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Week Of Monday June 8, 2009
Brain DrainFREE
The state’s efforts to trim its spending seems likely to have profound consequences for the operation of the court system, with hundreds of senior state employees – ranging from court clerks to veteran prosecutors – taking early retirements.
Foreclosure Mediation Becomes Mandatory FREE
A voluntary foreclosure mediation program has worked so well in the eyes of legislators that the General Assembly pushed through a measure to make the program mandatory starting July 1. Nearly 60 percent of those participating in the voluntary program have remained in their homes, and supporters contend that even more distressed mortgage holders will benefit from being forced into mediation. To date, only about 34 percent of those eligible for mediation have made use of the voluntary program, according to the Judicial Branch.
The Church Fights Back 
It’s been, quite literally, a case of church versus state. In recent months, the Catholic Church in Connecticut has repeatedly been at odds with various branches of the state government, to the point where the church has singled out Connecticut as a place where it needs to “vigorously fight for its constitutional rights.”
Family Can’t Sue Police After Faulty Raid
olice, armed with a search warrant, broke down the door of a Hartford home. They ransacked the apartment, pointed guns at family members and even helped themselves to the occupants’ food. Only one problem: they raided the wrong residence, a fact that even authorities later conceded. One might think that the occupants would be able to sue for damages after such an unwarranted intrusion, but a recent decision in a Connecticut federal court says otherwise.
Higher Filing Fees Would Benefit Legal Aid FREE
Connecticut attorneys won’t have to pay a higher occupational tax, but the legislature has approved a measure that would increase many court filing fees by $55 to $75. The annual proceeds – estimated at $7.7 million – would go to the state’s legal aid agencies, which are mired in a fiscal crisis. Their main funding source – proceeds from Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts, or IOLTA – has all but dried up due to low interest rates and the poor housing market.
Legal Tech
When Sharing Might Not Be A Good IdeaFREE
In this visual, media-driven world, more and more lawyers are using courtroom technology to speed the flow of trials and more effectively communicate to judges and juries. But it often happens that opposing sides are unevenly matched, and the less technologically equipped party cries foul. At some point, lawyers who bring their own technology into the courtroom likely will encounter requests – and judicial pressure – to share their hardware, software and even their staff with opposing counsel.
Q&A
The ABC’s Of Performing Public Service
Like other commencements, law school graduation ceremonies are often long on inspirational messages and short on nuts-and-bolts advice. That wasn’t the case with the speech U.S. District Judge Mark R. Kravitz made to Quinnipiac School of Law graduates last month. Like other law school commencement speakers, Kravitz, an appellate practice group chair at Wiggin and Dana before being named to the bench in 2003, extolled the virtues of public service for lawyers. Unlike others, Kravitz spelled out exactly what graduates might do and how it would help them. “Of all the lawyers [I] have known, those who were the most fulfilled by their work and by their lives were those who were active volunteers and participants in the life and work of their communities and their profession,” Kravitz told the Quinnipiac grads.
Clothes Call Goes Against Recycling Firm
Over the years, the Dumpster-sized bins have sat in the parking lots of shopping centers and supermarkets. They invite donations of used clothing, suggesting that the proceeds would support such worthwhile causes as your local police department or your child’s Pop Warner football league.
‘The Most Important Thing I Can Do’FREE
At the heart of his profession, James K. Robertson Jr. thrives on conflict and disputes as a litigation partner at Carmody & Torrance. But away from work, Robertson focuses on cooperation and tolerance among a group of people probably more at odds than any of his clients—Christians, Jews and Muslims. For 15 years, Robertson has been involved with the Hartford Seminary, studying theology, history and religion and working with the seminary to improve relations and create interfaith ministries among religious groups. His activities have taken him to the Persian Gulf on numerous occasions where he participates in forums with scholars and students to help prepare them to become peacemakers. He’s also involved in recruiting students from Islamic countries to study at Hartford Seminary.
Verdicts & Settlements
Town Agrees To Pay Fire Victim’s Family $1.4M
Edward Romig v. James Sutton, et al.: The Town of Greenwich has agreed to pay $1.4 million to the family of a 22-year-old who was killed in his apartment during a fire in December 2000. The case had been pending for more than six years and a settlement between the town and the family’s lawyers did not occur until a day after jury selection began in mid-May.
Economy Hamstrings UNH Law School Plans
To establish a law school, the University of New Haven determined last June that it needed about $25 million in start-up capital. Based on the health of the economy and financial markets, university officials now say the law school project won’t move forward any time soon. Still, the private school in West Haven says it remains serious about eventually creating a fourth law school in the state, joining Yale, Quinnipiac and the University of Connecticut.
The Church Fights BackFREE
It’s been, quite literally, a case of church versus state.
In recent months, the Catholic Church in Connecticut has repeatedly been at odds with various branches of the state government, to the point where the church has singled out Connecticut as a place where it needs to “vigorously fight for its constitutional rights.” Now the state wants to force the Bridgeport diocese to register as lobbyists as a result of the rallies at the Capitol against the now dead parish oversight proposal. And the diocese is fighting back.
Legal Tech
Growling At GoogleFREE
How would you feel if you typed your law firm’s name into an Internet search engine and saw a competitor’s name listed first in the results? New Haven personal injury lawyers Michael Stratton and Joel Faxon were irate last week when they discovered that anyone Googling “Stratton Faxon” would find the firm’s web site listed in the second position. Just above it, shaded in yellow to indicate a paid advertisement, was a listing labeled “Defending Patients’ Rights.” Smaller type showed the URL to be www.SGTlaw.com, which belongs to the Stamford personal injury firm of Silver Golub & Teitell.
Capital Punishment Foes Gain Momentum
Is the death penalty nearly dead in Connecticut? An issue that looked to be squarely on the back burner as Connecticut lawmakers grappled with a devastating budget crisis has suddenly bolted front and center. Consider this: In recent weeks, the state House and Senate passed bills that would replace capital punishment with life in prison without parole. The measure carried the Senate 19-17 after one Republican, Sen. Andrew Roraback, a Torrington attorney, split with his party and voted for abolition. “I can’t push the button to vote for the death penalty because I don’t feel I could push the button to extinguish the life of another,” he said.
Want A Do-It-Yourself Divorce? Hire A Coach FREE
After 20 years of practicing family law, Fairfield attorney Susan Wakefield was ready to give it all up for a new career. Litigation was a grind, neither party in the divorce and custody cases was ever happy and the process left Wakefield emotionally drained.
The breaking point came last year when a client whom Wakefield went out of her way to help stiffed her for several thousands dollars in unpaid legal fees.
Q&A
‘Knows Her Stuff! Has Originality!’FREE
ewer than 6 percent of the cases decided by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit come from Connecticut. Still, people and issues from Connecticut are likely to be highly important in the upcoming confirmation hearings of U.S. Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, a Second Circuit judge for the past 12 years. Former Yale Law School Dean Guido Calabresi is a colleague of Sotomayor’s on the appellate court. He first met her at Yale, when he was a professor and she was a student, and was impressed with her legal talents and personal attributes.
Defense Bar Says Bail Amounts Are On Upswing
At last month’s arraignment for Stephen Morgan, accused of killing a Wesleyan student working in the campus bookstore, Middletown Superior Court Judge Mary-Margaret Burgdorff raised his bail from $10 million to $15 million. The judge pointed to the seriousness of the crime, the fact that Morgan wore a disguise and the overall threat he posed to the community. A journal entry by Morgan made mention of a “killing spree.” But Morgan’s attorney and other criminal defense lawyers have called the amount excessive. They speculate that the judge was influenced more by the public outcry over a horrific crime than by guidelines in the state Constitution and Practice Book for setting bail.
Paying A Price For Dishonest Bail BondsmenFREE
In this tough economic climate, everyone is looking for an edge over the competition. That includes businesses that provide bail bonds to criminal defendants. But while it might be OK for furniture shops to offer sales on sofas and restaurants to offer deals on meals, public safety experts say it’s a huge problem when bail agents – often called bail bondsmen – charge criminal defendants discounted rates. The legislature is considering a measure that would increase state oversight of private bail bondsmen, a step lawmakers hope would cut down on a practice known as “undercutting.”
Governor Marks More Courthouses For Closure
s part of a wide-ranging deficit reduction plan, Gov. M. Jodi Rell last week proposed closing state courthouses in Manchester, Derby, Norwalk and Putnam. That would bring to six the number of courthouses that Rell wants to shutter in an attempt to narrow a multi-billion dollar state budget gap. Earlier this year, she proposed closing courthouses in Bristol and Meriden, while leaving five judge positions vacant for the next two fiscal years.
Verdicts & Settlements
Hairdresser Gets $386K After Wheel Falls Off
Debra Cutolo v. Holmgren Subaru Inc.: A woman who tore the rotator cuff in her right shoulder after one of the front wheels fell off her pickup truck was awarded more than $386,000 by a New London jury. In a three-decade career as a hairdresser and barber for the Navy, Debra Cutolo claimed that she had never had a problem with her shoulder, arm or hand that caused her to miss any work. But an unusual low-speed accident in a parking lot reportedly ended her career.
The Serious Side Of Mountain BikingFREE
Last month, attorney Michael Pollack was working at his desk at the Law Offices of Jefferson D. Jelly in West Hartford when he got the emergency call on his cell phone. Four teenagers had gotten lost while hiking Case Mountain in Manchester when thunderstorms rolled in, leaving them stranded in the woods. Pollack quickly scanned his afternoon calendar and rescheduled a meeting with a client. He rushed home to Windsor and gathered his gear: cold-weather clothes, helmet light, GPS, hand-held ham radio, high-protein granola bars, water and his mountain bike. Pollack is a member of the Manchester Mountain Bike Search and Rescue team, an all-volunteer group of about 20 experienced mountain bikers of various ages and professions who assist the town’s emergency services department.
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