Recent Articles from Caryn Tamber
Cheech and Chong v. Mr. Mackey in the Court of Appeals
“Did they know it was your last day?” my editor asked, laughing. I had just told her that the Court of Appeals drug possession opinion I was writing about mentioned both Cheech and Chong (Judge Harrell‘s majority opinion) and Mr. Mackey from South Park (Judge Greene‘s dissent). (An aside: bets on whether Judge Greene himself […]
Arm’s length was close enough for possession conviction
In an opinion where the majority name-checks Cheech and Chong and the dissent quotes “South Park,” the Court of Appeals has upheld the drug possession conviction of a man whom police found sitting arm’s length from a lit marijuana blunt. Led by Judge Glenn T. Harrell Jr., the top court’s majority held it was unnecessary […]
Top court suspends two convicted lawyers
Without hearing arguments, the Court of Appeals has immediately suspended two lawyers who have criminal convictions. College Park lawyer Walter Lloyd Blair was convicted in December on federal charges of money laundering, witness tampering, obstruction of justice, false statements and failure to file a tax return. He helped the relative of a dead drug dealer […]
How law firms here fared in the Vault rankings
The Vault rankings of law firm prestige are out. The Vault rankings are based on surveys filled out by 15,000 law firm associates who rate firms on perceived status. No matter how you feel about rankings, these are an interesting read because they include some of the associates’ comments about the firms. No firm based […]
Detroit balks at $100K bill from Venable
Venable LLP wants the city of Detroit to pay what it owes for services rendered by former Detroit police monitor Sheryl Robinson Wood. Detroit has responded, in effect, that Venable must be joking. Wood served as an independent monitor for the troubled Detroit police department from 2003 to 2009, when it emerged that she had […]
Monday law blog round-up
Happy Monday! Here are a few law links to start your gonna-be-another-hot-one week. On a personal note, this will be my last blog round-up, since I will be wrapping up five great years at The Daily Record this Friday. The round-up will be taken over by Danielle Ulman, who will also be moving from covering […]
4th Circuit upholds registry requirement
A man who was convicted of rape and murder in 1980 was properly made to register as a sex offender under a 2006 federal law that Maryland has yet to implement, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has held. Michael E. Kennedy’s parole officer acted properly in telling him to register under the Sex […]
Are they really mistakes if half the population is prone to them?
I read an interesting article today on the Financial Post’s Website called, “10 body language mistakes women leaders make.” The author is Carol Kinsey Goman, identified as “an international keynote speaker, executive coach, and management consultant.” She writes: If a female wants to be perceived as powerful, credible, and confident, she has to be aware […]
With music, restaurant becomes nightclub
A Baltimore County restaurant is acting as a nightclub when it offers live music and karaoke on the weekend, the Court of Special Appeals has affirmed. Last week’s opinion affirms a Baltimore County Circuit Court decision finding Dock of the Bay in violation of county zoning code. Dock of the Bay’s lawyer, J. Carroll Holzer, […]
Old habits die hard when it comes to access
After The Daily Record studied access to court records, we spoke with various court officials about our results. In the cases where we had experienced treatment or policies the officials found objectionable, they assured us these things would not happen again. The best example of this was our conversation with Chief District Court Judge Ben […]
Volunteer your time, Ben Rosenberg begs lawyers
Ben Rosenberg of Rosenberg Martin Greenberg had a pretty strong reaction to contributor Joe Surkiewicz’s column in this week’s Maryland Lawyer section. Surkiewicz, the director of communications at Maryland Legal Aid, wrote about the tremendous need for more volunteer lawyers. Rosenberg, co-chair of the Legal Aid’s Equal Justice Council, which works to fund Legal Aid, called [&h[...]
Monday law blog round-up
Happy Monday! Here are a few law links to start your week: Jessamy challenger Gregg Bernstein tells Investigative Voice that his opponent doesn’t have a good relationship with police and hasn’t insisted that her prosecutors come to court prepared for trial. Bernstein also criticizes Jessamy’s practice of barring prosecutors from calling certain officers as witnesses […]