Does Santa Break the Law?

In the spirit of the holiday season, the Civics 101 Podcast revisits a question they examined last year - is Santa a Criminal?

At the beginning of the podcast, we learn that the podcast discussion will include talk about "trespassing, burglary, stalking, and also criminal versus civil cases, tort law, the commerce clause. And finally, how a legal professional might defend the jolly old elf were he to be on trial." 23 min. 25 sec. transcript available.

Funny, but accurate presentation of the legal questions.

Tate Gallery's Viewing Platform v. Neighbouring Luxury Flats

U.K. Supreme Court handed down a judgment February 1 saying that the Tate Gallery of London is liable to claimants in nuisance. The claimants are several owners of neighbouring luxury flats with glass walls whose rooms are under near constant observation by visitors of the viewing platform of the Tate. The court has made available a video clip of its judgment summary here with a very clear explanation of the tort of nuisance. 9 min., subtitles available. Videos of two days of hearings in December are also available.

Law School Is Starting Already in the U.S. ...

Many American students are beginning their first year of law school by now. The University of Virginia asked Virginia Solicitor General Toby Heytens, a professor there, to give a short (one hour) overview of the U.S. legal system and a description of how a typical case goes through the legal system. Unfortunately you can't see the slides illustrating the talk, but you can put on the subtitles on YouTube to help you follow along.
A related video presents a description of five first-year law school courses (tort, contract, criminal law, civil procedure and legal writing). 58 min., no transcript, but subtitles available.

The Most Important Cases of 2018 in the UK

Law Pod UK, produced by the barristers of One Crown Office Row, presents a review of the most important legal cases in the UK.  17 minutes, no transcript, but the recording is very clear.
In an accompanying article, Jonathan Metzer, the One Crown Office Row barrister you hear in the podcast, presents this review in written form in the UK Human Rights Blog

Stanford Law's Radio Program on YouTube

Stanford Law School produces a radio program, Stanford Legal on Sirius XM Radio, which it also puts on YouTube. The advantage of this format is that not only can you see the speakers but you can also activate automatic subtitles and even change the speed of the sound. One recent topic was the opioid crisis and how to use the legal system to fight it. You can find part one (19 min.) here, part two (9 min.) here. Other topics treated include Robotics and Law (36 min.) and Elon Musk and Tesla - part one (12 min.) is here, part two (10 min.) is here.

Tort Law at the UK Supreme Court

The U.K. Supreme Court has posted a presentation of two of its judgments concerning tort law - in particular issues of vicarious liability. Mr A M Mohamud (in substitution for Mr A Mohamud (deceased)) v WM Morrison Supermarkets Plc - 4 min 56 sec and Cox v Ministry of Justice  by which vicarious liability was found when a prisoner working in the prison kitchen dropped a heavy bag of rice on the catering manager. 4 min 27 sec, no transcript.
You can find more information here about the judgments on the UK Human Rights Blog.

Museum of Tort Law

The Museum of Tort Law, created by Ralph Nader, lawyer and consumer advocate and former presidential candidate, opened recently. PBS's Newshour has the story. Very interesting. 6 min 26 sec video, transcript available. More with Nader here.

Executive Given 28 Year Sentence for Knowingly Selling Tainted Food

Peanut Corporation of America executive Stewart Parnell received a 28 year prison sentence for knowingly selling peanuts contaminated with salmonella. The subsequent outbreak of disease caused the death of nine people. NPR's Morning Edition has the story. 2:46 min, transcript available. For more information, see the CNN report on the case.

Libel in the U.S. and the U.K.

NPR’s Weekend Edition of March 21 has a story about the differences in libel law in the U.S. and the U.K. and their effect on free speech. 4 min, transcript available.

An Online Course on American Law

Coursera has a free online course entitled American Law which began on February 15 - it’s not too late to sign up. Subjects covered include torts, contracts, property, constitutional law, criminal law and civil procedure. It consists of a series of short video clips with closed caption subtitles than can be activated.

Summaries of Recent UK Supreme Court Judgments Available on YouTube

The UK Supreme Court records the short presentations made by its justices explaining the court's decisions. These are usually 5 to 7 minutes long, with no transcript, but very clear, with more information available if you click on "show more". Recent cases have involved

• human rights - whether the living arrangements made for a mentally incapacitated person amount to a deprivation of liberty
• private international law/Rome II Treaty - how English courts should deal with the assessment of damages in claims arising out of fatal accidents abroad
• workers'  rights - whether a solicitor who is a partner in an LLP (limited liability partnership) can be considered to be a "worker" and so protected as a whistle-blower
• property - whether the use of a recreational ground was "by right" or "as of right"
• evidence - the proper use of linguistic experts in asylum claims
• international family law - grandparents' rights of custody and the The Hague Convention on International Child Abduction.

The MacDonalds Coffee Case

The New York Times has a series of articles, accompanied by videos, re-examining old news stories called Retro Reports. The Oct. 25 report is about the lawsuit filed by Stella Liebeck against Macdonald's Corporation popularly known as the MacDonald's coffee case which debunks many preconceptions about the case. 12 min, no transcript.

Liability for Unvaccinated Children

On May 28 Here and Now, a program from Boston's NPR station WBUR, had a story about whether parents should be liable if their unvaccinated child causes someone harm (miscarriage, sickness or death). 7 min. no transcript

Unreliable Evidence - new series

A new serious series of Unreliable Evidence has just begun on BBC's Radio 4. The first episode talks about vicarious liability - the legal principle that says, for instance, that in some cases an employer can be made to pay for the negligence of an employee. Clive Anderson interviews three leading experts in the field. 43 min, transcript not available
Week two will discuss employment law (unfair dismissal) and week three is entitled 'Courtroom Drama'. This last episode makes interesting comparisons with what happens in European courtrooms with the help of a German judge who was the central figure in a German reality TV show.

Circumcision in Germany - ban then bill

A ruling by a court in Cologne in June banned circumcision, considering that the practice inflicted bodily harm and should not be carried out on children. Because this was seen as conflicting with the right to freely practice one’s religion, the German government has prepared a bill to make circumcision legal under certain circumstances. NPR's All Things Considered has the story here. 5 min 5 sec.

The Common Law

Speaking in Australia in September on the topic “Developing common law – how far is too far?” Lord Walker of the U.K. Supreme Court provided an international look at the role of judges in the development of the common law. 1 hour, speech notes available

Tribe sues those who sell it alcohol

The Oglala Sioux tribe in South Dakota has filed a lawsuit targetting four major beer companies, along with regional wholesalers and local retailers, who sell beer just over the state line in Nebraska that is clearly being consumed in massive quantities on its reservation despite tribal law forbidding this. The BBC's News Magazine had a story about this on 27 April. 3 min, no transcript. NPR reported on the lawsuit on All Things Considered on March 31. 4 min 12 sec, transcript available.

Hot Coffee

Hot Coffee, a documentary about the civil justice system, was featured on Democracy Now! of Jan. 25, 2011. The title of the film refers to the case of Stella Liebeck who sued McDonald's for injuries she received from scalding coffee. In the first segment of the news program, Ms Liebeck's daughter and son-in-law are interviewed. In another segment,  a former judge on the Mississippi supreme court who was attacked by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce because he wasn't "corporate" enough, is seen. Mandatory arbitration clauses are examined. Finally, the  effects of limits (or "caps") on medical malpractice awards is presented through the story of a family affected by them.
The site for the documentary is here. A DVD will be on sale in the U.S. from Nov. 1.
The whole presentation of the documentary is ± 45 min. downloadable and streaming audio and video, transcript available.

John Bell on foreign examples used in comparative law

Professor John Bell of the University of Cambridge Law School gave the 9th annual Bernstein lecture at Duke University Law School on Feb. 23, 2010. The subject was "The Relevance of Foreign Examples to Legal Development." Bell makes three claims: governance through law is a universal and global activity and therefore its application cannot be confined to a specific jurisdiction; institutional activities of legislating and deciding cases are part of a conversation that extends beyond jurisdictional boundaries; and arguments based on foreign experience have only a limited persuasive status in national legal reasoning and therefore require discussion at a general rather than specific level.
The lecture is available with RealAudio, downloadable as a video through iTunes or just audio.

McGill University Faculty of Law videos

McGill  has a series of "Mini-Law" lectures by some of their professors. Subjects covered include family law, human rights, criminal law, civil wrongs (torts). 1 hour, streaming or downloadable wmp, no transcript.
More video lectures available here.