Ipso Facto
The Cautionary Instruction: Pursuing the monster — Fury or bluster
Friday, 17 May 2013 06:00 AM Written by Matt Mangino
This week, Philadelphia abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell was convicted of first-degree murder in the deaths of three babies authorities said were born alive before having their spinal cord snipped with scissors.
Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams called the case "arguably the most gruesome" he's seen. "I will not mince words, Kermit Gosnell is a monster.”
Last week, three young women were rescued from a Cleveland home after being held captive for nearly ten years by Ariel Castro. The women were allegedly sexually assaulted, physically abused, tortured and at least one woman was beaten and starved in order to terminate multiple pregnancies.
"The first thing I said was, 'I knew it, I knew it,' " Fernando Colon, Castro’s neighbor, told the Los Angeles Times, "He's a monster. He's the opposite of what people thought he was."
These guys aren’t just criminals, they’re monsters -- no punishment is adequate -- extermination is the only recourse…right?
Duquesne University students present arguments before Third Circuit
Thursday, 16 May 2013 09:59 PM Written by Ipso Facto
Two Duquesne law students appeared and argued Verde-Rodriguez v. Faber, an immigration case, before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, on Tuesday of this week. In addition, another Duquesne law student argued Washington v. Secretary, PA Department of Corrections, a criminal case, before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit on Wednesday.
Second-year day student Jesse Drumm and third-year day Stephanie Noel argued before the court Tuesday, and third-year evening student Charles P. Sapienza, III, argued before the court Wednesday.
In announcing their appearances, the university noted it is a rare opportunity for law students to argue before the appeals court.
Drumm , Noel and Sapienza are part of Duquesne’s Federal Practice Clinic, in which students, under the supervision of licensed attorneys, provide legal representation in civil rights matters for inmates and other indigents with appeals that the federal courts deem potentially meritorious. The clinic is part of the School of Law’s Clinical Legal Education program aimed at providing the students with court room experience before they even leave law school.
(Image: (L-R) Charles P. Sapienza, III; Duquesne Law School Dean Ken Gormley; Stephanie Noel; Jesse Drumm; Adjunct Law Professor Adrian N. Roe and Law Professor Laurie Serafino, director of clinical legal education. Duquesne University photo)
Monday essentials: Digital legacies - a vacancy on state's highest court - a contest at City Hall
Monday, 13 May 2013 04:00 PM Written by Ipso Facto
The Post-Gazette Business/law package starts the work week with a report by the PG's Tim Grant about a new, emerging category of personal property known to estate planners as "digital assets."
The Legal Intelligencer's Amaris Elliott-Engel and Zack Needles look in on the prospects for action by Gov. Tom Corbett on the vacancy on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in the wake of former Justice Joan Orie Melvin's conviction and sentencing on political corruption charges.
And from the weekend, the Panic Street Lawyer's Jay Hornack offers his views on the Pittsburgh mayoral contest.
Who were the four members named to partner level at the Pittsburgh office of Eckert Seamans Cherin and Mellott? Who was the associate at Pollock Begg Komar Glasser & Vertz elected to a three-year term on the Board of Governors for the Duquesne Law Alumni Association?
Discover the details and more in our notes on career moves and news in Western Pennsylvania's legal community in this week's On the Docket.
And here's how to share career news from your practice:
Brian O’Neill, a full-time columnist for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, wrote last Sunday that the three main actors in the drama of this year’s City of Pittsburgh race for mayor had similarities to characters in “The Godfather” trilogy of movies. Panic Street Lawyer, who has a second job at night writing on the newspaper’s website, believes that certain aspects of this race -- which, for all intents and purposes, ends with the May 21 Democratic Party primary -- has more in common with a different film: “The Hunger.”
This “fantasy/horror/romance” cult classic had a famous director (the late Tony Scott, in his very first film) and an amazing cast. Although the leads in this 1983 film were played by Catherine Deneuve, David Bowie, and Susan Sarandon, there was also a role labeled “disco group” that was played by a band that broke up, in real life, in 1983.