Law and Magic Blog

A Lawyer Magician in the 49th State

Now, Steve Pradell, a professional magician who owns Abracadabra Entertainment in Anchorage, Alaska, is also an attorney with Pradell and Associates.

The Magic Lawyer?

A Georgia lawyer named Robert Speer advertises himself as "The Magic Lawyer". On his "Personal Profile" webpage he says he "[w]as granted the trademark The Magic Lawyer on January 2, 2007 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (serial no.78826281)". He uses a good many magical references on his site, including images of a magic wand, a top hat, and gloves, and language like "if I could make all your legal troubles disappear in an instant, I would". I couldn't find any indication that he also performs stage magic of any kind, but perhaps he does. If you do, Mr. Speer, please let me know, and I'll add you to my list of lawyer-magicians.

Ghosts and the Dick van Dyke Show

I remember the original Dick van Dyke series fondly and one of my favorite episodes is the one in which Dick and his colleagues visit a resort up in the Catskills in order to do some work for star Alan Brady. Mel, the producer, has forgotten to reserve their rooms, and the only space available is an unused cabin that the manager tells them is haunted. Rob (Dick's character) and Buddy (Morey Amsterdam's character) decide not to tell "the girls" (Mary Tyler Moore, who played Dick's wife Laura, and Rose Marie, who played Sally, the third writer on the Alan Brady Show). Of course, various spooky things ensue: a fire in the fireplace that no one lights, a lamp in the sitting room that won't stay turned off, doors that open by themselves, and finally, a creepy face in the bedroom mirror that appears to Laura. With that, the four decide to get out of Dodge (or the cabin), but, mysteriously, Buddy, and then Sally, and then Laura, disappear, until only Rob is left. The entire time, however, Rob keeps insisting to the others that there is a perfectly logical explanation for everything that is happening. He has originally maintained to the manager that no ghosts could possibly be inhabiting the cabin and he sticks to his story, until he too sees the creepy face, this time in the glass of the door of the sitting room closet. Of course all is finally revealed. The episode is "The Ghost of A. Chanz", and it's part of season four of the complete Dick van Dyke show DVD collection.

What's interesting about this episode is the series of attempts by Rob to explain the eyewitness evidence with rational explanations, including "scientific experiments" and the increasing resistance of Buddy, Sally and eventually Laura to those explanations. Even though they should, and probably do, realize that he must be correct, they prefer to run away, even in a thunderstorm, rather than stay in what is probably a hoaxed environment. In addition, they scare themselves with popular culture references: "All we need is a thunderstorm and Vincent Price." Soon, a thunderstorm starts up, and then a door opens of its own accord, and Sally murmurs, "Vincent?" They know, after all, that there is a locked closet in the sitting room to which they don't have access, and that others do have access to the front door of the cabin. A handyman has earlier entered without being admitted and delivered wood. They don't know why anyone should be playing a trick on them, but it's a possibility. However, one does have to realize that some show business folks do tend to be somewhat superstitious. Remember that belief that actors have that one is never supposed to say the name of the "Scottish play" aloud, for example?

[Spoiler]

When Rob does find out what is going on, he's furious. Mel has set everything up in an attempt to jumpstart the writers' thinking for a new television series that Alan would like them to create. He has been filming their reactions--the entire evening is fodder for a carbon copy of the old "Candid Camera" series. Although that show is not mentioned, Rob points out that Alan's idea would be theft of the Allen Funt idea, which at that time had been on the air for over a decade. Mel's response? "Why not steal from the best?" Rob is livid. This episode pokes fun at the entire notion of hauntings and people's responses to them, and then at their unhappy reactions when they realize that their childishness will be revealed to the world. If ghosts don't exist, and there is a rational explanation for strange occurrences, we do not want others to know we have been frightened by practical jokes--at least not without our consent. We don't want our grown-up facades to be revealed as just that. As Buddy says to Laura when she gently pokes fun at his unwarranted fears at the end of the episode, "You were doing some pretty good squawking there yourself, lady." His point is that at least he is more honest than she--he was scared and he admits it.

"Candid Camera" was the granddaddy of reality series, and of tv hoaxes, and of "funniest videos" as well. These series have certainly given a boost to the lawsuit industry, as people who didn't want to be caught on tape got caught on tape, and people who agreed to be on tape thought better of it. All by itself, this episode has a lot of references to a lot of situations that are still going on today. But then, that's true of the Dick van Dyke show generally. A really great tv series, and this is one of the great episodes.

Haunted House Law

Hm. From the Orlando Sentinel, January 5, 2000: a woman sued Universal Studios for emotional distress when the theme park's haunted house attraction scared her too much. Specifically, she and her granddaughter were injured when they ran toward an exit after an employee "wielding a chainsaw" frightened them. And from the Milwaukee Sentinel, July 1, 2006: a judge had to intervene between two groups arguing over who should administer the local haunted house. He eventually made his decision, and the haunted house reopened. Finally, Russell Tavares traveled more than a thousand miles to take revenge on haunted house operator John "Johnny Darkness" Anderson; Mr. Anderson called him a "nerd." Mr. Tavares set fire to Mr. Anderson's trailer home and was sentenced to seven years in prison. I sent this tidbit to Kevin Underhill of "Lowering the Bar"; he has a great post about it in which he recreates Mr. Tavares' route.

Penn Jillette on Guns and Women

Here's an essay by Penn Jillette on why every woman should have a gun, maybe pink. It's from volume 24 of Regulation (Fall, 2001). If you have seen the Penn & Teller show "Bullshit", you'll already have heard this argument. Here's the abstract.

The louder, larger half of the magic/comedy team of Penn & Teller explains why, in an effort to dramatically cut violent crime against women, the federal government should give a free handgun to every American woman.

Protecting Magicians' Secrets Without Law

Jacob Loshin, a recent Yale Law grad, has published "Secrets Revealed: How Magicians Protect Intellectual Property Without Law." Here's the abstract.

Intellectual property scholars have begun to explore the curious dynamics of IP's "negative spaces," areas in which IP law offers scant protection for innovators, but where innovation nevertheless seems to thrive. Such negative spaces pose a puzzle for the traditional theory of IP, which holds that IP law is necessary to create incentives for innovation.

This paper presents a study of one such negative space which has so far garnered some curiosity but little sustained attention—the world of performing magicians. This paper argues that idiosyncratic dynamics among magicians make traditional copyright, patent, and trade secret law ill-suited to protecting magicians' most valuable intellectual property. Yet, the paper further argues that the magic community has developed its own set of unique IP norms which effectively operate in law's absence. The paper details the structure of these informal norms that protect the creation, dissemination, and performance of magic tricks. The paper also discusses broader implications for IP theory, suggesting that a norm-based approach may offer a promising explanation for the puzzling persistence of some of IP's negative spaces.

Download the entire paper from SSRN here.

A version of Jacob's essay will be included in a forthcoming collection of essays on law and magic to be published by Carolina Academic Press next year. The editor? Why, that would be me. Stay tuned for more info about this must-have volume.

A Muggle Lawyer Chimes In on Harry Potter

Andrew Fois, a lawyer in private practice in Washington DC, opines on law and magic in the wizarding world of Harry Potter in Legal Times in an article called "Due Process for All Wizards" here. Here's an excerpt discussing the film "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix."

One example of the legal system occurs early in “Phoenix,” when Harry stands trial for violation of the ban against underage use of magic. His use of the Patronus Charm was in response to an unprovoked attack upon him and his cousin by two Dementors, the dangerously aggressive guardians of Azkaban prison who inhale the souls of their victims. The trial is scheduled only after strings are pulled with the Ministry of Magic, which had already summarily found Harry guilty and imposed a sentence of expulsion from school. No defense counsel would have been appointed had Hogwarts’ headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, not intervened.

He further criticizes the workings of the justice system.

For all their magic, the citizens have a markedly unreliable criminal justice system. For example, we learn in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban that the government has wrongly imprisoned Harry’s godfather Sirius Black for life on charges of mass murder. Other miscarriages of justice take place in the sixth and seventh books, in which the Ministry arrests innocent wizards and witches in its propaganda-based crackdown on potential supporters of the Dark Lord. The low esteem in which the law is held is evidenced by Harry’s friend Hermoine Granger when she rejects the suggestion of a legal career, explaining that she wants “to do some good in the world.”

Interesting reading, although he might want to check out prior writing on the subject. See for example the recent symposium at Texas Wesleyan.

Jesus in a Kitchen Cabinet Door

MSNBC is running this video concerning a Connecticut family's discovery that one of its kitchen cabinet doors seems to have an image of Jesus in it, or at least the image of Jesus that we commonly think of in the West. Check out the video: I could detect the image once I looked for it. Personally, I think this is an example of what's called "pareidolia": the tendency for the human eye to seek out patterns that aren't really there. MSNBC reports that the family doesn't plan to sell the door, perhaps in reference to stories like the one about the Virgin Mary grilled cheese sandwich (remember that GoldenPalace.com got hold of that intriguing potential edible). Stories are all over already. See here, here (complete with errors in grammar) and here. I hope this family isn't burdened with an onslaught of curiosity seekers wanting a look at its kitchen.

Want to Reincarnate? Not Without a Permit

The People's Republic of China will now require anyone involved in identifying the reincarnation of the Buddha to follow strict rules, and the reincarnated Buddha himself had better have the right paperwork. See this story from the Times of London online for more information. Ah, the multiple ways I could index this story...

Court TV Changing Name...Will Those Psychic Shows Still Be Around?

Court TV is renaming itself...to TruTV (reversing the last three letters of Court--you see?) It wants to shift toward "reality tv."

"`It is not just a marketing makeover, but an overhaul of the network's programming, with the aim of drawing in younger male viewers, said Steve Koonin, president of Turner Entertainment Networks, a division of Time Warner. ''Media is a business of demographics,'' Mr. Koonin said. ''With cable television, you have to have a brand.'' "

On this network's current roster are such shows as Haunting Evidence and Psychic Detectives. I wonder if they'll still be on come January.