Paul Luvera Journal

America prides itself on having a system of laws that require ethical conduct. Every profession has a code of ethical conduct and sanctions for violations. Doctors, engineers, lawyers and every other licensed profession are governed by a code of professional ethical conduct. Even the United  States Congress has a code of ethics with provisions for discipline.  Every state has a code of ethical conduct for lawyers with provisions to discipline for violations including the right to terminate their law license. Virtually every state has a code…

Read More Read More

After two weeks the  jury trial I was involved in was  ended by the judge declaring a mistrial. With over a hundred motions before trial and multiple motions during trial it finally just was stopped as a mercy killing. The judge decided that he should not have allowed evidence about the driver's past driving and criminal history and  that as a result he felt he had to grant a mistrial. The entire experience reminded me of a Kafka novel  and and the daily…

Read More Read More

Joseph D. Jamail is an 88  year old trial lawyer from Houston Texas. Last week Joe and Ron Krist, another Houston lawyer spoke at the International Accademy of Trial Lawyers at a meeting in Newport, California, Lita and I attended. I’ve known Joe and Ron for a number of years through professionalorganizations we belong to and both are extraordinary story tellers. They  had the audience entertained and laughing. Forbes Magazine gives Joe’s wealth at $1.5 billion. His  1985 verdict for his…

Read More Read More

The struggle between the public's right to know and concealment of wrong claiming secrecy is not just an isolated problem, but rather one which is pervasive and growing. The government of the UK has asked for a law which would operate in civil proceedings involving a case against the government where it claims national security is involved. In defending these cases the government wants a law which would allow it to put evidence before a judge in the absence of…

Read More Read More

I have to admit I never  thought the outcome of the U.S. Supreme Court on the health care bill  would ever be what  it turned out to be. Nor would I, in a  thousand years, have anticipated the "swing" vote would be Justice Roberts who now suffers the hysterical abuse of  conservatives like the  biopolar conduct of Glen Beck  in reacting to Robert's vote. So, why did  he do it? I believe he made a very difficult choice to fulfill…

Read More Read More

On Thursday of this week, the U.S. Supreme Court will announce its decision about the Obama administration's Affordable Care Act. The political implications of that decision are obvious and the overwhelming odds favor an adverse treatment of the Act by the conservative block on the court. Chief Justice John Roberts, appointed by George Bush, is the most conservative justice since the early 1970s, when Richard Nixon named Warren Burger to replace  the famously liberal Earl Warren. Clarence Thomas is the most conservative of…

Read More Read More

There are two trial lawyers in the past history of this country I have admired and studied. One is Earl Rogers of Los Angeles and the other Clarence Darrow.  For information about the great criminal defense lawyer Earl Rogers see Take the Witness by Cohn & Chisholm and Final Verdict written by his daughter Adela Rogers St Johns. There are numerous books about Clarence Darrow. One of the more recent is The Last Trials of Clarence Darrow by Donald McRae….

Read More Read More

I have been a trial lawyer for over fifty years with a law practice focused on those who have suffered damages or harm due to the fault of someone else. I'm usually content with what I have done for others during this last half century of being a lawyer until I go to an affair like the one I just attended. Last year I was inducted into the National Trial Lawyers Hall of Fame along with Phil Corboy, Chicago; J.B. Spence,…

Read More Read More

Rob McKenna, the republican Attorney General of Washington state has been preparing to run for governor ever since his election to office. His latest media pitch for attention has been to advocate revision of the laws that allow citizens to sue government for their negligence when it causes death or injury. He claims that limiting litigation for government wrong doing would save money and cites examples which he says illustrate frivolous or excessive claims. What's amusing to me is the examples I've seen…

Read More Read More

Justice Antonin Scalia recent agreement to speak at the Tea Party Convention puts this controversial member of the U.S. Supreme court in the ethical spot light one more time. While there are ethics rules in place for lower federal court judges, there is no explicit code of ethics for the nine Supreme Court justices.He was appointed to the court in 1986. Since his appointment he has engaged in a continuous series of activities which call into question his awareness of…

Read More Read More