Run Susan Run

And she is off. Judge Michael Sheldon ruled today in a 100 page opinion that Susan Bysewicz, who has spent a great portion of her time of late as Connecticuts Secretary of State, does in fact meet the statutory requirement of 10 years active practice as a lawyer.

I have held this view for some time. While most lay people equate lawyers with litigation, there are a vast number of dues paying lawyers in this State that never set foot in a court room. They work on contracts at the Aetna, or on real estate deals at the Phoenix, or in some other arcane area of the law that would drive me right around the bend. Nonetheless, they are every bit as entitled to refer to themselves as a lawyer as I am. It is no different with Susan B.

With all due respect to my friend Elliot Gersten for his blistering deposition interrogation skills, Judge Sheldon got this one right.

In other news, I really need to start entering these posts on a computer that has a working apostrophe and quotation mark key. If my English professors at Ohio Wesleyan were to read these, they would take away my degree.

When is my Court Date?

The Connecticut Judicial Branch website has a handy device to answer that very question. Just click here to be taken to the case lookup page. Also handy if you want to check up on your neighbor's civil or criminal proceedings...

Happy Holidays

As the crazy season of worker's compensation law comes to a close, i am thankful for all of those I have been able to help this year. Since 2006, I have grown to represent 560 clients at present. I am awed at the trust you have placed in me an work hard every day to see you through the maze of Connecticut workers compensation.

Merry Christmas! See you all the last week of the year.

Forgive Me if I Blow My own Horn for a Second

Your humble scribe was enrolled in the Pro Bono honor roll for 2008 by the Connecticut Bar Association. I try hard to give back to the community by accepting cases on behalf of the indigent whom I then represent without cost.

This is an expensive country to live in, and legal services are an exceptionally expensive commodity. I am happy I have been lucky enough to make enough money to support my family and pay my bills and still help out those less fortunate by providing them with no cost legal services.

Gone baby Gone

Time for a well deserved vacation. I'm spending a week in Tucson with my family and will resume blogging the Connecticut WC scene when I get back!

FHA ANNOUNCES HOPE FOR HOMEOWNER'S

The United States Department of Housing has announced its' new Hope For Homeowner's Program which which may help people in distress from home mortgages that are currently overwhelming them. Please contact me personally if you have concerns. I may be able to put you in touch with some Connecticut lenders partipating in this program and perhaps find a way to save your home. Now wouldnt that be a nice holiday gift!

Details on the program can be found here.

Course And Scope Honored By Lexis Nexis

We have been advised by Lexis Nexis, the preeminent legal ranking firm that publishes Martindale- Hubbel, that Course and Scope has been designated as one of the top 25 Worker's Compensation Blogs the United States for 2008. Whoo hoo!

Law Library Now Offering RSS Live feed

The Connecticut Law Libraries are now offering a tremendous resource to attorneys and the public alike in the form of their newly redesigned Newslog. The Newslog provides up-to-the-minute information on the latest Connecticut Supreme Court decisions, neatly indexed by category for your researching and browsing pleasure. The Newslog can be accessed here and is well worth a look. It is available as a live RSS feed for those so inclined.

Associated press Reporting Spitzer call Girl Suing "Girls gone Wild" Wunderkind for 10 Million

MIAMI (AP) - The call girl linked to the downfall of former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer sued the founder of the "Girls Gone Wild" series on Monday for $10 million, claiming he exploited her image and name to advertise the racy videos.
Ashley Alexandra Dupre, 22, contended in the lawsuit that she was only 17 - too young to sign legally binding contracts - and drunk on spring break in 2003 when she agreed to be filmed for "Girls Gone Wild" in Miami Beach.
Dupre "did not understand the magnitude of her actions, nor that her image and likeness would be displayed in videos and DVDs," says the lawsuit filed by Miami attorney Richard C. Wolfe.
The lawsuit filed in federal court in Miami names as defendants "Girls Gone Wild" founder Joe Francis, two of his companies and a man purportedly involved in creation of two Internet sites that the lawsuit contends improperly use Dupre's image to sell DVDs and other products.
Francis, 35, has built a soft porn empire filming and marketing videos of young women exposing their breasts and being shown in other sexually provocative situations, often at public events such as Mardi Gras or spring break beach locales.
Dupre gained notoriety in March when it came out that she was the high-priced call girl named "Kristen" named in court documents who was hired by Spitzer for at least one tryst at a posh Washington hotel. Spitzer, known as "Client 9" in the documents, resigned as New York governor a few days after the scandal broke.
Francis made a public $1 million offer for Dupre to appear in a "Girls Gone Wild" video and go on a promotional tour, then rescinded the offer after he realized he already had footage of Dupre from 2003. Dupre's lawyer warned she was only 17 when the video was shot, not 18 as Francis claimed.
Francis said in March that Dupre spent a week on a "Girls Gone Wild" bus and made seven full-length tapes after signing release papers. He also said he bought her a bus ticket home to North Carolina.
Francis said he was surprised by the lawsuit.
"It is incomprehensible that Ms. Dupre could claim she did not give her consent to be filmed by Girls Gone Wild, when in fact we have videotape of her giving consent, while showing her identification," Francis said in a statement.
He said the photos were taken "in front of a room full of people, including two newspapers and multiple crews we had in the room." Francis also said he would be happy to discuss the $1 million offer with her again.
The lawsuit claims Dupre is the victim of unfair trade practices, false advertising and unauthorized use of her likeness.
Francis is no stranger to legal problems in Florida. He spent a year in jail and was released in March after pleading no contest to child abuse and prostitution charges for filming underage girls in the Panhandle beach town of Panama City. Four women who claim they were 17 or younger when filmed have filed lawsuits there against Francis.
Francis also faces federal tax evasion charges in California. Prosecutors say companies controlled by Francis claimed more than $20 million in phony deductions in 2002 and 2003 and that Francis used offshore accounts to conceal income

As a middle aged white guy, I'm going to go out on a limb here and tell you that I honestly feel the "race thing" in this country has gotten completley out of hand. Now we're criticizing magazine covers because evidently some think a select few feel that this Vogue cover is stereotypically racist.

Maybe I'm an idiot but I look at it and don't see King Kong. I see Lebron in all his NBA badness saying something like, "That's right Leo, Gisele's with me now and look at her smile..."

If it were white-as-can-be Larry Bird instead of Lebron James on the cover, I'll bet a lot more folks would agree with me.

For What it's Worth

The State of Connecticut Judicial Branch is offering up a survey for those of us of the common ruck to participate in. I have taken the survey and would urge you, dear reader, to do likewise. For all of my gripes about Connecticut, I do feel that the Judicial Department does its best to do right by us citizens.

Take the survey. I think it will be read.

I'm off to Florida for a (much deserved :)) week of R&R.

Catch ya on the other side, dawgs.

Lawyer Joke

Lawyer Joke!

A man dies and goes directly to Hell. While he is milling around, he spots another man who he recognizes as a lawyer, and the lawyer is snuggling up to a beautiful woman.

"That's totally unfair!" he protests to the Devil. "I have to burin in Hell for all eternity, and that lawyer gets to spend it with a beautiful woman!"

"Silence!" barks the Devil, jabbing with his pitchform. "Who are you to question that woman's punishment?!"

Just when you think Man has Stooped as Low as he can go

This is truly a sad story on so many levels. The fact that the defendant is an attorney only makes the taste in my mouth that much worse.

On This Most Special Day

We stop and take some time to be with those who are nearest and dearest to us. From all of us at the Law Offices of James F. Aspell, P.C., we wish you a safe and merry Christmas. You my clients and friends are the best present anyone could ever wish for. Thank you for being in my life.

Take Your Court To School Day

If the thought of your child becoming a lawyer doesn't send chills down your spine, then you may agree with me that this is actually a pretty good idea.

Wii Wii Monsieur

Here it is, December 15th and I now hold in my hot little hands the Nintendo Wii, a device I swore I would never own. I was worn down, I tell ya. Worn down.

I was worn down by my three kids, all of who listed this ubiquitous piece of white plastic as item number one on their Christmas lists to Santa. Worn down by my neighbors who by will power or dumb luck had all managed to land one of these coveted pieces long before today. Worn down by last week' s cry of, "every one of my friends got a Wii for Channukah."

But I got one. And I have to tip my hat to the nice folks at Toys R Us in Corbin's corner. For weeks, I have been stalking this thing. Trying to go the non-chalant route, sauntering in and up to the counter. Asking, in my most laid back manner, "you dont have any wii consoles do you?", and nodding, in complete understanding when store clerk after store clerk would look at me with pity and shake their head, "no."

But then came Tuesday. On Tuesday, I made another non-chalant laid back visit to Toys R Us. "No," the girl said. "We dont have any. But (leaning into me, soto voce,) we are getting some Saturday night, after the store closes to go on sale Sunday morning. We don't know how many, but we will have some."

This little fact burned in my brain. A glimmer of hope.

The weather forcast for Sunday morning called for a Noreaster with a side of destruction. I sensed my chance. Only the halest and heartiest of the Wii Questors would venture into a maelstrom just to buy a videopgame. "I'm going to get up at 6 and venture into the maw of the storm I told my wife. If I succeed, so be it. If I don't, well then it wasn't meant to be."

Sunday dawned. As the alarm buzzed, a could hear the sleet pounding down onto the house. A good sign.

I ventured out into the dark. In 15 minutes I had made my was across town and was in line. The wind was howling and it was still dark. The thermometer I saw read 21 degrees. Folks sat huddled in a line outside, some in tents, some swathed in blankets. I was sort of surprised no one had broken the window of Pier One and used the display furniture for firewood.

The news was encouraging. The adjacent Best Buy had just distributed 80 tickets which left me a in a line with only 20 folks ahead of me. The guy in front of me jumped up and down, trying to keep warm in his dress loafers. He and I were Red Sox fans. the two guys beghind us wore Yankees hats. We all chatted amiably, in this one quest together. We all laughed at the guy who was in line to get one for his mother in law. Way above and beyon the call, we all said.

At 7:30, the store manager emerged and began passing out the tickets. He had one for me, and everyone in line behind me. We all made it. We were all able to leave our posts and run back to the cars to warm up while we waited for the doors to open at 8. I couldnt feel my hands but I was smiling nonetheless. I was getting my kids a Wii for Chirstmas. And for some reason, that was the only thing that mattered.

OFF AND RUNNING!

I have decided to heed the advice of many of my friends in the legal world and begin the "great blawg experiment." Things may be a bit rough and tumble in the early going, but by and large I am fairly computer literate and hope to get with the flow fairly quickly. I plan to blog on all manner of things, from the law, to politics, to the Red Sox, my one true passion.

Primarilly though, I will talk about worker's compensation issues as much as I can. The worker's compensation landscape in Connecticut can be a grim one for the injured worker. I have 20 year's experience that can attest to that. But together, and on these pages, maybe we can all vent a little, and even if cant heal your physical pain, I may make you feel just a little bit better.

Wish me luck!