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Georgia Legal Legend George T. Smith Dies at 93
Last night the Cobb County Bar and State Bar of Georgia lost a true legal legend, George T. Smith. He was one of the first lawyers to welcome me to the bar when I arrived in Marietta as a baby lawyer, over a decade ago. George T. was in his early 80s then and an active member of the bar. He was humble, pleasant, and sharp as a razor.
Known as one of the most versatile men in Georgia politics, George T. had one of the most impressive legal resumes imaginable having served at the highest levels of all three branches of government; Georgia Supreme Court Justice, former Speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives, and Lieutenant Governor. He died last night at age 93. According to his law partner, Tom Browning, George T. was still practicing law until six weeks ago and last year he tried a jury trial. He truly was an inspiring figure.
California Lawyer Ordered to Pay $20,000 Dollar Sanction for Filing Friviolous Motion in a U.S. District Court in Middle Georgia
As a practicing personal injury attorney, I can attest that truth is often stranger than fiction. A recent example is the fascinating story about the personal crusade of a California lawyer dentist determined to convince the world President Obama was born somewhere other than Hawaii. Her name is Orly Taitz, DDS, Esq. Last year year she filed a restraining order in U.S. District Court, Middle District of Georgia, to prevent her client, Capt. Connie Rhodes, a U.S. Army physician, from being deployed to Iraq. Apparently, Dr. Taitz’s argument is Obama is illegally serving as President and does not have the authority to deploy American troops.
As one might expect, Taitz’s argument was not well received by U.S. District Judge Clay Land and her case was dismissed. In response to Judge Land’s ruling Taitz publicly declared his decision “an act of treason” and filed a motion for a rehearing. Probably not a wise move. The Judge dimissed the motion and ordered Taitz to pay $20,000 in sanctions stating: “Counsel’s pattern of conduct conclusively establishes that she did not mistakenly violate a provision of law. She knowingly violated Rule 11. Her response to the Court’s show cause order is breathtaking in its arrogance and borders on delusional.”
Taitz appealed the sanctions order all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. On Monday, August 16th, the Supreme Court rejected her application without comment. Personally, I think she is lucky that she is only facing $20,000 in sanctions for her conduct in this case. If she enjoys practicing law, she would be wise to pay the fine and move on, but we shall see.
City of Atlanta Agrees to Pay a $4.9 Million Dollar Settlement to the Family of Kathryn Johnson for her Wrongful Death
The city of Atlanta has reached a settlement to pay $4.9 million dollars for the wrongful death claims of Kathryn Johnston. The tragic death of Ms. Johnston had a huge impact on our community and hopefully the resolution of this case can bring some closure to the family and the city. Mayor Kasim Reen said the resolution of the case is an important healing step for the police department and the city.
Kathryn Johnston was killed in 2006 following a botched drug raid on her house. Using information from a confidential informant, the Atlanta police officers executed a no-knock warrant and kicked in Ms. Johnson’s door. The officers shot and killed the 92 year old woman and then planted drugs in her home.
Three former city of Atlanta officers pled guilty to charges of conspiracy to violate civil rights resulting in death and were sentenced in 2009. Multiple other officers pled guilty to various offenses and were either fired or reprimanded for violations of department policy.
Hit and Run Driver Responsible for Fatal Lawrenceville Crash Receives 40 Year Prison Sentence
Hit and run driver, Cody Rhoden, pled guilty to 4 counts of vehicular homicide in Gwinnett County this week. Following his plea, the judge sentenced him to 40 years in prison with an additional 30 years of probation. According to prosecutors, Mr. Rhoden caused one of the deadliest car crashes in Gwinnett County history killing 4 people and seriously injuring several others.
According to witness statements, he was zooming through traffic at speeds exceeding 100 miles per hour and had consumed up to five 16 oz beers at an Atlanta Braves game prior to driving home that night. Police say he ditched his Acura after the collision and turned himself in the following day.
The damage this man caused with his reckless driving is truly unimaginable. One of the crash survivors, Latavius Finley, testified at the plea hearing “I’m lost. My first born died in my arms. My fiancee died in my arms. My little brother died after responding to me on the highway. My life has not been the same.” Although nothing can mend the harms suffered by the grieving families, hopefully Mr. Rhoden’s conviction can help bring closure to the victims’ families.
BP to Pay Record $50.6 Million Dollar OSHA Fine for Safety Violations Uncovered at Texas City Refinery Last Year
BP will pay a record $50.6 Million OSHA fine for numerous safety violations discovered at a Texas City oil refinery last year. The prior record for an OSHA fine, $21 Million, was also issued against BP for multiple safety violations at the exact same Texas City refinery a few years earlier. OSHA issued the previous record holding fine following a deadly explosion at the BP refinery, in March of 2005, that killed 15 people and injured 170. To say BP did not learn it’s lesson following the tragic 2005 explosion is an understatement.
Specifically, in this most recent round of fines, OSHA issued the BP Texas City refinery 709 citations with a total fine exceeding $80 Million, finding the exact same safety problems at the refinery BP was punished for in 2005. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis stated “The size of the penalty rightly reflects BP’s disregard for workplace safety.” BP accepted 270 violations and agreed to pay $50.6 Million, but is still contesting over 400 of the citations.
Jordan Barab, the deputy director of OSHA, when asked whether BP admitted wrongdoing at the Texas City refinery he said “They have recognized and accepted every citation that we have levied on them” related to their failure to correct violations stemming from the 2005 settlement, “That speaks for itself.”
BP Oil Spill Litigation Consolidated in Federal District Court in New Orleans
The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation ruled that more than 300 cases filed against BP will be heard by U.S. District Court Judge Carl Barbier in New Orleans. The lawsuits include multiple wrongful death claims filed by the families of those killed in the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion as well as hundreds of claims filed by Gulf Coast Businesses seeking economic losses.
The Multidistrict panel’s decision is viewed as a huge blow to BP’s defense efforts. BP requested that the panel consolidate the cases to the center of it’s U.S. Operations, Houston, Texas. However, the panel chose New Orleans and provided the following reasoning “without discounting the spill’s effects on other states, if there is a geographic and psychological ‘center of gravity’ in this docket, then the Eastern District of Louisiana is closest to it.”
Judge Frees Man Serving 8 Years in Prison for Fatal Toyota Acceleration Crash
Today, the words unintended acceleration and Toyota go together like peanut butter and jelly, but in 2007 unintended acceleration was a foreign concept to most people. 2007 was the year Koua Fong Lee was sentenced to eight years in prison after his Toyota Camry accelerated without warning and crashed into two cars killing three people. Mr. Lee was on his way home from church with his pregnant wife, father, daughter, brother and niece when the acceleration incident occurred. Mr. Lee always maintained his Toyota accelerated without warning and would not stop even though he was pushing the brake. Toyota denied there was a problem, no one believed Mr. Lee, and he was convicted of vehicular homicide.
Two and half years in prison and 8 million recalled Toyota’s later, Mr. Lee is a free man. Last week a Minnesota judge ordered a new trial and the prosecutor dropped the charges. The civil case against Toyota for causing multiple deaths in that fatal crash remains pending.
Free Thumb Socks! New Campaign to Stop Texting & Driving
I just finished up a case where a violent head on collision was caused by a texting teen. In my case, luckily no one was killed, but texting and driving is a huge problem that is killing American teens. Do Something.org’s Thumb Wars is a national campaign to help educate drivers on the dangers of texting and driving. Check out the site, they have free thumb socks! What are thumb socks you ask? Watch the video.
In the video above Ken Jeong (Community, The Hangover) and Joel McHale (Community, The Soup) share the sobering fact that car accidents are the leading cause of teen deaths in the U.S., while demonstrating how difficult it is to text when your thumbs are wearing socks.
In an attempt to fix this huge problem, the State of Georgia recently passed a law banning texting while driving. So who knows, if fear of a big traffic ticket doesn’t stop the problem, maybe thumb socks will.
Attorney Ben Persons Receives 10 out of 10 Superb AVVO Rating
Avvo is a leading lawyer rating website that rates and profiles lawyers in every state to help consumers evaluate and select an excellent lawyer for their needs. The primary focus of Avvo’s ratings are 1) Experience, 2) Industry Recognition, and 3) Professional Conduct. Recently, they have given Persons Firm attorney, Ben Persons, Avvo’s highest possible endorsement 10 out of 10, Superb. The Persons Firm is proud to congratulate Ben Persons on this prestigious achievement.