Legal Commentary

Faith With Fräuleins: Father Cutie Goes Episcopal

Posted on May 29, 2009
Father Alberto Cutie, known as “Father Oprah,” has been much in the news after photos were published showing him hugging a woman at a bar and beach. Facing a resumption of celibacy, Father Cutie has discovered the Episcopal Church. Father Cutie insisted that he “will always love the Catholic Church and all its members,” but [...

Yonkers Police Officer Acquitted in Body Slam Incident Caught on Video

Posted on May 29, 2009
Yonkers police officer Wayne Simoes, 39, has been acquitted by a jury, which reviewed this videotape of Simoes body slamming Irma Marquez, 44, face first into the floor — breaking her jaw and knocking her unconscious at a restaurant. His attorney Andrew Quinn can be credited in the use of still photos to make his [...

Canning Ms. Rusty: English Teacher Fired For Writing Racy Fictional Novel

Posted on May 29, 2009
Another teacher has been fired for activities outside of school. Leonora Rustamova, 39, (known as Ms. Rusty) taught English at Calder High School in England and was a successful teacher until she wrote a book that the school found a bit too racy. “Stop! Don’t Read This” is a fictional story about students [...

Oklahoma Pharmacist Charged With Murder for Coup de Grâce Killing of Robber

Posted on May 29, 2009
An Oklahoma jury will be asked to decided whether pharmacist Jerome Ersland, 57, is a hero or a murderer. A video camera captured Ersland pumping rounds into an unconscious and unarmed teenager who tried to rob his store on May 19th. Gun rights advocates have rallied behind Ersland and his lawyer insists that the [...

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Beating Swords Into Nanoshares: Researchers Find Carbon Nanotubes in Famed Damascus Swords

Posted on May 29, 2009
As many on this site know, I am a bit of a history nut and I could not resist this story. There are many ancient accounts of the famed Damascus swords, particularly from Crusaders who described how the blades were so sharp that they could cut a failing piece of silk while strong enough [...

Police Tase and Kill 16-Year-Old Boy After He Runs From Traffic Stop

Posted on May 29, 2009
There is another controversy over police tasers leading to a death. Robert Mitchell, 16, died after being hit with a 50,000 volt taser shock after he ran from a traffic stop and allegedly resisted arrest. Mitchell had a learning disability and according to his family was merely scared...

Video: Chinese Motorist Tosses Man Threatening to Jump From Bridge

Posted on May 28, 2009
Earlier, we discussed the story involving a Chinese man who was upset with a man holding up traffic by threatening to jump from a bridge. This video of the incident has been found. The BBC video appears to show veteran Lai Jiansheng, 66, complaining about the man before climbing up to end the standoff himself...

Israel Moves To Criminalize Statements Against Israel?s Right to Exist

Posted on May 28, 2009
Legislators in the Knesset gave initial approval to a law that would make it a crime to deny the right of Israel to exist — mandating a year in prison for such an exercise of free speech. The new law introduced by conservative legislators makes it a crime for anyone to “call to negate Israel’s existence [...

Funeral Home Operator Accuses of Abandoning Four Bodies in Building Since 2006

Posted on May 28, 2009
In torts, we have seen a steady line of cases related to the abuse or mishandling of corpses. However, this Indiana case is off the charts. Rev. Reginald Burrell and his parishioners from Northlake Church of Christ went to their newly purchased building only to find four bodies abandoned from 2006...

Confirming Nonsense: Both Liberals and Conservatives Distort Debate Over Sotomayor

Posted on May 28, 2009
The debate over Judge Sonia Sotomayor continues to rage this week. What is remarkable is how much is being said and how little substance can be found in the coverage. One would think that the law of averages alone would guarantee that some substantive points would be hit, if only by accident...

One Last Memorial Day Photo

Posted on May 27, 2009
This picture was taken when a family went to put flowers on the grave of their veteran family member. I could not resist posting this. What a wonderful thing to find on such a solemn trip. Yesterday, when I went to NBC for the coverage on Sotomayor, a camera man and I stood transfixed by two [...

Royal Governor Eats Raw Seal Heart In Protest of EU Ban

Posted on May 27, 2009
In a truly bizarre scene, Royal Governor General Michaelle Jean, the representative of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II as Canada’s head of state, protested restrictions on seal products by eating the raw heart of a dead seal. It is moments like these that one wonders whether a strong letter and signed picture might have sufficed...

California Supreme Court Votes 6-1 To Uphold Proposition 8 and Ban on Same-Sex Marriage

Posted on May 27, 2009
While buried by the news of the Sotomayor nomination, yesterday was a disappointing day for many of us who favor same-sex marriage. The California Supreme Court voted 6-1 to uphold Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage. The only good news for couples is that the Court ruled that the 18,000 unions licensed before [...

Olson and Bois Team Up on Proposition 8 Challenge

Posted on May 27, 2009
Theodore B. Olson, the U.S. solicitor general under Bush and his lawyer in Bush v. Gore, and David Boies, who represented former vice president Al Gore in that case, have joined forces to challenge Proposition 8 in federal court after this week’s loss in the California state court system...

Chicago Police Officer Involved in Hit and Run Given Four Hours Before Taking Breathalyzer

Posted on May 27, 2009
Chicago Police Officer Richard Bolling was charged in a hit and run that killed a 13-year-old Trenton Booker who was riding his bicycle. In such cases, standard procedures calls for a breathalyzer as soon as possible. However, Bolling’s colleagues gave him four hours and, when they administered the test, he registered 0...

The Thin Silent Line: New Murder Trial Ordered After Three Former and Current Police Officers Take the Fifth

Posted on May 27, 2009
What happen when you hold a trial and the police are the ones who take the Fifth? That question was answered by Cook County Circuit Judge Clayton Crane who ordered a new trial for Gangster Disciple member Cortez Brown, who alleged that he was forced to confess during beatings in custody...

White House To Announce Court Pick at 10 am

Posted on May 26, 2009
It appears that President Obama will announce his pick for the Supreme Court at 10 am. The Supreme Court sweepstakes has been raging for weeks. My prediction on the day of Souter’s resignation remains the same: Judge Diane Wood of the Seventh Circuit...

Return of the Romanovs: Obama Creates Yet Another Czar

Posted on May 26, 2009
President Obama is about to announce the creation of a “cyber czar” who will have broad authority to develop strategy to protect the nation’s government-run and private computer networks. Obama’s legion of czars has raised concerns among lawmakers about their concentration of power...

Scientology Officers Stand Trial for Organized Fraud in France

Posted on May 26, 2009
Scientology is back in court this week. Officials are facing organized fraud charges with $7 million in fines and 10 years in prison — and could be ordered to end their operations in France. The Church is viewed as a criminal organization and a dangerous cult for years in various European nations, here [...

The Real Thing: Germany Bans Red Bull Cola After Finding Traces of Cocaine

Posted on May 26, 2009
Germany is considering a nationwide ban on the high-energy drink Red Bull Cola after traces of cocaine were found in it. The officials of the states of Hesse and North-Rhine Westphalia have stopped the sales until the drink can be produced sans real coke — to the disappointment of many no doubt...

Florida Man Jailed for Four Years After Dispute Over ?Junk Protest?

Posted on May 26, 2009
There is a strange case out of Altamonte Springs, Florida this week. Alan Davis was reportedly mad at the city and his neighbors, so he expressed himself by decorating his house and yard with junk from toilets on his roof to airplane parts to a statue of buttockes...

The Saddest Show on Earth: Police Bust Clown in Front of Kids

Posted on May 26, 2009
For many kids, clowns are already pretty scary. For the kids at the Ogden 20K Race, their fears were realized when officers of the Wheeling Police Department arrested and cuffed Patricia Ingalls who was in her full clown outfit for a hit and run. There was reportedly only one in this clown’s car when [...

Report: Bush Told French President Jacques Chirac That Iraq War Was Biblically Ordained With Story of Gog and Magog

Posted on May 25, 2009
After the recent disclosure of how Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld used biblical passages as part of the war briefings for President George W. Bush, GQ magazine has an even more disturbing account: Bush lobbied French President Chirac that the war in Iraq was foretold in the bible and told that it was the final struggle [...

U.S. Holds Journalist For Almost a Year Without Charges or Evidence

Posted on May 25, 2009
The United States has been vocal in its denouncing of the recent arrests of journalists by North Korea and Iran. These countries refuse to comply with American values and legal process, particularly in the treatment of journalists. The biggest difference thus far: North Korea and Iran gave the journalists trials...

Ohio Man Reports Debris Causing Damage on a Local Road ? Faces Fines and Threat of Loss of Home by State Officials

Posted on May 25, 2009
Paul Holden has learned that the greatest peril of having a blowout on a local highway is not the possible crash but reporting it to state officials. Holden’s truck experienced the blowout on Ohio Route 286 when a six-pound metal road reflector slashed into his tires...

Laying Hands Upon: Ex-Child Molester Becomes Preacher and Molests Children

Posted on May 25, 2009
Police have arrested Billy Masters, 66, reportedly the preacher at Harvest Baptist Church for first-degree sexual abuse of a 12-year-old boy. What is remarkable is that Masters previously was convicted and served time for sodomy of a child. In 2001, Masters was reportedly convicted of sodomy against three male victims...

Seattle Police Officer Chases Wrongly Identified Suspect and Slams His Head Into Wall ? Leaving Him in a Coma

Posted on May 25, 2009
There is a shocking video showing King County Deputy Matthew Paul slamming the head of Christopher Harris into a wall in the mistaken belief that Harris was a suspect in an assault. Harris, 29, remains in a coma. Witnesses wrongly identified Harris as the suspect and the police department has decided that Paul acted appropriately [...

Susan Boyle Triumphs with Cats Performance

Posted on May 25, 2009
While the start was a bit shaky, Susan Boyle handed in another remarkable performance this week. While we do not often follow shows (and I have yet to see one of these shows), the video below may be of interest to our bloggers. Not surprisingly, Boyle (who has become a cult figure) won the popular [...

Critter Ridder Owner Charged in Involuntary Squirrelslaughter Case

Posted on May 24, 2009
Authorities in Hazlet, New Jersey have criminally charged Kathleen Buck, owner of Critter Ridder, for animal cruelty after she caught a squirrel that perished in her trap. Buck was called in to catch the squirrel and placed a roof trap to get the job done...

A Helping Hand: Bystander Walks Over to Suicidal Man on Bridge and Pushes Him Off

Posted on May 24, 2009
Beijing was the scene for an bizarre crime. Chen Fuchao was threatening to jump off a bridge and had hel up traffic. Veteran Lian Jiansheng, 66, broke through the police line and went over to Chen and promptly pushed him off the bridge. Chen, 2 million yuan ($293,200) in debt and said [...

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