Legal Commentary

Republican is Clearly Not One of the Three Rs in North Carolina: School Teacher Under Fire for Anti-McCain Statements

Posted on November 08, 2008
An elementary teacher in Fayetteville, North Carolina is under attack after a video has surfaced where she appears to criticize John McCain and embarrass a student who supported her in her fifth-grade glass at Mary McArthur Elementary School. Diatha D...

Orthodox Jewish Parents Fight Hospital to Prevent Termination of Life Support for Twelve-Year-Old Boy

Posted on November 07, 2008
The Children’s National Medical Center in Washington is going to court to seek a court order to terminate life support for a 12-year-old boy in a case raising parental and religious rights. A ventilator and medications are currently keeping Moti Brody of Brooklyn, N...

Leading Austrian Journalist Lashes Out In Racist Diatribe Over Obama?s Election

Posted on November 07, 2008
What is happening to journalists after the election? The world has been watching a British reporter give a drunken resignation on YouTube. Now, leading Austrian television personality Klaus Emmerich has given a deeply racist rant on European television stating “I wouldn’t want the Western world to be directed by a black man...

Drunken Adam Smith Admits Plagarism and Resigns with ?F? You? to Bosses on YouTube Video

Posted on November 07, 2008
Not that Adam Smith. But Birmingham Mail’s Adam Smith (also known as Steve Zacharanda) may be an even bigger sensation with his drunken YouTube appearance where he admits to plagiarizing from the BBC, chasing women, and then resigns with a “F— You” to his bosses in England...

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One Free (Presidential) Bite Rule: Bush?s Dog Barney Bites Reporter

Posted on November 07, 2008
the White House was the scene of a torts controversy this week after Presidential Dog Barney bite a reporter. It is a classic question of the common law “one free bite rule.” The video is below. The Scottish terrier bit Reuters reporter Jonathan Decker in a dream of any personal injury lawyer: a well [...

Deadly Rhino: Yamaha Facing Over 200 Lawsuits Over Safety of Off-Road Vehicle

Posted on November 07, 2008
The Yamaha Rhino is the target of perhaps the largest array of lawsuits against a vehicle in decades. Over 200 lawsuits have been filed in a trend reminiscent of the lawsuits that led to the removal of the Suzuki Samurai in the 1980s. There have been a reported some 30 deaths involving the [...

Honey, I Got Rid of the Cobweds: Man Sets House on Fire While Removing Cobwebs with Blowtorch

Posted on November 07, 2008
Some wives are so never satisfied. In Sargent, Georgia, Galen Winchell got rid of the cobwebs on the outside of the house. Whatever webs may have been missed were certainly cleared out by the fire that he started when he used a blowtorch for the job...

University of Phoenix Settles Lawsuit Over Pro-Mormon Discrimination for $1.89 Million

Posted on November 06, 2008
Apollo Group Inc. and the University of Phoenix Online have settled a religious discrimination case for $1.89 million. The defendants were accused of discriminating against non-Mormon employees at the University of Phoenix Online division. This would be the largest religious-discrimination settlement in the history of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission...

Pilin? on Palin: Fox News Reports Palin Did Not Know Africa Is a Continent While Newsweek Reports that She Misled Public on Shopping Binges

Posted on November 06, 2008
McCain campaign officials are unloading on Sarah Palin. Fox News is reporting that staffers were shocked after her selection that Palin did not know that Africa was a continent and could not name the countries who were members of the NAFTA agreement...

Fox Trot: Arizona Woman Runs One Mile With Rabid Fox Clamped on Arm

Posted on November 06, 2008
In Prescott, Arizona, Michelle Felicetta was jogging when she was attacked by a rabid fox, which locked on to her arm. The woman ran a mile with the fox clamped on her arm to get to her car. She then dislodged the animal, threw it into her trunk, and drove to the hospital...

The Stevens Defense: Alaskan Claims that He Didn?t Intend to Steal Car and Thus Is Innocent

Posted on November 06, 2008
It seems that Alaskans are not only returning convicted felon Sen. Ted Stevens to the Senate, but they are adopting his novel criminal defense. If you recall, Stevens insisted that gifts from lobbyists and industry were not “gifts” if he did not consider them gifts in his mind...

A Dying Breed: Smokers Banned from Fostering Children

Posted on November 06, 2008
Soon signs in London will read “Thank You For Not Fostering Children.” This week, a council in London became the first city to mandate that smokers cannot foster children. Redbridge Council’s cabinet agreed Tuesday night to a ban on placing children with foster carers who smoke absent exceptional circumstances...

Leading California Professor Suspended Over Refusal to Take Mandatory Sexual Harassment Training

Posted on November 06, 2008
An interesting fight is brewing at the University of California. Alexander McPherson, 64, is a leading biologist who has taken a stand against mandatory sexual harassment training on principle. Among other things, he objected to the requirement as an infringement of academic freedom and an act of political correctness...

Alaska School System Settles ?Bong Hits 4 Jesus? Case

Posted on November 06, 2008
The Juneau Board of Education has agreed to a settlement in the “Bong Hits 4 Jesus” case that led to a Supreme Court decision in its favor. Under the settlement, former Juneau-Douglas High School student Joseph Frederick will receive a $45,000 payment...

Novatics: 3.5 Million Vote Margin for Bush is a Mandate But An Over 7 Million Vote Margin for Obama is No Mandate

Posted on November 06, 2008
Robert Novak has long been dismissed by rational people as a mean-spirited hack. However, he has really out done himself. Novak quickly dismissed the 7 million vote margin of Barack Obama as not a mandate while, in 2004, he said it was obvious that a 3...

Alaska is Pro-Family and Pro-Felon: Alaskans Show that Politics is More Important Than Corruption

Posted on November 05, 2008
Alaska’s Senate race has Stevens leading with 48 percent of the vote compared with 47 percent for Democrat Mark Begich, with 96 percent of precincts reporting. There more than 40,000 absentee ballots to be counted within 10 days of the election — many of which probably preceded his corruption conviction...

California?s Proposition 8 Appears to Have Passed in a Bad Night for Same-Sex Couples

Posted on November 05, 2008
While the votes are still being counted, the landslide for Barack Obama did not put a few candidates (like Al Franken in Minnesota) or causes like California’s Proposition 8 over the top. With 63 per cent of the state’s voting district results in, the measure was leading by 52...

Coleman - Franken Race Goes to Recount with Less Than 2000 Votes Separating the Candidates

Posted on November 05, 2008
Obama’s win in Minnesota helped pushed Al Franken close to victory on Tuesday, but perhaps not close enough. Coleman remains 2000 votes ahead and now both candidates must face a recount, which is automatic for any race with a margin of one percent or less in Minnesota...

No You Can?t: Obama Supporter Celebrates Victory by Shooting Gun 18 Times in Home ? Showering Neighbors with Bullets

Posted on November 05, 2008
While Barack Obama insisted that he would not take your guns away, he may want to make an exception for James G. Dewalt, 34. In Burlington, Vermont, Dewalt was so excited that Obama had won that he fired his Russian-made .22 caliber rifle 18 times in this home — sending bullets into neighboring homes...

China Arrests Tibetan Monk Featured on Abuse Video

Posted on November 05, 2008
Chinese officials surrounded a monastery to arrest a tibetan monk who had the audacity to speak publicly about his torture by Chinese special police. Jogme (who only uses one name) appeared in a video detailing his torture and abuse. He then went into hiding until Chinese officials assured him that he could return to [...

Worker?s Paradise: High-Ranking Chinese Official Under Investigation Before Being Caught on Tape Grabbing 11-Year-Old Girl

Posted on November 05, 2008
Corruption and abuse are common in the highest ranks of Chinese officials who benefit from one-party rule and a suppressed media. However, it remains important not to take advantages on tape. This lesson was learned by Lin Jiaxiang, party secretary of the Shenzhen maritime bureau in southern China’s Guangdong province, after he first [...

Arkansas Bans Gays from Adopting While Michigan and Massachusetts Vote on Marijuana Use

Posted on November 05, 2008
Arkansas voters decided yesterday that it was better to have children remain unadopted than to place them with gay parents. In the meantime, Michigan voted to allow medical marijuana use while Massachusetts decriminalized marijuana use and ban dog racing...

Exit Poll: Palin Hurt Ticket with Vast Majority of Voters

Posted on November 05, 2008
Last night, I helped cover the election with BBC. During the evening, I got into a sharp argument with the editor of Human Events magazine about Sarah Palin. I noted that her selection may have been one of the biggest political blunders of a campaign in my lifetime...

Keanu Reeves Wins Personal Injury Case

Posted on November 04, 2008
Actor Keanu Reeves had a most excellent day in court. A jury only took three hours to reject the torts claims of Alison Silva, a paparazzo who claimed that Reeves injured his left wrist by hitting him with his Porsche. He sought $711,974, which includes medical bills, lost wages and punitive damages...

Westboro Baptist Church Wins Stay of Law Barring Protests of Military Funerals

Posted on November 04, 2008
In an example of judges overcoming personal and public outrage to rule dispassionately on the law, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that Missouri officials should be barred from enforcing a law that bars protests at or near funerals. The law is highly suspect on constitutional grounds and the court found that [...

Frankenmouse: Scientists Clone Dead Mouse That Was Frozen for 16 Years

Posted on November 04, 2008
Scientists have made a remarkable breakthrough in the cloning of a mouse that was dead and frozen for 16 years. The successful discovery could lead to a Jurassic Park type program where extinct animals are brought back to life. Finally, Sarah Palin could be proven correct: men will walk with dinosaurs...

Laugh Test: Virginia Decides Not to Name or Charge Person Responsible for Voter Suppression Flyer

Posted on November 04, 2008
In 2000 and 2004, GOP activists misled voters with fake fliers that told democrats that they would vote on Wednesday rather than Tuesday. The fliers have appeared throughout Virginia and the culprit has been identified. However, the state officials have decided not to charge the person responsible...

The Lesson of Fairplay: Texas Businessman Pleads Guilty to Bison Massacre

Posted on November 04, 2008
Texas businessman Jeff Hawn has pleaded guilty in one of the largest illegal slaughters of bison in decades. Hawn, who is the CEO of Seattle-based software company Attachmate, admitted that he allowed hunters on his land to shoot 32 bison belonging to his neighbor...

Drunk Drivers Find Each Other on Wisconsin Highway

Posted on November 04, 2008
In Eloit, Wisconsin, two perfectly suited men found each other. Two drunk drivers spared other drivers and ran head on into each other. A 17-year-old driver struck Joshua Krueger, 35, who was also driving drunk at the time. This is only one of a number of bizarre recent drunk driving cases...

Serious Voting Problems Begin to Emerge In Key States

Posted on November 04, 2008
There now appears to be some serious problems and patterns emerging in key states like Virginia and Pennsylvania. Heavy democratic areas have been polling places shutdown and thousands of voters turned away. Provisional ballots have been given inappropriately to many voters...

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