"The law is never settled until it is settled right." --- Prof. Thomas Lambert, editor, ATLA Law Reporter

"A trial lawyer is the anvil upon which the rights of the people are beaten." --- Prof. Thomas Lambert, editor, ATLA Law Reporter

MATTERS OF INTEREST

FEDERAL DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA MURRAY v. GEMPLUS INTERNATIONAL A litigant's intentional disclosure of an attorney-client privileged document that helps its case constitutes a waiver of the privilege as to all confidential communications regarding the same subject matter, the court ruled. "The attorney-client privilege is a shield used to protect communications, not a sword wielded to gain an advantage in litigation," the judge wrote. For copy of article contact RESEARCH ASSOCIATES jmf@researchassociates.net

N.Y. COURT OF APPEALS FAHEY v. CANINO The court will consider an issue that has hopelessly divided lower courts: whether a mother who suffers no clear injury independent of childbirth can recover for malpractice that allegedly destroyed her fetus. The court granted leave in a case where the lower court, in upholding summary dismissal, observed that New York doesn't permit recovery for emotional damages when a child is injured or killed postpartum or in utero.

SECOND CIRCUIT

US v. RICHARDSON, No. 02-1095 (2d Cir. August 27, 2003) Conviction of being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. section 922(g)(1), which was predicated on defendant's prior felony conviction in Canada, is reversed because section 922's "convicted in any court" language does not extending to foreign convictions. http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/2nd/021095p.pdf

CALDAROLA v. COUNTY OF WESTCHESTER, No. 01-7457 (2d Cir. September 09, 2003) Although plaintiff possessed a privacy interest in not having his "perp walk" broadcast to the public, that privacy interest was outweighed by the County's legitimate government purposes. http://caselaw.findlaw.com/data2/circs/2nd/017457p.pdf

THIRD CIRCUIT

ROBERTS v. FLEET BANK (R.I.), No. 01-4420 (3d Cir. August 27, 2003) In action alleging violations of the Truth in Lending Act, a bank's solicitation materials could cause a reasonable consumer to be confused about the temporal quality of a credit card offer, thus summary judgment for the bank is reversed. http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/3rd/014420p.pdf

PUBLICATIONS OF INTEREST

"Can Cooley Godward Avoid Blame in Girl's Death?" Legal Times A jury will be asked to determine whether a former Cooley Godward associate caused the death because she was talking via cell phone while driving; and whether she was working for Cooley while on the phone -- a point that could let plaintiffs into the firm's deep pockets. The girl's family seeks $25 million. For copy of article contact RESEARCH ASSOCIATES jmf@researchassociates.net

"Dissolution of Marriage in Old England," The Times of London In the centuries before legal divorce was available to most people, the auctioning of wives was a popular way to dissolve broken marriages. Such "wife-sales" were run in market squares from the Middle Ages until 1887. The sales were not legal (Lord Mansfield regarded them as criminal conspiracies) but were generally tolerated by the authorities. For copy of article contact RESEARCH ASSOCIATES jmf@researchassociates.net

MICHAEL DORF, A New Proposal to Permit Lawyers To Cite "Unpublished" Opinions: Does It Go Far Enough?" Law professor Dorf considers a controversial practice of some federal appellate courts: Designating a large number of opinions as "unpublished" or "non-precedential" (although they are available on electronic databases), and then prohibiting attorneys from citing them in briefs. Dorf discusses a proposed new rule that would alter this practice, and argues in favor of simply abolishing it instead. http://writ.news.findlaw.com/dorf/20030902.html

"American Legal Education Needs Fixing," The Boston Globe The new dean of Harvard Law School told The Boston Globe. "Law school curricula today look astonishingly like what they looked like in 1870, which should make you ask yourself some questions," said Elena Kagan. She cited internationalism as an aspect of contemporary law not well addressed by traditional schooling. Kagan has directed a curriculum task force to look to medical and business schools for teaching methods worth cribbing. - For copy of article contact RESEARCH ASSOCIATES jmf@researchassociates.net

DOCUMENTS OF INTEREST

STEVEN HATFILL, M.D. v. ATTORNEY GENERAL JOHN ASHCROFT (August 26, 2003) Civil lawsuit against the Dept. of Justice by the scientist whom the government called a "Person of Interest" in the anthrax mailings investigation in 2001. http://news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/hatfill/hatfillash82603cmp.pdf

BOOK REVIEW

SETH STERN, Crime and Punishment in Sacramento: A Review of "The Prosecutors" Attorney and journalist Seth Stern reviews journalist Gary Delsohn's "The Prosecutors" -- a nonfiction account deriving from a year Delsohn devoted to observing Sacramento prosecutors and criminal trials. Stern argues that Delsohn overidentifies with the prosecutors he is covering, and chose the wrong trial to focus on. Nonetheless, he finds parts of the book compelling.

BRIEF RELIEF MATTERS

1. Effect of North Carolina hospital lien law.
2. Memo on pierce corporate veil in parent/ subsidiary situation.
3. Effect and opposition to removal - remand in Federal Court.
4. Research of New York Correction Law 703 and removal of civil disabilities.
5. Search of LLC and corporation records in New York.
6. Preparation of negligence - wrongful death, drowning complaint in New York.