Civil Rights Attorney Needed

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Thursday October 09, 2014 · 6:44 PM PDT

2014/10/09 · 18:44

I have a civil rights case out of Butte, Montana that I am trying to find someone to take. I have too much on my plate right now and the ACLU told me that they do not have the resources to handle the case. If there are any kossacks out there who can help, please get in touch with me. I would be happy to act as local counsel, but I just can't take the laboring oar.

ccyd

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Tuesday December 10, 2013 · 11:36 AM PST

2013/12/10 · 11:36

Aeon Financial. Remember that name. With the help of some big banks, Aeon has been buying up tax liens right and left in D.C., Maryland and Ohio. What does it do next? Stay with me after the ornage flourish.

ccyd

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Thursday November 28, 2013 · 7:51 AM PST

2013/11/28 · 07:51

It has been a long year here in the ccyd household. We've taken more than our share of knocks. But I still, as I count my blessings this Thanksgiving, think we are in a good spot and getting better. Follow me after the squiggle and please share the things for which you give thanks.

ccyd

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Wednesday November 20, 2013 · 5:26 AM PST

2013/11/20 · 05:26

Yesterday afternoon, by a 5-4 vote, the Supreme Court let stand the Texas anti-abortion law that will ultimately close most of the clinics in Texas. A brief history: After a successful filibuster by Wendy Davis in the regular session. Governor Perry called a special session in which the Texas Legislature passed and Governor Perry signed a bill that required admitting privileges for abortion doctors at nearby hospitals (knowing, of course, that many doctors performing abortions need to travel to remote parts of the state). This law, while ostensibly "protecting the State's interest" in unborn children, has the practical effect of closing many Texas clinics. A federal District Court judge placed a stay on the law pending a trial on the merits. That decision was appealed to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, which overturned the District Court's stay. That decision was appealed, on an emergency basis, to the Supreme Court. Justice Scalia hears emergency petitions for the 5th Circuit, but rather than affirming the 5th Circuit by himself, he presented the petition to the entire Court.

ccyd

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Tuesday November 19, 2013 · 11:32 AM PST

2013/11/19 · 11:32

One often wonders why it has become Republican dogma to promote prosperity by forcing hunger on the poor. There is no question that this is the case: How many time did Ronald Reagan tell us that we have to pick up our bootstraps and make a life for ourselves. And now, Republicans in Congress are slashing SNAP benefits right and left and telling us that it is for the poor's own good -- you have to get them off the dole so that they can become "makers" instead of "takers." A good friend of mine recently published an opinion column in Al Jazeera on the Republicans' use of hunger as policy, and it is illuminating.

ccyd

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Saturday October 05, 2013 · 6:01 AM PDT

2013/10/05 · 06:01

One question many of us seem to ask around here is "what is journalism?" We all seem to know what it is not, but do we really? I think we can easily tell the difference between good journalism (probing questions and analysis of facts) and bad journalism (stenography and false equivalency). This gives rise to another important question: What ethical duties do journalists owe, especially in the context of national security?

I attended a legal seminar sponsored by the Center for Ethics and the Rule of Law yesterday at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Among the topics discussed was journalistic ethics. The panel was excellent, and included members with journalism, academic and legal backgrounds. One of the case studies they used was that of Edward Snowden. Stay with me after the fold for summary and analysis.

ccyd

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Thursday September 05, 2013 · 11:03 AM PDT

2013/09/05 · 11:03

The Commonwealth Court heard oral arguments in Commonwealth v. Hanes yesterday in Harrisburg, PA on a motion to intervene filed by same-sex couples who were issued marriage licenses by Montgomery County Recorder of Wills, D. Bruce Hanes. A write-up is here.

This is a mandamus action filed to force Hanes to stop issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. For those who are not familiar with a mandamus action, it is:

an extraordinary writ commanding an official to perform a ministerial act that the law recognizes as an absolute duty and not a matter for the official's discretion

Follow me below the fold for a recap of the action and some analysis. Read More

Windsor's Progeny: Cozen O'Connor v. Tobits

ccyd

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Monday July 29, 2013 · 8:23 PM PDT

2013/07/29 · 20:23

The wave of decisions following the Supreme Court's decision in Windsor has begun. A federal judge in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia) ruled in Cozen O'Connor v. Tobits that under federal ERISA law, the same-sex spouse of a deceased law partner is entitled to receive her pension. The lawyer's parents do not have a claim to her pension. This is the first case of which I am aware that has followed Windsor in recognizing a same-sex marriage for the purpose of federal benefits.

--Full disclosure, I formerly practiced law at Cozen O'Connor

ccyd

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Saturday September 29, 2012 · 6:15 PM PDT

2012/09/29 · 18:15

When I read some of the anectdotes here about encounters with tea-partiers, I sometimes wonder, can they really be that bad? After my Facebook experience yesterday, I have concluded that, yes, they really are that bad.

Yesterday I poked the hornets' nest on my dear and sweet cousin's facebook wall. It all started innocently enough, but then her sister-in-law (or at least I presume she was the sister-in-law), an apparent tea-jihadist, got involved. I don't know why, but every time I engage with one of them, it ends up with with me being reasoned and rational, but respectfully disagreeing, and them yelling and screaming and calling names. The topic dujour: welfare queens. Well, that's what she wanted to talk about anyway.

ccyd

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Friday September 14, 2012 · 5:10 AM PDT

2012/09/14 · 05:10

The local legal press covered the oral arguments (free registration required) yesterday. As we have become accustomed to lately, the questioning seemed to be split by party affiliation. Even though the court is split 3-3 and a tie would mean that the lower court's decision would stand, there is room for hope.

ccyd

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Saturday July 14, 2012 · 9:36 AM PDT

2012/07/14 · 09:36

I read what Ezra Kline had to say about the 112th Congress -- the worst ever -- and decided to take some of my frustrations out on my idiot Congressman, Jim Gerlach. Read my rant below the fold.

Go here to contribute to Manny Trivedi, Gerlach's opponent.

ccyd

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Friday February 11, 2011 · 6:20 AM PST

2011/02/11 · 06:20

It started out a good day. The sun was bright and just peeking up over the horizon and the lingering notes of Beethoven's 7th symphony from last night's Philadelphia Orchestra concert were in my ear. Then it hit. NPR's story on the CPAC convention.

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Civil Rights Attorney Needed

A new foreclosure menace

Time to give thanks

SCOTUS: Texas Abortion Law Stands...For Now

To Republicans, Hunger is a weapon against the poor

Journalistic Ethics and National Security: Did Edward Snowden owe a duty?

Oral Argument in PA Same-Sex Marriage License Leaves Big Questions Unanswered

Windsor's Progeny: Cozen O'Connor v. Tobits

Facebook frenzy: They really are that bad

PA ID Law Oral Argment -- Decision in two weeks

Letter to Congressman Jim Gerlach (R-Pa06)

CPAC made me ill this morning