Law Offices of Thomas Scully

I am convinced that the supposed humility of the late Justice Scalia's Constitutionalist or Textualist approach is a fraud to cover for his actually activist opinions that often wrested power away from elected lawmakers.

Whatever you may think of Statehood for the District of Columbia, it is obvious that Puerto Rico should be a State: https://washingtonmonthly.com//july-a/isle-of-opportunity/ Nowhere else are U.S. citizens of such a populous division denied basic protections of a democracy.

Call for a free consultation if you or a loved-one are arrested or charged in Los Angeles County. Everyone deserves a good defense. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vq3RXuW-cbQ

I don't blame the "cops" so much as the reality TV industry that exploits everyone to make crime more sensational. I worked briefly in "Reality TV" about a dozen years ago, and it is the lowest form of entertainment, in which the producers and writers (yes, there are "writers") manipulate participants and raw footage to deliver the most sensational message.

A panel of the 9th Circuit has ruled that the one-year old Migrant Protection Protocols put in place by the Trump administration were not in accordance with federal law including the international agreement of not returning refugees to countries where there is a likelihood of harm. Therefore refugees a the Southern border who are not otherwise excludable (i.e. for criminal conduct) must be admitted to U.S. soil in order to apply for asylum. https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov//opin/2020/02/28/19-15716.pdf

There are some resources to decide how to vote on superior court judges, who have a great deal of power over people who appear in front of them.

https://thomasscullylaw.blogspot.com/

While the main point needs to be that torture goes against our core values and is illegal, it always bears mentioning that it is also demonstrably ineffective.

It is interesting that one of the requirements of the "class" is to have retained a lawyer (in California presumably). How will that work?

Workers have gained some opportunities to get more leverage over big employers.

The implementation of this rule was already causing a lot of hardship and panic before it was enjoined.

Judges, even Immigration Judges, need to be independent, not part of the law enforcement agency which is only one party in the cases adjudicated. https://www.nytimes.com//justice-department-vdare-anti-sem The Department of Justice presumably made a mistake by linking to a White Supremacist article criticizing judges -- which would not be surprising with the incompetence rampant in the Executive Branch these days, or perhaps being anti-Semitic is a "freedom of speech" issue that our government endorses. Neither possibility is hopeful.

We were taught in law school to look at the client's whole situation, including psychological and emotional well-being, and whether costs were worth it in the long run. I doubt computer algorithms will ever be capable of practicing law with that level of ethical consideration.

https://www.courthousenews.com/feds-tell-9th-circuit-detai/

My prediction on lyft and uber, which just rolled out large but disappointing IPOs is that they will fail to be successful financially and fold similar to many of the first wave innovators in the internet bubble of the 1990s. They are increasingly facing strong headwinds with mis-classification of employees as independent contractors in California, and apparently some pushback from drivers who have never been able to realistically cover costs, since employment prospects have gradually improved since the 2008 recession, and poor folks are not as desperate (we hope). This article points out some other headwinds, that may bring cities and towns to put greater restrictions on their business. Fully autonomous vehicles, however, will some day be viable, just not in time to save these two pioneering companies.