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"Where law ends, there tyranny begins." - John Locke, English Jurist.

BRIEF RELIEF

Is personal injury settlement which includes an annuity separate property under N.Y.D.R.L. ss. 236 Part B (I)(d)(2).

Inconsistent verdict and issue of possession.

Effect of "temporary relief hearing" on child support order in injunction proceeding in Florida.

Effect of modification in contract with temporary help agency in New York.

Obtaining business audit reports and background information on national company.

Employment discrimination factors in Georgia.

Liability of funeral director in New York.

Right to reopen bankruptcy to include omitted asset.

Opposition to summary judgment in verbal threshold matter.

Fifth Amendment - Self-Incrimination - Miranda Warnings - Drunk Drivers --Evidence of defendant’s refusal to submit to certain field sobriety tests was admissible in the absence of Miranda warnings. The refusal was not compelled within the meaning of the Self-Incrimination Clause of the Fifth Amendment. People v. Berg, New York, 2/23/99.

Constitutional Law - Criminal Law - Right to Counsel - Waiver - Counsel on Appeal -- Absent record evidence that an unrepresented defendant was informed of his right to appellate counsel and that he waived that right, it is a denial of defendant’s constitutional right to counsel for the court to proceed with the People’s appeal. People v. Garcia, New York, 1999.

Declining to broaden the coverage of New York’s three-year statute of limitations for professional malpractice suits, a judge ruled that the law does not apply to claims against insurance agents or brokers. The judge concluded that the six-year statute of limitations for contract actions should be applied to suits against agents or brokers. New York Law Journal.

Georgia Court of Appeals - The Georgia Court of Appeals has ruled that evidence of speeding based on laser speed-detection devices is inadmissible unless supported by expert testimony.

Supreme Court of Georgia - Social Security payments do not reduce support obligation. A trial court erred in ruling that the father of minor children was entitled to credit against his child-support obligation for those social security benefits received for his dependent children. Koch v. Martin, No. S98A1628, 1/11/99.

Washington Supreme Court News - A police officer has the authority to order driver of vehicle detained for a traffic infraction to remain in the vehicle or to leave the vehicle in furtherance of the officer’s need to control the scene of the traffic stop. With respect to the passengers, an officer must have an articulate rationale predicted upon safety considerations to order the passengers out of the car or to remain in the car. State v. Mendez, No. 66318-1, 1/28/99.

3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals - 3rd Circuit Refines "Daubert" standard -- 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld dismissal of a products liability suit. The panel concluded that a federal judge had properly excluded so much evidence that the plaintiffs could no longer prove a causal link between their injuries and the carpet gases. The Legal Intelligencer.

4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals - 4th Circuit narrows role of Miranda warnings. The court ruled on February 8 that confessions obtained voluntarily by federal law enforcement officials may not be suppressed simply because a defendant was not given his Miranda warnings.

PUBLICATIONS OF INTEREST

Boot, Max. Out Of Order: Arrogance, Corruption, and Incompetence On the Bench. New York: Basic Books, 1998. Book details a number of alarming problems that are currently plaguing the American judicial system and targets unethical, incapable judges as their cause.

Klicka, Christopher J. The Right to Home School: A Guide to the Law on Parent’s Rights in Education. Carolina Academic Press, 1998.

Schulhofer, Stephen J.K. Unwanted Sex: The Culture of Intimidation and the Failure of the Law. Harvard University Press, 1998.

Walker, Samuel. The Rights Revolution: Rights and Community in Modern America. Oxford University Press, 1998.

Malcolm, Janet. The Crime of Sheila McGough. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. Janet Malcolm turns her attention to an attorney who says she was framed.

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CLASSIC LEGAL MOVIES

The Verdict -1982 "Breaker" Morant - 1979

To Kill A Mockingbird - 1962 Judgment at Nuremberg - 1961