D.C. McClain, Inc. entered into a contract with Arlington County to build a bridge. A major portion of the project was installing post-tensioning pre-stressed concrete, which required securing an easement from Westfield Realty, Inc. for eight feet of land behind where the bridge was to be built. This request for an easement was denied on February 15, 1988. McClain executed the contract on March 16, 1988 to construct the bridge for $789,755.90. VSL, the subcontractor hired by McClain to perform the post-tensioning, developed an alternative to the post-tensioning that involved creating blockouts in the bridge. Mechanical equipment would then be placed in the holes created by the blockouts to post-tension the bridge. This method failed due to the temporary shoring, which was used for support before post-tensioning, would not support the bridge. McClain encountered other problems during its attempt to construct the bridge, resulting in all work being put on hold. McClain and the County executed Change Order No. 4, requiring the County to pay an additional $365,000 to McClain in return for McClain’s agreement to finish the project by July 1, 1990. This additional payment would constitute “full compensation” for the remainder of the work on the bridge. A few months after Change Order # 4 was signed, McClain informed the County he could not complete construction on the bridge unless the County would pay an additional $180,000, and obtain the necessary easement. The County refused and sent notice to McClain of their intent to terminate the contract. The contract was terminated on July 20, 1990.…
In July of 2000 Curtis Williams was indicted by a grand jury in Williamson County, Texas for aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury. While under indictment, Williams traveled to Louisiana from Texas on a Greyhound bus. The bus Williams was traveling on was scheduled to make a stop at the Shreveport Greyhound Bus terminal on September 12,…
One of the ways to toll the statute of limitations for legal malpractice actions is that the attorney(s) against whom the claim(s) is alleged serve as counsel for the plaintiff on the same subject matter within which the wrongful act or omission occurred. This would seem to require privity between plaintiff and the attorney(s). However, this is not the case when it comes to trustees who are represented in their capacity as fiduciaries.…
On Monday August 21st, A body of a 5-year-old boy was found dead in A drive way of a home in West Mobile. The next day a daycare worker had been arrested and charged with abuse of a corpse.…
In Morrison v. Olsen, the issue of the Independent Counsel Provision in the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 was challenged and the court decided that it was not unconstitutional because it did not violate the separation of powers by taking power from the Executive and giving more to the Judicial or Legislative branches. Alexia Morrison had been appointed as the independent counsel to investigate Morrison to see if he had violated federal law; he sued her arguing that the Independent Counsel had taken away powers from the executive. The majority held that Morrison was an “inferior officer” due to the ability of the Attorney General to remove her for “good cause”, she can only perform certain limited duties, she is limited in jurisdiction, and…
Michael Harrison Jr. the plaintiff filed a complaint with the EEOC against the defendant Killeen Fast- Food Restaurant (Wendy’s) for refusal to hire him based on his hearing impairment despite his qualifications. The EEOC filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas Waco Division, the general manager of the restaurant refused to hire…
In the case of Smith v. United States, the plaintiff, John Angus Smith, was convicted of engaging in drug-trafficking, which would have granted him a five year sentence had he not “used” a firearm in regards to the incident. As stated in statute 924(c)(1), the use of firearm in relations to a drug-trafficking crime enhanced the sentence, and turned it into a 30-year sentence. The argument at hand is whether the term “use” was to be taken from a broad dictionary definition or in the ordinary meaning. The majority of the court argued that the term “use” should not be limited to the intended use of the firearm (as a weapon) as they exemplified cases of which the firearm was used as a bludgeon even though that was not it’s intended purpose, yet…
Summary of Key Facts A. Deborah Weisman graduated from Nathan Bishop Middle School, a public…
Facts: William E. Story had promised his nephew, William E. Story II, $5,000 if his nephew would abstain from drinking alcohol, using tobacco, swearing, and playing cards or billiards for money until the nephew reached 21 years of age. The uncle responded to his nephew in a letter dated February 6, 1875 in which he told his nephew that he would fulfill his promise. The uncle died a couple years later without sending the money to the nephew.…
Facts: This lawsuit involves Dred Scott, an African American slave and his owner due to the passing of his previous owner Dr. Emerson, John F. A. Sanford. John F.A Sanford is the brother to the wife of Dr. Emerson. Dred Scott sued for his freedom in the Missouri Circuit Court for the City of St. Louis on April 6, 1846 . Dred Scott’s legal suit is for assault and false imprisonment: “A slave could be punished and kept as property, but a free person could not.”…
In the 1970's two court cases were being held in the supreme court about cruel and unusual punishment. Ingraham Vs. Wright (1977) and Gregg Vs. Georgia (1976). I choose to compare these because they both favored common good instead of individual rights and had a lot of similar aspects of their trials. During these Supreme Court cases Gregg Vs. Georgia showed more balance between the promoting the common good and protecting the individual rights than Ingraham Vs. Wright showed in 1977.…
Cross-examination is critical during litigation. Many cases have to be proven based on solely witness testimony because of the lack of physical evidence. Therefore, the responsibility of a witness to tell the truth relies on methods to encourage witnesses to maintain their credibility. According to Gardner and Anderson in their book Criminal Evidence: Principles and Cases, the witnesses must take an oath or affirmation that their say will be true and the witnesses must be personally present at the trial in order to ensure the right to confront as stated in the Sixth Amendment. Finally, witnesses are subject to cross-examination. But if it is found that the witness lies, he or she is taking the risk to be charged with perjury or in contempt if the witness refuses to answer a question, unless it is protected by privilege (Gardner and Anderson, 2010).…
Dred Scott made history by launching a legal battle to gain his freedom. That he had lived with Dr. Emerson in free territories become the basis for his case.…
A Jury found Troy Gregg guilty of committing an armed robbery and murder. In accordance with Georgia law, the trial was in two stages, a guilt stage, and a sentencing stage. At the guilt stage of Georgia's bifurcated procedure, the jury found the petitioner guilty of two accounts armed robbery and murder. At the penalty stage, the judge instructed the jury that it could recommend either a death sentence or a life prison sentence on each count and the jury returned the verdict of death. Challenging his death sentence, Gregg claimed that his capital sentence was "cruel and unusual" punishment, violating the 8th and 14th amendment.…
Facts: Bridget Fisher bought a house in 1989 by herself. She married Barry Jewell, and he helped her fix the house. They lived together on and off and then married in 1990. Later, they got divorced and Jewell moved into his friend's apartment. When Jewell found out that Fisher was seeing another man, he told his friend that he wanted to beat her boyfriends head with a 2 by 4 and cut his dick off.…