Category: Bizarre

Bizarre, Criminal law, Lawyering, Politics

Former Maricopa County Attorney Thomas Disbarred; Compares Himself To Gandhi

We have previously discussed the abusive tenure of former Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas and his unethical conduct in conjunction with Sheriff Joe Arpaio. In a triumph of ethical ethics, a three-member disciplinary panel of the Arizona Supreme Court has now issued a 247-page opinion (below) disbarring Thomas and one of his former deputies, Lisa Aubuchon, as well as suspending another former deputy county attorney (Rachael R. Alexander) for six months and a day for prosecutorial abuse. In the action, the Arizona Bar not only upheld the integrity of its membership of lawyers but all lawyers. In response, Thomas has denounced the decision and compared himself to Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. The bar seems to have a different image in mind. It began its analysis with this quote from Proverbs 12:15–17: “The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice. A fool shows his annoyance at once, but a prudent man overlooks an insult. A truthful witness gives honest testimony, but a false witness tells lies.”

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Academia, Bizarre, Criminal law, Society, Torts

Police Reportedly Pepper Stray Junior High School Students For Failing To Move To Class Fast Enough After Lunch

A former student of mine sent me this disturbing story about students at Jack Robey Junior High School in Pine Bluff being pepper-sprayed when they failed to go to their classes fast enough after lunch. One mother says that her daughter suffered a severe allergic reaction to the spray.

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Bizarre, Lawyering

Thor’s Hammer: California Attorney Facing Disbarment After Marrying Elderly Client and Allegedly Misappropriating His Money

The State Bar of California is seeking the disbarment of Linda Nell Lowney, 54, an attorney accused of taking advantage of an ailing and elderly client thirty years her senior. Lowney was the attorney for Thor Tollefsen in handling his estate planning. However, she switched from Thor’s hammer to his hubby in 2006. Thor’s relatives in Norway allege that Lowney proceeded to take his money and effectively abandon him. He died later in a nursing home. The bar investigators agreed and recommended disbarment.

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Bizarre, Criminal law, Media, Society

Zimmerman: Shooting Was “Life Altering Event”

George Zimmerman has gone public for the first time with a new website, therealgeorgezimmerman.com, and a paypal link to raise funds for his litigation costs. The website is a smart move, but Zimmerman used the occasion to describe the shooting as a “life altering event.” That is manifestly true except for the fact that he was speaking of himself, not Martin.

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Bizarre, Criminal law

Orange You Glad I Missed? Florida Man Arrested For Aggravated Assault With Orange

William Wink insists that he was just trying to throw away a rotten orange to the squirrels from his balcony. However, when the orange landed a few feet from a construction worker, he looked up and saw Wink in his boxer shorts. Wink, 68, was arrested for aggravated assault with an orange.

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Bizarre, Criminal law, International

Tourist Beaten, Robbed and Stripped Naked In Baltimore As Crowd Laughes

A video has emerged from last St. Patrick’s Day that shows a brutal attack on a tourist in Baltimore who is beaten, robbed, and stripped naked as a crowd stands around and laughs. No one reportedly called police and someone stood filming the scene of utter inhuman and depraved conduct by the crowd. [Update: A second video of the brutal attack has emerged]

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Bizarre, Politics

GSA Administrator Resigns After Report Finds Small Agency Spent $820,000 On Lavish Nevada Conference

In Washington, there are a few standard rules of engagement. Rule 436 is “if you are going to spend taxpayer dollars on lavish vacations, do not make a mocking video boasting that you will buy those things the agency can’t afford and “never be under OIG investigation.” This week the Office of Inspector General (OIG) proved the difference between rap and reality — it issued a damning report on the $820,000 spent by Public Buildings Service’s western region at the M Resort Spa and Casino in Henderson, Nevada.

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Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Free Speech, International, Politics, Religion, Society

Egyptian Court Sentences 17-Year-Old Christian Boy To Three Years In Jail For Cartoons of Mohammad on Facebook

We have for years been following the rising number of blasphemy prosecutions not only in the Muslim world but, even more worrisome, in the West. Now, an Egyptian court has added a new outrage in sentencing a 17-year-old Christian boy to three years in jail for publishing cartoons on Facebook deemed mocking of Islam and the Prophet Mohammad. It is the latest example of the abuses of Sharia law and the danger of intermingling religion and government.

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Bizarre, Criminal law, International

[Not] Breaking Away: Police Capture Bicyclist After High-Speed Chase

We have discussed our share of car chase chases on this blog — often debating the wisdom of high-speed chases or issues of liability. This chase by Czech officers is a stand out. They are traveling at 60 mph (100 km/h) in a chase with a guy on a bike. That’s right, a guy is moving at 60 mph and racing a cruiser on the highway.

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Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Free Speech, Media, Politics, Society

Arizona Passes Sweeping Law Criminalizing Internet Speech

In one of the most sweeping attacks on free speech in America, the Arizona legislature has passed a draconian bill that would criminalize speech on the Internet (“any electronic or digital device”) that prosecutors consider “obscene, lewd or profane language or . . . suggest[ing] a lewd or lascivious act if done with intent to ‘annoy,’ ‘offend,’ ‘harass’ or ‘terrify.’” The law is largely undefined and is in my view facially unconstitutional. The law would drive a stake in the heart of free speech. Yet, people like Bill Clinton have been calling for such a crackdown on Internet speech for years.

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Bizarre, Criminal law, International

Italian Supreme Court Rejects Father’s Claim That Beating Daughter Is Permissible In The Islamic Culture

As I have discussed previously, I often speak about the cultural defense with a group of experts around the country, including judge Delissa Ridgway. This defense is used in both criminal and civil cases to argue that an individual did not have true intent to commit a crime or should have a mitigated sentence due to a cultural motivation or belief. There are limits however as a father discovered last week in Rome, Italy.

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Bizarre, International

Pinch Me: First Truck Spills Millions of Coins All Over Highway, Second Truck Covers The Money In Candy . . . Men Wait Anxiously For Moosehead Beer Truck

Talk about an attractive nuisance. This week a currency truck spilled Canadian “loonies and toonies” all over a highway. The accident then caused a candy truck to crash and spill candy on top of the money. I can just picture two Canadian guys saying “Give it a second, eh, there has got to be a Moosehead Beer truck coming along.”
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Animals, Bizarre, Criminal law

Minnesota Woman Arrested For Using Puppies As Weapons

In Minnesota, Gabrielle Tywon Allen, 20, is being held on a rather odd crime — using puppies as a weapon. The Anoka County woman grabbed three 1-week-old pit bull puppies to throw at her boyfriend David Peter Remme, 25. Remme was arrested on suspicion of assault after breaking her nose and she was arrested on suspicion of animal cruelty.

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