Declarations

Just as Dangerous

“We already have this law in effect for people who drive motor vehicles while under the influence, why should it be any different for watercraft? They are just as dangerous as vehicles, if not more so.”

—Oklahoma State Senator Bill Brown, R-Broken Arrow, upon introducing Senate Bill 1140, which would require a conviction of boating while under the influence (BUI) to be made part of an individual’s driving record. The aim is to reduce the number of alcohol- and other intoxicating substance-related deaths and accidents on Oklahoma’s lakes and rivers. Under the provisions of the bill, besides being made part of a person’s driving record, the BUI violation would also be taken into account for determining the punishment for multiple violations that could escalate to a penalty of a felony.

Years of Hard Time

“I have been under investigation for seven or eight years and it has been seven or eight years of hard time. … That’s all I can say.”

—Seymour Lazar, an 80-year-old retired attorney who pleaded guilty in a kickback scheme involving class-action lawsuits against some of America’s largest corporations. Lazar was sentenced in Los Angeles to six months home detention and two years probation. Federal prosecutors said he was paid about $2.6 million to be a professional plaintiff for the law firm now known as Milberg Weiss. It is estimated the firm made around $250 million over two decades by filing such legal actions. Seven people, including three of the firm’s former partners, have pleaded guilty in the case. Lazar, the first to be sentenced, also was fined $600,000.

Dream Goes Up in Smoke

“He had a dream of a career in radio and was very disappointed about where it had led him.”

—Austin (Texas) Fire Department Battalion Chief Greg Nye Paul Webster, commenting on charges against Paul Webster Feinstein, 24, who has been charged with second-degree felony arson for a Jan. 5 fire that caused $300,000 damage to the studios of 91.7 FM KOOP. Feinstein, a volunteer disc jockey for the non-profit station, told investigators that he was “very unhappy” about the changes to a playlist of songs he had prepared for an Internet broadcast that occurs when the station is off the air. He faces from two to 20 years in prison and a $10,000 fine if convicted.

Not Within the Court’s Power

“It is not within the Court’s power to address the wrongs committed. It is hopefully within the citizens of the United States’ power to address the failures of our laws and agencies.”

—U.S. District Judge Stanwood Duval, in New Orleans, dismissing a class-action lawsuit against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers over levee breaches after Hurricane Katrina. In dismissing the case, Duval cited the Flood Control Act of 1928, which protects the federal government from lawsuits when flood control projects like levees break, the Associated Press reported. Still, Duval issued a stinging condemnation of the Corps, saying it “cast a blind eye” and “squandered millions of dollars in building a levee system … which was known to be inadequate by the Corps’ own calculations.” The lawsuit led to about 489,000 claims by businesses, government entities and residents, seeking trillions of dollars in damages.

Topics USA