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Heather A. Phillips recommends this slim volume as it provides an engaging and accessible introduction to American wine law and history that will broaden the reader’s appreciation of the wine industry. Though short and non-technical, this book is suitable for a surprising number of library collections.

Josh Muszynski took a look at his bank account online and noticed something a little bit out of the normal - a $23,148,855,308,184,500 debit charge.
The man swiped his debit card at a gas station when he was bought a pack of cigarettes and was severely overcharged.
“I thought my card had been compromised. I thought [...]

I thought the confirmation hearings for Sonia Sotomayor were a bit of an anticlimax–did we really learn anything about her that we didn’t know before? As has become typical of recent confirmation hearings, the purpose seemed to be to give the members of the Senate Judiciary Committee an opportunity to grandstand and to ask questions to which they already knew the answers or to which they knew the candidate could not or would not reply. One thing that became more clear, however, was Judge Sotomayor’s “cautious openness to foreign laws,” as the title of an editorial in yesterday’s Boston Globe put it. Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama, whose potential career on the federal bench ended when his nomination was killed by the Senate Judiciary Committee over concerns about racist comments he had made, “took [Sotomayor] to task for merely posing the question in [a book] introduction of ‘how much we have to learn from international courts and from their male and female judges about the process of judging and the factors outside the law that influence our decisions.’” The book, The International Judge: An Introduction to the Men and Women Who Decide the World’s Cases, was co-authored by the author of the editorial, Daniel Terris. Click here for a video from the Carnegie Council on the subject of the book featuring two of the co-authors and Judge Stephen Schwebel. Critics of Sotomayor and other judges who believe it is prudent to look to the courts of other countries for insights about judging and about international legal issues, allege that such an approach is tantamount to deferring to foreign law. Nothing could be farther from the truth. As Terris concludes, “[A] burgeoning respect for judges and courts from overseas should help further the heartening idea that the United States is not a nation unto itself, but a nation among nations, working toward justice for its own citizenry and for men and women around the globe.” This respect would help to undo some of the damage to our standing in the world community caused by the policies of the Bush Administration. Read the rest of this entry »

Lawsuits are on the rise from Chinese drywall used to build homes especially in Southeastern states causing crippling effects on residents property, as well as their health. Co-host J. Craig Williams welcomes Attorney Scott G. Wolfe, Jr. a construction litigator at Wolfe Law Group and Attorney John F. Mullen, Sr. from the firm, Nelson Levine de Luca & Horst, to look at both sides of Chinese drywall litigation, the effects of Chinese drywall, the mounting lawsuits and what the future holds for the affected residents.

TV’s American Idol host, Ryan Seacrest, has signed a $45 million dollar contract with the long running reality show. Exhibit 10.1 is a $30 million dollar guarantee agreement payable to Ryan Seacrest for his services and network exclusivity on American Idol seasons 9, 10 and 11. Exhibit 10.2 is a $15 million dollar consideration agreement also payable to Ryan Seacrest for the right of American Idol to use his personal goodwill in media for the show.

Two Trial Courts in California are closing their courtrooms and furlough staff once a month in an effort to save some money in the states financial crisis. Closing these courts on the third Wednesday of every month for the next fiscal year is supposed to save the state over $18 million dollars.
Local leaders were waiting [...]

Looking at Sabrina Pacifici’s BePacific.com today, I was struck by the confluence of several stories:
1. Read the rest of this entry »

A South Carolina funeral home that cut the legs off a corpse to make it fit in a casket was ordered to close today.
Judge Deborah Durden ruled after a hearing Tuesday that last month’s decision by the state Funeral Board to revoke the license of Cave Funeral Home and owner Michael Cave should stand.
Cave admitted [...]

Well, it’s too late already for the helpful hints of yesteryear about prepping early for the bar, and pacing yourself and all that crap. Ooops. I mean, helpful information.

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On this Legal TIPS program, 2008-2009 TIPS Chair-Elect John Tarpley stresses the importance of bar membership in obtaining career opportunities and as an illustration, co-host Attorney Gilda Mariani chats with Joyce Tischler, the founder and general counsel of the Animal Legal Defense Fund, about forging a career in the practice area of animal law.