SBM Blog

Rep. McCotter To Address Primary Ballot Access Problem on Tuesday

The news that Rep. Thaddeus McCotter, Congressman from Livonia (and member of the State Bar of Michigan) may have failed to file enough valid petition signatures to qualify for the primary ballot in this year's race for the Congressional seat for parts of Wayne and Oakland counties has made attracted attention throughout the country. In addition to these stories from the Detroit News, the Detroit Free Press, and MLive, see also the National Journal, Politico, The Hill, and CNN. McCotter told the Detroit News, "I'm not sure what happened." He said his campaign used the same team of volunteers they always do and handled everything the same way.  A Detroit News opinion piece called the situation a "monumental mess."

In Memoriam: Christine M. Hewlett

Christine Hewlett, of Novi, died May 21, at the age of 49. She was a 1988 graduate of the University of Detroit Law School. She is survived by her husband Rich, an attorney with Varnum; sons Jeffrey and Joey; parents Joseph and Joan Bono; and a sister and two brothers. Memorials may be made to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Southfield, Michigan.

Memorial Day 2012

Last year, I used the hero closest to my heart as the basis for a Memorial Day post. Today, please do not miss the story of the first black Marines, who are to be honored this summer with presentation of a Congressional Gold Medal. Their numbers including Alfred Walker, the patriarch of a remarkable and beautiful Michigan family.

How Do You Say "Deadpan" in Italian?

The Supreme Court case deciding whether an award for interpretation costs under the federal Court Interpreters Act can cover document translation as well as oral interpretation ended with a 6-3 decision in favor of the narrower interpretation. The majority opinion in Taniguchi v. Kan Pacific Saipan, Ltd., written by Justice Alito, relied on the definition of interpreter in a majority of dictionaries. After reading a summary of the opinion from the bench Alito quipped, "Our opinion is written in English. Anyone who wants to read it in another language will have to pay for the translation."

On LSAT Cultural Bias

From an interview with Stephen Harris, a former LSAT question-writer and author of Mastering Logic Games in LSAT BLOG: ACE THE LSAT:

By any reasonable measure, it seems to me, the LSAT tests generally relevant skills in a manner that rarely prevents students who are likely to perform well in law school from gaining admission to some school or other. But bias in this pejorative sense is more like crime – you can never eliminate it, only combat it, especially since the standards by which inappropriate bias is judged are subject to dispute and undergoing constant change as a result of larger cultural conversations.

As for socioeconomic bias specifically, undoubtedly LSAT performance is correlated with socioeconomic status; life expectancy, quality of health care and education, and virtually everything else that people think is good is correlated with socioeconomic status. It would be really surprising if LSAT scores weren’t. But it seems to me that the problem with LSAT bias in this sense isn’t the LSAT per se as much as these other factors, and I doubt that there is an LSAT-specific remedy for this issue.

Cell Phones and Driving: Do As I Say, Not As I Do

The Washington Post's story "Employees use of cellphones while driving becomes a liability for companies" contains this warning from a Texas lawyer about juries holding employers responsible for accidents linked to cell phone use:

“People think there’s a good defense here by saying, ‘Everybody does it,’ ” Clements said. “Well, that’s not true, because the jury doesn’t want everyone to do it. They just want to do it themselves. It’s a huge disconnect.”

HT: ABA Journal

Fake ID on Facebook Costs High School Principal Her Job

The wise advice to know who your friends are took on new meaning at a high school in St. Louis, Missouri, where the principal adopted a fake online identity and was "friended" by over 300 students. (For social-media-clueless readers, "friend" status provides access to Facebook information that otherwise is not available.) According to St. Louis Today, the principal got busted by a former quarterback from the school with this warning  "Whoever is friends with Suzy Harriston on Facebook needs to drop them. It is the Clayton Principal." The principal was placed on leave, and has since resigned.

HT: Legal Blog Watch

Practice Management Tip of The Week - Web Conference Using Your Smart Phone

Several web conferencing service providers have customized their applications and services to work on smart phones. You no longer have to be locked in to a land line to host or join a web conference. Check out the following applications to learn about time-saving options that would be an asset for your firm.

Android	iPhone
WebEx	WebEx
GoToMeeting	GoToMeeting
JoinMe	JoinMe
Adobe Connect	Adobe Connect

Every week, the Practice Management Resource Center posts a new Tip of the Week. (Here are the archived tips.) To reach a practice management advisor, call the PMRC Helpline at (800) 341-9715 or e-mail questions to pmrcHelpline@mail.michbar.org.

Michigan Supreme Court Acts On Four Proposed Rule Changes

By order today the Michigan Supreme Court adopted two court rule amendments, retained one, and closed the file on one. The two new rule amendments are:

• MCR 1.109 of the Michigan Court Rules, effective immediately. This change, originally part of a more comprehensive set of changes still under consideration whose intent the Bar supports, explicitly allows for the use of an electronic signature, and allows notarization by electronic process. The State Bar did not oppose this provision, and supported the extended comment period for the rest of the original package. 
• MCR 3.204 of the Michigan Court Rules, effective 9/01/12. This change removes the requirement to file a new action as a supplemental complaint, allowing trial courts to consolidate cases in a way that is more compatible with trial court case management systems. The State Bar supported this change.

The retained amendment is MCR 3.616 of the Michigan Court Rules concerning foster care services.  The amendment conforms the court rule to statute. The State Bar supported the amendment.

The Court declined to adopt a proposed new rule, MCR 3.220, which would have required the trial court judge to set a deadline for arbitration proceedings and approve any extensions of those time periods. Further, the proposed rule would have allowed arbitrators to issue interim awards during the arbitration proceeding. The State Bar opposed the amendment.

 The text of the new rules and orders can be accessed at the Supreme Court website.

Crimson With Pride

According to Boston.com, Unabomber Ted Kaczynski has submitted this entry to the Harvard Alumni Association for a book celebrating the 50th anniversary of his Harvard class:

 

 

 

 

• THEODORE JOHN KACZYNSKI
• HOME ADDRESS: NO 04475-046, U.S. Penitentiary-Max, P.O. Boc 8500
• FLORENCE, CO 8126-8500
• OCCUPATION: Prisoner
• HOUSE/DORM: Eliot
• DEGREES: AB ’62; MA, Univ. of Michigan, ’65; Ph.D. ibid ‘67
• PUBLICATIONS: Technological Slavery (Feral House, 2010)
• AWARDS: Eight life sentences, issued by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California,1998

As to why Harvard published the information, the widow of one of Kaczynski's victims said she thought Kaczynski would have sued had Harvard denied publication.