In a snow season marked by killer avalanches—13 dead in the U.S., including 10 skiers or snowboarders who were “out-of-bounds”—an icy issue has sparked a heated debate: should there be tougher legal consequences for sneaking away from groomed slopes to make fresh tracks in unpatrolled areas? And should rogue skiers and boarders have to pay for their own rescues?... Read full article

On Halloween night four years ago in Los Angeles, a car slammed into a light pole at 45 mph, critically injuring a young woman and leaving her a paraplegic. Also shattered in the accident was the very definition of what it means to be a Good Samaritan, undermined by a troubling new legal question: Can you be sued for trying to save someone’s life?... Read full article

In his inaugural address, President Obama articulated the ideals of responsibility many of you have already expressed on this site and challenged the nation to “…pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.” What is your personal responsibility in achieving that goal?... Read full article

If you’ve made a New Year’s resolution about personal responsibility, you might have asked yourself, “Who can I help?” But would you ever ask, “Who can I sue?” That question is the focus of WhoCanISue.com, an online service that matches potential clients with lawyers, while begging a different question: does the site’s blunt come-on irresponsibly encourage more lawsuits?... Read full article

There’s been an abundance of odd headlines lately, fading before their 15 minutes, but one refuses to go away: Indian woman, 70, gives birth to first child after IVF treatment. Part oddity, part odyssey, the story of septuagenarian first-time mother Rajo Devi has reverberated around the world.... Read full article

Scientists mapped the human genome to help the human race. Now parents can map Johnny’s genome to help him win his own race—or football and soccer games—by searching for a gene that supposedly predicts exceptional abilities in sports. Mouth swab to identify gene: $149. Identification of future sports-great while still in diapers: priceless?... Read full article