Legal Commentary

Play Ball! Supreme Court Declines Fantasy Baseball Case

Posted on June 02, 2008
Fantasy baseball players rejoice. The fantasy continues. The Supreme Court refused to hear the appeal in Major League Baseball Advanced Media v. C.B.C., 07-1099 — letting stand a ruling in favor of fantasy baseball businesses. It is a maor blow against Major League Baseball, which could now face a reexamination of fees [...

Latest Court Order in the Case of Dr. Ali Al-Timimi

Posted on June 02, 2008
Below is the text of the latest court order in the Al-Timimi case. Today, I will be reviewing the classified material in the case. As noted before, we will continue to try to update this website with any new developments subject to the restrictions of the classification rules and court seals...

James Madison Meets Max Hardcore: Florida Obsenity Case Could Force Review of Community Standards in Internet Age

Posted on June 02, 2008
A Tampa case may present an ideal context to review the long-criticized pornography test and the role of community standards in the Internet age. Paul F. Little, known as “Max Hardcore,” is facing an obscenity prosecution for selling porn on the Internet...

Student Leaves High School After Muslim Students Threaten to Kill His Service Dog

Posted on June 02, 2008
Tyler Hurd, a 23-year-old high school junior in St. Cloud, Minn., felt compelled to leave a teacher-training program at Technical High School when Muslim students reportedly threatened to kill his service dog Emmitt because it is forbidden for Muslims to pet a dog...

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13-Year-Old Girl Reportedly Lies About Age Leading to Statutory Rape Conviction ? Twice

Posted on June 01, 2008
There is a very interesting controversy brewing in Orange County, Florida. A 13-year-old girl Alisha Dean has a MySpace page that portrays herself as a 19-year-old divorced woman. She has been accused about lying to two men — Morris Williams, 22, and Darwin Mills, 24, about her age in two separate incidents...

Get the Switch: Minnesota Supreme Court Rules Spanking Not a Crime

Posted on June 01, 2008
Parents across Minnesota this morning are searching for switches. The state supreme court has held that parents who spanked their son with a paddle did not commit a crime. The case began when Shawn Fraser decided to paddle his son Gerard for running away from home — using a wooden paddle 36 times [...

Shock Video: Rules Committee Meeting Erupts in Racial Rancor

Posted on June 01, 2008
Both parties pledged to keep their supporters in line during the Democratic rules committee meeting on Saturday. However, after the committee agreed to seat all of the Michigan and Florida delegates with half of their votes, some Clinton supporters erupted in anger...

Shattering the Terrorist Glass Ceiling: Al Qaeda Leader Rejects Role of Women as Terrorists and Suicide Bombers

Posted on June 01, 2008
Al Qaeda No. 2 leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri has already violated every possible international and domestic law in his career. However, he has now been recorded admitting to a knowing violation of Title VII: the refusal to allow women to serve as terrorists and suicide bombers...

Witch Burnings Continue Worldwide

Posted on May 31, 2008
Just a few weeks after 15 women were burned as witches in Kenya, witch burning has continued in India. Last week, an indian woman in Bhuganeswar, India between the latest victim of this international practice. The woman in this latest case was first beaten and then taken to to a crematorium where she was set [...

Shock Video: Cop is Filmed In Abusive Arrest of News Photographer

Posted on May 31, 2008
On Thursday, an abusive arrest of a journalist was recorded in Alalbuquerque, New Mexico. The video is below. In the clip, APD Officer Daniel Guzman appears to pummel KOB-TV cameraman Rick Foley after telling him to move to a different location. Not only is Foley arrested without cause but $50,000 in camera [...

Lille Lie: French Court Annuls Marriage After Muslim Bride Found to Not Be Virgin

Posted on May 31, 2008
A French court in Lille, France has annulled the marriage of a young Muslim after the husband discovered on his wedding night that his bribe was not a virgin. The French court agreed that the lack of virginity was sufficient for an annulment in a decision drawing considerable criticism in France...

California High School Teacher Framed in Drug and Gun Arrest

Posted on May 31, 2008
Police in Fullerton now believe that the arrest of Sunny Hills High School teacher Gregory Abbott, 31, was a set up — perhaps by his estranged wife and an associate. Abbott has taught history for seven years. Police first received a tip last week from a called who claimed he had purchased [...

The Sopranic Method? Criminal Charges Filed in Insider Trading Case Involving Two University Professors

Posted on May 31, 2008
Two university professors have been caught up in an alleged insider trading conspiracy, including respected lecturer and retired St. John’s University professor, Dr. John F. Marshall. He is accused of giving Pace University Professor Alan L. Tucker insider information, resulting in Tucker making a cool $1...

Texas Supreme Court Orders Return of Children in Polygamy Case

Posted on May 30, 2008
In yet another blow to the Texas officials who ordered the mass removal of children from the Yearning for Zion Ranch, the Texas Supreme Court has agreed with an appellate court that they must be returned. Officials will now have to reunite as many as 450 children with their parents...

Checkpoint Jesus: Marine in Iraq Removed From Duty Due to Religious Proselytizing

Posted on May 30, 2008
A U.S. Marine had a curious way to show Iraqis that we are not crusaders in the country to claim their country for Jesus: he passed out Christian coins at a checkpoint. Iraqis complained and the Marine has been pulled for duty in Falluja. Falluja has seen some of the most [...

Court Orders Access of Defense Counsel in Al-Timimi Case

Posted on May 30, 2008
Judge Brinkema has issued a new order in the case of Dr. Ali Al-Timimi. The order discloses that the government has been granted a protective order over material currently under seal. However, I have been informed by the court security officer that I may review classified material next week...

Mea Culpa: Rev. Michael Pfleger Apologizes for Racially Insensitive Sermon

Posted on May 30, 2008
Sen. Barack Obama is dealing with yet another screed from a long-time associate and preacher, Michael Pfleger, a Catholic priest. In the video below, Pfleger attacks Hillary Clinton and notions of white entitlement. It is yet another example of the perils of faith-based politics now practiced by both the Republicans and Democrats...

Second Circuit Upholds Punishment of High School Student for Out-of-School Web Entry

Posted on May 30, 2008
In yet another expansion of the regulation of student speech, the Second Circuit has ruled against high school student Avery Doninger who contested her punishment for posting an objectionable message on an Internet site about Lewis Mills High School. When she objected to the cancellation of a school event in vulgar terms, school officials [...

No Spin Zone: The Grunting-Hedge-Fund-Manager Case Begins in New York

Posted on May 30, 2008
Hedge-Fund Manager Stuart Sugarman, 48, like to scream while spinning. To the irritation of many, Sugarman routinely yells things like “Woo-woo!” or “Great song!” or “Good burn,” or “You go, girl!” It was apparently too much for Stockbroker Christopher Carter, 44, at an Equinox gym at 85th Street and Third Avenue in New [...

Kieffe and Sons Recant Ad ? Non-Believers and Civil Libertarians Now Welcome to Drive Fords

Posted on May 29, 2008
The California Ford dealership in Mojave and Rosamond that told non-believers and civil libertarians to “shut up and sit down” has recanted the ad after worldwide criticism — blaming one of their promotional people and claiming that the ad was not “closely reviewed...

Wisconsin Supreme Court Reprimands One of Its Own

Posted on May 29, 2008
The Wisconsin Supreme Court reprimanded Justice Annette Ziegler, who recently joined the Court, for conflicts of interest in cases that she handled as a circuit judge. Ziegler committed obvious judicial ethics violations in hearing cases involving a bank on which her husband was a director...

Jonathan Turley Arrested in Knife Attack ? Blog Unaffected

Posted on May 29, 2008
I wanted the readers of this blog to hear it directly from me. It is true. Jonathan Turley has been arrested as a “dangerous and violent” knife-wielding attacker in Northern Ireland. In what will come as little surprise, the court found that Turley is in need for treatment for ?emotionally unstable and [...

Pol Pot Elementary: Condemn Your Classmate and Be Free

Posted on May 29, 2008
Boy, growing up I thought the Catholic nuns were tough. Yet another elementary teacher has been caught on tape using public humiliation and class condemnation as a pedagogical tool. In New Albany, Indiana, Kristen Woodward (a teacher at S. Ellen Jones Elementary School) verbally abused 5-year-old Gabriel Ross in front of the class, [...

Shockers: Child Advocate Arrested for Child Abuse; Motivational Speaker Arrested for Attempted Murder

Posted on May 29, 2008
Two bizarre stories are emerging out of Texas and Minnesota. In Austin, Billy Dan Carroll, 53, has been arrested of sexually assaulting an eight-year-old girl — despite his work as a child advocate against abuse. In Minneapolis, Russell Simon Jr, 45, is being held on attempted murder (using a statue of John Wayne) [...

Legal Defense Goes Up in Smoke: Harvard Professor Challenges Pot Laws Seeking Jury Nullification ? and Loses

Posted on May 28, 2008
Harvard Law School professor Charles R. Nesson saw the arrest of Richard E. Cusick and R. Keith Stroup as an opportunity to challenge the Massachusetts ban on marijuana — insisting that the law did not even meet the minimal “rational basis” test and seeking jury nullification...

Stripper Sues Club After Alcohol-Related Accident

Posted on May 28, 2008
It is enough to make Tony Soprano and the guys at the BaDa Bing! weep. Patsy Hamaker, a stripper at The Furnace in Birmingham, is suing the strip club over a car accident: claiming that she was pushed to drink with clients to raise revenue and that her employer should have stopped her from [...

Frittering Away Our Freedoms: Dunkin? Donut Caves to Conservative Pressure and Withdrawals Rachael Ray Ad

Posted on May 28, 2008
Dunkin? Donuts has pulled an ad featuring Rachael Ray after Fox commentator Michelle Malkin objected that a scarf that she was wearing resembled a keffiyeh, a traditional headdress worn by Arab men. It appears that even clothing resembling Arab clothing is viewed as an outrageous play for terrorists seeking donuts with their coffee...

Puking for Jesus ? Writer Details Hagee?s Spiritual Camp

Posted on May 28, 2008
Writer Matt Taibbi has a hilarious account of going undercover to the camp of former John McCain supporter Rev. John Hagee. One highlight is requiring the faithful to throw up “demons” that range from “incest” to “hand-writing analysis...

Pennsylvania Chief Justice Threatens Parties and Lawyers for Filing Action Alleging Judicial Misconduct

Posted on May 27, 2008
Pennsylvania Chief Justice Ronald Castille has threatened sanctions against the League of Women Voters and disciplinary measures against its attorney, Paul Rossi, for being judicial misconduct charges related to his predecessor. The League has alleged that former Chief Justice Ralph Cappy had ?secret negotiations? with legislative leaders in 2005 before the Court upheld the [...

Pittsburgh Family Sues Over Electrocution Death of Soldier in Iraq

Posted on May 27, 2008
The parents of Staff Sgt. Ryan Maseth are fighting to preserve their lawsuit against military contractor KBR, which is seeking to dismiss their wrongful death lawsuit. Maseth was one of a number of soldiers who died of electrocution in showers maintained by KBR...

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