Dru Stevenson, Professor of Law

This post from Language Log was really funny.

The statistics and analysis in this article are interesting, as is the explanation for the supposed connection between street gangs and Al-Qaeda...

I know Queen Elizabeth II is considered pretty conservative, but it sure took a long time (like, over 939 years) for the Royals to drop French as the official language of menus in the palace. Language Legend has a more interesting discussion of it than the Telegraph article linked to in the post title.

This seems to me to be a great set-up for a "law of unintended consequences" story 30 years down the road (something Huxley-like, such as, "...Arab culture and Islam was able to permeate American society and political thought during the 30's and 40's in part because the government encouraged widespread acquisition of the language a generation earlier, apparently with the thought that half the American workforce could be employed in espionage and security analysis during the brief period when militant Arab states were viewed as the primary threat to American security..."). On the other hand, I WISH my kids were getting more foreign language instruction in school instead of some of the fluffy computer classes, etc. And I can't complain about people learning Arabic, because I ended up in Amman, Jordan doing an Arabic immersion course after college (through a series of changed plans, and I've forgotten almost all of it, I think). I just thought the sc...

I have an article forthcoming in the Journal of Law & Urban Policy about the new cocaine vaccine, in which I suggest that there will be widespread calls for immunizing the general public, not just addicts in rehab programs (the oringinally intended use of the vaccine). But here is an article from The Age about parents groups already calling for universal vaccination (BTW, the current state of the technology is a temporary inoculation that must be repeated every few months - it is not yet know if the body eventually develops a permanent immunity): A group of Queensland Nationals want the Federal Government to investigate giving an anti-junkie vaccination to children under 12 months old. The vaccination, under development in the UK, would render children immune to becoming smokers or drug users and become part of the national measles, mumps and rubella vaccination program. Tis weekend's Queensland Nationals central council meeting will debate calling for the investigation. Dr...

The Milwaukee Archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church is liable for a $17 million verdict over a car accident caused by a church volunteer. The decision is noteworthy from a legal standpoint because the volunteer was actually driving on behalf of a parachurch organization (Legion of Mary) that had a chapter in the parish. (The Archdiocese is also facing unrelated charges of cover-ups for child molestation by the clergy). The church member had been a volunteer driver for the Legion of Mary (mostly helping transport the elderly to services) for about 40 years before this accident. From the article: "That day, she was delivering a statue of the Virgin Mary to a parishioner when she ran a red light and crashed into the car of semiretired barber Hjalmer Heikkinen. The man's car slid across the pavement and into a utility pole, and he has been paralyzed ever since, dependent on his family's care. His right leg later had to be amputated above the knee because of an infection, an...

The court said that jury findings may be necessary for incarceration sentences, but not for ordering a criminal to make restitution to the victim. Click on the post title to get the text of the decision.

Relax, it wasn't billions of dollars. The court upheld a $150,000 punitive award against an insurance company for unreasonably delaying payment on a property damage claim that was diminutive by comparison.

A judge in Boston has held that a church (in this case, a Jehovah's Witnesses group) has a fiduciary duty to protect its members from being molested by the clergy. This appears to be a new step in the development of church liability law; whereas many of the cases against the Roman Catholic Church in recent years centered on allegations that the hierarchy knowingly allowed the abuse to continue, this rule would create almost strict liability for churches. From the article: "A Superior Court judge has ruled that a Jehovah's Witness church in Boston can be sued for breaking its trust and legal duty to a girl who claims she was sexually abused by one of the church's ministerial servants." This ruling appears to be the first time a court (at least in that state) has ruled that church officials have a "fiduciary duty" to their members. "Fiduciary duty" is a legal term of art: in practice, it means that certain people in positions of trust have a le...

Business Insurance reports about a new study that appears to show hefty investor losses in securities class action lawsuits drove settlements to unprecedented levels in 2004. Click on the post title to read the article.

Click on the link to read the full text of the decision by the 2nd Circuit in Green v. U.S. (.pdf file). Quote : “...a new rule is not made retroactive to cases on collateral review unless the Supreme Court holds it to be retroactive.”

"New EU laws promising compensation of between £170 and £416 to stranded and delayed airline passengers come into force today." I can't tell you how many times I've fantasized about having a regime like that here, when I've paid $400 for what I thought was the privilege of arriving at my destination at a certain place and time, but the airline acts as though I paid for the privilege of having them as my travel companions, no matter when I leave or arrive. I use the airlines a lot and harbor a lot of resentment against them (another reason to feel passionate about the DVT cases pending in federal courts around the country). The link in the title above is for the Reuters-UK story; click here for a "Q&A" by the Guardian. My favorite quote: "This is going to become a lawyer's field day and is why in our view the law is very bad," said Andrew Clarke, director air transport policy for the European Regions Airline Association. Unless, ...

Click on the title to read the New York Times article about the Covenant Marriage movement in Arkansas. I did my law review "comment" on Covenant Marriage when it first emerged in Louisiana in the late 1990's, but never published it, unfortunately (for non-lawyers, a law review "comment" is a 60-70 page paper students typically write as part of the requirement for membership on the editorial board of their law school's official academic journal - in my case, the Connecticut Law Review ). I've also mentioned it before on this blog (click here ). Covenant Marriage is basically a voluntary but legally-binding waiver of one's right to a no-fault divorce. Of course, everyone is free to waive your right to a no-fault divorce by simply choosing to stay married; this is a legal mechanism that allows people to bind themselves so they cannot change their minds later (or risk that spouses changing their minds). Thanks to student Darcy Douglas for sending me...

I you haven't seen this yet, and you're trying to lower your level of optimism about human nature, you could visit www.savetoby.com . The caretaker of what appears to be an abandoned or escaped domesticated rabbit is threatening to EAT his captive (or pet, if you will) if he does not receive $50,000 in donations by a certain date. That's pretty unbelievable, but here is the best part: he claims to have received over $14,000 in donations already, if I read it correctly (the site accepts major credit cards). Thanks to Ashley, a student in my Law & Economics class, for forwarding me the link. The "give-me-money-or-I-eat-the-hostage" thing seems wrong somehow, but not necessarily illegal. I described the pet as either abandoned or escaped because it's coloration seems much lighter than the many wild rabbits I have seen. It looks like a pet store rabbit to me. But I do not claim to be an expert. Click on READ MORE for additional discussion... I am sure...

Attorney Lynne Stewart's conviction on terrorism charges has lawyers divided over what it means for their profession. It certainly gives professors a more exciting case to discuss in Legal Profession/Professional Responsibility classes than we've had before.

I haven't seen this getting much coverage in most of the major news outlets yet, but here is an excerpt from the AP (click ont he post title for full story): McDonald's Corp. will pay $8.5 million to settle a lawsuit accusing the fast-food giant of failing to inform consumers of delays in a plan to reduce fat in the cooking oil used for its popular french fries and other foods.BanTransFats.com, a nonprofit advocacy group, sued McDonald's in California state court in 2003, alleging the company did not effectively disclose to the public that it had not switched to a healthier cooking oil.In September 2002, McDonald's announced it would lower trans fat in its cooking oils and said the switch would be completed in five months. In February 2003, McDonald's announced a delay. The lawsuit accused the Oak Brook, Ill.-based company of failing to adequately inform consumers of that delay.The agreement announced Wednesday requires McDonald's to pay $7 million to the Americ...

Here's the opening lines, which tell most of the story (click on the post title to go to the article): Most federal judges are imposing prison terms within sentencing guidelines even though the Supreme Court says they do not need to, according to an analysis presented Thursday to Congress. At the same congressional hearing, however, a high-ranking Justice Department official described anecdotal evidence that judges are imposing disparate sentences for similar crimes since last month's high court ruling - precisely what the nearly 20-year-old guidelines were intended to prevent. The two views on how judges are responding to the decision reflect differences in Congress and the legal community about whether to write new sentencing rules and, if so, how quickly. Just 9 percent of the 733 sentences handed down in the three weeks after the Supreme Court decision and reviewed by the U.S. Sentencing Commission did not comply with the guidelines, said U.S. District Judge Ricardo Hino...

"Hundreds of people flocked to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Tuesday to listen to arguments in a case that could affect how patents are interpreted. The Federal Circuit addressed in an en banc hearing whether courts should rely primarily on dictionaries to define the terms that describe the scope of an invention, or look to the description in the patent itself. Phillips v. AWH, 363 F.3d 1207, is one of the most pivotal patent issues to come before the Federal Circuit, generating more than 50 amicus curiae briefs." -Law.com ALL of the linguists I have read on the subject (which is quite a few - law & linguistics is one of my main areas of interest) think it is ridiculous , if not dangerous, for judges to rely on dictionaries in making decisions. It is not what dictionaries were intended for, and it shows a gross misunderstanding of the way language works.

Click on the title to read the article. Funny but morbid.

The 10th Circuit threw out a $15 million punitive damages award in a tobacco case, but upheld the Kansas man's right to sue the tobacco companies - over a disease that cost him his legs. Click here for an AP article, and click here to read the actual Court opinion.

On Wednesday the Republican majority in the Senate fought back attempts to change legislation (click on post title for the article) that would send most class action lawsuits to federal court. This appears to be a victory for the tort-reform folks.

I have an article about the new cocain vaccine forthcoming in the Rutgers Journal of Law and Urban Policy , and I follow the news stories about it avidly (I've also had the opportunity to meet and correspond with Thomas Kosten at Yale, the lead researcher on the vaccine's development). The cocain vaccine involves a series of inoculation shots that render the body immune to cocaine - ingesting it produces no effects (the user gets no "high" from it, and also cannot overdose), and the body flushes it out of the system. Developed as a treatment tool, it poses interesting policy questions as a possible condition of parole (because so many felons have a drug history), a condition of welfare payments (to ensure the recipients do not spend their welfare checks on crack or cocaine), or other things (admission into private colleges, employment as an air traffic controller, participation in profession sports, etc.). I'd be happy to forward a draft to those who are inte...

A new ruling from the Minnesota Court of Appeals holds that attorneys may be held liable for failing to protect a client's interests with respect to an unsettled area of law. Click on the title above to read the court's opinion.

You probably already saw this, but just in case, click on the link to see the story about the large jury award given to the guy whose face has been on Taster's Choice labels ever since he was young and handsome-ish. You know, my older sister was teaching a class to a group of corporate trainees one time, and teased one of the guys for looking like the Gerber Baby (the baby on the Gerber labels) - and the guy got really upset and asked her who told her about this, because he WAS, in fact, the Gerber baby. Here's a collection of news photos from the Taster's Choice stories... Former model Russell Christoff holds a Taster's Choice package at a news conference in San Francisco on Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2005. A jury has awarded $15.6 million to Christoff, whose image was used for years without his permission on Taster's Choice coffee labels. Christoff, a former model from Northern California, posed for a two-hour Nestle photo shoot in 1986 but figured it was a bust until...