• A couple of weeks ago, I blogged about “Paradise Lost,” a documentary about the “West Memphis Three,” three men convicted of the crime who were recently released from prison after winning the right to a new trial on appeal. To me, one of the most amazing parts about the documentary was the access that the defense lawyers allowed the documentary camera crews. At the tail end of my post, I beseeched Professor Alberto Bernabe (on whose blog recommendation I viewed “Paradise Lost”) to give his take on the ethics of the lawyers’ inviting in the camera crews and giving them such access, professional ethics being one of Professor Bernabe’s areas of specialty.
  Well, my request earned a response and that response is now available here. As Prof. Bernabe, explains there are several ethical considerations that come into play when lawyers cooperate with media accounts of their cases, including rules prohibiting lawyers from profiting from literary deals made while still representing their clients. You should read Prof. Bernabe’s full treatment of the ethical issues for yourself.
  Ultimately, I guess, whether the lawyers’ actions were ill-advised, as I had initially thought, or whether they were completely prudent, things worked out for the clients’ benefit: the documentary attracted the attention of rock stars and other celebrities who helped finance the costs of their appeals.

• At the risk of Professor Bernabe dominating this week’s roundup, a post of his about a new Alien Tort Statute case making its way to the Supreme Court, inspired me to wonder why these Armenian-American attorneys are trying to apply the Third Amendment extra-territorially instead of making claims under the ATS. The Third Amendment claim seems highly dubious to say the least.

• Also from the Concurring Opinions blog, Professor Frank Pasquale with a very good post on Occupy Wall Street.

This blog is maintained by the Boston personal injury lawyers at The Law Office of Alan H. Crede.