2006). Residents shocked, mourn loss (Martinsburg Journal 08.09.2006). Comment. Just yesterday we posted a piece about the aftermath of such a fire in South Dakota titled After the courthouse fire, in which we mused on the subject of the importance of public buildings in the public psyche.

The Courthouse Pub - or PUI (practicing law while under the influence). "A judge ordered a blood-alcohol test for a defense lawyer who was slurring his words, then declared a mistrial after declaring him too tipsy to argue a kidnapping case. 'I don't think you can tell a straight story because you are intoxicated,' the judge told Joseph Caramango as she declared a mistrial for his client...'I don't believe I've committed any ethical violation,' Caramango said Tuesday, disputing the accuracy of the breath-alcohol test. 'If it proved anything, it proved I was not intoxicated.' Clark County District Judge Michelle Leavitt announced Caramango had a blood-alcohol level of 0.075 percent. Nevada's legal blood-alcohol limit for drivers is 0.08 percent...." More (Houston Chronicle 08.08.2006). Comment. In Minnesota one can be "under the influence," a factual matter, even if one's BAC is less than the so-called "legal limit" by weight.

The varieties of judicial experiences - herein of blind judging. "Eight young women will compete for a Miss Manitoba crown this week, but they won't be judged on how good they look strutting down a catwalk in a bathing suit or gown. To make that point clear, organizers have recruited a blind man to judge the pageant on Thursday evening in Winkler, Man. Clint Castle, a Winnipeg resident who is on the board of the Canadian National Institute for the Blind, told CBC News on Tuesday that he plans to examine traits other than beauty...." More (CBC.co 08.09.2006). Comment. Back in 2003 a female lawyer in Austria was told she couldn't be a judge because she was blind and therefore couldn't see the defendant. See, BurtLaw's Law & Judicial Economics. But here in America "Justice" is represented artistically as a scantily-clad blind woman, and we therefore see nothing wrong with a blind woman or man judging a beauty pageant. Indeed, it's been done before, in the Miss Alberta pageant in 2000. More (National Post).Further reading on blind judges. Judge Richard C. Casey, A Jurist Who Happens to Be Blind in the Federal Courts (NFB.Org); Profile of Judge David Tatel, U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for D.C. Circuit. (Wikipedia). And see, Legally blind lawyer wants to join metaphorically blind judges. Note. We have stoutly resisted the urge to quip that a blind person typically compensates for his blindness by developing his other senses and that blind beauty pageant judges ought to be permitted to use all the other senses, in whatever way they see fit, in examining/judging/comparing the participants.

The mystery of the two Professor Brennan's. "Police are reviewing the successful appeal of a speeding fine by retired Federal Court judge Marcus Einfeld. The review follows revelations that a person who shared a name and occupation with the woman he said was driving his car was long dead...The prominent human rights activist, jurist and businessman challenged the fine, telling the Downing Centre Local Court on Monday that he had never been to the street in question. Mr Einfeld, 66, told the court his car was loaned at the time [last Ja. 8] to Professor Teresa Brennan, from Florida, who had died after returning to the U.S. On his evidence, the offence was found to be not proven and dismissed by the magistrate. A Professor Teresa Brennan from Florida did die, after being hit by a car, but that was three years before the speeding fine. When challenged by a newspaper reporter, Mr Einfeld said it was not the dead Professor Brennan who had been driving his car. He said it was another woman, also called Professor Brennan, also from America, who also died in a car accident after she had returned home...." More (The Age - AU 08.09.2006). Could evidence 'sink' him? (Daily Telegraph 08.09.2006). Update. Ex-judge's lawyer will provide driver's name (The Australian 08.10.2006). Einfeld delivers dossier to police (News.com.au 08.24.2006).

Park-and-glide rules at courthouse parking lot. "Officials cracked down on illegal parking by court employees in Chinatown yesterday after the Daily News exposed the practice - but the lesson apparently didn't reach the Bronx courthouse. Yesterday afternoon, The News spotted 15 double-parked cars on Sheridan Ave. between 161st and 163rd Sts. More than one-third of those vehicles had government-issued parking placards in the windows...." More (N.Y. Daily News 08.09.2006).

Signs in every courtroom to be modified. " Starting today in all of Italy's court room, the signs put up by the former Minister of Justice Roberto Castelli with the phrase 'justice administered in the name of the people' will be removed. This was announced by the current Minister of Justice Clemente Mastella, who yesterday signed a directive in this regard. Thus in the court room, will only remain the writing 'The law is equal for everyone.' 'I feel that this is the more correct and just expression for the citizens,' said Mastella during a press conference at the Ministry of Labour, 'there is neither forcing nor opposition with anyone. I just feel that the expression about the law being equal for everyone is more agile.'" More (Agenzia Giornalistica 08.09.2006). Comment. The law may be equal for everyone in Italy, but today's NYT contains a lengthy article on the common practice of Italian restauranteurs charging tourists more than Italians for the same menu items. Perhaps travel guides should put a special notation in their restaurant reviews indicating which restaurants treat everyone equally.

Judge Smith's sauce. "The heat in Judge Smith's barbecue sauce is not the kind that bites you like a snake; it's the sneakier, balanced kind that, even in its hot version, is a fitting, if feisty, complement to the other levels of flavor. 'In some sauces, you just taste hot,' Smith said. 'With my sauces, you eat it and enjoy it; halfway through the meal, you might think, 'Hey -- this has some heat.' Smith perfected his sauce during his 30 years of barbecue experience, first in the military, then for friends and family before opening Judge's Tip of the Rib BBQ in 2002...." More (Indianapolis Star 08.09.2006). Comment. Transposing this to the common law arena, one might say a Smitheon opinion is saucily deceptive: you start to read it and it may seem bland at the start, but in a good way; as you read on, enjoying it, you suddenly realize, "Hey, this has some heat to it."

Man apologizes, pays fine for calling top judge a 'kaffir.' "A Pretoria man has accepted that he was wrong to call a top judge a 'kaffir,' and has paid a R1 000 admission of guilt fine. Morne Pretorius, of Mayville, was charged with crimen injuria after he hurled the racist abuse and insults about the judge's driving...Pretorius got into trouble after a minor bumper bashing incident between him and Ngoepe on December 2, 2005...It has not emerged in court who bumped into whom, but it was claimed that after the incident Pretorius got out of his vehicle and, according to the charge sheet, 'injured, insulted and impaired the dignity' of Ngoepe by saying he was 'driving shit' and calling him a 'kaffir.' It was alleged that Ngoepe warned the man, who allegedly also threatened to hit him, that he was a judge, but Pretorius responded that he did not care and that Ngoepe was still a 'kaffir.'" More (Independent Online 08.09.2006).

A day for a hanging judge. Christopher Harvie has an interesting commentary, "A day for a hanging judge," on the stunning pro se victory in Scotland by "Tommy Sheridan" in his suit against Rupert Murdoch's News of the World. More (Guardian Unlimited - UK 08.09.2006). Comment. I think the Brits are wrong in their liberal libel laws, which mainly benefit Hollywood celebrities, allowing them to win cases in Britain that they could never win in the U.S. For more on this case, see, There's courtroom drama, and then there's Tommy Sheridan (and embedded links).

Opinion lets judges share their opinions. "The Florida Supreme Court's Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee said it's okay for candidates to fill out surveys seeking their views on controversial topics like gay marriage and abortion. 'The mere expression of an opinion does not necessarily mean the person giving the opinion has researched the issue exhaustively, or that the person would not be amenable to altering the opinion in the face of capable advocacy,' the committee decided. 'That is, expressing an opinion does not automatically indicate closed-mindedness.'...Candidates who fill out surveys must clearly state that they are not making a promise to rule a certain way. They must also emphasize that they will follow the law and binding precedent if the issue comes before them in court...The Judicial Qualifications Commission, which regulates judges' conduct, is not bound to follow the opinion...." More (St. Petersburg Times 08.09.2006). More (Pensacola News-Journal 08.09.2006).

Judicial candidates must disclose finances. "An order issued today requires statewide candidates for judicial office to file financial disclosure statements with the Unified Court System's Ethics Commission. The move by Jonathan Lippman, who is the chief administrative judge for New York's Office of Court Administration, closes a loophole that exempted only these candidates from such disclosures...." More (Albany Times-Union 08.09.2006).

C.J. responds to plan to survey judges. "A coalition of conservative groups calling itself 'Iowans Concerned About Judges' announced today (Tuesday) that it's sent questionnaires to judges facing re-election in the state to ask their opinions on certain issues. The Iowa Family Policy Center, 'Focus on the Family,' and the Iowa Christian Alliance are among the groups planning to use those questionnaires to produce a voter guide...." More (Radio Iowa 08.09.2006). Comment. Of course, a candidate need not respond. When I ran for Congress in 2004 I received questionnaires from special interest groups wanting to lock me in on their narrow-minded agenda. I just tossed them in the trash.

Judge attacks bloggers. "A U.S. judge has launched a blistering attack on the blogosphere, saying it is a minefield of potential litigation. Judge Edward Fadeley, retired associate justice of the Oregon Supreme Court, called the blogosphere 'a veritable Wild West of verbal ambushes and shootouts, with very little fear of legal recourse to keep character assassination, defamation and dirty business tricks in check.'" More (VNUNet 08.09.2006). Comment. I disagree completely with Judge Fadeley's views. The development of blogging, of which I was a pioneer, is one of the great developments in the history of individual freedom and American democracy. Defamation? I believe the cause of action for defamation ought to be eliminated as inconsistent with First Amendment values. I express my views in greater detail at Court upholds dismissal of judge's libel suit against TV station. Update. For an example of a pro-libel-plaintiff anti-free-speech decision that will/should never hold up, even under the current state of the law, see, N.J. judge rules Trump's $5B libel suit against author for saying Trump is not a billionaire may proceed (Cherry Hill Courier Post 08.19.2006).

Coming soon, the judge doping scandal? "Accusations of cheating at the largest tournament of the year have the chess world buzzing -- and have tournament directors worried about what they may have to do to stop players from trying to cheat in the future. The cheating is alleged to have occurred at the World Open in Philadelphia over the July 4 weekend and to have involved two players in two sections of the tournament. In each case, the player was suspected of receiving help from computers or from accomplices using computers...." And how might the help have been transmitted and received? "Before the [last] round [of a particular section] began...a tournament director noticed that [one player] was wearing something in his ear and asked to see it...[The player] told the director it was a hearing aid. The director wrote down the name and the serial number and looked it up on the Internet...[T]he device was called Phonito and it was described on a Web site as a wireless receiver that was ideal for undetected communication between two people. Part of the paraphernalia of the device...was additional equipment that had to be worn elsewhere on the body to boost and receive signals...." The player in question was expelled, as was another player. - From Dylan Loeb McClain, Cheating accusations invade world of mental sports (N.Y. Times - Sports/Chess 08.08.2006). Comment. Phonito is manufactured by Phonak, which describes it in a "shareholder letter" as an "inductive in-the-ear radio receiver" that is used in "sectors" such as security and sports. Coincidentally, the Phonak Racing Team is the team for which Floyd Landis raced (and from which he was expelled) in the recent Tour de France. Of course, the coincidence, while perhaps amusing, is by no means meaningful. The Phonito device is, by itself, seemingly a neutral device that has many proper, lawful uses in sports (as in, say, a coach communicating with his quarterback during a game) as well as forbidden uses (as in, say, a chess match). How might a competitive but relatively inexperienced appellate judge use it, perfectly lawfully, to appear a bit smarter than (or equally as smart as) his colleagues? Well, he might, for example, have one of his whiz kid law clerks, sitting in the back row of the courtroom, "send" him penetrating questions to ask counsel during oral argument, thereby allowing him to dazzle the reporters in the audience -- the Dahlia Lithwicks -- with his sparkling wit and quick repartee. And, should the day come when top judges are allowed to endorse products to supplement their meager, poverty-level salaries, someone like Justice Alito, whose nickname is Scalito, would be the perfect pitchman. The slogan might be: "Scalito. Phonito. Two words that quietly transmit excellence."

Courthouse pollution: air fresheners, perfume, radio, smoke. "Studies suggest chronic exposure to a chemical in air fresheners can cause lung problems." The offending chemical is also present in cigarette smoke. More (N.Y. Times Science Tuesday 08.08.2006). Further reading. Judge says she loves law - and deals with perfume crisis - Perfume-free courthouses? (with comments) - Argument on appeal: jurors decided hastily because they couldn't smoke. Comment. I class all these "courthouse types" together -- secretaries who lather on the perfume, fellow employees who think everyone around them must want to listen to "lite rock" radio, the boss who subjects his or her minions to cigarette smoke, the idiot who buys a plug-in air freshener and plugs it in a receptacle in a common area.

TV courtroom shows -- the 1950's. Shows like The People's Court and Judge Judy are direct descendants of shows that appeared on TV in the 1950's. Roger M. Grace has an interesting summary of them. They included: Traffic Court, Day in Court, Morning Court, The Verdict Is Yours, They Stand Accused, Divorce Court, People's Court of Small Claims, and Night Court. More (Metropolitan News-Enterprise 08.07.2006). Comment. I remember watching some of these as a kid. I have a great idea for a syndicated court TV show that would beat out even Judge Judy. Producers, tell your money people to contact mine.

Annals of judicial transparency and accountability. "In the past, immigrants could only rely on gossip to determine whether a particlular immigration judge has a tendency to rule for or against asylum. But they gained a new tool Monday, when information on backgrounds and records of most of the nation's 200-plus immigration judges was published in one place for the first time. The online database shows each judge's denial rates in asylum cases, giving immigrants and their attorneys new insight. They may even be inspired to try to get their cases moved to a friendlier court...." More (Seattle Post-Intelligencer 08.08.2006). Related. "Weld County residents wondering how to judge their judges can get some help from the state today. The Colorado State Commission on Judicial Performance and local judicial district performance commissions have completed their evaluations of 108 judges who are up for retention in the November election. Starting today at noon, the commissions' recommendation, narrative profile and complete statistical survey results will be available on the State Judicial Performance Web site...." More (Greeley Tribune 08.08.2006).

Court visitors: Russians, Chinese. More (Daily Hampshire Gazette 08.07.2006) (Russian - learning about jury trials); More (Wisconsin State Journal 08.08.2006) (Chinese - learning about, what, cloning American justice and selling it "Cheap!" at WalMart?).

When courts come to a standstill. "Courts across Tamil Nadu came to a virtual standstill today as lawyers boycotted work in protest against the Union Government's decision to amend the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC). Lawyers, barring government advocates, stayed away from the Madras High Court here, its Bench in Madurai and all lower courts across the state. In the High Court, the Judges went to their respective courts as usual at 10.30 AM but returned soon as the advocates kept away...." More (The Hindu 08.08.2006).

Judicial campaigning: Waltzing Across Texas? "The last time William 'Bill' Moody ran for the Texas Supreme Court[, in 2002,] he campaigned the traditional way, handing out fliers and making speeches. This time he's taking his campaign to the streets -- literally. Moody, a state district judge in El Paso, left the El Paso County Courthouse on Monday to start walking a 1,000-mile campaign trail that ends at the Louisiana state line. Wearing a blue suit and donated Brooks running shoes, Moody began what he expects will be a 40-day trek that he hopes will help persuade enough Texans to make him the lone Democrat on the nine-judge Texas Supreme Court...He plans to walk 25 miles a day, with a mammoth orange and black motor home trailing behind him. He will make trips back to El Paso to tend to his ongoing docket and record updates on his travels on his campaign Web site...The Texas Tech University law school graduate said he is tired of reading of unanimous decisions being issued out of Austin...'Lyndon Johnson said if you have 10 people in a room and only one opinion, then nine people aren't thinking,' he said." More (Houston Chronicle 08.08.2006). Comment. Waltz Across Texas, Ernest Tubb's 1965 hit, would make a good campaign theme song.

Judicial candidate wants opponent removed from ballot. "A Bartow lawyer running for election to a circuit judgeship has filed suit seeking to have his opponent removed from the ballot. Nathaniel White filed the suit against State Rep. John Stargel, alleging that Stargel is using funds raised for his race for re-election to the Florida House of Representative in his race for circuit judge...." More (Polk County Democrat 08.08.2006).

After the courthouse fire. "Months have passed, but the mere mention of the fire that burned down the Corson County Courthouse brings tears to Virginia Sauer's eyes...And with reason. Sauer remembers playing on the steps of the 96-year-old courthouse in McIntosh when she was a child. She has worked in the building in some capacity for more than 30 years. And she also watched as it burned to the ground during the early morning of April 10...The only thing left of the courthouse now is a hole in the ground where the basement sank in. County offices have been relocated to the fire hall, the sheriff's office and the Extension building; on Monday, the man accused of burning down the building and the county shop -- Dwight 'Trey' Crigger III -- pleaded guilty to two counts of arson...." More (Aberdeen News 08.08.2006). Comments. For my musings on what is lost when a beloved public building is torn down or otherwise destroyed, see, my comments at Judge halts demolition of historic church. Also, I recommend the writings of the best living depth psychologist, James Hillman, who has many profound things to say about the importance of beauty and soul in public buildings, public spaces. See, e.g., James Hillman, The Virtue of Caution - A call to awaken our aesthetic responses (Resurgence - Issue 213); In The Words of James Hillman - Psyche's Hermetic Highwayman (excerpts from some of his writings); The James Hillman Page at Mythos and Logos; John Söderlund, Giving depression a fair hearing - An afternoon with James Hillman (New Therapist). I've read most of Hillman's books but, alas, I haven't read his most recent, the timely A Terrible Love of War (2005).

Courts: budgeting for multi-lingual services. "Legal services in the United States are experiencing a surge in need for bilingual employees. Mostly, Spanish speaking professionals are needed, but a general need for other languages is being felt, also. Immigrants can use specialist language skills to qualify for work permits when seeking U.S. jobs...." More (Workpermit.Com 08.08.2006).

'Part judge, part philosopher, part humorist and a large part outdoorsman.' "'Everybody has a natural concept of justice,' according to 98th District Court Judge Anders B. Tingstad. 'It's funny to see it.' Part judge, part philosopher, part humorist and a large part outdoorsman, Tingstad has been honing this theory -- and several others -- through a career on the bench that now spans 23 years. Virtually every criminal in Gogebic and Ontonagon counties has passed through Tingstad's court, though he doesn't necessarily see a lawbreaker as he looks across the courtroom. 'They're all people,' he said. 'People have an unreasonably great balance of fairness. Most crooks feel like they should get some punishment. We may give them less, we may give them more.'" - From a profile of a judge chambered in Michigan's U.P. More (Ironwood Daily Globe 08.08.2006).

Dept. of judicial metaphors: Is an appeals court a 'rescue squad'? The answer is no. While agreeing with his appellate colleagues in affirming the defendant's conviction of raping his stepdaughters despite prosecutorial error, Justice Sri Ram cautioned prosecutors, "The Court of Appeal is not a rescue squad. We are not here to correct the blunders made by the prosecution." More (Malaysia Star 08.08.2006).

Judges named for 'blooks' (books from blogs) awards. "The Lulu Blooker Prize, the world's first literary prize for books based on blogs or websites ('blooks'), has announced an international line-up of judges for its 2007 prize, plus a five- fold increase in its top prize. The five judges -- up from three last year -- include the world's most famous 'blauthor' (blook author), an Internet pioneer, a top British newspaper columnist, an Indian 'sidewalk philosopher' and a well-known pundit -- political author, media personality and blogger Arianna Huffington...." More (Book Catcher - SC 08.08.2006). Comment. I've never been tempted to join the "community" of bloggers, so at first I thought this must be a spoof. But I don't think it is.... :-)

No man is an island. "[I]n spite of the lofty intellectualism and the big words, [Justice Anthony Kennedy's] speech [to the ABA convention in Hawaii] captures my imagination and that of the assembled crowd for its two quintessential Kennedy traits. The first is the vast sprawl of his imaginative world. He travels the planet and reads widely...Then he applies all that knowledge to his conception of the law. And whether you like that expansive scope, listening to him is still a tonic to the smallness and smug certainty that has characterized our political leadership in this country for the past six years. It offers a welcome break from the hermetically sealed constitutional worldview of some of his detractors...Which brings us to Kennedy's second great characteristic, the one that has launched a thousand heart attacks over at the National Review Online: Kennedy believes that justice has a purpose. It is not a neutral set of ideals. It is a promise that humans 'can dare, can plan, can have joy in their existence.'" Dahlia Lithwick, No Man Is an Island - Anthony Kennedy's surprising charge to the American Bar Association (Slate 08.07.2006). Related. Justice Kennedy speaks to Guam's bar association (Pacific Daily News 08.08.2006).

Celebrity libel cases doubled in a year in U.K. "Celebrity libel actions have more than doubled during the past year as the English courts witnessed a dramatic increase in the total number of defamation cases. There were 20 celebrity libel cases in the courts in the 2005-06 financial year, compared with just nine in the previous year, according to legal information providers Sweet & Maxwell. The total number of reported defamation cases rose from 66 to 74 in the same period...." More (The Lawyer - UK 08.07.2006).

Judge as media hog. "Filed under 'it's amazing what one can accomplish when you don't care who gets the credit,' Associate Judge Barbara Crowder defied oppressive heat and overcame the inconvenience of judging without a courtroom by performing weddings on the courthouse steps during a power outage Friday, July 20. For those with weaker constitutions, it was a work-less afternoon. But not for a circuit judge candidate, trolling for fans on the airwaves. Her good will, and bravery, were noted on a St. Louis radio broadcast. The campaign worker who phoned in the tip to a KMOX-AM producer, however, forgot to mention that Circuit Judge Don Weber also stuck it out in the oven for the good of the order." More (St. Clair Record 08.06.2006).

Courthouse for sale, cheap. "In what could be the largest single transfer of a county asset to a private company in the history of Texas, Fort Bend County Clerk Dianne Wilson recently sold every document ever filed with the county clerk's office to a Florida-based company. Red Vision paid the county approximately $2,000 to transfer twenty million records by USB cable. This could be the cheapest price ever paid by a private company for the bulk purchase of documents held by a government agency. According to Wilson, this was just business as usual. In an interview with B.J. Pollack of the Fort Bend Herald she said she sells the records 'every day' in bulk to companies like Red Vision and has since 1995...." More (OpEdNews 08.07.2006).

Judge says she loves law - and deals with perfume crisis. " On Tuesday, the woman had asked to be excused from the pool because of the problem which causes her headaches if she is around people with perfume or cologne. Jefferson decided not to let her go and the woman returned Friday for her one-on-one questioning. By that time, Jefferson had spoken with the attorneys and it was decided the woman could be excused since the judge could not order the jury not to wear perfume. When the woman was informed she was released from service, she was not happy. She said she wanted to serve on the jury and her rights would be violated if she were not allowed to be on the panel. For more than 30 minutes, Jefferson kept a calm voice while repeatedly explaining to the woman that she could not make a no-perfume rule for the trial while the woman tried to claim discrimination. In the end, Jefferson’s peacemaker style won out and the woman said 'thank you' after accepting the fact that she would not be on the jury...." From a profile of Circuit Judge Deadra Jefferson, who says, "I get up every morning ecstatic about going to work because I love people, and I love the law." More (Georgetown Times - SC 08.07.2006). Further reading. Perfume-free courthouses? (with comments) - Argument on appeal: jurors decided hastily because they couldn't smoke. Comment. I could never say with a straight face, "I love the law," but that's just me.

The path of true love doth not run smooth -- even in the courthouse. "A top judge is trying to sort out the ethical implications of a judge and a defense lawyer in a murder trial romancing the same female court employee at about the same time...." More (Boston Herald 08.05.2006). The sequence. Since the sequence of events in this important matter is arguably a little confusing in the news reports, I'm going to try set the events out in a more boring but maybe clearer, chronological way. a) First, the parties. i) Judge Edward Fitzgerald, who lives in Laconia, N.H. (where, coincidentally, my ex-brother-in-law, a small-town lawyer, lives), was working last fall in Merrimack County Superior Court. Susan Corcoran was employed as a so-called "court monitor." According to the above-linked news report, "Court monitors work closely with judges to ensure that sessions are recorded accurately." As an interesting aside, I "Googled" Ms. Corcoran and found that she is author of a piece entitled Tips on Producing a Clear Courtroom Recording that appeared with a date of April 7, 2006 in Bar News, a publication of the New Hampshire Bar Association. The publication identifies her as "Court Monitor at the Merrimack County Superior Court." The third party in our romantic triangle is a Concord lawyer named Ted Barnes. b) Ed and Susan. According to the newspaper, "a year ago, another Merrimack County Superior Court employee complained that 'sexual banter' between Fitzgerald and Corcoran constituted sexual harassment. Officials who investigated disagreed, but [Robert] Lynn[, who is chief judge of the superior courts,] asked Fitzgerald then if he and Corcoran were romantically involved. Fitzgerald said they were not." Judge Fitzgerald and Ms. Corcoran now say they started dating a couple months later, in November or December. Fitzgerald and his wife had separated. c) Susan and Ted. In January, apparently after Fitzgerald and she had stopped seeing each other, Corcoran began seeing Ted Barnes. Corcoran apparently told Barnes she had been dating a married judge from Laconia but that the relationship had ended. At the time, the murder trial of George Knickerbocker was about to begin, with Fitzgerald presiding and Barnes representing Knickerbocker. Barnes, who says he didn't know Fitzgerald was the "married judge from Laconia" whom Corcoran had told him she'd dated, says he thought about whether he should tell Fitzgerald he was dating Corcoran, since she was a court employee, but held off doing so partly because he thought Corcoran might transfer to a different court and partly because he felt he needed to study "the rules" about such things. There things stood at the end of January when the jury found Knickerbocker guilty of the included offense of manslaughter. d) Ed finds out about Ted. Fitzgerald says he accidentally found out about Corcoran's relationship with Barnes shortly after the trial ended. He says he was concerned that conceivably Corcoran might have given Barnes information about his thoughts on the case and that he told Corcoran she had a conflict and might have to either transfer or stop dating Barnes. He also resolved not to preside in any cases in which Barnes was involved. Fitzgerald apparently briefed Lynn, the chief judge, about Corcoran's having dated Barnes during the trial. He says he didn't tell Lynn about his own involvement with Corcoran because they weren't dating anymore. e) Susan breaks up with Ted, gets back together with Ed. In March Corcoran broke up with Barnes by e-mail (I guess it's often done that way these days), telling him Fitzgerald and she have "been talking again the last week or so and we both want to give it another chance." f) Knickerbocker moves for a new trial. Knickerbocker, represented by different counsel, moved for a new trial. Fitzgerald recused. At this point, Lynn, the chief judge, learned about Fitzgerald's relationship with Corcoran and was concerned about Fitzgerald's failure to disclose it earlier. He hasn't said whether Fitzgerald will face discipline but we know that Fitzgerald has been transferred from Merrimack to Rockingham County Superior Court. The N.H. professional responsibility board has declined to take any action against Barnes.

Annals of judicial hobbies. "It's uncanny but it is true. Johannesburg High Court Judge Joop Labuschagne, who last week presided over the crossbow murder case, has retired and will now have plenty of time to practise one of his favourite pastimes: crossbow hunting. Ironically, 65-year-old Labuschagne's last case dealt with that of businessman Frank Zanner, who was charged with killing his wife, Sybille, with a crossbow bolt in September 2002. Zanner was acquitted a day before Labuschagne went on retirement...." More (Independent Online - South Africa 08.07.2006). Comment. For overstressed judges looking for a hobby that doesn't tax the mind, we recommend an almost-forgotten game, one that we desperately hope will soon enjoy a revival -- Tiddlywinks. If more judges took it up as a hobby, perhaps they would be

at the fore-front of a trend. Indeed, we here at the international headquarters of The Daily Judge believe that if members of multi-judge courts were to regularly play Tiddlywinks together, there would be more -- oh, how should we put it -- colleageality. It is true that Tiddlywinks is not as mentally challenging as Solitaire, which Justice Holmes liked to play at the end of a hard day (while Fanny read to him), but then we can't all be Holmeses -- or, for that matter, as Sen. Roman Hruska would say, Brandeises, Cardozos or Frankfurters. But Tiddly-winks has an advantage over solitaire in that whereas solitaire is a solitary game, Tiddly-winks brings people together in a spirit of good clean All-American fun and fellowship. It also is a great stress-reliever, as when judges pretend that the chips are punks (or lawyers) appearing before them. Cf., this bit of dialogue from Episode "Thrill" of Season 8 of Law and Order, which illustrates the point:

Jack McCoy: I'm playing legal tiddlywinks with these punks. What I really want to do is take them out to Battery Park and hang 'em by the scrotum!

Adam Schiff: An understandable sentiment -- but stick with the tiddlywinks.

For our judicial friends whose appetites have been whetted by this, here's a link to The Rules of Tiddlywinks.

'I'm looking for judges. Ya wanna be a judge?' "The candles on the tables created a warm, reddish glow in the dim room. A bartender took a break from opening beers to share a toast with two customers. Stickers littered the mirror behind the bar, and two friends drank Lone Star beers beneath an aged poster that said, 'Ego's: Live Music 7 Days A Week.' In the back, a Philadelphia-St. Louis baseball game flickered on a huge flat-screen TV. 'I'm looking for judges,' our host bellowed into the microphone. 'All you need to have is an opinion and half a brain'...When he introduced the judges to the audience, he called us 'poetry slam virgins' -- which I was not -- but I didn't argue because it was my first time at an Austin Poetry Slam...." More (Austin American - TX 08.07.2006). Comment. To paraphrase Huey Long, "Every man a judge."

Are you an aficionado of Panchayati Raj jurisprudence? "Task Force on the Panchayati Raj Jurisprudence presented its report to Union Panchayati Raj Minister Shri Mani Shankar Aiyar here today. The report was presented by the Chairperson of the task force Dr. V.S. Ramadevi in the presence of other distinguished members of the task force...." More (Press Information Bureau 08.07.2006). Comment. If, as I am, you're an aficianado of Panchayati Raj jurisprudence and its increasing relevance to American constitutional interpretation, then you'll want to read this article, which includes specific recommendations by the Task Force.

There's courtroom drama, and then there's Tommy Sheridan. "There's courtroom drama and then there is Tommy Sheridan. His astonishing legal battle against the News of the World has gripped Scotland all summer. Everyone has had an opinion on the twists and turns of the case leading to his stunning triumph. Most will have enjoyed the sheer barnstorming spectacle of his victory speech on Friday as he unleashed weeks of pent-up emotion and left the walls of the Court of Session trembling. After 23 days, the jury took less than three hours to reject the London-based newspaper's reckless and sleazy brand of journalism and declare Tommy's victory...." More (Glasgow Sunday Mail 08.06.2006). Full text of Tommy Sheridan victory speech (The Times 08.04.2006) ("Well, brothers and sisters, what today’s verdict proves is that working-class people, when they listen to the arguments, can differentiate the truth from the muck...."). Earlier. Sensational drama in the courtroom - Sex and socialism in defamation case. Comment. Interestingly, he represented himself.

Argument on appeal: jurors decided hastily because they couldn't smoke. "Forbidding jurors to smoke during deliberations in a Licking County murder trial caused a rush to judgment, say attorneys seeking to overturn a man’s death-penalty conviction. That claim is among 17 allegations before the Ohio Supreme Court in the appeal involving Phillip Elmore, 43, who was convicted three years ago in the beating and strangling of his exgirlfriend in Newark...'The trial court violated Elmore’s fair-trial rights by denying a request by one or more members of the jury to allow smoking of tobacco in the jury room or smoke breaks during deliberations,' Elmore’s attorneys say in a motion filed with the court. 'The judge’s refusal to make any accommodation of jurors’ request to smoke predisposed those jurors to agree on a quick decision.'" More (Columbus Dispatch 08.06.2006). Comment. One wonders how many jurors over the years voted one way or the other just to free themselves as quickly as possible from sitting in a small jury room with rude smokers. Earlier. Judicial privilege (on judges who violate courthouse smoking bans) - Judges ask to smoke despite smoking ban (and comment) - Perfume-free courthouses? (with comments) - Judge caught smoking in the boys' room (Wisconsin State Journal 02.15.2006) - Judges warn that smoking ban in courts puts justice at risk! - Courthouse can't seem to stop crime in its midst - a daily occurrence! - And others adapt to a new tradition.

Judge's personal security guard shoots self in leg. "On Saturday, a personal security officer (PSO) working with Justice Rajesh Bindal of the Punjab and Haryana High Court accidentally shot himself in the leg with a .9mm pistol even as he said he didn't "realise that there was one bullet still left in the chamber of the gun...." More (Times of India 08.06.2006). Comment. If you liked this, you might like The Bank Dick (1940).

Calypso judge. a) "The judging of Barbados' Pic O De Crop calypso finals will have some Trinidad influence this year. That country's chief calypso judge, Hugh Grant, will sit on the panel that will determine the winners and losers at the National Stadium on Friday night. As part of the arrangement with the Trinidad United Calypso Organisation, a Barbadian judge will also have a voice in the Trinidad competition...." More (Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation 08.02.2006). b) "There seems to be no getting away from the perennial problem of judging the local calypso competitions and contestants seem almost resigned to the distinct possibility that something strange, if not sinister, could well take place in the competitions in which they participate. This prevailed in the days when calypso heavyweights Short Shirt, Swallow and Obstinate strutted their stuff on the Carnival stage and after that often very fierce rivalry subsided, fans’ attention turned to Lady Falcon and Singing Althea if only for a brief period...." Is new Calypso judging system needed? (Antigua Sun - Antigua and Barbada - opinion 08.03.2006). Earlier. Antiguan says, 'No Trinidadian judges, please' - Lay off the Calypso judges - More on Calypso judging controversy.

Beach judging. Results of a search using three terms: 'beach,' 'access,' and 'judge.' Earlier. N.J. beach access case -- best argument this summer for judicial activism? - From Tales of the Surfin' Judge - Another beachcombers' rights case - who says all 'judicial activism' is bad? - Beach rights recognized -- we've had 'em all along, but.... (Entry dated Friday, 07.30.2005 at Burton Hanson.Com - scroll down) - State's top court rules beach walking is o.k. (Detroit Free Press 07.30.2005) - Text of Michigan Supreme Court's opinion.

Corrupt judge gets 25 years in prison. "A former judge was yesterday jailed for 25 years, while seven lawyers received prison sentences of four years each in the first trial linked to an alleged trial-fixing ring which was uncovered last year. In addition to his lengthy jail term, former judge Leonidas Stathis was also fined 71,020 euros after an appeals court found him guilty of money laundering and accepting bribes...." More (Kathimerini - Greece 08.05.2006).

Man who threw slippers at judge gets 16 months. "Abdul Nazir alias Takla, who was nabbed after the police retrieved some stolen goods from his house in Nawapura slum, was sentenced to 16 months and four days of simple imprisonment by a chief judicial magistrate. On March 29 last year, Abdul had thrown his slippers at a judge in a courtroom reportedly because the date for the hearing of his case kept getting postponed...Following the incident, Abdul Nazir was taken out of the court room by angry advocates and handed over to the police. On Thursday, Chief Judicial Magistrate Sita Ninani pronounced a sentence of 16 months’ imprisonment for Abdul Nazir on charges of humiliating a public servant and causing threat of injury to a public servant...." More (Ahmedabad Newsline 08.05.2006). Related. Man hurls shoe at judge after being sentenced to 11 years for rape (Monster & Critics - India 08.07.2006). Comment. Are we witnessing the start of an epidemic in India of criminal defendants throwing shoes at judges? Consider this posting from last February:

Throwing chappals at judges - a trend? " Infuriated over a verdict convicting him in a dacoity case with a life term, an accused hurled a chappal at a sessions judge here in the courtroom. However, the judge dodged and the chappal missed the target at the fast-track court yesterday...Last year, a similar incident had occurred in a sessions court when an accused had thrown his chappal at the judge after being convicted...." More (NewKerala.Com - India 02.07.2006). Comment. "A chappal is an item of Indian footwear, which resemble flip flops but have the added feature of a toe strap. In India it is considered the height of belligerence to brandish a chappal in one's hand, as a threat of physical violence against any would-be antagonizer, no matter how trivial the perceived aggravation may be. Thus, the chappal can also be considered as the weapon of choice for the common man...." More (Wikipedia 02.07.2006).

Butcher is jailed for attacking judge. "A Nelson man who leapt out of the dock and lunged at a judge was jailed for 12 months today. Jacob Donald Matheson, 24, a butcher, told police that he intended to stab Judge Geoffrey Ellis. He previously admitted assaulting Judge Ellis with intent to injure, assaulting a constable, resisting two constables, and an unrelated charge of doing an indecent act...." More (Stuff - NZ 08.07.2006). Comment. Suddenly, throwing a chappal/slipper/shoe doesn't seem so bad.

Chauffeur felt driven to murder his wife with judge's pistol. "At 5:15 on the afternoon of December 10, 1928, Judge Charles D. Shakelford's chauffeur, James Bell, shot his wife Hattie to death on a Charlottesville sidewalk...As she lay bleeding on the West Main Street sidewalk, Bell climbed back into his boss's car and drove off to pick up the judge more or less on schedule. Twenty minutes passed and Bell arrived at the courthouse to collect his charge, announcing to Shakelford that after he drove him home he would have to drive right back, as he had just murdered his wife and needed to turn himself in. Not surprisingly, the judge turned down his chauffeur's offer of a ride and demanded Bell get himself to police headquarters right away...." More (Staunton News Leader - VA 08.05.2006).

Man in court over order to stay out of courthouse. "Edgar Simon Jr. gained a reputation as a squeaky wheel through his persistent questions of the court staff. Rather than grease the wheels of the justice system, he is headed to a contempt-of-court hearing Monday after he was deemed to have returned to the area near judges' offices in the Forsyth County courthouse. He had been warned by a judge not to do so...." More (Winston-Salem Journal 08.05.2006). Comment. Hmm. Will he be in violation of the court order if he shows up for the contempt hearing?

Courthouse powder outside judge's door fits voodoo ritual. "Gypsum found in piles and strewn about the perimeters of a courtroom in the Salinas courthouse recently may have been part of a ceremonial practice meant to purify -- or perhaps curse -- the premises, an authority on the subject said. Ruben Mendoza, director of the Institute of Archaeology at CSU-Monterey Bay, said the mystical practice goes back to ancient times among indigenous groups in Mexico and Central America and is still used today. Mendoza said Aztecs, Mayans and other Mesoamerican communities purified each corner of a structure by tossing corn pollen or ground corn or limestone into the wind to the north, south, east and west...." The discovery of the powder led to the shutdown of the courthouse on 07.20. More (Monterey Herald 08.07.2006). Comment. Memo to self: add this case study to those to be discussed at the next session of diversity training for judges and courthouse personnel. We need to be more sensitive to the diversity of accepted cultural practices. Further reading. White powder found in doorway to courtroom!!

Judge criticizes judges' use of court's e-mail for fundraiser. "A Los Angeles Superior Court judge has criticized two of his colleagues for using the court’s e-mail system to promote a fundraiser for a candidate seeking an open Los Angeles Superior Court seat. Judge Abraham Khan late Tuesday sent an e-mail to Judges Gilbert Lopez and Mildred Escobedo, with copies to a number of other judicial officers, in apparent response to e-mails sent out by Lopez and Escobedo earlier in the day...." More (Metropolitan News-Enterprise 08.05.2006).

The case of the lewd juror. "A man serving on a grand jury has been charged for exposing himself inside a room at a federal courthouse, authorities said. Edwin Ng, 38, was charged with committing an act of public lewdness, disorderly conduct and destruction of government property, officials said. A female employee at U.S. District Court in Brooklyn saw the incident Friday and alerted authorities...." More (Newsday 08.05.2006). See, also, Juror was a bit too fondle of himself, say marshals (N.Y. Daily News 08.05.2006). Comment. Alas, yet another way is opened for a fellow to relieve himself of jury duty. But, we ask, what "government property" was destroyed?

Another 'first': black woman elected judge in Nashville. "Angie Blackshear Dalton won a seat on Nashville's General Sessions bench Thursday afternoon after beating her opponent, Nashville lawyer David Huff. Davidson County Administrator of Elections Ray Barrett confirmed the historic first for Nashville, although Dalton isn't the first black female judge for the city. Nashville lawyer Andrei Lee was appointed in 2003 to fill a General Sessions vacancy, but lost her seat in the next election...." More (WTVF 08.05.2006). Comment. It's been hard for black lawyers to get appointed to the judiciary in Tennessee -- and in many, many other states. One of the many virtues of allowing lawyers to challenge appointed judges in elections when the appointed judges have served a year or two is it allows lawyers who are not the favorites of the bar associations, the big law firms, politicians, and other members of the judicio-political power elite a fair chance at being considered.

Vitriolic speech at opening of new judicial center. "The President of HOOD, the National Organization for the Defense of Rights and Freedoms lashed out at the Higher Judiciary Council during a speech at the launch of the new Center for the Studies of Judicial and Advocate’s Independence. HOOD President Mohammed Naji Allawo is called it a 'council of revenge.'" More (Yemen Observer 08.05.2006).

White paper on higher judicial appointments. "The Bar Council of India has called on the government to come out with a 'white paper' on transparency and accountability in appointments of judges in the higher judiciary. In a petition last night to Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee and many other advocates in Parliament and the Union Cabinet, the Council stressed its 'great significance' in view of 'the expanding horizons of judicial review of public administration.'" More (IndlawNews 08.04.2006).

Police say judge was with son during burglary. "Paul R. Brown burglarized a home while his father, Circuit Court Judge George Brown Jr., waited outside in a car, according to documents released by the Manatee County Sheriff's Office. The documents state that the judge said he thought he was taking his son to look at a trailer when they stopped at a residence in the 500 block of 63rd Avenue West on July 27. Sheriff's deputies and a resident say that Paul Brown, 33, broke into the residence, using a knife to pry open the back door, and took an aquarium, one in a series of burglaries Paul Brown was arrested and charged with earlier this week...." More (Bradenton Herald 08.04.2006). Earlier. Judge's son is accused of residential burglaries.

Mandate female judges in all rape cases? "India has proposed that only women judges try rape cases to help sexual assault victims get justice faster and make trials sensitive to their trauma, a law ministry spokesman said on Friday. The proposal, a bill which has to be passed by parliament, was approved at a cabinet meeting late on Thursday, S.M. Kumar said...." More (Reuters - India 08.04.2006). Comment. Bad idea -- on the same level as mandating that only male judges preside in rape cases because all (or so it seems) the defendants are men. Update. Female lawyers are divided over proposal (Afternoon Dispatch & Courier 08.07.2006); Do we then assign cases involving minorities to minority judges? (Times of India 08.07.2006).

This judge 'eats cases for breakfast.' "This judge has practically run out of pending cases to decide or motions to resolve. For judge Joven F. Costales, presiding judge of the regional trial court, Branch 45 in this city, 'backlog' is an alien word. As of the end of June, this year, he was practically cleared his bench of cases brought for decision. Known as the 'Hanging Judge of Pangasinan,' Costales record of speedy and no-nonsense disposal of pending cases, has been duly reported to the Committee on Zero Backlog of Cases headed by Justice Reynato S. Puno of the Supreme Court this month...Costales has sent 26 accused to death row and sentenced 30 persons to life imprisonment...." More (Philippines Information Agency 08.04.2006). Comment. I didn't know that a judge's excellence was determined by reference to the number of people he has sentenced to death, to life in prison, etc.

Judge sues paper for defamation. "Former Zimbabwe High Court Judge President Justice Paddington Garwe, who is now on the Supreme Court Bench, is suing the Zimbabwe Independent for $75bn (US$300m), claiming an article it published on the treason trial of opposition MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai was defamatory...." More (Legal Brief 08.04.2006). Related. Judicial independence in Singapore (including comments on defamation law) - Intimidated judges (for the latest on judicial independence, or the lack of it, in Zimbabwe).

Ought state supreme court justices represent geographical districts? "It's likely that ten initiatives will appear on Oregon's November ballot. One that would require supreme and appeals court judges to be elected from districts narrowly qualified Thursday. Ley Garnett has more. If voters approve, the state would be divided into seven districts for the Supreme Court and five for the Court of Appeals. Only one judge could be on the courts from each district. Supporters of the initiative say all the judges now are from the heavily populated Willamette Valley and that this is the way for the whole state to gain representation...." More (Oregon Public Broadcasting 08.04.2006). Comment. "Conservatives" are behind this very unconservative idea. See, Conservatives want Oregon's top judges elected by district. In 2002 Oregon voters narrowly rejected this initiative. Now its proponents are back again. Proponents apparently are saying it will bring geographic diversity to the court, but opponents say that it will make it easier & cheaper to elect agenda-driven candidates. Minnesota's court of appeals (but not its supreme court) has a hybrid membership. Six but only six of its members must come from specific congressional districts & can be opposed in the election only by lawyers from the specific districts; however, all voters get to vote in any of the contested elections. The system is a foolish one that, I seem to recall, was the price of support of some outstate legislators for establishing a court of appeals. The idea of mandated geographical representation on top state appellate courts is based on a flawed understanding of the proper role of an appellate judge, which is not to "represent" this region or a particular group of voters nor to simply "vote" yea or nay on issues that come before the court as a legislator does when considering issues in the context of legislating. Related. Ken Starr: Americans misunderstand role of courts (Honolulu Star-Bulletin 08.06.2006).

Judge hosts free CLE seminar. "Slidell City Court Judge James 'Jim' Lamz will host a free educational seminar for attorneys involved in 'Child In Need of Care' court cases that is designed to offer them education on the process as well as ethics and professionalism. In addition, attendees will learn about recent amendments to the Louisiana Children’s Code and receive an in-depth analysis of the code, among other matter to be covered in the day-long seminar...." More (St. Tammany 08.04.2006). Comment. The judiciary requires attorneys to attend CLE classes as a condition of renewal of their licenses. Judges often participate as "faculty" members. Typically, when they do so, they donate their services to the sponsors of the seminar, who in turn charge attorneys to attend, often far more than the seminars, which vary widely in quality, are worth. It seems to me that judges, who are public employees, ought to limit their participation to seminars that are open for all attorneys to attend, free of charge. Stated differently, judges who participate in for-fee seminars ought to report time off to participate as vacation time. We congratulate Judge Lamz on doing the right thing in hosting a free seminar and thereby setting an example for other judges around the country.

Annals of judicial colleageality: a frictionalized, fractured supreme court. "The end of the Michigan Supreme Court's latest term didn't just reinforce the philosophical divide among the justices. It laid bare -- for all to see, in an unprecedented way -- the personal animosity that poisons the relationships between some justices. The latest flare-up came Monday, when the court reprimanded outspoken attorney Geoffrey Fieger for vulgar remarks he made on the radio about three state Court of Appeals judges. Justice Elizabeth Weaver wrote a scathing dissent charging that four justices -- all fellow Republicans -- showed bias and prejudice against Fieger by not disqualifying themselves from the case. That didn't please Chief Justice Clifford Taylor, who wrote in a strongly worded response that, 'with her dissent, Justice Weaver completes a transformation begun five years ago, when all six of her colleagues voted not to renew her tenure as Chief Justice of this Court.' 'This transformation is based neither on principle nor on 'independent' views, but is rooted in personal resentment,' he added in an opinion joined by Justices Maura Corrigan, Stephen Markman and Robert Young Jr....." More (single-page printer-friendly version) (MLive 08.03.2006). Extras. Link to opinion in Maldonado v. Ford Motor Co. (html); link to opinion in Grievance Adm'r v. Fieger (html); link to order Re Appointment of Chief Judge of the Kent County Probate Court (html). Earlier. Calling a judge a 'jackass' (includes commentary and links to earlier postings relating to Mr. Fieger and the four justices in the majority); More on Michigan Supremes' split over free speech (with link to NYT story about the reaction to the Ford case). Comments. a) In Austin Hall back in the fall of 1964 Dean Erwin ("The Grizzer") Griswold (he's the guy in the funny hat shaking my hand on graduation day three years later) welcomed me & the other

members of the Harvard Law School Class of 1967 by introducing himself as "Le maître d’hôtel of this ménage of prima donnas." We know from reading books that have taken us behind the red velour (or is it "velvet"?) curtains that judges on multi-member trial benches and appellate courts, like law school professors, sometimes have behaved like Dean Griswold's ménage of prima donnas -- or, to use the memorable phrase used by Justice Holmes in reference to the members of the U.S. Supreme Court, like "nine scorpions in a bottle." But we live in a time when judges on these multi-member trial courts and appellate courts love to publicly proclaim the importance of a virtue they like to refer to as "colleageality." "Colleageality" is a word that, like most clichés, is often used as a substitute for thought. Some judicial lightweights seem to think an appellate court should be a "mutual admiration society" and they put a premium on reaching unanimity. Our Founding Fathers were wiser. They knew that diversity of opinion and respectful arm's-length disagreement, even among so-called "colleagues," are the lifeblood of a creative, free, democratic society. A few years ago I heard a well-known, highly-thoughtful appellate advocate bemoan a particular appellate court's then relatively-recent overemphasis on suppressing ideological differences in its opinions in the interest of presenting a harmonious, united front to the bar and the public. The unsettling result, according to this advocate, was that even experienced students of the court's opinions were unable to discern any rational pattern to the court's "jurisprudence." Another student of that court described its opinions as "bland." Instead of the more amorphous term "colleageality," we prefer terms like "civility" and "mutual respect." b) Ought we be upset by the Michigan Supreme Court's airing of its dirty laundry? I'm not. i) I'm upset that the members of the court who are so obviously wrong in their interpretation and application of the First Amendment make up the majority in the cases in question, and ii) I'm pleased that the three other justices didn't try to blandly paper over their differences but instead gave us a demonstration of both the First Amendment in action and judicial independence that insists on public accountablity.

How to 'arrest' a judge. "The judge who convicted former Colonel Yury Budanov of strangling a Chechen woman is himself being investigated on swindling charges in possible retaliation for the ruling, his lawyer and human rights activists said Thursday. The Military Prosecutor's Office has been investigating Judge Vladimir Bukreyev, who lives in Rostov-on-Don, since last year, said his lawyer, Yelena Orlyankina...Bukreyev, in a statement handed out to reporters, said only that the investigation was 'motivated by the wish to get revenge for my judicial work'...The Supreme Court sanctioned Bukreyev's arrest last month...He remains free as he appeals, however. Also, the Supreme Qualification Collegiate of Judges must authorize the arrest of a judge before he can be taken into custody...." More (Moscow Times 08.04.2006).

Annals of judicial asides. "[Judge Charles Harris of Oxford Crown Court] has been criticised for suggesting that people who use their homes as drug factories are no more of a nuisance than those who cultivate tomato plants...He also compared the nuisance value of growing cannabis to fictional detective Sherlock Holmes taking drugs in the novels by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle...." More (Oxford Mail 08.03.2006).

Small blast at courthouse gives judges a golf day. "A power outage, an explosion and hundreds of people evacuated. That was the scene at the Provo 4th District Courthouse Wednesday afternoon when a power outage led to a much more serious situation. A little before noon the power went out at the courthouse, causing the generator to kick on, Provo fire Battalion Chief Gary Jolley said. But something went wrong and rather than power returning, the generator exploded, filling the building with smoke...The generator did not catch fire, but it did send smoke into the inmate holding areas and some of the judges' chambers, Jolley said. With such a large piece of equipment out, the building was closed down for the day. 'The judges have a golf day I guess,' Jolley said about the court forcing to shut down for the remainder of the day...." More (Daily Herald 08.03.2006). Comments. a) If you look hard enough, you can always find the proverbial silver lining. b) Wallace Stevens, the great lawyer/great poet, said he sometimes wrote poems at work and often solved difficult legal problems while walking in the park. Who says the judges who took the court closing as an excuse to play golf didn't get some work done out on the links?

Are Singapore courts getting softer? "The courts in Singapore, renowned for their tough laws and strict sentencing, have been showing a softer, more humane, touch when dealing with young Singaporeans who break the law.

It may be a little early to declare that a major transition of the judiciary is under way, and in fact, the republic will not relax its punishment of serious crime -- including hanging and caning -- any time soon...." More (The National 08.03.2006). Comment. Read on....

Judicial independence in Singapore. "[High Court Justice Woo Bih Li, t]he Singapore judge hearing a defamation suit brought by the city-state's top leaders against democracy campaigner Chee Soon Juan has disqualified himself from the case to avoid a perception of bias...Jeffrey Chan, a lawyer representing the Attorney General's office, told reporters this was the first time in Singapore's judicial history that a judge had disqualified himself from a case...Chee is barred from campaigning or standing in elections after being bankrupted in February for failing to pay S$500,000 in libel damages to [former prime ministers] Lee Kuan Yew and...Goh Chok Tong. He was jailed for eight days in March for contempt of court after criticizing the independence of the city-state's judges...." More (Easy Bourse 08.03.2006). Further reading. Singapore authorities use libel laws to silence critics (Singapore Window). Comment. Singapore's defamation laws are harsher than those of Great Britain, and Great Britain's in turn are harsher than ours. Even so, I believe the cause of action for defamation in the U.S. ought to be eliminated as inconsistent with First Amendment values. I express my views in greater detail at Court upholds dismissal of judge's libel suit against TV station. Update. Judge dismisses filmmaker's defamation suit against Sen. Kerry (Boston Herald 08.05.2006).

Controversy over court's top officer. "The D.C. Courts' top administrator, Anne B. Wicks, did not meet her job's residency requirement for more than two years, going home to a house in Arlington County -- until a couple of weeks ago. After an anonymous tip to the D.C. inspector general's office in March, Wicks's boss, D.C. Court of Appeals Chief Judge Eric T. Washington, ordered her to move into the District promptly. For months after that, she remained in Virginia. Recently, just as Legal Times was about to break the news that Wicks had been living outside the city for much of her tenure as the court's executive officer, she moved into a Northwest Washington house that she had bought in October 2004 but never occupied...In an interview, Wicks said that her purchase of the house, in the Palisades neighborhood, was evidence of her intent to live in the city and that she wanted to raze the house and build another on the site. The plan faltered, however, and her family remained in Virginia while she and her husband tried to figure out what to do, she said...[Moreover,] she was improperly, though she says unwittingly, claiming a homestead deduction on the Palisades residence -- a tax benefit available only to a homeowner occupying the home and one that she repaid this year after an audit by the city...." More (Washington Post 07.22.2006). Comment. We stumbled on this story a little late. These sort of residency requirements for public employment are wrong, but that's not the real issue here.

Sheriff's deputy 'verbally abuses' judge's staff. "A Montgomery County sheriff's deputy, who was verbally abusive to the staff of Norristown District Judge Margaret Hunsicker, will be disciplined...The uniformed deputy went to the district court to question a personal parking ticket that he had received, according to district court clerk. The clerks tried to accommodate him by looking the ticket up on the computer, the clerk said. However, it was not on the computer, she said. The deputy then demanded that the staff go through the latest batch of between 1,000 to 1,500 tickets it had received from Norristown that day to see if it was there, the clerk said. 'He was very loud, obnoxious and very, very nasty,' particularly when the clerk said they did not have time to go through all the tickets at that time, she said...." More (Norristown Times Herald 08.03.2006). Comment. This constitutes the deputy's one "hot-headed moment," employment law's equivalent of the "one-bite rule" for dogs.

Annals of Iowa jurisprudence. Two "eating establishment" permit cases out of Iowa that jurisprudential scholars may wish to compare and contrast:

Iowa judge nixes dog-friendly cafe. "A businesswoman's plan to open a dog-friendly cafe has been rejected by a judge who said it would present too great a health risk. Holleen Lawrence hoped to win an exception to a state law that prohibits animals from restaurants, but Administrative Law Judge John Priester ruled in favor of state officials who say Lawrence's proposed cafe could be a health risk to customers. Lawrence said she plans to appeal Priester's decision. Although Lawrence had not chosen a site for the cafe, her plans show precautions to ensure food safety...Animals would be banned from areas where food is prepared and an 'elimination team' would stand by to clean up any pet accidents. Lawrence, who has a petition with more than 1,000 signatures supporting her plan, can appeal to the director of the Department of Inspections and Appeals. If that is denied, she could appeal to district court." More (Cedar Rapids Gazette 08.03.2006).

Iowa judge says yes to nude juice bar. "An eastern Iowa business owner will get the special permit he needs to open a controversial nude juice bar. A district court judge ruled the Waterloo Board of Adjustment inappropriately denied a special permit to Earl Baugh of Waterloo...." More (KWWL 08.03.2006).

Comment. Hey, I've got an idea for a totally fictionalized movie treatment -- The Food Courts of Madison County -- based very loosely on the decisions (and not at all on the parties) in these two important, precedent-shattering restaurant-permit cases. The movie will have everything going for it. It's to be set, of course, in Iowa -- the summer of 1995 (which, by the way, is when lots of frustrated married women were seeing The Bridges of Madison County multiple times, wishing they could connect with a guy like Clint Eastwood -- or me). The kids of the couple in the movie are grown. Hubby, Dickster, who is a small town judge, heads for the state fair to serve as celebrity judge of the jam&jelly competition. Wife Frannie, who's Swedish and has forgotten more than hubby will ever know about jam& jelly, is irked with him for always having to be the star -- even in her areas of expertise. To spite him, she decides to stay home alone on the family's hobby farm with the dogs. Hubby isn't concerned she'll do anything wrong. No