Month: January 2014

Courts, Criminal law, International, Justice, Politics, Society

The Quality of Mercy: What Price Justice?

By Mark Esposito, Weekend Contributor

Clementia with her sister goddess, Justice
Clementia with her sister goddess, Justice

Julius Cæsar built a temple to her memory and commissioned statuary depicting the Roman conqueror strolling amiably hand-in-hand with the goddess.  Augustus cited her name in pardoning Cinna for plotting an assassination attempt to install  himself as ruler of Rome. Legend has it that Augustus’ wife, Livia, reminded the emperor that violent retribution against his enemies had not deterred their incessant murderous plotting and thus a new tactic was warranted. It must have worked well as Cinna went on the next year to be named consul and reportedly  left all his possessions to Augustus in his will. The act of mercy also earned  the Roman strongman an undying reputation among the people as the “good emperor.” For citizens of the ancient Italian city-state, Clementia was the ugly goddess murdered for being too rotund and not fitting the Olympian image of health and vigor. She was something else as well — the embodiment of mercy, restraint, forbearance and  humanity. What we still call today the virtue of clemency.

I read Thursday that the USDOJ had decided to ask for the death penalty in its case against Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the alleged

The Alleged Bomber
The Alleged Bomber

Boston Marathon bomber. Tsarnaev is charged with one of the most horrific acts of wanton brutality ever committed on American soil when he and his brother loaded two backpacks full of shrapnel and high explosives and placed them behind the  appendages of kids and adults watching the Boston City Marathon on Tax Day, 2013. Killing three and horribly wounding 260 in callous savagery few could match, the now 20-year-old’s record of mayhem and senseless violence has resulted in a capital charge of premeditated murder by means of terrorism.

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Criminal law, International, Lawyering, Society

Amanda Knox’s Conviction Reinstated By Italian Court

foxy-knoxy-machine-gunAmanda_Knox_8An Italian court has reversed the ruling of an earlier appellate court that found Amanda Knox not guilty in the murder of her roommate Meredith Kercher in Perugia, Italy. The latest court actually handed down a longer sentence against Knox who has remained in Seattle, Washington with her family. The case has drawn attention to a number of flaws in the Italian legal system and I have serious reservations over this ruling. I believe that there is evidence that Knox committed the crime but the evidence is highly circumstantial and much of the crime scene was contaminated by poor police work.

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Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Free Speech, International, Politics, Society

Ukraine Police Stop Bus Full Of Demonstrators and Beat Them . . . Only To Find Out That They Were Going To A Pro-Government Demonstration

220px-Euromaidan_Kyiv_1-12-13_by_Gnatoush_005Ukrainian riot police appear to be having trouble deciding who to beat up. BBC is reporting that police stopped a bus heading to Kiev and assumed that they were more protesters. So, they did what has become standard operating procedure for Ukrainian police: they proceeded to savagely beat the occupants. It turns out that they were government supporters being bused to support the government in its effort to break away from the West and sign a trade deal that will place the country under the domination of Russia. What is amazing is that, after being beaten by the government, they reportedly proceeded to the rally in favor of the government and all the good things it brings to the people of the Ukraine. Now those are the types of supporters that would have made Stalin proud. In the meantime, the police succeeded in capturing a real protester and reportedly tortured him and left him to die in the cold. He has survived to tell the tale.

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Animals, Criminal law, Environment

Pennsylvania Man Allegedly Beat and Tortures Dog . . . Judge Refuses Demand That He Be Barred From Pet Ownership For Two Years

bildethThis horrendous abuse is the work of Russell Seese, 27, in Pennsylvania. Seese was reportedly planning to kill the dog, Lexi, when his abuse was discovered. Now he has served his relatively brief sentence and Pike County Judge Joseph Kameen had confirmed that he cannot own another dog.

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Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Media, Politics

New Mexico County Faces New Lawsuit Involving Abusive Cavity Searches By Police

220px-Police_car_with_emergency_lights_onWe previously discussed the horrific case out of New Mexico involving David Eckert involving a series of demeaning and invasive cavity searches of an innocent man stopped along a road. That abuse cost the city and county $1.8 million in a recent settlement. However, recent reports indicate that neither the sheriff nor this deputies were disciplined. Now there is a new lawsuit against Hidalgo County that suggests that officers are “cavity happy” in caring about such searches — a frightening prospect for citizens and a ruinous prospect for county taxpayers.

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Criminal law, Religion, Society

Colorado Pastor Arrests For Allegedly Impersonating Marshal And Robbing Man At Motel

r620-2ce1106bc6d4f1b886ce234151fa20d6Minister Michael Todd Abromovich is accused of having a curious sideline in Denver. Abromovich was arrested for alleged luring a man to a Denver motel with an offer of sex and then handcuffing and robbing him while claiming to be a U.S. marshal. Judging from his mugshot, I am not sure which seems more implausible: the image of a minister or a marshal.

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Courts, Lawyering, Society

Friend of the Court: Florida Judge Forced Off Divorce Case After Trying To “Friend” Litigant And Then Allegedly Retaliating Against Her For Declining The Offer

Judge_Schoonover200px-Facebook.svgJudge Linda D. Schoonover appears to have a different concept of a “friend of the court” party. The Seminole Circuit judge has been removed from a divorce case where she tried to “friend” one of the litigants, Sandra Chace. Chace declined on the advice of counsel to be a friend of Judge Schoonover. Her lawyer says that Schoonover responded with retaliation against her in a type of “scratch a Friend find a Foe” ploy.

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Academia, Courts, Science

Federal Lawsuit Filed To Force NASA To Look More Closely At The Mars “Jelly Donut”

mosaic_2622x350-1For many people, the appearance of the mysterious rock in a picture from Mars was a great subject for breakfast discourse on whether it was kicked up by the Rover Opportunity or an alien creature with the world’s most unimpressive evolutionary progression. Rhawn Joseph, however, believes that he can force NASA to do more than speculate. Joseph is miffed that NASA will not take a closer look at the rock and has gone to court in Northern California to force the agency to investigate further. The rock is commonly called the “Jelly donut” due to its shape but scientists at NASA have named it “Pinnacle Island.”

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Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Lawyering, Society

Seventh Circuit Rules Prosecutor Can Be Sued For Abusive Investigation and Misconduct

posnerUS-CourtOfAppeals-7thCircuit-SealIn an important decision on immunity, the United States Court of Appeal for the Seventh Circuit has ruled that a prosecutor is not protected by immunity for allegedly coercing false testimony that sent a man to death row 17 years ago. Two prosecutors were accused of egregious misconduct: Lawrence Wharrie and David Kelley. The new opinion from the Seventh Circuit is Fields v. Wharrie, 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 1333. Ironically, I just filed on qualified immunity this week in the ongoing litigation in the Sister Wives case in Utah. We are advancing some of the same arguments, though our case has distinguishable characteristics. However, today we filed the Fields case as new supplemental authority.

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Academia, Congress, International, Military, Politics

U.S. Spends Five Years And $200 Million To Teach Afghan Soldiers To Read . . . Fifty Percent Remain Illiterate

200px-Non_Commissioned_Officers_of_the_Afghan_National_ArmyWe have previously discussed the obscene amount of money — in the hundreds of billions — spent in Afghanistan and Iraq as we cancel or curtail educational, scientific, and environmental programs at home. The sheer waste and corruption in those countries is breathtaking. We can now add a five-year program where we have spent $200 million dollars to teach Afghan soldiers to read but is now considered a total failure — after almost a quarter of a billion dollars. As we discussed earlier, there is again no word of any actual discipline for the people that approved and managed this colossal failure.

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Bizarre, Congress, Criminal law, Media, Politics

High-Ranking Former Congressional Aide Leaves Letter Before Hanging Himself After His Arrest For Possession Of Child Pornography

i83969661._szw270h3500_Washington has been rocked recently by the news of a high-ranking congressional staff, Jesse Ryan Loskarn, was arrested for possession of child pornography. Loskarn was the long-time director of the office of Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn. He recently committed suicide by hanging himself. A letter has now been released where Loskarn explains his demise and his shame. In the letter, he refers to abuse as a child but does not identify the culprit. Psychiatrists have long documented the tendency of victims of child abuse to be drawn to child pornography. I was personally involved with such a case of a man with documented such abuse who downloaded such images — a reaction that a respected psychiatrist testified was extremely common. You may or may not believe the final account of Loshkarn but it is a striking letter from a man clearly struggling with the shame of his action.

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Bizarre, Congress, Society, Torts

North Carolina Hospital Treats Man With Snakebite Serum Found Online for $750 . . . Charges Him $89,227 For 18-Hour Stay

4e660720-2698-4db1-ba61-d8baef403de5_UnTVm-Em-138There are health care nightmares and then there is what happened to Eric Fergusan, 54, in North Carolina. Fergusan was bitten by a snake on the foot while putting out trash last August. He drove himself to the hospital and was given anti-venom medicine that can be purchased online for as low as $750. The bill” $89,227 bill for an 18-hour stay.

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Bizarre, Media, Politics, Society

Grimm Reaper: NY Rep Suggests Reporter Tossing To Relieve Tension After State Of The Union

220px-Mike_Grimm200px-Caber_2Rep. Michael Grimm (R., Staten Island) apparently wanted to unwind after the State of the Union with a little good-old-fashioned Reporter tossing from the Capitol Rotunda. A traditional form of exercise, RT (as it is called) is highly aerobic and involves throwing an adult reporter from a stationary position with no more than three paces before the launch. This is much more difficult than tossing the caber in Scottish game because the journalists tend to be odd sized and flexible. They are the second least aerodynamic of profession (after Sumo wrestlers). There is also the problem of congressional ethics rules and criminal assault concerns. However, if Grimm looked in ill-humor, it was nothing like the mood of voters.

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