This is one of my favorite scenes from the holiday favorite Elf.  But the lawyer in me made me wonder if people really know the difference between a Restraining Order and an Order for Protection.  Find out the difference here --> http://www.casanovalaw.com/hro---harassment-restraining-order-in-minnesota.html 

Until next time enjoy this clip from Elf...

As some of you know, I have both close personal and professional ties to the stand up comedy community. Yesterday, a Comedian named Bill Young died. Bill wrote one of the funniest posts about his experience in the Hennepin County Jail I have ever read. While I never wish Jail on anyone, I love this guys take on the experience.

Keep 'em laughing Bill. Enjoy.

http://youngnotions.wordpress.com/2012/02/22/so-i-went-to-jail-last-night/

Did you hear the story about the guy who blames his 10th drunk driving defense on beer battered fish?  Here is the link... Beer Battered Fish Defense.  Well, when people are faced with a crime they tend to get creative with their defense.  I have had clients tell me they were not drinking prior to their DWI arrest.  Some explanations for the alcohol in their system have been cough syrup and laxatives.  However, in order to reach significant amounts of alcohol in your system, one would have to drink more than 3 bottles of cough syrup.  I imagine you would vomit before drinking that much cough syrup at one time.  

A different client swore he had not had any alcohol or drugs prior to driving but the Drug Recognition Expert said he did.  After careful investigation it was discovered that my client had a brain tumor that explained my clients driving conduct not alcohol or consumption.  That is why you need an attorney who will listen to you and not blow off your crazy ideas.  

But back to the fish guy.  Does alcohol burn off in cooking?  Could this be a viable defense for this guy?  I did some quick research on the internet and found that the answer is yes and no.  (Typical lawyer answer.)

I found a well written article about the time it takes to burn off alcohol in food when it was cooked.  You can find it here.  Basically, it says the longer an item is cooked uncovered then the more alcohol is burned off in the dish.  But it takes awhile.  However, there probably isn't going to be a lot of alcohol in foods that are baked or made with beer as there isn't a lot of alcohol in beer to begin with.  The fact that there is not a lot of beer used in beer battered fish, the alcohol content of beer is low and the fish is baked, then this guy should be looking for a different defense.