Legal Commentary

Palin: The American Media is an Anti-Military, Anti-Family Group of Liars

Posted on July 27, 2009
Former Alaskan Gov. Sarah Palin left office with a signature attack on the media in which she accused of making up stories against the military and persecuting her family. There was no mention of the various Republicans describing her as an embarrassment or former McCain staffers describing her as a living nightmare...

Chinese Students Allege Officials Sold Their Academic Records ? and Ruined Their Lives

Posted on July 27, 2009
There is a bizarre story out of China where dozens of Chinese students have seen their future wiped out by the disappearance of the manila folders containing their records. In China, these paper folders follow a student throughout his or her career with every achievement, score, and prospect for a college education...

HUMANS DID THIS TO ME

Posted on July 26, 2009
We have seen the horror of human manipulation of animal styles (here), but this is dog is looking at years of therapy and inter-species confusion It is bad enough when humans dress like this:

Report: Albinos Murdered and Body Parts Sold for Witchcraft

Posted on July 26, 2009
Burundi authorities have secured a life sentence for an individual accused of involved in the trafficking of albino body parts for witchcraft. The victims were murdered and then mutilated to sell as parts for witchcraft ceremonies and potions. At least twelve albinos are believed to have been murdered and “harvested” for their body parts...

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NEW CORRECTIONS PAGE

Posted on July 26, 2009
On a trial basis, I have added a new corrections page at the top of the blog to allow readers to spot and raise any factual or grammatical problems with stories. I often add blog stories early in the morning or during brief windows of free time during the day...

Matchmaker: New York Rabbi Arrested As Head of International Organ Trafficking Ring

Posted on July 26, 2009
Rabbi Izhak Levy Rosenbaum of Brooklyn has been arrested for running an international human organ selling ring. Rosenbaum’s role was disclosed to the FBI by an anthropologist, Nancy Scheper-Hughes of the University of California, Berkeley, who has been studying organ markets...

Saudi Arabia Arrests Man For Speaking About His Sex Life in Public

Posted on July 26, 2009
Saudi Arabian police have arrested Mazen Abdul Jawad for the crime of speaking about his sex life in public. Shariah law makes it a crime for him to be “publicizing his sinful behavior,” according to prosecutors. Various people filed complaints after Jawad appeared on a Lebanese show called “Red Line...

Palin: Being American is Never To Have To Say You?re Sorry

Posted on July 26, 2009
Alaskan Gov. Sarah Palin continued to leave her mark on American politics just days before leaving officer early. In a speech before a wildly enthusiastic group, Palin told fans that good Americans should “never apologize for our country.? It was a curious lesson to give children at a picnic — no matter [...

Arizona Father Reportedly Tells Police to Keep Raped Eight-Year-Old Girl

Posted on July 25, 2009
The recent gang rape of an eight-year-old girl by four boys — aged 9-14 — was shocking enough. Now, police have stated that the girl’s father — who is from Liberia — blamed the girl for being raped and told that police “Take her, I don’t want her...

North Korea Executes Woman For Distributing Bibles

Posted on July 25, 2009
North Korea has added yet another infamy to its record: the execution of Ri Hyon Ok, 33, for distributing Bibles. As is often the case, North Korea tacked on a charge of spying for South Korea and the United States — as if the two countries would enlist a spy who divides her [...

Report: Bush Considered Sending Troops Into Buffalo for Terror Sweep

Posted on July 25, 2009
In yet another indication of how extreme Bush officials were in their war on terrorism, the New York Times is reporting that Vice President Dick Cheney and others pushed former President George Bush to send troops into Buffalo New York to arrest a group of men accused of terrorism...

Conyers Calls for Special Prosecutor on Alleged Bush Crimes

Posted on July 25, 2009
The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee today called for U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to appoint a special counsel to probe potential abuses of power under the Bush administration. House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers (D-Mich.) has called upon U...

If You Prick Us, Do We Not Bleed? New York Lawyer Prevails in Contesting Arrest for Foul Language

Posted on July 25, 2009
It took New York Attorney Joseph DePaula four years but he has finally prevailed in his false arrest claim after he was thrown into jail for calling an officer a “prick” in court in 2005. DePaula was confronted in court by the officer when his cellphone rang in court...

San Francisco Attorney Disbarred Over Jury Vote

Posted on July 24, 2009
In what may be the first disbarment for a lawyer’s conduct on as a jury member, Francis T. Fahy has been disbarred for misconduct in a story that we previously discussed. As we discussed earlier, his is an amazing case that reads like a scene out of Twelve Angry Men when Juror Number 7 (Jack [...

Pressing the Flesh: Complaint Filed Against Transgender Mayor for Showing ?Too Much Skin?

Posted on July 24, 2009
There is an interesting fight brewing in Silverton, Oregon. The people of Silverton received national attention with the election of Stu Rasmussen, the nation?s first openly transgender mayor. Now, however, a complaint has been filed against Rasmussen who showed up in a swim top and miniskirt to meet with local kids...

Police Officer Shoots Unarmed Man Wearing Only a Speedo

Posted on July 24, 2009
Tyler Heilman, 24, was shot and killed outside of his home in Kastoa, Minnesota by Deputy Sheriff Todd Waldron. The shooting is particularly controversial because Heilman was unarmed and wearing only a speedo swimsuit. Waldron had followed Heilman from a pool in an unmarked Dodge Durango...

So?s Yo Mama-San: North Korea Denounces Clinton as Looking Like a ?Pensioner Going Shopping? While Clinton Calls the North Koreans ?Unruly Teenagers? With Mommy Issues

Posted on July 24, 2009
The North Korean government would be a lasting source of late night jokes if it were not for the fact that it is trying to make a nuclear weapon and has been tied to such efforts by other nations. Now the Foreign Ministry has issued a series of bizarre schoolyard taunts against Secretary of [...

Obama: I Did Not Mean ?Stupid? As a Slight of the Cambridge Officers

Posted on July 24, 2009
As expected, President Barack Obama attempted to backtrack from his statements yesterday denouncing the police for the “stupidity” of their arrest of Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates. In today’s statement, Obama insisted that when he referred to their stupidity he did not mean to malign them...

Report: Sgt. Crowley Considering Defamation Lawsuit in Gates Controversy

Posted on July 24, 2009
Cambridge Police Sergeant James M. Crowley is considering a defamation lawsuit, according to his lawyer. The possibility of a lawsuit adds an intriguing element to this controversy over the arrest of Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. The Massachusetts Police Commissioner Robert Hass has also come out to criticize the comments of President [...

DePaul Faculty Complain to ABA About Dean?s Firing As Symposium is Canceled Due to Controversy

Posted on July 23, 2009
Sixteen tenured professors at DePaul University College of Law have filed a complaint with the American Bar Association over the firing of Dean Glen Weissenberger, which we have been following on this blog. The termination appeared to be retaliation for Weissenberger objecting to the University taking too much of tuition dollars...

Hammered: Romanian Man Comes Up With Home Remedy for Constipation

Posted on July 23, 2009
This is a case where there is no one to sue, let alone to blame, beyond yourself. Viorel Firoiu was having constipation problems after eating cherries and decided to try work things out with the use of two hammers that had to be removed by doctors. This may come as something of a [...

Obama Weighs in on Gates Arrest ? Denouncing Police As Acting ?Stupidly?

Posted on July 23, 2009
President Barack Obama’s press conference took a surprising turn when the President decided to weigh in on the controversy over the the arrest of Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. by the Cambridge Police. While admitting that he did not know all of the facts, the President called the police stupid in their response [...

When Legislators Attack: South Korean Legislature (Again) Erupts Into Brawl

Posted on July 23, 2009
Who needs the WWF when you have the Korean legislature. When the Grand National Party pushed through a bill relaxing restrictions on the media, opposition members decided to table the matter by throwing actual table and chairs while charging the podium...

Rabbis and Mayors Arrested in New Jersey Public Corruption Probe

Posted on July 23, 2009
A group of rabbis were among the 30 or so people arrested in New Jersey with two mayors in a major corruption probe. Hoboken Mayor Peter Cammarano III (left) and Secaucus Mayor Dennis Elwell (right) were among those arrested in what is described as a “high-volume, international money-laundering conspiracy” where the rabbis [...

Florida City Manager Fired After Disclosure of Wife?s Work as Adult Film Star

Posted on July 23, 2009
We have yet another case of an employee being fired for activities outside of work. The case of former Fort Myers beach, Florida town manager Scott Janke, however, is a bit different. He is being fired because of his wife Anabela Mota Janke’s work as a porn star...

Rhode Island Judge Bans Sister From Commenting on Facebook About Her Brother?s Custody Case

Posted on July 23, 2009
Rhode Island Judge Michael Forte has a curious concept of free speech and a dangerous view of judicial authority. Forte recently issued an order banning the sister of a father in a custody battle from commenting on the case on Facebook. Michelle Bouthillier Langlois, 41, has been defending her brother Michael from domestic-abuse [...

Chinese Newspaper Reveals Government?s How To Manual for Police Abuse

Posted on July 22, 2009
A newspaper in China has published an astonishing manual from a Chinese agency on how police can beat suspects without leaving marks. While crude in comparison to our own torture guidelines for waterboarding, the Chinese how-to manual is further evidence of the abusive training and tactics of the feared Chengguan (cheng guan) police, [...

Worst Show On Earth: Ringling Bros. Accused of Elephant Abuse Based on Undercover Video

Posted on July 22, 2009
A new videotape (below) has emerged of alleged abuse by a circus of elephants. This video by an undercover PETA activist shows Ringling Bros. employees beating elephants in ‘The Greatest Shows on Earth.” We have previously followed such lawsuits against the circuses, here...

Democrats Denounce Obama for Bush-Like Signing Statement That He Is Not Bound By Federal Legislation

Posted on July 22, 2009
Four House Democrats have finally stepped forward to denounce the Bush-like policies of President Obama, particularly his recent signing statement proclaiming that he is not bound by federal legislation. The letter was signed by Reps. David Obey of Wisconsin, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee; Barney Frank of Massachusetts, chairman of the House Financial [...

Palin Accused of Violating Ethics Rules in Using Private Donations to Defend Against Ethics Charges

Posted on July 22, 2009
Various media outlets have obtained a report of an independent investigator which suggests that Gov. Sarah Palin violated ethics laws by accepting private donations to pay her legal debts. Palin was presumably aware of this investigation when she suddenly announced her resignation recently — referring directly to the various ethics charges as one of [...

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