The purse is not necessarily partially at fault. There would only be fault if the poster had acted unreasonably in placing the purse there. If she had not, she could not be at fault. Negligence requires a failure to act reasonably under the circumstances, plus actual and foreseeable injury cause by the unreasonable…

Fault is not an all or nothing proposition. Every state has a variation on the comparative fault doctrine. Juries have to allocate fault between the litigants. In most cases, if the plaintiff’s fault exceeds 50%, the plaintiff recovers nothing.

There is very little “frivolous” litigation in this country. I am a trial lawyer and I tell potential clients that, while litigation is better than six guns on Main Street at high noon, it leaves some things to be desired. It’s more like surgery but it can take up to two years, and I’m not allowed to administer…

If a jury awarded the damages after a trial, it’s not a settlement. It’s a verdict. If it was a settlement, there wouldn’t be anything to appeal, because a settlement is a voluntary, contractual resolution to litigation.

I’ve heard the phrase. Just never by someone who is actually in prison or looking at serious prison time. “Three hots and a cot,” is the kind of stuff people say when they try to explain the criminal justice system from the outside. Nobody who is sane wants to go back to prison. Nobody wants to go back to an…

See. That sucks. In my state, once you’ve been called, you’re done for five years, so that’s a plus.

Jury service is a civil right. The denial of jury service to minorities is part of our nation’s long history of white supremacy. It is literally one of the few chances you will have to take a direct role in the government of this country.

Sometimes, the best offers come on the morning of trial. The fact that a defendant is there, and feels confident enough to roll the dice with a jury can suggest to a DA that maybe what seemed like “proof beyond a reasonable doubt” might be more like “proof by a preponderance” or even just “some evidence.”

My rule of thumb is “My client asked for a jury trial. That means at least six jurors. If I wanted a jury of one, we would have asked for a bench trial.”

I’m cool with that idea, but the way we approach prisons in this country suggests that we’re not going to do anything to make felons’ lives easier. The only reason my suggestion would have a chance of working is that it suggests that crime victims would be getting compensated.

Victims don’t have to have contact with the inmate. They could get a check every month from the Department of Corrections (or equivalent), representing their restitution payment.

It would be better if we paid them a legitimate wage and applied some portion of it to restitution for their victims.

It’s okay. Next time, just call it a “Charlie Ficus Foxtrot.”

Comrade,

Came here for Steel Batallion.

Yeah. I remember, when I was in my 20s, a young lady who I was very interested in, with whom I had been trying to flirt for several weeks, came by my house to watch a movie. We were very close on the couch and I wanted to kiss her. So I asked whether that would be a mistake. And she gave me a less than fully…

And if they view their role as soldiers, then they adopt soldier mindsets, like “acceptable casualty rates.” That’s the amount of collateral damage that is viewed as necessary to accomplish the mission.

Except the law won’t let you sue the precinct. Normally, you can sue an employer for the actions of an employee. It’s called respondeat superior. But in the context of 42 Section 1983 (the federal statute allowing people to sue state actors for civil rights violations), there is no respondeat superior (unless you…

“The policeman isn’t there to create disorder; the policeman is there to preserve disorder.” —Richard Daley

Friendly advice....