Welcome to Tuesday and game two of the Battle of the Beltways. Here are some pregame news items.

– A man who helped give rise to many a Constitutional Law and bar exam question has died.

– President Obama will play Pick Three.

– Millions may have overstayed their welcome.

– Roger Clemens may have cheated off the diamond.

Happy (rainy) Friday everyone! Here’s your pre-Memorial Day weekend legal news round-up:

– The Brooklyn district attorney’s office will face numerous challenges as it begins an unusual examination of 50 homicide convictions originally looked into by one police detective, Louis Scarella. Scarella , who is now retired, has come under fire some of the methods he used while investigating these cases. This includes using the same drug addict as an eyewitness. Mr. Scarcella has denied wrongdoing.

– Hans G. Poppe, a Louisville lawyer whose fainting caused a mistrial in a medical-malpractice trial is being sued by the insurance company providing medical malpractice coverage to the defendant doctor and hospital he filed suit against.

– Hobby Lobby Stores Inc. on Thursday asked a federal appeals court to exclude it from part of the federal health care law that requires it to offer employees health coverage that includes access to the morning-after pill. The chain of arts-and-crafts stores argued that businesses should be able to seek exception from that section of the health law if it violates their religious beliefs.

First, the serious part: Nicholas Walker, a 33-year-old Miami man, was shot and killed while driving his car onto Interstate 95.

Now, for the slightly humorous part: Scott Simon, 24, was charged with first-degree murder in Walker’s death after he accidentally recorded a phone call, via a butt-dial, saying he was going to follow Walker home and kill him. Police believe Simon coordinated the shooting but did not pull the trigger, according to the Miami Herald.

Finally, for a funny story about tapping keys with your tuchis: A 911 operator in California received a call with no one on the other end. Rather than hang up, the dispatcher stayed on the line and heard two men discussed wanting to do drugs and breaking into a car.

The dispatcher heard a window shatter and the two people saying they found prescription drugs.

Police arrested the men a little while later.

“Damn,” one of the suspects said upon learning a butt-dial led to their arrest.

Well said.

Asked: Our weekly question to the In-House community

It’s all about the money and, this week, in-house counsels have advice on how to save those dollar bills in class action lawsuits.

According to Inside Counsel, legal executives recommended alternative fee arrangements to cut costs in class-action lawsuits. They also advised in-house departments to spend more time on these matters rather than giving the work to outside counsel. Finally, general counsels said to conduct early case assessments in order to have more time to map out a strategy.

So here’s our question for you:

What are ways you think would cut costs in class-action lawsuits?

Leave a comment below or email me.

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Welcome to Monday and the start of a three-game home series against that team from New York. Here are some news items to get your week started.

– Did a town board in Greece (New York, again) violate the First Amendment with its pre-session prayer?

– Obama administration’s search for leakers reaches new high (or low).

– Evanston, Ill., residents hope their Chicago suburb becomes a no drone zone.

– Civil rights challenge to New York Police Department’s stop, question and frisk tactic nears conclusion.

Asked: Our weekly question to the In-House community

The former general counsel of USAir is speaking out against corporate crime.

Lawrence Stentzel, who now works at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP in Washington, D.C., has written a paper, “Federal Regulation is Not an Effective Deterrent to Corporate Malfeasance.”

Stentzel says in the paper that regulators have failed to be stringent enough and properly punish corporate wrongdoing. He says sanctions are rarely imposed and when they are, they are so minimal it does not discourage future corporate crime.

He recommends the government create a database of corporate wrongdoing.

When Corporate Crime Reporter asked if he knew more corporate lawyers speaking out, Stentzel responded: “I do know them. But they are pessimistic about the future and believe that greed has overtaken everything else.”

So here’s our question for you:

Do you agree with Stentzel that more corporate lawyers should speak out? As a GC, do you share his bleak view of the future of corporate crime?

Leave a comment below or email me.

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Earlier this month in this space, we noted how the bar exam results had been released. At the time, all that was available was a four-digit ID number.

Now, however, we have the full list of 462 names from the State Board of Law Examiners, which was also published in Tuesday’s paper.

Congratulations to Maryland’s newest lawyers!

Welcome to Monday and a reminder to reserve your infield spot for Saturday. Here are some news items to get your week started.

– Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg criticizes Roe v. Wade.

– The family of NHL player sues National Hockey League for wrongful death.

– Male lawyers will don stilettos to make a point.

– The family behind the Bananas Foster fights over its New Orleans restaurant.

Here’s another argument for cameras in the Supreme Court — it would make the judges more trustworthy.

That’s my conclusion after reading about Readers’ Digest’s list of the 100 most trusted Americans.

Among all members of the bench, Judge Judy had the highest score, of 51 percent. Next was Judge Joe Brown at 48 percent.

In between the two television judges was Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who ranked 36th on the list, according to the ABA Journal. Justice Stephen G. Breyer was 43rd, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. was 44th and Justice Anthony M. Kennedy was 49th.

The rest of the justices: Sonia Sotomayor (53); Elena Kagan (62); Samuel A. Alito Jr. (60); Antonin Scalia (66); and Clarence Thomas (88).

Tom Hanks tops the list, with 65 percent of those surveyed finding him trustworthy, followed by Sandra Bullock and Denzel Washington.

Asked: Our weekly question to the In-House community

The state of Washington is pondering new rules for in-house counsel.

The proposal would require in-house counsel to register with the state bar, even if they are already bar members in other states.

The Association of Corporate Counsel is taking issue with the proposal, arguing it is just a way to collect more money in extra registration fees and there is no evidence of in-house counsel ethics problems in the state.

The organization also argues that if a company hires general counsels from out of state without state supervision and if the attorney does not perform, the company simply can fire that person.

The proposed rule permits lawyers from other states to waive into Washington state’s bar but would require in-house lawyers to pass the part of the bar exam devoted to Washington law.

So here’s our question for you:

Should in-house counsel who are bar members in other states have to register with another state bar when they move to a new company?

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