Above, you’ll find the cover of the recent book, The Law of Superheroes, by friends of the blog James Daily and Ryan Davidson.  As you might recall, those two run The Law and The Multiverse blog, a site dedicated to”superheroes, supervillains, and the law” and the exploration of legal issues through comic books.  While we here at Abnormal Use typically feature a legal themed comic book cover each week, James and Ryan analyze in detail how particular statutes and common law rules might apply in a given comic book universe.  We’ve loved their site from the beginning, and we’re pleased that they’ve published some of their material in book form. (For more on this book, please see here.).

You may or may not watch TV’s “Survivor,” but we’re amused to note that this season’s winner – named this past Sunday – is a Harvard law student by the name of John Cochran.  Our favorite part of the season finale: Cochran, who has made it to the final three, is planning the opening statement that he will deliver to the jury, composed of former competitors who were “voted off the island.”  Cochran remarks to an interviewer that addressing a jury is something that Harvard Law school did not prepare him to do. Ouch.

We really shouldn’t be working today. We would much rather be seeing Star Trek Into Darkness.

Here’s another century old comp claim from @TweetsOfOld.

Above, you will find the cover of Superman #41 published way, way back in 1946.  As you can see, Superman seems to be frustrated with a case of writer’s block.  We definitely empathize with his dilemma – especially when due dates are upon us.  But, we must wonder why Superman is writing his own comic in the first place.  Talk about the opportunity to flatter one’s self.  Faster than a speeding bullet?  More powerful than a locomotive?  Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound?  Whatever you say, Superman.  It’s amazing he ever revealed the whole green Kryptonite vulnerability thing.  Alas.

Here is an interesting article from The New Yorker discussing the drawbacks of Entropica, the latest artificial intelligence system garnering tons of internet buzz.  We think the authors could have saved a lot of time and Internet space by simply reminding us of The Matrix.

According to a Gawker report, a supermarket chain in the United Kingdom has been ordered to recall bags of nuts for failing to disclose that they contain nuts.  You might recall our own Stuart Mauney discussing a similar issue some time ago.  (Hat tip:  Overlawyered).

Don’t forget! You can follow Abnormal Use on Twitter here and on Facebook here! Drop us a line!

Above, you’ll find the cover of Captain Marvel #39, published way, way back in 1975.  It’s a part of the storyline “The Trial of The Watcher,” which the website Comicvine tells us involved “Uatu the Watcher [being] put on trial among his race for his interference in several Earth affairs.” The cover proclaims that the issue will offer “The Fate of the Watcher . . . and the Deadly Verdict!”  That does not sound promising for Uatu, does it?

Mental Floss offers us “11 of the Most-Watched Television Trials.”  You can probably guess most of them.

This review of My Cousin Vinny by AtomicSam links our prior coverage of the 20th anniversary of the film.

Well, Trevor Fehrman at Film Racket is arguing that “Attack of the Clones is a Film of Incalculable Historical Significance.”  Oh, my.

Finally, comedian Ricky Gervais offers his thoughts on product warning labels. Not a fan of them, we think, based on his comment.  For good measure, be certain to read some of the comments to his tweet to get an idea of the public perception of certain warning labels.

Above, you’ll find the cover of Brik Jones: Attorney for Earth #1, published not so long ago in 2012.  It’s funny to think that there have been legal themed comic book covers brought into existence after we started this blogging thing. Wow. However, we must confess that we have never heard of Brik Jones, and we find it hard to believe that his client is Earth.  I mean, his client is the planet? Who would he present as his representative for a 30(b)(6) deposition?

Well, you might have  noticed that the site suffered a brief outage yesterday.  Rest assured, dear friends, we have rectified the issue, and it will trouble you no more.  (We were told it was a minor, but thankfully ephemeral, hosting issue.). Thanks to the eagle-eyed readers who first noticed the issue and brought it to our attention.  This blogging thing can get complicated!

Here is an interesting article from The Daily Texan, the official student paper of The University of Texas at Austin, detailing how the University enforces its trademark. (Hat tip: The Daily Texan Twitter Account.).

Above, you’ll find the cover of Miles Edgeworth: Ace Attorney – Investigations #4, published not so long ago in February 2013.
According to Wikipedia, Miles is Ace Attorney Phoenix Wright’s “long-time friend and first rival in the court room.” You may recall that we here at Abnormal Use mentioned Phoenix Wright way back in June of 2011. Whatever the case, here’s the plot of this issue, according to our favorite comics website, Comicvine:

Stranded in the middle of the mountains, Gumshoe and Edgeworth spend the night in a nearby hotel. The employees believe an ogre has been set free by a recent fire, and is terrorizing the guests! Is the hotel really a host for the occult, or is this just a novel scheme? Edgeworth, along with Gumshoe and Candy Holly, must uncover the truth before the entire hotel falls into ruin!

This does not sound like a typical case for any attorney. Oh, well.

Um, apparently, there is a show called “Vampire Prosecutor.” (Hat Tip: Adam Frazier).

The Minnesota legislature was doing interesting things in 1891, apparently.

Don’t forget! You can follow Abnormal Use on Twitter here and on Facebook here! Drop us a line!

We hope you enjoyed Monday’s post – our fourth April Fool’s Day blog entry.  Though some find April 1 joke posts to be silly and unnecessary, we have to admit that we love writing them.  If only you, our dear readers, loved reading them.  Maybe you do. If you missed it, the title was “North Carolina Court Declares Harlem Shake ‘Over,’ Enjoins YouTube From Accepting Further Videos Depicting Same.”  Yes, yes, we wrote a post about a dying meme, but the best part is that the post is about the fact that the meme is dying. See how we were capitalizing on it and distancing ourselves from it, too? That’s the only way to be.

By the way, in the interests of completism, we present these links to our three past April Fool’s Day Posts:

“American Bar Association Denies Provisional Accreditation To Miskatonic University School of Law” (April 1, 2012)

“Star Wars Prequels Unreasonably Dangerous and Defective, South Carolina Federal Court Finds” (April 1, 2011)

“Unsatisfying Snickers Bar Unreasonably Dangerous and Defective, Texas Court Holds” (April 1, 2010)

So, even a few days after this year’s April Fool’s Day, you can now go back and revisit our posts from April Fool’s Days past.  Better late than never, eh? Enjoy.

By the way, above, you’ll find the cover of Franklin Richards: April Fools #1, published by Marvel Comics not so long ago in 2009.  Franklin Richards, as you may know, is the son of Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Woman, both of the Fantastic Four.  His relationship to April Fool’s Day remains unknown to us.

Above, you’ll find the cover of Captain America #611, published not so long ago in 2010. This issue features the first installment of the storyline “The Trial of Captain America,” which you may recall we previously mentioned here and here. Apparently, Captain America is taken into custody by the law enforcement authorities, but they fail to remove his mask. How do they log him into the system without removing his mask and determining his identity? How do they ascertain any prior offenses or warrants if they do not confirm his real name? Is it the respect and awe that the officers must hold for the fabled Captain American that prevents them from performing their routine? Isn’t there a safety concern in allowing a suspect to remain in a costume? Why do superheroes always receive special treatment from cops or prison wardens with respect to the retention of their costumes? We may never know.

Robert Kessler of The Atlantic Wire asks: “Why aren’t there cameras allowed at the Supreme Court again?”

Buzzfeed, as you know, is always making lists. List after list and list. But here’s one we couldn’t resist sharing: “The 33 Most Beautiful Abandoned Places in The World.” There are some hauntingly beautiful – or beautifully haunting – photographs in that collection, so we encourage you to pause today from your quotidian toil and investigate.

This weekend, of course, is Easter. We here at Abnormal Use and Gallivan, White, & Boyd, P.A. wish you and your family a happy and safe Easter.

Don’t forget! You can follow Abnormal Use on Twitter here and on Facebook here! Drop us a line! You know you want to! Did you know, also, that you can follow our lawyers Gray Culbreath and Mills Gallivan on Twitter, as well? Since it’s #FollowFriday on Twitter, why not give them a follow today as we head into the weekend?

Behold, the cover of Daredevil By Ed Brubaker & Michael Lark Ultimate Collection – Book 1, published not so long ago in the late 1990′s. As you can see, Daredevil finds himself in jail, although once again, for some reason, the prison warden has permitted a superhero to remain in costume while incarcerated.  Here’s how Amazon describes the narrative:

For the past few years, Matt Murdock’s life has been teetering on the edge of destruction. Now, pushed beyond the limit, Matt finds himself behind the eight ball with no clear way out, the people he calls friends slowly deserting him, and Hell’s Kitchen gradually slipping out of control. The question is, when his back is against the wall. just how far will Daredevil go to get back what is his? Plus: a special episode focusing on Daredevil’s best friend, Foggy Nelson. Spinning out of the stunning finale of Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev’s ground-breaking run, Brubaker and Lark pick up the billy club and run as hard and as fast as they can to leave their own mark on one of comics’ most enduring legends.

Um, that doesn’t really tell us why he’s in jail.  Or what charges he faces. Maybe we’ll just go back and read our September 2011 interview with Daredevil writer Mark Waid.

Uh-oh.  Bob Dylan is touring again, and he’s playing right here in our backyard in Charlotte, North Carolina. What to do? For our previous thoughts on him, please see here, a brief reference  here, here, and here).

Have you ever thought to yourself, “Gee, I really dig Abnormal Use and would like to know more about its writers!”  If so, you’re in luck.  Today, we’d like to introduce you to Nick Farr, so please read his official attorney biography here.

Above, you’ll find the cover of Simpsons Comics #108, published not so long ago in 2005.   This is yet another comic book cover where a line-up is not exactly constitutional, as the defendants all look so very different.  Sigh.  We would have identified Homer (who predictably, but suspiciously in this context, holding a doughnut).  We’re sure it was him, whatever the offense may have been.

In last week’s edition of Friday Links, we featured the cover of Real Fact Comics #19, which featured a a self styled “Camera Cop” taking photographs of a crime as it happened. One reader emailed to note: “Since the camera sees exactly what the police officer sees, it appears that the photos would be classic illustrative testimony dependent on the testimony of the officer for foundation.”

The other day, when attempting to visit our own website, we accidentally entered the URL address AbnormalSue.com.  We guess that works, too, to describe commentary on unusual lawsuits.

Oh, and beware The Ides of March today.

Don’t forget! You can follow Abnormal Use on Twitter here and on Facebook here! Drop us a line!

Above, you’ll find the cover of Real Fact Comics #19, published way, way back in 1949.  An interesting evidentiary issue is presented on the cover, which proclaims: “Exclusive! I Am A Camera Cop! The True Story Of A Lawman Whose Pictures Sent Criminals To The Chair!” If we were law professors (and woe unto our students if we were), we would simply place this comic book cover within our final examination and ask the students to describe how, under the relevant rules of evidence, the Camera Cop’s photographs would be made admissible. That would be cool.

“Is the Past a Foreign Country,” asks historian Suzannah Lipscomb in a TEDx video. An interesting answer.

Hey, folks, friend of the blog Brian Comer serves on the DRI Products Liability Steering Committee, and he is currently planning the DRI Products Liability annual conference, set to begin on April 3, 2013 in Washington, DC. (We are confident that the talk of that conference will be the genius of our upcoming April Fool’s Day post, which will have been published and received much acclaim two days beforehand.). You may even be able to meet one of us there, as Abnormal Use and our firm, Gallivan, White, & Boyd, P.A., usually sends a representative or two. For more information, including a link to the registration procedure, head on over to Brian’s blog and check out this entry. And, if you decide to attend, drop us a line, and we’ll look out for you.

Happy 15th anniversary to one of our favorite films, The Big Lebowski.  For anniversary coverage, please see here.

Mark our words: The casting of Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, and Carrie Fisher in the new Star Wars sequels is bad, bad news. Trust us on this one.  We’re nostalgic, too, perhaps overly so.  But we sense doom on this one. Check back with us in 2015, and we’ll collect our accolades and vindication.