With my illness, my firm has dissolved and I’m not sure what’s in store for the future. With that in mind, I’m ending this blog and beginning a new one detailing my journey to getting a heart transplant. Thanks all. I STILL LOVE MOVIES.

While I shall continue to post reviews of legal movies, I am going to expand by adding other movies and entries regarding my health.  I have  not posted in quite some time due to my need for a heart transplant. 

I learned of this situation last summer and tried to keep practicing law but my health got the better of me and I ended up in intensive care last December.   Fortunately, I tried a jury case in Hays County before falling ill.  Since then though, my medical issues prevent me from practicing.

In addition to my movie reviews, readers can read about a person undergoing a heart transplant and I plan on writing extensively during the process especially when the operation actually occurs informing friends and family of my procedure.

            In honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month I’ve reviewed all the movies and TV shows involving attorneys and here is my list of the top 5 characters of Hispanic heritage:

1.                  Victor Sifuentes played by Jimmy Smits.  From LA Law.  Great closing arguments and passion.  Plus, he becomes President of the United States.

2.                  Mandrake played by Marcos Palmiero.  From Mandrake on HBO Latino.  His passions are Cigars, sleazy clients, sex, drugs, and getting paid.  Not sure if he’s really Latino because he speaks Portuguese (dubbed into Spanish) and he’s Brazilian.

3.                  Sandy Stern played by Raul Julia in Presumed Innocent.  He defends Harrison Ford who is a DA accused of killing a fellow DA; also his former lover.  I’m not sure if this counts, but this is a hard list to come up with some Hispanic lawyers on TV or in movies.  Hector Elizando played in the TV series.

4.                  And also 5…Sorry, no more Hispanic lawyers.  Thought to include the Cuban house boy who served breakfast to Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson in A Few Good Men.  Maybe the Puerto Rican accused of murder in 12 Angry Men.  The Marine legal assistant in JAG?  Come to think about it, the only Hispanics in legal movies are usually the defendants. 

              For some reason, HBO has been giving this movie regular play since I saw it in the middle of the night last week.  I caught the first 10 minutes of the movie which, I admit, I missed when I first saw the movie.  To be honest, after seeing those missing 10 minutes, I have to say that I might have overrated the movie.  The reason for the lead character’s disbarment was so ludicrous, so ridiculous, that this guy had to be sick the day they taught law at his law school.  If you can stand to watch a train wreck, give it a go.  If you like Cuba Gooding, Jr. or Tom Berringer or Eric Stoltz, give it a go.  If it’s none of the above, change the channel, go to www.hulu.com or watch something on www.youtube.com and pass the time you would have wasted.

Revised rating ½ Gavel

Year:  1999 (V)                                               Release Date: July 6, 1999

Director and Writer: Rowdy Herrington

Starring: Cuba Gooding, Jr., Tom Berringer, Eric Stoltz

            This movie was made in a time when you had direct to video movies.  Today, it was on HBO and I want my money back, I want the time I spent watching it back, and I want the brain cells I lost.  Cuba Gooding, Jr. plays a disbarred lawyer who retreats to Key West and writes a book about the experience except he finds out he’s a horrible writer.  Trying to make money as a fishing guide, he meets an old man who gives him his manuscript to read.  After dying from a heart attack, Lawton Russell (Gooding) submits it as his own work and gets published and becomes a rich man only to find that the murders in the manuscript were real and described them with precise details only the murderer could have known.  Lawton then tries to prove his innocence with a detective (Berringer) in pursuit.

            Not the worst concept, but the plot holes were enormous.  After escaping from a house full of police and escaping again from five police cars, both on foot, Lawton never gets a wrinkle in his suit.  Going from New Orleans to Key West on a freight train and back again on the roof of a beer truck (I’m serious), he never needs a shower or a shave. He also walks around without even trying to change his appearance despite his likeness being on the back of a best selling book and in the news.  He cleverly covers his face with a newspaper or his hand and escapes notice in the two cities where he has homes.  Also, the worst southern accents I ever heard.

            Despite this, I did enjoy the filming locations.  Having spent time in both places, I enjoyed the visuals of two great cities.  I really liked the interiors of the Garden District homes in New Orleans pre-Katrina and the scene at Sloppy Joes in Key West, one of the greatest bars in the U.S.  But if you have a choice, go to the cities instead of watching this movie.

            The movie weakly explores lawyers representing clients who are guilty in criminal cases and just assumes lawyers who do so have sold their souls to the devil.  Never addresses any other proposition.  Maybe it’s the geek in me, but I would have enjoyed the debate.  Overall, do not recommend this but enjoyed the scenery.

One Gavel

There are two little known facts about the HMS Titanic.  First, the American Bar Association conducted a mock trial to determine the liability of the White Star Line against those passengers and crew who perished in the sinking.  Second, a survivor of the sinking, one Lady Duff Gordon, was involved in a contract dispute resulting in an appellate case studied by law students across the country.  Actually, the third little known fact is that a great actor auditioned for the role of Jack Dawson.  You can find the newly re-discovered audition here.

Year: 2008                                          Release Date:  August 27, 2008

Written by: Pam Brady & Andrew Fleming

Starring:  Steve Coogan, Catherine Keener, Phoebe Strole, Joseph Soria, Elisabeth Shue

            Overall, a pretty funny movie.  It starts with a montage of the not so stellar acting career of Dana Marschz (Coogan) and serializes his acting class from stage remakes of popular movies to his opus “Hamlet 2.”  Inspired by the school board’s decision to end the drama program, Marschz writes the sequel to Hamlet as a musical.  The highlight of the movie is actually the main musical number to the play “Rock Me Sexy Jesus.”

            Two great sub-plots were the appearance Elisabeth Shue from The Karate Kid and Leaving Las Vegas playing the part of Elisabeth Shue.  Another is the appearance of the always funny Amy Poehler playing an ACLU lawyer determined to make sure Hamlet 2 is shown to an audience despite the school’s determination to shut it down.

            I give it a high recommendation to see it in the theater.  I’m giving it 4 stars as a movie and 3 gavels because even though I liked the legal part of the movie, it was only 10 minutes of the entire plot.

4 Stars

3 Gavels

1.                Tainted Love/Where Did Our Love Go by Soft Cell
Usually talks about the first time someone wants to leave a relationship.  “I want to get away, I want to runaway.”

2.                Should I Stay or Should I Go by The Clash
Cool song by a cool band.  Asks the obvious question.

3.                Lawyers, Guns, and Money by Warren Zevon
How should we settle disputes?  I submit the law allows for the peaceful settlement of disputes.  Contact one of the lawyers at Galvin, Dominguez, Hindera, & Schwab LLP and schedule an appointment to see if we can help with your dispute.

4.                Know Your Rights by The Clash
Again, this is so important if you are served with any type of lawsuit.  Contact your lawyer.

5.                What’s Love Got to do With It by Tina Turner
Supposedly a song about her relationship with the late Ike Turner reportedly involving domestic violence, abuse, infidelity, and cruelty.  The important thing to take from this is that love has nothing to do with a family law case.  It’s about division of assets and/or how to care for the children.

6.                No Surrender by Bruce Springsteen
From the time the case begins to the end just remember this line “no retreat, no surrender.”

7.                We Can Work it Out by The Beatles
The ultimate mediation song.

8.                Burning Down the House by the Talking Heads
How most people feel after a property settlement.

9.                Sweet Child of Mine by Sheryl Crow and Guns n Roses
Remember to never get the children in the middle.  They are our sweet children. Our beautiful boys and our beautiful girls. Sheryl talks about a boy and G n R about a girl.

10.            I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor
Disco era song that has become the anthem persons involved in failed relationships everywhere.  The neat thing is most people do survive.

Other Good Songs About the Law

1.                Breaking the Law by Judas Priest
For criminal law.  Another cool band.  Saw them way back when at the Sam Houston Colisseum in Houston.

2.                America by Neil Diamond
The best song for immigration law…except for maybe The Immigrant Song by Led Zeppelin.   Never been a huge Neil fan but you got to admit, he is the leader of planet chest hair.

3.                Mack the Knife by various artists including Louis Armstrong, Bobby Darin, and Frank Sinatra
Again, criminal law.  Talks about the knifing portrayed in the Three Penny Opera.

4.                Our Lawyer had Us Change the Name of This Song so We Wouldn’t Get Sued by The Fallout Boys
A song involving music copyright.  Not that it actually does, but you got to admit, it’s a cool title.

5.                I Fought the Law by The Clash
Yes, another song by The Clash.  I’m trying not to be biased even though I wore out the grooves to London Calling and Combat Rock.  Later, I played the cassettes so much the tape was paper thin where every third word was missing.  Lost the CDs in a divorce.  Now I have the songs from ITunes.  Seems I was destined to be a lawyer…and sample all music technology.

Something the Lord Made

            Recently, local and national news outlets reported on family law issues.  First, on August 28, 2008, the Austin American Statesman reported that Child Protective Services must follow more stringent requirements prior to the removal of a child without a court order.  CPS issued a memorandum last week detailing new procedures.  The new procedures result from a 5^th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling and from scrutiny resulting from the removal of over 500 children in FLDS case in El Dorado, Texas.

            Additionally, the Statesman also reported the dismissal of over 100 cases involving the Fundamentalist Mormon sect in El Dorado, Texas.  This includes my case and ends one of the publicized removals of children in the history of the state.  The case also included one of the most bizarre hearings this lawyer ever attended.

            Third, a story appeared in which the Watauga Police Department arrested Fort Worth Telegram reporter Dave Leiber for leaving his 11 year old son at a McDonalds and telling him to walk home after having an argument.  Mr. Leiber returned but the police arrived.  No arrest was made at the time, but the incident turned into an arrest when detectives made the decision to arrest Leiber.  The reporter was charged with two felonies and the story does not say if CPS is involved.  Though all circumstances are not known, what is reported is that the child was left in a suburban area with a low crime rate and made to walk home and Mr. Leiber returned.  My research shows that public opinion is the Watauga Police overreacted and is involved in issues best left to the family.

            Also, on the national news front, People Magazine (yes I’m serious) headlined a story about the marriage of Ellen Degeneres and Portia DeRossi.  This story would not have been possible but for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision commented earlier on this blog allowing same-sex marriage in California.  My curiosity to this decision leads to the ancillary family law issues presented in opposite sex couples.  For example, same-sex domestic violence issues, same-sex prenuptial agreements, same-sex adoptions with both parties being adoptive parents, and so many other issues found in family law.

            Finally, as a lesson to all for obeying court orders, Judge Thomas Sandsbury of Houston sentenced Bob Duff, father of Hilary Duff, to 10 days in jail for violation of court orders.  Duff allegedly sold assets despite an injunction.  Remember, if you are involved in a family law case in Travis County, Texas, the Court issues an automatic Temporary Restraining Order.  Make sure it’s understood and frequently reviewed to avoid a contempt of court allegation.