Original story: law.com
A plaintiffs lawyer in Honolulu. A civil litigator in Dallas. An attorney defending med-mal cases in Buffalo.
They’re among the Barack Obama judicial nominees twisting in the wind as the Senate starts its summer recess and the months tick down to the November election. If history is a guide, the Senate won’t vote on most of the 49 federal district and appeals court nominees pending at the start of the summer recess on July 15. Even a Los Angeles personal injury lawyer would like to be considered for this honor.
The uncertainty can be especially difficult to navigate for nominees in private practice. Unlike government lawyers and state or federal magistrate judges, firm attorneys face demands to bring in business and revenue. Winding down work in anticipation of a judgeship can have long-lasting financial consequences if the nomination fails.
“It’s hard because your clients think you’re leaving, and your partners think you’re leaving, and everybody thinks you’re leaving, and you don’t know whether you’re leaving,” said Carolyn Short, a partner at Reed Smith in Philadelphia nominated twice by George W. Bush to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and returned without a vote in January 2009.
During Bush and Bill Clinton’s last full years in office, the majority of nominees pending by the summer recess never got a vote.
Although the situation isn’t completely hopeless—after the summer recesses in 2000 and 2008, the Senate did confirm a small number of judges—the odds of confirmation at this juncture are increasingly slim. As is true now, the Senate was controlled in those election years by a different party than the president.
A few unsuccessful nominees were renominated by another president. The chances of renomination are potentially higher for Obama nominees if Hillary Clinton takes the White House, but there’s no guarantee. (Of the 16 judicial nominees returned at the end of President Ronald Reagan’s last full year in office, seven were renominated by President George H.W. Bush.)
Republicans and Democrats accuse each other of unfairly playing politics with district and circuit court vacancies. Republicans point out that more Obama nominees have been confirmed to date than in the entirety of George W. Bush’s presidency. Democrats point out the higher number of judicial vacancies and the Senate’s slower pace on nominees during Obama’s final two years in office.
“It’s a shame that the federal judiciary has become a political football like it has,” said J. Richard Barry, managing partner of Barry, Thaggard, May and Bailey in Meridian, Mississippi, who was nominated to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi in July 2008 and returned without a vote in January 2009.
By the numbers
In 2000, there were 38 federal district and circuit court nominees pending at the start of the summer recess and 62 vacancies, according to federal judiciary records. At the same juncture in 2008, there were 37 nominees pending and 41 vacant judgeships.
As of July 15, there were 49 nominees for 80 vacancies. Twenty-six of those nominees have had a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, and 20 have been sent to the full Senate for a vote. Those numbers don’t cover the U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Court of International Trade and U.S. Court of Federal Claims—eight nominees are pending for nine vacancies on those courts.
There are 29 vacancies that the federal judiciary considers “judicial emergencies,” due to heavy caseloads in those districts. Nominees are pending for 19 of those seats.
The Senate historically has slowed action on judicial nominees leading up to a presidential election. Senators cite the “Thurmond Rule”—an unofficial policy attributed to the late South Carolina senator and former Judiciary Committee chairman Strom Thurmond—which dictates that the Senate shouldn’t act on judicial nominees in the run-up to a presidential election.
Russell Wheeler, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution who tracks nominations, said the “rule” recognizes that senators from the opposition party want to leave judgeships open for the next president, in the hopes that he or she is from their party.
There are also practical considerations, he said, since the Senate has a crush of business to handle at the end of a presidency and members are away from Washington more than usual leading up to November.
But the Thurmond Rule isn’t firmly applied, Wheeler said, noting that judges were confirmed after the summer recesses in 2000 and 2008, and not always in the order they were nominated.
“It’s not just a matter of getting in line, it’s some deals between senators and the White House,” Wheeler said. Given the bitter politics surrounding nominees this year, though, he said he expected that if there are any post-recess confirmations, the number will be “pretty paltry.”
‘Emotional roller coaster’
Former unsuccessful nominees said they did not envy the current crop.
“It’s an emotional roller coaster,” said Shalom Stone, a partner at Brown Moskowitz & Kallen in Summit, New Jersey, who was nominated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in July 2007 and returned without a vote in January 2009. “You’re constantly running through the range of emotions, where somebody says, ‘Oh, they’re going to have a hearing,’ ‘No, they’re not going to have a hearing.’ ”
The pending nominees include 34 prosecutors, state judges, federal magistrate judges or other government employees. Two are law professors. Thirteen are private-practice lawyers at law firms that include two of the largest firms in the nation—Hogan Lovells, in the Denver office, and Perkins Coie, in the Seattle office—as well as small and midsize firms from Los Angeles to Boston.
The private-practice nominees declined or did not respond to interview requests.
Former nominees said that by the time the Senate went into summer recess before the presidential election, they knew their chances of confirmation were low. But a vote was still possible before the end of the year, so they waited, sometimes with professional consequences.
Fredric Woocher, a partner at Strumwasser & Woocher in Los Angeles, was nominated in May 1999 to the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. He had a confirmation hearing in November 1999. Woocher, who has a background in election law, said he stayed away from politically sensitive cases that might create problems for him in the Republican-controlled Senate.
After the November presidential election in 2000, that caution meant he turned down an opportunity to work on Bush v. Gore. Officials at the White House and the Justice Department warned him that getting involved could jeopardize his nomination, he said.
“I was probably one of three or four people in the country who knew what a hanging chad was … and then the scenario and the case of a lifetime comes up,” Woocher said. “It was very frustrating, needless to say.”
Financial sacrifice
There can also be financial considerations, particularly for lawyers at small firms with fewer partners and resources.
Richard Honaker, who has a solo practice in Rock Springs, Wyoming, was nominated in March 2007 to the state’s federal district court. He had a hearing in February 2008. During the year and a half that his nomination was pending, he turned away new cases, didn’t renew advertising contracts and wound down his practice.
“In hindsight it seems it was not prudent to do that,” said Honaker, a personal injury lawyer. “It turned out to be a very major financial sacrifice to volunteer for public service.”
Honaker’s nomination was returned without a vote in January 2009. Lacking new cases in the pipeline, Honaker estimates that in 2009 and 2010, he earned about a quarter of the income he normally did. It took five years to fully rebuild his practice, he said.
Lawyers at firms large and small reported varying degrees of strain on their practice while their nominations were pending. Some saw little effect, but said the waiting and the work associated with being a nominee was still stressful.
U.S. District Judge John Tharp Jr. was a partner at Mayer Brown in Chicago when George W. Bush nominated him in July 2008 to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Given the timing, he said he wasn’t optimistic, so he didn’t make changes to his practice. His instincts were right—his nomination was sent back in January 2009.
In November 2011, Obama nominated him to the same court. This time his hopes were higher, absent the “baggage of time,” he said. He said his law firm was large enough that he didn’t have to worry about winding down business until late in the process. He was confirmed in May 2012.
“There were always going to be any number of partners who could step in and take my place,” Tharp said. “That was quite a luxury that people at small firms just don’t have.”
Some former nominees said they grappled with fears that the failure to get a vote would hurt their reputation among colleagues and potential clients.
“In the final analysis the nominee has to know that it’s a political process, it’s not a merit process,” Honaker said. “As along as you understand that, you can live with the result.”
Showing posts with label Los Angeles personal injury lawyer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Los Angeles personal injury lawyer. Show all posts
Monday, July 18, 2016
Tuesday, July 5, 2016
Illegal fireworks cause amputation of 9-year-old L.A. girl’s left hand; July 4 firecrackers cause injuries around America
Original Story: nydailynews.com
A 9-year-old Los Angeles girl lost her left hand in an illegal fireworks blast Saturday, police said, as Independence Day firecrackers injured people around the country. But does this mean that they will contact a Los Angeles personal injury lawyer about her loss?
The hospitalizations and serious injuries happened to police officers and civilians from coast to coast, with a firecracker ripping a 31-year-old Nebraska man’s hand off and hurling it 90 feet away.
Arson and explosives detectives are investigating the 12:30 p.m. firecrackers in Burrell-MacDonald Park in Compton, Calif., after doctors amputated the girl’s hand and multiple fingers from her right hand, according to the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department. She also received treatment for blast injuries to her face but was reported to be in stable condition.
Deputies had yet to arrest any suspects Sunday night as they examine who blew off the fireworks, KCAL-TV reported. Investigators said they were likely illegal firecrackers or explosives.
Woman injured in Fourth of July fireworks accident in Brooklyn
Investigators said in a statement that they "would like to remind the public that all fireworks are [a] hazard and can cause injury.” The detectives asked anyone with information to contact the department.
Three Chicago police officers went to the hospital after incidents related to fireworks over the holiday weekend.
Someone inside a moving red Toyota Camry tossed a “half stick of dynamite” out the window at a squad car two officers were using to patrol the South Shore neighborhood around 4:20 p.m. on Sunday, Chicago police department spokeswoman Officer Nicole Trainor told the Chicago Tribune. The officers had their windows rolled up, but the explosion disabled the car on S. Exchange Ave.
The officers went to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in good condition with non-life threatening injuries Trainor told the newspaper. Police had yet to make any arrests Sunday night.
A “small novelty firework” placed under a toilet at the department’s 17th District station as a possible prank went off when an officer went into the bathroom around 5:50 a.m. Monday morning, Trainor told the local newspaper. The officer went to a nearby hospital as a precaution.
Meanwhile, Justin Noah dialed 911 to report his hand had been blown off by a powerful firecracker Sunday night in Valley, Neb., outside Omaha, fire officials told KETV. An emergency crew recovered the hand 90 feet from where he said he had ignited the blast around 7 p.m. at a lakeside residential area.
The blast also injured Noah’s left eye, Valley Fire & Rescue Department Fire Chief Aaron Ueckert told the Omaha World-Herald.
“This was not a typical Fourth of July firework,” Ueckert said. Noah was awake and alert as a helicopter crew rushed him to Nebraska Medical Center.
Two more people lost appendages near a Washington state casino late Monday.
A man lost his hand while holding fireworks that then exploded at around 10:30 p.m. near the Muckleshoot Casino 20 miles south of Seattle in Auburn, according to KOMO-TV.
The second victim lost a hand during a second incident at around 11 p.m. — near the casino’s bingo hall.
In New York City, a 42-year-old woman lost as many as two fingers while playing with fireworks early Monday on Brooklyn Ave. in Brooklyn's East Flatbush neighborhood, police sources told the Daily News. The accident happened the day after what investigators described as a “homemade” explosive blew off the foot of an 18-year-old Virginia man in Central Park.
A 9-year-old Los Angeles girl lost her left hand in an illegal fireworks blast Saturday, police said, as Independence Day firecrackers injured people around the country. But does this mean that they will contact a Los Angeles personal injury lawyer about her loss?
The hospitalizations and serious injuries happened to police officers and civilians from coast to coast, with a firecracker ripping a 31-year-old Nebraska man’s hand off and hurling it 90 feet away.
Arson and explosives detectives are investigating the 12:30 p.m. firecrackers in Burrell-MacDonald Park in Compton, Calif., after doctors amputated the girl’s hand and multiple fingers from her right hand, according to the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department. She also received treatment for blast injuries to her face but was reported to be in stable condition.
Deputies had yet to arrest any suspects Sunday night as they examine who blew off the fireworks, KCAL-TV reported. Investigators said they were likely illegal firecrackers or explosives.
Woman injured in Fourth of July fireworks accident in Brooklyn
Investigators said in a statement that they "would like to remind the public that all fireworks are [a] hazard and can cause injury.” The detectives asked anyone with information to contact the department.
Three Chicago police officers went to the hospital after incidents related to fireworks over the holiday weekend.
Someone inside a moving red Toyota Camry tossed a “half stick of dynamite” out the window at a squad car two officers were using to patrol the South Shore neighborhood around 4:20 p.m. on Sunday, Chicago police department spokeswoman Officer Nicole Trainor told the Chicago Tribune. The officers had their windows rolled up, but the explosion disabled the car on S. Exchange Ave.
The officers went to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in good condition with non-life threatening injuries Trainor told the newspaper. Police had yet to make any arrests Sunday night.
A “small novelty firework” placed under a toilet at the department’s 17th District station as a possible prank went off when an officer went into the bathroom around 5:50 a.m. Monday morning, Trainor told the local newspaper. The officer went to a nearby hospital as a precaution.
Meanwhile, Justin Noah dialed 911 to report his hand had been blown off by a powerful firecracker Sunday night in Valley, Neb., outside Omaha, fire officials told KETV. An emergency crew recovered the hand 90 feet from where he said he had ignited the blast around 7 p.m. at a lakeside residential area.
The blast also injured Noah’s left eye, Valley Fire & Rescue Department Fire Chief Aaron Ueckert told the Omaha World-Herald.
“This was not a typical Fourth of July firework,” Ueckert said. Noah was awake and alert as a helicopter crew rushed him to Nebraska Medical Center.
Two more people lost appendages near a Washington state casino late Monday.
A man lost his hand while holding fireworks that then exploded at around 10:30 p.m. near the Muckleshoot Casino 20 miles south of Seattle in Auburn, according to KOMO-TV.
The second victim lost a hand during a second incident at around 11 p.m. — near the casino’s bingo hall.
In New York City, a 42-year-old woman lost as many as two fingers while playing with fireworks early Monday on Brooklyn Ave. in Brooklyn's East Flatbush neighborhood, police sources told the Daily News. The accident happened the day after what investigators described as a “homemade” explosive blew off the foot of an 18-year-old Virginia man in Central Park.
Friday, July 1, 2016
2 Injured in Accident on Downtown Los Angeles Film Set
Original Story: ktla.com
Two people at a downtown Los Angeles film set were injured Thursday when equipment fell on them, authorities said. This will be a case for a Los Angeles personal injury lawyer.
The incident occurred about 8:40 p.m. near 7th and Spring streets, according to Brian Humphrey of the Los Angeles Fire Department.
One person had head trauma and the other person suffered a leg injury, Humphrey said.
The equipment that fell onto the people may have been a ventilation fan, he added.
Thursday, June 30, 2016
2 BAY AREA MOTHERS, 4 KIDS KILLED IN FIERY LOS ANGELES CRASH
Original Story: abc7news.com
GORMAN, Calif. (KGO) -- Two Bay Area families suffered a devastating loss after two mothers and their four children were killed in a fiery minivan accident on Interstate 5 near the community of Gorman in Los Angeles Tuesday morning. This is a type of story has caught the interest of a Los Angeles truck accident lawyer.
Officials had to hold back two hysterical fathers from the flames as they tried to rescue their family.
ABC7 News learned the children were ages 2, 3, 4 and 5 years old.
The minivan was partially in the right-hand lane after a minor wreck on Interstate 5 near the community of Gorman, about 65 miles north of downtown Los Angeles. A semi-truck going about 55 mph slammed into the van from behind, sending it off the road and down an embankment, where it quickly caught fire, CHP Officer Frank Romero said.
The two fathers, who were in the driver's and passenger seats at the time of the crash, suffered burns trying to save their wives and four children, Romero said.
They were identified as 34-year-old Aaron Hon Wing Ng of San Francisco and 45-year-old Wei Xiong Li of Daly City. The names and ages of their wives and children weren't released.
"The van went up in flames very quickly," CHP Officer Dan Williams said.
Williams and his partner were the first authorities on the scene. It does not appear that anyone will need a Los Angeles Motorcycle accident lawyer for this situation.
The fire was burning far too fast and hot for fire extinguishers or life-saving efforts to work, Romero said.
The van burst into flames with the women and children inside. "Words can't describe it," Williams said. "It was very horrific seeing them try to get their families out, us trying to help get their families out."
He said the sliding door on the driver's side of the van was jammed, but Li and Ng were able to open the sliding door on the passenger side.
"By the time they were able to open that door the flames were already overtaking the vehicle," Romero said.
But the fire was too intense. Ultimately, the officers had to hold back the men, each a father of two. "They had burns on their arms and faces from trying to get their families out," Williams said. A Los Angeles personal injury lawyer was saddened by the intense situation.
His partner, Jeff Burdick, said it was hard to pull Li and Ng away from the fire.
"We just held them," Burdick said. "That's all we could do."
Li and Ng were flown to a hospital and were being treated for moderate injuries. The accident is under investigation.
GORMAN, Calif. (KGO) -- Two Bay Area families suffered a devastating loss after two mothers and their four children were killed in a fiery minivan accident on Interstate 5 near the community of Gorman in Los Angeles Tuesday morning. This is a type of story has caught the interest of a Los Angeles truck accident lawyer.
Officials had to hold back two hysterical fathers from the flames as they tried to rescue their family.
ABC7 News learned the children were ages 2, 3, 4 and 5 years old.
The minivan was partially in the right-hand lane after a minor wreck on Interstate 5 near the community of Gorman, about 65 miles north of downtown Los Angeles. A semi-truck going about 55 mph slammed into the van from behind, sending it off the road and down an embankment, where it quickly caught fire, CHP Officer Frank Romero said.
The two fathers, who were in the driver's and passenger seats at the time of the crash, suffered burns trying to save their wives and four children, Romero said.
They were identified as 34-year-old Aaron Hon Wing Ng of San Francisco and 45-year-old Wei Xiong Li of Daly City. The names and ages of their wives and children weren't released.
"The van went up in flames very quickly," CHP Officer Dan Williams said.
Williams and his partner were the first authorities on the scene. It does not appear that anyone will need a Los Angeles Motorcycle accident lawyer for this situation.
The fire was burning far too fast and hot for fire extinguishers or life-saving efforts to work, Romero said.
The van burst into flames with the women and children inside. "Words can't describe it," Williams said. "It was very horrific seeing them try to get their families out, us trying to help get their families out."
He said the sliding door on the driver's side of the van was jammed, but Li and Ng were able to open the sliding door on the passenger side.
"By the time they were able to open that door the flames were already overtaking the vehicle," Romero said.
But the fire was too intense. Ultimately, the officers had to hold back the men, each a father of two. "They had burns on their arms and faces from trying to get their families out," Williams said. A Los Angeles personal injury lawyer was saddened by the intense situation.
His partner, Jeff Burdick, said it was hard to pull Li and Ng away from the fire.
"We just held them," Burdick said. "That's all we could do."
Li and Ng were flown to a hospital and were being treated for moderate injuries. The accident is under investigation.
Monday, June 6, 2016
Calvin Harris reveals badly bruised and misshapen ear... days after narrowly escaping serious injury in horrific car crash
Original Story: dailymail.co.uk
He narrowly escaped serious injury in a horrific car crash last week. He will more than likely be considering a Los Angeles Car Accident Lawyer.
And Calvin Harris revealed a badly bruised ear as he jetted home to Los Angeles on Tuesday.
The Scottish DJ had a noticeably misshapen and swollen right ear, which could be seen as he walked through LAX after returning from a brief trip to London.
There were no other obvious injuries on his face, although he should still consider contacting a Los Angeles Personal Injury Lawyer.
Last week Calvin admitted he was feeling 'lucky and very grateful' to have escaped serious injury in the collision in Los Angeles.
The star - real name Adam Wiles - was hospitalised and pulled out of a string of gigs in Las Vegas.
He was treated in hospital, but discharged himself, with a rep later saying he only had a 'scratch' on his nose.
Taking to Twitter on Thursday night, Calvin wrote: 'Thank you so much for your messages and sorry to any disappointment I caused with the show cancellations...
'I'm feeling lucky and very grateful rn (right now).'
The accident took place in LA's Coldwater Canyon on 21 May after a Volkswagen Beetle smashed into a black Cadillac SUV in which Calvin was a passenger.
Calvins girlfriend Taylor Swift, 26, skipped the high profile Billboard Music Awards to be at her boyfriend's side after he was injured.
The couple have been dating since March 2015 and were ranked last year as the music industry's highest-paid celebrity couple by Forbes, with combined earnings of more than $146 million.
He narrowly escaped serious injury in a horrific car crash last week. He will more than likely be considering a Los Angeles Car Accident Lawyer.
And Calvin Harris revealed a badly bruised ear as he jetted home to Los Angeles on Tuesday.
The Scottish DJ had a noticeably misshapen and swollen right ear, which could be seen as he walked through LAX after returning from a brief trip to London.
There were no other obvious injuries on his face, although he should still consider contacting a Los Angeles Personal Injury Lawyer.
Last week Calvin admitted he was feeling 'lucky and very grateful' to have escaped serious injury in the collision in Los Angeles.
The star - real name Adam Wiles - was hospitalised and pulled out of a string of gigs in Las Vegas.
He was treated in hospital, but discharged himself, with a rep later saying he only had a 'scratch' on his nose.
Taking to Twitter on Thursday night, Calvin wrote: 'Thank you so much for your messages and sorry to any disappointment I caused with the show cancellations...
'I'm feeling lucky and very grateful rn (right now).'
The accident took place in LA's Coldwater Canyon on 21 May after a Volkswagen Beetle smashed into a black Cadillac SUV in which Calvin was a passenger.
Calvins girlfriend Taylor Swift, 26, skipped the high profile Billboard Music Awards to be at her boyfriend's side after he was injured.
The couple have been dating since March 2015 and were ranked last year as the music industry's highest-paid celebrity couple by Forbes, with combined earnings of more than $146 million.
Yunel Escobar leaves Angels' game with injury after fielding grounder
Original Story: ESPN.com
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Third baseman Yunel Escobar has left the Los Angeles Angels' game against the Houston Astros in the third inning after bruising his left wrist while fielding a grounder Sunday.
Escobar was hurt when Marwin Gonzalez's fast-moving hit deflected off of him. He stayed on the ground for several moments before leaving the field. A Los Angeles Personal Injury Lawyer is watching the story closely.
The Angels didn't describe the severity of Escobar's injury, only saying the veteran is day-to-day.
Escobar is batting .307 with three homers and 13 RBIs mostly as the leadoff hitter in his debut season with the Angels, who acquired him last winter from the Washington Nationals.
The Angels have been beset by injuries this season. They lost shortstop Andrelton Simmons for several weeks when he tore a ligament in his left thumb while fielding earlier this month. Contact a Los Angeles Injury Lawyer if you are looking for help with case.
Kaleb Cowart moved from first base to third when Escobar left, and C.J. Cron replaced Cowart at first.
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Third baseman Yunel Escobar has left the Los Angeles Angels' game against the Houston Astros in the third inning after bruising his left wrist while fielding a grounder Sunday.
Escobar was hurt when Marwin Gonzalez's fast-moving hit deflected off of him. He stayed on the ground for several moments before leaving the field. A Los Angeles Personal Injury Lawyer is watching the story closely.
The Angels didn't describe the severity of Escobar's injury, only saying the veteran is day-to-day.
Escobar is batting .307 with three homers and 13 RBIs mostly as the leadoff hitter in his debut season with the Angels, who acquired him last winter from the Washington Nationals.
The Angels have been beset by injuries this season. They lost shortstop Andrelton Simmons for several weeks when he tore a ligament in his left thumb while fielding earlier this month. Contact a Los Angeles Injury Lawyer if you are looking for help with case.
Kaleb Cowart moved from first base to third when Escobar left, and C.J. Cron replaced Cowart at first.
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