Every law student learns about the classic loaded question, “Sir, when did you stop beating your wife?” The question has many faults, not the least of which is that it proposes an assumed fact without first having established its truth. Questions which propose assumed facts, or which pack an accusation, are dangerous and are generally…
Boeing has consistently been one of America’s top-dollar exporters and for over a century has had a central place in American legend. In the first quarter of 2019, however, Boeing reportedly suffered a billion dollar loss. And that’s before any of the 737 MAX lawsuits got rolling– not just the spectacular “passenger” class actions, but…
I’m going to bet you’ve never heard of three-card monte. I never would have, either, except I went to law school and read (most of) the Criminal Code of Canada which provides, at section 206(2): “In this section, three-card monte means the game commonly known as three-card monte and includes any other game that is…
In 2014, Cynthia had some plastic surgery done. For whatever reason she wasn’t satisfied and took to Google reviews to lash out at the surgeon. But she went a bit too far. Specifically, she alleged that he had charged her for work that he didn’t do and that he had been incompetent in a procedure…
That title is a tip-off that Norm has really lost it this time. Gone bananas, you might say. Seriously, what have bananas and monoculture (whatever that might be) got to do with professionals? Well, actually, plenty. Read on. It’s hard to imagine a world without bananas. Probably the first solid food you ever ate was…
For a lawyer conducting cross-examination, an evasive witness can be exasperating. But handled well, the evasive witness can be a gift from heaven– the very fact of persistent dodginess can help establish your narrative to the judge or the jury, and admissions won from an evader have a special value. Even the silences can ring…
There are a handful of principles I wish I had known at the beginning of my career. Like most young lawyers,I thought that winning in court was in my hands. I believed that all I needed to do was show the judge the blazing righteousness of my case, the overwhelming weight of authority in my…
We hadn’t eaten in three days, being in the dead of a winter of very deep snow. But now at last we were chasing down a very promising meal– a heavy buck who wasn’t as fast as he thought he was. In moments Alfred and King, Blackie, Thunder, Lupo and Misty, and I would pull…
Some years ago I was riding “shotgun” with one of my adult children, the grandkids being in the back of the car. Soon enough a request came forward for candy or some such treasure from the glove compartment. A quick glance from the driver told me this was not a preferred outcome. So as the…
In January 1905, South African miners unearthed the largest rough gem diamond ever discovered. Uncut, it weighed over one pound. Today, the total value of the gems cut from the stone exceeds two billion dollars. But it’s the story of it’s transportation to Europe which has the most value for us. Shortly after its discovery,…