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Secrecy Kills - Sealed Cases Should be Extraordinarily Rare, Never Routine

7/15/2019

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Reuters has a must-read story with implications for everyone in America:

"That evidence was clearly compelling: In a 2004 ruling, Judge Stephens rejected Purdue’s motion that he dismiss the case and sided with the state’s assertion that the material could convince a jury that Purdue’s sales pitch was full of dangerous lies.

But Stephens sealed the evidence on which he relied in that ruling. And when Purdue and the state reached a settlement that year, before the case went to trial, the evidence remained hidden, out of sight to regulators, doctors and patients. Over the next few years, as OxyContin sales and opioid-related deaths climbed, more than a dozen other judges overseeing similar lawsuits against Purdue took the same tack, keeping the company’s records secret."

Read the whole thing here:
https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-courts-secrecy-judges/

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John Gear to Host Radio Celebration: 227th Birthday of the Bill of Rights, Saturday December 15, 1 p.m. on KMUZ (88.5/100.7 FM, or at KMUZ.org)

12/10/2018

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Historically very inaccurate, but you get the idea of something worth celebrating!
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The internet depends on the First Amendment, part of the first set of amendments to the Constitution that became known as the Bill of Rights.

It is no exaggeration to say that the rights guaranteed by the Bill of Rights, and their application to the states through the 14th Amendment, are the backbone of American life and what it means to live in the United States.  


To help celebrate the Bill of Rights and discuss some important omissions from it, Salem's community radio station KMUZ (at 88.5 and 100.7 FM in Salem area and at KMUZ.org anywhere on the web) will air a special 227th Birthday Celebration on December 15 at 1 p.m. with KMUZ sponsor, John Gear of John Gear Law Office.

And if you have questions about the Bill of Rights or your civil liberties, you can send them to Info@KMUZ.org with BILL OF RIGHTS SHOW in the subject line. 

All questions will be considered and some will be addressed during the show. That’s 

Saturday, December 15 at 1 p.m. 

on community radio station KMUZ (88.5 and 100.7 FM in the Willamette Valley, streaming at KMUZ.org to anywhere in the world).


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Great reflective report: What do you do when what "Everybody knows" is 100% wrong?

10/21/2013

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A powerful retrospective report showing the real facts behind the notorious "McDonald's Hot Coffee" case -- the gruesome burns, the fact that she was in a parked car, not a moving one, the fact that McDonald's had hundreds of warnings that it was serving dangerously hot coffee, the fact that the plaintiff only asked for her medical bills to be paid (before McDonald's offered her a paltry $800 against medical bills of $10,000) -- on and on, the "outrageous" result turns out to have been more than justified, and the only real outrage is that McDonalds and the Chamber of Commerce have managed to fool most people into thinking that they were the victims in this case.

Watch this excellent New York Times report, and then if you really want to understand how corporate America tries to turn real people against each other (the better to fleece them, and keep them from standing up to big corporations), look for the great movie "Hot Coffee" too.


P.S.  Click here to make a contribution -- one-time or monthly -- to help make another documentary that helps set the record straight about the civil justice system, the only part of government where real people get to stand toe-to-toe and fight back on level ground with corporations.  That's why corporations hate it so much, and why they want to tell you lies, so you'll hate it too
. 
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Find out what Corporate America hopes you won't know

1/23/2012

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John Gear Law Office, LLC, underwrites Salem's only community radio station

9/27/2011

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John Gear Law Office, LLC, is proud to be among the first 10 underwriters for the new, just-about-to-be-on-the-air, volunteer-run and community powered radio station in Salem:

KMUZ, a non-commercial, nonprofit station with 100% local management, leadership, and programmers.

JGLO has been supporting the nonprofit that owns the KMUZ license since before it was "born" -- the founding bylaws for the Willamette Information, News, and Entertainment Service (WINES) were even written and approved right here on High St. in Salem. 
Consider joining me as a supporter or underwriter for KMUZ.  Great communities have locally owned media!


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See for yourself what really happened with the notorious "McDonald's Hot Coffee" case

6/24/2011

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UPDATE:
In case you missed last night’s premiere of HOT COFFEE, you can still catch this important film.

HBO and HBO2 are re-airing the film several times over the next few weeks (all times Central):

HBO:
  • June 30 (12:30 PM) Central time
  • July 2 (9:00 AM) Central time
  • July 5 (9:30 AM) Central time
  • July 10 (3:00 PM) Central time
  • July 12 (11:30 PM) Central time
HBO2:
  • June 29 (7:00 PM) Central time
  • July 16 (5:10 AM) Central time
  • July 25 (3:55 AM) Central time
  • July 28 (5:30 PM) Central time
"Hot Coffee" is also available on HBO’s on-demand service. And DVD copies of the film will be available in the fall.
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Tune in for the HBO premiere of  Hot Coffee -- a documentary about the fictions and false alarms that threaten the civil justice system.
 
Former Public Justice Foundation President Susan Saladoff produced and directed the film as an article of faith and a labor of love. Years of hard work paid off for her when Hot Coffee was screened at this year's prestigious Sundance Film Festival.  Shortly after that, HBO optioned the film.
 
Hot Coffee is a compelling and provocative documentary that everyone will find enlightening.   For more information about Hot Coffee on HBO, click here.
 
To watch the trailer for the film, click here.  We are proud to claim Susan as one of our own.
 Arthur Bryant, Executive Director
Public Justice and the Public Justice Foundation
email: exd@publicjustice.net   
voice: 202-797-8600
web: http://www.publicjustice.net

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Salem Progressive Film Series -- supported in part by John Gear Law Office, LLC

1/30/2011

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Two Thursdays from now, on February 10, the Salem Progressive Film Series will present "Dirt," a film about the least appreciated part of the three components of the biosphere (Land, Air, Water, or LAW).

John Gear Law Office, LLC, is proud to contribute to the Salem Progressive Film Series so that they can continue bringing provocative, intelligent, and important films to Salem's Historic Grand Theater.

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The case everyone's heard of and almost nobody knows anything about

1/26/2011

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  The reality behind the infamous "McDonald's Coffee Case" is that almost everything you hear about it is industrial-strength BS, parroted and amplified by an advertiser-controlled media that is only too happy to repeat simple lies and disinformation rather than delivering a more complex truth that might make some advertisers unhappy.  The greatest part of the Internet is that it lets people like us share information without having to pass through the corporate-owned media's filters.
  Amy Goodman's "Democracy Now" program is a rare oasis of fearless and fierce reporting.  She has a segment on the "coffee case" that ought to be repeated far and wide.
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LAWYERLY FINE PRINT:

John Gear Law Office LLC and Salem Consumer Law.  John Gear Law Office is in Suite 208B of the Security Building in downtown Salem at 161 High St. SE, across from the Elsinore Theater, a half-block south of Marion County Courthouse, just south of State Street. There is abundant, free 3-hour on-street parking throughout downtown Salem, and three multi-story parking ramps that offer free customer parking in downtown Salem too.

Our attorneys are only licensed to practice law in Oregon. This site may be considered advertising under Oregon State Bar rules. There is no legal advice on this site so you should not interpret anything you read here as intended for your particular situation. Besides, we are not representing you and we are not your attorneys unless you have hired us by entering into a representation agreement with me. While we do want you to consider us when you seek an attorney, you should not hire any attorney based on brochures, websites, advertising, or other promotional materials.  All original content on this site is Copyright John Gear, 2010-2020.
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