Scales of Justice

No. 1,102

In the lower level of the Washington County Court House, near the jury room and the public restrooms, is an old mechanical scale, like the one in the doctor’s office, only an antique. You can weigh yourself for free and then, if the reading is not too high, buy yourself a bubble gum from the antique machine next to it.

Category: Courthouse Scenes
Tags: Vanishing Americana

Trademark Protection: Parody With A Bite.

No. 1,101

Image: Corporate Counsel Daily Update

If you were a member of top management at Subway, would you set loose the legal beagles on the perpetrators of this one? Or would you have a hearty laugh and tell the board that the Subway brand is getting a lot of free publicity?

There’s not much doubt that this T shirt design was intended to satirize the Subway logo exactly. But does it cause confusion, like some faux brand labels? Or does it make us a little more aware of Subway, so that when we next see a Subway sign it will catch our attention and even make us smile?

Maybe top management thinks that the comparison with zombie food will turn stomachs. I don’t. Actually, come to thing of it, I haven’t had a good sub in a while.

CLT

September 8: A Day of Distinction

No. 1,100

It should not pass without notice that on September 8, 1974 President Gerald Ford pardoned Richard Nixon. That was 40 years ago. Thus ended the Watergate era.

On September 8, 1994, 20 years ago, USAir Flight 427 crashed on approach to the Pittsburgh International Airport. It literally plunged from the sky, killing all aboard.

CLT

Category: History
Tags: September 8

2,000 years ago, on August 19, one of the most influential leaders of all time died.

No. 1099

caesaraugustus.com

Caesar Augustus, nephew and heir of Julius Caesar, established the foundation for many western institutions that endure today.

Category: Pittsburgh Legal Back Talk

Former Justice Orie Melvin Not Required To Endure Humiliation, Handcuffed Pictures Stricken from Sentence By Superior Court.

No. 1,097

Image: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The Superior Court affirmed the sentence of Joan Orie Melvin with one important change. She is not being required to endure the humiliation of being exhibited in a photograph of her in handcuffs after the trial. The Court held that this was an unnecessary humiliation. We argued for this outcome after the sentence was announced.

On October 15, 2013, at Post No. 993, PLBT stated:

Former Justice Orie Melvin appeared in Court today. Judge Lester Nauhouse wanted to know why she hadn’t complied with the part of her sentence that required her to send letters of apology to all of the members of the judiciary in Pennsylvania accompanied by a photograph of her wearing handcuffs. The short answer, delivered by her attorney, was that the sentence was under appeal.

Indeed. I would be willing to bet a month of lunches that no modern appellate court anywhere in America has ever endorsed such an unusual sentence. And what is the purpose of requiring the former Justice to distribute copies of a photo of herself in handcuffs? It could only have one effect â€” humiliation.

And I will bet you a year of lunches that if such a photograph is ever distributed that it will turn up on the internet within 48 hours. And then, on the front page of newspapers around the world.

Am I missing something here? Assuming that former Justice Orie Melvin does not have any such photos lying about, is she supposed to hire a photographer to take a picture of her in handcuffs? Am I the only person who thinks that this sounds slightly kinky? If I remember correctly, a raft of legislative leaders in this Commonwealth were convicted of more-or-less similar offenses. None of them were required to distribute photographs of themselves in humiliating circumstances.

If the sentence here is not unusual, why hasn’t it been employed in sentences for similar crimes? Then again, maybe stocks would be better. I think there may be some available in Williamsburg. And what about a dunking stool?

But wasn’t that the kind of punishment that the Eighth Amendment was supposed to abolish? The Eighth Amendment is about human dignity. Thats why we don’t have any stocks in the Courtyard of the County Courthouse.

The Supreme Court, the United States Supreme Court that is, said that handcuffing a prisoner to a post was a violation of the Eighth Amendment in the case of Hope v Pelzer, 536 U.S. 730 (2002). Part of what made this sort of punishment cruel and unusual was that it humiliated the prisoner so grievously that it was an affront to human dignity.

In Trop v Dulles, 356 U.S. 86 (1958), Chief Justice Earl Warren wrote: “The basic concept underlying the Eighth Amendment is nothing less than the dignity of man. While the state has the power to punish, the Amendment stands to assure that this power is exercised within the limits of civilized standards. Fines, imprisonment and even execution may be imposed depending upon the enormity of the crime, but any technique outside the bounds of these traditional penalties is constitutionally suspect.”

Even convicted ex-jurists are entitled to the proper modicum of human dignity. Its in the Constitution. CLT –

See more at: https://www.pittsburghlegalbacktalk.com/archives/5953#sthash.wXa2D8Pq.dpuf

Category: Constitutional Law, Criminal Law
Tags: Joan Orie Melvin

Governor Perry’s Veto: What About the Texas Constitution?

No. 1,096

Governor Rick Perry

Without doing any research, I’d be willing to bet a month of lunches that Governor Rick Perry’s budget veto is an unconstitutional Act. Variations on this theme have been tried before, including in Pennsylvania.

And I would double down that bet by predicting that the grand jury indictments against the Governor are unconstitutional as well, and perhaps there is immunity from such prosecution of a sitting governor.

But, then again, we’re talking Texas. Not someplace civilized, like Pennsylvania.

CLT

Category: Constitutional Law

Remembering Sophie Maslov

No. 1,095

This memorial to former Mayor Sophie Maslov was erected in the lobby of the City County Building today.

Category: Pittsburgh

Signage Only a Lawyer Could Love.

No. 1,080

Image: Slums of Harvard

Category: Signs of the Times

Putting Teldra on All Fours Again

Teldra is a paralyzed dachshund who is in need of spinal surgery.

No. 1,056

You may have noticed that an ad was installed on the left sidebar that is requesting contributions for surgery for a miniature dachshund named Teldra.

Teldra belongs to my daughter and son-in-law and is, quite literally, the love of their life. Teldra was recently paralyzed due to a spinal injury that can be repaired by surgery. Because they do not have over $5,000 to pay for surgery, they turned to a fund raising organization called the “GiveForward Foundation” which collects donations for private causes like this and collects a small fee from each donation for the many services they provide. GiveForward says that they have about 8,000 such projects going on at any given time.

I tested the GiveForward box to the left after we installed it and it works fine, just as the one on their website does. It takes credit card information privately and securely and holds the funds in an account until they are needed to pay for the surgery.

A donation can be any size, even $10. At the end of the donation, you will be asked if you wish to contribute the GiveForward administration fee. That is optional, too.

If you decide to give, thank you very much. If you have questions, you can contact me in private in the question box in the sidebar on the right.

CLT

Teldra Visits the Neurosurgeons at Tufts Veterinary School

Category: Pittsburgh Legal Back Talk
Tags: GiveForward

Thinking Time.

No. 902

Opportunities to think:

1. Driving. [Turn off the radio. Stay off the phone.]

2. Taking a walk.

3. Standing in line.

4. Lying in bed while falling asleep.

5. Doing routine housework and cleaning.

CLT

Category: Personal Productivity

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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.

Pittsburgh Legal Back Talk

Legal topics of interest to lawyers and consumers with a Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania focus.

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