Above, you’ll find the cover of Tiger Lawyer #1, published by Challenger Comics not too long ago.  Although the concept is pretty self explanatory, we’ll go ahead and ask: What is Tiger Lawyer? Well, according to this site, the series centers around “a Bengal Tiger that happens to be a high-profile criminal defense lawyer.” The series was created and written by Ryan Ferrier (whose work we previously mentioned here back in May of this year).  One thing is for certain: the title character appears to be a fierce litigator. (If you want to see some excerpts of Tiger Lawyer in action in the courtroom, click here for some previews from the Challenger Comics website).

Well, you may have heard that the USA Network this week canceled “Fairly Legal,” the series starring Sarah Shahi as a quirky lawyer turned mediator. Alas.  We weren’t big fans of the show, but we have written about it on occasion.  Back when the show premiered in January of 2011, we reviewed the pilot and premise and also interviewed the show’s creator and show runner, Michael Sardo. (We thought we were pretty cool at the time for scoring the Hollywood interview.). When the show returned for a second season earlier this year, we were on the case again with a new review. Now the show belongs to the ages.

Is this truly the end of Buckyballs, about which we wrote here and here? (Hat tip: Overlawyered).

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Above, you’ll find the cover of Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight Halloween Special #2, published many moons ago in the halcyon days of 1994. For some reason, Halloween is an overrepresented holiday in comic books, although what would you expect from a medium replete with costumed protagonists?

Ah, 1994. Those were the days. Did you know that on October 31, 1994, the band Phish covered the super majority of The Beatles’ White Album at a gig in Glens Falls, New York? We remember hearing about it that year, but the show was not released – officially, at least – on CD until nearly a decade later. That has little, if anything, to do with Batman, but it has everything to do with 1994.

Whatever the case, whether you’re celebrating Halloween early this weekend, or if you’re waiting until the official day next week, we here at Abnormal Use and Gallivan, White, & Boyd, P.A. wish you a safe and happy holiday. If you’re in the Halloween spirit already, though, you can check out some of our past Halloween posts.  Here is our very first, if brief, Halloween post from October 31, 2010 to be compared to our equally short Halloween post from October 31, 2011.  But there’s far more substantive Halloween content in our archives! Do you remember Steve Buckingham’s fabled “I Want My Halloween” pop culture post from just last year? Or, how about last year’s “The Top 6 Paranormal Products on eBay Right Now“?  Earlier this week, we ran “Halloween Fear Fest Leads To Litigation.” Oh, and back in 2010, in a scary edition of “Friday Links” redubbed “Scary Links,” we brought you a list of our favorite scary movies. How’s that?

In some other non-Halloween related news, our own Chris Kelly, the partner in charge of our Charlotte office, had an article published this week in The Transportation Lawyer: A Comprehensive  Journal of Developments in Transportation Law (October 2012 – Volume 14, Number 2).  The title: “Judicial Note and Google: Ancient Doctrine and Internet Search Engine.” Believe it or not, there’s a whole subset of jurisprudence out there on Google Maps, which is a helpful utility to any transportation lawyer. Check it out!

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Recently, we here at Abnormal Use reported on the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s efforts to ban the spherically shaped magnets known as Buckyballs.  As you might recall, we were a little critical of the CPSC’s over-zealous tactics to protect the public from swallowing the magnets.  Call us reckless, if you will, but we just didn’t see the necessity of banning a product whose alleged “hazards” could be cured by a little self-policing by the consumer.  The product had warnings.  Common sense could keep any accidents from happening.  Sometimes, it appears that, according to the CPSC’s logic, any product could be unreasonably dangerous.

Apaprently, the Buckyballs company made the same observation.

Buckyballs has taken to Facebook launching its own campaign against the CPSC’s logic.  As pictured above, Buckyballs’ creativity did not cease with the invention of the magnetic sphere.  It’s true.  Any product, including a bed, can pose a hazard when not used properly.  As much as we love warning labels, even with them, accidents can sometimes occur.  Obviously, it would be ridiculous to require these types of warnings for a bed.

While we agree that the CPSC’s draconian efforts to ban Buckyballs are ridiculous, the company’s campaign is comparing apples to oranges.  In most instances, falling out of a bed is accidental and not the result of the sleeper’s own comparative fault.  The ingestion of magnetic spheres, on the other hand, typically takes some ridiculous affirmative act.  Even though a warning should not be necessary with either product, at least with Buckyballs, the label need only warn the user to exercise common sense.

In the case of Buckyballs’ coconut spoof, we must respectfully disagree.  Coconuts should be banned, but not due to the risk of injury from their falling.  Rather, coconuts should be banned – or at least heavily regulated by the FDA – as an unsafe food additive.  How many times have you been handed a delicious looking piece of cake only to discover after biting into it that it has been tainted by this horrible food?  A discovery that undoubtedly induces a negative reaction – one that can pose dangerous to those in the vicinity.  Therfore, coconuts should be banned.  Perfect CPSC logic.

(Hat tip: Walter Olson).

Why are superheroes always on trial? Above, you’ll find the cover of The Trial of Thor, published not so long ago in 2009. Why, pray tell, was the God of Thunder put on trial?  Summarizes the website Comicvine: “Did Thor snap? After an epic battle against the Frost Giants, the Thunder God is accused of murdering innocent Asgardians. It sounds impossible . . . except that Balder the Brave is an eyewitness to the carnage. Did the mayhem and stress of war finally push even the greatest of heroes over the edge?” We hope that Thor’s defense attorney subjected Balder the Brave to a vigorous cross examination; we suspect that there is some good impeachment material there, after all. Although we’ve not yet read the volume, we suspect Thor escaped severe punishment. (To see our coverage of “The Trial of Superman,” see here, here, here, and of course, here).

As you know, we here at Abnormal Use are huge, huge nerds.  This is why we couldn’t resist sharing this article from Mental Floss entitled “Alternate Histories: 7 More Ways the World Could Be Completely Different.”

Friend of the blog Walter Olson, of the Cato Institute and the famed Overlawyered blog, visited and spoke to students at the University of South Carolina this past week.  See here for some Facebook coverage of that event.

What does the canceled 2002 science fiction television show “Firefly” teach us about contract law?  Josh Gililands answers that question. “Firefly,” as you may recall, was a television series created by Joss Whedon, the same auteur responsible for TV’s “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” and this year’s The Avengers.  We’re not sure what he knows about contract law, but oh, well. (Hat tip: friend of the blog Dan Loyd).

Above, you’ll find the cover of Robocop #17, published way back in 1991.  “You have broken the law and betrayed us all!,” exclaims Robocop, who probably should never have received his own comic book series.  He  continues: “The sentence, Officer Lewis, is death.”  Something tells us this is not permitted by the sentencing guidelines in the future.  You would think Officer Lewis would at least have her union rep present for this “proceeding.”  But something isn’t right here. Robot cops get to charge, convict, and sentence their fellow officers?  If that is the “future of law enforcement,” that is not a good thing.

By the way, do you know how difficult it is becoming to find legal themed comic book covers after publishing one a week for nearly two years?  Wow. Although, in fairness, you probably had a sneaking suspicion that it was becoming a challenge when you saw that this week’s issue featured Robocop.  We’re really having trouble maintaining a straight face every time we type “Robocop.” Oh, well.

By the way, as we mentioned yesterday, this post – the one you are reading this very moment – is our 750th post.  We observed the anniversary yesterday (so as not to make this edition of Friday Links too self indulgent), but we must confess that this is quite an occasion for us.  Way back in January of 2010, when we started this blogging thing, 750 posts was an unimaginable goal.  And yet here we are.  Thank you for your support.

It’s been a while since we checked in on the North Carolina Law Blog.  Just this week, though, that site ran “Choosing a Practice Area: The Smaller, The Better” by Joyce Brafford. Check it out.

Apparently, hazing lawsuits, or at least the incidents they are based upon, are not new.

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Just as we did last week, we turn this week to Superman: The Man of Steel, issue #51 to be exact, because of its connection to the fabled “Trial of Superman.” On the cover, Superman appears to be sword fighting with a pirate, which must be true, because the narrative title is “Sky Pirates.” Why Superman is using a sword is beyond us, but the real question is what any of this has to do with a trial. Whatever the case, we certainly object to Superman’s hairstyle.

Don’t forget! As we noted yesterday, TODAY is the deadline to nominate legal blogs to this year’s ABA Journal Blawg 100 list. If you’d like to nominate a blawg (perhaps even us), you can do so here.

We’re big fans of @TweetsOfOld, a Twitter account that posts “tweets” – really just short news items – from really old newspapers.  One such tweet this week, from a 1917 Missouri newspaper, shows that not much has changed in personal injury litigation in 95 years. (By the way, we’ve previously mentioned @TweetsOfOld here, here, and here.  If you’re feeling nostalgic, check it out.).

Abnormal Use Flashback: One year ago this week, on September 6, 2011, we ran”Vice Squad: On Assignment in the Gulf” by our own Steve Buckingham. Revisit a classic post.

You love social media. You love Facebook. You love Twitter. But are you communicating with us on those platforms? You can follow Abnormal Use on Twitter here and on Facebook here! Acknowledge our existence!

The ABA Journal is once again working on its annual list of the 100 best legal blogs.  At present, the publication is soliciting nominations from its readers for blawgs to add to this year’s list.  Accordingly, we humbly request that you nominate us for the honor.

Note: The deadline to do so is tomorrow, September 7, 2012, at 7:00 PM Eastern time.

The ABA Journal is not just looking for the name of your favorite blog. They’d like you to offer a few lines about why that particular blog is your favorite.  What has the blog done in the past calendar year to earn your favor?  Why is it that you enjoy reading that blog?  Is it, say, a regular feature, its editorial tone of voice, a particularly impressive series of posts, or just the subject matter itself which intrigues you?

Allow us to do a bit of electioneering.  We’ve had a good year here at Abnormal Use.  Remember, this is the year when we celebrated the twentieth anniversary of My Cousin Vinny in March and featured not just interviews with cast members but also the director and screenwriter of the film.  We also ran a particularly obscure April Fool’s Day joke regarding the works of a horror writer, who died 75 years ago.  We even published a haiku on Mountain Dew.  And, of course, we indulged our editor’s penchant for nostalgia by commemorating the tenth anniversary of his graduation from law school.  We even shared with you the tale of one of our attorney’s being burned by his own Facebook profile page at a mediation.  And, of course, we ran a week long series on the perils and pitfalls of practical legal education.  Throughout the year, we have continued to bring you news on the latest product liability litigation and jurisprudence, each business day, as we have since January 2010.  So, if you like us, please feel free to nominate us for the ABA Journal’s list.

There are many great legal blogs out there, and we hope that even if we are not your favorite that you will still participate in this process and nominate your favorite blog.  We here at Abnormal Use – who are prohibited by the rules from nominating ourselves – would probably be too bashful to vote for our own site, anyway. Whatever the case, some of us here have already nominated a few of our favorite blogs for inclusion onto the list (including at least one blog which we read and enjoy but with which we disagree regularly).

You can complete the very brief nomination form here.  It will only take you a few moments.

We would appreciate your vote, and even if we are not your favorite, we would encourage you to participate in the process.

“Treason punishable by Gaalak,” proclaims the cover of Coneheads #4, published not so long ago in 1994 in conjunction with the previous year’s film of the same name. Treason, of course, is a crime, and our own U.S. Constitution establishes an evidentiary standard for treason prosecutions. We wonder if the planet Remulak similarly requires the testimony of two witnesses to convict a treason defendant. Perhaps, in this issue, the careful reader may discover the answer to that question, But then again, perhaps not, as how many readers of 18 year old Coneheads comics are that careful?

The most recent issue of the Greenville County Bar Association’s newsletter contains a reprint of our editor Jim Dedman’s recent post on the benefits of local bar membership. Check out page 7 of the PDF!

GWB lawyers Childs Cantey Thrasher and John T. Lay recently published an article titled “Potential Liability for Attorneys Engaging Co-counsel and Referrals” in the most recent addition of the International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC) newsletter.  The article discusses professional liability claims against attorneys using outside counsel and initiatives to avoid these claims.  Click here to read the full article in PDF.

Speaking of firm news, Stuart Mauney, a GWB lawyer and a frequent guest contributor here, has been re-elected to serve another two year term representing the 13th Judicial Circuit in the South Carolina Bar House of Delegates. Oh, and if you want to follow Stuart on Twitter, you can access his account here.

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Oh, no! It’s Friday the 13th! Yikes! We shouldn’t even bother writing today due to fearful superstition. But intrepid bloggers that we are, we shall persevere. So, above, you’ll find not a comic book, but the movie poster for Friday The 13th, Part II, released way, way back in May of 1981. By the way, there are a series of Friday the 13th comic books, based on the films, but their covers were far, far too violent to post on a family friendly products liability blog such as ours. Trust us. (By the way, we’ve mentioned Friday the 13th, the day, not the film, previously on Friday Links, but we don’t think we’ve dedicated an image to it before today.).

Friend of the blog Max Kennerly of the Litigation and Trial blog responded to our earlier post this week on food product warnings. In so doing, Max, a Plaintiff’s lawyer, contends that we “said something careless.”  Ouch. To see Max’s full post, click here.

Our old friend Professor Alberto Bernabe of The John Marshall Law School in Chicago and the Torts blog discusses the recent Farias case from the 11th Circuit. That’s the one on bilingual product warnings. You’ll recall that we blogged about it here. In the past, we’ve had a back and forth discussion with Professor Bernabe on these issues, and he’s collected a series of links in his post to those discussions.

Whoa! We made last week’s Legal Blog Watch! Click here to take a look at that!

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It’s been a while since we mentioned She-Hulk, the lawyer superhero. Above, you’ll see the cover of She-Hulk #8, published not so long ago in 2004.  Note that She-Hulk, clad in her lawyer attire and carrying her law books, finds herself on a crowded elevator with a number of heroes, including Howard the Duck and Matt Murdock (a blind lawyer who moonlights as the superhero Daredevil). We wonder if the occupants of that elevator are all traveling to She-Hulk’s law office as a part of the same case. If so, that is some litigation we would like to see.  (To see our previous coverage of She-Hulk, please see here, here, here, and here.).

Happy birthday to Walter Olson’s Overlawyered blog, which turns 13 years old this week, if you can believe it. Let us tell you something: that is quite an accomplishment. In fact, we here at Abnormal Use were early readers of Overlawyered, and we can remember perusing its pages in the law school library in 2000. We wish Walter and the site our most sincere congratulations, and we must confess that we are now looking forward to our own site’s 13th birthday in January 2023.

It’s been a big week here at Abnormal Use and Gallivan, White, & Boyd, P.A. with us adding not one but two new partners into the mix in South Carolina.  We’d like to welcome Todd R. Davidson to our Greenville office and Curtis Ott to our Columbia office. Todd, with 23 years as a transactional attorney, joins our office’s Business and Commercial Group, while Curtis, with 20 years of experience litigating commercial, transportation and product liability cases, joins our Litigation Group.

We hope and trust that you had a fine and fun Fourth of July holiday this past week (despite the challenge of having the holiday fall on a weekday rather than the weekend!). To keep the celebration going, we direct you to The Charlotte Observer’s collection of photographs of the fireworks display from downtown Charlotte, North Carolina this past Wednesday evening. It was something to see. Check it out!

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