On the Record

The latest developments stemming from the Court of Appeals’ counsel-at-bail ruling were both among the most-read legal stories of the week. Days after a House Judiciary Committee appeared poised to undo the Court of Appeals’ decision, the top court said it would delay putting it into effect for another two weeks. The Top 5 also includes a judge’s pending retirement and a state-approved settlement of an Eastern Shore sex-abuse lawsuit.

1. Judge Eyler to step down a little early — by Steve Lash

Court of Special Appeals Judge James R. Eyler will step down May 1, about 2½ months before the Maryland Constitution would compel his retirement at age 70.

“My intention has been to go into private mediation,” Eyler said last week in explaining his decision to retire early from the bench. “The sooner that occurs, the better. That is why I’m not waiting until July 13.”

Eyler, who has served on the intermediate appellate court since Jan. 9, 1996, said he would remain available after May 1 to hear cases by special assignment.

2. Mom with latex allergy wins in Court of Appeals — by Steve Lash

A private nursery school violated a Howard County statute by refusing to accommodate a mother’s request to stop using latex gloves when changing diapers, Maryland’s highest court has held.

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The University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law needs attorney judges as it will once again host the Eastern Regional Mock Trial tournament.

Next weekend’s tournament is for undergraduate trial teams (meaning witnesses can score points) and has two rounds of competition each day. Judges’ meetings will begin at 9 a.m. for morning rounds and 1:30 p.m. for the afternoon rounds, with the trials beginning a half-hour after the meeting and lasting up to two-and-a-half hours.

“Judging undergraduate mock trial is a blast,” said Mark A. Graber, an associate dean and director of the mock trial in a statement. “You will see several of the top teams in the nation – including Johns Hopkins, American, Howard, Georgetown, and George Washington. You get to be the judge. And you really help our students.”

Judging is on a pro bono basis, but food and coffee is provided.

Interested lawyers can email Graber for more information.

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Welcome, again, to Monday and the law blog roundup. Here are a few lawyerly news items to get your week started.

– New York lawyer keeps low profile in high-profile cases.

– If this Texan wins, can federal tort-reform legislation be far behind?

– Los Angeles criminal defense attorney takes her own life.

– Kansas City, Kan.,  lawyer might show college basketball administrators a different kind of court.

– Generation J.D. blogger John Cord discusses an officer who flipped out over a Burger King order gone awry.

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A battle over homeowner’s insurance and funding for the public defender’s office top the list of most-read legal affairs stories of the week. Also on the list are two more Court of Appeals decisions and news of a so-called “patent troll” coming to federal court in Baltimore. The Top 5 stories are:

1. AG loses fight against Allstate — by Steve Lash

Maryland’s top court Wednesday upheld Allstate Insurance Co.’s decision to stop offering new homeowners’ policies in Southern Maryland, the Lower Eastern Shore and parts of Anne Arundel County due to the company’s potential for catastrophic financial losses if a hurricane hits that region.

In its 6-1 decision, the Court of Appeals said Allstate reasonably decided in 2006 not to issue new policies after concluding that a Category 4 hurricane — involving winds over 130 mph — would cause more than $237 million in property damage were it to make landfall in Worcester County.

2. Budget boost won’t cover lawyers at bail — by Steve Lash

Gov. Martin O’Malley’s proposed $1.1 million boost to the public defender’s budget next fiscal year is welcome, but falls short of the money the agency will need to comply with the decision that it must represent indigent defendants at initial bail hearings, said Maryland Public Defender Paul B. DeWolfe.

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Add the Maryland State Bar Association’s Board of Governors to the list of organizations supporting same-sex marriage in Maryland.

The Board on Tuesday “voted by an overwhelming majority” to support S.B. 241, which will be taken up by the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee on Jan. 31. It was recommended by the MSBA’s Standing Committee on Laws and also has the backing of the Young Lawyers, Family and Juvenile Law, Elder Law, Estates and Trusts, Immigration and Delivery Services sections.

“I could not be prouder of our endorsement, which while protective of religious sensibilities and prerogatives, clearly and emphatically extends those civil rights embodied in our fundamental belief that ‘all men are created equal’ — and not simply ‘all heterosexual persons are created equal’ — to our entire citizenry,” said MSBA President Henry E. Dugan Jr. in a statement.

Maryland would become the seventh jurisdiction allowing same-sex marriage and lawmakers in several other states are also debating the issue. The Washington state Legislature is poised to pass its version of the bill.

Maryland has a “history of non-religious civil marriages that is and has been distinct and entirely separate from religious marriages, and this bill pertains exclusively to these civil marriages and the extensive civil rights that arise from those civil marriages,” Dugan said. “It is fair and just to all while injuring none.”

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The Daily Record’s “Photo of the Day” is a chance for our photographers to capture slices of life in their travels across Maryland. But we know there is much more going on in the state than what their lenses find.

That’s where you come in.

The Daily Record wants your photographs of what’s happening in Maryland for a new feature, “Maryland Moment.” The photo could be related to the news of the day or it could be a shot right outside your window (or of your window, right). It can be an action shot or just something very adorable.

You can send us your photos by using the form here. We ask that the photos be of something from the last week or so; we don’t want photos of Fourth of July fireworks in February.

If we like your Maryland Moment, we’ll post it online where our Photo of the Day normally resides and might publish it in the print edition as well.

So happy picture-taking. We can’t wait to see what develops.

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We might not have gotten the Super Bowl matchup we wanted, but it is what it is.

On a perhaps less serious note, here are some news items to help fill your Monday.

– The lead detective in last century’s “trial of the century” has died.

– Massachusetts lawyers seek $5 million boost in legal aid for indigent litigants.

– Trial begins over police tactic familiar to rodeo fans.

– The Mets need pitching — and lawyers.

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The overturning of a lead-paint verdict that stated the process of seizing a city agency’s vehicles tops the list of most-read legal affairs stories of the week. The list also includes a lawsuit filed by security guards who allege they were fired because of their accents, a look at what role Maryland’s highest court will most likely play in determining the state’s legislative map and a beef between two hamburger joints.

The Top 5 stories are:

1. Lead-paint verdict against HABC overturned on appeal — by Melody Simmons

The $2.5 million lead-paint verdict that spurred a move to seize and auction vehicles owned by the Housing Authority of Baltimore City was reversed on appeal Thursday afternoon.

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After telling us what was hot at last week’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and giving us a peek at the future of smart TVs, Frank Gorman and Julie Harada of Gorman & Williams now present their Top 10 gadgets from the expo. Our thanks to Gorman, Harada and Mike Yang for providing us with these dispatches.

The Consumer Electronics Show 2012 launched 20,000 new products.  Selecting the top 10 gadgets out of so many products, even discounting the hype, is a very subjective process.  Our 2012 list contains a wide variety of products, although we gave an edge to several that might have a law practice application.

Lytro Light Field Camera This is a simple, auto-mode camera that captures the light field. It allows you to take a picture and focus after the fact using its touch screen. Pictures can also be viewed in 3D. Winner of the Last Gadget Standing competition at CES.

AirStash Wireless Flash Drive and Media Streamer by Maxell This USB drive has wireless capability that allows storing and transfer of documents and photos and streaming of video to an iPhone, iPad or Kindle Fire. A Wi-Fi environment is not needed, and emails are not necessary for file transfers. It also has a built-in rechargeable battery and still plugs into a USB port on a computer.

IdeaPad YOGA by Lenovo A multi-mode, 13.3-inch notebook with a 360-degree flip-and-fold design that allows four separate usage positions — notebook, tablet, stand and tent. It combines the tablet’s ease of use with the functionality of an ultrabook, the latest generation of the laptop. The cool dual-hinge design is patented.

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For those of you who — like myself — learn a lot of what you know from reading articles on Wikipedia, you’re going to have to Google a little bit harder for 24 hours on Wednesday.

The nonprofit “Free Encyclopedia” (which hosts 20 million articles in 283 languages, according to the “Wikipedia” Wikipedia article) announced Monday that it would stage a blackout of its English articles in protest of the proposed the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House of Representatives and PROTECTIP (PIPA) in the U.S. Senate.

The Washington Post defined the bills back in October better than I could (even after trying to summarize the actual bill text):

It would allow the FBI to seek injunctions against foreign Web sites that steal music, films, software and other intellectual property created by U.S. firms. The bill also includes provision that could hold third parties — payment-processing and other partners — responsible for piracy and counterfeiting on other sites, some critics say.

Since Wikipedia articles can be written and edited by anyone worldwide, its founders, authors and supporters believe the legislation poses a threat and provides “new tools for censorship of international websites inside the United States.”

Wikipedia administrators released a statement Monday announcing their protest, stating: “It is the opinion of the English Wikipedia community that both of these bills, if passed, would be devastating to the free and open web.”

Its co-founder, Jimmy Wales, also said in a statement:

This is an extraordinary action for our community to take — and while we regret having to prevent the world from having access to Wikipedia for even a second, we simply cannot ignore the fact that SOPA and PIPA endanger free speech both in the United States and abroad, and set a frightening precedent of Internet censorship for the world.

According to Google, Wikipedia was the sixth most-visited website on the Web in July 2011, with 410,000,000 unique visitors and 6 billion pageviews (which makes Web journalists like myself who track site statistics very envious).

It is the highest website on the list to not have any advertising, something its founders value, and why you saw those ads at the top of most articles late last year asking for donations.

Addition at 2 p.m.

Daniel Terdiman, a writer at c|net (or CNET.com), points out a way around the blackout — just in case you can’t go another minute without learning about Deaths in 2011 or finding a list of “Glee” episodes.

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