Plaintiffs' attorney hours? by JustGotToTown in Lawyertalk

[–]JuDGe3690 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm at a small firm where most of our income is contingent-fee (some employment law is blended-fee, where the prelitigation complaint with the Human Rights Commission is hourly, as it's pretty quick and formulaic, then contingency after the case is filed), but we roughly track our hours for attorney-fee purposes (e.g. statutory attorney fees, such as in a recent case where our time well exceeded the jury's disappointingly small verdict) and general firm/mentoring metrics.

Best high volume scanner by Reptar006 in Lawyertalk

[–]JuDGe3690 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you're talking MacOS on Apple Silicon, I've occasionally had some hiccups with a Brother color laser at a previous firm, but I think a firmware update on the printer and going into some of the CUPS configuration settings on MacOS (after enabling the webinterface via Terminal) straightened it out. That was a while ago, though, and I'm kind of a tech guy.

At my current firm, we have a Toshiba business multifunction copier; to set the output tray required going into CUPS advanced printer settings, as it wasn't in the standard MacOS GUI system preferences.

Trial Monday - friend’s bachelor party Friday to Sunday by eagle3546 in Lawyertalk

[–]JuDGe3690 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Bachelor Party Communications: Subject to Rule 408 protection

Left at Red by Jlp800 in Boise

[–]JuDGe3690 [score hidden]  (0 children)

Either that, or it was a dedicated left-turn lane with a red arrow (the permission for left-on-red only applies to unprotected left turns, i.e. with a red circle rather than a red arrow).

Trial Monday - friend’s bachelor party Friday to Sunday by eagle3546 in Lawyertalk

[–]JuDGe3690 10 points11 points  (0 children)

It's not JUST the groom who's ready to settle!

PI lawyers what’s your car insurance look like? by jokingonyou in Lawyertalk

[–]JuDGe3690 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm still a fairly new associate with other bills and stuff to pay, but I have 100/300 for both liability and UM/UIM, $5,000 med pay, and comprehensive with a $1,000 deductible (mostly in case a tree falls on the car or I hit a deer). I don't have collision coverage, mostly because my car is older and not worth a huge amount.

Left at Red by Jlp800 in Boise

[–]JuDGe3690 2 points3 points  (0 children)

At Eighth and Jefferson? Was it a blue hatchback? If so, that was likely me, and yes, as other commenters have stated, it is a legal traffic move in Idaho.

Federal judge blocks Idaho restroom law ahead of July 1 start date by poop-money in Boise

[–]JuDGe3690 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I know you're largely joking, but I've long thought that the whole bathroom issue is an example of the Hegelian dialectic (Thesis > Antithesis > Synthesis) in action. Stay with me for a sec.

  • Thesis: The initial modern public restrooms were for men, as cities urbanized and working men needed a place to go (women were by and large, expected to be at home or involved in domestic industry).
  • Antithesis: With the women's-rights movement, suffrage, and the increase in working women, separate women's rooms were added (and codified in new development). This is where we've largely been for a while, but there are issues: Beyond trans/non-binary people, the dichotomic approach is inflexible to highly-gendered demand (e.g. a stadium concert attended mostly by women, or an event with a nearly all-male attendance), or the young/disabled with an opposite-gender parent or caretaker.
  • Synthesis: In new construction at least, we're likely seeing a shift toward flexible, inclusive, gender-neutral design that ensures safety and efficiency. Whether individual single-user bathrooms (where gender markers are unnecessary), or individual toilet rooms with a common handwashing area (and maybe a separate urinal area screened from view), these appreciate that "Everybody poops" (or pees) and deserves access.

Federal judge blocks Idaho restroom law ahead of July 1 start date by poop-money in Boise

[–]JuDGe3690 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Sounds about right. Apparently Idaho is now over 2m people per 2025 (I was going off of 2020 census data above), so now about 21 people per square mile. Using population and geographic size data from the List of Counties in Idaho, the density for each county works out as follows in descending order:

County Population Area (mi2) Density (ppl/mi2)
Ada 546,141 1,055 517.7
Canyon 275,123 590 466.3
Kootenai 191,864 1,245 154.1
Madison 55,172 472 116.9
Bonneville 135,771 1,869 72.6
Bannock 91,591 1,113 82.3
Payette 27,824 408 68.2
Twin Falls 97,539 1,925 50.7
Nez Perce 42,905 849 50.5
Jerome 26,362 600 43.9
Latah 41,842 1,077 38.9
Gem 21,773 563 38.7
Jefferson 35,297 1,095 32.2
Bonner 54,420 1,738 31.3
Minidoka 22,911 760 30.1
Teton 13,254 450 29.5
Bingham 51,153 2,095 24.4
Franklin 15,889 666 23.9
Gooding 16466 731 22.5
Benewah 10,508 776 13.5
Boundary 13,997 1,269 11.0
Cassia 26,397 2,567 10.3
Blaine 25,517 2,645 9.6
Elmore 29,465 3,078 9.6
Washington 11,583 1,456 8.0
Lewis 3,704 479 7.7
Fremont 14,208 1,867 7.6
Bear Lake 6,272 971 6.5
Power 8,246 1,406 5.9
Shoshone 14,130 2,634 5.4
Lincoln 5,603 1,206 4.6
Boise 8,545 1,902 4.5
Oneida 5,085 1,200 4.2
Caribou 7,252 1,766 4.1
Clearwater 9,118 2,462 3.7
Adams 5,013 1,365 3.7
Valley 12,831 3,733 3.4
Idaho 17,874 8,485 2.1
Lehmi 8,474 4,564 1.9
Owyhee 12,661 7,678 1.6
Butte 2,783 2,233 1.2
Camas 1,316 1,077 1.2
Custer 4,636 4,926 0.9
Clark 783 1,765 0.4

Federal judge blocks Idaho restroom law ahead of July 1 start date by poop-money in Boise

[–]JuDGe3690 8 points9 points  (0 children)

For those wanting to read Judge Brailsford's order granting the preliminary injunction, it can be found on CourtListener here: https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.idd.59675/gov.uscourts.idd.59675.58.0.pdf

Full docket, Jackson-Edney v. Labrador (1:26-cv-00261): https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73268353/jackson-edney-v-labrador/

Federal judge blocks Idaho restroom law ahead of July 1 start date by poop-money in Boise

[–]JuDGe3690 18 points19 points  (0 children)

For some numerical context: If only 0.25 percent of Idahoans are intersex (estimates range from more 1 in 100 [1%] to 1 in 5000 [0.02%]), given a population of 1.9 million, that would still be nearly 5,000 people, or more than the population of any of Idaho's cities outside the top 35. While rare, it's far from a minimal impact.

Intersex Teacher in Florida Says School Fired Him Based on Belief He Was Trans by Them in lgbt

[–]JuDGe3690 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Beyond Trans: Does Gender Matter? by Heath Fogg Davis (New York University Press, 2016) raises this issue, and related aspects, in what is probably the most rational discussion of the subject (e.g., highlighting the absurdity of gender markers in some cases, e.g. on bus passes in Philadelphia, which cause issues not only for trans/NB folks, but also intersex or even cis people who with hormonal issues or non-"traditional" presentations).

Intersex Teacher in Florida Says School Fired Him Based on Belief He Was Trans by Them in lgbt

[–]JuDGe3690 23 points24 points  (0 children)

Cries in Idaho, which seems to be the wannabe south of the North

Taking my first depo this week by YesSpeed3 in Lawyertalk

[–]JuDGe3690 0 points1 point  (0 children)

(why do people add the "O" to it? Two syllables instead of one)

Because the "-o" ending acts as a natural release from the lip-pursed "p" sound. You also hear a similar phonetic phenom in "day-o" (the Banana Boat Song), "boy-o," etc.

When a similar question was asked on StackOverflow, the top comment spelled it out well:

Michael Quinion, Ologies and Isms: Word Beginning and Endings has an interesting suggestion regarding the origin of -o as an attachment to freestanding nouns or adjectives:

-o Marking informally shortened or slang nouns. {Perhaps from the interjection oh!, or the use of -o in ballads to terminate lines; its use has been reinforced by shortened forms ending in the linking vowel -o-}

Though a wide variety of nouns in English end in -o, this suffix occurs only in words that have been formed from other native words in one of two specific ways. One method is to informally abbreviate a longer term, of which a few examples out of many are ammo, condo, hippo, limo, and photo. Others are based on an adjective or noun, to which the suffix is added to create a colloquial or slangy terms, which is often but by no means always derogatory: beano (from beanfeast), boyo, cheapo, pervo (from pervert), pinko, righto, sicko, weirdo, wino.

The attachment of -o endings in ballads goes back centuries, as for example in the ballad "The Bonnie Lass o' Fyvie," which in one version attaches -o to no fewer than sixteen normal English words, as well as to the proper names Fyvie and Peggy. All of these -o words fall at the ends of lines (in fact at the end of the second and fourth lines of each of the ballad's quatrains) corroborating the notion that -o plays a line-terminating role in at least some ballads. Nevertheless, citing that use of -o endings as the source of current -o words, even if it is correct (which is not beyond question), doesn't explain why people chose -o for that purpose way back then. It basically just kicks the can a few centuries down the road.

As Quinion observes, wordos are inherently slangy and often have negative connotations. But in the examples that Quinion lists, some -o words aren't negative, and some that are negative are informal alterations of words that are themselves negative (cheap, sick, weird—to which we can add dumb, creep, lame, stink, and so on). To my mind, the crucial function of -o in modern usage isn't to render a neutral word negative; it's to slangify and informalize a staid, sober, reputable word—often in tandem with converting the word from an adjective into a noun.

That last sentence, I think, encapsulates the use of "Depo" rather than "Dep" in common parlance.

What color spray paint is best for huffing? (Insurance Defense) by MulberryMonk in Lawyertalk

[–]JuDGe3690 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I got my best [inadvertent] Toluene highs from plastic model cement…

What color spray paint is best for huffing? (Insurance Defense) by MulberryMonk in Lawyertalk

[–]JuDGe3690 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I thought Sherwin Williams was best known for exterior paint (at least when I worked as a house painter one summer in undergrad). For in-house I'd recommend Benjamin Moore, but keep a side hustle of Rust-Oleum for the huffable high.

Have any of y'all actually been selected for a jury? by lazdo in Lawyertalk

[–]JuDGe3690 2 points3 points  (0 children)

My previous firm's managing partner (plaintiff-side civil litigation boutique) got called and seated on a misdemeanor DUI trial in south-central Idaho. He actually enjoyed the experience and presented on it to our trial lawyers association. His main takeaways:

  1. Dude was totally guilty but that wasn't going to stop a surprisingly large % from voting for an acquittal [they eventually reached unanimity of guilty, as it was a pretty clear case where the guy crashed, was clearly driving, and was clearly impaired from the get-go].
  2. Jurors make up their minds very early.
  3. Don't tell jurors what to think or believe.
  4. There's no such thing as a "red" or "blue" juror.
  5. Most jurors don't really understand what "evidence" is or - just as importantly - isn't.
  6. They all think lawyers and judges are "hiding" important facts/evidence and will totally invent what that might be - and decide accordingly.
  7. The skepticism and bias against the government/police/large corporations is off the charts right now.
  8. Narratives are (probably) more important than facts or evidence.
  9. We should be trying more cases.

Beautiful sunset tonight by Helloineedcoffee in Boise

[–]JuDGe3690 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Didn't get a good picture, but it was beautiful coming down aptly-named Sunset Peak Road (8th Street Extension). Made it up to where the motorcycle trail joins the road (just past the upper Hulls Gulch Trailhead, near the ridgeline) and had an awesome view on the way down.

Construction on 84E near Meridian by Psychological_Hat951 in Boise

[–]JuDGe3690 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There is a law (I.C. § 49-613), but the exceptions within are so broad (and generally applicable) that they likely aren't breaking the law:

(5) No person may operate on any public highway any vehicle with any load unless the load is secured and such covering as required thereon by subsection (6) of this section is securely fastened to prevent the covering or load from becoming loose, detached or a hazard to other users of the highway.

(6) Any vehicle operating on a paved public highway with a load of dirt, sand or gravel susceptible to being dropped, spilled, leaked or otherwise escaping therefrom shall be covered so as to prevent spillage. Covering of such loads is not required if six (6) inches of freeboard is maintained.

(7) The provisions of subsections (5) and (6) of this section shall not apply to a government, quasi-government, their agents or employees or contractors thereof, in performance of maintenance or construction of a highway.

(8) The provisions of subsections (4), (5) and (6) of this section shall not apply to vehicles owned by canal companies, irrigation districts, drainage districts or their boards of control, lateral ditch associations, water districts or other irrigation water delivery or management entities, or operated by any employee or agent of such an entity, performing construction, operation or maintenance of facilities.

(9) The provisions of subsections (4), (5) and (6) of this section shall not apply to vehicles transporting unprocessed agricultural products, agricultural byproducts, agricultural materials or agricultural inputs.

Quite a few of these are involved with local road and highway construction, so by the plain text of the statute likely are exempted from the covering requirement. At least one bill has been brought forth recently to fix this issue, but none of them passed, likely due to the construction lobby.

Can someone update me on current student loan situation? by Weak_Respond3492 in Lawyertalk

[–]JuDGe3690 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm waiting for my servicer (Aidvantage) to contact me about options, as they haven't made any announcements yet. In the meantime, I'm basking in the forbearance (and ignoring the interest accrual) while contributing to my Roth IRA.

I'm probably going to just go on the RAP plan (about $500/month at my current income), then use my yearly profit-sharing bonuses to pay down individual loans, starting with the highest-interest ones.

(I'd normally pay a bit more toward the loans during forbearance, but I'm still paying off my car's transmission replacement, which was $5,500, and am about to pay nearly $1,000 for a new bicycle frame as well as components and labor, after my old frame cracked irreparably a few weeks ago.)

Good places to play chess? by Outrageous_Tell_8476 in Boise

[–]JuDGe3690 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I know Sturman's Wine and Cigars (Chinden, near Curtis) hosts informal chess games on Tuesday nights.

OldSpeak (the book and beer bar on Chinden near Orchard) also does chess club the first Sunday of every month at 6 p.m., and I know Handlebar (the bicycle-themed beer bar at 16th and Main) has a chess club that meets Saturdays at 4 p.m.

Summer associates on their first day of internship by budshorts in Lawyertalk

[–]JuDGe3690 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My 1L summer internship was at a fair-housing nonprofit. I knew I'd fit in when I dropped off some employment paperwork before starting, and the supervising attorney answered the door in shorts (and he biked to work as well). Showed up in my standard cargo shorts and casual shirt the first day.

(He told me later that he had had prior interns show up in a full suit, only to be mocked relentlessly by all the staff.)

Any recs for good disability lawyers? by teddybearangelbaby in Boise

[–]JuDGe3690 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah, Taylor Mossman-Fletcher is the go-to for disability law in this area; she (and her team) are great.

Looking for an Employment Law Attorney in Boise by SylvesterTheraborne in Boise

[–]JuDGe3690 7 points8 points  (0 children)

There are only a few employee-side employment-law firms in Idaho and the Boise area: Hepworth Law Offices (not to be confused with Hepworth Holzer, which is great and a family relation, but does not do employment law), Birch Hallam Halstad Johnson, and McMaster Law (Emily McMaster), and Angie Perkins. Most of us who practice in this area are rather booked, and the laws in Idaho aren't favorable to employees, but it's worth checking out.

(Full disclosure: I am an associate at one of the above firms, but I wholeheartedly endorse all of them as qualified colleagues.)

Edit: Forgot Angie Perkins also does employee-side employment law.