There are a number of reasons why lawyers might withdraw from a case other than a belief that the case is completely bogus, but by the time your ninth set of lawyers asks to withdraw it might be time to reevaluate, maybe.
Kudos, though, to Milberg LLP (formerly Milberg Weiss) for taking the case (Ceglia v. Facebook) without being deterred by the fact that eight prior sets of lawyers had withdrawn. And for sticking with it for three full months.
"Let's face it," said the defense attorney. "This officer just wanted clean clothes and his [washing] machine wasn't working." Was it a mistake to break into a next-door neighbor's house to use his washer and dryer? Yes. But "[n]o harm, no foul," said the officer after the neighbor dropped the charges. "Let's be realistic. Everything isn't a federal offense today." (Well, not trespassing.) He is hoping to be allowed back on the force, and also to get back the clothes he left in the dryer.
It's not against the law to drive around with a zebra and a parrot in your truck, or to have them ride with you and your girlfriend in the front seat. It is against the law to do that with a blood-alcohol level of .14, though. The man who did this in Iowa on May 20 said he and his girlfriend often take the animals for rides, although it wasn't clear whether they had taken them to a bar before. He's disputing the charges, saying he "was about to let a passenger in the truck take the wheel" when he was arrested. Even assuming he meant his girlfriend, I don't think that's going to work.
Prime Minister David Cameron was forced to withdraw his description of an opposing MP as a "muttering idiot" on May 23, after the Speaker of the House of Commons agreed that the term "idiot" was "unparliamentary." Prior unparliamentary remarks by Cameron have included comparing the same MP to "someone with Tourette's," telling a female MP to "calm down, dear"; and referring to an 80-year-old MP as a "dinosaur." Cameron later apologized to the latter gentleman, saying he had long been a "tremendous ornament" to Parliament, which on reflection doesn't seem like an apology.
A California man is facing four felony burglary counts after he was caught replacing barcodes on Lego sets in order to buy them at a discount and then resell them on eBay. Police said he had sold 2,100 items during the past year, earning about $30,000. This is news because the burglar is a vice-president at a major Silicon Valley firm and lives in a home worth $2 million, making it unclear why he was burgling Legos on the side.
