Personal Injury

The following are the thoughts of Rosana Escobar Brown, former law clerk and recent graduate of Fordham University School of Law, on the recent gun control legislation in Maryland. Maryland’s newest “tough on crime” gun laws will go into effect this October. In a legislative session that sparked much protest, the General Assembly passed the Firearm Safety Act of 2013, tightening ownership and registration laws to be some of the most stringent in the country. The new laws require fingerprinting and licensing to become a gun owner, among other ownership requirements. For instance, the background check process now seeks to prevent gun ownership among the mentally ill. (Washington Times) The law added a total of 45 guns to its list of banned assault weapons, and imposed a 10-round limit on handgun magazines. State police are empowered to audit gun dealers under the new law, and failure to report a lost…

A 52-year-old Florida man claimed self-defense after police questioned him about shooting another customer in a pizzeria. Slow service and complaining customers in a restaurant isn’t unusual, but when this occurred at a Little Caesars located in St. Petersburg, FL, the complaining customer ended up getting shot. Now the alleged shooter is facing criminal charges for his actions. On December 16, 2012, Randall White was waiting on line in Little Caesars for his pizza when he was informed by the staff that it would take a few more minutes to complete his order. As White started to complain about the slow service, another customer named Michael Jock told him to stop whining, according to the Tampa Bay Times. Jock pulled out a revolver after White shoved him and lifted his fist. As they fought, Jock fired two shots into White’s torso. One bullet went into the wall of the restaurant.…

Back in March, Alexander Song, a student at the University of Maryland, made numerous online threats of a shooting rampage on the College Park campus. Song was immediately dismissed from the school and taken into Police custody. This week, months after the original threat, Song entered a plea of guilty to the charges he faced as part of a plea deal that will enable him to avoid jail time. This case is interesting because Song is being punished for the threats that he posted online, which could have been hollow. Law enforcement was unsure not only of whether Song had the actual intent to pull off such an act, but they also questioned his ability to get something like this done even if he really wanted to. Police found no weapons in his dorm room, car and parent’s home and also concluded that he had not tried to procure any…