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www.lawtimesnews.com 29 Lawyer's bathroom break did not justify sanction An appeal court said a Texas case should not have been removed from the jury docket when the client and lawyer arrived late after a bathroom break, reported ABA Journal and Law360. At 9:35 a.m., associate Chris Ainsworth of the Poerschke Law Firm in Houston was told by a court co-ordinator that his case had just been called. "Ainsworth informed the court co-ordinator that he had to use the restroom, and she told him to hurry back," the report said. The case was called again at 9:39 a.m. but Ainsworth didn't arrive back until 9:50 a.m., the reports said. The client came at 9:55 a.m. "Ainsworth filed a motion for reconsideration and requested a hearing. He called the court three times to schedule a hearing but was unable to leave a message because the mailbox was full. He also emailed the court coordinator twice but received no response," the report said. Although the lawyer told reporters he "could have died of embarrassment reading the opinion," the appeal court found that removing Ainsworth case due to tardiness was "excessive." Driver fined for holding chopsticks and bowl while driving A driver in Kelowna, B.C. was found guilty of driving without due care and attention, after an officer saw her eating with chopsticks in one hand and a bowl of spinach in the other hand. According to The Canadian Press, the ruling did not say that all instances of eating while driving amount to careless driving. But the decision did note that "at least one full hand" should be on the steering wheel while the car is being driven and that hand "should not also be holding some other object," the CP report said. The judge, Brian Burgess of the Kelowna traffic court, declined to reduce the offender's fine of $2,000 and six penalty points, although the average ticket for the offence is $368. Woman allegedly bites OPP officer's foot An intoxicated woman from Sault Ste. BIZARRE BRIEFS Marie, Ont. was charged with assault with intent to resist arrest after "she proceeded to bite the officer's foot through the boot," Elliot Lake Today reported. Police were called at about 5:30 a.m. "regarding an unwanted person at an apartment" in Elliot Lake and found the woman, who attempted to run away. Lawyer requests to be disbarred Washington, D.C professional responsibility regulators have granted a lawyer's request to revoke his licence. "Rather than wasting time, money and paper on your sophistries, please disbar me," the former government contract lawyer said in an email, according to Law. com. Above the Law reported that the lawyer, Glenn Stephens, also wrote that the regulatory body was "simply dishonest lawyers who do nothing to regulate dishonest lawyers. And racists to boot." Stephens reportedly added that he would hang up his disbarment letter on the wall next to his diplomas, saying he will "be so very proud." Suspended judge tried to sneak into neighbour's house to steal underwear A suspended New York judge pleaded guilty to attempted burglary for trying to sneak into a neighbour's home to steal her underwear, the Associated Press reported. The judge was arrested and admitted that "he had entered the home on several occasions and stolen panties from a hamper." He has since been removed from the bench, the report said. The judge's lawyer told reporters that the judge has dealt with past mental illness issues. Case about wooden penis gift dismissed A Michigan federal judge dismissed a lawsuit over a wooden penis given "as a gift," the Associated Press reported. School principal John Stanton was forced to resign after giving the gift — which was confiscated from a student — to a female security guard. Stanton sued Superintendent Leonard Woodside, claiming Woodside had violated Stanton's rights by terminating him. According to Stanton, the guard "wasn't as upset as officials claimed," the report said. Woodside's lawyer was happy with the decision. Judge accepted cash bribes hidden in beer boxes A former Texas judge "conspired with an attorney to accept bribes in exchange for favorable judicial consideration on criminal cases in his courtroom," according to the U.S. attorney's office. CNN reported that the judge, Rodolfo Delgado, will get 60 months in prison and two years of supervised release. "One of the attorneys started working as an informant for the FBI in 2016 and would take beer boxes to the judge and slip money into them," CNN affiliate KRGV reported. "During their meetings, the judge and the attorney discussed purchasing 'wood,' which the latter described as the code word for judicial favours." Authority over hog manure splits Pennsylvania Supreme Court A majority of judges on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court said local officials did not have the authority to demand legally binding assurances about the impact of a hog farm. The owner of a 4,800-pig farm will not have to obey his town's restrictions on manure, reported ABA Journal. Montour Township's rules about impacts on ground and surface water contamination, as well as noise and odour, were stricter than "Pennsylvania's Nutrient Management Act, which regulates manure handling operations on farms," the majority decision said. A dissenting opinion said that the majority had curtailed "long-established municipal authority" on the issue. 50,000 apples stolen from orchard Owners of an Indiana orchard allege that $27,000 worth of apples were stolen from almost every tree on an acre of their land, according to CNN. The apples, which were not insured, are likely headed to make cider or be sold through a wholesaler, the owners told CNN. "It probably was an insider job," said Jon Drummond, one of the owners. "Someone knew this orchard really well. They knew where to go, the portion of the orchard where they couldn't be seen."