Attorneys Jessica Mederson & Joshua Gilliland discuss Christmas gifts for lawyers, Presidential busts as gifts, the new Wonder Woman and The Flash on Arrow.
Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Justice on Almost Human
Almost Human is a joy ride in future computer forensics and law enforcement. The Bends offered multiple legal and technical issues:
Talk to the Hand
The show opens with an undercover police officer having a video call on his hand. Just from a computer forensic point of view, how would you forensically get data off the “device”? The current method would involve a smartphone being put in a faraday bag to cut the phone off from sending or receiving data, followed by a physical data collection.
Perhaps the “Palm Cam” is cloud based technology and data could be retrieved from a hosted service. Regardless, it is an interesting thought exercise on how to preserve evidence.
Don’t Eat That
Nothing says friendship like ordering a slug that screams when eaten alive for your partner. While it is not clear if a human could sue an android, this instantly created issues of a hostile work environment and intentional infliction of emotion distress.
Bad Cop & Badder Cop
The heroes each torture a suspect in custody to find out where another police officer was taken. While there might have been a public safety exception to not give the suspect his Miranda rights (and that is a big if), Kennex beating the bad guy, followed by Dorian sticking his thumb in a bullet wound fully violate the suspect’s rights. Moreover, any statements would have been coerced and inadmissible in court.
Were They Purposefully Playing Rock Em Sock Em Robots?
Dorian and an evil android have a serious slug fest that ended with the suspect robot’s head being ripped off. This just screamed Rock Em Sock Em Robots. If that was the goal, job well done.
How to Seriously Violate the Constitution
John Kennex summarily executed the corrupt police captain running a major drug ring. So much for a trial by jury.
There are numerous issues with the hero murdering the bad guy, from denial of due process to the simple fact it’s murder. There was simply no self-defense issue. Worse yet, they actually had evidence that placed the corrupt captain at the scene of the crime and a witness to the captain being the drug kingpin. Granted, the cell phone call evidence might be suppressed if it is connected back to the tortured suspect, but it likely is admissible.
Killing the bad guy was an act that seemed totally out of revenge and had nothing to do with the administration of justice.
That being said, I do love the show. Graphic Constitutional violations aside, keep up the good work of humans having technology integrated with their bodies and android police.
When Your Expert is a Star Wars Fan
Experts can get creative when stating their opinions.
In a products liability case over injuries sustained while wearing a snow sports helmet, the Defense expert demonstrated his Star Wars knowledge. The Defense expert explained their were no feasible alternatives in designing a helmet that would have prevented the Plaintiffs injuries:
[Such a helmet would be] made out of depleted uranium and weighs more than [the wearer] can move. Therefore, he can’t do anything while wearing the helmet. Therefore he won’t be injured. . . .
. . . [Y]ou could write a helmet standard that requires the helmet to cover from your shoulders to the top of your head and you look like Darth Vader and it weighs 6 pounds and no one would ever wear it. So you haven’t accomplished anything when it comes to protecting the public because it’s beyond the scope of what people are willing to wear.
Trust Dep’t of First Nat’l Bank of Santa Fe v. Burton Corp., 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 130534, at *11 (D. Colo. Sept. 11, 2013) (Tr. Vol. V at 49.).
The expert’s opinion sounded more like Dark Helmet than Darth Vader, but the point was made: it would be big and heavy.
The Court, best read in a Governor Tarkin voice, stated the following in footnote 5:
In a less florid vein, Dr. Halstead opined that a helmet with four inches of padding — as opposed to the 1 to 1.5 inches typical of snowsport helmets — might have prevented Mr. Melendy’s injuries, but that the mass and bulk of such a design likely would negatively impact other important aspects of the helmet’s utility and performance, making it unlikely that anyone would purchase or wear a helmet thus designed.
Trust Dep’t of First Nat’l Bank of Santa Fe, at *11-12.
Happy Thanksgiving
I wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving. For everyone in the military serving away from family, and emergency responders on duty, thank you. My mother was a paramedic and I remember the many holidays with her working to keep others safe.
One of my Thanksgiving traditions is reading President Abraham Lincoln’s 1864 Thanksgiving Proclamation. I posted it below from The American Presidency Project.
It has pleased Almighty God to prolong our national life another year, defending us with His guardian care against unfriendly designs from abroad and vouchsafing to us in His mercy many and signal victories over the enemy, who is of our own household. It has also pleased our Heavenly Father to favor as well our citizens in their homes as our soldiers in their camps and our sailors on the rivers and seas with unusual health. He has largely augmented our free population by emancipation and by immigration, while He has opened to us new sources of wealth and has crowned the labor of our workingmen in every department of industry with abundant rewards. Moreover, He has been pleased to animate and inspire our minds and hearts with fortitude, courage, and resolution sufficient for the great trial of civil war into which we have been brought by our adherence as a nation to the cause of freedom and humanity, and to afford to us reasonable hopes of an ultimate and happy deliverance from all our dangers and afflictions:
Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, do hereby appoint and set apart the last Thursday in November next as a day which I desire to be observed by all my fellow-citizens, wherever they may then be, as a day of thanksgiving and praise to Almighty God, the beneficent Creator and Ruler of the Universe. And I do further recommend to my fellow-citizens aforesaid that on that occasion they do reverently humble themselves in the dust and from thence offer up penitent and fervent prayers and supplications to the Great Disposer of Events for a return of the inestimable blessings of peace, union, and harmony throughout the land which it has pleased Him to assign as a dwelling place for ourselves and for our posterity throughout all generations.
In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.
Done at the city of Washington, this 20th day of October, A.D. 1864, and of the Independence of the United States the eighty-ninth.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
By the President:
WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
Secretary of State
Happy Thanksgiving to all.
Lawyers on Day of the Doctor
Judge Matthew Sciarrino, Christina MacDougall, Esq., and Joshua Gilliland, Esq., discuss Day of the Doctor and An Adventure in Time & Space. Each shares views on the contract issues presented by not knowing which side you represent as seen in the human/Zygon negotiations.
Thinking of Things I’m Thankful for…
It’s time once again to think of everything I’m thankful for…especially as a legal geek. In no particular order, here goes.
This year, I am thankful for:
- My awesome geek partner, Josh, who picked up the slack during so many parts of my crazy year.
- The ABA Journal, who just named us a Blawg 100 honoree, which is so exciting!
- Our great guests, like Judges Sciarrino and Grewal and e-discovery guru (and fellow Longhorn) Craig Ball.
- Howard Stern. I’m a huge Stern fan and he’s given me fodder for multiple posts, plus I had a Twitter exchange with one of his producers as a result of a LG post, which was beyond exciting (even my kids knew what a big deal that was)!
- Those judges out there who write great opinions and aren’t afraid to express some creativity in their opinions.
- A broken hand. If I have to injure myself (and, apparently, it’s what I do), I’ll take that over a ruptured Achilles’ tendon any day. It’s actually taught me to relax (a bit), but it makes typing tough so I’m ending my list here.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
Vote 4 The Legal Geeks in the ABA Journal Blawg 100
Josh Gilliland, Esq., asks for your vote for The Legal Geeks in the “For Fun” category of the ABA Journal