The League of Rogue Barristers - Chicago Chapter

Legal Term of the Week (TM)

This week's term is in honor of our beloved Turnoverasauris Rex.

unclean hands
n. a legal doctrine which is a defense to a complaint, which states that a party who is asking for a judgment cannot have the help of the court if he/she has done anything unethical in relation to the subject of the lawsuit. Thus, if a defendant can show the plaintiff had "unclean hands," the plaintiff's complaint will be dismissed or the plaintiff will be denied judgment. Unclean hands is a common "affirmative defense" pleaded by defendants and must be proved by the defendant. Example: Hank Hardnose sues Grace Goodenough for breach of contract for failure to pay the full amount for construction of an addition to her house. Goodenough proves that Hardnose had shown her faked estimates from subcontractors to justify his original bid to Goodenough.



(This week's term is courtesy of Law.com.)

Virginia is not just for lovers anymore

That's right folks.  The great Commonwealth of Virginia does not require any registration or permit to purchase and own firearms.  Be afraid; be very afraid.

TIIIIIIIMMMMMMM---BER!

Century-old tree falls on group of deaf tourists; 1 man dead.

ROME, ITALY -- A century-old tree fell on a group of deaf tourists in central Italy on Sunday, killing a man and injuring seven people who were unable to hear a bus driver's shout of alarm, police said.

The Italian tourists had finished a day of sightseeing and were about to board a bus in a square outside the L'Aquila train station to return to their homes near Rome, police said.

"The bus driver shouted to warn them, but they couldn't hear," said Angelo Cardelli, an official at police headquarters.

A 47-year-old man from Valmontone, a suburb of Rome, was killed instantly when struck by the horse chestnut tree, police said.  In related news, Pope Benedict issued a papal edict, stating that he has received a vision from the Lord, and the vision stated God hates deaf people.

Special thanks to the associate press--J.D.