Calling all Constitutional Law Junkies: June 26, 2008 was a monumental day.

It is not often (yet more frequent these days than is perhaps appropriate) that the U.S. Supreme Court authors a decision in which it offers — in nearly 150 pages of disparate, arguably subjective detail — overtly telepathic insight into the minds and hearts of the framers cast under a thin, unimpressive veil of stare decisis. A day to celebrate? Perhaps, as it was for the N.R.A. supporters and the libertarian crowd who view the District of Columbia, et. al. v. Heller through a narrow pragmatic lense as a promotion of individual liberties (and security that they can keep their guns.) A day for outrage? Apparently for a “frightened” Mayor Daley, as he trumpeted the call to fight for the right to ban guns in his hometown and plans were made to challenge similar laws in megapolises across the country.

I felt something in between. I feel scholastic excitement, to be sure. Heller , like Bush v. Gore, will certainly endure as a landmark case in Constitutional Law 101 for centuries to come. The majority opinion, authored by Justice Antonin Scalia and joined by Justices Roberts, Thomas, Alito and Kennedy, is bursting with interesting (if somewhat trivial given Scalia’s general predisposition against extra-four corners constitutional analysis) historical references — James Madison’s inclusion of a conscientious-objector clause in his original draft of the Second Amendment; E. de Vattel’s 1792 “The Law of Nations, or, Principals of the Law of Nature”; England’s 1671 “Game Act”; and, of course, the mighty and ever-persuasive Federalist Papers. (As a reverent admirer of the Papers, Read the rest…

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It’s the time of year when your nearly grown son or daughter is graduating from high school, and you know what that means: Graduation Parties! Remembering all the fun you had back in the day, and wanting to be a “cool” parent, you may be considering throwing a party for your son or daughter and their friends that includes alcohol. After all, you reason, as long as I take the keys and they all spend the night, what’s the harm? If I don’t do it, these kids will just be off drinking AND driving somewhere else anyway.

If you are even considering a scenario like the one I outlined above, think again! These sorts of parties have a tendency to get out of control, and the noise alone may be enough make your neighbors call the police. Kids who aren’t experienced drinking alcohol have a tendency to over-indulge, with obnoxious, messy, and sometimes life threatening results. How are you going to explain a midnight trip to the emergency room to get some kid’s stomach pumped to his mother or father the next day?

As if you needed more reasons, consider this: you could go to jail! Don’t believe me? Just ask John Gurtler, Jr. Don’t recognize that name? I bet you would recognize his voice! He is the Public Address Announcer at Buffalo Bills games. It seems that Mr. Gurtler was having thoughts along the lines of the scenario I outlined above for his son’s post-prom party. All his son’s friends, more than 80 in all, were invited back to the Gurtler residence for a night of merriment and booze. All was going great until the police arrived at their Orchard Park, NY home, observed scores of obviously under age-and over-dressed teens pouring beers from multiple kegs scattered about the yard, and decided to intervene. Mr. Gurtler, Mrs. Gurtler and their teenage son have all been arrested and charged with Unlawfully Dealing With A Child for providing alcohol to minors. They will face one count for each of the kids present (at least the ones the police could catch). Each count carries a potential penalty of up one year in jail AND a $1,000.00 fine.

This is a case where jail time could very easily be imposed, too. Because Mr. Gurtler is a prominent individual, and because we are on the verge of graduation season, the judge may very well want to send a message to the community that this type of behavior will not be tolerated and will face stiff punishment. It would be the judge’s hope that the publicity associated with this case and the penalty doled out would dissuade any one else from doing something similar. Legally, this is known as general deterrance.

Let Mr. Gurtler’s mistake be a lesson to all of us here in the Twin Tiers.

For those of you interested in all the gory details of what the police found upon their arrival, I have attached a link from The Buffalo News story covering the arrest below.

Thanks for reading,

Adam M. Gee, Esq.
New York and Pennsylvania Personal Injury and Malpractice Attorney
Ziff, Weiermiller, Hayden & Mustico, LLP
303 William Street
Elmira, NY 14901
Phone: (607)733-8866
Fax: (607)732-6062
Email: agee@zifflaw.com
www.zifflaw.com

http://www.buffalonews.com/cityregion/southernsuburbs/story/366740.html

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One of my previous posts entitled “How To Keep Yourself Safe In A Hospital” provoked a great deal of response, both on and off this blog. I received a number of e-mails from individuals looking for more information. One person who responded to the blog was Dr. Julia Hallisy, an expert in the area of hospital acquired infections. Dr. Hallisy practices in California, and had her own very personal experience with hospital acquired infections. That story is too personal for me to attempt to summarize, but interested readers can learn more at Dr. Hallisy’s website www.TheEmpoweredPatient.com. Dr. Hallisy’s website can also be accessed from our blogroll.

Suffice it to say that since Dr. Hallisy’s experience, she has dedicated her time to informing patients of their right to demand their doctors, nurses and hospital staff abide by rules and regulations designed to minimize the risk of infection.

To satisfy your requests for additional information, I asked Dr. Hallisy if she would be willing to write a guest post for our readers, and she graciously accepted. Without further introduction, here is Dr. Hallisy’s post:

I’m often asked if patients and their advocates can really translate information and facts into the practical skills they need to avoid medical errors. I know that the answer to this question is a resounding “yes” because I envision a health care system where patients know Read the rest…

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The other day I heard a Feed The Pig public service announcement (”PSA”) on how Americans are generally spending more than they’re making. In case you’re wondering, Feed the Pig is a component of the 360 Degrees of Financial Literacy campaign by the Ad Counsel and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

That PSA got me thinking a little about my own spending habits. Our culture encourages us to spend. I need a constant reminder to save.

We serve folks in the areas of injury law, Workers’ Compensation, Social Security Disability, family law and bankruptcy who often come to us in the most dire financial straits. I happened across a great blog post by Boston area attorney Steven Ballard that gives some great financial tips that I know I can use. I have put the text of that post below for you. Read the rest…

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For those of us who live and work in Upstate NY, we know that more often than not, the news regarding Upstate is bad, rather than good. However, now and then there are some bright rays of sunshine. A recent national article from AOL discussed the decreasing property values nationwide and then paid tribute to the #1 and #2 cities in the US that defied this trend by recording the highest increase in property values for the first quarter of 2008. By now, you have probably guessed that Elmira fared well. Yes, Elmira was #2 and our Upstate neighbor to the East, Binghamton, NY was #1. Congrats to both communities. Here’s a link to the article and a link to the page about Elmira. The full story is copied below for your convenience.

Thanks for reading,

Jim Reed
jreed@zifflaw.com

Realtor Data Shows Prices Up Rising in One Third of Top Cities During First Quarter

Brett Widness, AOL Real Estate Editor

One out of three metropolitan areas in the United States showed rising home prices in the first quarter of this year, according to the latest survey by the National Association of Realtors.

Gallery: See Which Markets Are Rising Near You

In the first quarter, 48 out of 149 metropolitan statistical areas showed higher median existing single-family home prices from a year earlier, 100 had price declines and one was unchanged. NAR’s track of metro area home prices dates back to 1979.

During the first quarter, the largest single-family home price increase was the Binghamton, N.Y., area, where the median price of $109,700 rose 11.8 percent from a year ago. Next was Peoria, Ill., at $119,000, up 10.4 percent from the first quarter of 2007, followed by the Spartanburg, S.C., area, where the first-quarter median price increased 10.1 percent to $130,300.

In the condo sector, metro area condominium and cooperative prices — covering changes in 55 metro areas — showed the national median existing-condo price was $216,900 in the first quarter, down 3.0 percent from $223,700 in the first quarter of 2007. Twenty-three of the 55 markets showed annual increases in the median condo price, while 31 areas had price declines and one was unchanged.

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Expert Witnesses are a necessary part of the legal profession. In certain cases, such as medical malpractice, experts are an absolute necessity. In other cases they are sometimes a luxury. The use of experts by defense attorneys seems to be on the rise, and so Plaintiff’s attorneys feel pressured to respond in kind. What some attorneys fail to consider, however, is that the expert they hire will play a HUGE part in whether they are successful.

Because of the increased use of experts referenced above, more and more individuals are looking to get into the expert witness game. A fancy website, a polished resume, and paying to be put on an expert witness list on a few websites is all that is required for someone to appear to be a reputable expert. But that doesn’t mean they will serve your needs in court.

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Everyone at the Ziff Law Firm is excited about the Elmira Jackals upcoming playoff series against the Reading Royals! After a great season, Elmira finally gets to experience playoff hockey again. For those of you who have never experienced a playoff atmosphere at First Arena, or for those who may have forgotten what it is like, it is electric! The players and fans know that every shift, every hit, and every goal gets them one step closer to a championship!

In addition to Jackals playoff hockey, another thing we love is sharing information with the loyal readers of our newsletters that will keep their families safe, protect them from liability, and keep them abreast of changes in the law which may affect them. We want to share our newsletter with as many people as possible, because an informed public makes all our neighborhoods a better and safer place to live work, and raise our families.

In an effort to grow our list of subscribers and to share our love of playoff hockey, we are offering a FREE PAIR OF JACKALS PLAYOFF TICKETS to the April 15^th game to the first five people who submit the name, address and e-mail address of five people who would be interested in receiving our newsletters and other informative materials. Please make sure you get their permission before submitting their names! Since you all currently receive our newsletters, you know the fun and informative information it contains, and that we share our list with NO ONE!

Submit your list of names by e-mail to agee@zifflaw.com as soon as possible for the best chance of winning the tickets, but don’t hesitate to send them in late. We have been known to purchase a few extra tickets when demand is high, and even if the tickets are gone the friends and neighbors who you submit will start receiving our newsletter, and will likely thank you for it!

Thanks for reading,

Adam M. Gee, Esq.
New York and Pennsylvania Personal Injury and Malpractice Attorney
Ziff, Weiermiller, Hayden & Mustico, LLP
303 William Street
Elmira, NY  14901
Phone: (607)733-8866
Fax: (607)732-6062
Email: agee@zifflaw.com
www.zifflaw.com

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A story today on the WETM-TV website (pasted below) got me thinking about my hometown– Elmira, NY.

I have lived in Elmira my whole life.  I love my hometown.  Warts and all.

Many folks live here because they have to– this is where their job is.  I live here because I chose to.  I could work as a lawyer almost anywhere in the country (or even the world) but I chose to come back to Elmira after turning down a MUCH more lucrative job in Washington, DC (OK, no one ever said I was smart!  .   I have NEVER regretted my decision to come “home” because I love it here.

Elmira is located in a beautiful part of Upstate NY called the Finger Lakes region.  Despite its scenic beauty, Upstate NY has suffered economically.  Heavy industry long ago dried up and the local economy is gasping for breath as it converts to service jobs, tourism and other smaller industries.

Even though it’s not an easy time to be an Elmiran, I love living here–

• I love my eight minute commute,
• I love walking down the street and having people actually say “hi” to one another,
• I love knowing where my three teenagers are going to get in trouble (because I went there myself thirty years ago!),
• I love knowing that if I was in trouble and needed help, there would be LOTS of people at my door offering their help.      Can’t put a price on that…….

Guess, I wasn’t so dumb after all when I turned down that Washington, DC job….

Thanks for reading,

Jim Reed
jreed@zifflaw.com

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