I first wrote about attacks on judges in 2011 and 2012. Newt Gingrich, the former Speaker of the U.S. House, even joined in on attacks on Judge Fred Biery in San Antonio. That was in 2011 and 2012. See those posts here. Those attacks have continued. Candidate and later Pres. Trump has now raised attacks
Why do folks avoid jury duty? One reason is some, probably most people are just busy. Some people can multi-task. But, one juror learned the hard way that multi-tasking while sitting on a jury has consequences. Sallie Sue Smith was told she could not work on crossword puzzles while she should be listening and watching
Those of us who practice within the boundaries of the Fifth Circuit (Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi) have known for some time that the Fifth Circuit has become the most aggressively conservative appellate court in the country. In fact, when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, that was an appeal from a
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has been overruled a few times in the past few years. You know a court is too conservative when it is too conservative even for the very conservative U.S. Supreme Court. In the latest example, a group of five plaintiffs filed suit in the Western District of Louisiana objecting
In a recent decision, the Fifth Circuit has suggested an odd practice. In Bunker v. Dow Chemical, No. 24-20046 (%th Cir. 8/7/2024), Ms. Bunker filed her EEOC charge, but she did not check the block at the top for “FEPA.” It is important to check that block to indicate you, as the Charging Party
In the age of social media, it is tempting for trial lawyers to communicate in some way with potential juries. But, lawyers who succumb to that temptation will learn the lesson one Georgia lawyer learned. Both before and during the start of a trial in Gwinnett County, Georgia, the plaintiff lawyer posted videos explaining “three
I have written about Judge Lynn Hughes of the Southern District of Texas here and here. He has earned a reputation as a Judge who consistently makes anti-plaintiff comments in court, who makes disparaging comments about minorities – and even once barred a female attorney from his court room apparently simply passed on her name.
Twitter, now known as “X” has provided an avenue for many people to communicate with the wider world. But, too much communication can be a bad thing. Attorney Darlene Jackson in Washington, D.C. learned that lesson the hard way. Attorney Jackson filed suit on behalf of a passenger of the D.C. train in 2015. The
Southwest fired an airline attendant, Charlene Carter, in 2017 after she engaged in a two year campaign sending pro-life messages on social media to the union head. Many of the messages included graphic images. They were, said Southwest at the time, intended to cause emotional harm on the union head. The messages included personal insults.