"He that would make his own liberty secure must guard even his enemy from oppression; for if he violates this duty, he establishes a precedent that will reach to himself." --- Thomas Paine

MATTERS OF INTEREST

Supreme Court UNITED STATES V. CRAFT, No. 00-1831 Federal tax liens may attach to property owned as tenants by the entirety. http://laws.findlaw.com/us/000/00-1831.html

ASHCROFT V. FREE SPEECH COALITION No. 00-795 Child Pornography Prevention Act is overturned on free speech grounds. http://laws.findlaw.com/us/000/00-795.html

UNITED STATES V. VONN, No. 00-973 Where defendant remains silent when court fails to advise him of his right to counsel under F.R.C.P. Sec. 11 defendant has burden of proof as to plain error and court may review entire record to determine if there is any violation of substantial rights. http://laws.findlaw.com/us/000/00-973.html

MICKENS V. WARDEN, No. 00-9285 Where defendant's lawyer previously represented the murder victim defendant raising issue of conflict of interest must show the purported conflict hurt the lawyer's performance. http://laws.findlaw.com/us/000/00-9285.html

Florida Supreme Court RAMIREZ V. STATE OF FLORIDA, No sc92975 (Fla. December 20, 2001) Knife mark testing, which purports to exclude all other knives as a murder weapon based on microscopic features unique to each blade, is still not scientifically reliable to support a conclusion that only one knife was the murder weapon. http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/floridastatecases/12_2001/sc92975.pdf

Oregon Supreme Court SCHAFF V. RAY'S LAND & SEA FOOD CO., INC. (S48360) Salesman was an independent contractor rather than defendant's employee; therefore, defendant could not be vicariously liable for the salesman's allegedly negligent conduct. http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/floridastatecases/12_2001/sc00-287.pdf

Second Circuit KING V. AMERICAN AIRLINES No. 01-7611 An African-American couple can't sue airline under 42 USC sec 1981 for bumping them from an overbooked flight as it is covered by the Warsaw Convention. http://laws.findlaw.com/2nd/017611.html

METRO. LIFE INS. CO. V. BIGELOW No. 01-7474 Stipulation incorporated in a state divorce judgment, which designated decedents dependent children as irrevocable beneficiaries of his ERISA qualified insurance plan was held to be QDRO and was exempt from ERISA and state law governs the proper beneficiaries. http://laws.findlaw.com/2nd/017474.html

Court of Appeals IN THE MATTER OF CAROL AURECCHIONE v. NYS DIV. OF HUMAN RIGHTS, 2 No. 47 (N.Y. April 25, 2002) A victim of employment discrimination is entitled to pre-determination interest on a back-pay award, accruing from the date of the discrimination, especially where denial of such interest would be tantamount to an "interest-free loan" to her employer. To read the full text of this opinion, go to: http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=ny&vol=I02&invol=0041

CONSOL. EDISON CO. OF NEW YORK, INC. v. ALLSTATE INS. CO., 1 No. 39 (N.Y. May 2, 2002) The insured has the initial burden of proving that damage was the result of an "accident" or "occurrence" to establish coverage, and the insurer then bears the burden of proving that any exclusion applies; estimated prospective damages were properly prorated. To read the full text of this opinion, go to: http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=ny&vol=I02&invol=0051

PUBLICATIONS OF INTEREST

Sandra Day O'Connor and H. Alan Day, Lazy B. Memoir goes a long way to illuminate the forces that created this remarkable person.

Robert Ebert Byrnes & Jaime Marquart, Brush with the Law: The True Story of Law School Today at Harvard and Stanford. (Renaissance Books 2002). The main message is we slacked our way to law school success, and so can you. The cover blurb describes their book as a story "of class-ditching, orgies, hookers, hard drugs, and card-counting."

Edward Poll, Attorney & Law Firm Guide to The Business of Law, second edition. Excellent guide to starting, marketing and growing a law practice. A comprehensive primer for the establishment and running of a law firm.

"ABA survey find lawyers among lowest regarded U.S. profession" Only 19 % of Americans are "extremely" or "very" confident in lawyers and the legal profession. Profession suffers from negative media portrayals and only the media was rated lower. http://www.law.com/cgi-bin/nwlink.cgi?ACG=ZZZSNXOPWOD

BRIEF RELIEF MATTERS IN PROGRESS

1. Complaint for sale of used car which was salvage; fraud violation, Federal Odometer Law and warranties.
2. Property owners liability for negligence at site.
3. Preparation of interrogatories in premise liability action.
4. Federal Court notice of remand on removal and file amended complaint.
5. Issue of speedy trial.
6. North Carolina motion for protective order on discovery.
7. Florida procedural issue as to right to appeal non final order.