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Law links, Easter edition

April 24th, 2011, 8:43 am by

Here are some interesting court stories for a cold gray Easter.

First, here’s an interesting post from the law blog of the Minneapolis St-Paul Business Journal about a lawsuit filed over a sports reporter’s tweet during a basketball game.

Next, an interesting story in the New York Times that poses the most basic of questions: What is a man?

Here’s a trial story by my SPJ colleague Ron Sylvester in Wichita. Notice the way he weaves a short narrative out of the traditional story of opening statements.

And finally, from my SPJ colleague Ben Winslow in Salt Lake City, here’s a story about a bizarre incident in which a pregnant girl allegedly paid a teenager to punch her in the stomach.

Happy reading and happy Easter.

John C. Ensslin

Legal Affairs Reporter

The Gazette

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Law links…

February 19th, 2011, 7:48 pm by

Here are some interesting court stories for your Presidents’ Day weekend reading.

First, here is a collection of stories by my friend and SPJ colleague Ron Sylvester on a case where some key DNA evidence was lost or destroyed.

Note the interesting way in which Ron organized this investigative story by using  various social media to display video and documents related to the case. It’s old school investigative journalism augmented by new media tools.

Next, the New York Times had this bizarre story on what the law might look like in a post-apocalyptic New York. The presumption behind the story seems a bit optimistic to me.

This next post by Westwood’s Michael Roberts is perhaps more of interest to journalists than the general public. The lawsuits he writes about are reminiscent of the suits the music industry filed against individuals in the early days of Napster.

Michael also had this interesting post on radio talk show host and columnist Mike Rosen plariarizing himself.

And last but far from least, my favorite court tale of the week, this New York Times story on superstitious lawyers. My favorite: the lawyer who gives out $20 bills to homeless people while in trial. I wonder if the homeless folks around the courthouse have figured this out.

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Law links

February 5th, 2011, 3:02 pm by

Here are some interesting court stories for your weekend reading:

First my SPJ colleague Ron Sylvester had this post on a talk by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor on his always very readable blog “What the Judge Ate for Breakfast.”

My friend Andrew Cohen posted this interesting analysis at Atlantic.com on a federal judge’s ruling that found the new health care legislation unconstitutional.

Here’s an interesting story from the New York Times on lawsuits that have resulted from some rather unethical behavior by journalists in England.

My former Rocky Mountain News colleague Kevin Vaughan had this story in the Denver Post on an unraveling scandal involving paving contracts in Adams County.

And finally, New York Times reporter Adam Liptak had this amusing post on his Sidebar blog about an analysis of humor on the U.S. Supreme Court. The most humorous justice? Antonin Scalia.

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Law links, Christmas edition

December 25th, 2010, 10:36 am by

Merry Christmas court watchers,

After the presents are all unwrapped and dinner is done, here are some interesting court stories for your weekend reading.

First, my friend and SPJ colleague Ron Sylvester of the Wichita Eagle posted this story  on his court blog under the hearing “what were they thinking.” As often is the case with crime stories, thinking had nothing to do with it.

Ron also had this story about a fatal beating that started as a fight over a video game.

My friend Andrew Cohen had this law story year-in-review for the Atlantic.

And my friend and former Rocky Mountain News colleague Gwen Florio had this fascinating glimpse into community attititudes toward marijuana in a story she wrote for The Missoulian.

The Montrose Daily Press had this bizarre story about a district attorney, already facing criminal charges, digging the hole a bit deeper.

This is the season for pardon’s by governors. Here’s a New York Times story about one of the more controversial pardons by New York Gov. David Paterson in a racially charged fatal shooting of an unarmed teenager

And finally, here a report by a Las Vegas television station on an usually long  jury service. Apparently in Vegas, the casinos are not the only thing to operate around the clock.

In this holiday season, I consider myself blessed to know so many good writers covering the court beat.

Here’s wishing you and yours a bright and merry Christmas

John C. Ensslin

Legal Affairs reporter

The Gazette

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Law Links

December 18th, 2010, 10:20 am by

Here’s are some interesting law stories for your weekend perusal:

First, the New York Times had this story about a fascinating bit of history from Mankato, Minn. where there are efforts to address the wrongful hanging of a Native American.

Next, the Knoxville News-Sentinel had this entertaining story about the legal battle over a memoir by a colorful character who made his living making moonshine “likker.” 

This is that time of year when journalists love to look back over their shoulder and compiled their top 10 lists. My friend Andrew Cohen compiled this list for Atlantic.com of the most interesting law stories for 2010. (Note: I’ll be compiling a similar list for El Paso County early next week.)

My friend Ron Sylvester is often in demand among SPJ chapters for his evolving talk “60 websites in 60 minutes.” Recently he gave a similar talk to the Wichita Bar Association on useful websites for lawyers. Here’s a list of what he came up with.

If you want to keep up with the latest developments on the court case against Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, check out this blog posted by the Guardian of London.

Here’s an amusing story from the Orange County Register on how the Seinfeld holiday of Festivus became wrapped into an inmate’s attempt to limit the amount of salami served in his meals. 

And finally, here’s a post from the New York Times blog Courthouse Confidential on a woman framed for a crime that never happened.

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Law Links….Thanksgiving edition

November 25th, 2010, 12:26 pm by

Happy Thanksgiving court watchers,

Here are some interesting court stories for your holiday weekend reading:

First, my friend Andrew Cohen had this amusing and insightful column about his day on jury duty.

Next from my SPJ colleague Ron Sylvester’s excellent court blog , here’s a post on efforts to use DNA evidence to test prior criminal convictions in several states.

The guilty verdict in the money laundering of former Texas GOP congressman Tom Delay generated several leads with the pun “Hammer avoids Slammer.” But the best reported and written story I’ve seen was this one from The New York Times.

Here’s an interesting law blog post on a talk that U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia gave during an interview at a banquet. Scalia talks about why he did not want the job of Chief Justice.

Closer to home, my Denver Post colleague Felisa Cardona had this story on Denver District Court Chief Judge Larry Naves stepping down from the bench.

And then, under weird court news, here’s a story from Florida about a chief judge admitting he was asked to step down.

And finally, this curious story about the controversy surrounding the dismissal of a court spokesman in Los Angeles. The case generated this note of concern from SPJ’s Los Angeles chapter.

I hope your Thanksgiving is a happy and peaceful one.

Yours truly,

John C. Ensslin

Legal Affairs reporter

The Gazette

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Law links

September 18th, 2010, 9:33 am by

Here are some interesting court and justice stories for your weekend reading.

First, here’s a story from the Los Angeles Times on a settlement in the fatal crash that triggered the massive recalls of Toyota vehicles. It’s interesting to see that the dealership was left out of the settlement.

I found this next story in the Missoula Editor fascinating. A defense lawyer in Montana is trying to use the anonymous comments at the bottom of a web version of a story as grounds for a change of venue. If this tactic succeeds, it could be used in almost any city with an online news site.

These next two entries comes under the heading of social media behaving badly. First, here’s a story from the Record in Bergen County of a Sheriff’s whose Twitter posts have come under fire for campaigning on a public website.

And next from a Boston television station, here’s a story about divorce lawyers trolling Facebook sites for evidence.

Finally, here’s a court story in the New York Times that was done first by my SPJ colleague Ron Sylvester at the Wichita Eagle. In this case, imitation is a form of flattery.

Here’s the Times version of a feature about a 103-year-old Kansas judge. My favorite line: the green bananas.

Have a good weekend.

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Labor Day Law Links

September 4th, 2010, 12:42 pm by

Here are some interesting court stories for your perusal on this holiday weekend.

First, my Denver Post colleague Felisa Cardona wrote this profile of Fourth Judicial District Judge David Prince. It’s the first in a series of stories she’s doing on the three finalists for a vacancy on the Colorado Supreme Court.

Next, here’s a disturbing story from KMGH-Channel 7 about a Denver woman who discovered her Facebook pictures had been used by someone for online dating services with names like “Sugar Daddies.” Ick. It may be creepy, but the District Attorney has ruled it doesn’t amount to identity theft.

Here’s an Associated Press story on a lawyer with a unique job. He’s the Burning Man Barrister, serving as legal advisor to the annual counter-culture festival in the Nevada desert.

The New York Times had this long but fascinating story on an effort to create a separate high speed court for the flood of foreclosure cases that has inundated the Florida legal system.

My SPJ colleague Ron Sylvester wrote this interesting story for the Wichita Eagle about a wrongly convicted being released from prison.

Then there’s this tragic story about a man who slit his throat in the courtroom while being sentences. What happened to all that security?

And finally, my favorite court story this week: an interview by Reuters with a man who is becoming the legal scourge of the insanely popular televison show Jersey Shore.

Have a safe and happy Labor Day weekend.

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Hot Law Links (excellent for your BBQ)

May 29th, 2010, 10:49 am by

Here are some interesting court stories for your reading pleasure this long holiday weekend.

First, check out this little-known story by my friend Andrew Cohen.

Andrew and I got to know each other at the Denver Press Club, where we both served as presidents. He is the senior legal analyst for CBS News.

This story in the Atlantic is a trifecta for Andrew, combining his love of the law, journalism and horse racing:

Next, take a look at this court story in the Wichita Eagle by my friend Ron Sylvester.

Ron is a pioneer in the use of social media like Twitter in covering his court house beat.

He’ll be coming to Colorado Springs to give a talk on that subject on July 17.

But he’s also a very good writer. Look how he uses dialog in this story to draw the reader in and give you the feeling at you-are-there.

Here’s a well-written story by the Associated Press on how retired Supreme Court Justice Souter continues to fill in as a “bench” jurist.

Here’s an interesting historical perspective on judicial activism from New Yorker writer Jeffrey Toobin.

And finally, my Denver Post colleague Felisa Cardona had an interesting story on a modern day legal case of mustang wrangling.

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