Legal Commentary

Rape Charges Dropped After ?Victim? Sends Love Letters to Prison

Posted on September 22, 2008
In Winnipeg, Canada, prosecutors were preparing for a trial for rape when they had a curious series of statements from the victim in the form of love letters to the accused in prison. The woman initially denied sending any letters but eventually admitted that she missed the accused and was pregnant with his child...

Latest Chinese Product Scandal: Over 50,000 Children Poisoned by Tainted Milk

Posted on September 22, 2008
China is again ordering a rash of arrests and resignations after the latest product scandal. In this case, diary producers sold milk containing the industrial chemical melamine, which killed four child and sickened nearly 53,000 others. This is not just another case of rampant Chinese pollution entering the food system...

Bush Administration Loses Ruling on Cheney Records

Posted on September 21, 2008
The Administration has lost another ruling in its opposition to open government rules. The Bush Administration and particularly Vice President Dick Cheney has spent a huge amount of time and money fighting efforts to preserve documents and emails. On Saturday, U...

Tony Alamo?s Evangelical Church Raided After Allegation of Child Abuse and Pornography

Posted on September 21, 2008
Evangelical minister Tony Alamo blames the Catholics. But, police insist that they had evidence of child abuse and pornography at his headquarters in Fouke, Arkansas. Critics have long called Alamo’s massive church a cult, but he insists that it is “true Christianity...

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Wisconsin Prisoner Wins $295,000 for Moldy Mattress

Posted on September 21, 2008
A federal jury awarded a Wisconsin prisoner $295,000 after officials forced him to sleep on a wet, moldy mattress for two months. Reggie Townsend, 29, is serving time for reckless homicide and won the judgment against the New Lisbon Correctional Institution...

A Cell Just Right: Goldilocks Burglar Arrested in Montana

Posted on September 20, 2008
In Billings, Montana, children know of Goldilocks and the Three Bears but Tracy Mullins, 47, gave a more modern version when he broke into a home, ate food from the kitchen, messed up the home, and then fell asleep on a child’s bed — only to be discovered by the family in the morning...

Court Drug Coordinator Arrested as Mole for Drug Dealers

Posted on September 20, 2008
Court Drug Coordinator Emily Cayton, of Scappoose, Oregon has been arrest for allegedly leaking information to drug dealers. Cayton is accused to tipping off dealers about warrants secured by the police. Obviously, such information could have resulted in fatalities for officers carrying out such warrants...

Bush Administration Loses Major Case of Transgender Discrimination at Library of Congress

Posted on September 20, 2008
The Library of Congress has lost a major discrimination case brought by a former special forces commander. Diane Schroer (formerly David Schroer) was hired as a senior terrorism analyst, but then denied the position when he informed the Library of Congress that he intended to have a sex change operation...

Arrested Parents Warned 2-Year-Old Before Shooting That Loaded Gun Could Cause ?Bad Boo Boos?

Posted on September 20, 2008
In Jewett City, Connecticut, police are dealing with an all-too-common situation. Two-year-old Wyatt Matteau shot himself in the eye when he played with his father’s gun — left in the open and loaded. His mother Rebecca Matteau warned him before she left the room not to play with the gun because it [...

Son of Rep. Allen Boyd Arrested for Smuggling Illegal Immigrants

Posted on September 19, 2008
In Tuscon, Arizona, the son of Democratic Florida Congressman Allen Boyd has been arrested for human smuggling of five immigrants, including a 6-year-old girl. The Border Police also found a gun and drugs in Boyd’s truck. John Boyd is now facing federal charges...

In the Can: Bush Administration Prosecutes Woman for Spilling Diet Coke

Posted on September 19, 2008
Natalie Walters is looking at a two-day trial and potentially six months in jail. Her crime? She poured a soda on the counter of a cafeteria at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Boise, Idaho. U.S. Attorney Tom Moss is pursuing her conviction with remarkable vigor...

Colorado Man Charged with Assisting Suicide by Giving Roommate Loaded Gun

Posted on September 19, 2008
A case out of Eagle County, Colorado presents a novel question in both criminal law and torts. Jacob Weiss, 19, is charged with manslaughter because he allegedly handed a loaded gun to his suicidal roommate. Weiss shared an apartment with the 18-year-old, who had discussed suicide...

Dog Owner Sentenced in Dog Mauling Case

Posted on September 19, 2008
Diane Cockrell, 52, has pleaded no contest to three criminal counts related to the deaths of two neighbors (including a 91-year-old man) killed by her bulldogs. The sentencing in Michigan occurs as the most famous mauling case of Diane Whipple continues in California...

Petcka?s Pet Problem: Actor and Former N.Y. Mets Player Joseph Petcka on Trial for Killing Girlfriend?s Cat

Posted on September 18, 2008
Former Mets minor leaguer and sometime actor Joseph Petcka is on trial for killing his girlfriend’s 8-year-old tabby, Norman. It is a good example of such cases where both criminal and civil charges can be brought. His former girlfriend Sports Illustrated reporter Lisa Altobelli insists that it was intentional while Petcka insists that [...

Oh, Say, Can You See My Lawyer: Josh Howard Denounces National Anthem in Video

Posted on September 18, 2008
There is an interesting controversy over the free speech rights of a major league basketball player and a team’s effort to avoid unpopular public demonstrations. Mavericks player Josh Howard is shown in the video below disrespecting the national anthem and saying that, as an African-American, he was opposed to it...

Nigerian Man Arrested with 86 Wives ? and 86 Lawyers

Posted on September 18, 2008
Bello Masaba, a Nigerian man, is defending himself before a Sharia court after his arrest for having 86 wives and 170 children. Islamic law allows only four wives. Worse yet, he now has 86 lawyers — one for each wife — as his attorneys defend him from punishment and a rash of divorces...

Half-Baked Alaska: State Attorney General Cites Loyalty to Palin in Refusing Lawful Supoenas

Posted on September 18, 2008
This may not be what the McCain/Palin campaign meant by carrying on the Bush legacy, but Gov. Sarah Palin has refused to comply with subpoenas in the investigation of her firing of Alaska’s former public safety commissioner. Now, her Attorney General has refused to comply with the lawful legislative subpoenas...

Anti-Witch and Pro-Palin: Kenyan Minister at Heart of Latest Controversy Over Faith-Based Politics

Posted on September 17, 2008
In the video below, Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin credits and praises a Kenyan Minister named Thomas Muthee with helping her to achieve the Alaskan governorship through prayer. It turns out the Muthee also hunts down witches and make Rev. John Hagee look positively normal...

Chinese Sofas Withdrawn Due to Chemical Injuries

Posted on September 17, 2008
In the latest product case manufactured in China, a French retailer has pulled Chinese-made sofas from the market after people developed a chemical reaction from sitting on them. The culprit appears to be an excessive treatment of an anti-mould chemical...

Florida Judge Finds Baggy Pant Law Unconstitutional

Posted on September 17, 2008
Riviera Beach, Florida is facing a crisis. The city’s new law to criminalize “saggy” or baggy pants has been struck down as unconstitutional. Palm Beach Circuit Judge Paul Moyle appears to believe that the Constitution protects people from having their clothing style choices dictated by politicians...

CSI Petah Tikva: Forensic Experts Use DNA to Track Down Canine Criminals

Posted on September 17, 2008
The city of Petah Tikva in Israel has created a type of canine CSI shop to identify unlawfully popping dogs from their DNA — to track down and punish their owners. The city of Petah Tikva is a suburb of Tel Aviv and wants to create a DNA file on every dog by swabbing its mouth...

Do Not Assume the Position: Florida Police Taser Naked Man Walking a Dog

Posted on September 17, 2008
Tallahassee police tasered a naked 40-year-old man walking his dog. The man did not respond immediately to their commands and was considered a potential danger to officers. It appears that naked men are universally viewed as imminent dangers by officers given another such case out of Wichita...

Mickey Mouse Meets Sharia Sam: Disney Character Condemned to Death under Sharia Law

Posted on September 16, 2008
Mickey Mouse is a marked rodent. Just this morning, I opined that it would be difficult to top a Saudi Cleric who has called for the execution of horoscope readers on television in the name of Sharia law. I spoke too soon. Sheikh Muhammad Munajid has now called for the death on [...

Tulane Law School Issues Apology for Errors in Study of Louisiana Supreme Court

Posted on September 16, 2008
Recently, a study from one of my former colleagues at Tulane Law School attracted national attention, including on this blog. The study by Tulane Law Professor Vernon Palmer and Loyola assistant professor of economics John Levendis found a disturbing correlation between contributions and voting on the Court...

England Officially Recognizes Sharia Rulings

Posted on September 16, 2008
British courts will now enforce rulings from Sharia courts in cases ranging from divorce to domestic violence. The five Sharia courts will now be recognized as binding systems of adjudication. Sharia courts have been set up in London, Birmingham, Bradford and Manchester with the network?s headquarters in Nuneaton, Warwickshire...

Latest Horoscope: Saturn Rising and Saudis Executing ? Saudi Cleric Calls for the Execution of Horoscope Readers

Posted on September 16, 2008
Not to be outdone by extremists in Israel today, leading Saudi cleric Sheikh Saleh al-Fozan in Riyadh has called for the execution for people who read horoscopes on television as “sorcerers.” This follows another leading cleric, Sheikh Saleh al-Lohaidan, calling for the death of television station owners for unIslamic programming in the form of [...

?Modesty Squads?: Orthodox Jewish Vigilantes Terrorize Israeli Citizens

Posted on September 16, 2008
Taking a lead from Muslim religious police and extremist gangs in countries like Saudi Arabia and Iran, orthodox Jews have created their own “modesty squads” to beat and terrorize residents who do not adhere to their own extreme religious views in ultra-Orthodox Maalot Dafna neighbourhood in Jerusalem...

Witchcraft Rumor Causes Stampede at Soccer Match ? Killing 13 People

Posted on September 15, 2008
A rumor that a soccer player was using witchcraft in Kinshasa, Congo led to a stampede in which 13 people were killed. All of the victims were aged between 11 and 16. When the police commander was struck in the head by bystanders, police started firing their weapons in the air — a dangerous practice [...

Audio Interrogation Tapes in Casey Anthony Case Released

Posted on September 15, 2008
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office has released tapes from the interrogation of Casey Anthony in the investigation of the suspected death of her daughter Caylee. The tapes from July 16th not only show the disbelief and suspicion of the police, but also the perils of participating in such interrogations without counsel...

Ultimate Collar: Catholic Priest Charged with Dealing Cocaine From Office and Rectory

Posted on September 15, 2008
Police in Urbana, Illinois The Reverend Christopher Layden who is accused of selling cocaine from his church office and rectory. The 31-one-year old priest faces three criminal counts and has been suspended by the church. Police report that the priest found with “about 3 grams of powder cocaine and items of drug paraphernalia” after a [...

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