Legal Links: Legal, Sports and Weird News
Waiters and bartenders no longer have to pay bills that cutomers walk out on. A court ruling in Minnesota has found that the bar or restaraunt has to cover the losses (ABA)
Lifetime of alimony keeps former millionaire in jail on a regular basis (Bloomberg)
Man wanted for assault after forcing home run ball from young fan’s hands (CBS Sports)
AT&T sued for refusing to air Al-Jazeera cable news network (Bloomberg)
This ESPN short titled “The Freak” will have you excited to watch (6) South Carolina’s Jadeveon Clowney this fall.
Bonus: As of 1:00pm (EST) a SportsNation poll showed that almost half of the country believes that the Jacksonville Jaguars are “in the worst shape.” How did the Jaguars beat the Raiders? #CmonMan
Jordan Davis’ Parents, John Phillips and T.C. Roberts go to Washington D.C. for MLK 50th Anniversary March
While John, T.C. and the parents of Jordan Davis continue sharing Jordan’s message, I just wanted to update you on this weeks trip to D.C.
I personally was not on the trip, so when I speak with John I will get the full story behind all of these photos. For now I just wanted to share some pictures from the MLK rally with our readers.
I believe this is John introducing the Davis parents at Howard University.
Here is John shaking hands with one of America’s great future leaders, 9-year-old Asean Johnson. Asean gave a very powerful and inspiring speech for a speaker of any age/
John was very fortunate and humbeled to meet Martin Luther King Jr.’s son and namesake.
John and T.C. in D.C.
The incredible turnout:
John with Ron Davis (on right) and friends:
John with Unites States Attorney General Eric Holder:
Lucy McBath, Jordan’s mother (white t-shirt in middle) and supporters:
Additionally, John, Ron and Lucy, recently appeared on MSNBC, see more here.
I apologize for the brevity in the descriptions of these pictures. I will be sure to pass on any updates and pictures as I receive them. As always, thanks for reading and have a blessed Sunday!
Weird Law Wednesday
It is Wednesday again, so to help you get over your mid-week blues, here are some very real and very funny weird laws from around the country, enjoy!
- In Reno, Nevada, it is unlawful for any person to carry on, conduct or maintain any marathon dancing or marathon walking.
- In Bergen County, New Jersey, the only retail outlets permitted to be open on Sundays are grocery stores and liquor stores.
- In South Carolina, it is unlawful for a minor under the age of eighteen to play a pinball machine.
- In Tennessee, you must believe in god to be elected into office. You also are not permitted into office if you were a contender in a duel.
- Odd non-laws: Vermont has no ban on public nudity. In New York women can be topless in public.
- In West Virginia, state code deems it unlawful for any person to have in his possession or to display any red or black flag.
- In Wisconsin, the serving of colored oleomargarine or margarine at a public eating place as a substitute for table butter is prohibited.
- In Florida, it is illegal to fish while driving across a bridge.
Legal Links: Legal, Sports and Weird News
Australian man playing baseball at an Oklahoma college is shot and killed by ‘bored’ teens (ESPN)
Freedom of Speech? Pastor to burn nearly 3,000 Koran’s on 9/11 (CBS Tampa)
Law student application drop 18%, how does that help current students? (ABA Journal)
Lawsuit against for profit schools who inflated post-grad employment numbers settle lawsuit (Wall Street Journal)
Now this is a Chinese law I can get on board with: Public bathroom users to be fined for missing the toilet, bad aim (China Morning Post)
Big Brother: Google Glass app allows police to view live feed from nearby surveillance cameras (Tech Crunch)
Man strangles girlfriend… because she deleted all of his numbers out of his phone (Jakarta Globe)
Beat the Odds: Which NFL Teams Have the Best Odds to Win the Super Bowl?
As summer temperatures drop, NFL talk rises. One of the biggest, and most obvious questions: “who is going to win the super bowl?” According to Bovada, the Broncos and the 49ers lead the pack with 6/1 odds to win it all. The Patriots and the Seahawks aren’t far behind at 9/1. At the end of the list, soaking in shame, are the Jaguars and the Raiders at 250/1 odds to win it all. (Sorry Jags, but what can you expect when the biggest story line out of Jacksonville is a QB battle between Blaine Gabbert and Chad Henne
Odds dont seem to matter to Florida State law student Erik Woody, who believes the Texans will win it all. When informed that the Texans were given 18/1 odds of winning the Super Bowl, Woody, the Houston native, said, “The Tampa Bay Rays were 250/1 to win the World Series the year they won it. NFL preseason odds don’t matter at all” Like Woody, Pete Prisco, senior NFL columnist for CBS sports doesn’t seem to be too influenced by Vegas either – but then again, sports writers have to make edgy predictions and are almost required to go against the odds. Prisco has the Bengals (33/1) beating the Falcons (12/1) in the Super Bowl.
In interviewing people, I found an interesting coincidence – everyone seemed to mention a Manning brother in some way. Michael Brokamp, a professional musician in Cincinnati, Ohio, picked the 49ers to win the Super Bowl. Brokamp picked the 49ers because he believes in Colin Kaepernick. “Kaepernick is only going to get better,” Brokamp said, “It is his first year as a starter, he is maturing and he hardly lost the Super Bowl last year. If I was an NFL owner, I would take Kaepernick of Peyton Manning. Colin will last longer and is only getting better. Peyton is good, but gettin’ old.”
When asked who would win it all, Zac Ranard said, “One of the Manning Brothers.” I have to say, that is probably a descent prediction, the Broncos are the League favorites and the Giants are 22/1. Brett Smith, a logistics specialist in Chicago believes the Falcons will win, “All cylinders are fired for the Falcons. last years and this year will be no different. Being led by Matt Ryan, Tony Gonzalez, Roddy White and Julio Jones, in combination with the offseason acquisition of Steven Jackson, they will be at their prime.”
So, now what really matters, what do you think? Let us know:
ALS: You Better Believe We Must Do More
By John M. Phillips
The Ice Bucket Challenge is all the rage (top 20). The “challenge” is simple: Once challenged, donate $100 or douse yourself with iced water, record it and pass the challenge on to others via social media. It all started with Pete Frates, a former baseball player at Boston College who has been living with ALS since 2012. He floated the idea and his former teammates, as well as other Boston-area athletes, who took him up on it. It was noticed and covered by local media and that attention, along with the social Web’s viral nature, launched it onto a much larger stage. The Law Offices of John M. Phillips were challenged by WJXT Jacksonville’s Nikki Kimbleton, and the Law Offices of John M. Phillips responded. See videos of both challenges below. Read more 
Legal Links: Legal, Sports and Weird News + Batman
- Finally. Key West, Florida has found a great use for drones: killing mosquitos (Beta Beat)
- 100’s of fish found dead in Washington D.C.’s National Mall’s pond (NBC)
- iPhones use more power than refrigerators? If that is just the average user, my wife’s iPhone uses more power than the Pentagon (The Week)
- A Chinese zoo is under fire after it is caught posing a dog as a lion, zoo-goers realize they’ve been duped when the “lion” starts barking (Breitbart)
- Bolivian man said to be 123-years old, making him oldest human ever, about as believable as a barking dog posed as a lion (Yahoo!)
- Seattle police embrace new marijuana legalazation laws- pass out Doritos at weed smokin’ festival (AP)
- Man swallows Heroin, police have surgeon remove heroin, surgeon keeps some drugs for himself, could face 15 years in prison (ABA)
- How much would it cost to be Batman?
Canadian Man Goes to Twitter to Find Some Weed, Local Cops Tweet Back
It is 2013. Some say social media has killed interpersonal communication. People just aren’t picking up the phone and calling friends to say hello or wish them happy birthday….Or calling their drug dealer looking for drugs… they just go to social media.For one man, reliance on social media as a primary channel of communication almost landed him in jail. The man needed weed, and he needed it quickly – enough for a “spliff” anyway. So he took to Twitter. Asking all of his followers if anyone could deliver some weed to him at Mr. Lube, where he worked.
Interestingly enough, the local police department saw it on twitter, and promptly responded to the mans twitter request:
Social media has not only ruined interpersonal communication found in the everyday social lives of internet users, but it has also ruined personal communication between drug dealers and drug buyers. Mr. Lube found out and former Mr. Lube employee/drug-twitter-seeker has been fired.
Legal Links: Legal, Sports and Weird News
Dez Bryant will be really mad if Manziel does not get suspended for signing autos (ESPN)
The 18 best worst bad guys in sports movies (Bleacher Report)
The worst of the worst lawyer commercials… Ever (Courts and Sports)
New courthouse dress code bans sleeveless shirts, halter tops (ABA)
Stare DE J.J. Watt wants to play offense, too (ESPN)
Boy and his friend kill great-grandmother with a hatchet, because they wanted pizza (ABA)
Big Brother: NJ city has watch towers, microphones and over 120 cameras installed on streets (My9NJ)
Citizens who do not speak english can still be jurors, New MExico Supreme Court says (ABA)
Ashton Kutcher Gives Great Acceptance Speech at Teen Choice Awards
I have never been a huge fan of Ashton Kutcher. However, the television and movie star delivered a fantastic message in his Teen Choice Award acceptance speech. Kutcher could have just accepted his award, said thank you, and sat down. But Kutcher used the platform to deliver a positive message to teens (and everyone else) across the country.
Throwback: The Scarlet Letter 2013 – What if you were falsely labeled a child predator
If you have been visiting our blog for a while, you might remember our past article “The Scarlett Letter 2013.” What if you were falsely labeled a sexual predator? What would you do? Well, these questions became all too real for a Florida man after his driver’s license falsely labeled him as a sexual predator.
Story by John M. Phillips
You move to Florida and get a new identification card. Simple enough? I did it in 2001. I received another one soon after when I decided to add a motorcycle endorsement on it. At the bottom of my license it says- “safe driver” and “motorcycle also.” It was spelled out, so I knew what it meant. What if it had been a citation to a Florida Statute- maybe 322.03, which says drivers must be licensed, or 324.031, proof of valid insurance? Would I even look? Would you?
On October 31, 2012, a man presented to the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles’ office in Jacksonville, Florida to gain a valid Florida identification card as he had recently moved here from out of state. As he is legally blind, but needed a valid ID to conduct the usual business we all do on a daily basis, he certainly didn’t notice the small numbers on the bottom right of his Florida issued identification card- 943.0435. Nobody said anything to him about it and months went by. Continue Reading….
Legal Links: Legal, Sports and Weird News
A high school football coach is attacked, bitten in the face by a former player…. Who he coached over 20 year ago (AP)
A federal judge has ruled that New York police violated the Constitution when they targeted “the right people” with stop-and-frisk tactics (ABA Journal)
Angel’s All-Star Mike Trout says all PED users should get a lifetime ban from the game (ESPN)
Big Brother Watch: Recycling bins in England are tracking smart phones (BBC)
60-foot sinkhole near Disney World sucks in building at nearby resort (CNN)
Parents name their baby “Messiah,” Judge orders them to change it to “Martin” (WBIR)
Man arrested for waving confederate flag, yelling racial slurs…. Again (My9NJ)
Man with Asperger’s Syndrome arrested for 29th time nabbing trains and busses (AP)
It is good to be King… Or at least play football at the King’s former high school
LeBron James hooked his former high school up with new Nike football jerseys. But ‘Bron didnt stopn there. He is providing his alma-mater, St. Vincent-St. Mary, with uniforms for every fall sports team. Running onto the field in custom nike jerseys designed and provided by the “Chosen One” will most certainly give the youngsters a mental edge on their opponents.
James posted pictures of the unis on his Instagram account:
LeBron hashtagged the post with “#BlackOut” and “IWannaPlayFridayNightLightsAgain.” What about #MondayNighLights? I would love nothing more than to see James pull a Bo Jackson-esque move and suit up with, say, the Cleveland Browns. The all black jerseys with the matte helmets and visor are pretty intimidating. But the leprechaun graphic could use work. However, I imagine it is difficult to make a leprechaun cool.
Legal Links: Sports, Legal and Weird News
Attorney who worked as call girl to fund law school, open practice, agrees to 3-year suspension for her prior conduct (ABA Journal)
After a man murders his wife, he posts pictures of the crime scene and a confession on facebook (WOKV)
Miami police officer punches mentally ill girl in the face (CBS Miami)
Lawyers claim mid-trial DUI arrest was a set up by the opposing counsel (ABA)
Poor job market for lawyers? Some say ‘Baby Boomers’ are to blame (ABA)
