Submitted by Elaine Magliaro, Guest Blogger
Edgar Dean Mitchell, a lunar module pilot and the sixth person to walk on the surface of
the Moon, is being sued by NASA. NASA wants Mitchell to return a camera that went to the Moon on the Apollo 14 mission. A lawsuit filed by the federal government on Thursday in a South Florida federal court claims that the former astronaut tried to sell the camera in an auction.
Continue reading “NASA Sues Former Apollo 14 Astronaut over Lunar Camera”
-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger
The case is United States v. Jones which concerns FBI agents who planted a GPS tracking device on Jones’ car and monitored the car’s position every ten seconds for an entire month, without a warrant. A jury found Jones, and co-defendant Maynard, guilty of a single count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute five or more kilograms of cocaine and 50 or more grams of cocaine base.
Continue reading “Supreme Court Grants Cert In GPS Tracking Case”
Submitted by Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger
In what can only be described as the most bizarre military recruiting ploy ever, Californian Yupeng Deng is charged with duping Chinese Immigrants into enlisting into his private army. Luring the unsuspecting “recruits” with promises of citizenship, the El Monte native convinced over 200 Chinese nationals to pay initiation fees ranging from $300 – $450. Donning the rank of “Supreme Commander'” Deng paraded his regiment through the streets of L.A., and then led a successful boarding of the U.S.S. Midway which is now a naval museum in San Diego.
A war of giant Jesuses has entered a new phase. A 36 meter (or 118 feet) Christ was unveiled in Poland last year. Now, President Alan Garcia has responded with Cristo del Pacifico (Christ of the Pacific), on a hill in Lima — standing 37 metres (122 feet). That’s right, four feet more than the Polish Jesus — not doubt now to be known as Jesusito (“little Jesus”) in Peru.
Continue reading “Jesus Envy: How Big Is Your Savior?”
One of the longest standing complaints among criminal defense attorneys is that the government often goes ballistic when a defense attorney makes public statements in support of his or her client. Judges often hammer private counsel under increasingly harsh gag orders. Yet, the government routinely influences cases by leaking information that could only come from the prosecutors or investigators on the case. This problem is even more acute in high-profile cases like that of Richard Jewell and my former client Dr. Thomas Butler, where leaks were used to target innocent men to try to force them to plead. Now, like clockwork, the Justice Department has again started the leak war in the case of alleged mobster James “Whitey” Bulger. However, the judge has simply asked the Justice Department for a “plan” on how to stop the leaks. If this were a private firm, there would be a contempt hearing.
In yet another merging of Barack Obama with George W. Bush, the Obama Justice Department has declared that it believes that it can (and may) prosecute licensed growers and dispensaries in medical marijuana states for violating federal drug and money-laundering laws. The position came from U.S. Deputy Attorney General James Cole who rejected claims that a 2009 memo by then-Deputy Attorney General David Ogden gave states some protection from prosecution.
Continue reading “Obama Administration Adopts Bush Anti-Medical Marijuana Stance”
While America may hang our head in shame over Kyoto and the failure to move aggressively on global warming, Canada it appears has asbestos. The article below raises an interesting disconnect between Canada’s blocking of the international listing of chrysotile asbestos to the Rotterdam Convention, a U.N. treaty on hazardous substances while ordering the removal of asbestos from government buildings due to its danger.
Continue reading “Oh Canada: Government Blocks Listing of Asbestos as Hazardous Export While Removing Asbestos From Parliament Buildings”
Friend of this blog (and this blogger) Frank Mascagni attended my speech to the Kentucky bar this month and snapped some pictures. One shot at the “Pursuing Justice” conference produced an ironic twist.
Michigan has implemented some sweeping changes to the role of jurors and judges in trials, including allowing jury to ask questions of witnesses. I have some reservations about the changes below, but I am most concerned over the ability of judges to summarize the evidence. This could invite considerable bias and influence into trials.
Continue reading “MIchigan Implements New Changes In Role Of Jury and Judge In Trials”
John Lennon fans may be a bit surprised to see an interview in the new documentary, Beatles Stories, with Lennon’s long time friend Fred Seaman. Seaman says that Lennon had moved away from his early radicalism and became a fan of . . . wait for it . . . Ronald Reagan.
Continue reading “Imagine: John Lennon As A Reagan Republican”
I just saw this on Reddit and I have just one question: what do you give to a Klingon couple for their wedding?
Continue reading “Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something uD ‘ej Hurgh“
In Jacksonville, Florida, a decorated Army combat photographer has been arrested and is facing 10 years in jail for checking a wrong box on a passport application. Elisha Dawkins’ crime was merely checking a box “no” for the question, “Have you ever applied before?”
Continue reading “Decorated Combat Photographer Arrested For Checking Wrong Box On Passport”
This is Mackie, a Boston Terrier who reacts rather oddly to tickling. That is all.
Continue reading “Don’t Tickle The Terrier”
It appears that the insatiable demands of cell phone batteries have claimed another victim. Recently, we saw a Florida lawyer arrested for charging his cellphone in a neighbor’s motor home. Now, in Maine, Shaun Fawster, 23, a homeless man has been arrested because a Bangor police officer spotted him using an outside outlet to charge his phones.
Continue reading “Bangor Police Arrest Homeless Man For Charging Cellphone At Outdoor Outlet”
Democratic members have raised a novel argument under the Fourteenth Amendment that the refusal to raise the debt ceiling is unconstitutional. For full disclosure, I was asked about this argument weeks ago by members who believe that forcing the country to default would be not just catastrophic but unconstitutional. I will be discussing this topic today on CNN and tonight on Countdown.
Continue reading “Democrats Raise Constitutional Argument In Favor Of Raising Debt Limit”