Legal Commentary

Another Child Dies Due to Pool Drain System

Posted on March 22, 2008
One of the least known dangers for children is pool drains, which can have such powerful suction that they can hold a child under water or even pull organs from their bodies. Abigail Taylor, 6, died this week after struggling with the aftermath of such a nightmare: a wading pool drain at the [...

Muslim Women in India Fight Not to be Divorced By SMS and Emails

Posted on March 22, 2008
In New Delhi, All India Muslim Women Personal Law Board is trying to improve the status of Muslim woman in the new “Shariat Nikahnama” that would allow women to divorce their husbands when they have affairs with other woman and to stop the practice of allowing men to divorce their wives via SMS or emails...

Eggs, Coloring, Crucifixion Nails: Man Celebrates Easter with 22nd Crucifixion

Posted on March 22, 2008
Easter for Roman Catholic Ruben Enaje is a little more involved than the standard run to the store for a couple dozen eggs and fake basket grass. Enaje likes it a bit more real, so he annually has himself crucified to honor the Lord. He will be only one of 19 this year...

Iowa Judge Orders Criminal to Church in Another Abuse of ?Creative Sentencing?

Posted on March 22, 2008
I have often written about judges who seem to relish the imposition of “creative sentences” that often involve shaming or degrading acts to be perform by defendants. Scott County Associate Judge Christine Dalton in Davenport came now be added to this ignoble list...

To access this complete feed in the blog feed reader login or register for free.

Counsel Clarifies Facts Contained in Washington Post Report on Dr. Al-Arian?s Continuing Hunger Strike and Appeal

Posted on March 22, 2008
The Washington Post this morning published an article on the continuing struggle of Dr. Sami Al-Arian in his refusal to testify in a Virginia grand jury. Any attention to the case is welcomed. However, the article contains some inaccuracies that should be corrected...

15-Year-Old Boy is Crucified to Celebrate Easter

Posted on March 22, 2008
In the continuation of a grotesque practice, a 15-year-old boy was crucified in the Philippines to mark the death of Jesus Christ. Of course, such practices would be strictly criminal in the United States with no leeway given under claims of free exercise...

Supreme Court Takes Up Self-Representation

Posted on March 22, 2008
The Supreme Court will hear an important case on self-representation this coming week in the case of Ahmad Edwards. The case out of Indianapolis could well re-define the limits of self-representation in cases where a defendant is viewed as mentally unstable...

Ohio Supreme Court Criticized for Ruling Overwhelmingly In Favor of Campaign Donors

Posted on March 22, 2008
For years, critics have pointed to a notable pattern of the members of the Ohio Supreme Court voting overwhelmingly with campaign donors. One justice, Terrence O’Donnell voted 91 percent of the time with her campaign donors. One Justice complained that campaigning in Ohio made him feel like a “hooker,” pandering before special interests [...

Hunter Shoots Another Hunter Out of Tree

Posted on March 22, 2008
This week saw another fatality among hunters after Michael Shane Hasting shot and killed Randall Williamson. Williamson was sitting in a tree when he was felled by Hasting. Hasting was hunting with his 6-year-old son when he accidentally shot Williamson, who was camouflaged in a squatter’s chair — wearing camouflage clothing and mesh over his face...

Police Officer is Led From Scene by Colleagues after Hitting Line of Bicyclists Without Drug or Alcohol Testing

Posted on March 21, 2008
The Santa Clara County Sheriff’s office is under scrutiny after colleagues of Deputy James Council lef him from a possible crime scene without drug or alcohol testing after he killed two bicyclists and almost killed a third. He was seen by witnesses driving erratically plowing into the Third Pillar Racing Team and seemed in a daze [...

Law Enforcement Officer Sued City Over Police Abuse

Posted on March 21, 2008
An interesting police abuse case has been filed in Nevada. Federal agent Brad Hare is suing the Henderson police department over a beating he allegedly received when officers were called by a disgruntled pool opponent. Hare was playing pool in bar when his opponent became combative and told him that he was tight with the [...

Administration Cites ?Imprudent Curiosity? and Fires Two Employees in Obama Passport Controversy

Posted on March 21, 2008
The State Department has fired two contract the passport file of Barack Obama’s passport file. The Department insists that it was a case of “imprudent curiosity,” but an investigation is planned by the inspector general. It may indeed by such a case of poor judgment given recent reports that the files of Clinton and McCain [...

Fit But Dead: Prosecutors Argue in Court that Defendant is Fit for Trial a Month After He Dies

Posted on March 21, 2008
According to prosecutors, 91-year-old Ralph Ridenour was fully competent to stand trial in Colorado. The only problem was that he was dead at the time. The accused, it appears, had expired nearly a month before and had already been cremated. Notably, Public Defender Steve Colvin had repeatedly objected to Mesa County District Judge Brian Flynn that [...

Arabic Public School Principal Forced to Resign Over Tee-Shirt Comment

Posted on March 21, 2008
A very disturbing story is emerging from New York where the principal of the city?s first Arabic-language school (the Khalil Gibran International Academy) said that she was forced to resign over mild statements regarding a tee-shirt sold by an outside group...

Mississippi Judge Faces Removal Over Remarks About ?White Folks?

Posted on March 21, 2008
A judicial panel has recommended the most severe penalty of removal for a judge accused of making racially insensitive remarks about “white folks.” The panel is seeking the removal of Leflore County Court Judge Solomon Osborne for making racially charged statements about ?white folks? and then allegedly lying about it in an affidavit...

D.C. Judge Sanctioned Over Jailing Talkative Public Defender

Posted on March 21, 2008
Washington, D.C. Judge John Bayly Jr. had accepted a reprimand and apologized for detaining a public defender, Liyah Brown, after she refused to stop talking in his court. The accounts of the incident suggest that both Bayly and Brown could have acted more professionally, though lawyers have rallied around Brown...

California Highway Patrol Officers Found Guilty of Abusing 72-Year-Old But Judge Rescinds Most Damages

Posted on March 21, 2008
In yet another police abuse story, two California Highway Patrol officers were found guilty of using excessive force and violating the constitutional rights of 72-year-old Jack Nolan in 2006. What is remarkable is that after a jury found in his favor and issued a very reasonable $75,000 award, the judge reduced its to medical [...

Video: Another Minister Enters Presidential Debate ? Trashing Obama and Begging for an IRS Investigation

Posted on March 20, 2008
As the country still debates the unhinged ravings of Barack Obama’s Minister Jeremiah Wright, as discussed shown here, another minister has used his pulpit to attack Obama as a “freak,” “trash,” and “emissary of the devil...

King of Morocco Pardons Man Sentenced to Three Years for Fake Facebook Page

Posted on March 20, 2008
Fouad Mourtada has been pardoned by the King of Morocco after being given an absurd three year sentence for creating a false facebook page making fun of the brother of King Mohammed VI. The engineering student was sentenced for “the use of false information and usurping the identity of the prince”...

Supreme Court Tosses Out Louisiana Murder Conviction Due to Racial Bias in Jury Selection

Posted on March 20, 2008
The Supreme Court overwhelmingly threw out the murder conviction of Allen Synder due to race-based challenges in a case marred by prosecutorial abuse by Jim Williams and the failure of Judge Kernan “Skip” Hand to maintain a fair trial. The 7-2 decision was written by Associate Justice Sam Alito, who is generally viewed as one of [...

Video: Tiger Shows True Feelings to Video-Taking Visitors

Posted on March 20, 2008
There are some things that you don’t see on those majestic nature films. This video of a tiger’s response to a tourist is a classic and stands in sharp contrast to the cute Lion bounding videos posted earlier. After watching the two very loving clips of lions and humans shown here, the video below of [...

Federal Prison Officials Deny Dying Girl?s Last Request

Posted on March 20, 2008
The Bureau of Prisons has long been accused of bureaucratic blindness and thoughtless rigidity. Now, people are aghast at the federal prison officials are refusing a dying 10-year-old girl, Jayci Yaeger, her last wish: to spend time with her dad who is serving time for a drug offense...

Bin Laden Tape Threatens Europe Over Cartoons

Posted on March 20, 2008
With his latest tape, Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has now taken his terrorist organization into a whole new area: cartoon-inspired jihad. According to Bin Laden, the publication of cartoons mocking Islam’s Prophet Mohammad are worst than bombing children and will justify a new round of attacks against Europe...

If You Like the Jumpers, Wait to You See the Boxers . . .

Posted on March 20, 2008
It is often said that owners gradually seem to look like their pets, but Beth and Brian Willis have gone a bit further. As the picture below shows, when their dogs died, they had them turned into coats.  Thank God, neither dog was a boxer . . .  The “his and hers jumpers” were reportedly [...

Sperm Donor Takes Case to Supreme Court Seeking Parental Rights

Posted on March 19, 2008
In the latest controversy over the rights and liabilities of sperm donors, a gay Kansas man Daryl Hendrix is seeking to reverse a decision of the Kansas Supreme Court that denied him parental rights to children conceived with his sperm. Hendrix lost 4-2 last fall when the court ruled that a sperm donor who [...

Pub Light: Study Shows Correlation Between Publication Performance and Beer Drinking Among Scientists

Posted on March 19, 2008
Universities often spend copious resources and time to predict which applicants are most likely to excel as academics and researchers. Now, the respected scientific journal Oikos has published a study showing that beer drinking among scientists may be the most reliable measure of whether they will be Darwins or Duds...

Videos From Tibet Leak Out Despite Chinese Effort to Block YouTube and Western Media

Posted on March 19, 2008
As China has moved to block YouTube and Western media from filming the crackdown on Tibet, disturbing video clips are emerging as Chinese officials call the Dalai Lama a “monster with a human face.” France is now calling for a possible boycott of the Olympics, which as already been marred by the abuses in [...

Easter Health Guidelines Issued for Catholic Self-Flagellists

Posted on March 19, 2008
Health officials in the Philippines have issued health guidelines for Catholics who will be joining the annual self-flagellation rituals this week. If you must whip yourself, health officials would like to make sure that the whip and process is as hygienic as possible to avoid infection and tetanus...

Stars, Strips, and Signatures: Bush Desecrates the American Flag

Posted on March 19, 2008
It appears from the photo below that President Bush’s support for a Flag Amendment to criminalize the desecration of the flag could be a cry for help. In this photo, Bush is seen clearly writing on a small American flag. For the picture, click here Unless small flags are excluded, Title 4 clearly prohibits such acts, [...

Dr. Al-Arian Continues Hunger Strike

Posted on March 19, 2008
I have just returned from visiting Dr. Al-Arian, who was transferred back to Northern Neck Regional Jail yesterday. Dr. Al-Arian has now lost 30 pounds and was in a wheelchair when he was brought to the attorney-client room. He has refused any fluids for days and has had no food for over two weeks...

Bloggers, promote your law blog by nominating your blog for inclusion in USLaw.com's Law Blog Directory and RSS Reader. Benefits described.