My goofiest correspondence of the year

Earlier this month, my roommate from the University told me he was moving back to Europe. I said I'd stop by if I get to Geneva.

County wins right to hunt case

This report says the county won in the Nelson County right to hunt case, and the company Orion is thinking about what to do next.

From lawyer to judo expert to cancer survivor to minister to bagpiper

This Daily Press story profiles a remarkable Virginia lawyer named Bill Kump.

Matt, you're the man

This post from Abstract Appeal examines the match between the outcome of the Grokster case and the amicus brief filed by Matt Conigliaro's firm.

Steve on the Supreme Court

Here is my short, obvious take on the Ten Commandments cases, and here Will V. says I need to stick close by the phone.

DUI lawyer-guitar man

This profile from the Richmond paper describes a lawyer who started as a big firm associate then went to being an acoustic guitar player and is now got a happy mix of music and law.

Rule change? What rule change?

In this Sunday commentary, the Washington Post threw another punch at Virginia criminal procedure, but giving some credit to proposed changes in the rules of the Virginia Court of Appeals, which are moving up the ladder for approval by the Virginia Supreme Court.

What proposed changes? I don't know where to find them. Is there a link in the "News" section of the Virginia judiciary website? No. Should there be? Yes. Is this state of affairs unspeakably lame? Absolutely.

No personal liability for employee in wrongful discharge case

This free article from VLW describes a ruling by Judge Turk of the W.D. Va. that the individual, as opposed to the corporate employer with whom the plaintiff had its contract of employment, cannot be liable for the common law tort of wrongful discharge under Virginia law.

Guestblogging at Commonwealth Conservative

I'm supposed to be one of the guests this week at Commonwealth Conservative and doing a poor job of it, not incidentally because the monitor of this tired old home computer is starting to wig out on me.

I called up Dad to describe the symptoms and discuss possible outcomes. Probably the worst that could happen, he said, would be about like the time you were watching the TV when it popped and smoked and the picture went bad and it left a black spot on the wall while you sat there and kept on watching it.

Anyhow, I have managed to get out this one post. I've only got three more days to undermine what John Behan has got going on there, before the Judicial Conference.

On Virginia law and steroids in high school sports

On new laws passed by several states to discourage steroid use by high school athletes, this article says: "Virginia's law carries the toughest penalties: Students found to have used steroids become ineligible to participate in sports for two school years, and teachers and coaches can lose their teaching certificates if they fail to report student steroid use."

On law camp

The Leesburg paper reports here on the conclusion of this year's session of Loudoun Bar Foundation's sixth annual week-long law camp, attended by 30 rising high school seniors, and with Court of Appeals Judge Clements among others in attendance to preside over the mock trials.

More on eminent domain in Virginia after Kelo

This article from the Norfolk paper begins: "City attorneys reassured their residents Friday that a new U.S. Supreme Court ruling does not mean their homes are in danger of being seized for private development.

But other lawyers said such reassurances were premature because the ruling could allow cities to condemn property in the name of economic development."

Another interesting story on Judge Luttig

This story on the horse race to become the next Supreme Court justice begins: "When Mike Luttig stood up as a groomsman in John Roberts' wedding here nine years ago, more than a few people could have predicted they again would someday be sharing the spotlight."

The article includes this example of their humor:

"On his formal stationery, Luttig, as a joke, applied for a first-year associate's job at Roberts' law firm, because the pay was higher than that of a federal judge. Roberts, who then was still an appellate lawyer, turned Luttig down, writing that first-year associates do not get to wear black robes, have three law clerks or get life tenure."

Also, of Judge Luttig, the article says:

"As a judge, Luttig is widely considered an ardent conservative, but his record reveals his independence, as do recent analyses of his opinions by several political scientists. He has stressed, to his law clerks and in a recent speech, intellectual honesty and adherence to precedent. He tells law clerks they will be fired if they fail to show him contradicting authority on a particular issue or tell him exactly how they view the case, even if they do not share his views."