Be not deceived

Have you ever wondered how some people come up with their career of choice?  Fireman?  Policeman? Nuclear physicist?  Scam artist?  OK, scam artist might not have been a first choice but I gotta wonder if it's not up there in priority.  I mean, for years, I've witnessed a parade of people posing as wolves in sheep's clothing who claim to be working in people's best interests.  These people work hard at what they do.  They are flim flam men (and women) who infest the halls of justice and are the smoothest, silver-est tongued slime balls you'll ever meet who would as soon prey on their own mother than get a 9-5 job.

Slick as they may be, in some cases, they're not all that bright.  Take, for instance, Amanda Zieminski and Clyde Forteau, both of New York City.  Seems these two scammed millions from elderly persons.  To celebrate, they used the money stolen from their victims to pay for courtside seats at a 2012 NBA Finals game, a vacation to the Dominican Republic, and a vacation to Disney World, where they got engaged in front of Cinderella's castle and then posted their pictures to their Facebook account. Yeah, you go and steal millions and then brag about it on Facebook - not too bright.

Or how about the people who get sucked in by those Nigerian scams or false offers of employment?  Yeah, turns out a guy gets a random call saying they got his name/number from someone.  A few questions later, he gets a call on his cell saying they're interested in hiring him. The end result was to get his SS# and other sensitive information over the phone.

What's a real pisser is that many of these scams can be avoided simply by staying informed about what is going on.  For instance, did you know you could read up on scams and flim flam artists at your local county law library?  Sure you can.  Might I suggest you take a look at Antidotes for estate planning scams, botched trusts, and other disasters (CEB), No more sham Chanel, rip-off Rolex, phony Ferragamo or copied Cartier? : anti-counterfeiting in the twenty-first century (Brinks), or Work@home scams, they just don't pay: a high noon bullet (USPS).

Yep, there are a whole lot of people (other than the IRS) trying to separate you from your hard earned cash.  One way to prevent (or at least minimize) this is to get educated about scams, scamming, and the scammers who are trying to scam you by you reading the resources about all things scams at your local county law library.

Let's hear it for the little guy

Rarely is the case when Big Brother gets stomped by the little guy.  Today, however, is the day.  Seems little guy, Jeffrey Meier, had filed for social security disability benefits and was denied.  He appealed the decision and the decision was reversed (meaning, he got the benefits he wanted).

Fast forward a few months and Mr. Meier goes back demands his attorney fees and costs (to the tune of about $15,000) from the first case. 

I'd like to point out that the defendant in this case was essentially the United States of America (aka Big Brother - you know, the one with the NSA scandal a few months back?). 

Again the lower court denied him (Meier v. Astrue, 404 F. App'x 150).  Again Mr. Meier appealed and won (Meier v. Colvin, 2013 DJDAR 9525).  TWICE he kicked Big Brother's backside!  From a legal standpoint, this case is significant because the Court of Appeals told the lower court it had to expilcitly state why/how it arrived at its decision (which, in this case, it had to detail the concept of "Substantial Justice").  

Regardless, this guy is my hero!  Goes up against the mountain and kicks its behind.  What a guy.  Heck, what a guy's guy.  Mr. Meier is the guy that all guys should aspire.  A little man's hero and is our person of the week.

Common denominators

If you haven't figured it out by now, I'm a guy and I dig on guy stuff.  Take, for instance, the videos at SSI Shredding.  These guys take stuff and shred it down to nothing.  Bowling balls?  Baseball Bats?  A Hippie VW Superbeetle?  Abandoned boats (that's right, boats)?  Not a problem.  SSI shredders takes all kinds of stuff and breaks it down into manageable recyclable bits of useful material.

Legal research is like that too.  As a Law Librarian, I take matter unorganized, jump down into the legal trenches, and produce something people can take away with them to do whatever it is they are going to do with it.

For example, the other day a mother came into our library.  Seems her son had been incarcerated for a crime he hadn't committed (sadly, they all say that) and she was working on writing a writ of habeas corpus to gain a rehearing (and his freedom).  Mother shows me a list of stuff son wants her to send to him among which is a request for some really old code.  We're talking 1800's stuff.  Turns out, our law library has stuff from back when California was granted statehood and in mere minutes (and going through through old copies of the California Statutes and Amendments to the Code) I had a copies of what mother needed and off she went singing praises to law Librarianship.

Maybe you need some help finding something.  Maybe you're in need of expert legal research assistance?  Maybe you just want to see how a Law Librarian gets their groove on.  Whatever the case, know that your local Law Librarian knows the game and can help you get in yours, too.

Death squads are next, I just know it!

So, yesterday I was reading the Los Angeles Daily Journal about a case (Mendoza v. Health Net of California Inc., BC491954, Los Angeles Superior Court, filed Sept. 12, 2012) which was just handed down.  Apparently, a guy had an "aggressive" form of cancer and he went to his doctor to find out what he could do.  Doc said, robotic assisted surgery.  Guy says, I want another opinion...so long story short, he gets another opinion, he's happy with it, insurance company steps in and says they won't pay for it and the guy pays for the procedure (few tens of thousands of dollars). Later, Guy sues the insurance company for interfereing with what the doctor suggested.  The court ruled that insurance companies can override a doctor's recommendation - which, incidentally, is in DIRECT contradiction to what Obama said would happen (when they enacted Obamacare).  I guess the key word here is CONTRADICTION.

The problem, here, is that at some point hospitals are going to be facing increasingly serious liability issues when insurance companies start playing doctor.  Might I suggest they (or you) take a look at Hospital Liability: law and practice (PLI) or Medical Liability in a Nutshell (West) or even Liability and Quality Issues in Health Care (West).

Yep, the world is sure going to pot - really quick.  Might want to bone up on the law before it all goes south.

Word of the Month for July 2013: Quota

You ever get that feeling that someone's got your number?  That you're about to be tagged for something?  You don't know what or where but you know it's coming.  Just know it!  I've been working as a Law Librarian for the last decade (that's right, ten (10) years).  I've been legally parking in the same spot for 10 years (that's right, the same freaking spot).  Imagine my chagrin, then, when I get a ticket for illegally parking in the space that I've been legally parking in for the last 10 years!!

Fueled with not a little righteous indignation, I flew over to the parking facility office and I regaled them with my story that I've parking in the same #$@!#% spot for 10 years and...and...and...and the stone-faced lady behind the desk had me fill out a form and told me to wait two weeks for a response.  Two weeks later, the ticket was waived and I was off the hook.

This all brings me to the word of the month:  QUTOA.  According to Black's Law Dictionary, a QUOTA is defined as a proportional share assigned to a person or group; an allotment.  As it turns out, the ticket guy told me his boss told him that his boss told him that his boss told him that the ticket guy was not giving out enough parking tickets and that he had to give out more.  How many more?  Lots more.  Under that kind of pressure, is it any wonder the ticket guy was handing out tickets like candy?!

The thing is, in California anyway, handing out tickets on a Quota based system is illegal.  In fact, in a rare act of intelligence, the California legislature actually did something useful when it amended California Vehicle Code Section 41600 to stop parking attendants from establishing a ticket quota system.  Yep, our legislators did something to help we the people - who knew?!

So, next time you get that funky feeling someone really is out to get you, take heart and know what your local county law Librarian has most everything you'll need to help assuage your inner fears.  Even if we don't have what you need, you can, at least, hide in the library until closing time.