Although it breaks only a little new ground, one decision on today's Mississippi Supreme Court handdown list is notable for at least a couple of reasons.
When a lawyer's firm expels him and sends him home with a little less than $20,000 -- and soon thereafter pulls in a seven-figure fee in a case he worked on -- then the lawyer unquestionably has the right to be unhappy. But does he also have a right to a share of the fee?
The Associated Press is reporting that the Department of Justice has asked Mississippi officials for more information before it decides whether the state's new voter ID law complies with the Voting Rights Act.
As the U.S. Supreme Court begins its new term this week, longtime Court watcher Tony Mauro chimes in with an interesting observation: the Court's docket contains not a single First Amendment case.
Congratulations are in order for the Hon. Carl E. Stewart, who on Monday became the first African-American chief judge in the 121-year history of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Chief Judge Stewart, who replaced Judge Edith H. Jones, joined the Fifth Circuit in 1994 after being appointed by President Clinton.
New York Magazine ran an article on Friday entitled "The Power Grid", which addresses the political opportunities the Gulf oil spill presents the Obama administration. You can find it at www.nymag.com.
On May 30, the Times Picayune ran a story that discusses the challenges with relief wells. If you recall, BP and government officials have uniformly stated that a relief well is the only long-term fix for the oil spewing into the Gulf.
Over the last several weeks, I've read countless articles which suggest that deep water oil exploration is matched only by outer space exploration in terms of complexity and difficulty. This may be so; yet, like so many other areas of complex undertakings (doctors have even gone so far as to call for their own court system, claiming that medical malpractice cases are just too complex for everyday citizens to comprehend), it seems that the failures that led to the Deepwater Horizon were not complex at all.
Today's news brings a series of reports from the Orlando Sentinel, Los Angeles Times and Washington Post that highlight several problems which may have played a role in the Deepwater Horizon blowout.
My wife's suburban has a movie player for the kids to watch in the backseats. Here is a standard "discussion" between my oldest girl and boy that occurs within a few minutes of buckling everyone in for a trip of any length: Oldest - "I'm older than you, so I get to pick the movie." Middle child - "Unh, unh. Mommy is the boss. We need to pick something we both like." Wife - "You two quit fighting. I'm going to pick the movie. You're going to watch Mary Poppins and like it."
