U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy has stopped the controversial hunt for gray wolves in Montana, granting a preliminary injunction restoring the wolves to the endangered list. Given the need to show a likelihood to prevail on the merits, it is an important ruling for environmentalists. The planned hunt was endorsed by the ironically named Ed Bangs, a federal biologist who declared the decision to delist wolves as “a very biologically sound package.” Obviously, a neutral federal judge disagreed with Bangs’ view.

There are only around 2,000 gray wolves in the three state area and officials wanted to allow hunters to kill 500 of them.

The decision was viewed as critical to reestablishing a domestic and stable population of wolves. The Administration is expected to continue to fight to re-start the hunt, but usually a preliminary injunction reflects the likely outcome on the final merits.

For the full story, click here and here.

Pakistani Judge Mian Muhammad Naeem has reportedly ruled that two Christian girls who were kidnapped and then converted to Islam cannot be returned to their family, including Saba Younas, aged 13, who was forced to marry the son of one of the kidnappers. Naeem ruled that the girls “have converted in a legitimate manner to Islam” and therefore cannot be “restored to their family of origin”.

The family says that Saba Younas, aged 13, and her sister Anila were kidnapped last June 26 in the village of Chowk Munda, in the Punjab, when they were visiting their uncle, Khalid Raheel. He filed a report that a Muslim fruit vendor named Muhammad Arif Bajwa kidnapped the girls, and then handed them gave them to a friend, Falak Sher Gill. Gill proceeded to marry off Sada to his son.

The recurrence of such child marriages continues to shock the civilized world. This is only the latest such outrage, click here.
Kidnapping of girls is a common practice in this area and both women and girls continue to be treated as virtual chattel.

“Judges” like Naeem further demonstrate the abuses that occur in the absence of a separation of church and state. Sharia is more a religious code than an form of “law.” Like the “law of the Vatican, it is a code of enforced religious values. Both Jews and Christians have followed such religious courts. However, they should be confined to the voluntary mediation or adjudication of individuals, not imposed through state authority as in many Middle Eastern nations from Saudi Arabia to Iran to Pakistan.

For the full story, click here.

Amber Arpaio, 26, was a “Girl Gone Wild” and apparently didn’t know it. She has sued Ashley Dupre, the former call girl to former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, for stealing her identity. As shocking as it may seem that a high-priced prostitute might also be an identity thief, Arpaio says its true. For her part, Dupre, who recently dropped a lawsuit against Girls Gone Wild, is saying nothing at all.

Arpaio says that Dupre used her stolen driver’s license to appear on the show and seeks unspecified monetary compensation for defamation and invasion of privacy.

The video actually shows the New Jersey driver’s license in the name of Amber Arpaio and a birth date that would have made her appear to be in her 20s. Dupre was really 17.

The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Trenton, New Jersey.

For the full story, click here and here.

Oklahoma County Commissioner Brent Rinehart is facing a tough election, so he has taken a page out of one of the oldest books of politics: he has demonized his opponents as “liberal good ol’ boys,” gays and tools of Satan. In this case, however, the book is a juvenile comic book that Rinehart has written and illustrated. He intends to send the comic book to voters depicting his opponents as Satan-following, Gay-loving liberals terrified of . . . you guessed it . . . Brent Rinehart.

It seems like a whole week since the last outrageous act by an Oklahoma legislator, click here and here.

He uses crudely drawn characters to attack his critics, including state Attorney General Drew Edmondson, who filed felony campaign finance charges against Rinehart last year. When Rinehart is not gay-bashing and Satan-hunting, he allegedly occupies himself with schemes to evade state and federal law. He is accused with his former campaign manager of illegally funded the 2004 campaign for county commissioner. Not surprisingly, he also demonizes Sheriff John Whetsel. He may soon have to pursue the IRS, which is trying to hold him in contempt, here.

The 16-page comic book raises some very serious questions of Rinehart’s sanity — not to mention his artistic abilities. Satan, it appears, has taken time away from his campaign of global sin to win the one battle that will deliver the world to his vision of a godless, gay-dominated society: the election of the next Oklahoma County Commissioner. It also turns out the Satan views Rinehart as his greatest challenge since he faces the Archangel Michael fought Satan in Revelation 12, 1-9.

Rinehart appears to believe that the typical Oklahoman requires his or her political information delivered on the level of the Sunday comics. He insists that “It makes it interesting and something that people will actually look at and understand.”

In one illustrative scene, Satan proclaims, in a satanically incomplete sentence, “If I can get the kids to believe homosexuality is normal!”

The angel replies: “Hey Satan, not with Brent around you won’t!”

It could be an election of biblical proportions. Indeed, this could require a new chapter after Revelations entitled “Oklahoma: The Final Battle.”

Here is the comic book: comic

For the full story, click here and here.

Yusuf Islam, the artist formerly known as Cat Stevens, accepted damages and an apology this week from World Entertainment News Network for a report that he would not speak with women due to his orthodox Muslim views.

The news agency ran a story in March 2007 that said that Islam was “so sexist and bigoted that he refused at an awards ceremony to speak to or even acknowledge any women who were not wearing a veil.” It further quoted his manager as saying “Mr. Islam doesn’t speak with women except his wife. Least of all if they don’t wear a headscarf. Things like that only happen via an intermediary.”‘

It was false and Islam has promised that most of the sizable damages will be donated to charity.

For the full story, click here.

On Friday night, the defense filed a series of pre-trial motions challenging the two-count indictment against Dr. Sami Al-Arian. The filing includes charges of prosecutorial abuse and selective prosecution. The filings are below — as is the government’s single pre-trial motion.

The motions filed today include (1) a motion to quash the indictment on the basis of selective prosecution; (2) a motion to quash the indictment on the basis of the plea agreement; (3) a motion for a hearing on the provisions and meaning of the plea agreement; (4) an omnibus motion to quash on technical an constitutional grounds; and (5) a motion in limine to bar the introduction of prejudicial evidence.

Joining me in these motion were my co-counsel P.J. Meitl and Will Olson of the law firm of Bryan Cave.

The government also filed a motion. The Government’s motion in limine seeks to bar (1) any good-faith defense; (2) any claim of vindictive prosecution; (3) any reference to the cooperation of Dr. Al-Arian or the two sworn affidavits; (4) any reference to Dr. Al-Arian’s offer to take polygraph examinations; (5) any reference to Dr. Al-Arian’s concerns of retaliation; (6) any reference to the plea agreements; and (7) any claim based on the representations made by the government before the indictment. If successful, the government would basically permit Dr. Al-Arian to state his name and then sit down for a verdict.

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Afghan journalist Rahmatullah Naikzad has released a videotaped of the kidnapping and execution of two women, shown below, for their alleged involvement in a prostitution ring. The video is graphic and the viewer can hear that at least one woman screaming. It is another example of the barbarism still carried out by the Taliban under Sharia law. It is also more evidence of the return of the Taliban in a surge of its own in Afghanistan.

The execution occurred on July 12th and the photographer was later arrested on allegations of having Taliban ties after he turned himself in. Naikzad insists that he cleared the trip with Associated Press after he was contacted by Taliban representatives (who guaranteed his safety). The Taliban accused the women of corrupting “pure girls and women” and “indulged them in immoral acts.”

While some bloggers have suggested that Naikzad is working for the Taliban for propaganda purposes, it is a propaganda victory that only the Taliban would relish. Civilized people around the world will be shocked by the continued application of medieval standards by their religious extemists. It also reinforces those who view Afghanistan as the legitimate war as opposed to Iraq.

For the video, click here (WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES]

For an interview with the journalist, click here.

In Riverside, California, Mattel has won an impressive victory over the makers of the Bratz doll line. A federal jury has found that MGA Entertainment was guilty of copyright infringement of the maker of the Barbie series.

This is not child’s play. The Bratz line is an over $1 billion enterprise. The jury found that Carter Byrant — the Bratz creator — created the line while under contract with Mattel. The line was supposed to offer a line of dolls with more of an edge. It is an ironic time for the verdict when Mattel is being criticized that Barbie has become a “tart” and specifically outfitted the doll for S & M play, click here. Now, the company could regain a line of urban Bratz to appeal to the edgy 3-9 girl target audience.

The verdict came after a seven-week trial. The jury will now have to determine the damages. In the meantime, the Bratz will have to deal with Barbie — who has punked up since their last association.

For the full story, click here.

Congressional hearings have revealed that John Yoo was the favored candidate to lead the Office of Legal Counsel at the Justice Department based on a single resume item: his tolerance and support of torture. Alberto Gonzales and Cheney aide David S. Addington fought former Attorney General John Ashcroft, who submitted five names for the position that conspicuously omitted Yoo’s name.

The confrontation in 2003 resulted in a different candidate — Jack Goldsmith — being put into the position as a compromise. The vacancy was produced by the departure of Office of Legal Counsel chief Jay S. Bybee for the courts as a new federal judge. While Ashcroft submitted a list of qualified candidates including Paul Clement (who became solicitor general), the White House wanted someone who was torture-certified. It is an insight into how important the torture program was to the White House.

Once the torture program was revealed, the White House and military repeatedly defended itself by insisting that lawyers had reviewed the program and found its clearly lawful. Many scoffed at the notion — given the ability of the Bush Administration to hand pick such lawyers (who proved to be wrong repeatedly on these questions). Now, we have an insight into the lengths to which the Administration would go to guarantee the “right” lawyers reviewed such questions. It is also another ignoble moment for Yoo, whose supporters have insisted that he has more to his background than simply torture. Not according to the White House, it appears. It was Yoo’s willingness to sign off on torture that made him a viable candidate for Bush and Cheney zealots.

This seems to fall into a pattern of earning your bones (or your bona fides) in the Baba Bing! Bush Club.

For the full story, click here.

Those gifted storytellers at Hamas television are at it again. Previously, we saw their popular television program for children feature killer puppets and an anti-Israeli Mickey Mouse. Now, the popular Hamas children’s television program shows a giant bunny character who steals money and then has the child host sentence him to having his paw cut off. The letter of the day, it appears, is A for amputation.

In March, a segment on Al-Aqsa showed a boy stabbing President Bush to death after exclaiming, “I will kill you, Bush, because that is your fate.”

It is Al-Aqsa use of cute characters for horrific scenes that has become its signature.

Al-Aqsa television aired its cute little amputation discussion on “The Pioneers of Tomorrow.” Assud the Bunny expresses reluctance in stealing from his father (who is strangely human) but the devil convinces him to do it.

Assud then discusses his crime with child TV host Sara and a young girl — expressing his shame and remorse. But the host says “The Prophet Muhammad said: ‘If my daughter Fatima had stolen, I would have chopped off her hand. If you were in Saudi Arabia now, they would chop off your hand.’” The children then debate the amputation with one proposing a compromise that involves cutting off an ear.

The Grouch and the Cookie Monster are certainly lucky that he does not live on Sharia Street at Al-Aqsa.

For the video and full story, click here.

Every lawyer’s mother told them to wear clean underwear as they left the house in case they end up in an ambulance (presumably that they were chasing). In a rather curious moment, David Remes, a partner with Covington & Burling, showed the importance of this age-old maternal advice when he dropped his pants in front of an audience in Yemen to make a point about the mistreatment of detainees. It is not clear how the barrister burlesque went over in Yemen.

In the photo below, Remes lays bare his case for the audience. Remes insists that he was only trying to break up the “normalcy that has settled over the normal miserable conditions of confinement.” By stripping, he said, he “wanted to drive home the degree of humiliation” that his client must bear. Next speech, he is expected to self-water-board himself and appear with a dog leash.

The problem was no doubt the women who tried to put single dollar bills in his tiddy whities and then demanded the full monty.

Personally, as a I get older, I write little notes to myself with such reminders as “don’t forget your pants” and “keep pants on in court.” But that is just me.

For the picture and the story, click here.

With the Democratic leadership continuing to block any impeachment effort or any serious effort to hold officials liable for the U.S. torture program, Congress was free to hold another bizarre hearing today to calmly discussed our use of torture. Even though current Attorney General continues to evade the question, former Attorney General acknowledged and defended water boarding.

This is not the first hearing where the value of our use of torture was addressed as a routine matter of discussion, click here. Indeed, we have now gotten to the point where we openly compare our acts of torture with those of other nations, click here.

Thus, it was no surprise to see members bantering about on the use of a war crime today like it was some chicken subsidy going to mark up.

For his part, Ashcroft fulfilled his stereotype as more general and attorney. When asked if he felt that other nations could legitimately waterboard our own soldiers when captured, Ashcroft did not contest that possibility. Instead, he gave a non-answer: “Well, my subscription to these memos, and my belief that the law provides the basis for these memos persisted even in the presence of my son serving two tours of duty overseas in the Gulf area as a member of our armed forces,.” Some could easily read that response as affirming that it would be permissible to waterboard our own soldiers when captured.

With the International Red Cross informing the Administration that high officials could be tried for war crimes over our torture program, here, many of us are left with this out-of-body sensation in watching these hearings unfold. Just yesterday, Speaker Pelosi reaffirmed that (no matter how strong the evidence might be that President Bush committed crimes, including war crimes, in office) she would not allow impeachment proceedings to begin. So, instead, we just sit around and calmly discuss war crimes like some interesting factoids and conversation points.

For the full story, click here.

Daytona Lt. Major Garvin appears not concerned about the stereotype of cops and donut shops. When a Starbucks cut off free coffee, Garvin allegedly threatened the manager that he might also cut off prompt service. He is now under internal investigation after flunking a polygraph examination.

According to store employees, Garvin responded to the request for payment by saying “If something happens, either we can respond really fast or we could respond really slow. I’ve been coming here for years and I’ve been getting whatever I want. I’m the difference between you getting a two-minute response time, if you needed a little help, or a 15 minutes response time.”

Nice. At least, he didn’t threaten to change the Tazoberry into the Tazerberry.

For the full story, click here.

UPDATE: Garvin is now out of a job, click here. I expect it would have been cheaper to just pay for the java –even at Starbucks prices.

If you ever wondered why we needed a catch-all criminal mischief provision, Allan Patton, 56, has the answer. Patton shut-off the urinals at the Hilliard West Municipal Pool in Ohio and inserted cups so that he could drink the urine of boys. He suffers from what is known as urophilia - which either means being really really crazy or having a sexual fetish involving urine — or both. The case, however, does present a novel issue of the appropriate criminal charge.

Patton is on home confinement pending trial. Previously, Patton was escorted out of the restrooms at Dublin’s Sports Ohio, where he was lurking.

The key to charge here would be tampering with the urinals, presumably. The interesting aspect of the crime is that urine is discarded and, therefore, trash and valueless. The Supreme Court in cases like Greenwood held that owners have no expectation of privacy in their trash. My guess is that he also did not cause damage to the urinals by merely shutting them off. That leaves trespass and criminal mischief. The problem with the latter charge is precisely its advantage — it is very ambiguous so that it can be used in a wide range of cases.

He is a registered sex offender so he can likely be charged for simply violating court orders on staying away from areas frequented by children. This is not some harmless guy with a disgusting fetish. He previously was sentenced for assaulting boys.

For the full story, click here.

Ever wonder what the McDonald’s slogan “I’m Lovin’ It” means? The American Family Association thinks it knows: Gays. Not just gays, but gay business people. Well, not just gay business people — that cabal of gay spreading, bottom lining executives known as the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce. Because McDonald’s made a small corporate donation to the chamber of commerce, the good (and straight) people of the American Family Association has organized a national boycott.

In Oak Brook, Illinois, the Christian group say signed up 200,000 like minded religious culinary activists.

McDonald’s spokesman Bill Whitman says that the contribution was given because a McDonald’s executive serves on the chamber’s board. He insists that doesn’t mean that McDonald’s supports “a particular lifestyle or same-sex marriage.”

Likely story. Just take a look at some of the McDonald’s characters. Grown men in fancy dress, including a man who stays dressed as a clown and hangs around school yards. Hamburglar, who remains in a mask with tights and a character names “Birdie.” Remember the McNugget Buddies? Obviously a play to the godless gay and lesbian culture. God only knows what Grimace is even supposed to be.

If you are ready to Super size Jesus and say no to the Happy Meal from Hell, the AFA website is ready to take your name. You can find the Internet boycott petition here on their website — just look above the link “Newt Gingrich offers common sense solution to energy crisis.”

For the full story, click here.

Christian Voice, a group of religious activists with apparently a great deal of time on their hands, has launched a protest against a new outfit of Barbie called Black Canary Barbie. They insist it looks like a dress up for S & M play and is complete “filth” that must be stopped to protect our children — and presumably any impressionable other dolls like the Shrek children dolls.

The outfit actually has no whips or saddles. It does have fishnet stockings, a motorcycle jacket, black gloves and boots. It is based, according to Mattel, on a DC comic superhero. However, Christian Voice has proclaimed in “Filth” and noted that “Barbie has always been on the tarty side and this is taking it too far.”

Amen, brother. Well, there is always GI Joe. I hear he has a new flame thrower accessory that is all the age.

For the full story, click here.

Another abuse story is emerging from the Middle East on the treatment of young girls. Nujood Ali, 10, was married to a man in his 30s, who then allegedly raped her. While she is now divorced, she has been criticized for confronting her husband and not accepting her fate. Not only was she denounced by some for not obeying her husband, but under Islamic Sharia law in Yemen, her family had to compensate the accused rapist.

According Nujood, she was repeatedly beaten and raped — despite the fact that her parents insists that the husband promised not to have sex with her until she was older.

Her father, Ali Mohammed Ahdal, insists that he made the man promise to let her grow up a bit before consummating the marriage.

It appears that Nujood is a bit old anyway as a Yemeni bride. Just a few months ago, an eight-year-old was granted a divorce after being raped and abused, click here.

At some point, such practice must be viewed as outside the scope of legitimate cultural or religious customs and be denounced as state-sponsored crimes against these girls and young women. If there is any notion of international human rights, raping eight and ten years (even under the protection of marriage laws) must suffice as a violation.

For the full story, click here.

A very disturbing case has emerged from Florida where police entrapped Frank Milio, a 94-year-old man suffering from dementia. What is remarkable is that prosecutors did not drop these charges. It took a judge to throw them out — allowing Milio to move into an assisted care facility. He is not the only geriatric scooped up by the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, which seems to developing a reputation for entrapping the elderly. Frank Underhill, 93 (pictured here), was arrested in the same operation.

Milio is accused of honkintg his horn on a street and then speaking with an undercover agent. The agent asked Milio “Do you want to party tonight?” the woman asked Milio, who replied that he wanted to think about it for another 15 to 20 minutes. The officer then asked about money, to which Milio responded with “Huh?” The officer said that Milio eventually offered to pay for oral sex.

The police soon learned that he was almost 94 and suffered from dementia. They charged him anyway.

Manatee County Judge George K. Brown Jr. tossed out the charge after the prosecutors failed to exercise a modicum of sense and judgment. Prosecutor Jared M. Monahan insisted that he deserved to be punished and fought to bag the old guy.

It appears that Monahan and the sheriff are developing quite a record of protecting society from the frisky geriatrics. After arresting Milio, they nailed a 93-year-old man, Frank Underhill, who promised to return hours later with $30. They arrested him before he left the scene despite the fact that there was no proof that he actually intended to return. They have since dropped the charges. For that story, click here.

Is there is no serious crime for the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office and the prosecutors to occupy themselves? When you are prosecuting 94-year-old with dementia, you must have a load of time on your hands.

For the full story, click here.

In the last hearing, Prosecutor Gordon Kromberg indicated that Dr. Al-Arian was being charged with his refusal to answer questions from his Florida trial — not questions related to the IIIT investigation. Indeed, as these affidavits established, Dr. Al-Arian voluntarily answered every question on IIIT and addressed every documents in the IIIT investigation. He then submitted a second affidavit answering questions beyond IIIT. Both statements were made under oath and Dr. Al-Arian repeatedly offered to take a polygraph examination to prove that he was not withholding information. We have decided to release the affidavits publicly after they were filed this week in court.

The defense has argued in court that the IIIT grand jury is a ruse to revisit the Florida trial, which was a major loss from the Justice Department and closed by the 2006 plea agreement. In the bail hearing, Mr. Kromberg admitted that the questions that Dr. Al-Arian did not answer concerned the PIJ and the issues raised by Judge Moody at the Tampa trial. Kromberg stated:

So when Mr. Turley says that he has agreed to answer all these questions, yes, except for the ones about the terrorist organization that Judge Moody said that he was a leader in and that we want to know where the money came from. Except for that, he’s been willing to tell us some things, but he would not answer those questions repeatedly, and he refused to meet in person to talk about those questions.

Hearing Trans. at 21. As these affidavits show, Dr. Al-Arian answered every question regarding IIIT and maintained that he knew of no criminal act by that organization or its officers.

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First Al-Arian Affidavit
Second Al-Arian Affidavit

A Cobb County sheriff’s deputy has been arrested and accused of rape, officials said Tuesday. The deputy was fired after the sheriff learned of his arrest.
Officers in Cobb County were eager to track down the man who took a woman at gun point from a bar and then handcuffed and raped her. It allegedly turned out, however, to be another officer: 37-year-old Jason Anthony Bill.

As one might imagine, the sheriff has terminated Jason Bill’s employment with the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office.

In such cases, incarceration can be a very high risk for a former police officer. Most steps will take steps to put the individual in special units or to conceal his former profession from other inmates.

For the full story, click here.

Boston firefighter, Albert Arroyo, has every reason to be proud of his eighth place finish in a body building competition. However, the Boston fire department was more interested in the fact that he is supposed to be on permanent disability after a fall two months hurt his back. As watching the video below, they are now wondering why he can bulk up to Arnold Schwarzenegger size but cannot serve as an inspector with the fire department.

Arroyo, 42, appears now to be facing a hearing on his curious recovery. Worse yet, a jury is looking into a pattern of criminally fraudulent disability claims in the department.

UPDATE: Arroyo has now been ordered back to work, here, but what about that little matter of alleged fraud?
For the video and the story, click here.

On one level, Sarah E. Muller was successful. Muller, 23, did not want to serve on a jury at the Marion County Courthouse Monday. When County Judge R. James McCune Jr. refused to dismiss her, she called him a seven-letter word for an anus. She is now off the jury list and facing a potential six months in jail for contempt.

While Muller admits that “Sometimes I get upset and I say things,” she considers her outburst to be a matter of “freedom of speech.”

Indeed, she first repeated the curse word when McCune asked her to clarify — only later expressing deep remorse once charged with a second-degree misdemeanor for criminal contempt.

She was upset because she has very little money and a bad heart condition.
She tried to argue medical problems after getting into a line for people seeking to be excused. McCune denied it and asked her to sit down with the rest of the jury pool. Instead, she got back into line and this time claimed to be a racist. McCune denied her again — leading to her cursing.

Yet, at the hearing, she insisted “I did not mean to cause disrespect.” It is a bit of a hard sell. People generally do not greet each other with “Hey a**h***” as an expression of affection.

She now faces up to six months in prison and a $500 court fine.

For the full story, click here.

In a prior entry, the bizarre case of murderers Helen Golay, 77, and Olga Rutterschmidt, 75, were discussed. The two women (known as the “Black widows”) who killed homeless men for insurance benefits have now been sentenced to two consecutive life terms each.

The two women collected $2.8 million before the police caught up to them. The judge, not surprisingly, felt no need for mercy. He described how the men came seeking basic food and shelter and “[i]nstead, these unfortunate men were sacrificed on your altar of greed.”

My guess is that two life terms is a bit over kill for the women, 77 and 75 years old. But then again, they would be the first to acknowledge that a little insurance never hurts.

For the full story, click here.

In Omaha, Nebraska, a police officer and his family won $40,000 in a lawsuit against a KFC/Taco Bell restaurant after it served them food tainted with the saliva and urine of one of the employees. Officer Keith Andrew and his two sons were sickened by the tainted food and, for some bizarre reason, the lawyers for the restaurant thought that this would be a good case to fight in court. Now, “thinking outside the bun” will have a lasting and different meaning for Taco Bell and “finger lickin’ good” for Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Andrew’s four-year-old son became violently ill with gastroenteritis and dehydration after eating the food. Yet, the owner North Platte-based Mid Plains Food and Lodging insisted on a jury trial. KFC counsel stands by the decision to try the case involving a restaurant in Sidney, Neb. — population 6000.

The issue is presumably the scope of employment and respondeat superior. Casey Diedrich, pleaded guilty last year to doing the act and fined a whopping $100 under the Nebraska Pure Food Act. The family claims that it was an act targeting police officers. However, when other employees told management about seeing the contamination, the managers did not tell the family. Remarkably, Diedrich was later fired but not for the acts leading to this lawsuit.

For the full story, click here.

Seasons Restaurant in Grand Chute, Wisconsin likes to proclaim that “our achievements are the result of your expectations.” However, it is the expectations of Debbie R. Miller, 41, that is now the subject of a criminal case. Miller has been arrested for allegedly planting a dead lab rat in a dish and the demanding $500,000 to keep quiet. Prosecutors served up a steamy dish of extortion this week..

Miller was also charged with misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct and resisting an officer.
Miller’s rat was analyzed by the insurance company, which concluded that it was a white lab rat and had been cooked in a microwave — there is no microwave at the upscale restaurant (or lab rats, for the matter). She s now looking at as much as 3 1/2 years in prison.

For the full story, click here.

In an entry yesterday, we looked at the curious case of Saudi prince, Bader Al Saud, 26, who killed Orlando Ramos, 37, in a crosswalk while driving drunk without a valid license. His punishment was a year in a converted home. He then disappeared. The Court has now ordered him to appear to answer for violation of his probation.

He is now listed as “unknown” but his attorney believes that he is in Riyadh. I am no expert on the history and jurisprudence of the Martha’s Vineyard court system but this would probably be the first effort to enforce a detainer or warrant in the Saudi Kingdom. The KSA may have had to deal with Saddam, but they are now facing a bunch of irate wasps at “The Vineyard.” God help them.

In the meantime, the probation people can’t explain how they lost track of the young prince. How many probationers for manslaughter does Martha’s Vineyard have?

For the latest story, click here.

Below is today’s column on a growing national trend of parents taking bullying cases to court after receiving no action from school officials. This may be a case where litigation is needed to concentrate the minds of some school officials (and parents of bullies) on the costs of such violence in schools.

Bullying’s day in court;
From hall monitors to personal injury lawyers: Parents send a message by forcing bullies from the schoolhouse to the courthouse.

Mathew Mumbauer, 11, never saw it coming. One moment in early March, he was walking down the sta