Category: Bizarre

Bizarre, Military, Politics, Society

Is Greece Fudging The Figures . . . On World War II Casualties?

As Greece continue to careen toward the financial abyss, European leaders are preparing for the departure of Greece from the European Union. However, I was struck by a recent interview with Greek Deputy Prime Minister, Theodoros Pangalos, who not only raised concerns of the rise of “fascists” in Greece but added the following factoid: Greece “after the Soviet Union and Germany itself, [had] the biggest percentage of [Second World War] casualties in its population.” As many of you know, I am a military history nut and was surprised by the statement, which (like the Greek economic recovery plan) appears to be based on more rhetoric than reality.

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Bizarre, Criminal law, Society

Police Near Pittsburgh Called To Retrieve Overdue Library Books . . . From Four-Year-Old

Police in Freeport, Pennsylvania near Pittsburgh have finally tracked down Katelyn Jageman aka “The Bookkeeper.” Jageman has been living on the lam with a collection of overdue library books and an outstanding overdue book bill of $81. That is until the library dispatched police to hunt her down like a reference book in the learning aisle. It is notable that Jageman started her life of crime a year earlier than Hailey Benoit, the notorious bibliophile from Massachusetts.

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Bizarre, Environment, Politics, Society

Mississippi Burning Fuming: North Carolina Governor Lashes Out Against Ban On Same-Sex Marriage . . . And Mississippi

Democratic Gov. Beverly Perdue of North Carolina raised some eyebrows in the South when she not only lashed out at her own citizens for an anti-same-sex marriage ban but adding that the measure made the state “look like Mississippi.” People in Mississippi were understandably put out by the notion that they are now an interchangable synonym with “backward,” “prejudiced,” and “frighteningly homophobic.”

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Bizarre, Criminal law, Torts

NASCAR Driver Jeremy Mayfield Hit With $1 Million Award To Postal Carrier For Dog Attack

If you go to celebrity trials just to watch the cars crash, former NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Jeremy Mayfield will not disappoint you. Mayfield has been hit with a $1 million damage award in favor of postal worker Mary E. Bolton who was attacked by Mayfield’s five dog, pit bull/Labrador mixes. It is an interesting case and one more problem for Mayfield who is facing a major drug prosecution.

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Bizarre, Criminal law, Free Speech, International, Media, Politics

Iran Sentences Cartoonist To Be Flogged For Insulting Politician

Iran has long been flog-happy in its imposition of medieval Sharia laws. Now, it has sentenced cartoonist Mahmoud Shokraye to receive 25 lashes for drawing a caricature of Iranian MP, Ahmad Lotfi Ashtiani, that the MP found insulting. As you can see, it is a pretty mild cartoon but Iranian officials stand by the punishment.

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Bizarre, Religion, Society

Our Lady Doesn’t Like Your Ladies: Catholic School Cancels State Championship Appearance Due To Presence of Girl On Opposing Team

Our Lady of Sorrows Academy, a conservative Catholic school, has forfeited its team rather than compete in the state championships because the second baseman for Mesa Preparatory Academy is no man at all. Second baseman Paige Sultzbach is a girl and, according to this report, Our Lady of Sorrows has religious objections to its boys playing with a girl.

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Bizarre, Politics, Society

Meet Keith Judd: The Man Who Almost Beat Obama In West Virginia

President Obama faced his toughest competitor in West Virginia this week and barely came out ahead. Mitt Romney? Guess again. Keith Judd won 10 counties in West Virginia and 41 percent of the vote against Obama. He was not on hand, however, for interviews because Judd is Federal Inmate No. 11593-051 and was sitting in his prison cell for the duration of the campaign.

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Animals, Bizarre, Lawyering

Litigation 101: How To Make A Motion

In our trial practice classes, our students are trained on how to move the court for procedural and evidentiary rulings. Next year we should post this picture for students to learn the perfect pleading pose. It came to mind after reading the charges against a public defender Therese Cesar Garza who was accused of yelling at judges who ruled against her on motions and saying “shit” in court.

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Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Criminal law, International, Lawyering, Media, Military

Defense Counsel in Gitmo Trial Wears Hijab To Court And Asks For Women To Cover Up In Deference To Muslim Defendants

Cheryl Bormann, counsel for defendant Walid bin Attash, has created a stir over wearing a hijab to the military tribunal and asking other women to cover up out of respect of the Muslim sensibilities for the defendants. I have received a fair number of calls on this from reporters and lawyers due to my past representation of Muslims in national security cases. I believe the display was a professional and tactical mistake and I would not want someone on my team to try to make such an extreme accommodation to a client.

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Bizarre, Criminal law

Attack on Mother and Girl Captured on Video in Massachusetts

Police in Springfield, Massachusetts are looking for a man caught on camera who attempted to rob and then stabbed a mother outside of a store. I may be a bit judgmental on this one but the video shows the mother saving herself and her purse by running away from the man . . . while leaving her four-year-old daughter with the knife-wielding maniac. I realize that this is a panic situation, but it seems an odd reaction for a parent like a “Sophie’s Choice” without the second kid.
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Bizarre, Criminal law, Society

Goodman Verdict Thrown Into Doubt By Former Juror’s Admission Of Alcohol Experimentation In Book

There is an interesting challenge to the conviction of John Goodman, the creepy multimillionaire who killed a man in a drunken driving accident. He became even more infamous when he adopted his girlfriend to try to protect his wealth from court-ordered damages. Now, his lawyer is seeking to overturn the conviction after a juror, Dennis DeMartin of Delray Beach, wrote a self-published book detailing his experience in the trial. The book includes DeMartin’s account of how he got drunk on the night before the guilty verdict to see how the alcohol would have affected Goodman.

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Bizarre, Criminal law, Environment, International, Society

Report: South Korean Officials Seize Shipment of Chinese Capsules Filled With Powdered Human Remains

In the last couple of years, there have been periodic articles about a Chinese industry selling powdered human flesh — usually ground up babies — as a stamina booster. Now, there is a report of South Korean agents seizing drug capsules filled with powdered human flesh. This follows other reports on testing showing endangered animals in various Chinese products, including endangered porpoises. I was unaware however of the allegations of the consumption of human remains. I guess Soylent Green (set in 2022) was just off by ten years.

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Bizarre, Criminal law

Leaving a Carbon (and Criminal) Footprint: Water Bottle Used To Track Down Cuban Brothers In Record Pharmaceutical Heist

Amed Villa, 46, has learned the wisdom of the recycling slogan “Don’t throw it away, it can be used in some other way.” In his case, police used one of his water bottles left at a crime scene to bust him and his brother in an $80 million drug conspiracy. Once again, as many defense attorneys remind their clients, recycle, recycle, recycle. Nine out of ten successful criminals remove their job-related trash.

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