Paterno’s Grand Jury Testimony Is Inadmissible at Trial.

No. 800

This is the 800th Post on Pittsburgh Legal Backtalk. Thanks for reading.

Joe Paterno’s testimony before the grand jury corroborated Mike McQueary’s testimony that he reported activity of a sexual nature and not just horseplay. Paterno would have been an important prosecution witness in the trials of former PSU Athletic Director Tim Curley and former Senior Vice President Gary Schultz. These two defendants will assert that they were not informed of the full extent of what happened by McCreary.

While there is a transcript of Paterno’s testimony, because there was no opportunity to cross-examine in a grand jury proceeding, admission of the transcript would violate the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution. So says ALM’s Legal Blogwatch.

CLT

Reassessment 2012: Getting all of the information requires logging into two web pages.

No. 799

The Allegheny County says that assessment numbers to be used in 2013 and comparable sales are now available on the County’s website, but only for City and Mt Oliver properties. Other areas will be posted in coming weeks.

To find values to be used in 2013, you must visit “Court Ordered Reassessment Values”. You can get there by going to the Allegheny County web site (Google it) and following the links. Be aware that the 2012 value and the new 2013 value are displayed at the bottom of the page and you may have to scroll down to see it.

If you read the notice in the middle of the page, you will find a link for corrections of errors in the building information, such as the number of rooms, bathrooms and other such factors. This can be done without an informal hearing, although it may be wise to check for changes periodically. This may result in a change (hopefully a reduction) to the reassessment, but don’t count on it. File a formal appeal anyway. It can be withdrawn if you decide that you are satisfied with the value by the time of the hearing.

However, to find other information, primarily things that didn’t or shouldn’t change, such as the building information, photo, floor plan etc., it is necessary to click on a link on the middle of the Court Ordered Reassessment page, which takes you to your previously-existing assessment page.

Complicated? Yes. Difficult to navigate? Initially, yes. But if you have time and patience, you can probably work through it. Unfortunately, a spot check of random properties indicates there are still problems with some of the information. Some web pages are missing information or have not been fully updated. The Pittsburgh Post Gazette reports that the County says the problems are temporary and will soon be fixed.

CLT

Category: Property Assessments, Reassessment 2012
Tags: 2013 Property Values > Allegheny County Reassessment

Reassessment 2012: Look at the Court Ordered Reassessment Website for New Values and Comps.

No. 798

This morning the County downloaded City and Mt. Oliver values and comps on the new website entitled “Court Ordered Reassessment Values.” Check it out.

CLT

Category: 2012, Reassessment 2012

Can You Say “Megaupload”, Boys and Girls?

No. 987

Try adding a hyphen: “Mega-upload.” Aha!

This Japan-based internet giant was recently shut down by the FBI on charges that its file-sharing service was enabling users to share copyrighted material in vast quantities. And the head honcho of Megaupload, who has the intriguing name “Dotcom” was arrested and is being held without bail in New Zealand, where he lived, until then, in a mega-mansion.

The site utilizes “digital lockers”, for electronic storage. Users upload to their digital locker and the contents are then available for download. Unfortunately for Megaupload customers, the contents of everybody’s locker has been seized, including users who are storing their own files with no copyright issues.

And you thought those FBI warnings at the beginning of rental movies were an empty threat.

CLT

Category: 2012, News Commentary
Tags: digital piracy > Megaupload

Harbinger of Spring: the First Stinkbug.

No. 796

Can Spring be far? It was 61 degrees in the sunshine today and the first stinkbug of the year flew in from nowhere and landed on my desk.

CLT

Category: Pittsburgh Legal Back Talk

Enhanced Assessment Data Offered by County for a Fee.

No. 795

Just in case you can’t get enough assessment information, here’s information about the County’s fee system for extra information.

Category: Pittsburgh Legal Back Talk

Reassessment 2012: New Values, perhaps but no you-know what.

No. 794

According to the Trib, the new values for 2013 (remember, assessment changes are on hold at 2011 levels for 2012 taxes) are posted on the County’s assessment website for the City of Pittsburgh and Mt. Oliver. We’ll have to take the Trib’s word for it. The page just says 2011 — the same as it said last year. Viz:

And then, if you try to look at the comparables, you get this:

Or maybe this:

Definitely a work in progress. Stay tuned.

CLT

Category: Property Assessments, Reassessment 2012

The Loyal Tipstaff.

No. 793

The Pittsburgh Post Gazette expanded its coverage yesterday of employment of the President Judge’s two daughters and two sons-in-law within the judicial system by publishing a list of the relatives of judges working as their tipstaves (yes, that’s the plural), law clerks and other members of their office staff.

These Post Gazette articles, while noting that there is nothing illegal or unethical in this practice, suggest that better qualified candidates are never given consideration.

However, in pronouncing judgment, the PG fails to to mention an overriding consideration that all judges weigh when inviting anyone into the inner circle: loyalty. Each member of a judge’s staff is constantly being queried by people who ardently wish to know the probable outcome of a case. The judge must be confident that the staff member will not be drawn into a discussion that will reveal something that should be confidential. Sometimes celebrities or other important people are appearing before the court. Nosy people, like reporters, must be kept in the dark, not for the sake of the litigants per se, but to preserve the integrity of the judicial process.

While discrete and loyal employees exist everywhere, they can sometimes be difficult to find. The advantage of a relative is that their personal attributes are already well-known to the judge-employer. Plus, there is the bond of loyalty that traditionally comes with kinship.

The duties of a tipstaff do not require a great deal of formal education and can be learned through OJT. The most important responsibility of a tipstaff serving a trial judge is to take charge of the jury from the moment they are assigned to a case until the moment they are discharged. To do this well, a tipstaff must employ skills that are impossible to identify in an interview. Common sense, problem solving and ability to size up a situation in a moment are three such intangibles. A tipstaff must always be polite and considerate, but also in control. And above all, a tipstaff must be loyal to the judge, 100%.

CLT

Category: News Commentary
Tags: Judge McDaniel > law clerk > tipstaff

When Did Two Former Speakers of the House Run Against Each Other For President?

No. 792

In 1844, James K. Polk and Henry Clay, two former Speakers of the House of Representatives, ran against each other for President. Since Polk, there has never been another former Speaker elected to the Presidency.

Clay ran for the Presidency in the general election twice and lost two other times in nominating conventions. He was the the leader of three successive political parties. He served three times as Speaker as a Democratic-Republican, but was nominee of the National Republican Party against Andrew Jackson in 1832 and as a Whig against Polk. The next and last Speaker to run in the general election for President was James G. Blaine, who lost to Grover Cleveland.

Gerald Ford, who was never elected President, was never the Speaker of the House. He was the Minority Leader before being nominated to fill the vacancy in the Vice Presidency in the second Nixon Administration.

John Nance Garner, who became Speaker in 1931, was later elected Vice President with FDR.

Whether another former Speaker will run in the 2012 general election remains to be seen.

CLT

Category: 2012
Tags: Newt Gingrich

Penn State Owes a Public Apology to Paterno, Now not Later.

No. 791

The following post was written before the death of Joe Paterno had been publicly announced.

The way the Penn State Board fired Joe Paterno was cowardly and wrong. They bowed to overwhelming pressure of a media-driven lynch mob. Ultimately, in cooler times, Mr. Paterno will be vindicated before the law and in the court of public opinion. He did what every subordinate in an organization should do, he reported the information to the highest authorities in the University hierarchy, the ones who had the responsibility to make those decisions. That group included the supervisor of the University’s private police force. In time, when the hysteria has dispersed, that truth will be generally recognized. But it appears that JoPa won’t be around to see that day, so it is imperative that Penn State apologize in person and in public now. But if the craven leadership won’t do it, and they probably won’t, then the rest of us should.

I’m not a Penn Stater, but I once attended an alumni function where I learned something very important. In response to one of the speakers the gathered alumni repeated a football cheer, but in a somewhat hushed and even reverential mode. “We are,” said the speaker, “Penn State,” responded the crowd. After several repetitions, the room was silent while the meaning of those words sunk in.

We Pennsylvanians are all Penn Staters, whether we attended class there or not. It is one of our state’s premier universities. And Joe Paterno did as much as any one person could to make it a great institution of higher education. If the school’s administration won’t do it, we must. After all, we are Penn State.

CLT

Category: Criminal Law, News Commentary
Tags: Joe Paterno > Penn State University

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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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