All Carded Up, and Nowhere to Go
The State of Michigan just can’t figure out what to do about marijuana. They don’t want to legalize it since that would set off a howl from the solid citizens that don’t want to smoke it and don’t want their kids to do so either. Besides, it’s a steady source of income as the smoker’s parade through the District Courts leaving a trail of fine money behind. Those fines are more a pot smoking tax than a criminal penalty. The prosecution of pot smokers not only keeps the arrest numbers up in the War on Drugs, it also provides employment [...]
Categories: Columns, You and the law Tags:
Obamacare
This being a law column I’d be remiss if I didn’t say something about the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act a/k/a Obamacare. If you read this column you’ve probably been following the Supreme Court arguments and are awaiting their decision. Here’s my guess: They decided this case months ago. The members of the Court had read thousands of pages of briefs before oral arguments. They weren’t waiting for someone to argue the case to arrive at their decision. Their clerks have had rough drafts of the various opinions written for weeks. The rest is for show. As for the [...]
Categories: Columns, You and the law Tags:
Unsigned Letters
Should local newspapers publish letters containing personal attacks if the writer won’t let their name be used? Of course not. Only newspapers that want to publish unpopular opinions under the guise of a Letter to the Editor and a handful of cranks and soreheads would be in favor of doing so. I think the rest of us regard anonymous insults and attacks as contemptible and cowardly. Look, I run this column in both Clare newspapers. Each has its own policies. I think the best policy is to publish any letter to the editor, no matter how poorly written or uninformed, [...]
Categories: Columns, You and the law Tags:
Powers of Attorney
Let me tell you a little bit about Powers of Attorney. These are legal documents where one person [the principal]delegates certain authority to another [the Agent or Attorney in Fact]. They’re pretty commonly used And can be very dangerous if not properly drafted or if you use the wrong kind. There are three major types of POAs: those that are effective upon signing, Durable POAs, and “springing” POAs. Each has a specific use and is done for a particular reason. Their clauses and drafting requirement are different as well. An ordinary POA, effective upon signing, stays in effect until it’s [...]
Categories: Columns, You and the law Tags:
Blondie Girl
I hope you’re as excited as I am about Blondie Girl Productions bringing show biz to Clare. That’s the production company that’s got the City convinced that people will watch a reality show about Cops and Donuts. They plan to run it on the Food Network for “13 episodes per year for up to 5 years.” Except for the show where the guy eats worms and the other show where another guy eats ten pound hamburgers there just isn’t much in the way of drama on the Food Channel. Don’t be looking for Masterpiece Theater with frosting. I hope everything [...]
Categories: Columns, You and the law Tags:
