The platform is owner by Mariner Energy of Houston. The rig was not producing oil or gas at the time but it is unclear if there was a spill with this explosion. However, there are reports of a spreading oil spill around the rig. Other reports state that there were four or five active wells on the rig.

The Administration is committed to opening up the coast to drilling — even arguing for weeks that the oil from the BP spill had mysteriously disappeared until outside groups pointing to a huge 22-mile-long oil plume under the water.

Despite the President’s assurances, there have been other leaks at rigs — an inconvenient fact for the Administration.

Source: Miami Herald

Simpson objects that the Agent Orange claims are paid out too freely and run “contrary to efforts to control federal spending.” He said the “irony” is that “the veterans who saved this country are now, in a way, not helping us to save the country in this fiscal mess.”

Simpson found a particularly bad way to express concerns that have been spoken by others. For example, diabetes has become the most frequently compensated ailment among Vietnam veterans — despite a lack of research connecting Agent Orange and diabetes.

This is a case of a legitimate concern being expressed in the worse possible way. In defense of Simpson, he is an Army veteran who has historically supported military spending and support.

Source: Think Progress

It appears that the unnamed golfer hit a rock (presumably with a chipper) that sparked and started the fire. It took 150 fire fighters control the resulting blaze.

Source: Telegraph

Ironically, the comprehensive failure of the government to protect its food supply has led to soaring demands for organic foods — though if you cannot believe that a food vendor is using non-sewer oil, I am not sure how much stake you can put into a claim of organic produce. Indeed, Whole Foods has been the subject of continuing criticism for using Chinese organic products given the lack of oversight and widespread corruption allegations.

The black market runs off nightly skimming operations, particularly in sewers behind restaurants. They skim, filter, and then resell the oil. In one case, a man was caught in broad daylight skimming — an example of how common the practice has become.

The article below quotes experts as saying that 80 percent of the skimmed oil is going into the food system as opposed to use as fuel.

Source: Telegraph

The NYPD had to hunt down Mendez who did not report the incident. He was identified from photos by witnesses.

The mother had called 911 but then tried to drive Briana to Long Island College Hospital. Mendez stopped Ojeda and, according to her, was surly and hostile to her request for CPR. She says that Mendez stated that he did not know CPR despite the fact that all officers are trained in CPR.

Mendez then followed her to the hospital and then disappeared.

Internal affairs did some good solid police work to find the officer, including going through gasoline receipts. One showed that Mendez stopped to fill his vehicle that day in the area.

Any torts lawsuit would likely face a causation challenge as to whether CPR would have helped the little girl. This would be established by expert testimony given her condition once she arrived at the hospital. In this case, the little girl was suffering from an asthma attack. There is clearly a case of negligence against the officer and the city in such a circumstance. Even with discipline, Mendez was still an employee of the MPD, which is responsible for his conduct under the doctrine of respondeat superior.

We have seen other such cases involving callous or hostile officers during medical emergencies (here and here and hereand here and here) . We have also seen cases where distraught family members are charged for trying to help their loved one. However, it is difficult to follow any resulting lawsuits. Obviously, the vast majority of officers would never respond in such a fashion to a dying child. This is all the more reason to not simply discipline but to remove officers who are found to lack such basic human sentiments when they are identified. You cannot teach or train officers to be human. You have to be born and raised with it.

Various sites state that CPR is used for asthma victims and helps a little but the most important thing is to get the person to the hospital as quickly as possible. One site states:

If someone has an asthma attack and collapses, what should a person do? Will CPR help?

If someone collapses from an asthma attack, it is because he or she is not getting enough oxygen. This is because all the lung’s small airways have narrowed and are not allowing enough air to reach the air sacs. Mouth to mouth respiration may help a little. The real need is to get this person to an emergency department so that the patient can receive medications and emergency endotracheal intubation (a tube in the main airway).

It is not clear if that Mendez used his siren to clear traffic. The reports say only that he followed them, which would suggest that he did not lead with a siren to quicken the trip.

Jonathan Turley

Source: NY Daily News

Cabell County schools safety manager Tim Stewart says a lawsuit in the past year involved a child who broke his arm jumping off a swing like Superman. The District settled the action for $20,000.

The position of the district in my view is nonsensical. Monkey bars and other equipment will remain and could also be used as launch pads for Spidermen-wannabes. Moreover, such obvious and patent dangers are generally not the basis for liability so long as the equipment is not defective. One area of liability for playgrounds has been the lack of cushion on the ground such as wood chips or the use of particular rubber mats that heat up to a dangerous level. Just having a swing set is not a particularly strong torts case.

One of my sons broke his arm at his elementary school yard by falling off a piece of equipment. I never even contemplated a lawsuit. Such accidents happen to children everywhere. Most jurors would agreed with me.

There is always a risk of lawsuit when you are in the business of taking care of children. However, to start to remove basic elements like swings in fear of baseless lawsuits is a poor choice. If the district truly wants to eliminate all spontaneous Spidermen performances, it would have to remove a lot more than just swings. Of course, the best way to avoid lawsuits is to wrap the children in bubble wrap (with air holes of course) and allow them to play statues on a fully matted surface. However, that would defeat the idea of recess.

School districts have and should be sued for negligence in the supervision of children when the evidence warrants such a lawsuit. This availability of swings is simply not an act of negligence.

Previously, there was a controversy over the growing number of schools who have banned tag and other contact sports at recess. This has been done despite warning from experts that children need such activities for healthy growth and relations. In any of these cases, please do not blame the lawyers — at least not all lawyers. If the West Virginia lawyers settled a case for $20,000 for a kid who simply jumped off a swing, they need to reexamine their litigation policies — not playground equipment.

Jonathan Turley

Source: Star Tirbune

Dietz found that the RGA failed to disclose its $1 million donation to Texans for Rick Perry, including a $500,000 check from Houston builder Bob Perry during the election. Perry settled with Bell for $426,000 last year.

The RGA has promised to appeal and insists that it followed an accepted interpretation of the rules.

Hamas proudly accepted responsibility for the killings.

In response, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that he had instructed his forces “to pursue the attackers without any diplomatic restraint and to lay hands on the attackers and those who sent them.”

He lost me on the “without any diplomatic restraint” which appears the opposite of an order to “use all lawful means.” That would sound like a carte blanche to violate international law.

What is clear is that radical elements on both sides do not want to see peace and are willing to say or do whatever is necessary to destabilize this process.

Source: New York Times

A witness Court Roberson said that he witnessed the police shoot the man four or five times.

Source: KIRO

The one-month suspension might strike Ben Roethlisberger as a bit light since Wise told people that he was accused of sexually assaulting a Georgia college student and would receive a five-game suspension. That is a pretty horrible way of making a point — to accuse another individual of rape to show how many people would believe it.

Source: Yahoo

Jonathan Turley

Kotarac first tried to enter the home with a shovel and the former boyfriend fled out a backdoor to avoid a confrontation. She was found about two feet above the interior fireplace opening.

There is no criminal or civil liability for the volitional act by Kotarac.

Emergency personnel had to break down the chimney to gain access to Kotarac.

Source: NPR

The lawsuit focuses on the reported kill order targeting U.S.-born cleric Anwar al-Aulaqi, who is reportedly hiding in Yemen. The American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Constitutional Rights have filed this interesting action, naming the President of the United States, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency and the secretary of the Department of Defense.

This could make for a very interesting case if the groups can establish standing, which is likely to be challenged by Attorney General Eric Holder. As usual, Congress has done little to explore the constitutionality of a president who claims the unilateral power to kill U.S. citizens upon sight.

If a President can unilaterally kill a U.S. citizens on his own authority, our court system (and indeed our constitutional rights) become entirely discretionary. The position of the Administration contains no substantial limitations on such authority other than its own promise to make such decisions with care.

Here is the complaint: Al-Aulaqi v. Obama Complaint

Source: Washington Post

On her Facebook page, Jones, 20, reportedly wrote it was “gonna be fun to tell the defendant they’re [sic] guilty.” One of the friends reading the comment was defense lawyer Saleema Sheikh’s son.

Circuit Judge Diane Druzinski questioned Jons the next day and replaced her with an alternate.

Sheikh is asking for jail time.

I just participated in a panel with federal judges at the ABA conference in San Francisco on the use of restrictions in the use of the Internet by jurors and other new technical issues in trials today. Blogging and tweating were specifically raised as concerns by the judges.

We have seen similar problems recently in other cases.

Source: Chronicle and ABA Journal.

Kudos: Anonymously Yours

Jonathan Turley

Johnson has insisted that she awarded the scholarships to family members “unknowingly.” She insisted, “I recognized the names when I saw them. And I knew that they had a need just like any other kid that would apply for one.” She also suggested that there simply were not many other takers in her district: “Had there been more “very worthy applicants in my district, then I probably wouldn’t have given it” to her relatives. That might come as a surprise to folks in Dallas.

I have significant concerns over a foundation that allows politicians to hand out scholarships — $10,000 annually for each member of the Congressional Black Caucus to award in scholarships. Not only are politicians poorly suited for such a role, but the system invites this type of abuse. There are hundreds of worthy scholarship programs around the country that satisfy the rules for non-for-profit organizations. While some members may use a committee and take care in these selections, this foundation allows scholarships to be handed out to garner political support or reward friends.

The foundation’s general counsel, Amy Goldson, said that Johnson violated the rules of the foundation by handing them out to friends and family. She noted, however, the program “operates on an honor system.”

We saw the dysfunctional impact of allowing politicians to pay a role in scholarships and admissions recently in the University of Illinois scandal.

I previously wrote on the problem of nepotism in Congress.

Source: Dallas News

Jonathan Turley

The Russian street slang refers to beatings and Putin said that is precisely what protesters deserve. This is the man who George Bush insisted was good after looking into those steely action figure eyes.

The protests will occur throughout the world and have been taking place in Moscow and St Petersburg on the 31st of each month. Putin made clear that they need to ask for permission to protest and, if they don’t receive it, they are going to be beaten: “You’ve got it? Go and march. If not, you don’t have the right. Go to a rally without permission and you get a whack on the bonce. It’s that simple.”

He noted with approval that London demonstrators who protested without permission also got a “whack on the nut.” Putin added: “There, nobody is indignant. If the aim is to say something it must be done in a different way.”

Putin’s allies in Moscow have refused requests for protest permits.

The organizers have called these demonstration “Strategy-31 protests” after paragraph 31 of Russia’s constitution, which is supposed to guarantee freedom of assembly. It is not clear if Putin will add a paragraph 32 on the guarantee of “a whack on the bounce” when exercising the guarantee under paragraph 31.

Source: Guardian

Jonathan Turley

However, when you move to simply Republicans, 47 percent believe she would be great as a president. Forty percent of Republicans believe she is unqualified.

UPDATE: The results do not appear to have discouraged Palin, who went to Iowa this week in search of that forty percent.

Source: CNN.

Faqiryar claimed that Karzai had “obstructed investigations and prosecutions of 25 or more senior officials — including cabinet ministers, ambassadors and provincial governors.”

Recently, Karzai intervened to order the release of senior aide Mohammad Zia Salehi after he was arrested for soliciting a bribe to impede an American-backed investigation of a money-laundering company called New Ansari.

In the meantime, similar findings of rampant corruption and waste have been found in Iraq.

The only country that could force such reform is the United States, but we are now viewed as so hopelessly hypocritical on the issue that protestations would only produce international laughter. Thus, we continue to pour billions into the country because we need Karzai to claim the country is stable and a symbol of the success of democratic rule. It is enough to make John Gotti blush.

Source: Examiner

The article below details such things as a $40 million prison, a $165 million children’s hospital and a $100 million waste water treatment system that have gone to waste in Iraq. Previously, reports found that billions have simply disappeared. “More than $5 billion in American taxpayer funds has been wasted — more than 10 percent of the some $50 billion the U.S. has spent on reconstruction in Iraq.”

This estimate is viewed as a highly conservative estimate with the actual amount of theft and waste likely to be much higher.

Source: Yahoo

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Sunday distanced himself from Yosef’s comments. A spokeman said that praying for death and plague on the Palestinian people (and specifically its president) does not “represent the views of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu or the Israeli government.” That is reassuring. It makes negotiations a bit awkward when you are waiting for a plague to kill the guy across the table and all of the men, women and children in his country.

According to reports, Yosef used his weekly sermon to call for death of Abbas and all Palestinians — praying for “the Lord strike them down.”

Yosef has been known to make other shocking statements, including his recent denouncing of the secular education system and calling some secular people “fools” who behave like “animals.” He later added that parents who send their children to secular schools will be punished in both this world and the afterlife.

Source: JPost

I don’t care if she has no idea what she is saying, it is still the foundation for a wonderful relationship.

Recently, one aide, Mohammad Zia Salehi, is accused of accepting a $10,000 car as a bribe in exchange for quashing a wide-ranging probe. U.S. officials expressed horror while maintaining an entire system of alleged bribes for officials to do what we want.

The payments are designed to get information and instill loyalty (it appears fighting for their freedom and rights is not enough).

According to the report below, a sizable number of officials are receiving CIA bribes.

What is interesting is that Paul Gimigliano, a CIA spokesman, disputed the report which appears well sourced. He insisted “this anonymous source appears driven by ignorance, malice or both.” If the allegations are true (and I believe they are), we now have the CIA telling the public not to believe the sources — adding disinformation to bribery.

The standard reply is that the congressional oversight committees will look into this allegation. However, these are the same members who covered up the torture program, blocked federal lawsuits of privacy violations, and allowed an array of criminal violations to occur without response.

Gimigliano, the CIA spokesman, insists that “[t]his agency plays an essential role in promoting American goals in Afghanistan, including security and stability. Speculation about who may help us achieve that is both dangerous and counterproductive.” Of course, this is the same agency that ran a torture program and then destroyed the evidence in the name of American values. We may have a disagreement on what the CIA considers to be American goals and values.

Source: WashingtonPost

Criminal charges are being explored, but I am unsure of the basis. The pornography is described as involving young women not child pornography. Defense counsel have often objected that, in such cases of work-computer caches of porn, there is a danger that large downloads of porn will include a couple of unlawful images. It then becomes a fight over the knowledge of the individual in downloading the material.

Gibbons, 47, was criticized for having a child a few weeks ago with Legal Aid lawyer Jeanne Emhoff, 31. He was on paternity leave when the computer was inspected. Gibbons issued a brief statement that “It has been a privilege to serve as a judge of the Criminal Court of the City of New York. Please accept this letter as a statement of my resignation of that office effective today.”

Source: New York Daily News

The girl had the baby at 19. Margarito was only removed as chaplain of Reading Central Catholic High School and pastor of St. Joseph Church after the parents secretly video-taped him having sex with their daughter in the basement of their home. She was 18 at that time, but the family insists that the sexual relationship began when she was a minor.

The family alleges that they allowed her to continue to meet with the priest as part of her counseling for severe mental health issues as a result of prior sexual abuse by another adult male. She also suffered from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Source: Mcall

They are clearly a lot tougher in England in dispensing parking stickers.

He has been repeatedly ticketed for using disabled spots when he has used his wheelchair due to complications with his leg.

He tried to explain that once his leg was blown off by a mine, he was unlikely to “get better.” He noted “I replied that they possibly did not quite understand the situation and that I thought it unlikely my leg would grow back.”

Source: Daily Mail

His website announces: “Raffle tickets on sale now: win a breast implant operation for yourself or your partner.”

Rojas is running with the opposition against President Hugo Chavez’s United Socialist Party of Venezuela. He is with the Justicia Primero (Justice First) party. Well, it appears breast implants come first and then justice.

Source: Huffington Post

King delivered his “I Have A Dream” exactly 47 years ago and will now be the scene of Beck and his followers offering their own “dream.” The article below describes supporters wearing telltale teeshirts with Palin’s name that the legend “Babies, Guns, Jesus.”

Here is another tee-shirt from the rally:

Some accounts are almost biblical of Beck’s role in reshaping America. Former House Majority Leader Dick Armey explained “[w]e see Glenn Beck as a guy who is bringing revelations of understanding to the American people.”

Revelations by St. Beck will commence this afternoon.

Source: Bloomberg

Two other people were injured in the accident. The sheriff’s office stated that “[d]uring the investigation, witnesses told deputies they were at the site in hopes of seeing a ‘ghost train.’” This is the anniversary of a train wreck at that location in 1891.

There were a dozen people on the trestle looking for the ghost train.

Source: WISTV

Chemistry postdocs Shanwen Tao and Rong Lan at Heriot-Watt University’s School of Engineering and Physical Sciences in Edinburgh have shown that urea, an organic chemical compound produced when the body metabolizes protein, can be an excellent source of energy. However, urea or “carbamide” is non-toxic and, of course, plentiful.

Source: Yahoo

The carrier did not follow a 2006 Airworthiness Directive and risked the wires shorting and causing a loss of power and possible fire.

The failure resulted in April 2008 in a massive grounding of 1,000 flights. The resulting inspection found that American operated 286 of its MD-80s “while the aircraft were not in compliance with federal regulations.”

American opposed the proposed fine and insists that “[w]e will challenge any proposed civil penalty. We are confident we have a strong case and the facts will bear this out.”

While fighting the FAA on the safety violations, American is moving forward with a new plan to charge passengers more for sitting in coach but closer to the front door — yet another added fee from airlines.

Source: CNN

It is an obvious case of malpractice. Articles appear to blame a technician as opposed to the doctors who flushed the heart with the wrong liquid. Ultimately it does not matter for the hospital which has liability under the doctrine of respondeat superior.

Source: MSNBC

The husband allegedly hammered the nails into her foot as punishment. She was able to get word to her family who was able to get Sri Lankan embassy officials to intervene and arrange for her return.

The punishment reportedly began when she dropped some glass items. The wife allegedly held her as the husband implanted hot iron nails in her foot. Later the wife implanted the needle.

This is an example where civil liability would serve an important function in the clear absence of criminal enforcement by the Saudi authorities.

Source: Sri Lanka Guardian

Locals are increasingly marrying outsiders because the dowry for local brides has risen to more than $500,000. Such marriages have risen more than 10 percent for the Grand Mufti has acted to “put asunder” what love or convenience has joined.

The Grand Mufti insists that marriages should be limited to Muslim Arabs. In the ultimate example of religious tyranny, the Mufti explained why he can dictate the spouses — or at least who cannot be a spouse — for locals: ”In Islam, choosing your life partner is a personal freedom. But personal freedoms can be restricted for the benefit of the public interest.”

If you are getting married, you might not want to invite the Grand Mufti to the ceremony.

Source: SMH

​The teens picked a high-end hotel for their low-end antics: Renaissance Vinoy Resort & Golf Club. People watched as they pulled their prank. The teens first fouled their own pants and then dove into the pool and wrote a giant X on the bottom of the pool with the excrement. They also spread it around the pool. They then went and relaxed in the hut tub until police came and arrested them after midnight.

They received a single charge of burglary each for their artwork.

Source: Miami New Times

Holloway didn’t actually fall but rather says that he twisted his body and hit his false teeth on an object.

PetSmart has insisted in its answer that customers know that pets are welcomed at its stores and that these accidents are a common reality.

Generally, stores are obligated to make reasonable efforts at inspection and to make safe conditions in a store for business invitees. Holloway insists that it was negligent to allow “animals to enter the premises and deposit feces in such a manner as to create a dangerous and hazardous condition.” He further alleges that the staff should have detected the poop and cleaned it up before he took the fall. To make matters worse, he insists that this particular dog produced poop that blended into this particular color of floor tile.

He has a strong case under existing law. While the false teeth raise some interesting question, he is also claiming a back injury that required surgery. He admits that he had a pre-existing injury but insisted that the twisting made it worse.

The claim presents an interesting flip side to the recent Canadian case where an attorney was awarded damages for a fall in a bar despite that fact that she had a later accident that aggravated her condition. She claimed that, “but for” the fall, she would not have received such serious injuries in the car accident. Here Holloway is suing on the basis of the later accident as opposed to the pre-existing condition.

PetSmart succeeded in having the case transfered from the Norfolk court to the federal court — presumably under diversity jurisdiction.

The store is following the same course as a lawsuit in 2008 when it was sued for a slip and fall on dog urine. U.S. District Judge Jerome B. Friedman dismissed that lawsuit on the grounds that the female plaintiffs could not show that any store employee knew there was urine on the floor. That would appear to downplay the need for reasonable inspections under common law.

Source: Hampton Roads

Jonathan Turley

Hall pulled Puente to safety after finding him face down in the water. Both Hall and Puente were taken to the hospital. Hall was taken just as a precaution because he swallowed a little water during the rescue.

Aurora Medical Center spokesman Adam Beeson insisted “Our goal is to work with the patient to find an equitable solution.’’

What is particularly notable is the ridiculous level of bill inflation perpetuated by these hospitals. A teen swallows a little water in a rescue and leaves with a $2000 bill for just having doctor’s examine him. The hospital insists it performed a battery of tests, including chest X-rays, an electrocardiogram and blood work.

The question is who will now rescue Hall.

Source: Sun Times

The woman had agreed earlier to a settlement in April 2005 that limited her to hitting her futons no more than twice a day and not more than 10 minutes or longer at a time. She also was barred from hitting futons between 6 p.m. and 9 a.m.

She proceeded to go back to her old futon-hitting ways and was brought to court again. Takemura cited an unstated standard of reasonable futon hitting: “The futon hitting exceeded the limit that social norms dictate could reasonably be withstood, and infringed on the victim’s rights. Additionally, the defendant did not take sincere efforts to respond (to the victim’s complaints).”

Source: Mainichi

Rabindranath’s costume was composed of a white tracksuit and cotton wool.

Wallace is the heir to a large farm estate and agreed to pay damages to the victim, who experienced extensive burns.

What is fascinating is the causation issue. Here, Wallace clearly caused the initial injury which was then made worse by the world’ most dim-witted rescue attempt in the use of alcohol to douse a fire. In the United States, the original tortfeasor is liable for such injuries causes by negligent rescues. Indeed, he is liable for injured rescuers. The rescuers can also be sued in most states. However, many areas of Europe have good samaritan laws protecting such rescuers.

Notably, Wallace had a previous football-related conviction which was dealt with by a fine. In this latest case, he agreed to pay 25,000 in compensation.

We have previously seen torts involving the use of cotton balls to transform people into sheep.

In Ferlito v. Johnson & Johnson, 771 F. Supp. 196, the facts seems quite analogous:

Plaintiffs Susan and Frank Ferlito, husband and wife, attended a Halloween party in 1984 dressed as Mary (Mrs. Ferlito) and her little lamb (Mr. Ferlito). Mrs. Ferlito had constructed a lamb costume for her husband by gluing cotton batting manufactured by defendant Johnson & Johnson Products (“JJP”) to a suit of long underwear. She had also used defendant’s product to fashion a headpiece, complete with ears. The costume covered Mr. Ferlito from his head to his ankles, except for his face and hands, which were blackened with Halloween paint. At the party Mr. Ferlito attempted to light his cigarette by using a butane lighter. The flame passed close to his left arm, and the cotton batting on his left sleeve ignited. Plaintiffs sued defendant for injuries they suffered from burns which covered approximately one-third of Mr. Ferlito’s body.

The actual settlement in this case is quite low by U.S. standards.

Source: BBC

The cat was left in the trash can for 15 hours in Coventry. The mistreatment of four-year-old Lola was the subject an investigation and her owners, Stephanie and Darryl Andrews-Mann, put up footage on the web — leading to Bale’s identification.

Bale, 45, objected that she is being treated unfairly and has received threats on the Internet. She insisted that she does “not deserve to be hated.” She stated: “I really don’t see what everyone is getting so excited about . . . I was walking home from work and saw this cat wander out in front of me. I was playing with it, stroking it and listening to it purr as it stood on a garden wall. It was very friendly. . . . I don’t know what came over me, but I suddenly thought it would be funny to put it in the wheelie bin, which was right beside me. I did it as a joke because I thought it would be funny. I never thought it would be trapped. I expected it to wriggle out of the bin.”

Her defense is a bit lacking. Here is a defense argument that most defense lawyers would probably forego in court: “People are reading too much into things. I’ve no feelings about cats one way or the other. I don’t keep pets myself, but I have no problem with people who do. . . . OK, I shouldn’t have done it, but it’s just a cat at the end of the day. I don’t think I deserve to be hated by people all over the world, it was just a split second of madness.”

What is fascinating is the possible legal claims of the Andrews-Mann family. They obviously have trespass to chattel. However, the law in the United States (and presumably England) would not allow pain and suffering for an animal to be the basis of a lawsuit. Often in the death of a pet, lawyers will seek to realize the true (as opposed to the market) value of the pet by suing for the emotional distress of the owner. Here the emotional distress would be based on watching the video, which would make this even more difficult since the cat was allowed to roam outside the home.

Source: Guardian

As with the earlier case, police were given a tip of the alleged plan to smuggle the drugs. His grandson is incarcerated for burglary. Now his grandfather has a nearby cell after being found in possession of more than 20 grams of marijuana. The possible sentence is hefty — seven years if convicted of attempting to convey drugs at a detention facility and possessing criminal tools. He now faces up to 7 years in jail and a fine of up to $15,000.

If his grandson knew about this, it was lethal mistake. That could be a life sentence for an eighty-five-year-old man.

Source: Dayton Daily

DeCoster has been described as an “egg mogul” who now faces not only a massive litigation threat but a federal investigation. Wright County Egg is one of two Iowa farms directly linked to the salmonella outbreak and also supplies chickens and feed to both farms.

Iowa’s attorney general in 2000 officially called DeCoster a “habitual violator” of state environmental laws. In 2002, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission fined DeCoster Farms more than $1.5 million in an employment discrimination case brought by hispanic women alleged harassment, abuse and rape at the hands of DeCoster’s supervisors in Iowa.

On the civil side, DeCoster could face a massive tort action alleging negligence, product liability, and even battery. There are also a slew of agricultural statutes that could come into play. The company also faces the usual pressures of a criminal investigation where employees can turn informant or trigger additional liability by lying to federal investigators under 18 U.S.C. 1001.

Source: ABC

There has now been one confirmed alligator living in New York sewers. Police caught the 18-inch gator when it crawled out of an Astoria storm drain.

It turns out that sewers have been called a “natural swamp” for gators.

Now go out and rent the 1980 movie Alligator. You can now find it in the documentary section.

Source: N.Y. Post

The mass rape occurred only 20 miles from a U.N. peacekeeping base in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Eastern Congo is called the “rape capital of the world.”

In this case, as many as 400 men cut off the village of Ruvungi, but promised that they just wanted food and rest. They then systemically gang raped the women and boys.
The culprits are Hutu rebels with the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, or FDLR.

Source: MSNBC

The issuance of such a preliminary injunction is significant since the underlying standard requires the court to have a likelihood of ultimately prevailing on the merits. Lamberth found that the policy presumptively violated federal law banning the use of federal funds to destroy human embryos since “(Embryonic stem cell) research is clearly research in which an embryo is destroyed.”

President Bill Clinton signed a law that prohibited the destruction of human stem cells. Lamberth rejected the distinction of the Administration between work that leads to the destruction of embryos and the financing of work using stem cells created through embryonic destruction: “If one step or ‘piece of research’ of an E.S.C. research project results in the destruction of an embryo, the entire project is precluded from receiving federal funding.”

Various Christian groups supported the lawsuit against the National Institute of Health.

The most direct response to this ruling would be to reconsider the existing law to allow for this needed research to move forward. I have written previously on the dire need for such research (here and here).

Source: New York Times

Palazzolo works in a California law firm and was arrested in a casino parking lot in February after trying to sell a quarter pound of marijuana to an informant. While people have fought for the right to use medical marijuana, Palazzolo abused the process (and endangered its continuation) by securing a medical marijuana card based on his proven back pain. He admits that he got the card to sell pot — making him not just remarkably dishonest but callous.

However, that does not give a judge the right to order defendants to write reports supporting the judge’s political views. Gamble stated “[i]f this isn’t testimony to the absolute asininity of medical marijuana laws in California and the path Nevada is choosing. Here’s a young man with a bachelor’s degree and a rosy future and now is a potential felon. It’s just the height of stupidity.”

I have previously written (and here) about the increasing abuse meted out by judges using such novel sentencing. Here the judge is ordering a defendant to write a report supporting his opposition to a law and a general policy on medical marijuana. It not only violates the defendant’s constitutional rights but basic principles of judicial ethics.

Source: Courier Mail

Jonathan Turley

The woman appears to hurry from the scene after her dumping of the cat. It is a good picture of the woman so, hopefully, she will be identified and presumably charged with cruelty against animals.

The officers are accused of not taking control of the scene and allowing mistakes to occur that allowed Officer David Bisard avoid a DUI finding.

Bisard was speeding on his way to serve a felony warrant when he ran his cruiser into two motorcycles stopped at an Indianapolis intersection. A test showed Bisard’s blood-alcohol level was 0.19 percent, more than twice the limit.

Motorcyclist Eric Wells, 30, was killed. On the other motorcycle, driver, Kurt Weekly, 44, and his passenger, Mary Mills, 47, were both seriously injured.

Bisard avoided the DUI finding due to the fact that the person administering the test was not certified. He is still facing reckless homicide and other charges.

Source: WANE.

The payment is part of a settlement of $50,000 per vombie arrested during a protest in July 22, 2006. The seven were protesting “mindless” consumerism only to come face-to-face with mindless law enforcement. Police insisted that the seven (who were walking with amplified music from an iPod) were simulating “weapons of mass destruction.” They were never actually charged.

The case resulted in a reversal for U.S. District Judge Joan Ericksen who dismissed the zombies’ lawsuit. The Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed Ericksen and found an obvious lack of probable cause to arrest the seven.

One of the zombies is Raphi Rechitsky, 27, a a Ph.D. candidate in sociology at the University of Minnesota.a

These are of course Minnesota zombies, which are known as more introspective than those Oregon zombies.

Source: Star Tribune.

The Administration arranged for plenty of cameras to capture the image of the Army’s 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team leaving the country while it quietly reclassified another Stryker brigade as an Advise and Assist Brigade. That “assist” part involves combat. The Army Times reports that there are seven Advise and Assist Brigades in Iraq. They include four from the 3rd Infantry Division; the 1st Heavy Brigade of the 1st Armored Division, and the 3rd Brigade Combat Team of the 4th Infantry Division.

Of course, Obama could be taking a chapter about of the Book of Vietnam — classifying large numbers of combat troops as “advisers.”

Source: Army Times

While she was told to “wait for the transaction to be completed,” police arrived and deposited her into the South Windsor jail.

She was charged not just with possession but possession within 1,500 feet of a school or daycare.

Source: KTLA

Tim Drake, executive director of the Maine Milk Commission, informed the store that its promotion of getting a seventh gallon of milk free with the purchase of six gallons, is “against the milk commission’s rules and statutes.”

However, I have some question concerning the constitutionality of a state rule that prevents stores from giving away food or charging too little. It could be argued that the state price control is, you must forgive me, utterly unconstitutional. In the state’s favor, this would be subject to a rational basis test that is generally easy for the state to satisfy. New York, for example, retains rent control rules despite the criticism of many economists. However, rental units are generally not coming from other states and forced to comply with such protective laws.

Notably, the store emailed Drake to get permission for the promotion and Drake forwarded the request to the Attorney General’s Office, which appears to have given a take of advisory opinion. After Drake then went on vacation, he heard from Shaw’s competitors objecting to the successful promotion and charging that it is illegal. The state sets a minimum price for milk.

Source: Press Herald

Jonathan Turley