Product liability roundup
The late John O’Quinn was an Overlawyered regular: “Ex-clients’ complaint vs silicosis lawyers is catalog of misconduct” [Alison Frankel, Reuters; Ted Frank, Point of Law] “How Lawsuits Killed an...
View ArticleGoodbye to Transportation Secretary LaHood
My Cato post is here. I’d wish him bon voyage, but somehow it’s hard to associate him with happy travels. Update: I’ve now expanded my thoughts into a Daily Caller op-ed. Tweet Tags: autos, cellphones,...
View ArticleOne in ten California drivers has disabled placard
But how many actually deserve one? [CBS Los Angeles via Alkon] Tweet Tags: California, disabled rights, roads and streets, traffic laws One in ten California drivers has disabled placard is a post from...
View ArticleFebruary 7 roundup
You mean Philadelphia traffic court wasn’t on the up-and-up? [ABA Journal] DUI prosecution in Lafayette Parish, La. had become quite the tidy business [Scott Greenfield] Match.com sued after date...
View ArticleFebruary 17 roundup
Federal taxpayers via National Cancer Institute grant dished out more than a million dollars to pay for laughable conspiracy-theory report smearing Tea Party [Hans Bader, more, Jacob Sullum on report...
View ArticlePolice and prosecution roundup
Why you should discount many “minor offender faces eleventy-billion-year sentence” stories [Popehat] One day of smurfing made her a “career offender” [Sullivan] “In Dog We Trust”: Scott Greenfield and...
View ArticleFebruary 26 roundup
Tel Aviv: “City Workers Paint Handicap Space Around Car, Then Tow It” [Lowering the Bar] Editorial writer has some generous comments about my work on excessive litigation. Thanks! [Investors Business...
View ArticleBetter stay home with your parents, kid
Watch out for this soon to be up-and-coming Safety First proposal, as outlined by Vivian Hamilton of William and Mary Law: raising the driving age from 16 to 18. [Concurring Opinions] Tweet Tags:...
View ArticleTo be jailed in Arizona for driving under the influence…
…you don’t actually need to have driven under the influence. If it’s an illegal substance, metabolites in your blood may suffice whether or not you were impaired at the time you actually did the...
View Article“Maryland considering mandatory helmets for drivers”
Given the bossiness of the legislature in Annapolis these days, I had to check the calendar on this one. [Anita Park, Greater Greater Washington, April 1] P.S. And from The Onion, where every day is...
View Article“EU plans to fit all cars with speed limiters”
An idea destined to come here as well? “Under the [European Commission] proposals new cars would be fitted with cameras that could read road speed limit signs and automatically apply the brakes when...
View ArticleSeptember 23 roundup
Drunk driver leaves road, hits power pole, Washington high court allows suit against property owner to proceed [Lowman v. Wilbur, PDF] State attorneys general pressure clothing maker to drop t-shirts...
View ArticleWrong-person arrests: “Mistakes happen”
“Shannon Renee McNeal was torn from her screaming children by police who were seeking a woman with a similar name — a woman who they should have known had been murdered seven months before.” [St. Louis...
View Article“You Didn’t Pay Child Support? We’ll Make it Harder for You to Work”
Yanking drivers’ and professional licenses from dads who fall behind on their payments? David Henderson on a widespread government policy that makes little sense as a way of maximizing the payment rate...
View Article“‘Somebody has to pay,’ Margiotta said.”
Long Island: “The head of Suffolk’s new Traffic & Parking Violations Agency on Thursday defended the controversial policy of charging an administrative fee even on tickets that are dismissed.”...
View Article“The Feds Are Spending $8 Million To Take Your Blood At Roadblocks”
An extra reason to be cautious in your holiday driving: If you live in one of 30 cities, you may find yourself pulled over soon at roadblocks where police and federal contractors ask to swab your...
View ArticleThose New Year’s police checkpoints
Even if the cops wave you to the side amid flashing lights, and functionaries come out to ask you for saliva or blood samples, and keep asking after you say no, it’s all “voluntary.” Right? Right. “A...
View ArticleElectronic tickets: we skip the due process and pass the savings along to you
“An Oklahoma state senator has filed a bill to allow law enforcement officers to issue electronic citations for traffic, misdemeanor and municipal ordinance violations.” Sen. Al McAffrey, himself a...
View Article“Cash-register justice” in a Florida town
Speed traps paved the way to corruption in tiny Hampton, Fla., critics say [CNN] More: Lowering the Bar. Tweet Tags: Florida, law enforcement for profit, traffic laws “Cash-register justice” in a...
View ArticleDWI checkpoint critic arrested as passenger in pulled-over car
“A Baton Rouge-area defense attorney known for criticizing the use of sobriety checkpoints was handcuffed and taken to jail early Wednesday after exiting the passenger side of his vehicle while...
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