Marijuana

Bong Hits 4 SCOTUS

By

marijuana pipe Above the Law.jpgGood stuff.
And they agreed to hear two other cases: a taxpayer lawsuit, and an appeal involving the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management. Control your excitement, people.
Tom Goldstein is a bit peeved at how late the Court is granting certiorari. This leaves relatively little time between the cert grant and the argument, which has unfortunate consequences:

The failure to adapt the briefing schedule to the smaller size of the Court’s docket produces expedited briefs that are less thorough and helpful to the Justices and creates a recurring cycle in which it is necessary to apply still more expedited schedules.

But we’re not shedding tears for the attorneys whose cases get granted. The opportunity to brief and argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court is once-in-a-lifetime experience. Suck it up and deal, people.
(Of course, Goldstein — a veteran Supreme Court litigator — probably doesn’t quite the same thrill from strutting his stuff at One First Street as SCOTUS virgins.)
Supreme Court Takes ‘Bong Hits 4 Jesus’ Case [New York Times]
Court grants three cases [SCOTUSblog]
An Update on the State of the Docket [SCOTUSblog]

3 Comments

Morning Docket: 11.27.06

By

Janet Reno Above the Law.jpg* Several federal law all-stars have filed amicus briefs in the 4th Circuit — which means a lucky clerk now has Janet Reno’s autograph! [SCOTUSBlog]
* Gun makers challenge a finding that lawsuits are legal. [Indy Star via How Appealing]
* “A lineup of legal heavyweights unusual even by Supreme Court standards is doing battle in a case pitting Wachovia Corp. against Michigan banking regulators.” [Bloomberg via How Appealing]
* Appellate law 101: Careful what you say at oral argument, they’re kind of picky about accuracy. [CNN]
* “Marijuana-for-homework mom gets 3 months.” [MSNBC]

0 Comments

Non-Sequiturs: 11.17.06

By

nacho pyramid Nacho Libre Above the Law.jpg* If you’re going to ban junk food ads, then bring back the cigarette ads! Nothing is as glamorous as a hot girl/guy smoking languorously. I’m only half kidding. [The Guardian]
* It’s great that attorneys have lives outside the law, but these people are probably the type who refer to themselves (and by “themselves,” I mean each of their “personas”) in the third person. [ABA Journal eReport]
* Although still not legal for non-medical purposes, much to Woody Harrelson’s chagrin. [Hit & Run]

0 Comments

Lawsuit of the Day: “Have It Your Way,” Indeed

By

whopper burger king.jpgBack when we worked at McDonald’s, customers would ask us if we sold onion rings. We would tell them, with suppressed exasperation, that no, sorry, we don’t. If you want onion rings, try Burger King.
And if you want your food laced with pot, try Burger King, too. From the AP:

Two police officers sued Burger King Corp., claiming they were served hamburgers that had been sprinkled with marijuana.

The lawsuit says Mark Landavazo and Henry Gabaldon, officers for the Isleta Pueblo tribal police, were in uniform and riding in a marked patrol car when they bought meals at the drive-through lane October 8 of a Burger King restaurant in Los Lunas, New Mexico.

The officers ate about half of their burgers before discovering marijuana on the meat, the lawsuit said. They used a field test kit to confirm the substance was pot, then went to a hospital for medical evaluations.

We’ll give the last word to the officers’ pleasingly glib lawyer, Sam Bregman: “It gives a whole new meaning to the word ‘Whopper.’”
Suit: Burger King served pot burgers to cops [CNN]

0 Comments

Criminal Justice, Canadian Style

By

canada canadian flag.gifYesterday we implied that Canada isn’t tough on crime. Maybe we should take that back. Check out this interesting case:

“Return to the Court With a Verdict of Guilty.” That’s what a Canadian judge told the jury in a marijuana possession case, where the defendant claimed he possessed the marijuana for medical reasons (though he apparently didn’t qualify for some reason for Canada’s medical marijuana exemption).

The judge instructed the jurors “to retire to the jury room to consider what I have said, appoint one of yourselves to be your foreperson, and then to return to the court with a verdict of guilty.”

Alas, the Canadian Supreme Court overturned the conviction. We’re kinda disappointed. The Canadian criminal justice system would be so amazingly efficient if they ditched this whole “jury trial” business and allowed directed verdicts of guiilt.
“Return to the Court With a Verdict of Guilty” [Volokh Conspiracy]
R. v. Krieger, 2006 SCC 47 [Supreme Court of Canada]

1 Comment

Morning Docket: 10.16.06

By

football.jpeg* The Ninth Circuit has issued an opinion and order upholding a conscience-shocking 159-year sentence it wishes it didn’t have to affirm. Our opinion is saying no, but our order is saying yes, yes, yes! [Los Angeles Times via How Appealing]
* The world of law school rankings used to be so innocent. With all the Big Ten schools in Group 1, it’s like this year’s football rankings. [TaxProf Blog]
* Apparently blogs contain “sexually explicit language, libelous or defamatory commentary, and outrageous language.” ATL apologizes to all affected employees of the Interior Department. [Federal Times via Volokh Conspiracy]
* Hey, just as long as they don’t crack down on fantasy football websites. [Baltimore Business Journal]
* Speaking of which, if there are two things lawyers and law students while away their non-billables doing, they’re reading ATL and managing fantasy football teams. So you might as well get some advice on the latter from the former. It’s the year of the WR, so start looking at picking up a sleeper such as Berrian, Jennings, Johnson, Cotchery, Brown, Furrey, Jurevicius, Clayton 1, Clayton 2 . . .
* Looks like Kelo v. New London is this year’s defense of marriage, paving the way for eminent domain’s debut on 12 state ballots. [Christian Science Monitor]
* From “[t]he state that gave the world butterfly ballots and the hanging chad,” get ready for another front in the battle of the ballot. How about this: “Dear voters, in order to cast your ballot for the Republican candidate, please mark the box beside ‘Pat Buchanan.’” [Reuters]
* Medical marijuana can prevent Alzheimer’s, apparently. “Those afflicted with Alzheimer’s suffer from memory loss, impaired decision-making,” and misinterpreting commerce clause jurisprudence. [CNN]

0 Comments

Allison Margolin: “Lawyer Hot”

By

Allison Margolin Above the Law Legal Blog.JPGToday’s Los Angeles Times has a profile of L.A. lawyer Allison Margolin. The article describes Margolin as “star-struck, young and unorthodox,” but also “Ivy League, savvy and successful.”
The title of the piece — “A Law Unto Herself” — may promise more than the article delivers. But there are still some interesting tidbits:

Matt Farrell, a video producer, needed an attorney after he had been charged with growing marijuana. He hired Allison Margolin, “L.A.’s dopest attorney,” on a friend’s recommendation.

Farrell’s first impression was “she was hot.”

Is Margolin “hot”? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder — but at the very least, she’s “lawyer hot.” Cf. being “book hot.”

[Farrell's] second [impression] was doubt. She looked too young to be a lawyer.

Then he saw the Ivy League degrees on her wall.

Like actress Reese Witherspoon’s character in the movie “Legally Blonde” — a rich, ditsy Beverly Hills blond who goes to Harvard Law School — Margolin, 28, is the kind of lawyer who might be easy to dismiss. The graduate of Beverly Hills High talks like a Valley girl, preceding adjectives with “like” and using “whatever” as a period.

OMG — this Margolin chick sounds totally rad!
There’s, like, more stuff after the jump.

double red triangle arrows Continue reading “Allison Margolin: “Lawyer Hot””

2 Comments
Page 10 of 101...678910