Legal Commentary

The International Blasphemy Law: UN General Assembly President and Nicaraguan Priest D?Escoto Calls for World Ban on ?Defaming Religion?

Posted on November 18, 2008
Recently, there has been a steady and worrisome trend of stories in Western countries restricting free speech in the name of tolerance of religion, sexual orientation and other values. Now, United Nations General Assembly President Miguel d?Escoto Brockmann has called for a world ban on anyone defaming any religion...

New York Hunter Charged With Manslaughter After Killing 16-Month Baby in Home

Posted on November 18, 2008
In Swan Lake, New York, Edward Taibi, 45, of Queens, New York has been charged with second-degree manslaughter after firing at a deer too close to a home and killing 16-month-old Charly Skala inside the grandparents’ trailer home. It is only the latest such killing, but a relatively rare case of a hunter being [...

Utah High School Student Dies After Being Shot With Blank Prop Gun

Posted on November 17, 2008
In St. George, Utah, a 17-year-old student at Washington County high school died after firing a blank-shooting prop pistol used in the performance of the Oklahoma! musical. Police stated that the gas from the prop can have the same energy as a bullet, which would seem to raise some obvious negligence and product [...

Not So Sharpe: Pennsylvania Man Jailed and Forced to Pay $12,000 for a Child for Another Man Over Seven Years

Posted on November 17, 2008
Over the last seven years, Walter Andre Sharpe Jr. has been forced to pay $12,000 in child support, jailed four times and estranged from his four children. It all began to unravel seven years ago when he signed a certified letter from Dauphin County Domestic Relations in 2001 and found himself covering the support [...

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Thou Shalt Not Make Demands of the Court: Litigants Ask for Delay of Oral Argument Pending Moment of Truth From the Court Over the Ten Commandments

Posted on November 17, 2008
A curious demand was made of the Supreme Court last week in Pleasant Grove City v. Summum, where the Court is considering a seven Aphorisms monument in a city park where a 10 Commandments monument already stands. Robert Ritter, president of the Jefferson Madison Center for Religious Liberty, asked the Court to postpone the scheduled [...

Bringing Order to Chaos: Trespassers Attacked by Privately Owned Cougar

Posted on November 17, 2008
Whatever happened to impressing girls with a nice car or back stage tickets to a Guns and Roses concert? Anthony Zitnick allegedly wanted to impress a 16-year-old girl by unlawfully entering the private home of Alan Rigerman, who legally keeps two cougars, several snakes and an alligator...

Oregon Woman Gives $400,000 to Nigerian Scam

Posted on November 17, 2008
Ever wonder who would fall from those Nigerian scam artists that ask to give you millions of dollars? Well, now we know. It is Janella Spears among others. Of course, few other people would give $400,000 to the scam, but sitting in Sweet Home, Oregon, Spears thought this was a good investment...

Speculation Builds that Guantanamo Bay Prison Will Be Closed While Obama Advisers Start to Lower Expectations on Investigations

Posted on November 17, 2008
There was more speculation this weekend that Guantanamo Bay would be closed under President Barack Obama. However, there are also reports that some of this closest legal advisers are balking at the notion of serious investigations of abuses and torture under President Bush — a position previously voiced by close Obama adviser Professor Cass [...

Christian Evangelist James Deferio Sues to Proclaim the Word of God in High Volume

Posted on November 16, 2008
Traveling Christian evangelist James Deferio believes what is “noise” to some is “salvation” to others. He is challenging the application of the noise ordinance against his preaching in the city of Ithaca, New York. It is part of a trend of evangelists challenging such ordinances...

Marines Under Fire for Ordering Removal of Contractor?s Anti-Islam Bumper Stickers

Posted on November 16, 2008
Jesse Nieto is a veteran who served 25 years in the Marine Corps, including two combat tours as an infantryman in Vietnam. He is also the father of a sailor killed in the 2000 terrorist attack on the USS Cole. The contractor at the base at Camp Lejeune is now suing the Marines [...

Church Repudiates Priest Who Demand Penance Before Obama Voters Receive Communion

Posted on November 16, 2008
The Catholic Diocese of Charleston, South Carolina has repudiated the actions of Father Jay Scott Newman who told his parishioners that anyone who voted for Barack Obama should confess and do penance before receiving communion. So that there is no mistake, the Diocese released both a statement and a video denouncing the actions by [...

Four-Star Fraud Allegation: AP Suspends Use of Military Photos After Another Photo Alteration

Posted on November 16, 2008
In the last few years, the military has been repeatedly accused of altering photographs — causing policy changes in the military. However, the Associated Press suspended the use of photos provided by the Defense Department after it discovered major digital alteration of a photo of Army Gen...

Blood Money: Man Convicted on the Basis of a Bloody One Dollar Bill

Posted on November 16, 2008
In Logan, Utah, a jury had a literal case of blood money in the hands of a murderer. Glenn Howard Griffin, 51, was found guilty of murder after a bloody dollar bill was traced to him from the robbery and killing of a service station attendant in 1984...

Hannah?s Choice: England Debates Right of 13-Year-Old to Decide Right to Die

Posted on November 16, 2008
By any measure, Hannah Jones is a remarkable 13 year old. Smart and articulate, she seems to have matured faster than the vast majority of teenagers. She had to. She has battled leukemia and heart disease. She now wants to die and her parents are supporting her decision over the outcry [...

Jury Awards Klan Beating Victim $2.5 Million

Posted on November 15, 2008
A Kentucky teenager mistakenly believed to be an illegal alien and beaten by the Ku Klx Klan has won $2.5 million in a tort action against the Imperial Klans of America and its founder. Jordan Gruver’s lawsuit is the latest win by the Southern Poverty Law Center that seeks to bankrupt racist organizations through [...

Fast Times at Ridge High: Four Seattle Students Sue High School Over Article Detailing Their Sex Lives

Posted on November 15, 2008
An interesting case has been filed in Seattle where four students have sued over the disclosure of details of their sex lives in the student newspaper. Many of us are often criticizing schools for censorship of articles and punishment of free speech...

Idaho Woman Found Living With Deer in Double-Wide Sues for $2 Million

Posted on November 15, 2008
Darlene Gardner was charged with animal abuse after she was found to be living with her family (no problem) and 30 animals, including two deer, (big problem) in Northern Idaho. After many of the animals were euthanized and others released into the wild, Gardner has filed a federal lawsuit seeking $2 million...

Boxer Aide Arrested for Child Pornography

Posted on November 15, 2008
Jeffrey P. Rosato, a senior aide to Boxer and a senior policy adviser on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, was fired after his arrest for the distribution and receipt of child pornography. He is only the latest of government staffers to become entangled in such investigations...

Al Sharpton?s ?Love Offerings?: IRS Demands Roughly $500,000 in Fines for Illegal Contributions

Posted on November 15, 2008
While he appears to have avoided criminal charges despite some highly suspicious taped demands for money, Al Sharpton is not out of the woods yet with the federal government. The government estimates that his campaign owes half a million dollars for for illegal donations and other financial improprieties...

Liquid Assets: New York City Claims Public Urination Revenue

Posted on November 15, 2008
The City of Plattsburgh, New York has an increasing problem with public urination. However, the biggest problem is that the city kept only five percent of the money streaming out of these arrests to the state. It may be a sign of the economic times that cities and states are fighting over urination fines [...

Avatar Adultery: Wife Seeks Actual Divorce After Finding Husband In Virtual Affair on Online

Posted on November 15, 2008
Now, this one will push a few legal doctrines to their limit. Amy Taylor, 28, is seeking a divorce from husband David Pollard, 40, after finding him with another woman — sort of. Pollard was allegedly having a virtual affair with an animated prostitute...

North Carolina Teachers Disciplined for Facebook Comments and Photos

Posted on November 14, 2008
Recently, we have seen students being punished for statements and actions outside of school. At the same time, we have teachers fired for their outside jobs. Now, North Carolina teachers hare facing discipline over comments and photos that they put on their Facebook sites, including “I hate my students!” Online postings such as, “I [...

Seven Years Bad Luck and a Lifetime of Ribbing: Officer Shots Mirror Image of Self

Posted on November 14, 2008
Shaving every morning might be something of a challenge for one Pittsburgh police officer who shot a mirror after seeing a man pointing a gun at him. It turned out to be his own image. The officer was investigating a drug complaint and was chasing one of the suspects, who was believed to be armed...

Parallel Parking in Parallel Universes: The Case for Mass Transit

Posted on November 14, 2008
This is one for the video library. A driver first run over the front of a parked car with one of those giant SUVs. The driver then continues to drive away despite the fact that a police car is sitting directly across from the hit and run. For the video, click here...

Leading By Example: Sarkozy Convinces Putin to Pull Back in Georgia So Not to ?End Up Like Bush?

Posted on November 14, 2008
Let no one say that our President does not lead by example. An aide to French President Nicolas Sarkozy disclosed that he got Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to pull back from Georgia by saying that he would end up looking like Bush. Putin who pledged to hang Georgia President Saakashvili by his [...

Afghanistan Schools Empty of Girls After Acid Attacks by Taliban

Posted on November 14, 2008
With the resurgence of the Taliban and the worsening security situation in Afghanistan, we have seen an increase in the Taliban’s attacks on “unIslamic” acts. Women and girls are, once again, the focus of these disgusting acts of public punishment...

Anchors Away: Philadelphia Embroiled In Another Television Anchor Scandal

Posted on November 14, 2008
Philadelphia has another television anchor scandal. It appears that journalists in the city prefer to cover themselves in a perpetual motion machine of media stories. If you recall, anchor Alycia Lane at CBS affiliate KYW-TV was arrested for scuffling with New York City police officers and then fired...

Obama Goes to the White House, You Go to Hell: Catholic Priest Asks for Penance from Parishioners Who Voted for Obama

Posted on November 14, 2008
This was not mentioned on those voting machines. It appears that if you voted for Obama as a Catholic, you need to go to confession and do penance for your electoral sin. Otherwise, Obama will go to the White House and you will go to hell — at least in Greenville, South Carolina...

Yawn Unbecoming: Israeli Soldier Sentenced to 21 Days in Jail for Yawning at Memorial Service

Posted on November 13, 2008
The commander of an Israeli Air Force base has sentenced a soldier to 21 days in jail for yawning during his memorial speech to mark the anniversary of the assassination of prime minister Yitzhak Rabin. It appears that the yawn unbecoming a soldier was aggravated by his failure to cover his mouth...

Stripper Suits: Houston Strip Club Sued for Wrongful Death in Growing Trend

Posted on November 13, 2008
Houston has an interesting wrongful death case that appears to be something of a developing trend across the country. Rick’s Cabaret is being sued by Mattie Jean Johnson after her son was killed by a drunk stripper leaving work. These businesses make their money off drinks — often purchased for the strippers...

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