http://www.mayitpleasethecourt.com/ WLF Williams Law Firm weblog of legal news and observations, including a quote of the day and daily updates en Mon, 30 Apr 2012 08:50:15 GMT jcraigwms@wlf-law.com jcraigwms@wlf-law.com Copyright 2005 May it Please the Court http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/ http://www.mayitpleasethecourt.com/journal.asp?blogid=2158 Mon, 30 Apr 2012 08:50:15 GMT How could a jury be so insensitive?  Certainly this jury is from one of those Judicial Hellholes!  This is exactly why we need tort reform ... runaway juries ... just like that McDonald's spilled coffee cup case.  You would expect to hear those comments after reading the first headline.  But there's a clue in the subheadline that may cause you to pause for a moment and think that there just might be more than the first headline communicates.You'd be right.  A...]]> http://www.mayitpleasethecourt.com/journal.asp?blogid=2159 Fri, 27 Apr 2012 08:56:14 GMT Human trafficking is "modern-day slavery." And if you think it isn't happening near you, think again. The United Nations estimates nearly 2.4 million people may be the victims of this crime.  Please join me and my fellow Lawyer2Lawyer co-host and attorney, Bob Ambrogi, as we take a legal look at this troubling issue with Professor Bridgette Carr from the University of Michigan Law School, Attorney Ann Johnson from Houston, Texas and Mary C. Ellison, Director of Policy for...]]> http://www.mayitpleasethecourt.com/journal.asp?blogid=2160 Thu, 19 Apr 2012 21:08:04 GMT Members of Congress and their staffers who travel at the expense of private organizations must follow a long list of legal restrictions and requirements.  However, there is a little known exemption that allows the same federal employees to travel with virtually no accountability and very little transparency.  Please join me and my fellow Lawyer2Lawyer co-host and attorney, Bob Ambrogi, as we welome ProPublica.org reporter Justin Elliott and Washington University Law Professor Kathleen ...]]> http://www.mayitpleasethecourt.com/journal.asp?blogid=2157 Thu, 12 Apr 2012 10:00:08 GMT From the Obama Administration's decision on female contraception coverage, to the Congressional hearing on women's health featuring an all-male panel of witnesses, to the Rush Limbaugh/Sandra Fluke firestorm, legislation targeting women's health is causing quite the political controversy across the country. Please join me as I welcome Attorney Shari Rendall, Director of Legislation and Public Policy for Concerned Women for America and Attorney Gretchen Borchelt, Senior Counsel for He...]]> http://www.mayitpleasethecourt.com/journal.asp?blogid=2155 Sun, 11 Mar 2012 10:36:20 GMT Driving back from LA on Friday, traffic was stopped: dead stopped.  You know, the kind of stopped you just know will turn you and several thousand of your nearest friends into a 30-second segment on the 6:00 evening news, while the rest of us watching groan with an at-too-well understanding of your plight.Traffic started to move slowly on both sides of the freeway, but not in the middle.  Fortunately, I was on one of the the sides that was moving, not too far from the start of the traf...]]> http://www.mayitpleasethecourt.com/journal.asp?blogid=2154 Sun, 05 Feb 2012 20:10:17 GMT The world's tiger population has declined by 97%. The African elephant population has been cut in half. 33% of open-ocean sharks are now threatened with extinction. These and other alarming statistics have created worldwide legal action to save the Earth's endangered species. Please join me as I  explore laws and initiatives designed to save threatened species with attorney and WildAid board member, David Kracke of Nichols and Associates in Portland, Oregon....]]> http://www.mayitpleasethecourt.com/journal.asp?blogid=2152 Sat, 21 Jan 2012 08:41:06 GMT The United States Environmental Protection Agency just lost a battle that it has been fighting with the Sierra Club since 2004.  As you know, the USEPA sets the standards for air quality around the country.  Since the air pollution is particularly bad in California, and especially in the San Joaquin Valley, the Sierra Club filed a challenge to the USEPA's approval of certain air quality standards for the Valley in 2010.While the Sierra Club argued that the approval had a number of ...]]> http://www.mayitpleasethecourt.com/journal.asp?blogid=2153 Fri, 20 Jan 2012 09:08:36 GMT If you run a business, you know all about the California State Board of Equalization.  It's a euphemestically named government organization that is our equivalent of the IRS.  You know, those folks who collect taxes.Proposition 13 was enacted by California voters in an attempt to keep property taxes down.  The SBE's mission, it seems, is to figure out ways to increase tax revenue to the state.  One of the ways the SBE tried to do that was to avoid the annual decrease ...]]> http://www.mayitpleasethecourt.com/journal.asp?blogid=2151 Thu, 19 Jan 2012 19:24:23 GMT Since 2010, there has been great debate over the controversial ruling commonly called Citizens United.  Most recently, the Montana Supreme Court challenged the decision while Senator McCain called it "one of the worst decisions I have ever seen." Please join me as I welcome Attorney Joseph M. Birkenstock, former chief counsel of the Democratic National Committee and Bradley A. Smith, Chairman and Co-Founder of the Center for Competitive Politics and former Commissioner on the Fede...]]> http://www.mayitpleasethecourt.com/journal.asp?blogid=2150 Tue, 17 Jan 2012 19:19:27 GMT You may say it would be better to have a judge in your pocket, but then, so does everyone else.  I'm talking about a level playing field, with a lawyer in your pocket.  You know, the kind you can ask any question to when you have a legal problem, and get a solid answer that will avoid you having to breach a contract, make a mistake that actually would be a crime or anything else that would land you in a courtroom.Why not?  You can get a doctor in your pocket with Web MD, so wh...]]>