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Articles by Andrew McClurg
Is It Dumb to Make Intentionally Funny Warning Signs?
Many people find intentionally funny warnings labels or signs to be amusing. Take this one (verified as real), taken at an overlook at the Arkansas Grand Canyon. It’s amusing and probably effective. Poking fun at tort lawsuits and the tendency of humans to do stupid things while also making it clear that one should not climb over the railing or fence and fall to their death or severe injury.
Wacky Warning: Do Not Mow Rocks
Help me figure out this wacky warning/instruction sign in a bed of stones that says “Do Not Mow.” Comes via a friend of a Facebook friend. Possibilities: The property owner recently redid the landscaping and replaced the grass with rocks. The property owner lacks confidence in the skill and judgment of the person or company responsible for maintaining the landscaping.
Forged License Plate Is Art for Art's Sake
This effort to forge a license plate’s vehicle registration renewal sticker must have been art for art’s sake, because it surely had no chance of fooling anyone. Bartlett is an incorporated suburb of Memphis. The Bartlett police recently posted this picture on their Facebook feed. Give them credit for their sense of humor. “Nice try, but no,” they said.
“Eminent domain” is the power of federal and state governments to “take” private property for public use. In 1879, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the power “requires no constitutional recognition” because it is an inherent power of sovereign governments. But governments can’t just take your property without paying for it. The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides that no private property can be taken for “without just compensation.” a good history of it.
According to the , Lee’s Save the Baby, made by William W. Lee & Co. in the early 1900s, was a children’s cough suppressant to be applied externally to the chest area (although the back cover of the box pictured here said it could be used “Externally or Internally”). The main ingredients included camphor.
Beware of Dog. Would you believe the referenced dog in the pictured sign that escaped through this wrought-iron fence was a five-pound miniature poodle named Fluffy? I wouldn’t believe it either, just as I’m not sure I believe the sign in this admittedly funny picture is real, or just something someone Photoshopped onto the fence. (Obviously, no dog broke through the fence.) I mean, why would “DOG” be in quotation marks?
Motion to file Box of Crayons
When you come across a motion to file a box of crayons in a case seeking a writ of certiorari in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, you just have to know more. Specifically, why are the lawyers asking “FOR LEAVE TO FILE ONE PACKET OF CRAYOLA COLORED PENCILS”? (I borrowed this from the Facebook page of a former student of mine at the Florida International University College of Law.)
“Warning, live without warning,” sang Billie Joe Armstrong on the Green Day song, Warning. Good tune, terrible advice. While, as lawhaha.com fans know, the world is flooded with warnings of dubious value, warnings can alert people to dangers they might not have otherwise recognized or known about.
Meanwhile, check out McClurg’s novels, written under his pen name Dorian Box. Some are dark, but all contain humor, especially titles like this one: FUNERAL DAZE. Check it out on Amazon.
1L of a Ride Number One Bestseller … in Jurisprudence? July 13th, 2022 Karl Llewellyn, Roscoe Pound, Ronald Dworkin … McClurg? And you thought 1L of a Ride was simply a helpful law school prep book, but it’s the number #1 Best Seller on Amazon in “Jurisprudence.” Yale, Chicago, Harvard, I’ll be waiting for your calls.
Tips for How NOT to Move a Washer and Dryer
At lawhaha.com, we love what we call “rolling torts,” also known as “accidents waiting to happen.” A rolling tort consists of an effort to move large objects via a vehicle in a way that creates an unreasonable danger to other motorists. Courtesy of a former student, here we find a valiant effort to transport a full-size washer and dryer with a compact car. To the driver’s credit, the elaborate straps show a solid effort to arrive at the destination without disaster.
Not surprisingly, not to name any names, but people frequently lie under sworn oath, including in depositions. So you have to appreciate, as did the opposing lawyer, the sincere honesty of this deponent. [Opposing Lawyer] was deposing my 19-year-old client. Her dad died in a collision near Hope, Arkansas on I-30. He had been in and out of prison all of his life. My opponent was asking her about her dad’s habits: Q. Did he use drugs? A. He smoked marijuana. Q. Okay. You know how often? A.
“Criminal,” the highly rated podcast of true crime stories run by former NPR reporters, interviewed me for its newest episode called “Mantrap.” It addresses civil liability for harm caused by deadly booby traps set to protect uninhabited property. Here’s a link to the website podcast and here’s a link to all of the links where the podcast can be heard (e.g., Spotify, Google Play, iTunes, etc.). My contribution involved one of my favorite tort law cases, Katko v.
New Fifth Edition of 1L of a Ride
New 2025 edition includes free access to the 13-part 1L of a Ride Video Course. Available in paperback and Kindle formats. Assigned as required or recommended reading at law schools throughout the country, 1L of a Ride: A Well-Traveled Professor’s Roadmap to Success in the First Year of Year of Law School provides a candid, comprehensive roadmap to both academic and emotional success in law school’s crucial first year.
Wacky Personal Injury Sticker: Injured? Good!
Talk about a wacky sticker. We’ve all seen the billboards and city benches and bumper stickers, etc., bearing advertisements from plaintiffs’ personal injury lawyers along the lines of: INJURED? You may be entitled to compensation. Call Tammy the Terminator today for a free consultation! But walking to a gym last week, I passed a car with this sticker on the rear window: INJURED? GOOD Yikes! Surely it’s a joke … I hope. If anyone recognizes the two dudes pictured, let me know.
Dangerous Highway Conditions: More Rolling Torts
One of easiest and most common potential torts to spot if you like to play “Spot the Tort” (i.e., identify conditions around you that may present unreasonable danger of harm to persons or property) is a form of a dangerous highway condition that we at lawhaha.com call “rolling torts.” These are ubiquitous. Why? Because people often need to move large objects, but lack the proper vehicles and/or trailers to move them down the road.
9 Books for Law Students to Read This Summer
Want to stay sharp this summer? Here are the books all pre-law students should read before 1L, plus the best books for law students. by Genevieve Carlton, Ph.D. Published on May 26, 2022 Ready to start your journey? Image Credit: seksan Mongkhonkhamsao / Moment / Getty Images Advertising Disclosure: Our team independently selected these products. If you purchase a product through one of our links, we may collect compensation. Pricing and availability are accurate at the time of publication.
'Grit and Grind' your way to law school success
Every student begins law school at the same starting line. Within weeks, days even, some students pull ahead while others fall behind. By the end of the year, at law schools all across America, the class is divided into GPA and class rank strata that include a top, middle, and bottom. What factors determine which group students end up in? Correlation between LSAT and first-year grades The first answer of many people would be “LSAT score,” and that is one factor.
Sponsored Post from West Academic: Addressing Psychological Distress with Your Students
« A Further Typology of Draft Readers | Main Thursday, January 15, 2015 Sponsored Post from West Academic: Addressing Psychological Distress with Your Students The following post is from Andrew McClurg (Memphis) and is sponsored by West Academic. My students appear to be happy and content. When I arrive at class, they’re chattering and laughing. Same thing when I see them in the halls or student lounge. On Facebook, they show that, despite the workload, law students find plenty of time to socialize.
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