Legal Commentary

Medina (and two other Texas Supreme Court Justices) Faces Ethics Charge

Posted on January 25, 2008
Texas Supreme Court Justice David Medina has been accused of ethics violations in the misuse of campaign funds. The charges come at a time that Medina is dealing with a recent indictment for arson — an indictment quashed by a local prosecutor. Now Medina and Texas Supreme Court Justices Paul Green and Nathan Hecht [...

Federal Judge Orders Administration to Explain the Destruction of CIA Torture Tapes; Finds Tapes to be Evidence

Posted on January 25, 2008
As leaders in both parties in Congress and the Justice Department seek to scuttle any real investigation into America’s torture program, a federal judge may have thrown a wrench into the works. This week, U.S. District Judge Richard W. Roberts not only found the tapes to be evidence but demanded that the government file [...

A Made Man Returns: Wolfowitz Gets Another Government Job

Posted on January 25, 2008
After pushing the country into the disastrous Iraq war and then being forced out as head of the World Bank in scandal, Paul Wolfowitz has been given yet another chance to serve his country in his signature fashion as the head a high-level advisory panel on arms control and disarmament...

Earning Your Bones in the Bush Bada Bing! Club

Posted on January 25, 2008
For those interested in why Wolfowitz could possible secure gainful employment in government after his disasters in Iraq and the World Bank, this prior column may be of interest on how to succeed in the Bush Administration:

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Making a Bad Situation Worse: Wesley Snipes Sends Bizarre Letters to IRS Claiming to Be Alien and Threatening ?Collateral Damage?

Posted on January 25, 2008
The criminal trial of Wesley Snipes for tax evasion was already something of a curiosity with its focus on Section 861 tax movement described by experts as a virtual “cult.” Now, the government has revealed unhinged letters where Snipes claims nonresident alien status and appears to threaten the government with “collateral damage” if they [...

Rockefeller and the Senate Close to Granting Immunity for Telecommunication Companies

Posted on January 24, 2008
In the latest shocker for civil libertarians, the Senate appears set to grant immunity to telecommunication companies after they participated in the unlawful domestic surveillance program. The Democrats faced intense criticism last year and hoped that the attention and ire of voters would subside with the distraction of elections...

Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick Accused of Perjury ? Could Face Criminal and Bar Charges

Posted on January 24, 2008
Just as the media is looking back at the ten-year anniversary of the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his chief of staff are facing accusations of lying under oath in a very similar case. The evidence under uncovered by the Free Press appears quite credible and damning for both Kwame Kilpatrick and [...

School Destroys Tapes of Harmful Shock Treatments Given to Two Students in Hoax Case

Posted on January 23, 2008
When two emotionally disturbed teenagers at the the Judge Rotenberg Education Center in Boston were given extreme shock treatments after a prank call, seven staff members were fired. It now appears that that was too small of a purge. This week, it was revealed at officials at the Center ordered the destruction of the [...

Judge Questions Decision to Quash Indictments of Texas Supreme Court Justice and Wife; Criticizes Actions of Prosecutors as Premature and Careless

Posted on January 23, 2008
There is another interesting turn of events in the ongoing scandal over the alleged arson by Texas Supreme Court Justice David Medina and his wife. While state Judge Jim Wallace agreed to the prosecutor’s demand to toss out the indictments, he strongly criticized both the decision and the competence of the prosecutors — voicing [...

The Mess in Texas: State and Federal Judges Accused of Everything from Arson to Corruption to Sexual Assault

Posted on January 22, 2008
It seems that many Texas judges are spending more time in court or before investigators these days — as either defendants or targets. From sexual assault to arson to corruption to abuse, Texas jurists are facing a bumper crop of allegations with additional judicial scandals brewing in neighbor states of Louisiana and Mississippi...

Criminal Investigation of Judge Samuel Kent Goes Beyond Sexual Misconduct

Posted on January 22, 2008
In the latest indication of how serious the current investigation of U.S. District Judge Samuel B. Kent may be, it was revealed this week that the FBI is investigating possible crimes beyond his alleged sexual misconduct with a court employee.

Indictment Against Texas Supreme Court Justice is Quashed by Prosecutor While Jurors Publicly Allege Cover-up

Posted on January 22, 2008
The scandal over alleged arson by Texas Supreme Court Justice David Medina has gotten even more controversial. First, Harris County District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal refused to prosecute Medina after a grand jury issued indictments. Now, two of the grand jurors who voted to indict are having a public fight with Medina counsel, Terry [...

The Dr. Phil Defense: If It Was Friendly, It Was Not Felonious

Posted on January 21, 2008
Today, Dr. Phil (as expected) redefined his role in the Britany Spears controversy, insisting that he visited the pop star as a pop friend, not a pop psychologist. It is a critical distinction that could determine whether Dr. Phil McGraw is charged with a felony.

The Shih Tzu Hits the Fan: Indictments Issue for Texas Mayor Over Theft and Alleged Cover-Up Alleged Over Dog Named Puddles

Posted on January 21, 2008
Texas Mayor Grace Saenz-Lopez and her twin sister have been indicted in bizarre alleged crimes. At the center of the legal storm is a Shih Tzu named Puddles — a canine vixen who places humans under an apparent Voldemort-like trance. Saenz-Lopez has been indicted on two felony counts of tampering with physical evidence in a [...

Mr. Smith Goes to Court: Ethics Rules Prevented Attorney From Revealing Alleged Prosecutorial Abuse

Posted on January 21, 2008
It has taken by Virginia attorney Leslie P. Smith has finally got something off his chest. Smith was counsel a decade ago for a cooperating witness, William Jones, who wanted to avoid the death penalty for a murder by fingering his co-defendant, Daryl R...

Behind the Black Hood: Death Row Inmates Seek Identity of their Future Executioners

Posted on January 20, 2008
Historically, executioners were hooded or masked to prevent retaliation for their service or to convey the image of non-personal justice. Now, five death row inmates are suing to learn the identities of their executioners. With recent disclosures of executioners with criminal records, the lawsuits could create some interesting precedent...

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