Judgment

Imagine navigating a world of social situations in which you are a very poor judge of other people's motivations and state of mind. It could seem like a very random world indeed. That is the world as seen through the eyes of someone with profound autism . Without the capacity to infer or deduce correctly what other people know, and why other people act as they do, one's sense of cause and effect is severely impaired. When bad things happen, you can only assume it was the work of bad people acting badly.

On Wednesday, President Obama fired the head of the Internal Revenue Service, the first sacrificial lamb brought down after the alleged “targeting” of conservative political groups by the IRS. Obama declared, “Americans are right to be angry about it.” Call me out of step, but I am angrier that the president is joining the rush to judgment. All that is known for sure is that some IRS functionaries took a shorthand route to identify partisan political groups that might be pretending not to be political so that they could get the tax-exempt status available to social welfare organizations.

NEW YORK — A federal judge in New York has refused, for now, to halt collection of an $18 billion court judgment against the energy giant Chevron for environmental damage in an Ecuadorean rain forest. In one sense, the case shows the potential costs that can accrue from the massive consolidation of the oil industry into just a handful of mega-firms. Oil companies that have acquired former competitors wind up shouldering legal liabilities as well as assets. In this case, Courts in Ecuador have ordered San Rramon-based Chevron to pay the steep penalty for pollution that occurred when Texaco was operating in the forest, between 1972 and 1990.

A jury has awarded $240 million to 32 mentally disabled former workers at a turkey processing plant in Iowa, in what officials on Wednesday said was the largest such judgment in a federal abuse and discrimination case. After a week-long trial, the jury in Davenport, Iowa, deliberated for about eight hours before deciding that Henry's Turkey Service, of Goldthwaite, Texas, violated the Americans With Disabilities Act in a lawsuit brought by the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

An appellate court decision upholding a $30-million judgment against this High Sierra ski resort has left civic leaders scrambling to avoid financial catastrophe. Residents reacted bitterly to the breach-of-contract judgment, blaming the town of Mammoth Lake's five-member council and its staffers for the fiscal dilemma that has overshadowed the snowiest winter in memory in the scenic Mono County community of 7,500 year-round residents, situated about 300 miles north of Los Angeles on Highway 395. "We're fed up with the Town Council," fumed Steve Schwind, a real estate broker and 30-year resident.

How dare Ted Kennedy sit in judgment of Clarence Thomas? How dare Ted Kennedy sit in judgment of anyone? PAT SAMUELSON, Costa Mesa

CARTAGENA, Colombia - President Obama said Sunday he would be angry if an internal investigation showed Secret Service personnel engaged in misconduct while in Colombia, because he expected representatives of the U.S. to act with the "utmost in dignity and probity. " But as he finished a weekend meeting with other Western Hemisphere leaders here, Obama said he would wait until the investigation concluded before passing judgment on the agents and military officers, part of a team that he said performed "extraordinary work on a day-to-day basis protecting me, my family and U.S. officials.

The estate of a co-founder of the Phil & Jim's TV & Appliance discount chain has been ordered by an Orange County Superior Court Judge to pay the Anaheim-based corporation $1 million. The judgment stemmed from a suit brought two years ago by company chairman Philipe E. Delgado, who alleged that his late partner, James Ousterhout, had concealed a terminal illness for more than three years and falsified the company's books to increase income to his estate and heirs.

There are some worldly observers who believe that sports is infantile, that shedding tears over a defeat in a meaningless game is chi-chi and that it is gauche to argue on national television whether a ball bounced in or out. I am glad for the existence of such people because every time I hear their kaffeeklatsch chatter, I thank God that, in sports, I have an endeavor in which, at some point, all the talking stops. Games, matches and contests should be decided on the field, by the players who each have an equal opportunity to win. Finger-pointing, arguments and protests have never been more apparent and the recent instant-replay rule seems just a shield for officials instead of a help to the game.

Two men who contend PepsiCo Inc. stole their idea to sell bottled water sued the snack- and drink-maker in Wisconsin and won a $1.26-billion judgment last month after the company didn't respond. PepsiCo, which calls the accusation "dubious," says it didn't know about the lawsuit until almost a week after the court granted the award without a trial. The company wants the court to toss out the ruling, known as a default judgment, or at least give PepsiCo a chance to fight the accusation.

The attorneys for the teenagers accused of sexually assaulting Audrie Pott, the Saratoga High School sophomore who later committed suicide, is urging the public to reserve judgment and said the boys should be "regarded as innocent. " Authorities this week alleged that Pott, 15, was assaulted last fall by the three boys, one of whom snapped a picture of the alleged attack. The photo quickly circulated among Pott's classmates. The teen wrote on her Facebook page that it was the “worst day ever,” according to her family's attorney, Robert Allard.

Scott London, a Los Angeles partner in one of the nation's largest accounting firms, says it began four years ago. By his account, a friend with money trouble was poking around for information on Herbalife Ltd. and Skechers USA Inc., two Los Angeles-area companies whose audits London personally oversaw. Soon, he says, he was passing inside tips on the companies that resulted in as much as $100,000 in profit for his buddy. In return, he says, he collected "about $25,000" in cash, was treated to fancy dinners and received a Rolex watch as a gift.

The verdict is in: Judge Judy is staying on the bench for at least four more years. Judy Sheindlin has signed a new multiyear deal with CBS Television Distribution to continue her top-rated "Judge Judy" show through 2017. The show, now in its 17th season, averages more than 9 million viewers daily and is the top-rated daytime program. The judge's no-nonsense demeanor and frequent belittling of litigants have turned the show into a blockbuster hit. "Twenty-one is a terrific number," Sheindlin said in a statement.

A jury has awarded $1.1 million to a Palmdale teenager who, while holding a toy gun, was shot in the back by a Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy. Deputy Scott Sorrow used excessive force when he shot William Fetters in Palmdale on May 10, 2009, a jury found Wednesday. Fetters was 15 at the time of the shooting. “He's had a lot of emotional distress being the victim of a wrongful shooting,” said Fetters' attorney, Bradley Gage. “He's thankful that he has a chance to let the healing process begin.

A judge on Friday cut $450.5 million from the $1-billion judgment Apple won in a patent infringement case against Samsung last summer. U.S. District Court Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose said she trimmed the award because of what appears to be a technical error in the jury's methodology used to calculate the damages Samsung owed relating to 14 products.  Koh ordered a new jury trial to determine the damages related to those products, which could...

Rightly regarded as one of the most lustrous legacies of the civil rights movement, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 outlaws discrimination in voting nationwide, but it also requires that states with a history of denying minorities the right to vote obtain the approval of a federal court or the U.S. Justice Department before changing election procedures. This "preclearance" provision, contained in Section 5 of the act, has been repeatedly reauthorized by Congress - most recently in 2006, when it was extended for another 25 years by margins of 390 to 33 in the House and 98 to 0 in the Senate.

Retail giant Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has agreed to pay $2.1 million for not complying with a judgment against the chain for overcharging customers in California, the attorney general's office said. The 2008 judgment had directed the retailer to fix pricing errors discovered during a government investigation into its California stores. The 2005 investigation found that 164 Wal-Mart stores in the state had scanned some items at higher prices than advertised on shelves and signs.

Patricia Cornwell, the author of the bestselling Kay Scarpetta mystery novels, won a judgment of $50.9 million against her former financial managers in federal court in Boston on Tuesday. Cornwell accused her former money management firm, Anchin, Block & Anchin LLP, and its former principal, Evan H. Snapper, of negligence in the handling of her finances. She said the firm not only improperly invested $89 million of her money but also made illegal campaign contributions that drew the attention of the FBI, undermined her work and even traumatized her dog. The managers claimed that it was Cornwell's own extravagance, including leasing expensive private jets, that was to blame.

Patricia Cornwell won a judgment of $50.9 million against her former financial managers in federal court in Boston on Tuesday. Cornwell is the author of the bestselling Kay Scarpetta mystery novels. Cornwell accused her former money management firm Anchin, Block & Anchin LLP and its former principal, Evan H. Snapper, for negligence in the handling of her ­finances. According to Cornwell, not only had the firm improperly invested $89 million of her money, it had also made illegal campaign contributions that drew the attention of the FBI, undermined her work and even traumatized her dog . The money management firm was paid about $40,000 per month to handle Cornwell's finances, which included the renovation of her Massachusetts estate and leasing a lavish apartment for her. The managers claimed that it was Cornwell's own extravagance , including leasing expensive private jets, that was to blame.