Jul

31

The Beer Summit-A Restorative Justice Experience?

Posted by: Janine P. Geske | July 31, 2009 | 3 Comments

As I listened to the political pundits argue about the “beer summit” that occurred at the White House yesterday, I am amazed by the debate as to whether President Barrack Obama, Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Lieutenant James Crowley really gave us “a teachable moment.” There is no doubt in mind that they did. [...]

Jul

30

Lawyer in Your Living Room

Posted by: David R. Papke | July 30, 2009 | 1 Comment

I enjoyed serving on “the jury” chosen by the American Bar Association to pick the top 25 law shows during the history of prime-time television.  Our list and sketches of the shows just appeared in the August, 2009 ABA Journal.  I was pleased but surprised that “The Defenders,” a fine series from the early 1960s [...]

Jul

29

PBGC’s Millard Under Investigation for Shady Investment Practices

Posted by: Paul M. Secunda | July 29, 2009 | 2 Comments

A troubling story today from the New York Times regarding the relationship between the head of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), the federal agency that insures defined benefit pension plans, and Wall Street.
From the New York Times:
As a New York money manager and investment banker at four Wall Street firms, Charles E. F. [...]

Jul

29

Remembering Professor Wally MacBain

Posted by: J. Gordon Hylton | July 29, 2009 | Leave a Comment

Former Marquette law professor Wallace Alexander MacBain, III passed away on July 17, 2009, as the result of complications from a fall at his home in Nashotah, Wisconsin.  Professor MacBain was born in Audubon, New Jersey, on March 21, 1933.  His father, Wallace A. MacBain, Jr., was a member of the Industrial Union of Marine [...]

Jul

28

Parties Ask for Stay in Tafas v. Doll

Posted by: Eric Lalor | July 28, 2009 | 1 Comment

The parties in the Tafas v. Doll have filed a “Joint Consent Motion for a Stay of En Banc Proceedings.”  As patent practitioners are painfully aware, Tafas stemmed from the USPTO’s August 21, 2007, new patent-prosecution rules and regulations. The “new regulations” challenged were Rules 75, 78, 114, and 265.  Rule 75 established the number of [...]

Jul

27

Future Imperfect

Posted by: Bruce E. Boyden | July 27, 2009 | 7 Comments

A couple of weeks ago Amazon remotely deleted two e-books off of its customers’ Kindle readers—and in one of those too-good-to-be-true moments, the books were “1984″ and “Animal Farm” by George Orwell. Ars Technica and the New York Times explain what happened; the Times ran a follow-up story today. Commentary on the incident has ranged [...]

Jul

26

Seventh Circuit Criminal Case of the Week: Small Progress on Crack Sentencing

Posted by: Michael M. O'Hear | July 26, 2009 | Leave a Comment

It has been widely recognized for years that federal sentences for the crack version of cocaine are unjustifiably harsh relative to sentences for the powder version.  As far back as 1995, the United States Sentencing Commission — a body not generally known for its lenience — called for equalization between crack and powder sentences.  However, [...]

Jul

24

The Umpire, the Wise Latina, and the Cabinetmaker

Posted by: Edward A. Fallone | July 24, 2009 | 6 Comments

The confirmation hearings for Judge Sonia Sotomayor are over, and the reviews have been overwhelmingly negative.  The public tuned in expecting a discussion of the nominee’s qualifications and a debate on the role of the Supreme Court in our constitutional system.  What they got, instead, was a battle of metaphors.
Republican Senators on the Judiciary Committee [...]

Jul

24

How Do You Avoid Malpractice When Representing Clients in Foreign and International Matters?

Posted by: Michael P. Waxman | July 24, 2009 | Leave a Comment

Many attorneys representing domestic clients extend their legal advice to foreign and international matters.  Unfortunately, some of these attorneys are ill-prepared to provide this advice. Not only are they not familiar with the basic operation of other legal systems, such as those derived from the Civil Law tradition, they are unfamiliar even with the Common Law [...]

Jul

24

Google Library Project Preliminary Settlement – Being Scrutinized Worldwide

Posted by: Eric Lalor | July 24, 2009 | 1 Comment

We are used to the Recording Industry Association of America aggressively litigating against individuals and organizations, trying to impede copyright infringements of musical works through peer-to-peer networks and/or other file-sharing technologies.  The original Napster was converted to a pay-based music subscription service years ago and, more recently, Kazaa did the same.
 
In light of the heated [...]

Jul

23

More on Coulee Catholic Schools v. LIRC

Posted by: Daniel Suhr | July 23, 2009 | 3 Comments

As Professor Esenberg has just posted about, earlier this week, the Wisconsin Supreme Court handed down a very important decision, Coulee Catholic Schools v. LIRC (2009 WI 88). Although some describe the holding as “a dramatic change” in Wisconsin employment law, I think the case is more important for its constitutional discussion. On the actual question [...]

Jul

23

Coulee Catholic: Of Loopholes and Legislating

Posted by: Richard M. Esenberg | July 23, 2009 | Leave a Comment

Wednesday, in a case called Coulee Catholic Schools v. Labor and Industry Review Commission, the Wisconsin Supreme Court held that the “ministerial exception” to state laws prohibiting employment discrimination applied to a teacher in a Catholic grade school. As a result, the teacher’s claim against the school for age discrimination must be dismissed.
There a few [...]

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