Legal Commentary

Festering Lawsuit: Driver Runs Over Dog and Then Sues Owners

Posted on May 09, 2008
In Duluth, Minnesota, the Munthe family thought that it was bad enough that their miniature pinscher, Fester, was hit by Jeffrey Ely’s Honda Civic. That was before he served them with papers for the damage to his car, court costs, and even lost wages...

Olmert Accused of Bribery; Refuses to Resign Unless Indicted

Posted on May 09, 2008
Israeli is facing yet another high-ranking official accused of bribery. This time it is Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who has admitted to taking cash from New York financier Morris Talansky. Any indictment would likely be set back for peace efforts given Olmert’s support for negotiations with Palestinians...

Liberal Talk Show Host Bernie Ward Admits to Distribution of Child Pornography

Posted on May 09, 2008
Bernie Ward, San Francisco’s leading liberal radio host, has admitted to distribution of child pornography by e-mail. He will now face at least five years in prison and as much as ten years. Ward, 57, is a former Roman Catholic priest who became known as the “Lion of the Left...

Stoner Bans Pot Candy in Georgia

Posted on May 09, 2008
Georgia legislators have been busy. With an economy tanking and foreclosures rising, politicians in Georgia have taken action to ban candy that is favored to taste like pot like Kronic Kandy and Pot Suckers. The effort is led by a real stoner, Rep...

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Shock Video: Six Officers Under Investigation for Taped Arrest and Beating

Posted on May 08, 2008
Six members of the Philadelphia police department are under investigation after the airing of a video shot from a helicopter of them kicking and punching three suspects after a traffic stop. The three suspects - Dwayne Dyches, Brian Hall and Pete Hopkins, all of Philadelphia - were each charged with attempted murder and related counts...

Sin-chronized Swimming: German Court Holds that Muslim Girl Must Swim Despite Religious Prohibitions

Posted on May 08, 2008
A twelve-year-old Muslim girl and her parents have been told by a German court that she must attend co-ed swimming lessons despite her religious objections to wearing formfitting clothing. The court in North Rhine-Westphalia said that the school’s interest in teaching swimming outweighs the bona fide religious objections of the parents...

Video: Teacher Loses Job Over Bikini Appearance on Howard Stern

Posted on May 08, 2008
Yet another teacher has lost her job over private conduct. In Connecticut, Thalberg elementary teacher Marie Jarry has reportedly lost her job after appearing on the Howard Stern Show. It appears that her appearance in a bikini on an adult-oriented show disqualified her from teaching second-year kids...

Judge Pearson Returns With New Suit (lawsuit, that is)

Posted on May 07, 2008
For Judge Roy Pearson, made infamous worldwide with his $54 million law suit over a missing pair of pants from a cleaners, has now filed yet another lawsuit. This time, he is seeking $1 million to get his job back plus damages. On one level, this is an improvement of 54 times over [...

Mildred Loving Dies

Posted on May 07, 2008
In the law, some people become immortal through a case name. Most reach such immortality through stupid or savage criminal acts like Miranda or Gideon. In the case of Mildred Loving, the case name seemed to fit the principle precisely: she and her husband Richard fought for their right to marry and [...

Sex Storm at Weather Channel: Former Anchor Wins Sexual Harassment Action

Posted on May 07, 2008
Former weather channel anchor Hillary Andrews, 38, has won a sexual harassment arbitration ruling against her male co-anchor, Bob Stokes. Stokes is accused of some pretty raw stuff and it now looks that inclement legal conditions for the weather channel as the owner tries to sell it off...

That?ll Teach ?Em: Secret Service Bravely Arrests British Pilot Who Tried to Pin a Thank You Note on President Bush?s Gate

Posted on May 07, 2008
Ever since they burned the White House, the Secret Service has been a little edgy about British veterans carrying gas cans. Maurice Kirk, 63, who is nicknamed the “Flying Vet”, learned this lesson when he tried to pin a thank you note on the gate of Bush’s ranch...

Federal Agents Raid Office and Home of U.S. Special Counsel Scott Bloch

Posted on May 07, 2008
Federal agents raided the office and home of U.S. Special Counsel Scott Bloch on Tuesday as they investigate whether he destroyed evidence that he retaliated against his own staff. It is a considerable reversal of fortunes for the man who investigates such retaliation against whistle-blowers...

Pennsylvania Judge Deborah Griffin Removed From Bench for Concealment of Prior Crime

Posted on May 07, 2008
The controversy over Pennsylvania judge Deborah Griffin is over. The state supreme court has removed her from the bench due to her guilty plead to credit card fraud 25 years ago. As discussed in an earlier blog, here, Griffin was found to be a former felon...

Audio: 911 Operator Appears to Fall Asleep in the Midst of an Emergency Call

Posted on May 06, 2008
In the audio tape below, a 911 operator in Memphis is recorded snoring as a terrified caller tries to get help as a stranger is breaking into her home. “Lisa” was shocked when the line went quiet and then she heard snoring — not exactly a comforting response in an imminent attack situation...

Actress Judy Davis Sues Newspaper Over Depiction as Child-Hater

Posted on May 06, 2008
Defamation is usually reserved for allegations of criminal acts or moral turpitude. For actress Judy Davis, however, it is equally applicable to being depicted as a child-hater from her appearance in a local city council meeting where she discussed the dangers of misfired soccer balls...

Crisis in the Patent Bar: Are 46 Judges (and their Past Opinions) Invalid?

Posted on May 06, 2008
My colleague, GW Professor John Duffy is causing quite a stir on the patent court and bar. Duffy has identified a rather clear constitutional problem in how patent judges have been selected — raising credible concerns over whether they — and by extension their past opinions — are legitimate...

Laying Hands Upon the Faithful: Catholic Priest Gets Jail Time for Sex With Inmates

Posted on May 06, 2008
Catholic priest Father Vincent Inametti, 48, has a particularly hands on approach to ministering to the faithful. Inametti was chaplain at a women’s prison in Texas when he used the position to have sex with two women. He will now serve two years in prison...

Townspeople Hunt Down the Wizard of Land O? Lakes

Posted on May 06, 2008
This week, the good town of Land O’ Lakes, Florida is free of the scourge of a wizard. While such hunt were once led by pitchfork carrying townsfolk, this important civic action was taken by concerned parents who discovered the magical tendencies of substitute teacher (and fulltime wizard) Jim Piculas in Pasco County School [...

A Judge Runs Through It: Family Loses Land by Adverse Possession to Colorado Judge

Posted on May 06, 2008
Former judge Richard McLean and attorney Edith Stevens appear to have had an eye on some land of neighbors Don and Susie Kirlin for some time. They got their wish when another judge, District Judge James C. Klein ruled that a mysterious path that appeared on the property gave them possession of 34 percent [...

Video: Police Officer?s Incriminated by Her Own Dashboard Cam in Accident

Posted on May 05, 2008
Former Palm Beach police officer Molly Olson has lost her job after a crash with her police cruiser was captured on her own dashboard cam on December 25, 2006. After first denying the accident, Olson later blamed her medication, particularly her use of Ambien the night before...

For Whom the Bell Toll: Clinton?s Bet on Eight Bells Turns from Feminist to Ominous Moment

Posted on May 05, 2008
As the only filly in the Kentucky Derby, Eight Bells was embraced by Hillary Clinton as her horse in the race — even sending Chelsea to bet on her. She ended up being euthanized and PETA calling for the jockey to be suspended. To fulfill the bad omen for the superstitious, Obama’s horse [...

Three Strikes? Roger Clemens Admits to Adultery But Denies Statutory Rape

Posted on May 05, 2008
Baseball star Roger Clemens has admitted to a series of extra-marital affairs while denying statutory rape allegations with 15-year-old country singer Mindy McCready. With Clemens facing both a criminal investigation and a civil lawsuit (that he filed against former trainer Brian McNamee), this may be only the first of such revelations...

D.C. Madam?s Suicide Notes Reveal Desperate Fear of Jail Led to Hanging

Posted on May 05, 2008
The notes left by “D.C. Madam” Deborah Jean Palfrey to her mother and sister indicate that she committed suicide to avoid six years in jail. Palfrey hung herself by a nylon rope in a shed next to her mother’s house. Blanche Palfrey, 76, discovered her daughter hanging from a metal beam inside the shed...

Whatever You Do, Don?t Do . . . Bang!

Posted on May 05, 2008
In Riverdale, Utah, a police chief named Dave Hansen was showing officers how to properly (read improperly) unjam a weapon when shot himself. In the meantime, a man who waved around a gun in a road rage incident succeeded in shooting himself by mistake...

Money Well Spent? Major Donor Receives Major Victory Before the Texas Supreme Court

Posted on May 05, 2008
There is yet another allegation of undue influence by a campaign contributors on the Texas Supreme Court. A closely divided court gave home builder Bob Perry a major victory in reversing an $800,000 arbitration award to Jane and Robert Cull. Perry happens to be the largest contributor to judicial campaigns in Texas as [...

Florida High School Teacher Fired Over Internet Pictures and Part-Time Work

Posted on May 04, 2008
We have seen a disturbing increase in police department and schools firing people over their conduct in their private time and lives. We can now add the case of Tiffany Shepherd, a Biology high school teacher from Port St Lucie, Florida. When school officials saw the photos linked below, they fired Shepherd who [...

Putting the Kinky Back Into Kinokawa: City Employee Logs 780,000 hits on Pornographic Sites

Posted on May 04, 2008
There have been a steady increase in the disciplining or termination of employees for the private use of computers. Many of us have reservations about some of these actions, but it is hard to argue with the Kinokawa city officials who demoted a civil servant who logged more than 780,000 hits on pornographic web [...

What a Deal: Virginia Tech Victims Worth One-Fourth of Minnesota Victims

Posted on May 04, 2008
Minnesota lawmakers in St. Paul have announced a tentative settlement deal with the victims of the collapse of the Minneapolis bridge collapse that killed 13 people. The deal would cost $38 million with each victim receiving $400,000. What is most striking is the fact that the state of Virginia has used its highly [...

Jose Canseco Loses Home in Midst of Steroid Controversy

Posted on May 04, 2008
Former American League MVP Jose Canseco has lost his house while he continues to be questioned about the controversy over performance enhancing drugs in basement. His account of the foreclosure of his $2.5 million suggests that he has burned through most of his hefty earnings from the major league...

Matthew 19: Thou Shall Not Teach if Divorced ? At Least at Wheaton College

Posted on May 02, 2008
Wheaton College professor Kent Gramm thought that divorcing his wife of 30 years was bad enough. Yet, he probably did not expect that the one asset that neither he nor his wife Lynelle would share is his income. He was fired by the college after 20 years, which viewed his divorce to be immoral...

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