Legal Commentary

OMG We?re Divorced: Saudi Court Allows Divorce By Text Message

Posted on December 28, 2010
A court in Saudi Arabia has ruled that an angry text message sent by a husband to his wife proclaiming himself divorced is binding. The man said he was just mad and did not mean it but the wife was thrilled and insisted that she was now free. The Court agreed that the SMS is [...

The Passing of Eric Fatla

Posted on December 27, 2010
I have the very sad duty of reporting that Eric Fatla, one of my first-year evening law students has died in Chicago. Eric was 26 years old. I have been informed that Eric died today shortly after 1 p.m. from the severe injuries that he sustained in his fall at the Union League Club in [...

Republicans Obstruct the Judiciary

Posted on December 27, 2010
Submitted by Guest Blogger, Lawrence Rafferty After a wonderful Christmas weekend spent with my family and my two Grandsons, and after celebrating the Bears victory over the Jets, it is time to get back to work.  I was not surprised to read that the Republican minority in the United States Senate have been trying to prevent President [...

Bush Officials Praise Obama For Going Further Than Bush in Terror Crackdown

Posted on December 27, 2010
President Barack Obama has finally received praise for his terror policies . . . from Bush officials. Two of the officials commonly named as responsible for allegedly criminal acts during the Bush Administration, former National Intelligence Director retired Vice Admiral Michael McConnel and former Central Intelligence Agency Director Michael Hayden, are heaping praise on Obama [...

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Japanese Police Arrest Three Men For Unlicensed Provision of Coffee Enemas

Posted on December 27, 2010
We have often followed torts and criminal cases alleging different forms of professional practice without a license. This one, however, is a bit of a surprise. Chikayoshi Hishiki, 55, and two associates were arrested for violating Japan?s Medical Practitioners Law by providing coffee enemas without a license...

Fir Flying: Daughter Attacks Parents With Christmas Tree

Posted on December 27, 2010
In West Hartford, Connecticut, Francheska Terrero, 19, is accused of a truly seasonal crime: assault with a Christmas tree. Terrero is accused to using the tree as a weapon (as well as a cellphone) against her parents. She reportedly threw the tree at her father and was booked into jail on two counts of assault, [...

Michigan Man Criminally Charged After Reading Wife?s Email

Posted on December 27, 2010
In Rochester Hills, Michigan, prosecutors have brought a highly controversial case — criminally charging a man for reading his ex-wife’s emails without her permission. Leon Walker, 33, could receive five years for the common act of logging on to his wife’s email, an act of snooping that disclosed that she was having an affair with [...

China Cuts Off Access Of Lawyers to Leading Human Rights Advocate

Posted on December 26, 2010
The Chinese government has cut off access of lawyers to leading human rights advocate, Liu Xianbin, 42. He was charged in June for subversion for “incitement to subvert state power” for his articles that included his reflections on the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and the arrest of Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo...

For God and Country: England Now Non-Religious Nation For First Time in History

Posted on December 26, 2010
A survey conducted of people in England established this year that, for the first time, the majority of that nation are not religious. Fifty-one percent of those polled reported that they have no religion — a sharp contrast to the same poll conducted in 1985 when 67% said that they were Christians...

Camel Beauty Contest Held in Abu Dhabi

Posted on December 26, 2010
One of the most unique beauty competitions was held this week. About 20,000 camels are competing in the Mazayin Camel beauty competition as part of the Al Dhafrah Festival. You can pick up a looker for prices reaching millions of dirhams or just watching the curvaceous Camelus...

How To Wrap A Cat For Christmas

Posted on December 26, 2010
-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger

Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR)

Posted on December 26, 2010
-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger FAIR and its legal arm, Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI), have been busy. FAIR and IRLI have been hopping state-to-state helping local governments craft anti-immigration ordinances, like  Arizona?s infamous SB 1070...

Frosty The Snowman

Posted on December 26, 2010
-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger Frosty The Snowman For your listening pleasure, we have The Ronettes in glorious STEREO!

Merry Christmas To All

Posted on December 25, 2010
Best wishes to everyone celebrating Christmas and Hanukkah. Last night, I made our traditional Cioppino soup and then went to Midnight mass at St. Mary’s of the Lake to hear my 83 year old mother sing in the choir. Today, I am cooking the beef as well as the Yorkshire pudding, horseradish...

Candy Cane: A Taste of Christmas

Posted on December 25, 2010
Submitted by Elaine Magliaro, Guest Blogger Here’s a poem I wrote and some information about the candy cane:     CANDY CANE Stuffed in my green felt stocking I find a striped stick of sweetness, red as Rudolph?s nose, white as Santa?s beard. I crinkle open my peppermint present? let my tongue celebrate the wintry taste [...

Prayers For Eric Fatla

Posted on December 25, 2010
I am afraid that I have some devastating news for the George Washington community.  Late last night, shortly before leaving for midnight mass in Chicago, I learned that evening law student Eric Fatla had a horrible accident while visiting with his family in Chicago...

Have We Found Amelia?

Posted on December 25, 2010
Submitted by Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger University of Oklahoma researchers are conducting DNA testing on bone fragments found on a remote and deserted Pacific Island to determine if they belong to Amelia Earhart.  Earhart and navigator, Fred Noonan, were lost on July 2, 1937, attempting a trans-global fight aboard the Electra...

Merry Christmas from the Birds, Beasts, & Bugs

Posted on December 25, 2010
Submitted by Elaine Magliaro, Guest Blogger

Fact Free Pawlenty

Posted on December 25, 2010
-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger With the new year comes the beginning of the 2012 presidential race. Outgoing Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty is making his move. He’s written a book, and he’s written a recent op-ed article for the Wall Street Journal...

Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)

Posted on December 25, 2010
-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) Presented for your listening enjoyment, Darlene Love in glorious STEREO! Hope Santa brought you headphones/earbuds.

Season?s Greetings from Jack & Rudy

Posted on December 24, 2010
Submitted by Elaine Magliaro, Guest Blogger Season?s Greetings from Jack & Rudy: A Holiday Poem (Jack is my daughter?s yellow Lab and Rudy is the cat she got two Christmases ago.) Jack loves Christmas. Woof! Woof! Woof! Rudy loves it too. Mew! Mew! Mew! Can?t wait to get their presents? Some biscuits and a bone, [...

Justice Delayed is a Judicial Vacation Denied: Judge Orders All-Nighter For Jury in Murder Case To Accomodate Her Vacation Plans

Posted on December 24, 2010
Some judges are lionized for their record of moving cases along. Nevada judge Valerie Vega, however, is being ridiculed when she pushed jurors to work through the night in a murder case so that the trial would not interfere with her vacation plans. It appears that things that happen with Vegas do not stay with [...

EPA Moves Toward Limits on Greenhouse Gases

Posted on December 24, 2010
In what could be one of the most significant regulatory changes since its founding, the EPA has moved toward imposing limits on greenhouse gases with a finding that such gases now present a “serious problem . . . for future generations.” The move could have widespread environmental benefits apart from climate change in forcing more [...

Reefer Madness: Rev. Pat Robertson Speaks Out Against Criminalization of Possession of Pot

Posted on December 24, 2010
Televangelist and one-time Republican presidential candidate Pat Robertson came out on his show “The 700 Club” in opposing the criminalization of marijuana. As someone who has historically preached about bringing down fire and brimstone on sinners, the concern over tokers came as something of a surprise and sent his handlers into a wild spin with [...

WTF on the Wikileaks Crackdown? The CIA Agrees

Posted on December 22, 2010
Many of us have questioned some of the response targeting Wikileaks and the dangers that they pose to journalists and free speech on the Internet. The CIA, it appears, agrees: naming its effort the “Wikileaks Task Force” or WTF. Fortunately, with the re-naming of the Wisconsin Tourism Federation, the name is now available...

Arizona Lawyer Suspended For Relationship With Client and Misrepresentations in His Case

Posted on December 22, 2010
The Arizona state supreme court has suspended attorney Cynthia Leyh over a conflict of interest and other misconduct related to the case of his client and boyfriend — a felon named Walter Stringer. In addition to the six-month suspension, Leyh received two years of probation...

Don?t Ask, Don?t Tell Finally Repealed

Posted on December 22, 2010
In one of the great civil liberties victories of our age, President Barack Obama this morning signed the formal repeal of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell — an obnoxious policy of discrimination put into effect under President Bill Clinton...

Legal Mulligan: New York Court Rules Against Golfer Blinded By Fore-Less ?Shanked Shot?

Posted on December 22, 2010
The New York Court of Appeals has ruled in favor of a golfer who failed to yell “Fore” and blinding another golfer in one eye. Dr. Anoop Kapoor and Dr. Azad Anand were playing on a nine-hole Long Island course in October 2002 when Kapoor took the swing without the warning...

Harry Potter Star in Court After Father and Brother Allegedly Threaten Her Life and Demand Arranged Muslim Marriage

Posted on December 21, 2010
Afshan Azad, 22, is a talented and beautiful actress who played Padma Patil, a classmate of Harry Potter in the Harry Potter series. She is now achieving equal notoriety in court after she sought protection from her father and brother who allegedly threatened her life over a association with a male Hindu...

Publish or Perish Prosper: Law Professors Win Millions Over ?Sham? Update of West Treatise

Posted on December 21, 2010
Law professors David Rudovsky of the University of Pennsylvania and Leonard Sosnov of Widener University have won an extraordinary verdict: $5.2 million in compensatory and punitive damages for defamation by West Publishing. At issue was a shoddy 2008 pocket part issued under their names...

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