The Legal Underground

The Norm Pattis Style

Norm Pattis, a permanent guest-poster at Crime & Federalism, has weighed in on Judge Whitmore's decision in the Terri Schiavo case: "Hero in a Black Robe."

United States District Judge James Whitmore of Florida will today feel the scorn of millions. He did what judges are supposed to do last night. He applied the rule of law in a tough case.

Terri Schiavo's feeding tube will not be reattached.

Norm's short post is worth reading for its conclusion alone. Meanwhile, the Terri Schiavo case moves along. At 2 a.m. this morning, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Judge Whitmore in a 2-1 ruling.

A Miscellany of Various Stuff

Before you get started on your St. Patrick's Day festivities, be sure to stop by these six web locations--

Sluggers Baseball's steroid scandal is spoofed in a JibJab-like cartoon parody. [Made With THG]

Putting a Suicide in Context A great collection of articles about Hunter S. Thompson. [Rolling Stone]

Looking for a Legal Job? There's a weblog that can help. [Legal Jobs Blog] (the proprietor, Kevin Heller, has more in his first audio post).

Imitation Is the Sincerest Form of Flattery Advice to Professor Volokh. [f/k/a]

Is the Med Mal System Broken? Stephanie Mencimer and Philip K. Howard debate. [Legal Affairs]

The Elmer Fudd Defense Bill Lerach gets some more good press. [Fast Company Now]

A Few Good Posts and Some Miscellany from Around the Blawgosphere

Should You Really Be a Lawyer? That's the title of a new book that's reviewed at Al Nye The Lawyer Guy, Ernie the Attorney, and May It Please the Court.

Does Your Job as a Lawyer Cause You to Drink? Read about the future of DUI laws at the DUI Blog--it's the fun of Prohibition all over again!

Are You a Lawyer Hoping to Escape the Practice with a Cushy In-House Job? There are plenty of resources for you in a post at the InhouseBlog.

Are Silly Diversions Enough to Make You Happy? Check out the advertisement for Captain Hooke Silver, Attorney at Law. (Thanks to Abnu.)

Keep Moving #8: Exam Horror Stories, William Shatner, and More

Some recent items of interest, all crammed together in a single post though each deserves one of its own:

Why One Lawyer Is Not Unhappy  The Dennis Kennedy story. [JD Bliss]

From Script to Screen  Watch the trailer for Pleadings, a law-related movie by a favorite blogger. [Jim Dedman]

Document Retention v. Evidence Destruction  A new tort-reform proposal that a business magazine says could be more significant than changes to asbestos, class action, or medical malpractice litigation. [Business Week]

And This One Time, At Law School?  Blood-curdling exam horror stories. [Crime & Federalism]

A Meaningless Publicity Stunt  Why one law professor thinks that Legal Affairs may be "on the verge of becoming defunct." [Leiter Reports]

When East Meets West  A New York judge, satirically offered for sale at a cut-rate price, complains, "Judges are ill equipped to fight eBay." [The New York Times (link from How Appealing)]

Damning William Shatner With Faint Praise  He's awesome in TV commercials. [Professor Althouse]

My Weblogs Are Featured in a Real-Life Magazine  Thanks to Helen Gunnarsson, who wrote about the comments to this post in this month's Law Pulse column. [The Illinois Bar Journal]

Top Secret Bush v. Kerry Debate Contract Addendum

Recovering lawyer and humorist Madeleine Kane has all the details--

NOW, THEREFORE, Bush and Kerry hereby agree to the following top secret provisions:

1. Kerry shall be required to answer all debate questions in French.

2. Bush shall be required to answer all debate questions in English.

3. Throughout each debate, the backdrop behind Bush shall feature several U.S. flags, the precise number of which is subject to further negotiation.

4. Throughout each debate, the backdrop behind Kerry shall feature a map of Massachusetts and two life-size photos of Kerry with Jane Fonda.

To see the entire 16-point secret agreement, look here.

Unmasking Lawyer-Bloggers with Beldar

After failing to post for three months between 4/19/04 and 7/19/04, making him a three-time "deadbeat blogger" as defined by Jim Dedman, lawyer-blogger Beldar has been on a roll ever since. He seems to be at his best when beating up on John Kerry and, lately, Dan Rather. Though I can't say I agree with respect to Kerry, you've got to give Beldar credit for some great posts.

They're popular too. In one 24-hour period, Beldar had 10,000 page views. I especially liked his post about lawyer-bloggers, titled "Some credentials for the lawyer-bloggers who are prosecuting Dan Ra^ther in the blogosphere." Beldar delivers the goods on Hugh Hewitt, John H. Hinderaker ("Hindrocket" of Power Line), Scott Johnson (Power Line's "Big Trunk"), Paul E. Mirengoff (Power Line's "Deacon"), Glenn Reynolds, and others.

And if you take a look in the comments to Beldar's post, you'll see that he's making some people change their minds about lawyers.

The Basics of Lawyer Genetics

What if your spouse is a lawyer like you, and in your limited spare time you accidentally produce a child? According to Rufus of Running With Lawyers, you run the risk of giving the world another lawyer--

There are clues. For instance, does your child insist that his nanny answer the phone for him and tell all callers that he stepped away from his desk? Not a good sign. Another indication of the budding lawyer is that the only Matchbox cars she’ll touch are the German ones.

For the rest of the clues, look here.

Live-Blogging Bush, and Other Notes from Around the Blawgosphere

It seems a lot of people were "live-blogging" last night during the Bush speech. I discovered it can be fun to compare the commentary by different people by reading it side by side. For example, try comparing Professor Bainbridge to Jeremy Blachman. Here's a sample (keep in mind the three hour time difference):

Professor Bainbridge 7:13 Bush really has improved as a public speaker. I no longer cringe when he opens his mouth. He'll never be Ronald Reagan or Bill Clinton, but he's grown considerably.

Jeremy Blachman 10:14 – There’s something disconnected about his delivery, although he’s doing fine so far. It just really seems like he’s reading and not actually engaged in what he’s saying. "Nothing will hold us back" seems to be the common refrain so far. I think I’ve heard it twice.

and . . .

Professor Bainbridge: 7:39 "We must make a place for the unborn child." Yep.

Jeremy Blachman 10:38 – When Bush said something about unborn children, I didn’t see NBC show any pregnant people. Why not? Where’s the creative camera work??

Meanwhile, Professor Althouse's attempt at live-blogging the Bush speech involved an entire live-blogging dinner, in which everyone brought a computer. Unfortunately, the good professor's blogging was cut short by a "cognac-haze," once again proving she's my kind of law professor. (But shouldn't someone seize her computer before she hurts someone?)

Finally, for a change of pace, don't miss these two wonderfully written, introspective posts by Bekah and Scheherazade.

News Flash: Sandra Day O'Connor Bobblehead Fails to Sell

There's a reason why Howard's the best: he gets the legal news first. I wasn't aware until this morning that the O'Connor bobblehead failed to sell on eBay, but Howard reported it yesterday--

Given that there have been tremendous advances in bobblehead technology over the past year, that the Justice O'Connor doll includes hot double bobblehead action, and that the doll depicts Justice O'Connor as she looked many years ago, before she was bonked on the head by a toppled wooden beam at the grand opening of Philadelphia's National Constitution Center in July 2003, I am astonished that the doll failed to sell for more than the Chief's doll, let alone for $200.

My favorite thing about Howard's post is that you can follow the link to the O'Connor doll, click on its head, and watch it make movements like I do after I've just had a haircut. Try it here.

Keep Moving #7

In case you've been too busy to read your favorite legal weblogs, here are a few items of interest from around the blawgosphere:

I Remember When It Was Just a List of Links I'm speaking of Underneath Their Robes, which is probably the first blawg to get a write-up in Newsweek. The catalyst was the weblog's "Superhotties of the Federal Judiciary." Meanwhile, there's something about that hot-federal-judges contest that I've been wanting to get off my chest: none of the nominated judges are hot. What gives?

St. Louis, Missouri Is Blawg City, USA Dennis Kennedy explains why in this post. (To Dennis' list of St. Louis blawgs, I'd also add musclehead, Soupie's BBQ & Daycare, Omer Poos, Matt Schuh Online, and Attempted Survival.)

Is There a Doctor-Blogger in the House? Carey of Glorfindel of Gondolin asks, "Who Blogs More, Law Students or Medical Students?" The conclusion--law students. But why?

Weblogging: Will It Change Your Life? Xavier Morales of Unfashionable Observations has some interesting thoughts about the limitations of blogging in a post that marks his one-year blogging anniversary: "i need some meaning i can memorize."

Women Lawyers on Outsourcing Childcare I don't know what it is about JCA's post "the chick thing" at Sua Sponte, but I keep thinking about it. It's an inside look at the way a few lawyer-mothers think about law-firm partnership, and it ends with a twist. A very interesting post.