Opening Statement

Funny, this legal argument worked for Exxon…

News article from The Chronicle Herald Metro.

1980 was a long time ago: Lost Innocence

Many years take on a life of their own.  1980 is one of those years – just mention the year and the feelings come rushing in.  The first thing I think of, when I hear 1980, is large conditioned hair and tight pants.  It was 1980 that Ronald Reagan replaced Jimmy Carter as U.S. president, and the United States Government built a tax-supported army led by Osama Bin Laden, to fight off the Russian invasion of Afgahnistan.   It was1980 that we lost John Lennon, John Bonham, and Bon Scott too early.  John Belushi was still alive, though.

Great movies like the Shining and Raging Bull were released, as was Tess and the Empire Strikes Back, Ordinary People, and 9 to 5.  The Philadelphia Phillies won the World Series with Pete Rose and Nino Espinosa.   And Bobby Cox was managing the Atlanta Braves.  Magic Johnson was rookie winning the NBA championship, and Michael Jordan was in high school.  U2, Iron Maiden, the Circle Jerks, and Huey Lewis and the News all had debut albums.  Kool and the Gang and Blondie were pumping out hits.

We all have our own strong memories from 1980.  For James Lee Woodard, that memory is of the last year of freedom from prison, before he was arrested for a rape and murder he did not commit.  A judge ruled that DNA evidence cleared Mr. Woodard of the crime he was convicted.  Yesterday, James Lee Woodard walked out of prison for the first time in over 27 years.  Like many worngful convictions, this one was based on eye-witness testimony – which is significantly unreliable.

Also upsettingly familiar is the way the prosecutor and police fought against his release and justice.  At one point Prosecutors claims of no pohysical evidence whatsoever got the case thrown out.  That turned out to be completely false.   “That was a lie, we discovered there was evidence to test. This proves that the callous and cavalier attitude of the court of criminal appeals and other courts in this state toward these kind of claims should come to an end.”  said Jeff Blackburn, chief counsel for the Innocence Project of Texas.

Much of the credit for this recent overturned wrongful conviction has been given to Dallas DA (District Attorney), Craig Watkins, who started the program of using law students to review potential wrongful convictions.  In a country where prosecutors and DA’s run amok, imprisoning as many as possible, regardless of innocence or guilt – this program is refreshing.  As refreshing as freedom is to James Lee Woodard.

Federal Appeals Court rejects class-action light cigarette suit

A class action lawsuit alleging fraud by the cigarette companies was thrown out by a federal appeals court.  Recently, U.S. federal and supreme courts have made radically absurd judgments to protect large corporations from repaying the public for damages made, but this is NOT one of those absurd judgements.  This lawsuit had no merit.

The lawsuit basically alleges that cigarette companies produced and sold cigarettes they called ‘light’ even though they conclusively knew that they were no safer than regular cigarettes.  Smokers would compensate for the lost ‘lighter’ smoke by inhaling for longer breaths and buying more cigarettes.  For this reason, the lawsuit alleges ‘fraud’.

No, that is not fraud.  The cigarettes in fact did exactly what they were advertised to do, produce less smoke.  When I started smoking, and someone gave me a light cigarette, I knew to put tape around the filter to close the holes that reduced the smoke intake and make it a ‘regular’.  Even if you did not know that, you still had a cigarette that produced less smoke due to the holes in the filter (drew air to mix with smoke).

Some people argue that the law should apply what the ‘average person’ should know.  And others argue that the stupidest of people should be protected.  Either way, this case was justifyably thrown out.

To get away from the bias of ‘evil’ cigarette companies, we have a good parallel example: milk.  Milk contains fat, of which in excess can cause horrible diseases and early death.   Not only does ‘2% milk’ not have 2% the fat of regular milk (it has over 50%) but we psychologically compensate for the lost taste and color (in coffee and chocolate milk) by adding more ‘light’ milk.  When I use skim milk in my coffee, I keep going until it overflows – we all subconsciously go by color when we add milk to coffee, thus offsetting the fat reduction.  Should the milk industry be liable for fraud?

Class action lawsuits are very important in our culture, helping to prevent high level crimes and reimbursement for being wronged.  Business and press have been using this case to argue that class action lawsuits are too frequently used in our society, and they are completely wrong and just trying to protect large industry.  This case was correctly thrown out because it failed on merit.

Hey! Hey! Hey! Rerun!

Those of you old enough may recognize the title quote from the TV show, “What’s Happening.” This post contains brief tidbits of interesting things happening around the world.

1. In this video, a romantic man proposes to a woman in front of abut 20,000 NBA fans. She shatters his heart in 3….2….1…

I feel bad for him too, but he did embarrass her in front of 20,000 people (plus many more on the internet). Why would she want to spend 1 more minute with him, let alone the 3 years until she files for divorce.

2. The lowest Presidential approval rating since the poll started in 1938 was Harry Truman at 23%. Until now. Bush the Younger’s latest poll reflects 19% approval, making him the least liked president of the last 70 years. Well deserved.

3. Commerce Bank accidentally transfers millions of dollars to wrong account, then has the man who owns the account arrested after he withdraws the money. Hilarious hijinks ensue.

4. I am a fan of reading about law, particularly Supreme Court decisions. Some guy put a tremendous amount of United States Supreme Court decisions online here. Now I know why some Judges give wacky draconian sentences like 4 life terms. It is the only way someone will have time to read all this great material. If you want to read all Clarence Thomas’ opinions, a few minutes is all you need.

5. Enhance your emails with adorable kittie, doing adorable things. Cute kitties can soften any harsh message. Consider this, and tell me which is a more pleasant: email A or B.

A. I am sorry I gave you Gonorrhea.

B. I am sorry I gave you Gonorrhea.

To me it is obvious. There are many cat pictures with captions at I can has cheezburger.

6. In America, horrible drug laws enforced by the DEA have brought large prison sentences for citizens accused of nothing more than possessing marijuana. Property (cars, boats, etc) of those arrested can be seized and sold by the government, even if the suspect is never charged. In Denmark, the policies are decided by the public and enforced by the medical community – so the laws support, protect, and enhance public health, in direct contrast to current American drug laws.

The Copenhagen Post is reporting today that heroin will be available to the public through prescription to addicts to ease the horrible withdrawal effects, based on the success of the type of program in other countries.

“Final resistance to the idea of prescription heroin eroded after a National Board of Health report concluded recently that similar programmes in other countries had been successful. ” Quoted from the article.

The one that got away, with nothing

“What is that group down south that is trying to recreate the Civil War? Anyone know what I mean? Oh yeah, Georgia State Troopers”

Emo Phillips

The United States has a peculiar fetish for locking up Black people, in chains or prisons. As I have noted in prior posts, the United States has the highest per capita prison population in the world, with a rate over 19% higher than the 2^nd highest country.

The Department of Justice estimates that 4.8% of Black males were in prison on the midpoint day, 2006. One in 20! So the next time a Black man tells you he is being oppressed by the White man, walk away before you are arrested as an accessory.

 

Oh, as an aside, I am using the terms ‘Black’ and ‘White’ to communicate that I am writing about race. I could use ‘Caucasian’ and ‘Negro’, but that upsets more people. The term ‘African American’ is a BS term that is 1) inaccurate (there are White Americans from Africa and Blacks who are neither African nor American), and 2) a distraction from the real problem. If you study or experience racism in this country, and determine that the problem is simply that the wrong label is being used, you are part of the problem, get out of the way. That would be like being raped anally and worrying about getting your hair mussed. If you want to be called any name, as an individual, I will be happy to oblige, be it African American or Snappy Sweet Cheeks, but don’t make me sacrifice accuracy and communication because you are afraid of some commonly used words. Oh sorry, where was I?

 

Oh yeah, 1 in 20 Black males in prison. As many of you probably know, about 13 years ago, a Black man got away, by the name of O.J. Simpson. Well, he didn’t really get away, even though he was found ‘not guilty’. He lost: most of his money, which was significant; his livelihood; his reputation; considerable time to prison; and a second trial. Most of us are in bad shape in this country, if we are simply accused of a crime.

Some people didn’t like that he got away, mainly those with TV broadcast stations, so I and many others had to sit through years of whining how he was guilty, and the system doesn’t convict enough guilty Black people. TV ‘news’ tends to repeat itself, a usual trait of propaganda. In the meantime, the same people basically ignore a more disturbing travesty of justice, when Scooter Libby is convicted of a major felony, but is set free. Yep, in Scooter’s case, unlike O.J.’s – the jury found him Guilty. Scooter may have made money in the deal too – because his defense fund collected over $5 million, perhaps more than his fine ($250,400) and attorney costs. His livelihood is fine.

Now O.J. is back in the news, arrested again, and we will have to hear more crap about how the system is tilted towards celebrities. Well it is tilted, against the majority of the American population. Sometimes the system allows a guilty person to go free, but – more than any other country, the system puts average citizens behind bars. When I hear about O.J., I think about the many innocent people the system has put in prison, and how to give strength to their weak voices.