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Cufflinks: the New Spats.
Posted by Cliff Tuttle| July 13, 2009 | © 2026
Posted by Cliff Tuttle (c) 2009
I used to like cufflinks. Very dressy.
No more. I’ve even sent my cuff link shirts to St. Vincent DePaul.
We lawyers populate courthouses and other public buildings. That means that we must continuously pass through security magnetic devices and perhaps be required to partially disrobe in order to gain access to the building. Taking off cufflinks (or other jewelry) while trying to navigate through security is a giant pain, especially when you have just enough time to make it to motions. Better to just leave it all behind — permanently.
However, someone must be still wearing this stuff, as evidenced by a cufflink website.
CLT
Pittsburgh Legal Newslog: Home Mortgage Credit Standards “Stuck on Stupid.”
Posted by Cliff Tuttle| July 11, 2009 | © 2026
Posted by Cliff Tuttle (c) 2009
Highly qualified home buyers are being excluded by many lenders due to overly-rigid credit standards adopted in response to the subprime meltdown last fall, according to the New York Times.
This has happened before and community-based thrifts, banks and credit unions made a niche for such borrowers. It may take a little time, but this phenomenon will happen again, subject to regulatory restraints. The article doesn’t say so, but well-qualified borrowers should look for portfolio lenders who do not follow Fannie Mae underwriting guidelines.
CLT
One Thousand Law Professors Can’t Be Wrong.
Posted by Cliff Tuttle| July 11, 2009 | © 2026
Posted by Cliff Tuttle (c) 2009
Am I the only person who resents being told what to think by a panel of experts? SCOTUS Blog reports that 1,000 law profs signed a letter advocating the confirmation of Judge Sotomayor for the Supreme Court. Does this sort of advertising actually help get votes in the Senate? I’ll bet it doesn’t. Senators care about what voters from their state have to say, not a bunch of law professors.
And what about the witnesses lined up by each caucus to testify at the committee hearing? Do they make a difference? A few probably do. Parties from the New Haven Fire Department case, listed by the Republicans, will probably get lots of press coverage. But I’ll bet they won’t change one vote in the committee or in the Senate.
CLT
A Simple Will.
Posted by Cliff Tuttle| July 11, 2009 | © 2026
Posted by Cliff Tuttle (c) 2009
Just in case you have a desire to read Michael Jackson’s apparent Last Will and Testament, I hope you won’t be too disappointed. If you thought Mr. Jackson would hire a high priced estate law firm to draft a fancy, lengthy instrument, you were wrong.
CLT
Much Ado
Posted by Cliff Tuttle| July 11, 2009 | © 2026
Posted by Cliff Tuttle (c) 2009
Talk show hosts and bloggers, including law professor/blogger Ann Althouse, have made a whole lot of absolutely nothing in a photo from the G8. All this analysis is a giant waste of time. Moreover, judging from the photograph, the lady was attired quite modestly. Grow up, you guys!
CLT
Courts Close for G 20.
Posted by Cliff Tuttle| July 11, 2009 | © 2026
Posted by Cliff Tuttle (c) 2009
When the G 20 meet in Pittsburgh on September 24, the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas will be closed. Its obvious why. Downtown Pittsburgh will be gridlock city for several days. And every available police officer, sheriff’s deputy, etc. will be providing security for the conference, not the court. If your office is in the Golden Triangle, try telecommuting.
CLT
Can You Name the Presidents Who Argued a Case Before the US Supreme Court?
Posted by Cliff Tuttle| July 9, 2009 | © 2026
Posted by Cliff Tuttle (c) 2009
Eugene Volokh, law professor/blogger, asked readers of his heavily-read blog, The Volokh Conpiracy, how many presidents had argued before the US Supreme Court, either before or after being President. Here’s what they came up with:
1. John Quincy Adams in the famous case of US v. Amistad, 40 US 518 (1841), involving slaves aboard a ship that landed in a US port. You may have seen the movie.
2. Abraham Lincoln in Lewis v. Lewis, 48 US 776 (1849). Lincoln, who despite his PR was one of the leading trial lawyers in Illinois, argued this case a few days after his term in the US House of Representatives expired.
3. Richard Nixon in Time, Inc. v. Hill, 385 US 374 (1967).
4. James A. Garfield in Ex Parte Milligan, 71 US 2 (1866), a leading case in US Constitutional Law that held that it was unconstitutional to try a citizen by a military tribunal when a civilian court was available.
5. William Howard Taft, who as Solicitor General between 1890 and 1892, would have had the opportunity to personally argue many cases before the Supremes in behalf of the government. He was also Chief Justice (the only US President to hold both offices)after his presidency, serving until his death in 1930.
Other names were mentioned by Volokh’s readers, but without citing a case or other circumstance to support the claim. I checked biographies of those presidents and could find no mention of argument before the high court. So there may be others. If any reader knows of a president who argued before the US Supreme Court, please let me know.
CLT
Pittsburgh Legal Back Talk at 1.
Posted by Cliff Tuttle| July 7, 2009 | © 2026
Posted by Cliff Tuttle
On July 7, 2008, PLBT brought forth its first post. You can read it on the sidebar under “About PLBT.”
I hear that most blogs don’t last more than a few months. The author runs out of ideas or enthusiasm or both. We’re still here and we have readers. We’re about in the middle of Avvo’s list of law blogs ranked by traffic.
Thanks for reading.
CLT
Thomas Jefferson, in his own hand.
Posted by Cliff Tuttle| July 6, 2009 | © 2026
Posted by Cliff Tuttle (c) 2009
The Library of Congress holds the largest Jefferson collection in the world — in spite of the British in 1812. View a letter from Jefferson to John Adams in his own hand from the Library’s great collection. Friends, then political rivals, then finally friends again, the two had a correspondence during their final years that has enriched us. Here, Jefferson tells Adams that he could not live without books. It was a sentiment that Adams would have seconded. They died on the same day, July 4 1826, the fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
CLT
Pennsylvania Bar Association’s “Report Card” on Women in Pennsylvania Law.
Posted by Cliff Tuttle| July 5, 2009 | © 2026
Posted by Cliff Tuttle
Pennsylvania Bar Association posted its 15th annual Report Card on the participation of women in the law in our Commonwealth.
Exactly half of the Common Pleas Judges in Philadelphia are women. That’s remarkable when you consider that women comprise about 1/3 of Pennsylvania lawyers and are concentrated among the younger members of the profession. Thirty five years ago, there were only a handful of women in each law school class. Today, the representation among law graduates is roughly equal. But it will take another decade or more before there are a significant number of women among the most senior members of the profession.
Nevertheless, women have been predominantly employed at the lower pay grades of organizations and have tended to fall out of the partner track in law firms more frequently than men. Some of that is due to a greater voluntary preference among women for part time or less intensive work schedules. However, there is a widely held opinion that it is still harder for women to advance in the profession. The Allegheny County Bar Association has been active in this area and its Gender Equality Task Force publishes and updates its own Report Card.
Welcome
CLIFF TUTTLE has been a Pennsylvania lawyer for over 45 years and (inter alia) is a real estate litigator and legal writer. The posts in this blog are intended to provide general information about legal topics of interest to lawyers and consumers with a Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania focus. However, this information does not constitute legal advice and there is no lawyer-client relationship created when you read this blog. You are encouraged to leave comments but be aware that posted comments can be read by others. If you wish to contact me in privacy, please use the Contact Form located immediately below this message. I will reply promptly and in strict confidence.
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