Res ipsa loquitur ("The thing itself speaks")
Special Education Judge Larry Craddock has resigned after being filmed sleeping during a hearing. Craddock was filmed sleeping through the critical testimony in the case involving a suicidal teenager. It appears Craddock found his “sleep number” on the bench because the family insists that he was out for an extended time.
Continue reading ‘Texas Judge Resigns After Being Filmed Sleeping During Critical Hearing’
Respectfully submitted by Lawrence Rafferty (rafflaw)-Guest Blogger
Just the other day we learned of the proposed foreclosure abuse settlement between the Attorney Generals of almost all 50 states and the Big Banks. In that pending settlement, the Banks will be depositing up to $26 Billion dollars into a fund designed to help homeowners whose homes are under water and who have been foreclosed upon. “Federal and state officials today will finally announce that they’ve reached a settlement with the nation’s biggest banks over the banks’ various foreclosure fraud abuses, such as “robo-signing” foreclosure documents and submitting falsely notarized documents to courts. The settlement has been in the works for several months, as a few key states — most notably California and New York — were holding out for tougher terms against the banks.” Think Progress While some still think the settlement does not go far enough, there is evidence that the settlement could provide real relief for homeowners and for the real estate market. But the concept of helping the market and homeowners gets lost, at least in the mind of Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin! Continue reading ‘Gov. Walker “Walks” All Over the Proposed Foreclosure Settlement’
A former state trooper and Guadalupe County Judge Michael Thomas Wiggins, 58, was almost late for a conference of judges this week . . . he had to make bail to be released from jail on a misdemeanor marijuana possession charge.
Continue reading ‘Texas Judge Arrested For Pot Possession In Hotel Room’
U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes in Texas has rejected the claim of “lactation discrimination” as a form of employment discrimination. The claim was made by Donnica Venters who says that she was terminated by Houston Funding for using a breast pump at work. The company insists that she was not terminated but left on her own accord. However, Hughes (left) made that dispute moot by ruling that “Lactation is not pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition.”
Continue reading ‘Federal Court Rejects “Lactation Discrimination” Claim’
Debasish Majumder, 54, a court clerk in London, has pleaded guilty to watching pornography during a rape trial in court, including while the victim testified on her sexual assault. Majumber pleaded guilty to misconduct in public office and five counts of possession of indecent images. The latter charge appears to be child pornography found on his home computer. The Right Honorable Judge Nigel Seed (left) discovered the pornographic surfing.
Continue reading ‘Court Clerk Caught Watching Porn As Rape Victim Testifies At Trial’
The Ninth Circuit has ruled 2-1 in the long-awaited sex-sex marriage case and affirmed the lower court in finding the law unconstitutional. Eighteen months ago former Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker struck down the ban on same-sex marriage. Judge Stephen Reinhardt wrote the lengthy opinion below upholding Walker and striking down the law. The Court ruled that “[b]y using their initiative power to target a minority group and withdraw a right that it possessed, without a legitimate reason for doing so, the People of California violated the Equal Protection Clause.”
Submitted by: Mike Spindell, Guest Blogger
The bible of psychiatric/psychological diagnosis is the “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)” published by the American Psychiatric Association. What it does is provide a standardization of diagnostic criteria, which allows Mental Health professionals to communicate with one another in a clearly defined set of common understandings.
“It is used in the United States of America and in varying degrees around the world, by clinicians, researchers, psychiatric drug regulation agencies, health insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, and policy makers. The DSM is a legitimating document and provides legal, medical, and ethical justification for physicians to diagnose and treat, judges to incarcerate and excuse, insurance companies to pay.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diagnostic_and_Statistical_Manual_of_Mental_Disorders
First published in 1952 the DSM has undergone five revisions since then. The latest revision will be the DSM V, scheduled for a May 2013 publication. The last major revision in 1994 was called naturally the DSM IV. There are many problems with the DSM. Since this Manual is so important to the treatment for those suffering and recompense for those who profit from psychiatric/psychological needs, this is an issue that needs greater public awareness. I think is most pertinent to look at the underlying issues entailed in the DSM’s new iteration and how it affects us, or those we know. To do so, however, we must look at the problems with the DSM, from a psychological, systemic and economic perspective.
The first critical issue is that no health insurance company, Medicare and/or Medicaid will pay for psychological and/or psychiatric treatment and medication, without a professionally certified diagnostician categorizing the patient with a valid DSM diagnostic code. Thus the DSM’s definitions have critical importance to practitioners, provider agencies, drug companies and health insurance providers. I retired from the Mental Health profession seven years ago and other things have held my interest. However, l I caught a NY Times article, posted at the MSNBC website last week and it brought to mind issues that had bothered me during my career, specifically with the DSM. Continue reading ‘Defining Grief’
Despite widespread predictions to the contrary, a federal court in Salt Lake City has ruled that the Sister Wives challenge of the statute anti-polygamy law can go forward and denied the effort to dismiss the lawsuit. The long and detailed ruling of United States District Court Judge Clark Waddoups agreed with our arguments that we have standing to challenge the state law. The standing question has long been discussed as the most significant barrier for the family in seeking a ruling on the merits. Prior such challenges have been denied at the standing stage.
Continue reading ‘Federal Court Rules Sister Wives Case Can Go Forward’
Submitted by Gene Howington, Guest Blogger
The 5th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution reads:
“No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.”
The language is clear. There is no reasonable alternative construction or deconstruction of the language that renders any permutation of the right against self-incrimination to yield a contrary result. You don’t have to offer testimony against yourself in a criminal proceeding in any court of law. Ever. In what seems an ever increasing and endless assault on the civil rights of American citizens, even this right spelled out in plain language is under attack. This time the alleged assailant is U.S. District Court Judge Robert Blackburn, a George W. Bush appointee. Judge Blackburn has ordered a criminal defendant to produce a unencrypted version of an encrypted hard drive. While several lower courts have addressed this issue, the Supreme Court has yet to weigh in on it. That may change.
But is the 5th Amendment really under attack here? The 5th Amendment applies to testimony. The issue at hand here is production of evidence. Different standards and protections can apply to compelling the production of evidence. The case in front of Judge Blackburn is U.S. v. Fricosu.
Respectfully submitted by Lawrence Rafferty (rafflaw)–Guest Blogger
Here in Illinois it is currently illegal for citizens to audio tape record public officials while they are doing their public duty, even in public. “Illinois’ eavesdropping ban was extended in 1994 to include open and obvious audio recording, even if it takes place on a public street where no expectation of privacy exists and in a volume audible to the “unassisted human ear.” ‘ Chicago Tribune When I first heard of this law, I was at first shocked and then my shock turned to anger. The police can make recordings of citizens out in public while they are in the midst of a traffic stop or even when one is exercising their First Amendment rights on the streets of Chicago. But, private citizens are not allowed to record those same police officers when they abuse the public or take liberties with constitutional guarantees. Continue reading ‘Eavesdropping on the Police’
-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger
That was the description of four East Haven, Connecticut, police officers who were arrested after a federal grand jury returned an indictment containing charges of conspiring to violate, and violating, the civil rights of members of the East Haven community. All four have pleaded not guilty in Federal District Court and three have been released on bail, ranging from $100,000 to $300,000; the fourth is awaiting completion of his paperwork.
Submitted by Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger
Seventh Circuit Judge Richard Posner is one of America’s most lauded judges and legal thinkers. An economics degree from Yale, president of the Harvard Law Review, and clerk to Justice William Brennan, Posner has the brains and the pedigree to move American jurisprudence. And move it he has. A conservative in reaction to his experience on the Supreme Court he’s drawn the ire of this blog for insensitvity to Constitutional rights of citizens. In addition, he’s one of the main proponents of the “law and economics” movement which advocates the analysis of law using economic principles. As you guessed, he’s no enemy of big corporations and business in general.
Continue reading ‘Judge Posner Spices Up Opinions With Web Photos’
The Senate Education Committee of the Indiana Senate has overwhelmingly voted to approve a bill allowing for the teaching of creationism in the state’s public schools. The Sponsor is Senator Dennis Kruse.
Continue reading ‘Indiana Senate Moves Toward Teaching Of Creationism In Public Schools’
Respectfully submitted by Lawrence Rafferty (rafflaw)-Guest Blogger
We have all certainly heard of the important Freedom of Speech cases that the Roberts led Supreme Court has decided. Citizens United is probably the most prominent one that comes to my mind. Of course, the Citizens United case promoted the ability of corporate entities to enjoy full Free Speech rights. Other important Free Speech cases that were decided by the Roberts Court include the military funeral case of Snyder v. Phelps, et al,(131 S. Ct. 1207 (2011) ) and the Brown v. Entertainment Merchants case (131 S. Ct. 2729 (2011) ) in California which overturned a California law which required parental consent for minors to rent or buy violent video games. Because of these decisions and others, some scholars and constitutional law experts make the claim that the Roberts Court is the most pro-free speech Supreme Court in history! Continue reading ‘The Roberts Court and Free Speech’
-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger
Cheryl Jones was attending services at the Disciple Fellowship Christian Church of East St. Louis, Illinois, when a female parishioner received the Holy Spirit. When she fell, she knocked over others in a domino effect. Jones was knocked to the floor and several people fell on top of her. Jones alleges she suffered injuries to her head, neck, back, and buttocks.
Recently we discussed the twisted jurisprudence of Associate Justice Clarence Thomas. Thomas is back in another disturbing dissent written by Antonin Scalia in the case of Maples v. Thomas. Cory Maples was convicted of two murders in Alabama in 1997. Since Alabama does not pay for post-conviction assistance, he relied on Jaasai Munanka and Clara Ingen-Housz from the law firm of Sullivan and Cromwell. When the attorneys left, however, the firm let the case drop and Maples was never informed that an appeal had been denied. His time for appeal lapsed. Seven justices lined up to support the right to an appeal, including Roberts and Alito who are not known to support criminal defendants in most cases. However, Thomas and Scalia insisted that there was no need for further judicial review in light of the failure of counsel. If leaving a case entirely is not ineffective counsel, it is difficult to see when such a standard would be satisfied in the jurisprudence of Thomas and Scalia.
Sites like Wikipedia, Google, YouTube, and Reddit have gone black this morning in protest of The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), which threatens Internet independence and free speech as well as a host of other rights. We have long discussed the ever-widening array of criminal and civil penalties pushed through Congress by the powerful radio and television lobby as well as other industry groups. The Obama Administration has been particularly willing to carry the water for these groups over objections from public interest groups. SOPA reflects the power of this lobby and its hold over members of Congress and the Obama Administration. While the Obama Administration has now responded to the outcry by insisting that it will tweak the bill, such promises ring hallow given its past efforts to appease this industry and its dishonest statements recently in other areas like the indefinite detention controversy. Notably, the recent admission from the White House that it has some concerns over the bill did not come until the public rallied against the bill — another indication of the control of an industry group in the drafting of legislation. This lobby is not going to go quietly into the night. It is more likely that it will work with the White House and Congress to achieve the same purposes with an incremental series of laws — if it does not simply win outright.
Yesterday, my column “10 Reasons The United States Is No Longer The Land Of The Free” ran in the Sunday Washington Post. I have been heartened by response to the column. However, a few commenters continue to suggest that the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) does not allow for the indefinite detention of citizens. This claim is being advanced by Senator Carl Levin (D., Mich.) in emails and fax messages to voters. I wanted to respond to Senator Levin’s points which are detached from language of the law and the clear intent of the majority of Senators. I would also like to address those who have stated that our liberties are not at risk when such powers will not affect most Americans.
Continue reading ‘Indefinite Detention of Citizens: A Response To Senator Carl Levin’
We have spent considerable time on this blog discussing the dangers of Sharia system in various Muslim countries like Iran and Saudi Arabia, particularly in the treatment of women and girls. However, in any free nation, citizens should be allowed to resolve their own disputes through private mediation or religious adjudications. This is what is happening increasingly in England where Muslims are circumventing the court system in favor of Islamic courts and Sharia law. The growing influence of Sharia courts has raised concerns among women’s groups and such reliance should come with added vigilance to ensure that all of the parties are truly consenting to such faith-based adjudications.
Continue reading ‘English Citizens Increasingly Turning To Sharia Courts’
Respectfully Submitted by Lawrence Rafferty (rafflaw)-Guest Blogger
On Monday we celebrate the life of the Reverend Martin Luther King and honor him for his work with the Civil Rights movement. One of his most famous speeches was the 1963 “I Have A Dream” speech that he gave in Washington, D.C. to a crowd of thousands. In that speech he laid out his vision and hopes for the Civil Rights movement. I would like to review some of his words and discuss if his dream came true for African-Americans and minorities throughout our country. “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.” ‘ Huffington Post Continue reading ‘Did Martin Luther King’s ‘Dream’ Come True?’
Submitted by: Mike Spindell, guest blogger
Almost four weeks ago I read an article in Huffington Post entitled: “Can Loving A Robot Lead to Divorce?” by Vicki Larson, a journalist. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/vicki-larson/robots_1_b_1150679.html Ms. Larson introduces her piece by quoting the claims of a current manufacturer of anatomically correct “sex robots”, who presumably speak and move in sexual ways. I followed the article’s link to the website of the robots inventor, Douglas Hines, who enthusiastically discusses his creation and has a few videos (non-explicit) that demonstrate the robot’s “capabilities”. While the HuffPost article links the Company’s website, I’m not doing it here, since publicizing this device is not my aim. Should you want further information it is available at the articles link. The “sex robot” being produced now is but an update on inflatable sex toys, though with a “skeleton”, rudimentary movement and speech added. It therefore is only an opening reference to a real issue that will shortly become scientifically possible.
The next part of this short article is an overview with of the opinion of Artificial Intelligence Expert David Levy http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=humans-marrying-robots “It also may be the future of love and marriage, if you believe artificial intelligent (AI) expert David Levy, author of Love and Sex With Robots. According to Levy, human-robot sex, love and marriage is inevitable — perhaps as soon as 2025. He predicts that robots may not only be more lovable and faithful than many humans, but they may even be more emotionally available than the “typical American human male.” Not only will they make us become better, more creative lovers, but they also will offer those singles who feel a void in their emotional and sexual lives and married couples with differing sexual needs new, nonjudgmental ways to be happy and healthy. Although Levy believes that the “availability of regular sex with a robot will dramatically reduce the incidence of infidelity as we know it today,” he also acknowledges there may be some potential sticky points. “Some human spouses and lovers might consider robot sex to be just as unfaithful as sex with another person.”
Levy’s view naturally flows into the conclusion of the article which is an E Mail interview with Sonya Ziaja, a San Francisco Bay Area attorney who blogs at numerous law and policy media outlets as well as her own, Shark. Laser. Blawg.
“And what could be more fraught with legal dilemmas than a love triangle among a married couple and a sexbot? How that might impact a divorce? That’s what Ziaja explores in her paper, “Homewrecker 2.0: An Exploration of Liability for Heart Balm Torts Involving AI Humanoid Consorts,” which she presented at the 2011 International Conference on Social Robotics that took place in Amsterdam at the end of November.
“If the doll’s owner becomes enamored with the doll, and leaves his spouse, can the spouse sue as she or he would be able to if the interloper had been human? And who would be sued? The manufacturer? Inventor? The AI itself?” she questions. “So long as we’re intent on adding socially interactive AI into situations that would ordinarily be only human. … socially interactive robots need to be ‘safe to play with’ in a way that manufacturers of toaster ovens never had to imagine.”
Thus we are presented here with a legal quandary instigated by the advent of revolutionary technology affecting serious legal, moral and ethical issues. How should we view this inevitability and how shall we deal with it as a society? Continue reading ‘Robot Love?’
-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger
In May 2010, Christopher Sharp used his cell phone camera to record Baltimore City Police officers arrest and beat a female acquaintance at the Plimlico Race Course. The officers detained Sharp, seized his cell phone, and returned it later with all his videos deleted, including videos of his young son at sports events. Sharp filed a complaint in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City Maryland which was later moved the United States District Court for the district of Maryland.
The United States Department of Justice has decided to get involved, on the side of Sharp.
We previously discussed the law passed in Oklahoma barring state judges from considering Islamic and international law in their decisions. Now the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit has blocked the law. The three-judge panel upheld an injunction barring certification of Question 755. The decision has some important language for both standing and free exercise claims.
Continue reading ‘Too Sooner For Sharia? Tenth Circuit Rules Against Oklahoma’s Anti-Sharia Law’
By Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger
Renowned marine biologist Nancy Black faces 20 years in prison and a half million dollars in fines for allegedly unlawfully feeding killer whales. And no,she didn’t feed them people. Apparently,Black, who’s been featured on PBS, Animal Planet, and National Geographic has been charged with running afoul of the Marine Mammal Protection Act. The charges stem from a 2005 research trip in which Black filmed a gray humpback whale and a pack of killer whales swimming nearby. She’s accused of feeding the killer whales and then altering a video of the “crime.” Here’s her lawyer’s account of the heinous attack on the environment.
Continue reading ‘Marine Biologist Faces 20 Years For Feeding Whales’
Submitted by: Mike Spindell, guest blogger
When you contemplate all of the problems that beset us in this election year it is hard not to feel daunted by the task of finding solutions. Many millions of American’s are without jobs, with the prospect of future employment seeming illusory. The top 1% of the American population controls vast amounts of the country’s wealth. http://www.businessinsider.com/15-charts-about-wealth-and-inequality-in-america-2010-4?op=1 Wages of average Americans have stagnated for the past 40 years to such an extent that our middle class is shrinking rapidly. The housing boom of years past has become a bust of monumental proportions and foreclosures are destroying formerly viable neighborhoods. Our once barely adequate “safety net” has been shredded and there are attempts to destroy both Social Security and Medicare as we know it. Despite a weak attempt at Medical reform millions of Americans find health care unaffordable, with many dying and others forced into bankruptcy to stay alive. Due to lack of money America’s once magnificent infrastructure is rotting and solutions are not on the horizon.
The collapse and bailout of our banking industry has cost us trillions and appears to have been brought about by fraudulent practices on the part of the industry, yet no one has been indicted. In fact the remuneration of top executives in this duplicitous industry has actually increased. Efforts to impose stiff controls ensuring that these artificial crises don’t happen again and that these huge financial entities do business ethically, have failed to pass the Congress. We see that the fallout from the American banking crisis has undercut the world’s economy and that economic crises in other industrialized nations appear regularly. Please notice I’m only referring to the economic problems we face and only producing a partial list of those economic problems.
We have seemingly come to the conclusion of an unnecessary war in Iraq, where trillions were spent and perhaps a million were killed, yet the withdrawal of troops is to bases that surround Iraq. We are leaving about 40,000 Americans in country, many as mercenaries (contractors is a euphemism) as we support the largest diplomatic infrastructure in any foreign nation. The war in Afghanistan still rages in a land that has never been significantly shaped by any outside empire, this despite the killing of Osama Bin Laden and the virtual destruction of Al Qaeda. Hundreds of billions are being spent and the lives of our troops are put in danger, in an exercise with little hope of success. Billions are going towards building Afghanistan’s infrastructure as ours is falling apart. Yet these instances fail to raise the broad spectrum of the military/foreign policy problems continuing to plague us. These issues include a military budget that far greater than that of all other nations. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_military_expenditures
However, these three paragraphs still do not encompass the broad range of problems we Americans face. There is more to be touched on before we come to the conclusion that I’ve reached, that there is one problem that not only transcends all of these, but its need for immediate solution supersedes any of the others in importance. Continue reading ‘America’s Transcendent Issue’
A bankruptcy case in Minneapolis has produced some unexpected fireworks after U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Nancy Dreher ordered the arrest of an attorney who filed a bizarre litany of anti-Catholic remarks in a filing. Dreher ordered the arrest of lawyer Naomi Isaacson (left), who is president of a group known as the Dr. R.C. Samanta Roy Institute of Science and Technology Inc.
Continue reading ‘Court Orders Arrest of Lawyer After Judge Called “Catholic Knight Witch Hunter” in Bizarre Filings’
One of my former students sent along this interesting case. U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff in Manhattan has taken the relatively rare step of blocking a commercial by Clorox Company for its Fresh Step kitty litter. Rakoff agreed with lawyers from Arm & Hammer that the commercial would do the company “irreparable harm” by publishing misleading information about cat litter boxes — and cats generally. The claims did not pass the smell test for the Court which rejected the methodology used by Clorox.
Continue reading ‘The New Katz Cats Test: Court Cries Foul Over Kitty Litter Claim’
Last night, we received word of two considerable accomplishments. First, we won the ABA Journal’s selection as the top opinion blog. Second, we hit our 10 millionth viewer on the blog. We are routinely ranked as one of the most visited legal blogs by AVVO. As our viewership has grown in only a few short years, we have reached a wider and wider international audience.
Continue reading ‘Turley Blog Hits 10 Million Viewers’
Last night the editors of the ABA Journal informed us that we have voted the top opinion blog of 2011 in the ABA Journal competition. It is our second such top award in the annual competition and it is an honor shared equally by all of our contributors and readers.
Continue reading ‘TURLEY BLOG PICKED AS TOP OPINION LEGAL BLOG IN 2011′
Just as Henry V rallied the thin, tired troops on the eve of the Battle of Agincourt, it is time to make that final call for votes in this year’s competition for the top opinion blog by the American Bar Association. There are now just two days left and, while we have pulled ahead in the last week, the contest remains very close with one of the top five largest legal blogs. If you like our blog, it is time to pony up and vote.
Continue reading ‘Just Two Days Left In The ABA Competition: We Need Your Vote!’
We have been discussing the disconnect between citizens who have repeatedly opposed continued rollbacks of civil liberties and the Democratic and Republican leadership pushing for such rollbacks, including the recent provision allowing indefinite detention of citizens under the National Defense Authorization Act of 2011 (NDAA). Now Montana citizens have decided to try another approach given the non-responsive attitude of our leaders — they are moving to remove their two Senators from office over their votes in favor of indefinite detention powers.
Best wishes to everyone celebrating Christmas and Hanukkah. Continue reading ‘Merry Christmas To All’
Respectfully submitted by Lawrence Rafferty(rafflaw)-Guest Blogger
The term is one that is familiar to all of us. The First Amendment gives all citizens the right of Freedom of Speech and the right to assemble. Simple enough, right? Evidently it is not so simple in the State of California. Recently, members of Occupy Los Angeles were arrested while making full use of their First Amendment rights and after posting a $5,000 bond to get out of jail, were offered a deal to avoid a trial. The Free Speech defendants were told that if they took a class offered by a private company for the mere cost of $355.00, they would not have to go to court for a trial.
At first glance that offer sounds reasonable. Just what is the “class” all about? “For $355, protesters can pay a private company for lessons in free speech. American Justice Associates offers the educational program taught by an attorney – Neil G. Anderson – a former police officer and Supervising Deputy District Attorney for Sacramento County, and his partner attorney Deborah Bryce McKinley of Atlanta, GA.” Crooks and Liars Continue reading ‘The Irony of Free Speech in California’
Submitted by: Mike Spindell, guest blogger
It’s Christmastime again and since my childhood, long ago, the Frank Capra film “It’s A Wonderful Life” has been shown time and again in this season, providing a message of redemption, hope and joy that we associate with this time of year. You all know the plot about selfless George Bailey (James Stewart) a man who has sacrificed his dreams for others and because of his selflessness winds up running the Bailey Building and Loan Association, of Bedford Falls, NY. Because of George this institution has provided home loans for the poor of this rural community and serves as its bank. With the Company on the verge of bankruptcy, through duplicity, George is on the verge of suicide distraught over the losses to those he loves and worried by needs of the average people of his town. You all know this plot and if you don’t its summary is here. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It%27s_a_Wonderful_Life#Plot . I must warn you, perhaps it’s the time of year but I choked up reading the plot, yet again, as I do every time I see this beloved movie.
This introduction has not been made because I’m about to write about banks, or the depredations of the banking industry. Others here and our host have already written extensively on the predatory nature of the banking industry and the harm it has caused to our country. My point of this opening is that we have all grown up with certain mythologies about businesses that provide financial services to the public. This film has had a place in defining that American mythology, in this instance about a bank of sorts, whose leader believes in aiding the community first and profits second. Myths shape our thinking and from my youth I still remember the ad slogan “You have a friend at Chase Manhattan”.
We’ve discovered that banks are anything but our friends. Their bottom line has surpassed service to the point that each customer is looked at as a “cash cow”, to be plundered incessantly with usurious interest and fees for what should be free services. But what about “You’re in Good Hands with Allstate”, “Nationwide Is On Your Side”, or “Like A Good Neighbor State Farm is There”? Surely the Insurance industry supplies the safety net we want for our homes and cars. Do they? Last week I was sent an article by the Independent Claims Adjuster handling my interminable case for mold damage to my home. He’s helping greatly so this isn’t about me, but the article he sent certainly puts into context all the delays in the process and how property insurance companies are maximizing their profits at the expense of their customers. Continue reading ‘The Real Insurance Frauds’
This year’s competition for the top opinion blog by the American Bar Association has become an intense race between our blog and one of the largest conservative legal blogs, Volokh Conspiracy. Even though VC is one of the largest blogs in the country, we are only a couple of dozen votes away with voting closing on December 31st. We need every vote so please spread the word to civil libertarians and others that we need their support to pull off the ultimate David and Goliath victory.
Continue reading ‘The Turley Blog Needs Your Vote! The ABA Competition Is Down To The Wire For Top Opinion Blog’
Michael Morton, 57, spent nearly 25 years in prison for murdering his wife before he was able to force Texas authorities to finally test DNA evidence that proved his innocence. Now he is demanding that the prosecutor be held accountable for withholding evidence. The problem is that the then-Williamson County District Attorney Ken Anderson, now a district judge in Georgetown (left).
Continue reading ‘Judge and Former Prosecutor of the Year Accused Of Withholding Evidence That Sent Innocent Man To Jail For 25 Years’
Former House speaker Newt Gingrich appears to be running against the Constitution as much as against President Obama these days. Gingrich has been promising to round up judges who do not agree with him — statements that have even conservative figures like Michael Mukasey, former attorney general during the George W. Bush administration, denouncing him. Mukasey was the attorney general who blocked prosecutions into torture, but finds Gingrich truly scary. I am currently scheduled to be on Hardball tonight to discuss this latest attack on the judiciary.
Continue reading ‘Gingrich: I Will Arrest Federal Judges’
-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger
Maclovio Bautista, a legal resident of Washington state and the U.S. for more than twenty years, is under threat of deportation because he was caught giving a ride to an illegal alien. While on their way to see a mechanic, they were pulled over by a Border Patrol agent. Bautista’s companion fled only to be apprehended later. Bautista was held for three days at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma.
Continue reading ‘Border Patrol: It’s A Crime To Give A Ride To An Illegal Alien’
Today I will be appearing in federal court in Salt Lake City, Utah to argue for standing in our challenge to the Utah statute criminalizing bigamy and cohabitation. I have previously written about the constitutional issues raised by the action. This hearing, however, concerns the effort of the state to avoid review of the law by claiming that the family lacks standing, even though the state has declared their family to be a criminal association and prosecutors have declared them to be guilty under the law.
Continue reading ‘Federal Court Considers Standing in Sister Wives Case’
The Supreme Court today accepted cert in the challenge to Arizona’s tough anti-immigration law. In a loss to the Administration, Associate Justice Kagan recused herself from the case.
Continue reading ‘Supreme Court Takes Arizona Immigration Case — Kagan Recuses’
Respectfully Submitted by Lawrence Rafferty(rafflaw)-Guest Blogger
Now that I have gotten over the Bears overtime loss to the Bronco’s, it is time for the Night Shift to get to work. I imagine that most of us remember the so-called “Gang of Fourteen” that came to prominence during the George W. Bush Administration. This group of Senators actually decided that the Senate should give all Judicial nominees an up or down vote in the full Senate except in some very extreme circumstances. “In 2005, a group of senators known as the “Gang of 14” determined that all judicial nominees should receive an up-or-down vote absent “extraordinary circumstances.” As Senator Lindsey Graham explained the agreement at the time,’ “ideological attacks are not an ‘extraordinary circumstance.’ To me, it would have to be a character problem, an ethics problem, some allegation about the qualifications of a person, not an ideological bent.” ‘ American Constitution Society It is a shame that the Gang of Fourteen, or at least the survivors of that group have decided that politics is more important than fairness! Continue reading ‘Filibusters Gone Wild’
-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger
If Republican Sen. Bill Heath’s bill, Senate Bill 293, is enacted the phrase “In God We Trust” will be printed in the area where the county name used to go. While many states sell, at an extra cost, specialty plate with the phrase, the Georgia plate will be the default plate.
Continue reading ‘Georgia Bill Will Put “In God We Trust” On All License Plates’
-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger
A scent lineup starts with the collection of scent from a crime scene. Scent samples are also collected from potential suspects. A dog is presented with the crime scene scent and then presented with the scents from the suspects. The dog then communicates the matching scent to its handler. The dog handler then testifies at trial and his testimony has been presented as “scientific identification” in Texas courts.
According to Fox News, the Constitution is a bit vague on privacy but not conflicts rules governing Associate Justice Elena Kagan. The language actually comes from Section 455 of Title 28 of the U.S. Code. Notably, there does not appear to be anything in the Constitution relevant to the recusal of Clarence Thomas.
Continue reading ‘Fox: Constitution Demands Kagan Recuse Herself’
-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger
Vesselin Dittrich, 64 and speaks with an accent, is an American citizen and resident of Hoboken, New Jersey. He was sitting on a PATH (Port Authority) train in the Hoboken station looking at a heavily tattooed woman. She objected to his staring and asked him to move to another car. He refused. She threatened to call the police and, overhearing this, the conductor summoned the Port Authority police.
Submitted By Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger
As if anxiety over the common risks of surgery weren’t enough, a strange story from Florida points up the dangers of flash fires during routine procedures. Kim Grice entered North Okaloosa Medical Center Outpatient Surgery Center in Crestview, Fla. for simple surgery to remove cystic growths from her scalp. After about two hours of surgery, an ambulance pulled up to the clinic and emergency personnel rushed past Grice’s mother, Ann, to transport her 29-year-old daughter to the South Alabama Medical Center due to severe facial burns.
Submitted By Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger
Some think lawyers and judges to be serious folk and devoid of humor as they carry out the public’s business. Here’s some proof to the contrary from Gavel2Gavel.com taken from real case depositions and trial transcripts:
By the Court: Is there any reason why you couldn’t serve as a juror in this case?
By a Potential Juror: I don’t want to be away from my job that long.
The Court: Can’t they do without you at work?
Potential Juror: Yes, but I don’t want them to know that.
______________________________________________
In one of the greatest attacks on civil liberties in this country’s history, Democratic and Republican Senators voted yesterday to approve a measure as part of the $662 billion defense bill that would allow for the military to hold both citizens and non-citizens indefinitely without trial — even those arrested on U.S. soil. In a welcomed change, President Obama has committed his Administration to fighting the measure as inimical to the rule of law. The measure was pushed by Carl Levin (D – Michigan) and John McCain (R – Arizona). While some members of Congress like Ron Paul (R., Texas) have denounced the bill, the measure passed at the same time that Administration lawyers publicly declared that the military and intelligence agencies alone should decide whether a citizen should be killed without a charge or hearing (including killing citizens on U.S. soil) — a position supported by President Obama who has ordered the killing of U.S. citizens under his claim of inherent authority.
Continue reading ‘Senate Votes Overwhelmingly To Allow Indefinite Detention of Citizens’
The ABA Journal has released its list of the top 100 legal blogs in the world and we are once again in this august group of blogs. Congratulations to all of our regulars contributors and weekend bloggers. This blog’s success is due entirely to the consistently high level of commentary among our readers and, I believe, our commitment to civil and substantive (if at times passionate) dialogue on the legal and political issues of our day. We are again placed in the “opinion” category and facing two of the top five most popular blogs. You can vote at You can vote at this site by clicking on the “opinion” category and we need your vote. A quick registration is needed to prevent cheating in the competition.
Continue reading ‘Turley Blog Selected As A Top 100 Legal Blog — Now We Need Your Vote!’
Florida Judge Donna Miller is delighted by the results of a novel sentence that she handed down to a 345-pound man jailed for driving with a suspended license. Miller told George McCovery, 37, that she would reduce his time by a pound a day for weight loss. He lost 25 pounds in 20 days and received early release. Miller is one of the judges who has merged justice with the entertainment industry — replaying proceedings on the television show “Lake Courts.” I have previously written about the dangers of such “novel” sentencing in judges using their courtrooms for entertainment or self-aggrandizement. While some judges have been sanctioned for crossing the line in merging judicial with their entertainment careers, Miller appears to be flourishing in the practice.
Continue reading ‘Florida Judge Combines Criminal Sentencing With Weight Loss Offer’
Submitted by: Mike Spindell, guest blogger
America has the world’s highest rate of incarceration, currently 738 per 100,000. Our nearest competitor for this dubious distinction is the Russian Federation with 607 and Cuba with 487. “The US incarcerates at a rate 4 to 7 times higher than other western nations such as the United Kingdom, France, Italy, and Germany and up to 32 times higher than nations with the lowest rates such as Nepal, Nigeria, and India.”
http://www.nccd-crc.org/nccd/pubs/2006nov_factsheet_incarceration.pdf Despite possible protestations that this is because we have the best law enforcement, my sense is that the reasons lie more in the system, than those who enforce it. No one ever lost an election in America because of the perception they “were tough on crime”.
“Race: Black males continue to be incarcerated at an extraordinary rate. Black males make up 35.4 percent of the jail and prison population — even though they make up less than 10 percent of the overall U.S population. Four percent of U.S. black males were in jail or prison last year, compared to 1.7 percent of Hispanic males and .7 percent of white males. In other words, black males were locked up at almost six times the rate of their white counterparts.” http://www.nccd-crc.org/nccd/pubs/2006nov_factsheet_incarceration.pdf
Despite possible protestations that this is because we have the best law enforcement, my sense is that the reasons lie more in the system, than those who enforce it. No one ever lost an election in America because of the perception they “were tough on crime”. “Race: Black males continue to be incarcerated at an extraordinary rate. Black males make up 35.4 percent of the jail and prison population — even though they make up less than 10 percent of the overall U.S population. Four percent of U.S. black males were in jail or prison last year, compared to 1.7 percent of Hispanic males and .7 percent of white males. In other words, black males were locked up at almost six times the rate of their white counterparts.”
http://www.laprogressive.com/law-and-the-justice-system/boiling-hot-mad/.html
These two sets of statistics when viewed together tell a terrible tale of how racial oppression still exists in this country despite our Black President and Black Attorney General. This Administration hasn’t caused of this problem, but they don’t seem to have made any progress dealing with it. We do know that there has been a widespread effort to play down the racial division that continues to plague this country. This continues despite Civil Rights Laws, Martin Luther King’s Birthday and TV beer commercials that always include at least one black male friend enjoying the camaraderie. Clearly there is a disconnect between how we Americans want to see ourselves and the reality for many Black males. Continue reading ‘The Incarceration of Black Men in America’
The Justice Department is infamous for conducting long investigations of its own attorneys and finding no grounds for criminal charges as in the dubious investigation of attorneys involved in the torture program. Now, a special prosecutor has found that (surprise) there is no basis for criminal charges against Justice Department officials who concealed evidence in the prosecution of former U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens in open contempt of court. The reason is something only found plausible in the Justice Department’s review of its own conduct: U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan failed to order them not to conceal evidence and comply with ethical rules. I kid you not.
Continue reading ‘Special Prosecutor: DOJ Attorneys Cannot Be Charged With Criminal Contempt Because They Were Not Ordered To Comply With Legal and Ethical Rules’
The civil libertarian community in Israel is alarmed by the government’s decision to shutdown a radio station that has been outspoken in its opposition to the growing plans for war with Iran. The Israeli-Palestinian radio station called “All for Peace” was shutdown after demands from members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s conservative coalition.
Continue reading ‘Israel Shuts Down Liberal Radio Station For “Incitement” While Moving To Deter Other “Leftist” Media’
This afternoon, I will participating in a discussion of “Trying High-Profile Cases” with David Bois as part of the American Bar Association’s Annual Conference (CLE Premier Speaker Series Webinar). The conference also include federal judges Barbara M. G. Lynn
(Northern District of Texas) and Gene E. K. Pratter (Eastern District of Pennsylvania) and leading litigator Randall M. Kessler. It will start at 1:00 p.m. (ET).
Continue reading ‘Trying High-Profile Cases: Today’s ABA Discussion’
Submitted by Mike Spindell, Guest Blogger
Last week during a long road trip, I was listening to a CD from the band The Eagles. A song came on written by Don Henley and Glenn Frey the group’s songwriters and leaders. The song is called “Get Over It”. As the autumn beautiful Shenandoah Valley landscape was passing by, a line from the song jarred me from my motoring reverie and made me think of this blog. The line was:
“The more I think about it, Old Billy was right
Let’s kill all the lawyers, kill ‘em tonight.”
Continue reading ‘Let’s Kill All The Lawyers?’
EXCLUSIVE. Loyola University Professor Ralph Braseth in Chicago has shared with me a complaint alleging another incident of police ordering a citizen to delete videotape of an arrest taken in public. I have previously written about this worrisome trend. The difference is that Braseth is a journalism professor. The complaint raises some extremely serious allegations of censuring a journalist and violating core constitutional rights. If true, it is a telling retort to the taunting remarks of Judge Richard Posner recently about the “snooping” of citizens on police.
Continue reading ‘Chicago Journalism Professor: Chicago Police Department Detained Him and Deleted Video of Arrest’
We have previously discussed the question of recusals involving Justice Clarence Thomas and his violation of reporting rules on the Court. Now, a similar debate is likely to start over the participation of Justice Elena Kagan in any review of Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The loss of Kagan could be determinative in a close vote on the Court, but that is always the danger in selecting your Solicitor General as a nominee. While Kagan used the announcement of cases on Monday to recuse herself for other cases, she notably did not include the Florida case.
Continue reading ‘Should Kagan Recuse Herself From The Health Care Case?’
This just on the wire: The Supreme Court has accepted cert in the health care litigation. The resulting decision could have sweeping implication for the future of federalism in this country.
Continue reading ‘Cert Granted: Supreme Court Accepts Health Care Challenge’
Respectfully submitted by Lawrence Rafferty(rafflaw)-Guest Blogger
Ever since the legal challenges to the Affordable Care Act, or as it is better known, Obamacare began, the pundits have kept a scoreboard on which courts have approved of the individual mandate to buy insurance, and which courts have disapproved of the constitutionality of the mandate. The latest Appellate Court to come down with its decision was the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. It may not surprise anyone that the court came down in favor of the legislation approving the individual mandate, but it may surprise you just who comprised that appellate panel. Continue reading ‘Conservative Take on Obamacare’
Below is my column today in The Washington Post. The article explores the famed Katz test and whether, in trying to save privacy in America, the Supreme Court may have laid the seeds for its destruction. The test ties our privacy protections to our privacy expectations. Thus, as our expectations falls, warrantless surveillance rises — causing our expectations again fall and in turn allowing warrantless surveillance to rise further. It becomes a face to the bottom of privacy. The terrible truth is that the death of privacy in America will not be accompanied by thunderous applause, but a collective yawn from an indifferent people. Here is the column.
Continue reading ‘How Much Privacy Do You Expect? The Death of Privacy In America’
Below is my column today in The Los Angeles Times where I discuss the continuing trend of arrests of citizens videotaping police. We have followed many more cases but a couple are mentioned in the column. What is most disturbing is that prosecutors and police are continuing to fight court rulings upholding the right of citizens to videotape police.
Continue reading ‘The Right of Citizens To Videotape Police’
We have previously discussed the new labeling rules for cigarette packages and I have not hidden my criticism of the graphic images from both a legal and policy perspective. This afternoon, U.S. District Judge Richard Leon handed down a major decision granting an injunction of the rules — a move based on his belief that the cigarette makers are likely to succeed in blocking the new packaging rules.
Continue reading ‘Federal Judge Grants Injunction of New Tobacco Labels’
Submitted by Lawrence Rafferty (rafflaw)-Guest Blogger
A milestone passed by most of us this past week. It seems that the Patriot Act birthday cake added a 10th candle this week and there was no party! The infamous Patriot Act turned 10 this week and a decade of attacks on our personal liberties went unnoticed by our Main Stream media. You can probably remember that the act passed with little opposition in the House and with only 1 member of the Senate in opposition. Continue reading ‘A Decade of Misplaced Patriotism’
Submitted by Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger
Happier Times: Sandusky (left) with Paterno
The reports from State College, Pa are shocking. Long-time assistant to iconic coach, Joe Paterno, charged with multiple counts of deviant sexual acts with at least eight minors — most under age 12. University administrators who did nothing despite horrific credible eyewitness accounts of explicit sexual acts in locker rooms and showers. Disadvantaged kids taken advantage of by an authority figure who founded an organization ostensibly to help them, but apparently designed to fulfill his own aberrational desires.
Submitted by Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger
Richmond, Va photographer, Ian Graham, must be wondering where he was this past Monday as he was arrested by local police for trespassing on a city street. Graham, who was photographing police arresting demonstrators in the Occupy Richmond protest, was told by police he was trespassing as he politely stood near a public crosswalk recording the goings on with his camera. Police claim they told Graham he could take photos but only in the designated “media area,” which was, of course, far from the scene of the arrests.
Continue reading ‘Richmond, VA Photographer Arrested For Trespass on Public Street’
County Court-at-Law Judge William Adams has become an Internet sensation, but not in a good way. A video was posted that purportedly shows the judge beating his disabled teenage daughter. Now, the YouTube video has triggered a formal investigation. The 2004 beating by the judge was reportedly due to her use of the Internet without his permission. The daughter leaked the video entitled “Family law judge beats own daughter for using the internet, please spread” to expose what she says is her father’s untreated “problem.” The daughter who has cerebral palsy was caught downloading music.
Continue reading ‘Texas Judge Under Investigation After Daughter Releases Video of Savage Beating’
Over the last few decades, the courts and Congress have gradually made the warrant clause of the Fourth Amendment superfluous. Now the majority of searches in the United States are done without searches and private companies are now conducting searches for copyright and trademark infringements with the pleasing of Congress (and the lobbyists that shape the laws). Now, government agents have been offering a type of inverse Miranda warning — explaining that we don’t need stinking warrants in raiding homes. In a recent raid, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent were asked if they had a warrant, one agent reportedly said, “We don’t need a warrant, we’re ICE,” and, gesturing to his genitals, “the warrant is coming out of my balls.”
Continue reading ‘ICE Balls: Federal Agents Announce “We Don’t Need a Warrant, We’re ICE”’
-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger
Holdings, or ratio decidendi (Latin for “the rationale for the decision), are those parts of a court’s opinion that are binding on lower courts and later courts. This binding is referred to as the doctrine of stare decisis which provides hierarchical (vertical) and temporal (horizontal) continuity throughout the judicial system. Obiter Dicta (Latin for a statement “said in passing”), or dicta, are those parts of a court’s opinion that are not binding on lower courts and later courts. Dicta may suggest an interpretation of the law that may prove useful in future cases.
Respectfully submitted by Lawrence Rafferty (rafflaw)-Guest Blogger
If you think the Government is allowed to spy on Americans too much already, this next story will increase your blood pressure. It was recently disclosed by the Associated Press that a CIA undercover operative has been directly advising the New York Police Department for at least 3 months. I could have sworn that it was illegal for the CIA to spy on Americans, but nothing has been done to curb this possible violation and abuse of American’s privacy. Continue reading ‘The Unholy Marriage Between the CIA and NYPD’
Soon after the news that Gadhafi had been shot, Judge Reggie Walton issued an opinion dismiss the lawsuit by members of Congress challenging the war powers claim underlying the intervention in the Libyan war without a declaration of Congress. I represent the members in that litigation. The Court declined to rule on the merits of the constitutional claims and instead held that the court does not have jurisdiction to rule on such questions. Despite the timing, the opinion did not turn on the removal of Gadhafi. The opinion is below.
Continue reading ‘Federal Judge Dismisses War Powers Challenge By Members of Congress’
Now, this could make for an interesting torts lawsuit. The Synagogue Church Of All Nations (SCOAN), a Nigerian-led Evangelical Christian church in London, has claimed to have the cure of people with HIV that involves their stopping all medications and praying for a cure. The results, critics say, has been not the promised “miracle” but three deaths.
Continue reading ‘Church Under Fire After Three People Die After Being Allegedly Told To Stop AIDS Drugs In Favor Of Prayer’
Submitted by Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger
As an undergraduate I learned the wisdom of management guru, Peter Drucker, who reminded us that, “Efficiency is doing things right; but effectiveness is doing the right thing.” True words, indeed, but I wonder how Professor Drucker would explain Franklin, Tennessee native, Mark Burgen.
Respectfully Submitted by Lawrence Rafferty (rafflaw)-Guest Blogger
I was surprised when I read an article yesterday that reported the news of an indictment that was handed down in Jackson County, Missouri. You may be asking what is unusual about one more indictment in the State of Missouri? The news worthy aspect of this indictment is the person and organization that was indicted. The Grand Jury in Jackson County indicted the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph as well as its Bishop, Bishop Robert Finn! Continue reading ‘CATHOLIC BISHOP INDICTED’
Today, I will appearing on the National Public Radio (NPR) program, Talk of the Nation to discussing my column in the Los Angeles Times on Barack Obama’s disastrous impact on civil liberties in the United States. The piece has generated some interesting discussion on the LA Times blog as well as other blogs. Despite my disagreement with some of the commenters, any discussion of civil liberties is welcomed in this political atmosphere. Ironically, the day of the column (which specifically discussed the President’s assertion of his right to kill citizens he considers terrorists), President Obama ordered the killing of U.S. cleric Anwar al-Aulaqi and reportedly a second U.S. born cleric. [Update: Here is the TOTN interview].
Continue reading ‘Obama and Civil Liberties: Talk of the Nation’
An assistant law professor Jason Huber of the Charlotte School of Law in North Carolina has filed an ethics complaint against four Crowell & Moring lawyers in a rather novel case. He accuses the lawyers of suggesting that inbreeding could be responsible for Appalachian birth defects found in a study of mountaintop mining.
Continue reading ‘Law Professor Files Ethics Complaint Against Crowell & Moring Lawyers For Inbreeding Remark’
The Obama Administration is moving against the new Alabama law on illegal immigration — as it has the Arizona law. I have discussed the novelty of such challenges, which may soon include other states. I will be discussing the Alabama law on NPR’s Diane Rehm Show on Wednesday, October 5th.
Continue reading ‘Justice Department Appeals Alabama Immigration Ruling’
Submited by Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger
We’ve known for years that exposure to violence makes humans more likely to commit violence themselves. TV violence is especially pernicious and can have effects lasting decades. Now that applies to participatory virtual violence as well.
Mark Bradford, a 46-year-old resident of Plymouth, England attacked a 13-year-old boy who had just “killed” his virtual fighter in the wildly successful computer game, Call of Duty:Black Ops. The two were playing the game over the Internet when Bradford’s character was shot during a battle scene. The enraged father of two promptly raced over to the boy’s nearby home and grabbed the young man by the throat using both hands. The child’s mother fought him off and called police.
Continue reading ‘Call of Crazy: Gamer Attackes Teen Who Killed His Character’
Below is today’s column in The Los Angeles Times on the record of Barack Obama on civil liberties and his impact on the civil liberties movement in the United States.
Continue reading ‘Obama and the Decline of the American Civil Liberties Movement’
Just after we ran a rare congratulatory piece on the Saudi King giving the right to vote to woman, the Saudi courts gave a chilling reminder of the plight of women in the Kingdom by sentencing Shaima Ghassaniya to be flogged for driving.
Continue reading ‘Saudi Arabian Court Orders Woman Flogged For Driving’
There has long been an reasonable expectation among citizens that, if they are falsely accused of an offense, they will not have to pay either the fine or the cost of a hearing. Indeed, even if found guilty, there is generally not a charge for seeking justice in a court. Not in Salem, Massachusetts. The state supreme court ruled last week that motorists must pay the state even if they win their cases in court. The cost of fighting a ticket is $75, which can be roughly the cost of the ticket itself. It is a system that makes a mockery of the right to challenge a charge. No wonder so many witches were burned in the town . . . most could not afford the cost of an appeal.
In Bay Minette, Alabama, felons are being given the opportunity to climb the wall. Not the prison wall, mind you. The Alabama court and local police are helping felons over the wall of separation of church and state by giving convicted citizens an opportunity to avoid jail if they volunteer — so long as it is with a church.
Continue reading ‘Alabama Courts Give The Convicted The Choice Between Jail and Church’
Former Circuit Judge Mary Ann Gunn of Fayetteville has added her name to the expanding number of lawyers who are degrading the legal profession with faux court shows that mete out justice as a form of entertainment. I have previously denounced these shows and the types of lawyers who reduce their profession to the level of farce and freak shows (here). In Gunn’s case, the state bar informed her in 2010 that she was violating ethical rules by arranging to have her hearings filmed and released to shows. Rather than give up her desire for fame, Gunn resigned from the court and created a fake court called “Last Shot with Judge Gunn,” a show criticized by drug law experts as harmful and misleading. The problem with people like Gunn is that these shows are the product by unrestrained and self-consuming egotism built on the ruins of such professional values.
Continue reading ‘Arkansas Judge Barred From Using Her Court For Show . . . Resigns And Rents Courtroom For New Reality Court Show’
Respectfully Submitted by Lawrence Rafferty (rafflaw)-Guest Blogger
When it comes to the Second Amendment and guns, it seems that President Obama can’t make anyone happy. Ever since Obama announced his candidacy for the Presidency, the NRA has screamed that Obama will be taking away the guns. This scare tactic continued when Obama defeated John McCain for the Presidency. Just what has Barack Obama done to make the NRA and gun owners frightened for their guns? The simple answer to this question is nothing. Continue reading ‘Second Amendment Boogey Man’
We recently discussed the shocking outburst by conservative judges on the Seventh Circuit and Fifth Circuits. Now, a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has joined the ranks of jurists engaging in visceral and, in my view, inappropriate commentary from the bench. The circuit sitting en banc split 6-6 Wednesday on whether to grant en banc review on a challenge of the federal wiretap law. What was most striking, however, was not the sharp division but the rhetoric of Chief Judge Dennis Jacobs. Building on a trend of federal judges to so narrow standing as to block any meaningful avenue to challenge government actions. However, Jacobs decided to vent his anger at public interest attorneys and their causes and clients.
Continue reading ‘Judges Behaving Badly (3): Chief Judge Dennis Jacobs Attacks Civil Libertarians and Lawyers Before Second Circuit’
Chief Judge Edith Jones of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has long been unpopular with many lawyers and judges. Now her reputation for a certain nastiness has emerged in a public scandal after she screamed at her colleague Judge James L. Dennis to “shut up” or get out in the middle of an oral argument.
Harris County judge Charley Prine, a Republican judge in Texas, is under fire for a clearly homophobic order barring a gay father from leaving his children alone with his husband. William Flowers (pictured, left below) and Jim Evans (right) were legally married in Connecticut and are appealing the order that says that the children cannot be left alone with with any man who is not related to them by blood or adoption unless his ex-wife consents.
Continue reading ‘Texas Judge Rules Gay Father Cannot Leave Children With His Husband’
If brevity is the soul of wit, Walter Maksym may be the most witless lawyer in practice. That may soon change if the Seventh Circuit has its way. The court slammed Maksym recently for writing a brief full of gibberish, including a 345-word sentence. The court has ordered Maksym to show cause why he should not be disbarred.
Continue reading ‘Seventh Circuit Slams Attorney For 345-Word Sentence and “Gibberish” — Demands Show Cause On Possible Disbarment’
For years, we have discussed the abusive litigation by the Recording Industry Association of America in seeking obscene damages against people for downloading songs. Congress, again, caved to demands by lobbyists to allow for such lawsuits. The result has been thuggish lawsuits where industry lawyers threaten not only citizens with ruin but, in the case of the Copyright Group, those who try to help them. Now, one of the most obscene verdicts against Boston University student Joel Tenenbaum has been reinstated by the First Circuit — $675,000 for downloading and sharing 30 songs. The court, however, takes the rare step of suggesting that Congress may want to look again at the law. The problem is that these citizens do not have well-paid lobbyists and massive campaign funds to motivate many members to act. The Obama Administration joined the industry in defending the law and the original fines as not unconstitutional.
Respectfully submitted by Lawrence Rafferty(Rafflaw)-Guest Blogger
I admit that I get a headache when I read any news about former Bush administration officials, but it seems that former Vice President Dick Cheney is in the news again and I am left scrambling for my migraine medicine. He has written a book detailing all the wonderful things he accomplished as Vice President under George W. Bush. Unfortunately for Mr. Cheney, in his efforts to explain his work as Vice President under George W. Bush, he may have provided an admission of some of the alleged lies that critics claim were being spread by Cheney and the Bush administration in the lead up to war in Iraq. Continue reading ‘Recent American History According to Cheney’
Submitted by Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger
Gun-owning Floridians will now be able to discuss those lethal weapons with their physicians after a federal judge has blocked the enforcement of a Florida law. Florida governor and Tea Party darling, Rick Scott, signed into law a gag order preventing doctors from talking to their patients about the hazards of gun possession in their homes when small children and teenagers are present.
Continue reading ‘Federal Judge: Florida Docs Can Talk To Patients About Guns’
The Cherokee Tribe is in an interesting confrontation with the federal government over the right of the tribe to ban 2,800 African Americans from its citizenship rolls. Joe Crittenden, the tribe’s acting principal chief, insists that the Bureau of Indian Affairs has challenged the sovereignty of the tribe and “The Cherokee Nation will not be governed by the BIA.”
Continue reading ‘Cherokee Tribe Asserts Right To Expel Blacks’
Below is today’s brief essay in the Los Angeles Times that is part of a series called Reflections on 9/11. I was asked that day after the attacks to write a column for the newspaper, which ran on September 13, 2001. As I wrote the piece, I could still see smoke rising from the Pentagon. The plane in Washington hit just behind my car a minute or so after I passed the Pentagon on my way to work from Alexandria. On that day, my greatest concerns were two-fold: a change in the definition of war and the expanded use of assassination. Unfortunately, my worst predictions were exceeded by the Bush Administration and later the Obama Administration. It is shocking to think that this was ten years ago. The images and feelings remain so vivid. My car was forced into a curb by a careening car that morning and I had to replace my tire as the smoke bellowed from the Pentagon. The thought of all the innocent people lost in Washington, New York, and Pennsylvania remains an open wound for so many of us. The sheer savagery and inhumanity of the attacks shocked the conscience — a feeling only magnified later when Bin Laden was shown gloating over how he personally advised the terrorists on the best place to hit the buildings. The cautionary piece on September 13th was not meant to take away from the legitimate and collective anger that we felt — and still feel. However, it was already clear within two days of the attacks that Bush officials were going to seek the radical expansion of presidential powers and were already referencing our civil liberties as an impediment to our safety. My heartfelt sympathy to all who lost friends and family on that day.
Submitted by Gene Howington, Guest Blogger
Cecelia Ingraham had a daughter. Her name was Tatiana. In 2003, her then teen-aged daughter was diagnosed with leukemia. After a brief period of remission, the cancer returned. An opportunistic infection claimed Tatiana’s life in 2005. Tatiana was an only child.
Cecelia Ingraham had a job. It was in New Jersey. She worked for Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical for 12 years as an administrative assistant in the marketing department. At this job, she had a cubicle. In this space, Cecelia kept mementos of her daughter not unlike any grieving parent might; pictures and a pair of ballet slippers. On this job, like any job, not all discussions are about business matters. In the course of meandering discussions, Cecelia sometimes talked about her deceased daughter not unlike any grieving parent might. In the spectrum of trauma human beings can face, “what’s the worst trauma” is a zero sum game, but in that spectrum there are certainly forms of trauma that are uniquely painful due to their nature. In that regard, for a parent to lose a child is a unique trauma. It leaves an emotional scar that for most never fully goes away.
About a year and a half after Tatiana’s death, Carl DeStefanis, Director of Marketing, at the urging of Human Resources, had a discussion with Cecelia Ingraham “to convey complaints [Human Resources] had received about plaintiff’s conduct and interaction with co-workers. Several of those complaints were unrelated to Tatiana, but administrative staff in the department had also remarked about plaintiff’s tendency to speak to them about Tatiana’s tragic passing. The co-workers said they sympathized with plaintiff, but they felt uncomfortable and at a loss for ‘what else that we can say that we have not said already.’ The co-workers said they tended to avoid contact with plaintiff and to take work or questions elsewhere.” DeStefanis told Cecelia Ingraham that she needed to remove the pictures and ballet shoes of her deceased daughter from her cubicle and that she could “no longer speak of her daughter because she is dead” and should act as if her daughter “did not exist”.
Distraught, Cecelia left work that day and did not return. Over the next few days, she began to have sudden heart palpitations that required surgery. After the surgery and some recovery time, Cecelia Ingraham resigned her position at Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical. She then filed suit for Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress (IIED) against Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical, their parent company Johnson & Johnson, and Carl DeStefanis. What happened next might be seen by some people as adding insult to injury. Her case was dismissed. But was it a result of bad law or a failure in basic empathy?
CNN is reporting that fashion designer John Galliano was found guilty Thursday in a French court on charges of making anti-Semitic comments against at least three people in a Paris café. He has been fined 6,000 euros. It is the latest example of a crackdown on free speech in the West. As obnoxious and reprehensible as these comments were by Galliano, the case would have been dismissed on free speech grounds in the United States.
Continue reading ‘Galliano Found Guilty Of Anti-Semitic Comments’
Magistrate Judge Anthony Peters of Catoosa County has been removed from office for misconduct. For our regulars on the bench, fear out. Peters, a non-lawyer, set the standard pretty high after smoking pot, kicking in doors, and pointing a gun at his own head.
Continue reading ‘Georgia Magistrate Tossed Off Bench After Record of Pot-Smoking and Bizarre Conduct’
While Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio continues to spend money on such things as giving Steven Seagal a tank and army to raid homes for his reality television program, county lawyers are trying to settle one of the many lawsuits over his abuse of his office. The latest payment of tax dollars went to retired county Superior Court Judge Kenneth Fields. We previously detailed the disgraceful actions taken by former County Attorney Andrew Thomas and Arpaio against judges who did not bend to their will.
Continue reading ‘Maricopa County Settles First Case Over Abuses By Joe Arpaio and Andrew Thomas’
-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger
In the case of United States v. Johnson, four law enforcement officers conducted a “knock and talk” at a residence in Smyrna, Tennessee after an anonymous tip indicating that the residents possessed marijuana and a firearm. Johnson and his wife, Karen, emerged from the bedroom and the officers sought consent to search the house. Karen gave consent but Johnson did not consent (disputed by the officers). The officers searched the house and found a handgun, counterfeit money, and 100 grams of marijuana.
Continue reading ‘District Court Finds Hierarchy Of Privacy Interests’
The Ninth Circuit has handed down a major ruling that a firefighter can sue detectives who accused him falsely of creating two child-pornography websites. The Ninth Circuit panel ruled in an opinion written by Judge Richard Paez that Washington State Police officers Rachel Gardner and John Sager had shown a “reckless disregard for the truth” when they arrested Spokane firefighter Todd Chism in 2008.
-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger
Governor Rick Scott (R-Florida) imagines that welfare recipients were likely drug addicts so he signed a law that mandates drug testing before they can receive cash benefits from the state. “The goal of this is to make sure we don’t waste taxpayers’ money,” Scott said. How’s that working out? About 2 percent have tested positive and ninety-six percent proved to be drug free — leaving the state on the hook to reimburse the cost of their tests.
Financially, Florida taxpayers may save a whopping $40,800-$98,400 for a program that has been predicted to cost $178 million. That’s before the legal costs from a threatened ACLU challenge to the law’s constitutionality.
Continue reading ‘Is Florida’s Drug Testing Of Welfare Recipients Constitutional?’
I was honored recently to be selected as the Appellate Lawyer of the Week featured in the National Law Journal. Here is the interview. The interview was a chance to speak with one of the great legal journalists, Tony Mauro, whom I have long admired.
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