The Secret Service has often been criticized for interrogating everyone from cartoonists to kids about statements deemed threatening to a president. Now, they have succeeded in locating a man who was involuntarily committed as insane for saying insane things about hurting the presidents. Continue reading “The Secret Service Snags an Insane Man Saying Insane Things”
Month: August 2007
Well-known attorney Geoffrey Fieger, who represented Jack Kevorkian, has been indicted on charges of conspiring to make more than $125,000 in illegal contributions to the 2004 presidential campaign of Democrat John Edwards. Continue reading “Geoffrey Fieger Indicted on Illegal Contributions to Edwards”
China’s environmental crisis appears to worsen by the day due to run awat development and a lack of enforcement. I am currently completing a review of the Chinese system for publication in China and eventually in the United States. The figures are astonishing and frankly frightening. I have proposed a system of private attorneys general like the one in the United States. It has obvious political barriers in China’s one-party state. However, China is experiencing a disaster in the loss of surface water, desertification, air pollution and other problems associated with the externalities of economic expansion and pollution.
The New York Times today has an excellent piece on the problem. For the story, click here
The proposal to divide California’s electoral votes has served to remind citizens of the continued dysfunctional role played by the electoral college — which should be eliminated by constitutional amendment. The idea of passing state laws to divide votes between candidates is at least an improvement — moving away from the winner take all approach. In California, it is clearly be advanced for partisan reasons to help the next Republican nominee. Continue reading “California Electoral Vote Plan: A Worthy Proposal Made For Unworthy Purposes”
A man claiming dual U.S. and French citizenship has successfully resisted extradition to Chicago to face murder charges.
Hans Peterson allegedly killed Dr. David Cornbleet, after acne drugs left him impotent. He would only face a maximum of 20 years in France for the murder. He claims French citizenship through his mother.
For the story, click here
The terrible balloon accident in British Columbia, see video here raises a long debate over whether certain activities should be treated as strict liability offenses. Under the common law and the Restatement of Torts, certain activities are so dangerous that they are classified as ultra hazardous or abnormally dangerous — leaving the operators strictly liable for injuries. Air flights long been classified in this sense, though that is a bit dated given the safety record of airplanes. However, ballooning would likely still fall into this category. Of course, there remains the question of assumption of the risk in such cases, which historically is a complete defense.
In another example of over-zealous prosecution, two members of a running club are being charged with terror-related offenses for using flour to mark the path of a club outting. Continue reading “Flour as a Bio-Terror Threat: The IKEA-Al Qaeda Link”
In both torts and criminal law, the question of consent is raised to vitiate or negate battery. This is particularly common in the growing number of rough sex cases. In Wisconsin, a case takes this to an extreme with a man who was tied up, repeatedly cut, and chased with a pick axe. The accused Tiffany Sutton, 23, is charged with nine counts of aggravated assault. She recently pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated assault and one count of dangerous aggravated assault.
For the story, click here
Today’s news wires reported the arrest of a 93-year-old for drug violations. Durham police arrested William Tinnen on cocaine-trafficking and related charges. It makes for an interesting comparison to most older individuals and current studies of recidivism, or the likelihood of new offenses. Continue reading “Older Prisoners and One Possible Late Bloomer”
Vick has now formally pleaded guilty to his medieval form of entertainment. His papers are now online and can be seen at this link
The NFL has now suspended Vick and his dogs are being destroyed.
Whistleblowers who have identified hundreds of millions of dollars have faced terminations and other forms of retaliation. The Bush Administration has allowed such retaliation while simultaneously campaigning against the United Nations for not dealing with corruption and not protecting whistleblowers. For the UN campaign, see this story .
It is one of the most disturbing stories to come out of this disturbing military intervention. First, the Administration allows massive levels of corruption despite on-going coverage of the problem. Second, when whistleblowers try to stop the corruption, the Administration allows them to be persecuted and then fights their efforts at receiving relief from the retaliation in some cases. With a projected 1 trillion dollars to be spent on Iraq, the conditions are ripe for a lot of people to make a lot of money in little time. There are many who do not want that bonanza to end. Yet, the public seems strangely quiet over the on-going corruption and enrichment at their expense.
For the article, click here
The Washington Post is reporting today that the government in 2006 flagged roughly 20,000 people as suspected terrorists. It is a report that seems to confirm that the Administration’s new powers have allowed it to pursue thousands on the weakest of possible suspicions. Only a handful have been prosecuted and most of those have to minor or unhinged characters. The question remains the cost of this massive population of citizens under suspicion and a government system that seems to replicate itself — growing ever bigger while desperately trying to find suspects to justify its costs and personnel. This is not to say that we should be less vigilant. Rather, these figures show a hair-trigger mentality where citizens are thrown under investigation with little cause or remedy.
For the Post story, click here
Manuel Noriega appears to have lost his bid to return to Panama rather than be extradicted to France. Noriega, 73, has served 15 years in the United States and U.S. allies are concerned about his return to Panama where he remains popular. The interest of France seems a bit suspicious and opportunistic in that context. The legal basis for the invasion remains a consuming debate among academics and this extradition will fuel concerns that the law is being used to prevent his return to power.
For the story, click here
There is much talk about Portland campers who caught an alleged peeping tom and tied him to a tree where he was left for an hour and photographed. The case raises a couple of interesting legal questions. First, he was in a public area where there is a lesser expectation of privacy. The women were using this area as an outdoor latrine. Nevertheless, there is a common law protection against intrusion of seclusion and other privacy interests. For the campers, he could charge them with false imprisonment and his own privacy violations in the photographs. They would have to allege self-defense and holding a known felon caught in the midst of a crime.
For the story and video, click here