The $65 million dollar pants ...

... or how a judge took a cleaners to the cleaners

A legal matter that started more than two years ago in DC is just now hitting the blogosphere radar screen. You might have heard by now that a DC administrative law judge, Roy Pearson Jr., has sued Custom Cleaners in Northeast DC under the District's Consumer Protection and Procedures Act. Pearson is alleging, among other things, that window signs advertising "Satisfaction Guaranteed" and "Same Day Service" have fraudulently deceived customers.

It seems the judge brought in a suit to be cleaned. A suit that he wanted to wear on his first day on the bench. When he went back to pick up the suit the pants were missing. They did turn up a few days later, but that wasn't good enough for the judge.

Sherman Joyce writes in The Examiner:

The pants were found long ago and are readily available to Pearson. What may become unavailable to him, unless he drops this wholly outrageous and abusive lawsuit, is a reputation as an ethical, high-integrity officer of the court.

The American Tort Reform Association has offered to buy Pearson a high-quality suit of his choosing if he'll just do the right thing. Fearing that their offer might not do the trick, the ATRA has written a letter to the four men who will decide this week whether or not Pearson will be reappointed to a 10-year term.

Wizbang has a nice recap of the case, under the heading "Why lawyers are the most hated class of people in America." Their post outlines just how a $10 dry cleaning bill for a pair of trousers has ballooned into a $65 million civil lawsuit.

If you would like to write to the review panel, their contact information is listed below:

Chief Administrative Law Judge Tyrone Butler
D.C. Office of Administrative Hearings
825 N. Capitol Street, NE
Washington, D.C., 20002

Commissioner Robert Rigsby
Commissioner Henry Levine
Commissioner Peter Wilner
Commission on Selection and Tenure of Administrative Law Judges
441 Fourth Street NW Suite 540 S
Washington, D.C. 20001

The Office of Administrative Hearings telephone number is 202-478-1421.

Pat Robertson's plan to change the world

Still on a blogswarm high from this past weekend, I came across this post that I though might be of interest.

In case you haven't yet heard about Pat's plan to take over the country for Jesus, check out this post from The Wall of Separation, at Americans United for Separation of Church and State:

Winning By Degrees: Pat Robertson’s Ambitious Goals For Regent University

TV preacher Pat Robertson has long had an interest in changing social policy in America.
Robertson wants the law to reflect his personal religious views. At first, he tried to bring this about by running for president. After his failed bid in 1988 to capture the Republican Party nomination, Robertson created the Christian Coalition to influence government.

The Christian Coalition is on the wane these days, but another Robertson project is quietly helping the Virginia Beach televangelist gain the power and control he lusts for – Regent University.

Robertson founded CBN University in the late 1970s and changed its name to Regent University in 1990. According to Regent’s mission statement, the university is designed “to produce Christian leaders who will make a difference, who will change the world.” The vision of Regent, according to a document posted on its Web site, is “to provide Christian leadership in transforming society by affirming and teaching principles of truth, justice and love as described by the Holy Scriptures, embodied in the person of Jesus Christ, and enabled through the power of the Holy Spirit.” (more)