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June 29, 2009 One Hand Clapping
Rigid World View A Recipe For DangerFREE
As a child I would delight in the asinine adventures of the nameless spooks in Mad magazine’s Spy v. Spy. The two covert operatives were no doubt involved in the deadly serious business of clandestine service. But they were such bungling idiots. If the world were left to them, we’d all be living in caves and dining on uncooked roots and berries.
Justice Supported Jefferson’s Wall 
If you believe with Thomas Jefferson that the First Amendment builds “a high wall of separation between Church & State,” then you will sorely miss Justice David H. Souter when he retires from the U.S. Supreme Court this month. Few justices in recent memory have been more vigorous in defending Mr. Jefferson’s wall against increasingly successful efforts by some on the court to dismantle it brick by brick.
Legal Ease
Snarls, Evasiveness Make Potential Juror MemorableFREE
Recently, I attended jury selection as the stunt double of one of the partners at my firm. On this occasion, I encountered a situation that I had seldom bumped up against: the truly hostile venireman.
Who Will Care For Clients’ Best Friends?FREE
With the close of Connecticut’s legislative session in June, Connecticut joined more than 40 states that allow the formation of a trust for the care of pets. The new law will allow our clients to ensure that their pets are cared for in case of our client’s disability or death. Without proper planning, many pets are either not cared for as the pet owner intends or euthanized. So how does the new law work to ensure the proper, loving care for pets in case of a client’s incapacity or death? The answer is a trust specifically designated for this purpose and now legally sanctioned by the State of Connecticut.
June 22, 2009 Advice of Counsel
Moving In The Right DirectionFREE
he probate court system has been inching toward reform for several years. The state budget crisis accelerated that slow pace and major changes are imminent. The General Assembly has passed probate reform legislation, which will significantly change the probate court system. The legislation is a compromise between markedly different reform proposals submitted by Gov. M. Jodi Rell and by Judge Paul Knierim, the state’s probate court administrator. The Connecticut Bar Association’s Estates and Probate and Elder Law Sections submitted comments to the legislative work group and many of those recommendations are reflected in the new legislation.
June 15, 2009 Advice of Counsel
Uproar Over Terms of ServiceFREE
On Feb. 4, Facebook, the largest social networking site, changed its Terms of Service. The original terms provided Facebook with “an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, fully paid, world license” to user-posted content, but removal of user content would automatically result in the expiration of the license granted to Facebook. The revised terms eliminated the language regarding removal of user content, leading many to speculate that this entitled Facebook to eternal rights to the user-posted content, even after the user had deactivated the account.
June 8, 2009 LEGAL WORK
Sons Of A LawyerFREE
While I did not marry a lawyer, I am married to several of them nonetheless, and, as Jimmy Buffet sings in perpetuity, it’s my own damn fault. My three sons, 10, 8 and 3, while not having yet attended law school, and not much interested in my profession or what it entails, are nonetheless acting and talking like mini-lawyers: parenting made even harder, as many of you, I’m sure, can attest.
Advice of Counsel
Sign Legal Aid Bill
We find it laudable and encouraging that the state legislature has bridged the partisan divide to address the legal aid funding crisis.
One Hand Clapping
Defendants Forced To Plea Too Soon FREE
This is a tale of two court systems, both committed to preserving the same set of rights, and both dedicated to the pursuit of justice. While I am no monist, and believe that many roads can all lead to the same destination, I know that if I were accused of a crime, I would much prefer the procedure in the federal courts. At least there I would know what I was doing and why, as I considered whether to enter a plea of guilty.
Guest Commentary
Sotomayor And Religious Freedom
President Barack Obama’s nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor for the U.S. Supreme Court has triggered considerable hand-wringing on both sides of the culture-war divide over the relationship between religion and government under the First Amendment. Weeks before Obama’s announcement, Jay Sekulow of the conservative American Center for Law and Justice launched a preemptive strike, warning his constituents that Sotomayor has a “very, very strict view of church-state separation.”
Legal Ease
When Brain Backfires, Just Keep On Talking FREE
I am getting older. Not that I am unique in this regard, mind you, but the message was recently brought home to me that my memory does not work as well as it once did. I was on the phone with an expert witness. He had cheerfully agreed to review a medical malpractice claim I am defending for approximately half the value of my fat-free individual retirement account. He was calling to give his opinion. Luckily, it favored my client, but I digress.
Advice of Counsel
Addressing Sexting
A teenage boy sent a cell phone picture of his genitals to female classmates. School authorities discovered a cell phone photo of two teens engaged in oral sex. After they broke up, a 16-year-old boy circulated a nude picture of his 15-year-old ex-girlfriend to classmates’ cell phones, causing her to withdraw from school.
Guest Commentary
High Court Nominee Pitched In To End StrikeFREE
Some commentators are touting Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor as “the judge who saved baseball.” This is a reference to the injunction she issued, as a U.S. District Court judge for the Southern District of New York, which led to the end of the Major League Baseball players’ strike in 1995. However, the issues she addressed in Silverman v. Major League Baseball Player Relations Committee were the legal equivalent of hanging curve balls, and shed little light on her judicial philosophy or acumen.
June 1, 2009 Advice of Counsel
Development Agreements Make SenseFREE
Consider this scenario: A developer purchases 20 acres of undeveloped land in a small Connecticut town. The land had been farmed for many years but is now vacant. The current zoning is single-family residential with a minimum lot size of two acres. Connection to the public water supply and sewer is available. The developer would like to build a retirement community of cottages and apartments for independent living and apartments for assisted living. There would also be a common area for dining and recreation, a library, an auditorium, and a wellness center.
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