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Recent Articles from Ken Bresler
The legal term of the year is …
The most notable legal term of the year is “Calvinball.” As in past years, the most notable legal terms of the year weren’t coined in that year. If they had […]
And the most notable legal terms of 2023 are …
The most notable legal phrases of 2023 weren’t coined in the past year. If they had been, it probably would be too soon to have noticed them and too soon to gauge their impact, longevity and usefulness. The criteria for 2023’s most notable legal terms, as in past years, are that the terms are fairly new, made news, and are not in Black’s Law Dictionary.
End-of-term Supreme Court cases include new legal term, car metaphors, pictures
The Commerce Clause is right there in the U.S. Constitution, authorizing Congress “to regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes.” The dormant Commerce Clause does not appear in the Constitution but is implied. And now Justice Neil M. Gorsuch has devised the phrase “the (wakeful) Commerce Clause,” by which he means — the Commerce Clau[...]
Notable legal terms of 2022: Goodbye ‘vax mandate,’ hello ‘trigger law’
What a difference a year makes. Last year was a big one for new legal terms and for COVID-19. I named “mask mandate,” “vaccine passport” and “vaccine mandate” as the […]
Noteworthy and quoteworthy: two new books of quotes
If you’re relying on the internet for quotations, stop right now. Stop for two reasons. One, the internet is unreliable. It misattributes too many quotations to Abraham Lincoln, Oscar Wilde […]
Sharp words, unclear terms from Supreme Court
Just in time for the U.S. Supreme Court to launch its new term, here are my observations about the court’s legal writing in its flurry of end-of-term cases about abortion, […]
Tidy up your writing with some late spring cleaning
Declutter your writing. Make every word count. Deleting an unnecessary preposition here and there won’t be a huge way to help you meet word limits in your writing, but it […]
Verdicts & Settlements
- Motor Vehicle Negligence- Motorcyclist hit by car suffers two broken wrists
- Medical Malpractice – Young patient commits suicide while on psychoactive drugs
- Motor Vehicle Negligence- Art teacher’s hand injured in collision
- Premises Liability- Gas grill explosion left mom with severe burn injuries
- Motor Vehicle Negligence – Crash video showed force of Tesla rear-end collision
- Motor Vehicle Negligence – 74-year-old injured in two-vehicle crash
- Employment- Arbitrator finds unfair labor practices by school
- Medical Malpractice- Gallbladder removal surgery results in reparative procedure
- Motor Vehicle Negligence – Car with mother, two children broadsided, rolled several times
- Motor Vehicle Negligence – Driver, passenger suffer injuries after truck crosses into lane
- Fraud – Jury sides with couple in home construction case
Opinion Digests
- Criminal – Man convicted for role in robbery that ends in murder
- Search & Seizure – Search of defendant’s backpack was not unlawful
- Criminal – Man convicted of strangling, assaulting and abducting his romantic partner
- Criminal – Woman ordered to pay victim $4,359.28 for vehicle damage
- Evidence – Court didn’t err in admitting unavailable witness’s testimony
- Criminal – Sexually violent predator recommitted to Commonwealth’s custody
- Criminal – Felon is convicted for unlawful possession of firearm
- Criminal – Evidence shows police would have inevitably found firearm
- Criminal – Evidence supports fentanyl possession/distribution conviction
- Search & Seizure – Defendant wasn’t entitled to copy of search warrant
- Search & Seizure – Officer didn’t improperly extend traffic stop
- Negligence- Court won’t limit expert testimony at alleged malpractice trial
