Lowell Steiger's Los Angeles Law Blog

Pit Bull Fatal Attack: Criminal Liability? Civil Liability? Or Both?

 

 Two year old Jacob Bisbee was mauled to death by three pit bulls (often considered a dangerous breed) owned by his step-grandfather, Steven Hayashi.  The tragedy occurred in 2010.  According to Contra Costa County prosecuting attorney Mary Knox:

 

 

1. Hayashi repeatedly ignored pleas by his wife and Jacob’s father to remove his five pit bulls from the home the extended family shared on Trailcreek Court
2. July 22, 2010: Hayashi was designated as the caretaker for Jacob and his four year old brother while his wife slept after a night shift.
3. Hayashi went out to play tennis with his son, leaving Jacob and the brother unsupervised.
4. Hayashi did not lock the door to the garage where the pit bulls were kept.  He knew the boys could uopen the door but they usually stayed in their room.
5. Jacob wandered into the garage and found three of the five pit bulls (the other two were in the yard)

 The legal question to be answered is not whether Hayashi intended for this tragedy to happen but whether the dog attack constituted a crime.  Hayashi is currently being tried for involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment.  If found guilty, he could face up to 10 years in prison. 

 In a jailhouse interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, Hayashi acknowledged that he had ignored signs which would warn him of the dogs’ dangerous propensities.  Those signs included one of the dogs killing his Chihuahua. 

At the preliminary hearing, Judge Clare Maier said that there was not enough evidence to support a murder charge because there was “scant evidence” that Hayashi’s dogs had previously attacked humans.

Hayashi is seeking acquittal and is being represented by attorney David Cohen.  Over Cohen’s objections, Knox opened the trial last week by showing photos taken at a hospital of the little boy’s disfigured body. 

Cohen was quoted as saying “The D.A.’s case is all about the terrible photos and a terrible tragedy and that somebody’s got to pay.  This family and my client have suffered tremendously.  He certainly didn’t intend for this to happen.”

This is certainly a tragedy.  Whether Hayashi’s negligence will rise to the level of a guilty verdict is a question to be decided during this trial.

In civil court, someone in Hayashi’s shoes could be sued for wrongful death based on both theories of negligence and a statutory liability. 

In my practice I’ve represented, and continue to represent, many victims of dog attacks. This is a tragedy that could have, and should have, been avoided.

Woman argues with judge and ends up with 300 days in jail

Bottom line: Don't argue with the judge.  This woman turned an arraignment into a 300 day jail sentence.

 

ELYRIA -- Ebony Burks earned the dubious distinction earlier this month of drawing the longest jail sentence that Elyria Municipal Court Judge Gary Bennett has ever handed down for contempt of court.

Burks' 300-day stay in the Lorain County Jail came out of an Aug. 14 hearing during which she was being arraigned on domestic violence and assault charges in separate cases.

"From One Second To The Next" Documentary - It Can Wait

Xzavier, Chandler, Debbie, and Reggie all know the horrors of texting & driving firsthand. Watch their stories in this It Can Wait Documentary.

Visit http://www.itcanwait.com to take the pledge, and learn more about the dangers of texting while driving.

I represent people who have been injured in car accidents -- cars are the deadliest of weapons.  Distracted drivers who believe that they're different than other drivers, that they are in control when their eyes leave the road, are delusional. It takes no more than a split second for your car to veer off its path and strike an innocent pedestrian, bicyclist, motorcyclist or other car.  The injuries range from whiplash to paralysis to death.

Doing what I do for a living makes me hyperconscious of the perils of distracted driving.

When I see someone texting while driving, my blood begins to boil.  I just want to jump out of my car, run over to that person and shake them into reality, let them know that they are a millisecond away from killing someone. 

Bottom line: Please don't text while driving.

 

"From One Second To The Next" Documentary - It Can Wait

Xzavier, Chandler, Debbie, and Reggie all know the horrors of texting & driving firsthand. Watch their stories in this It Can Wait Documentary.

Visit http://www.itcanwait.com to take the pledge, and learn more about the dangers of texting while driving.

I represent people who have been injured in car accidents -- cars are the deadliest of weapons.  Distracted drivers who believe that they're different than other drivers, that they are in control when their eyes leave the road, are delusional. It takes no more than a split second for your car to veer off its path and strike an innocent pedestrian, bicyclist, motorcyclist or other car.  The injuries range from whiplash to paralysis to death.

Doing what I do for a living makes me hyperconscious of the perils of distracted driving.

When I see someone texting while driving, my blood begins to boil.  I just want to jump out of my car, run over to that person and shake them into reality, let them know that they are a millisecond away from killing someone. 

Bottom line: Please don't text while driving.

 

25 Greatest Law Novels Ever

The American Bar Association polled lawyers from all over the country and asked them to vote for their favorite.  Here's the list.  Is your favorite novel on the list?  Or do you have another novel that you prefer?  Put your answer in the comment section below!

 

• To Kill a Mockingbird
• Crime and Punishment
• Bleak House
• The Trial
• Les Miserables
• Billy Budd
• Presumed Innocent
• The Scarlet Letter
• The Bonfire of the Vanities
• An American Tragedy
• The Paper Chase
• Bartleby the Scrivener
• Native Son
• The Stranger
• A Tale of Two Cities
• A Time to Kill
• The Caine Mutiny
• Their Eyes Were Watching God
• QB VII
• The Firm
• The Count of Monte Cristo
• The Handmaid's Tale
• Anatomy of a Murder
• The Fountainhead
• The Ox-Bow Incident
• Old Filth
• Other not on this list

The authors represented in this list are as follows:

John Grisham, Harper Lee, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Charles Dickens, Franz Kafka, Victor Hugo, Herman Melville, Scott Turow, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Tom Wolfe, Theodore Dreiser, John Jay Osborne Jr., Richard Wright, Albert Camus, Herman Wouk, Zora Neale Hurston, Leon Uris, Alexandre Dumas, Margaret Atwood, John D. Voelker, Ayn Rand, Walter Van Tilburg Clark, Jane Gardam.

I must confess that I've read very few of the novels on this list.  My tastes go toward John Grisham and Michael Connelly.  I really have to expand my world!!!

 

 

Suspended Coffee

This has nothing to do with being a lawyer and everything to do with being a human being.

I saw this on www.tumblr.com and realized that this is a concept worthy of going viral. 

If you go into a Starbucks or Peets or Coffee Bean or any coffee house, order a coffee for yourself and order a "suspended coffee."  You'll pay for two coffees but will walk out with one.  A homeless person, on a cold winter day, will walk in and ask the barista if they have a suspended coffee and, lo and behold, the homeless person will walk out with a hot cup of coffee in his or her hands to help them through the day.

Click here to see the original post

 

Angry Judge William Watkins Suspended for Four Years Without Pay

Folks, I don't usually reprint other articles on my blog.  However, this one along with the inciting video is worth the read and watch! 

Bottom Line: Judges, as well as attorneys and litigants, need to be held responsible for their actions.

 

From the ABA Journal:

An admittedly intemperate family court judge has been suspended without pay for the remaining years of his term by the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals.

In one angry rant from the bench that has been viewed on YouTube more than 200,000 times, Putnam County Circuit Court Family Law Judge William M. Watkins III repeatedly told a pastor appearing before him to "shut up." And this was far from the only time he spoke to parties using inappropriate language, according to the opinion (PDF) filed Tuesday by the supreme court.

In one hearing, the opinion says, when speaking to a woman who was seeking an order of protection against her then-husband in a domestic violence case, Watkins blamed the woman for "shooting off your fat mouth about what happened," told her to "Shut up!" and then continued:

"Shut up! You stupid woman. Can’t even act properly. One more word out of you that you aren’t asked a question you’re out of here, and you will be found in direct contempt of court and I will fine you appropriately. So, shut your mouth.You know I hate it when people are just acting out of sheer spite and stupidity."

Click here to read the entire article

 

Lindsay Lohan Threatens to Kill Lawyer

As if Lindsay Lohan doesn't have enough problems already! Lindsay instructs her lawyer, Mark Heller, to say no more to the judge.  Heller continued to talk.  Lindsay quietly questions him and then finally says "Oh my god, I'll kill you" (see video below).

Although New York's Heller was scolded by Lindsay's California judgesfor being incompetent when it comes to California law, my guess is that he's a tad more qualified to speak before the judge than is Lindsay.  Regardless, I just wanted to share the TMZ video with you.

 

Heller made a great deal for Lindsay on charges that she lied to a police officer about a car crash, drove recklessly and violated her probation concerning intertwined shoplifting and drunken-driving convictions

Lindsay pled no contest to the crimes of reckless driving and lying to cops. She will be sentenced to 90 days of inpatient rehab, followed by 30 days of community labor and a year and a half of psychological therapy. However, she will not have to serve any jail time, assuming she complies with the terms of the sentence.

What are your thoughts?

Setting Up Your Domestic Partnership in California

    Baby you were born this way!  In California, we can protect the ones we love by setting up a Domestic Partnership (marriage is a-coming soon).  The benefits and responsbilities of a domestic partnership are manyfold and are the subject of another post.

    How fabulous would this have been if a domestic partnership could have been realized back in the late 1800s and early 1900s?  Check out this video proving that loving relationships date back to way back when (to the tune of "Born This Way" by Lady Gaga)

 

    For purposes of this post, though, here are the requirements for setting up your Domestic Partnership (per California Family Code Section 297):

Two Adults

      What exactly are Domestic Partners? Two adults who have chosen to share each others' lives in an intimate and committed relationship of mutual caring.

Declaration of Domestic Partnership

    Both of you must file a Declaration of Domestic Partnership with the California Secretary of State.  Click here for the actual form! The following requirements MUST be met:

1. Neither of you can be married to someone else or be a member of another domestic partnership that has not been terminated, dissolved, or adjudged a nullity
2. The two of you cannot be related by blood in a way that would prevent you from being married to each other in California
3. You are each at least 18 years of age (with certain exceptions -- see Family Code Section 297.1)
4. Either of the following:

          a. You're both members of the same sex OR

           b. One or both of you are eligible for Social Security per the Social Security Act.  Note: Persons of opposite sex may not constitute a domestic partnership unless one or both of the persons are over 62 years of age.

This Is Serious Stuff

    Make no mistake.  An intimate, loving relationship between a man and a man or a woman and a woman should carry with it the same exact rights as a loving relationship between a man and a woman.  We're almost there but, until then, we have Domestic Partnerships in California.

    Feel free to call or e-mail me for a free consultation regarding your legal rights in this regard.

(877) 487-8221

[email protected]

All Consultations Are Free

Mishandling of Corpses: Your Right to Sue

The death of a loved one is by far one of the saddest and toughest experiences that we will ever go through.

When a loved one passes, his or her body deserves to be treated with love, respect and dignity.  They deserve to rest in peace.

We expect that a funeral home, funeral directors, creamatoria and all of their staff members are going to care for our departed loved ones with the utmost sensitivity and care.

We don’t expect them to add to our grief and emotional pain by mishandling the remains of our loved ones and causing emotional distress to those of us left behind.

What Is Emotional Distress?

Emotional distress includes suffering, anguish, fright, horror, nervousness, grief, anxiety, worry, shock, humiliation, and shame. Serious emotional distress exists if an ordinary, reasonable person would be unable to cope with it. (California Civil Jury Instruction 1620)

Your Special Relationship With The Mortuary

When a mortuary agrees to provide funeral services and burial or cremation of our loved one, a special relationship is created between that mortuary and the close relatives of the person that has passed.  That special relationship creates a duty on the mortuary to perform the funeral-related “services in a dignified and respectful manner that the bereaved expect of mortuary and crematory operators.”

There was a case back in 1991 which was heard and decided by the California Supreme Court entitled Christensen vs. Superior Court of Los Angeles (click here to read the case).  Basically, from 1980-1987 several mortuaries and crematoria desecrated the human remains of some 16,500 bodies entrusted to them by the bereaved families. 

And what did these mortuaries and crematoria do to these bodies?  These were your worst nightmares come true.

1. Pulled the gold from the decedents’ teeth with pliers. This heinous act is known as “popping chops” or “making the pliers sing” throughout the industry.
2. Removed and sold hearts, eyes, corneas, brains and other body parts and sold them to companies for commercial distribution.
3. Cremated the bodies of numerous decedents together and placed the remains in 55 gallon oil drums from which they were distributed to the bereaved families

The court ruled that If the mortuary and crematory staff mishandle the remains of our loved ones, then they have breached their duty of care and are liable to the close family members for the emotional distress that they create by their acts.

Mishandling of the remains of loved ones continues today

You and your family may be able to sue the mortuary, funeral director, crematorium, etc., for emotional distress should the remains of your loved one be mishandled by those to whom you have entrusted them.  Examples:

1. Improper embalming: Techniques that cause premature decomposition of the body, especially when the body of your loved one is going to be presented in an open-casket funeral
2. Not properly refrigerating the body immediately following death but before embalming can lead to rapid decomposition
3. Commingling of ashes: putting several bodies in the same crematorium during the same burn cycle, undermining the respect due your loved one
4. Selling body parts
5. Not disposing of the body in a manner authorized by you

Read the National Funeral Director Association's Code of

Professional Conduct and Enforcement Procedures

Honoring Your Loved One's Memory

If you believe that the remains of a deceased family member have been mishandled the please contact me for a free consultation.  I'm a California Personal Injury lawyer and I'm here for you.

(877) 487-8221

[email protected]

All Consultations Are Free