tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30190822424098522682024-03-13T11:15:45.428-04:00Demonstrative EvidenceHack the law.Charles Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02625607607098510780noreply@blogger.comBlogger78125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3019082242409852268.post-41312707828558243552009-02-15T20:00:00.003-05:002009-02-15T21:20:20.891-05:00Meet Jane RoeI may be a month late to this party, but at first I dismissed it as an insignificant piece of bizarro non-news, the opposite of a human interest story. More of a human freakshow.A single mother of six, undergoes in vitro and has octuplets. The public reaction ran the gamut, the full spectrum of human emotions.At least the range between outrage and disgust.In the wake of this story there have Charles Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02625607607098510780noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3019082242409852268.post-68891284455030529652009-01-06T22:29:00.004-05:002009-01-07T17:21:29.804-05:00How to have a college football playoff system in four easy stepsThe infrequent blawgger returns to post about college football? Yeah - it's my blog. Deal.As it currently stands, and I am intentionally oversimplifying here, the college football championship is currently decided by consensus. The BCS is a system that is supposed to pit the two best teams against each other in a single championship game. Using a complex formula that takes the average of two Charles Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02625607607098510780noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3019082242409852268.post-70675619973646537482008-08-17T21:17:00.003-04:002008-08-17T22:35:29.913-04:00Why law school sucks, part IImagine you are a medical student. What if you were allowed to ignore an entire system of the body in order to study something cool and very difficult to get into, like plastic surgery? You wouldn't be much of a doctor - even plastic surgeons need to know about the digestive system.Imagine now that you are a law student. Your first year was prescribed to you with required courses - civil Charles Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02625607607098510780noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3019082242409852268.post-14255717717323034742008-07-10T13:47:00.003-04:002008-07-10T14:20:36.206-04:00Worst. CLE. Ever.I am at a CLE, Internet Law Update.This is the worst waste of time I have ever had the displeasure of sitting through. The speaker on Web 2.0 and the law clearly did not use or understand Web 2.0 technology. In fact, he only spoke about Second Life, which he admitted he doesn't get. The legal issues in discussion are also a couple of years behind the times.Memo to PBI: let me teach it next Charles Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02625607607098510780noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3019082242409852268.post-37838963121380890762008-07-09T13:44:00.003-04:002008-07-09T14:08:33.146-04:00Does this mean we can have real forks again?Hat tip to the brilliant (no exaggeration) John Wesley Hall for this. He writes in his Fourth Amendment blog that Homeland Security is considering requiring all airline passengers to wear an electronic ID bracelet with a - wait for it - built in taser. Sarcastic post title aside, this has me seriously ticked off.This might reveal my September 10 way of thinking, but why should I trust an Charles Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02625607607098510780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3019082242409852268.post-28357909164752153302008-06-29T21:56:00.004-04:002008-07-07T23:11:49.421-04:00Some thoughts on marriage, and the nature of rightsI had a thought earlier, and it was on the nature of rights- the right to act automatically includes the right not to act. In certain contexts, it is easy to conceptualize: the right to free speech includes the right not to speak; the right to privacy includes the right to be open (ever more relevant in this age of internet oversharing).And then I thought about the right to marry. Same-sex Charles Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02625607607098510780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3019082242409852268.post-8966219173777509132008-06-17T14:10:00.004-04:002008-06-17T14:32:15.276-04:00Everything I hate about schools all wrapped into one.I hate the stupid decisions made by [EDIT: corrected typos] school administrators, but this is egregious- to teach the kids of El Camino High in Oceanside, California that driving drunk has consequences, the school had police interrupt 20 classes and announce that 26 classmates had been killed in a massive DUI car wreck. The kids, understandably, became very upset, some becoming Charles Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02625607607098510780noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3019082242409852268.post-41318643664190305062008-06-13T18:20:00.002-04:002008-06-13T18:37:52.935-04:00You know...Probably the biggest case ever on the limits of Presidential power comes down this week, and the blawgosphere is agog about what might have been on Judge Kozinski's personal web site.Better minds than mine are writing about the former, and the latter isn't worth writing about.So there.Charles Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02625607607098510780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3019082242409852268.post-32233616668461654162008-06-09T09:19:00.008-04:002008-06-09T10:49:44.819-04:00Don't we have better things to do?More outrage, which seems to be all I have these days. Osama bin Laden is still at large; the economy is in a handbasket on its way to hell; our energy "policy" is to consume as much as possible; and the Air Force haphazardly mishandles the US nuclear arsenal, by flying warheads across the country in an unguarded C-5.Your government is hard at work protecting you, my fellow Americans. Max Charles Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02625607607098510780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3019082242409852268.post-22987286245419372642008-05-27T08:56:00.003-04:002008-05-27T09:23:04.581-04:00Anger and outrageLegal Times reports on a terrible example of how far insurance companies will go to screw plaintiffs (registration required). A hotel employee molested a young girl when her family vacationed in the US Virgin Islands. Police are notified, investigation ensues, other victims are discovered, and hotel employee gets convicted and sentenced to five years in prison.Family sues, and based on the Charles Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02625607607098510780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3019082242409852268.post-30284872128754208562008-05-22T09:37:00.002-04:002008-05-22T10:10:51.437-04:00So I'm a little late to this party....The California same-sex marriage decision is fascinating on a number of fronts, but the one that stands out the most for me is that the Court held that it didn't matter whether you call it marriage, domestic partnership, or civil union, as long as the name applies to all persons across the board. The Court gave the Legislature permission to get out of the business of marriage altogether; the Charles Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02625607607098510780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3019082242409852268.post-19601169140077507082008-05-14T19:05:00.002-04:002008-05-14T19:07:32.591-04:00News & UpdatesI have registered my own domain - www.attorneycharlesthomas.com - with the hopes of getting a real practice up and running in the foreseeable future. In the meantime, I am trying to figure out how sync up all my services over there.Charles Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02625607607098510780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3019082242409852268.post-43849070215234927912008-05-07T09:20:00.003-04:002008-05-07T09:22:42.196-04:00Some people never learn...Remember the DC administrative law judge who claimed $54 million in damages over a missing pair of pants? He's at it again, although this time he is only after $1 million and his job back.Charles Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02625607607098510780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3019082242409852268.post-59342602162161588622008-05-07T08:56:00.002-04:002008-05-07T09:00:07.515-04:00Inside the mind of a jurorTrial attorneys often wonder what goes on inside the jury room. Here's a very detailed look thanks to a juror in the Uma Thurman stalking case who also happens to be a reporter for the Wall Street Journal.Charles Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02625607607098510780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3019082242409852268.post-19528616637291578362008-05-06T12:25:00.002-04:002008-05-06T12:54:15.932-04:00How did this slip through?Not being a patent attorney, I don't pay much attention to patent law. There are occasionally stupid patent decisions that get my ire up, but by and and large the ins and outs of patent procedure, but apparently two-thirds of the patent judges were unconstitutionally appointed. DoJ hasn't even denied it, and constitutional lawyers are all in agreement that it's not even close.This could REALLY Charles Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02625607607098510780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3019082242409852268.post-84351907628165055422008-04-03T21:53:00.003-04:002008-04-03T22:18:19.403-04:00The dark side of DNAThe Times has an excellent article on "surreptitious sampling," the police practice of collecting DNA samples from suspects without their knowledge (and without a warrant). In a typical case, the cops follow a suspect who may happen to be smoking a cigarette or drinking a soda. The cigarette butt or soda can collects trace amounts of saliva, which contains the suspect's DNA. The suspect throwsCharles Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02625607607098510780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3019082242409852268.post-19856428095033431072008-04-03T21:45:00.003-04:002008-04-03T21:51:57.254-04:00A return to blawggingI haven't been posting lately. By lately, I mean in the past 10 months. I am not really at liberty to discuss it, but I had to focus on other things. My situation is stabilizing, and I really miss writing about the law. So I am back.Charles Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02625607607098510780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3019082242409852268.post-7899128588420241772007-05-11T13:48:00.000-04:002007-05-11T14:20:12.989-04:00This is patently offensiveThe Supreme Court of Washington has affirmed a murder conviction that was based in large part by DNA evidence obtained through absolutely appalling trickery, even by cop standards. Trying to close a cold case, the police concocted a ruse to obtain the DNA- they sent the suspect a letter from a fictitious law firm, claiming that he was a class member in a (phony) class action. Naturally, he Charles Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02625607607098510780noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3019082242409852268.post-71796307119015320032007-04-30T15:37:00.000-04:002007-04-30T16:21:11.278-04:00I have been uninspired recentlyI tried to hard to overreach with this blog. I think I wrote some interesting things at times, but I also went for weeks without anything to say.When you cast too wide a net, you will come up empty.Yet, I don't particularly want to reel in my focus. I am a law geek, first and foremost. I love the law, including matters outside my immediate practice.Which is why Scott v. Harris is so Charles Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02625607607098510780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3019082242409852268.post-34046982909146183262007-03-31T09:09:00.000-04:002007-03-31T13:54:00.261-04:00Open Source- Who is the "designer" for product liability purposes?Engadget reported yesterday that the c,mm,n (pronounced "common") was unveiled at a Dutch auto show. c,mm,n is the world's first open source car, and the technology and plans are available for hacking and tweaking. Another open source car in the offing (but nowhere near a rolling prototype) is OScar. This is a day that I have been waiting for, when open source churns out major consumer Charles Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02625607607098510780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3019082242409852268.post-17830811370557373872007-03-29T09:56:00.000-04:002007-03-29T10:07:52.332-04:00Tap, tap, tap... this thing on?I've been away for awhile, actually doing, you know, important stuff.In the meantime, let me share this. The totally brilliant John Hodgman explains executive privilege to Jon Stewart on The Daily Show.Charles Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02625607607098510780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3019082242409852268.post-33422611723037976492007-02-24T09:45:00.000-05:002007-02-24T12:21:37.193-05:00The bad decisionsI've had an idea in my head lately- that I should write about those cases where, in my opinion, the Court screwed up. Not merely where I disagree, mind you, but where the Supreme Court just flat screwed the pooch- not only was the result wrong, but the reasoning was wrong as well. A truly bad decision will will apply bad law to achieve a bad result.The cases in the anti-canon have a few things Charles Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02625607607098510780noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3019082242409852268.post-71632461246918955822007-02-22T11:30:00.000-05:002007-02-22T11:42:27.309-05:00Oh. My. God.I owe the Legislature of Pennsylvania an apology. The phrase "ultimate sexual act" is not an example of poor legislative drafting. Instead, it copies word for word the language of the Supreme Court in Miller v. California:We emphasize that it is not our function to propose regulatory schemes for the States. That must await their concrete legislative efforts. It is possible, however, to give a Charles Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02625607607098510780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3019082242409852268.post-73863240405305407832007-02-21T18:48:00.000-05:002007-02-21T21:04:24.287-05:00Ultimate sex acts, normal or pervertedI am working on an appeal (that is due tomorrow- no time like the present, right?) which has significant First Amendment implications. Specifically, it is about whether the no-porn clause in our local sex offender parole/probation conditions meets Constitutional muster. Among the many things at issue is whether the condition is vague and overbroad. The trial court opined that it wasn't becauseCharles Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02625607607098510780noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3019082242409852268.post-27987863800746405692007-02-20T11:17:00.000-05:002007-02-20T11:38:13.193-05:00An unusual split at SCOTUSThe Supreme Court today decided the case of Philip Morris v. Estate of Williams, throwing out an $79.5 million dollar punitive damage award on the theory that awarding punitive damages as a way to punish a defendant for harms caused to other people not involved in the case is taking under the due process clause. However, and here is where my brain starts to hurt, the jury can consider harm to Charles Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02625607607098510780noreply@blogger.com0