The Law

District Judge Elizabeth Halverson, who has been suspended with pay for eight months, has announced she will run for office again if forced from her post by the Nevada Commission on Judicial Discipline, which finally filed formal charges against her. Halverson, as a judge, has been accused of falling asleep in court, abusing employees, mishandling jury trials and general incompetence, and as a citizen, keeping a filthy yard.

At the same time, the Nevada Supreme Court has ordered the commission to justify why it took so long to bring formal charges against Halverson.

Is it any surprise? Another judge in Clark County who has been accused of behaving like a pig wants to continue to wallow at the government trough. And why do bad judges and lawyers continue to practice–or in this case paid–for so long after problems begin to appear leaving the public exposed and vulneralble to a legal system voted one of the worst in the country? Perhaps the oversight committees are part of the problem?… Or the fact the legal system basically polices itself?…Do you think?

Or another question to ask the public…do you care?

Posted by Zounds Off at 7:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

From an article in PokerNews online gaming and entertainment empire Bodog headed back into court last week to appeal against the default judgement imposed on them by a Nevada court last month.

A company called 1st Technology caught Bodog by surprise last month by claiming the downloadable casino software used by Bodog Casino was in breach of a patent held by 1st Tech. Bodog claims they were not served with notice of the proceedings and didn’t appear at the hearing, resulting in the judge handing down a default judgement ordering the US-based domain name registrar to remove all Bodog-related websites from their servers and fining Bodog $49 million.

Calvin Ayre (Bodog’s CEO) stated, “In addition to the inevitable appeal we are also intending to open up new legal fronts to ensure that this important issue is given proper judicial review in the US. This is the first time in history that a non-US company, with zero operations or assets in the US, has had its domain names seized with no prior notice simply because it was using a US-based domain-name registrar. We do not believe that domain names should be allowed to be defined as assets to be seized for purposes of collecting on a judgment.”

Posted by Zounds Off at 4:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A Las Vegas Sun article dated August 27, the first day of classes for the Fall semester, reports;

The College of Southern Nevada is stepping up oversight of maintenance and construction work following reports by the Sun about alleged abuses at the school.
…
Former and current employees have accused [college construction chief Bob] Gilbert of using his position to arrange sweetheart deals with contractors who helped build his personal ranch estate off Kyle Canyon Road. The Nevada attorney general’s office raided college offices, Gilbert’s ranch and WGDL in June as part of a criminal investigation.
…
Gilbert is now on leave, which college officials say is to recover from shoulder surgery.
…
Interim CSN President Michael Richards said college officials had taken action, including closing some contracts, when circumstances showed that collusion occurred. He would not be more specific.Richards inherited the problems this summer when former CSN President Richard Carpenter left to take a job in Houston . Carpenter told the Sun earlier this year that an internal investigation into Gilbert’s activities found no actionable offense

As of yet, no one has said, “At least I’m not going to jail!” I wonder if Carpenter thought he was pulling an Atkinson-Gates by getting out of the job before an investigation included him. We know we have crooked cops, crooked lawyers, crooked doctors, crooked judges, blatently crooked politicians, crooked developers, crooked hospital administrators, crooked roads, etc. I wonder if I missed something; is there a special class that Nevadans take where some of the students learn to be ruthlessly corrupt and the rest to be unbelievably apathetic?

Posted by Zounds Off at 4:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Just a few excerpts I found interesting from Robert Massi’s article “A Call to Change: Why the U.S. Legal System Harms Americans, and How We Can Reclaim Our Rights:”

The president of the American Bar Association noted in an interview in June that almost half of the nation’s 900,000 lawyers will be retiring over the next 10 to 15 years.

Karen J. Mathis told the Third Branch newsletter, published by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts Office of Public Affairs, that up to 400,000 attorneys will be retiring, and she called upon those baby boomers to make a positive impact on their communities and professions.

“Boomer lawyers,” as they’re called, came to the practice of law with the energy, enthusiasm, work ethic and democratic and liberal ideals of the ’60s. We held the law in reverence and believed in a justice system that was created to protect the rights of all citizens.

And while the ABA president’s call to retiring lawyers to continue to contribute through “active retirement” is critical, we cannot wait for these educated volunteers to create a positive impact on our flawed civil court system. The work must begin now.

…

By the time [these] clients arrive in a lawyer’s office they have formed a poor opinion of our current overburdened legal system. It has let them down, cost them money, impeded solutions and delayed resolutions to their problems.

I propose that a lawyer’s role today is not to “bail out” their clients but to educate them and help them find a solution without kicking them back into the legal system’s vicious cycle of expense, delay and frustration.

People are right to look to the legal system for resolution of a dispute. But as it exists now, the cost, the complexity and the slowness of the system can be intimidating. However, there are ways to settle legal problems outside of the court system. These methods include mediation, arbitration (both binding and nonbinding) and other, more specialized forms of alternative dispute resolution (ADR). These methods are generally less contentious, less costly and less time-consuming than traditional civil litigation.

A radical shift in how lawyers, judges, courts and legislatures view the forum for dispute resolution is a critical step in restoring the legal system as a viable option for settling disagreements. Our legal system must return to the ideals it is rooted in and offer equal access and justice for all — not only for those with the means to afford counsel, but also for those without financial means who need impartial advice.

The legal system was meant to promote equality and provide a fair venue in which to resolve disputes. But the erosion of access for those without financial means, the cynical and calloused attitudes of some of those who do legal work and the dehumanizing processes of an overburdened system have contributed to the erosion of our reverence for the law.

I agree 200 percent that the legal system is broke–many people file frivolous law suits hoping to retire on their “reward,” some people are constantly contentious litigators, some just know that they can get away with a lot within our legal system because of a regular network of payoffs and courting of political and legal “juice,” and millions can’t afford legal representation.

What I can’t stomach is this self-serving statement that attorneys in the ’60’s “came to the practice of law with the energy, enthusiasm, work ethic and democratic and liberal ideals of the ’60s. We held the law in reverence and believed in a justice system that was created to protect the rights of all citizens.”

Yeah, right. If you guys (and a few gals) actually had all this idealism, we wouldn’t have the mess we have. You were the ones who taught the corporations how to find every tax break and shelter, every opportunity to squeeze small businesses out. You were the ones who advised government agencies and the ones who showed your legal prowess by getting murderers acquitted through technicalities. You were the ones who showed that shading an argument and bending the truth was good for business. You were the ones who were practicing for the past 40 years and supposed to mentor the next generation of attorneys, but for the most part your only interest seems to have been to make partner, make associate attorneys work 180 to 200 billable hours a month, and collect your obscene salaries and bonuses and shares of profits. You are the ones who sit as judges now and award outrageous fees to attorneys, decide cases where business partners and former associates appear, make decisions on how much has been contributed to your campaign funds.

Your generation is the one that found the “golden goose” and is the reason that law schools have to spend more and more time teaching ethics in the practice of law. But that doesn’t seem to have much effect on the “real” practice of law. Just write a few more delaying motions, review a few more case files, and pile up those billable hours at $350 per hour. If you want to do something, you might consider why the court system and the bar association are so adamant in policing themselves. Seems to me it’s so the system can remain exactly the same. Certainly your generation of attorneys hasn’t stepped forward on this until millions have been made. You are the generation which has spawned thousands of lawyer jokes. Be proud of yourselves for that; you have earned it.

Posted by Zounds Off at 3:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In the Las Vegas Sun:
Trial for a developer, Donald Davidson, accused of bribing southern Nevada officials has been delayed until Wednesday while prosecutors and defense attorneys argue over whether too much time has elapsed to pursue one of the charges.

Jury selection was to have begun Monday but was postponed so U.S. District Judge Roger Hunt in Las Vegas could decide whether a conspiracy charge against the real estate consultant exceeded a five-year statute of limitations.

Davidson, 72, and his son, Lawrence Davidson, 40, were indicted in 2005 on charges of conspiracy, mail fraud and money laundering that could result in decades in prison and millions of dollars in fines on conviction.

Both men pleaded not guilty to accusations that they paid former Clark County Commissioner Erin Kenny $200,000 in exchange for her help in 2001 to allow a chain pharmacy to be built in northwest Las Vegas.

Lawrence Davidson, a former Las Vegas attorney, became a fugitive and a warrant was issued last October for his arrest after he failed to appear for a trial in a separate federal case.

Lawyers were arguing Monday whether a conspiracy charge contained in a second superseding indictment filed against Donald Davidson in 2006 exceeded the five-year time limit.

The revised indictment alleged Davidson conspired with Kenny on a proposal for a neighborhood casino in the Spring Valley area of Clark County outside Las Vegas.

Davidson’s lawyer, Dominic Gentile, has argued that there was no evidence that Kenny received money for the casino vote. Even if Davidson and Kenny had an agreement before the vote, Gentile said, the act of conspiracy would have been completed once the vote took place.

Of course, the counter argument most likely is that it was part of an ongoing conspiracy of money for influence that included the later events also. Heck, maybe there was some tax evasion which should have been considered, bringing down the wrath of the IRS and a six year limitation, I believe.

Posted by Zounds Off at 11:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Gov. Jim Gibbons signed a bill on Thursday making Nevada one of at least a dozen states to enact laws against fake groups promoting themselves as famed musicians.

“Nevada is the entertainment capital of the world, so this was one of our major goals,” said Sonny Turner of the Platters.

Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Illinois are among the states with similar legislation.

I am all for protecting artists and the public from fake groups but I was really hoping to see movement on education, transportation, water, corruption, ethics reform, and a ban on Elvis impersonators, especially those over 70 with chicken necks.

Posted by Zounds Off at 5:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I see by a post in the Pioneer Loan Center Blog that dear ole Babs got her way in the house, which as far as I can tell, is run by her and her pet dilettantes.
AB478 passed.

These losers are so busy saving the world that they don’t even consider the consequences of their actions.
Instead of fixing the problem they simply created an untenable situation for the consumers.
They force people to try and repay a loan in 210 days, instead if a year or more.
If they had done something reasonable about interest rates and forced the 400% + crowd to actually do installment loans, the problem could have been resolved.

As far as I can tell, their goal is to put all the loan companies, except for banks and mortgage companies out of business.

Obviously, most short term and title loans go to people the banks won’t touch, and the mythical maximum 100 and 200 dollar loans exist mostly in the egocentric, delusional world of the idealogs.
These people are so attacking the evil loan companies that they are making it impossible for the little people to borrow from anyone but the local loansharks. (If you think loansharks have disappeared then you don’t know jack about human nature.)

If it was possible to loan money out to high risk customers at a total, including any and all fees, of 40%, the banks would be all over that market.
You’ll notice who’s not jumping in.

Original post from RCNevada used with permission.

Posted by pokerprof at 7:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

From the blog of Mark Litwak, entertainment attorney.

Republishing Defamatory Statements on the Internet is Protected Under the Communications Decency ActDr. Stephen J. Barrett and Dr. Terry Polevoy brought suit against Ilena Rosenthal for libel by maliciously distributing defamatory statements in e-mails and Internet postings on her website. Plaintiffs’ website was used to expose health fraud and the Defendant allegedly republished several messages impugning their character and competence even after she was warned that the messages contained false and defamatory information.

The Court of Appeal vacated the trial court’s motion to strike under the anti-strategic lawsuit against public participation statute (Code Civ. Proc. s. 425.16), as applied to one Plaintiff, holding that 47 U.S.C. s. 230 applied to Defendant as a “distributor” under the common law of defamation.

The Supreme Court of California reversed the judgment of the Court of Appeal holding that s. 230 prohibits “distributor” liability for Internet publications and that section (c)(1) of the Act immunizes individual users of interactive computer services and that no line can be drawn between active and passive use.

The Court stressed the fact that the holding of the Court of Appeals would cause a heavy burden on and tend to chill Internet speech.

See Also: Barrett v. Rosenthal, 40 Cal.4th 33 (2006)

OK, you never know what I will read–philosophical treatise (Cliff Note version) to murder mysteries to cereal boxes–but, if you are on the Internet, this is good stuff.

Posted by Zounds Off at 2:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In a response to last year’s approval by voters on question 2 concerning eminent domain–iitself a response to the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Kelo v. the City of New London–a bipartisan group of Nevada lawmakers is proposing a constitutional amendment to limit eminent domain powers..

Freshman Assemblyman James Ohrenschall, a Las Vegas Democrat, is the primary sponsor of AJR2, just introduced on Monday, which would amend the Nevada Constitution to prohibit government taking of private property for any private use, while last week the Senate and Assembly introduced similar bills, SB85 and AB102 respectfully, prohibiting the taking of private property for economic development.

The flurry of bills follows approval in November of question 2 by voters, which got 63 percent of the vote, and applies to all uses of eminent domain, not just economic development or private use, and requiring that compensation for the land be based on its “highest and best use,” and if the land was not used within five years, the selling party could buy the property back at the original sale price. For more on this see Proposal…

Posted by Zounds Off at 10:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Nevada Supreme Court is holding a public hearing at 2 p.m. March 1 in Carson City on the final proposal of the Study Committee on Lawyer Advertising, which was ratified by the board of Governors last year.

It seems that Las Vegas attorney Glen Lerner will finally be in compliance with the Nevada Supreme Court Rule 7.2. on advertising; filing requirements; and volunteer advisory committees, if proposed rule changes are accepted.

[Paragraph removed because it was inaccurate and not checked, sorry Glen!]

But it appears this time Lerner, although jumping the gun on proposals which are not law, won’t see any scrutiny by the bar association. For the proposed rule changes click on http://www.nvbar.org/SCLA/scla.htm

Posted by Zounds Off at 7:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)