Could Gloria Allred be the lawyer that brings the Public Duty Doctrine into the light of day for women? The attached article demonstrates her credentials: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/20/fashion/20ALLRED.html?pagewanted=1
Update (7-9-10): Received email from Allred's office. They're too busy to assist in this matter.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
PDD.125: McDonald vs. City of Chicago
2nd Amendment case handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court yesterday, concerning whether or not individuals have a right to purchase and possess guns. The Court ruled in favor of an individual's right to do so. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonald_v._Chicago
Let's see. I haven't read the case yet, but I would probably bet on the fact that the Court made no mention, nor did any of the friends-of-the-court briefs, mention anything about the Public Duty Doctrine.
It's so simple. We have a right to bear arms because the police have no legal duty to protect and cannot be held liable for failing to do so. A moron could figure this out. However, the Court and the stooges that appear before it refuse to disclose this most basic of understandings.
Let's see. I haven't read the case yet, but I would probably bet on the fact that the Court made no mention, nor did any of the friends-of-the-court briefs, mention anything about the Public Duty Doctrine.
It's so simple. We have a right to bear arms because the police have no legal duty to protect and cannot be held liable for failing to do so. A moron could figure this out. However, the Court and the stooges that appear before it refuse to disclose this most basic of understandings.
Friday, June 25, 2010
PDD.124: Violence Revisited
Dwight Garner, of the New York Times, reviews the book "Denial," by Jessica Stern, about the aftermath of her rape. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/25/books/25book.html
Life is never really the same after...after -- well, you know. It's a struggle to even breathe, to want to breathe, to invite air, when the invitation is hollow, half-hearted, numbingly indifferent.
Life is never really the same after...after -- well, you know. It's a struggle to even breathe, to want to breathe, to invite air, when the invitation is hollow, half-hearted, numbingly indifferent.
Monday, June 21, 2010
PDD.123: The Perils of Small Print
AP report, printed in the New York Times, Saturday, June 19, 2010, page A12, entitled "Texas: Alert Issued for Afghani Soldiers." According to the article, over a span of 18 months, 17 Afghani military members, while in training at Lackland Air Force Base, have gone awol. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/19/us/19brfs-ALERTISSUEDF_BRF.html
Yesterday, while at a Father's Day picnic, my in-laws mentioned that they had heard about it on CNN. It was news to me. And I'm a news junky.
Yesterday, while at a Father's Day picnic, my in-laws mentioned that they had heard about it on CNN. It was news to me. And I'm a news junky.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
PDD.122: Violence Against Women
One of the justifications for going into Iraq was Saddam's genocide of certain portions of the population. I thought we deposed this despot. However, even in his absence, atrocities continue. Consider the following, "Kurdistan Is Criticized Over Cutting Of Genitals," NY Times, 6-17-2010, by Namo Abdulla and Timothy Williams: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/17/world/middleeast/17kurd.html
All this under our watchful eye!
All this under our watchful eye!
Friday, June 18, 2010
PDD.121: Innocent Foreigner, Torture & Obama
Consider the NY Times editorial "No Price to Pay for Torture," concerning the rendition of an innocent man by the previous administration and Obama's response to calls for justice: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/16/opinion/16wed2.html
PDD.120: Illegal Immigration
The Public Duty Doctrine claims that government and its agents have a duty to protect society as a whole, but not the individual.
There have been some efforts by states to protect themselves from illegal immigration, and apparently the U.S. Government (with our tax dollars) is going to file a lawsuit against Arizona for doing so.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20008171-503544.html
Something's wrong with this picture. Government and its agents, apparently, do not have a duty to protect citizens as a whole or individually.
In fact, are there any circumstances under which government and its agents have a duty to protect either the individual or society as a whole, other than witness protection, wherein a promise to protect has been negotiated?
There have been some efforts by states to protect themselves from illegal immigration, and apparently the U.S. Government (with our tax dollars) is going to file a lawsuit against Arizona for doing so.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20008171-503544.html
Something's wrong with this picture. Government and its agents, apparently, do not have a duty to protect citizens as a whole or individually.
In fact, are there any circumstances under which government and its agents have a duty to protect either the individual or society as a whole, other than witness protection, wherein a promise to protect has been negotiated?
Thursday, June 17, 2010
PDD.119: "The Fearless Approach"
Victims of crime, particularly those who government agents have failed, consider the following words from this unlikely source: The 50th Law, by 50 Cent and Robert Greene, G-Unit Books, Inc., 2009 ....
"Events in life are not negative or positive. They are completely neutral. The universe does not care about your fate; it is indifferent to the violence that may hit you or to death itself. Things merely happen to you. It is your mind that chooses to interpret them as negative or positive. And because you have layers of fear that dwell deep within you, your natural tendency is to interpret temporary obstacles in your path as something larger -- setbacks and crises.
"In such a frame of mind, you exaggerate the dangers. If someone attacks and harms you in some way, you focus on the money or position you have lost in the battle, the negative publicity, or the harsh emotions that have been churned up. This causes you to grow cautious, to retreat, hoping to spare yourself more of these negative things. It is a time, you tell yourself, to lay low and wait for things to get better; you need calmness and security.
"What you do not realize is that you are inadvertently making the situation worse. Your rival only gets stronger as you sit back; the negative publicity becomes firmly associated with you. Being conservative turns into a habit that carries over into less difficult moments. It becomes harder and harder to move to the offensive. In essence you have chosen to cast life's inevitable twists of fortune as hardships, giving them a weight and endurance they do not deserve.
"What you need to do, as Fifty discovered, is take the opposite approach. Instead of becoming discouraged and depressed by any kind of downturn, you must see this as a wake-up call, a challenge that you will transform into an opportunity for power. Your energy levels rise. You move to the attack, surprising your enemies with boldness. You care less what people think about you and this paradoxically causes them to admire you -- the negative publicity is turned around. You do not wait for things to get better -- you seize this chance to prove yourself. Mentally framing a negative event as a blessing in disguise makes it easier for you to move forward." pgs 75-77
"Events in life are not negative or positive. They are completely neutral. The universe does not care about your fate; it is indifferent to the violence that may hit you or to death itself. Things merely happen to you. It is your mind that chooses to interpret them as negative or positive. And because you have layers of fear that dwell deep within you, your natural tendency is to interpret temporary obstacles in your path as something larger -- setbacks and crises.
"In such a frame of mind, you exaggerate the dangers. If someone attacks and harms you in some way, you focus on the money or position you have lost in the battle, the negative publicity, or the harsh emotions that have been churned up. This causes you to grow cautious, to retreat, hoping to spare yourself more of these negative things. It is a time, you tell yourself, to lay low and wait for things to get better; you need calmness and security.
"What you do not realize is that you are inadvertently making the situation worse. Your rival only gets stronger as you sit back; the negative publicity becomes firmly associated with you. Being conservative turns into a habit that carries over into less difficult moments. It becomes harder and harder to move to the offensive. In essence you have chosen to cast life's inevitable twists of fortune as hardships, giving them a weight and endurance they do not deserve.
"What you need to do, as Fifty discovered, is take the opposite approach. Instead of becoming discouraged and depressed by any kind of downturn, you must see this as a wake-up call, a challenge that you will transform into an opportunity for power. Your energy levels rise. You move to the attack, surprising your enemies with boldness. You care less what people think about you and this paradoxically causes them to admire you -- the negative publicity is turned around. You do not wait for things to get better -- you seize this chance to prove yourself. Mentally framing a negative event as a blessing in disguise makes it easier for you to move forward." pgs 75-77
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
PDD.118: Gag Clauses
Most victims never get their day in court. Most lawsuits end in settlement.
If you're fortunate to find an attorney willing to fight for you, beware of the settlement; more than likely, it will include a gag clause.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gag_order
http://www.ipacweb.org/acn/dec96/legal.html
Justice is not the rule, it is the exception.
Government and its agents (particularly police and district attorneys) have no legal duty to disclose that they have no legal duty to protect; they cannot be held legally liable for failing to disclose that they have no legal duty to protect.
In fact, if you should find yourself involved in suing an abuser, whether it's an employer or government agent, be aware that the government can be used to restrict your speech in re-telling the world what happened to you at the hands of these individuals and how much they paid in settlement.
It boils down to re-victimization.
If you're fortunate to find an attorney willing to fight for you, beware of the settlement; more than likely, it will include a gag clause.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gag_order
http://www.ipacweb.org/acn/dec96/legal.html
Justice is not the rule, it is the exception.
Government and its agents (particularly police and district attorneys) have no legal duty to disclose that they have no legal duty to protect; they cannot be held legally liable for failing to disclose that they have no legal duty to protect.
In fact, if you should find yourself involved in suing an abuser, whether it's an employer or government agent, be aware that the government can be used to restrict your speech in re-telling the world what happened to you at the hands of these individuals and how much they paid in settlement.
It boils down to re-victimization.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
PDD.117: Ground Zero
Here is the crux of the problem with The Public Duty Doctrine: Law enforcement and District Attorneys have no legal duty to disclose that they have no legal duty to protect; they cannot be held liable for failing to disclose that they have no legal duty to protect because there was no legal duty to disclose that they had no legal duty to protect in the first place.
Is your head spinning?
Miranda rights were ground zero for criminal suspects. It's now time for crime victims to be told the truth. Preferrably beforehand. Like in schools, before they hit the street.
Is your head spinning?
Miranda rights were ground zero for criminal suspects. It's now time for crime victims to be told the truth. Preferrably beforehand. Like in schools, before they hit the street.
Friday, June 4, 2010
PDD.114: Georgia
Consider this:
The State of Georgia
was, and apparently
still is, overwhelmed
with liability lawsuits
involving failure to
protect on the part of
state/local governments.
Question: When Plaintiffs
attempt to retain counsel
to file a lawsuit, don't the
lawyers make an attempt to explain the Public Duty
Doctrine to their clients? Answer: I think the lawyers
are afraid to disclose it.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
PDD.113: Rape Victims
Rape victims (albeit not criminal) are still considered suspect.
Given the fact that the police and district attorneys do not represent the rape victim, but represents the State, rape victims might want to remain silent until they have gotten an attorney, at least for no other reason than to guarantee the rape kit is processed. Sad, but true.
So...... consider the case of Berghuis vs. Thompkins, No. 08-1470, in which the United States Supreme Court decided yesterday, regarding the right to remain silent. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/02/us/02scotus.html
I know that rape victims will not be represented by private counsel in my lifetime. However, it is not a matter of if they will be represented but when. It's just a matter of time. The State and the American Bar Association better get ready, because it's coming.
Given the fact that the police and district attorneys do not represent the rape victim, but represents the State, rape victims might want to remain silent until they have gotten an attorney, at least for no other reason than to guarantee the rape kit is processed. Sad, but true.
So...... consider the case of Berghuis vs. Thompkins, No. 08-1470, in which the United States Supreme Court decided yesterday, regarding the right to remain silent. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/02/us/02scotus.html
I know that rape victims will not be represented by private counsel in my lifetime. However, it is not a matter of if they will be represented but when. It's just a matter of time. The State and the American Bar Association better get ready, because it's coming.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
PDD.112: Rape Kits
What we need: Mothers Against Drunk Government. Must we monitor every step local, state, and federal governments make?
Consider this: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/05/20/eveningnews/main6504018.shtml
and
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9Ir-DZoC_M
Consider this: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/05/20/eveningnews/main6504018.shtml
and
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9Ir-DZoC_M
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