Saturday, January 22, 2005

Federal judge dismisses charges against Calif. porn business

AP Wire | 01/21/2005 | Federal judge dismisses charges against Calif. porn business

Nothing like a good snow storm to get That lawyer dude blogging! I was reading a fellow bloggers blog(http://www.legalreader.com) and stumbled across the above article. It is about the first amendment and the right for adults to take part in, exhibit, and view "bad taste." Now some may say that the movies that the court has permitted are obscene. They include depictions of criminal activity to others. They mix sex and violence and are unsafe for children and adults. The constitution protects the rights of people with something to say to say it even if most of us don't like it. Nevertheless... Rape and violence are difficult things to protect.

So why did the court act in favor of this disgusting material? Because the court held that the laws outlawing the pornographic material is unconstitutional. Now you may be asking how the constitution could outlaw a law that is meant to protect citizens from viewing material that is obscene?
The court held that "If the first amendment means anything, it means that a state has no business telling a man, sitting alone in his own house what books he may read or what films he may watch."
The court, quoting from the US SUPREME COURT case of Stanley v. Georgia, stated that to find otherwise would support a government right to control the moral content of a person's thought. One of the reasons for the court's position is that the constitution embodies a concept of Free will ( see the writings of Saint Thomas Aquinas) and finds that from God man has the right to think in a way and act in a way other than the way God would have him think or act.
The court noted that while the Georgia statute prohibited possession of sexually explicit material, it could have just as easily prohibited the possession of political thought literature or a copy of a controversial book or even a copy of the bible.
If the government has a right to decide what we can read then it has the right to decide how we can think. Such a right would be the antithesis of the first amendment and a real strike to the concept of free will.
However the case before the court in the articles above did not deal with the right to possess the material only the right to distribute it. The court reasoned that if one can possess it, it cannot be constutional to ban it entirely. The court held that in the case before it, the distributor took enough precautions to protect those who might innocently come upon it or minors who should not see it.
But why can someone possess or distribute material that degrades others and may endangers the reader in some way?
Because the alternative would be to allow others often the majority to dictate their will on others in matters that are personal to them. Although I doubt that the framers of the constitution could have envisioned their Bill of Rights protecting the materials that are protected today, I have no doubt that they understood that the First Amendment would have protected materials that the majority would find offensive in future ages. Whether political, religious or sexual in nature. As such, while we may not like what we protect... we will want to have these same protections for our own thoughts and deeds.
ANY WAY that's what I think... tell me what you think by leaving a comment below ( you should not leave your full name or make yourself identifiable to strangers when on the net unless you are at least 18 years old and know what you are doing) or you can write to me by leaving a comment at www.colleluorilaw.com on the comment page.



Tuesday, January 11, 2005

Where Was God?

The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Columnist: Where Was God?


In his column yesterday in The New York Times, William Safire answers a question that is often on the lips of many when disaster strikes: Where is God? I urge all good people to read this column and to realize that even though we all face difficult even impossibly dreadful periods, God remains with us.

In the wake of what feels like catastrophe after catastrophe, we must remember that God has given us the gift of Free Will and that it is by the expression of same that often bad things can occur at the hand of Man. The events of 9-11-01 provide proof of that. Tsunamis on the other hand are not acts of Man but are the physical reaction from the design of the earth by God. So why would a provident all seeing and loving God impose such death destruction and sorrow on us. The truth is God does not impose it upon us but is with us to help us deal with it. Safire's discussion of the Book of Job explains the great gift that the suffering of Job was and how it came to be that he was chosen to be so put upon.

In my own life I have dealt with great sorrow. Through the strength that God has given me; in the wiping from my brow the worry about the things I cannot control, and in the knowing that He is with me and those that I love; I go on. Yes I have struggled through the illnesses of my wife and Father, and the death of the latter at 67. The fire that destroyed my law office a few months ago, and even my own brushes with death set me back on a number of occassions. Somehow I have found that I can curse my luck and be as angry as I want with God, but as long as I believe in Him, He remains there for me, to comfort me in my pain, to give me strength so that I may be there for others, and, far more often than not, He has helped me address the needs and find a way to improve whatever has happened and make things far better than they were before disaster struck.

Often I am confronted with the Question Where is God? I am reminded each time of the story about the man who when he gets to heaven is shone a time line of his life as Footprints in the Sand. How during the Good times there would be two sets of prints and during the bad times of his life only one set of footprints were visible in the sand. The good man is told by Saint Peter that the two prints are the man's prints and God's. He then asks why during the bad times God had abandoned him, how God could have left him by himself. St. Peter laughs at the man. Then he points to the periods of time when there were only one set of prints in the sand and tells the man, "My friend, when you see only one set of footprints, they are not yours. They are the Heavenly Father's. Those were the times when he carried you."

As I look around the world today, I see how much work there is for God. He is carrying many of us, here and abroad. For the sake of Mankind, I hope He continues that work. For our own sake, I hope we realize He is there doing that work, and that we look to Him, and let Him do the work He has promised us He would do.



Sunday, January 09, 2005

Our President is a Liar

On January 5th 2004, President George Bush accused the American Legal Community of abusing the legal system by filing “baseless claims against doctors and hospitals” because the “American legal justice system is slanted against them”.
The President is a liar.
This is not a statement I make easily, nevertheless, it is true.
Fact: Any lawyer taking on a medical malpractice lawsuit is willing to invest literally tens of thousands of dollars of his own money and more in time to obtain fair and just compensation for his severely injured client. He also wants to punish the hospital or doctor for failing to give proper care. This will teach these professionals to be more careful.
Fact: Virtually every medical malpractice case is legitimate and brought on behalf of clients who have sustains serious injuries. These victims are friends, neighbors, parents and siblings. They went to a doctor expecting that doctor to show reasonable care. They counted on the hospital to exhibit a reasonable degree of medical competence. They did not seek perfection; they were entitled to be treated professionally, without negligence.
Fact: Juries that grant verdicts are comprised of fellow neighbors who have heard the evidence, and found against the doctors and hospitals involved; same as in any other trial. Competent Judges oversee these verdicts. Groups of appellate Judges in turn, check them. Any of these courts can overturn or reduce unreasonable verdicts. If the verdicts are not correct, surely someone will almost always catch it.
Fact: Medical defendants are always represented by the best lawyers money can buy. Unlike a criminal defendant, medical defendants have the funding to get the best experts too. When a case is settled, it is because these outstanding trial lawyers know they cannot win. If they lose the case at trial, then their clients were negligent. They used improper care. They hurt others. They could kill someone with their ineptitude the next time. People who have been injured or killed by a medical practitioner’s malpractice are not entitled, nor will they obtain, justice in the criminal justice system. The only way to control wrongdoing by medical practioners is to bring a tort lawsuit.
Fact: If the Government puts artificial caps on recoveries in lawsuits, then hospitals, doctors and insurance companies (who are in fact the “big winners” here) will factor litigation losses into their price and ignore safety. It happens in every industry, medicine is no exception.
Fact: Medical malpractice damage caps are dangerous and foolish. They will lead to bad medicine, more injury and needless death.
Fact: Fear of a successful lawsuit is what forces hospitals and doctors to not cut corners, to do thorough jobs, and to keep us healthy and safe, even in the face of healthcare insurance executives who would deny that care in order to increase their profits.
Fact: The enemy of good health in America is not the trial lawyer, the enemy of good healthcare is greedy insurance executives and bad politicians who would rather use rhetoric than fact when confronted by truth.
Fact: This administration has sadly made a habit out of wrapping its arms around victims for a good publicity photo only to stab them in the back and turn the knife after the photo opportunity is over. American Trial Lawyers speak on behalf of individuals for the good of all citizens. They risk their own money on behalf of injured patients and have no funds with which to fight back.
I am a registered Conservative and I believe strongly in my Government. I am also not a medical malpractice trial attorney. I have no ax to grind. I write only because I am outraged that my President is running around America attempting to get support for a medical malpractice damages cap by spreading false information. Americans should not be fooled. I have not had to say these words about a Republican President since 1974 and it pains me to say them again: Our President is a liar.

If you would like to contact us you may reach us at www.Colleluorilaw.com or www.Thatlawyerdude.com.

Our President is a Liar

On January 5th 2004, President George Bush accused the American Legal Community of abusing the legal system by filing “baseless claims against doctors and hospitals” because the “American legal justice system is slanted against them”.
The President is a liar.
This is not a statement I make easily, nevertheless, it is true.
Fact: Any lawyer taking on a medical malpractice lawsuit is willing to invest literally tens of thousands of dollars of his own money and more in time to obtain fair and just compensation for his severely injured client. He also wants to punish the hospital or doctor for failing to give proper care. This will teach these professionals to be more careful.
Fact: Virtually every medical malpractice case is legitimate and brought on behalf of clients who have sustains serious injuries. These victims are friends, neighbors, parents and siblings. They went to a doctor expecting that doctor to show reasonable care. They counted on the hospital to exhibit a reasonable degree of medical competence. They did not seek perfection; they were entitled to be treated professionally, without negligence.
Fact: Juries that grant verdicts are comprised of fellow neighbors who have heard the evidence, and found against the doctors and hospitals involved; same as in any other trial. Competent Judges oversee these verdicts. Groups of appellate Judges in turn, check them. Any of these courts can overturn or reduce unreasonable verdicts. If the verdicts are not correct, surely someone will almost always catch it.
Fact: Medical defendants are always represented by the best lawyers money can buy. Unlike a criminal defendant, medical defendants have the funding to get the best experts too. When a case is settled, it is because these outstanding trial lawyers know they cannot win. If they lose the case at trial, then their clients were negligent. They used improper care. They hurt others. They could kill someone with their ineptitude the next time. People who have been injured or killed by a medical practitioner’s malpractice are not entitled, nor will they obtain, justice in the criminal justice system. The only way to control wrongdoing by medical practioners is to bring a tort lawsuit.
Fact: If the Government puts artificial caps on recoveries in lawsuits, then hospitals, doctors and insurance companies (who are in fact the “big winners” here) will factor litigation losses into their price and ignore safety. It happens in every industry, medicine is no exception.
Fact: Medical malpractice damage caps are dangerous and foolish. They will lead to bad medicine, more injury and needless death.
Fact: Fear of a successful lawsuit is what forces hospitals and doctors to not cut corners, to do thorough jobs, and to keep us healthy and safe, even in the face of healthcare insurance executives who would deny that care in order to increase their profits.
Fact: The enemy of good health in America is not the trial lawyer, the enemy of good healthcare is greedy insurance executives and bad politicians who would rather use rhetoric than fact when confronted by truth.
Fact: This administration has sadly made a habit out of wrapping its arms around victims for a good publicity photo only to stab them in the back and turn the knife after the photo opportunity is over. American Trial Lawyers speak on behalf of individuals for the good of all citizens. They risk their own money on behalf of injured patients and have no funds with which to fight back.
I am a registered Conservative and I believe strongly in my Government. I am also not a medical malpractice trial attorney. I have no ax to grind. I write only because I am outraged that my President is running around America attempting to get support for a medical malpractice damages cap by spreading false information. Americans should not be fooled. I have not had to say these words about a Republican President since 1974 and it pains me to say them again: Our President is a liar.

If you would like to contact us you may reach us at www.Colleluorilaw.com or www.Thatlawyerdude.com.