Not Looking Good

The number of Active Covid-19 cases in Bahrain continues to rise.

On the Submission of Appellate Briefs

One great way to have a brief pompously returned is to you with directions to “correct and re-file” is to include any kind of graphic. The appellate clerk’s office is filled with martinets. Your only hope is to file an application for leave to include a graphic. 99% of these will be denied. Font-size, word count, how words are counted (teenager, teen-ager or teen ager?) are pimples the clerks love to pick.

After such an experience, and knowing that words expended to identify a font are not counted, I included a two-page history of a famous Venetian font, Bembo, with the story of its digital revival.

(This was done in the context of an Anders brief in a case where there were no issues but due process theater.)

The clerk’s office accepted the brief but told me not to do it again.

Kosovo and Ukraine

Kosovo voted for independence and the will of the people was respected.

Crimea voted for union with Russia and the will of the people was ignored.

The war in Ukraine is not what you think.

Not Looking Good

Active Covid-19 cases in Bahrain for the month of June, 2022. The numbers are going up, not down.

Lawyers Futzing

Do clients know they are paying seasoned lawyers to futz with document formatting? This is a direct result of getting rid of secretaries. How many fruitless attorney hours are wasted fixing fomatting; correcting autonumbering errors and the like?

Or my favorite: having local counsel fill in forms on templates where the phrase “use additional sheets where necessary” is missing.

How many hours lost (by clients but billed by law firms) as attorneys try to tweak the forms, fix hyphenation, add numbered lists, etc.?

If you were a client would you pay for it? So why do lawyers expect non-lawyer clients to dig into their pockets?

If typography is your hobby, have at it, but don’t expect the client to pay for your foolishness.

Infected Thought

Reuters asks: “should a female elephant have some of the same legal rights as humans? In a push to free the one named Happy from the Bronx Zoo, an animal rights group asks New York’s top court that question .”

What about male elephants? Should they not have the same rights as female elephants?

Or has the vice of political correctness so infected thought that Reuters thought it appropriate to tell us the elephant’s gender, as if it had anything to do with the issue?

How Many Banks?

According to the NY Times, at least 20 banks are putting up 1/3rd of the money Elon needs to buy Twitter.

Roe v. Wade Leak

First drafts don’t get typeset in 12 pt Century. This is a “draft” only in the sense that there may be line-edits and cites checked.

Not that there will be substantive changes.

Expect this to be the opinion of the Court. They have already voted.

Twitter’s Largest Foreign Shareholder

I have pointed out that KSA is the largest foreign shareholder of Twitter. I was corrected here and ate crow.

But this was just posted following PWBT’s dust-up with Elon Musk.

Musk #Twitter #SaudiArabia

Kyle Rittenhouse back in the News

Kyle Rittenhouse criticized Biden (for criticizing him). Kyle, here’s some advice: some day you might become a pundit. If that’s your goal—and we both know it’s not—enroll at the University of Arizona, the University of Illinois (SIU or Champaign, either will do); get your bachelor’s in criminology. Now try to parlay your fifteen minutes into a substantial gig. That might simply be a lowly but honest job as a police officer—which you did want—or a first responder. Maybe even a federal agent, though right now this is a stretch. You were already a fan of community service before your fifteen minutes; lending a hand now will be even more significant. Half the country hates you and a quarter of them will always hate you. You can still make important contributions to this country.

But political tweeting is not one of them. At least, not now.

Or, I suppose you could realize that in this country, notoriety has value. Even an acquitted defendant in a Wisconsin homicide case can grab headlines. Move to California, start dating wanna-be actresses: to be seen with you is a chance to be noticed. Try a reality: “Flip Like Ritt” can be the title of your show about how you rehab houses. Maybe do one season. Maybe a creepy Wisconsin show. The State boasts at least two notorious cannibal serial killers. Wasn’t there a witch in Waukesha? It might be a stretch, but there should be enough for etght episodes. Take acting lessons and who knows? You might make straight to video popular again.

The choice is yours. Personally, I think you’ve got a better shot with the first alternative, but then, I’m sitting in Saudi Arabia. Whaddo I know?