Seven-time CY Young award winner Roger “The Rocket”  Clemens, one of the most well known pitchers in baseball, was indicted on Thursday on a series of charges related to lying to the U.S. Congress about using performance-enhancing drugs. He was charged with one count of Obstruction of the U.S. Congress, three counts of making False Statements and two counts of Perjury, in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

The charges stem from sworn testimony Clemens provided to House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform staff, and later to the  House Oversight and Government Reform Committee during February, 2008.  (See, for example, the February 13th, 2008 verbatim transcript: 2008 WL 376905 (F.D.C.H.))  In both instances, he testified that he had never used steroids or human growth hormones.  The indictment however, alleges that “[i]n truth and in fact, as Clemens well knew when he gave this testimony, Clemens knowingly received injections of anabolic steroids while he was an MLB player.”

The indictment is contained within the William Roger Clemens docket, which can be found by running (Def (Clemens)) & DN(1:10CR00223) ) within the DOCK-DC-DCT data base.

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The States of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Ohio and Michigan recently filed suit in the Northern District of Illinois against the United States Corp of Army Engineers and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago seeking to have the facilities designed to prevent the migration of bighead or silver (Asian) carp declared a public nuisance, to the extent that those facilities have not prevented the migration of the Asian carp into Lake Michigan, and requesting a

“permanent injunction requiring the District and the Corps to take all appropriate and necessary measures to expeditiously develop and implement plans to permanently and physically separate carp-infested waters in the Illinois River basin and the CAWS from Lake Michigan so as to prevent the migration of bighead carp, silver carp, or other harmful aquatic invasive species into Lake Michigan.”

The “asian carp” are voracious eaters which can grow up 100 pounds and up to four feet in length, consuming 40% of its body weight daily.  It spawns three times a year and has no known predators.  The concern is that if the carp become established in the Great Lakes, they would starve out other fish, and ruin the region’s $7 billion fishing industry.

The carp are currently being restrained from entering Lake Michigan by the use of electronic barriers.  Michigan had previously sought orders compelling the closing of Chicago shipping locks and gates which could provide an entrance into Lake Michigan for the fish, which were appealed to and denied by the United States Supreme Court.

However, a live Asian carp was found within a few miles of Lake Michigan last month, which state officials believe illustrates the urgency of the situation and increases the likelihood of successfully obtaining injunctive relief.

The complaint in this matter can be found at 2010 WL 2893302.

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The United States recently filed an action against the State of Arizona, seeking a declaratory judgment stating that Sections 1-6 of Arizona’s S.B. 1070 are “invalid, null and void”, as well as an order enjoining the State or its officers, agents or employees from enforcing Sections 1-6 of S.B. 1070.

Senate Bill 1070 is, of course, Arizona’s controversial immigration  bill.  As anticipated, the primary claim is the bill’s alleged violation of the Supremacy Clause, based on the argument that the the federal government has preeminent authority to regulate immigration.

The complaint is available on Westlaw, and can be located by doing a find to 2010 WL 2653363.

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The Wisconsin Court of Appeals recently affirmed the defendant’s first degree homicide conviction in the case of State v. Zurkowski.  Mr. Zurkowski was convicted after a five day jury trial of the murder of his wife, June. The facts of the case are tragic and incredibly bizarre.

 Suspicion first turned to Mr. Zurkowski when he called a local funeral home, indicated that his wife had died of an apparent heart attack, and requested  they “come and pick her body up.” Employees of the funeral home contacted local law enforcement officials, who proceeded to the residence.  The defendant first told them that his wife hit him first, that he acted in self defense, and that he wasn’t going to jail.  He later asserted that  the manner of her death was not any of their business.

 The defendant admitted striking his wife a number of  times, kicking her while she lay on the floor, and shoving a ceramic dish down her throat “to make her shut up.”  However, he insisted he acted in self defense after she came running down the hall with a paring knife because he put the vacuum cleaner into a closet, rather than fixing it as she had requested.  He did not sustain any injuries in the altercation. 

Not surprisingly, the Court of Appeals made short work of Mr. Zurkowski’s argument that there was insufficient evidence to establish the intent element necessary to sustain a conviction for first degree homicide.  Similarly, the Court quickly disposed of both his perfect and imperfect self defense arguments. 

This case can be located on Westlaw by doing a find to 2010 WL 2486672, or by running either ti(State & Zurkowski) or “ceramic dish” in the Wisconsin cases data base.  Numerous secondary sources regarding the use and applicability of self defense can be found by running ti(self-defense) in TP-All.

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In an unusual twist in so-called “appearance discrimination”, a woman named Debrahlee Lorenzana sued Citibank, claiming she was discriminated against based upon her physical attractiveness.  The complaint, which can be found at 2009 WL 4241578 alleges discrimination and retaliation in violation of the New York City Human’s Rights Law.

This case is interesting on several levels.  First, while appearance discrimination certainly is not a new topic in employment law, the majority of this litigation has revolved around allegations that plaintiff received less favorable treatment than other, more “attractive” people.   Secondly, being attractive has traditionally been considered an asset, not a liability, in employment decisions.

Several good articles on this subject can be located by running a search for ti(appearance-discrimination) within the Journals & Law Reviews (JLR) data base.  Whatever its outcome, this particular case will certainly be analyzed in any future discussions of appearance discrimination.

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In a previous post, I discussed the availability of both written, audio and video transcripts on Westlaw, as well as their uses for young lawyers.  Since I personally consider jury selection the most difficult portion of a jury trial, and since I learned so much from watching other attorneys conduct voir dire, I wanted to reiterate that the Trancripts-All data base includes a number of voir dire transcripts.

An interesting example of voir dire in a case entitled Brecht v. Hague can be accessed by doing a find to 2009 WL 4400973.  This transcript includes rulings on motions in limine as well questioning of prospective jurors in a defamation case by both the court and the attorneys.  It even includes a brief history lesson conducted by the judge for the jurors’ benefit.

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Trial work is something many, although certainly not all, young attorneys are interested in.  Unfortunately, the transition from trial advocacy courses into actual courtroom practice can be difficult.  As a new attorney, I personally found that reading practice guides regarding the theory behind such things as effective motion practice, voir dire and evidence useful.  However, I sometimes struggled with the implementation of those theories, and discovered the most effective way of developing litigation skills was observing the work of other, more experienced attorneys.  In an ideal world, summer associates interested in litigation would accompany seasoned lawyers to court on a regular basis.  Unfortunately, in the real world, young associates initially have few opportunities to view seasoned litigators at work.  

Westlaw resources have long included written transcripts of hearings or trials. Transcripts, in addition to being valuable tools regarding a witness’s (especially an expert witness’s) prior testimony, are also useful in terms of analyzing question format, appropriateness of objections and so forth.  However, I personally do not believe that written language totally conveys the effect of actually hearing and seeing the components of voice intonation, word emphasis and even body language which are such integral part of trial advocacy.  Fortunately, Westlaw now has added live transcripts, both audio and video, to its collection of transcripts. 

The data base Transcripts-All includes written, video and audio transcripts from various state and federal court proceedings.  You have the option of selecting all transcripts, or limiting your search to audio and/or video.  Additionally, you can further limit your selections by such categories as voir dire, closing argument, witness testimony, or appellate oral argument.  These transcripts allow you to actually see and hear attorneys questioning witness, making closing arguments, or arguing in the federal appellate courts.  While it may not be quite the same as actual courtroom observation Transcripts-All provides an excellent alternative, if not a fantastic complement to coffee and a bagel in the morning.

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My favorite database for locating federal jury instructions is Federal Jury Practice & Instructions (fed-ji), which contains both criminal and civil pattern jury instructions, as well as the Circuit specific instructions for all but the Second and Fourth Circuits.  These instructions can be viewed either by linking into the Table of Contents or by running a search within the database for a particular cause of action. 

Recently, I was looking for the elements for trademark infringement.  Of course, there’s plenty of material in case law and the Causes of Action (COA) databases.  But, I love FED-JI because it very provides the essentials:

In addition to the instructions, these documents include links to key cases and relevant statutes.

State Materials: Westlaw also has a number of state pattern jury instructions.  These databases can be found on the various state Westlaw tabs, or within the Directory for a particular state.  Again, most of these databases include a Table of Contents, or, alternatively, a search can be run for a specific type of claim.

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Arizona’s attempt to tighten immigration enforcement in the state by passing the “Support our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act” (Senate Bill 2010) has generated an enormous reaction.  Although several states are reportedly contemplating similar legislation, numerous lawsuits have been threatened challenging the constitutionality of the Act, and at least two suits have already been filed.

The session law can be located on Westlaw by doing a find to AZ LEGIS 113 (2010), and the bill drafts and legislative reports are located within the “Legislative History” tab appearing on the left-hand side of that document.  Barring any court action, the act will go into effect 90 days after the Arizona legislature adjourns, and the most controversial provisions will be codified at AZ ST § 11-1051.

Two actions challenging the constitutionality of the legislation have already been filed in Arizona District Court.  The dockets for these suits are found in the DOCK-AZ-DCT data base, and can be located by running the following search:  (Def (Brewer)) & FLD(aft /04/24/2010).  The complaints are on Westlaw at:  2010 WL 1716679   & 2010 WL 1715384