Week 10 EOC: Lawyer Jokes

Q: What do you call a lawyer with an IQ of 100?

A: Your Honor.


Q: What do you call a lawyer with an IQ of 50

A: Senator.

Q: What' the difference between a lawyer and a boxing referee?

A: A boxing referee doesn't get paid more for a longer fight.

Q: How does an attorney sleep?

A: First he lies on one side, then he lies on the other.

Q: What's the difference between a lawyer and a liar?

A: The pronunciation.

Q: How many law professors does it take to change a light bulb?

A: Hell, you need 250 just to lobby for the research grant.




Source.

Week 9 EOC: Used Cars

1. Assault and Battery
2. Lying under Oath

Week 9 EOC: Bratz Brawl

This year marks the ninth year mark for the ongoing legal battle between Mattel, the company behind Barbie, and MGA Entertainment – the company responsible for those ever-popular Bratz dolls. If you’re not familiar with the Bratz franchise, then you must not have been around a young girl around the height of its popularity: everything from video games to movies has been released to feature these big-headed, pouty lipped, multi-ethnic dolls. The hip-hop inspired dolls are just like any other fad out there for children to consume – they were introduced in 2001 and were a huge success, but have since hit their bust. Despite their decline in popularity, however, Mattel is still intent on pursuing what they believe to be theirs.

In January of this year, a federal appeals court “told Mattel it doesn't have to pay the $172 million in damages that a jury awarded MGA.” (http://www.marketplace.org/topics/business/barbie-v-bratz-never-ending-court-battle). Carter Bryant is the man behind the Bratz dolls and claims to have made his first drawings for the toy when he wasn’t working for Mattel – the toy company, however, says that he did work for them when he came up with the idea. With the decline in popularity, though, it’s safe to say that Bratz do not pose a threat to Mattel, but money isn’t the reasoning behind the on-going lawsuit. "From Mattel's perspective, it was very important for them to send a message. You can bet that anyone working for Mattel that's thinking of freelancing and coming up with a product of their own is going to think twice about how they do it," Sean McGowan, industry analyst, says. (http://www.marketplace.org/topics/business/barbie-v-bratz-never-ending-court-battle).

What is the message Mattel is trying to send? To put it simply: protecting their intellectual property. In 2008, a judge ordered MGA to “cease making the dolls immediately and to stop selling them after the holiday shopping season ends.” (http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/wayoflife/12/11/bratz.vs.barbies/). MGA Entertainment has since released a statement saying that they are open to all options, but the hits haven’t stopped there. In 2011, “a U.S. District Court slapped Mattel Inc. with $88 million in damages after tossing out its claims that rival MGA Entertainment stole Mattel’s idea for their dolls and, after a two-week deliberation, the jury in Santa Ana also found that Mattel was guilty of misappropriation of trade.” (http://content.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,2067001,00.html). The case has been a legal game of volleyball, each side receiving their own victory, but neither coming to an agreement on a settlement. As the Bratz dolls fade into history along with their predecessors, Mattel continues to fight for what they believe belongs under their copyright protection.

Week 8 EOC: Questions

1. Is permission required to take a picture of someone if they will not be recognizable in the photo?

2. What are the laws regarding candid photos of people taken in a public place?

3. Is the entire ownership of an image, regardless of what has been photographed, the property of the photographer?

4. What are the limitations of a creative commons license?

5. If a visual media work that is a derivative of my original photograph is used commercially, what are my rights as the original copyright holder?

6. What is the Digital Millennium Copyright Act?

7. If I want to establish myself as a business, what are the proper forms I would need to protect myself and my photography?

8. Do I need a location release form for a building that is simply in the background of a photo, not the focus of the photo?

9. Would I be able to commercially sell a photo of a celebrity taken at a public event without their permission?

10. What is the appropriate, legal way to accept payment as a freelance photographer?

Week 7 EOC: Lawyers

1.    Enrique R. Acuna
Law Offices of Enrique R. Acuna, Ltd. 
2785 East Desert Inn Road, Suite 134 
Las Vegas ,    NV    89121
Phone:    702-425-4444

2.    Kelly H. Dove
Snell & Wilmer 
3883 Howard Hughes Pkwy. Suite 1100 
Las Vegas ,    NV    89121
Phone:    702-784-5200

3.    Carlton L. Harpst
Brady, Vorwerck, Ryder & Caspino 
2795 E. Desert Inn Road, Suite 200 
Las Vegas ,    NV    89121
Phone:    702-697-6500

4.    Steven T. Loizzi
Loizzi and Associates, P.C. 
3530 E. Flamingo Rd., Suite 140 
Las Vegas ,    NV    89121
Phone:    702-410-8120

5.    Jonathan B. Goldsmith
Goldsmith & Associates 
3430 E. Flamingo Rd., #100
Las Vegas ,    NV    89121
Phone:    702-818-4739

6.    Lee J. Grant II
Brady, Vorwerck, Ryder & Caspino 
2795 E. Desert Inn Rd., Suite 200
Las Vegas ,    NV    89121
Phone:    702-697-6500

7.    Lawrence C. Hill
The Law Office of Lawrence C. Hill 
3430 E. Flamingo Road, Suite 100 
Las Vegas ,    NV    89121
Phone:    702-530-5688

8.    Douglas Paul DeJulio
DeJulio & Associates, P.C. 
3745 Pacific Street
Las Vegas ,    NV    89121
Phone:    702-733-1853

9.    Charles Ralph Gardner
Law Office of Chuck Gardner 
3087 Desmond Ave.
Las Vegas ,    NV    89121
Phone:    702-433-6758

10.    Michael H. Singer
Michael H. Singer, Ltd. 
4475 S. Pecos Road 
Las Vegas ,    NV    89121
Phone:    702-454-2111



Source.

Week 6 EOC: Supreme Court Prayer

The right to religious freedom is defined under the First Amendment as follows: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” (http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/first_amendment). This in itself creates a solid argument for the right to begin a public meeting with a religious prayer, but it is not that simple – the law, after all, is rather tricky. For instance, there is the Constitution’s Establishment Clause, the separation of church and state, which prohibits government regulation and/or endorsement of religion.

It is debatable whether an argument can be made for the government endorsing religion via these opening prayers or not, but nevertheless, it is still infringing upon others’ rights who do not follow the same religion. In this regard, an atheist may not have any rights, but anyone within the Supreme Court not of Christian faith does have the right to express concern over where these prayers fall outside of constitutional bounds. “The question raised by Town of Greece v. Galloway is how sectarian these prayers can get.” (http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-faith/supreme-court-wrestles-with-how-religious-prayer-should-be-at-public-meetings/2013/11/06/01e8fec6-4733-11e3-95a9-3f15b5618ba8_story.html).

This is an especially messy area of law. There are courts across the country that have come up with rulings on legislative prayer that are at odds with each other, and it is not always clear what passes constitutional muster. The justices of the Supreme Court grappled with limits that would allow such prayer without making those who disagree feel coerced or alienated and in an attempt to create an acceptable prayer for all faiths. However, as seen during Town of Greece v. Galloway, not everyone is in agreement of coming to a conclusion for those of differing faith, as demonstrated by Justice Antonin Scalia: “What about devil-worshippers? They are there as citizens, and as citizens, they bring to their job all of — all of the predispositions that citizens have. And these people perhaps invoke the deity at meals. They should not be able to invoke it before they undertake a serious governmental task such as enacting laws or ordinances?” (http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/11/06/21334088-supreme-court-tests-limits-of-prayer-at-official-government-meetings). Rather, the main issue presented with allowing prayer before public meetings is not to impose sectarian prayer on the citizenry, and until a prayer that is all-inclusive is presented, it is imposing government-sponsored religion on the public citizenry.

Week 5 EOC: Legal Challenges With Modern Internet

There is much to be concerned about with the easy accessibility of the Internet in modern society. Nearly any piece of information you could think of is available online and, whether people are really aware of it or not, this includes your personal information, as well. It does not matter if you actively use a social media website or not, your information is still documented on sites such as the white pages or even when you pay a bill online – in fact, people that have never used a computer before in their lives are even documented online. Thus, one of the most important legal issues to exist on the web today is cyber crime. “Human rights such as the right to private life, freedom of expression and information and intellectual property rights need to be reviewed and reinterpreted in the light of the evolution of Internet applications.”  Napoleon Xanthoulis, Vice-President of the UCL Student Human Rights Programme (UCLSHRP) (http://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/news-articles/1010/10102602). 

Why are cyber crimes a relevant issue in modern society? It’s easy to steal someone’s identity on the internet. An individual’s personal computer, billing accounts, bank accounts, email, and more can easily be hacked through a variety of methods or just simple computer proficiency, and it is an effective way of seriously ruining someone’s life. There are, of course, other legal issues that may be less serious or perhaps more so on a federal statute level. For instance, there are limitations on the first amendment to freedom of speech on the internet – such as defamation, breach of contract, tortuous interference with business, and securities fraud – and this also includes online harassment in the form of bullying! Perhaps the most well known legal issue of the internet, however, is child pornography. “The Child Online Protection Act (COPA) makes it a crime to publish ‘any communication for commercial purposes that includes sexual material that is harmful to minors, without restricting access to such material by minors.’” (http://www.offthepagecreations.com/legal_issues_internet.php) 

Andrew Murray, Reader in Law at London School of Economics (LSE), argued that “with so much of our lives reliant on online access – banking, communications, social networking, relaxation, content delivery etc. do we need more than just a right to access?  Is it now time for a Cyberspace Bill of Rights?” (http://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/news-articles/1010/10102602). Alternatively, social networking sites are held to two important statutes: Section 512(c) of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act and Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. What do these mean? “Section 512(c) removes liability for copyright infringement from websites that allow users to post content, as long as the site has a mechanism in place whereby the copyright owner can request the removal of infringing content. The site must also not receive a financial benefit directly attributable to the infringing activity.” (http://technology.findlaw.com/modern-law-practice/understanding-the-legal-issues-for-social-networking-sites-and.html). In plain terms, sites like YouTube can claim the 512(c) defense in a lawsuit against media giants suing for content violations.  Lastly, we have Section 230: “Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act immunizes website from certain liability resulting from the publication of information provided by another. This usually arises in the context of defamation, privacy, negligence and other tort claims. It does not however, cover criminal liability, copyright infringement or other intellectual property claims.” (http://technology.findlaw.com/modern-law-practice/understanding-the-legal-issues-for-social-networking-sites-and.html). This statute protects the social website from certain liability of publication when a user posts defamatory or otherwise illegal content. Ultimately, this begs the question: will legislation push to protect the privacy of users and their own personal copyright, or continue to create loopholes with social networking sites that are bound legally to the media industry? Andrew Murray may have the right idea about a Cyberspace Bill of Rights.

Week 4 EOC: Patently Ridiculous

Copyright is a legal right given exclusively to originators of intellectual property. It is often very confusing to understand because of how court cases are handled legally, but it is important to know what the difference is between what copyright actually is, and what is necessary to be done to protect your rights to your work.

Week 3 EOC: Erin Brockovich

In an article posted in February of 2006, the LA Times discussed the PG&E case that was made famous by the 2000 film “Erin Brockovich.” One of the defining characteristics of this particular case was the fact that many of the resident’s houses were being bought out for far less than fair market value prices from PG&E. Ultimately, the case became well known because of Erin, who lead the way for the “largest direct action lawsuit in history” with a settlement that resulted in 333 million dollars split between more than 1,000 residents of Hinkley, California and the surrounding area. The company also issued an apology to the residents.  "Clearly, this situation should never have happened, and we are sorry that it did. It is not the way we do business, and we believe it would not happen in our company today” (http://articles.latimes.com/2006/feb/04/local/me-erin4). Additionally, the spokesman for the company, Jon Tremayne also added: "The differences between the plaintiffs and our company in the case centered on opposing views of the health science on chromium. Although the settlement does not resolve these differences, we believe it is best to move forward." (http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/2006-02-06-pge-settlement-brockovich_x.htm)

PG&E finally settled the last of the cases in 2008. Although much of the story was largely fiction in the film, each plaintiff did get roughly about $307,000 themselves in the settlement, which pales in comparison to the lifetime damages done to these plaintiffs. "Many of these people truly suffered and money doesn't make that go away," Erin Brockovich said in an interview. "But I hope it gives them a sense that they stood up for something; and I hope they can use the money to help with their medical conditions or to make their lives easier." (http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/2006-02-06-pge-settlement-brockovich_x.htm).

Week 2 EOC: Supreme Court

In May 2012, The Supreme Court ruled after hearing arguments in Town of Greece v. Galloway, a case that could change the way we deal with invocation prayers at city council meetings. It was concluded that the town halls prayers were an endorsement of a religious viewpoint, according to the judge.

Week 1 EOC: My Voice

As a professional wedding photographer, there are two important things to remember, no matter who you're shooting for: 1) your bride and groom are more nervous about having their pictures taken than you are about taking them, and 2) set aside your personal life, because their special day is not about you. Every day is a learning experience out in the field, and I aim to take full advantage of the lessons each new person may offer. I am a firm believer that formal education is important, but the only way to discover your strengths and weaknesses is through trial and error – of which there are many opportunities during a face-to-face encounter with clients. You will go far if you know the technical aspects of photography, but those technicalities should never impede your desire to deliver the best possible experience; after all, no matter how good your photography, if your client does not have a good time with you, they won’t care whether you know how to use a camera or not. Lastly, the following quote describes the most important aspect to photography: "I think a photography class should be a requirement, because it makes you see the world, rather than just look at it. " – Unknown.