Before getting to “Free CLE” — first there’s Judge Wade “No shame in my game” McCree who was back in the news this week. For those who’ve forgotten, he’s the 3rd Circuit Court jurist out of Detroit with a penchant for old school R&B and more to the point, who was suspended without pay last February for improper conduct according to the Complaint taken up by the Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission.
On Monday, the Commission rendered its 22-page decision and recommended Judge McCree’s removal from office and conditional suspension without pay “for a period of six years beginning on January 1, 2015, with the suspension becoming effective only if Respondent is re-elected to judicial office on the November, 2014 ballot.” His current term expires December 31, 2014.
According to the Commission’s Findings of Fact, the judge maintained “a personal and intimate relationship” with a complaining witness in a case he was hearing and “used his chambers to engage in sexual intercourse” with that witness — but did not recuse1 himself from the case until months later.
Judge McCree also gained an additional 15 minutes of fame for defending his bare-chested texts.
That said, here’s a saucy official who needs no “Funky Cold Medina” to score his ‘action.’ He also memorably invoked Bill Withers’ “Use me up!” but not more saliently — ‘strokin’ Clarence Carter.
The Michigan Supreme Court will determine the ultimate disposition of the Commission’s recommendation. Also see Board recommends removal of Judge McCree, 6-year suspension if he is re-elected.
“a thing most strange and certain“2 and about that civet coffee.
And then there’s civet coffee aka ‘cat poop coffee’ and people who consume things most of us would rather not.
It’s one thing for someone like British television survivalist adventurer Bear Grylls, the host of “Man vs. Wild” — who’s made a living eating just about anything strange and seeming to ‘like’ it — from beetle larva to goat testicles to raw snake to bear poop — stuff I highlighted at “Bears, bad coffee and poo tea.”
Far as I’m concerned, Grylls wins the Mikey Award, a dubious award I made up earned by anyone willing to eat what most of us crinkle our noses at. Grylls reminds me of that little kid in the iconic television commercial who hated everything but ate it anyway.
So what’s all this got to do with the price of poo tea in China? Well besides providing a segue to what this post is also about — it reassures all those civet coffee drinking devotees (presumably the same folks also sipping panda poo tea).
Scientists have now developed a way to authenticate the $150-227 per pound Über expensive civet coffee, which is brew made from the Asian palm civet’s excrement.
Up until now, there’s apparently been no standard test to confirm if the civet coffee you savored was the real thing or a funky version of what Seinfeld called underrated Postum?
Civet coffee drinkers of the world take heart for “Poop, there it is: New test for exotic civet coffee.”
All the same, put a pot of the cheap stuff to brew and lawyers get yourselves comfortable for more Free CLE. The usual disclaimers apply.
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No shame in FREE CLE game.
Courtesy of New York Law Journal, Complimentary CLE Webinar, Monday, September 16, 2013
Estate & Gift Tax Planning Techniques: Freeze Partnerships and the Related Valuation Issues, Including the Application of Marketability Discounts
Courtesy of Attorney Protective Legal Liability Insurance Provider at http://www.attorneyprotective.com/about-attorney-protective
Ethical Marketing and Client Relations Webinar, September 24, 2013 – Attorney Protective
“Attorney Protective is an Approved Multiple Activity Provider in CA and NJ. This webinar is approved for 1 CLE credit (ethics) in AL, AR, CO, FL, GA, ID, IN, KS, KY, LA, ME, MS, MT, NC, NV, OH, SC, TX, VT, WA and WY. This webinar is approved for 1.2 credit hours (w/ .6 professionalism credit) in MO. This webinar is approved for 1 general CLE credit hour in IL and NH. This webinar is approved for DUAL credit in TN. New York’s approved jurisdiction policy applies.”
Intake Procedures – Unleash Your Inner Detective Webinar on October 24, 2013
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/957441296
“Attorney Protective is an Approved Multiple Activity Provider in CA and NJ. This webinar is approved for 1 hour of CLE credit (ethics) in AL, AR, CO, ID, IL, IN, KY, LA, ME, MN, MS, MT, NC, ND, NV, OH, TX, VA, WA and WY. This webinar is approved for 1 hour of CLE credit (ethics and professionalism) in KS. This webinar is approved for 1 general Self-Study CLE credit in UT. This webinar is approved for DUAL credit in TN. This webinar is approved for one general CLE credit in IL, NH, NM and VT. This webinar is approved for 1.2 total credit hours, including 1.2 hours of professionalism credit in MO. New York’s approved jurisdiction policy applies.”
http://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/957441296
Lessons Learned – A Look at Recent Legal Malpractice Cases Webinar November 4, 2013 - Attorney Protective
“Attorney Protective is an Approved Multiple Activity Provider in CA and NJ. This webinar is approved for 1 CLE credit (ethics) in AL, AR, CO, FL, GA, ID, KS, KY, LA, ME, MN, MS, MT, NC, ND, NM, NV, OH, SC, TX, VT, WA and WY. This webinar is approved for 1.2 credit hours (ethics) in MO. This webinar is approved for 1 general CLE credit hour in IL, IN and NH. This webinar is approved for DUAL credit in TN. New York’s approved jurisdiction policy applies.”
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[1] As for ‘much ado about’ judicial recusal, consider the ancient maxim “nemo debet esse iudex in propria causa” (no person may judge their own cause) and how it works in practice, see “Chief Justice Roberts, Obamacare and the rarefied air of judicial recusal” and that “43 states have either a statutory or a constitutional right of recusal for cause at the trial court and the appellate court levels. 25 of those states expressly or implicitly permit the same judge whose recusal is sought to hear and rule on the motion to disqualify herself.”
[2] See Macbeth: Act 2, Scene 4
Photo Credits: “Not Funny, How Embarassing! Kiss My White Puppy Butt, I’m a Big Macho Dog Mom – I’m one year old on February 14th!” by Beverly & Pack at Flickr via Creative Commons-license requiring attribution; “73/365 Drink Me!” by ganesha.isis at Flickr via Creative Commons-license requiring attribution; “Bear Grylls: Ultimate Survivors,” by LWPKommunikáció at Flickr via Creative Commons-license requiring attribution;Sumatran Kopi Luwak farmer, small-scale producer, showing his product prior to cleaning and roasting, at Wikimedia Commons, released to public domain by HaztechGuy at the wikipedia project; “Common (or Asian) Palm Civet. Paradoxurus Hermaphroditus” by gailhampshire at Flickr via Creative Commons-license requiring attribution.
