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Even when criminal defendants are guilty as sin, defense attorneys advise them to plead not guilty. Everybody knows that, and that's why laypeople hate lawyers.
Well, it's one of the reasons everyone hates lawyers; we don't have time to go into all the reasons. We're going to look at just one issue from the public's perspective - how attorneys say one thing even when everybody knows (or thinks they know) the truth.
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Persuasive writing can be a dangerous thing in the hands of a lawyer.
It's not just something to play around with in law school. Serious persuasive writing comes from the school of hard knocks.
That's because judges don't usually compliment lawyers for their writing -- even when they rule in their favor. If you really want to become a killer writer, do it like your life depends on it.
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The U.S. Supreme Court affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded a case about one census question, and it all goes to show that asking people about their citizenship is complicated.
In Department of Commerce v. New York, a unanimous panel affirmed that the Enumerations Clause permits the Secretary of Commerce to include in the census this question: "Are you a citizen of the United States?
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The U.S. Supreme Court struck down a Tennessee law that required retailers to have two years' residency before they could get a license to sell liquor in the state.
In Tennessee Wine & Spirits Retailers Association v. Thomas, the justices said the residency requirement violated the Commerce Clause. States may regulate alcohol sales, but they may not engage in economic protectionism.
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In a pair of First Amendment cases, the U.S. Supreme Court drew surprising new lines on religious monuments and public access channels.
In The American Legion v. American Humanist Association, the Supreme Court held that the Bladensburg Cross monument does not violate the establishment clause of the First Amendment. In Manhattan Community Access Corp. v. Halleck, the justices said a nonprofit corporation running a city's public access channel is not subject to the First Amendment.
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To Facebook, Noah Duguid is like those annoying automated text messages.
He sued the company for sending him the unsolicited messages, but a judge threw out his case. Duguid appealed, however, and now he's back again.
The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals says he has a case. If it goes forward as a class action, Facebook may never hear the end of it.
Unwanted Text Messages
In his 2015 lawsuit, Duguid says he didn't have a Facebook account but the company kept sending him texts.
