Legal Commentary

Lori Drew Indicted in MySpace Suicide Case of Megan Meier

Posted on May 15, 2008
A surprising development in the tragedy of Megan Meier, the 13-year-old girl who committed suicide in a MySpace hoax. Lori Drew, the woman who pretended to be a 16-year-old boy named Josh Evans, was indicted by a federal grand jury in California. The Meier case has presented some difficult legal issues, as discussed here...

California Supreme Court Overturns Gay Marriage Ban

Posted on May 15, 2008
The California Supreme Court has overturned a law banning same-sex marriages. It is a seismic decision that is likely to add the issue to the presidential campaigns and trigger additional state constitutional amendments — and perhaps a federal constitutional amendment...

Show Suspended: Baltimore Judge Punished for Jokes from Bench

Posted on May 15, 2008
With the networks canceling shows this week, the Maryland courts have decided to take off the bench one of the most colorful and quotable jurists. The Maryland Supreme Court has suspended Baltimore County District Judge Bruce S. Lamdin for his use of profanity and wise cracks from the bench...

This is My Back Scratcher, This is my Gun . . .: Man Shoots Himself in Effort to Stop an Itch

Posted on May 15, 2008
Jorge Espinal believes that guns are not just for hunting and self-defense, but personal grooming and scratching. When he decided to use his revolver to scratch his back during a late night poker game, he learned why back scratchers don’t kill people, people kill people...

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War Costs Mount: President Says that He Gave Up Golf in Solidarity with the Families of the Fallen

Posted on May 14, 2008
The horror of the war became apparent this week when President Bush announced that he had given up golf out of solidarity with the families of dead soldiers. It is truly Apocalypse Now meets Caddyshack. The President did not take this major step until 2003...

My Bad: Hagee Apologizes for Anti-Catholic Statements and Is Instantly Forgiven

Posted on May 14, 2008
You’ve got to love the power of redemption. Virulent anti-Catholic and John McCain supporter John Hagee has decided after months of criticism that he actually doesn’t think Catholics are anti-semitic and their church is the “great whore...

Barry Bonds Hit with 15-Count Superceding Indictment

Posted on May 14, 2008
In San Francisco, the government has unveiled a new superseding 15-count indictment to replace the prior five-count indictment. The indictment covers basically the same ground and corrects a badly drafted original indictment criticized by U.S. District Judge Susan Illston...

EPA Issues ?Fart Chart?: Bovine Flatulence Measured State-by-State

Posted on May 14, 2008
The EPA has spent roughly $15 million to measure the pollution caused largely by cow farts and burps. I truly want to meet the researchers who got this assignment. Nevertheless, it turns out that California and Wisconsin are massive contributors to cow-based emissions...

Rape in Saudi Arabia: Reporter Has Eye-Opening Conversation with Young Saudi Males

Posted on May 14, 2008
Many entries on this site have focused on the treatment of women in Muslim countries, particularly Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Iraq, and Iran. Michael Slackman received an insight in how both women and rape is viewed by some Saudi men on a recent trip. Recently, he went out into the desert where many Saudi youths go...

Video: Anchor Sue Simmons Drops ?F Bomb? on Air

Posted on May 13, 2008
New York WNBC anchor Sue Simmons shocked many when she screamed the “F” word during a live teaser in the video below. While radio uses a delay, television remains truly live — preventing quick action to block such transmissions. This is not unique as these other videos indicate...

Shock Video: ?Soulja Girl? Attacks Elderly Woman; Later Arrested

Posted on May 13, 2008
Known on the Internet only as “Soulja Girl” after she appeared in the video below on a train attacking an elderly lady, the police have now arrested Nafiza Ziyad, 25. She is facing charges of simple assault and two counts of disorderly conduct...

We?re The Government, We?re Here to Help You: City Tears Down Home While Man is in Court Contesting Demolition

Posted on May 13, 2008
Derrick Basle simply wanted his day in court before the city was allowed to tear down his home filled with antiques and family items. He was given a court date, but when he showed up, the learned that someone had canceled the hearing. He then discovered that the city was tearing down his [...

Please Return Your Toilet Seat to the Upright Position: Man Sues After Being Forced to Sit in the Airplane Bathroom During Cross Country Flight

Posted on May 13, 2008
Gokhan Mutlu of New York is suing after JetBlue Airways forced him to sit in an airplane toilet for a flight from California to New York. He was asked by the pilot to assume the throne after a flight attendant asked for her seat back — because the jump seat was uncomfortable...

Red State Update: Advice on Democratic Primary

Posted on May 13, 2008
A friend of mine on one of the Democratic campaigns sent this video to me. With West Virginia today, it is advice from a Red State to Democratic voters to make up their mind. It is pretty funny. If you are tired of the political commentary that says the same thing over and over [...

Hardy Lad: !3-Year-Old Steals Dad?s Credit Card to Hire Hookers ? To Play Halo

Posted on May 12, 2008
A 13 year old Ralph Hardy from Texas knows how to have a good time. He stole his Dad’s credit card, took his friends on a $30,000 spree and then hired two hookers to play Halo in a hotel room. It appears that there are just some things that a good old-fashioned Texas [...

Dammed if You Don?t: Ninth Circuit Dismisses Criminal Case Due to Flagrant Prosecutorial Abuse

Posted on May 12, 2008
Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Greg Damm is the focus of a blistering condemnation by the trial and appellate courts of his alleged prosecutorial misconduct in a Las Vegas case. The case against five individuals, attorneys Daniel Chapman and Sean Flanagan, involved alleged securities trading violations...

?Casting a Spell, Boss:? Inmates Win Right to Keep ?Magic Wands? in Cells

Posted on May 12, 2008
There will be no expelliarmus orders in English prisons. English inmates have won the right to keep twigs in their cells to use as wands. This is still better than the American prisoner’s demanding to have Thor’s hammer and sword available to them...

New York Mother Sues City of Norwalk After Son Steps in Dog Feces

Posted on May 12, 2008
Kelly DeBrocky, of Mahopac, N.Y., appears to have a curious way of teaching her children by example. The New York mother is suing the Maritime Aquarium for $100 to replace shoes of her 1-year-old after he stepped in dog feces on an outing. She has also charged for her parking and admission to [...

Saudis Hold Conference on Women in the Workplace But Bar Women from Appearing

Posted on May 12, 2008
In a moment that seems out of a Fellini film, Saudi Arabia held a major conference on women in the workplace. The conference attended by religious, government, and business leaders would have been viewed as something of a breakthrough on the issue except for the one group excluded: women...

Father Kills Daughter for Falling in Love with British Soldier; Police Congratulate and Release Him

Posted on May 11, 2008
Abdel-Qader Ali killed his daughter after he learned that she had fallen in love with a British solider, even though she was still a virgin and did little more than admit infatuation. Her brothers helped him kill her. According to father, police congratulated and released him...

Learn or Your Father?s Jailbait: Judge Sends Father to Jail After Daughter Fails to Earn GED

Posted on May 11, 2008
Butler County Juvenile Court Judge David Niehaus is clearly someone who values education — to a fault. Niehaus sent Brian Gegner to jail for 180-days in the Butler County after his adult child Brittany Gegner failed to earn General Equivalency Diploma (GED)...

Boomer Scores at the White House: Admiral Stufflebeem Committed Adultery at White House

Posted on May 11, 2008
Rear Adm. John “Boomer” Stufflebeem was recently demoted and fired from his post as director of the Navy staff. It was revealed this week, however, that Stufflebeem had a curious pick-up line: he falsely told a woman that he was a widower and slept with her at the White House — later lying about [...

Pledge or Perish: Eighth Graders Suspended for Lack of Patriotic Respect

Posted on May 11, 2008
In Minnesota, three eighth graders have been suspended for sitting during the pledge of allegiance. The principal of Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton Junior High School states that, while they are not constitutionally required to recite the pledge, they must still stand for the pledge...

Nevada Judge Halverson Faces Possible Removal Over Bizarre Conduct

Posted on May 10, 2008
Even though in a city that prides itself on “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas,” Elizabeth Halverson has achieved national infamy for conduct as a judge that allegedly ranges from having a bailiff rub her feet to sleeping in the courthouse to making her husband swear under oath that he has done the chores [...

Sharpton and His Businesses Own Almost $1.5 Million in Back Taxes

Posted on May 10, 2008
Al Sharpton is once again in the legal news with the disclosure that he and his various enterprises owe $1.5 million in back taxes. Currently under criminaL investigation, the question is why Sharpton appears to get a free pass with politicians like the Clintons and Obamas despite a history of overt race baiting and [...

?Bishop? and Mother Arrested After Making Kids Live with Corpse

Posted on May 10, 2008
Police in Madison Wisconsin have arrested a religious leader and a mother after discovering a corpse on their toilet. Tammy Lewis was responding to instructions from “Bishop” Alan Bushey, who insisted that 90-year-old Magdeline Alvina Middlesworth would come back to life — after two months...

Getting to the Bottom of Mischa Barton: Star Claims Cellulite Doctoring

Posted on May 10, 2008
An interesting story is emerging over possible false light and defamation violations involving Mischa Barton’s thighs. The starlet is objecting that a widely distributed picture of her backside and thighs covered in cellulite is doctored. If the culprit is found, it would make for an interesting tort case since she could bring charges [...

Professor Fired After Dead Student Found In Townhouse

Posted on May 09, 2008
Professor Michael Todd has been fired by the Maricopa County Community College. This was probably not too surprising. Professors are sometime fired for failing to attend classes, plagiarism, or chronically poor classroom performance. In Todd’s case, it was the dead student found in his home...

Judge Releases Pedaphile; Says 11-Year-Old ?Welcomed? Abuse

Posted on May 09, 2008
British judge Robert Atherton is under attack for a ruling that released pedaphile Jon Dixon, 20, after finding that an 11-year-old girl that he met on a chat room “welcomed” his advances and had a high level of “sexual awareness.” Despite the finding of probation officers that Dixon represented a “high risk of serious [...

No Knock Meets the Castle Doctrine: Man Shot Five Times by Police, No Drugs Found, Arkansas Man Charged with Assaulting Officers

Posted on May 09, 2008
For many years, civil libertarians have complained about the increase in “no knock”warrants, particularly after the decision in 2006 by the Supreme Court in Hudson v. Michigan. Now, it appears that no knocks have collided with another trend: castle doctrines or “make my day” laws allowing homeowners to defend their homes with lethal [...

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