I’m walking through Central Park and all I can think about is that if one of those branches falls and hurts someone that person will have one year and 90 days to sue the city, according to the statute of limitations.
Category: Law
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About those media rights…
In New York, a lawyer cannot enter into, or even negotiate, any arrangement or understanding with a client or prospective client by which the lawyer acquires any interest in literary or media rights with respect to the subject matter of the representation or proposed representation, or transfers or assigns any such interest, according to the state’s rules for attorneys.
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New York bar exam hopefuls…
Students head to a simulated exam, at the Javits Center, July 7, 2014.
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From my notebook…
Questions/notes jotted during a morning walk through Central Park’s North Meadow, July 5, 2014:
1. Will a good-faith, unilateral mistake undo a contract?
2. Does a non-breaching buyer have a duty to cover under Article 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code?
3. Review elements of strict liability for defective products…
4. Review contributory negligence…
5. Review intent requirement for trespass to land…
6. Review vicarious liability for automobile owner/driver…
7. Must a merchant’s firm offer be in writing?
8. What does a disclaimer look like when one disclaims the warranty of title?
Answers: 1) generally no; 2) no, though the buyer may cover; 7) yes; 8) e.g., a sheriff’s sale
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Happy Birthday America!
It’s about 9:00 p.m. on July 4. New York City’s annual fireworks display is slated to start in about 30 minutes. Here in Harlem, the sounds of bottle rockets began about 30 minutes ago.
I’m at my desk, trying to memorize the Rule in Shelley’s Case, which, funny enough, is a doctrine that we Americans inherited, like much of our law, from England. The rule, which has been abolished in most states, prevents a landowner from creating a so-called remainder in his heirs. (One who is alive, by definition, has no heirs.)
The rule seems to have originated as an estate-planning tool. It allowed landowners to convey land to their children through property law instead of by inheritance, thereby circumventing taxes owed to the British monarchy.
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If you will it…
The test for a duly executed will in New York:
1. The testator (a person who dies with a will) must be at least 18 years old.
2. The testator must sign the will either herself or by a proxy who signs in her presence.
3. The signature must be at the end of the will.
4. The testator must sign (or acknowledge her earlier signature) in the presence of two witnesses.
5. The testator must publish the will. That means the testator must communicate to the witnesses that they are witnessing a will and not some other legal document.
6. The attesting witnesses must sign.
7. The execution ceremony must be completed in 30 days from the date the first witness signs.
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Trusts for pets
In New York, you can set up a trust to provide for the care of your pet that will be valid for the animal’s lifetime. The trust will terminate on the death of the animal or at the end of 21 years, whichever occurs earlier.
The law allows a human being to be appointed to oversee the assets.
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Confidential sources
The Justice Department reportedly is considering whether to compel the testimony of a New York Times reporter about the source for a book he published in 2006 that details a failed CIA operation in Iran.
In June the Supreme Court declined to review a challenge by the reporter, James Risen, who is seeking to protect the identity of his source. The Obama administration, which has prosecuted leaks aggressively, now has to decide whether to subpoena Risen’s testimony and risk ordering Risen to jail if he, as expected, refuses to comply.
The Justice Department generally tries to protect the news media by seeking to obtain information from sources other than journalists. Federal law does not protect reporters from having to divulge confidential sources.
About 36 states have enacted shield laws, according to the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. About half the states that have enacted such laws provide absolute protection. Others shield journalists subject to varied exceptions.
For example, New York protects professional journalists from having to identify their sources for information that is obtained in confidence and later published or broadcast. The privilege also applies to editors, employers and others who supervise the reporter’s work.
Powers granted to Congress by the Constitution, courtesy of Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas:
TCCNCCPCC PAWN MOMMA RUN
Taxes, credit, commerce, naturalization, coinage, counterfeiting, post office, copyright, courts, piracy, Army, war, Navy, militia, money for militia, Washington, D.C., rules, and necessary and proper
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Countdown: 30 days until the bar exam
The bar exam, which is administered twice a year during the last weeks of July and February, falls this summer on July 29. Here in New York about 9,800 candidates are expected to sit for the two-day test.
Between now and then I will attempt to post one item daily that chronicles my countdown. The posts may be brief, excuse the pun. I need to memorize a world of black-letter law.
To start the counting on a hopeful note, BuzzFeed recently published a list of 14 famous people who failed the bar but turned out fine. They include Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Benjamin Cardozo, who developed the concept of forseeability in tort law and served on the U.S. Supreme Court.
This candidate takes heart.