While many were surprised by the verdict in the Casey Anthony case yesterday, some things remained both predictable and consistent like Nancy Grace’s reaction to any defendant prevailing in a criminal case. Grace’s choleric persona was in full rage that the jury would deign to find the evidence insufficient to convict the woman who Grace had already convicted many times on her show. “Now, I know it is our duty as American citizens to respect the jury system and I do, believe me I do. I’ve struck over one-hundred juries. But I know one thing: As the defense sits by and has their champagne toast after that not guilty verdict. Somewhere out there, the devil is dancing tonight.”
Continue reading “Fall From Grace: CNN’s Nancy Grace Denounces Dancing Devil After Anthony Verdict”
Category: Bizarre
This week, Philip Contos, 55, joined a group of motorcyclists to protest New York’s helmet law by riding bareheaded. He became a symbol of a different kind when he crashed and died after hitting his head on the roadway.
Indian Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad shocked the world community at an AIDS conference by describing homosexuality as an “unnatural disease” spreading around the world at an alarming rate. In the world’s least surprising revelation, Azad informed the crowd “There is a substantial number of men having sex with men in our country.”
Continue reading “India Health Minister Denounces Homosexuality as “Unnatural Disease” At AIDS Conference”
The Rev. Robert H. Schuller, 84, has been voted off the board for Crystal Cathedral Ministries, which he founded over 50 years ago. This follows an earlier move to oust his son, Robert A. Schuller. The ministry is in debt and rife with family divisions, including one over a required anti-gay marriage pledge demanded by his daughters.
Continue reading “Hour of Power [Grab]: Robert Schuller Thrown Out Of Crystal Ministries”
In today’s high-paced world, every woman needs a portable, collapsible husband who can fit in an overhead compartment. That is what police found in a prison in Quintana, Mexico where a woman left a conjugal visit with her husband with him folded inside her suitcase.
This seems the week for super women. Just two days ago, we saw a story of a Chinese woman who ran over and caught a toddler in a ten–story fall. Now in Tottenham, England, this woman was caught on CCTV driving up to a fire, getting out of her car, rescuing a little boy from a burning building, and then just driving away.
Continue reading “Who Is This Woman?”
Harvard has released a study in its own unique way of celebrating the Fourth of July with America. Harvard Kennedy School Assistant Professor David Yanagizawa-Drott and Bocconi University Assistant Professor Andreas Madestam argue that Fourth of July celebrations tend to turn people into Republicans and help advance the GOP in elections. I would differ. I think Harvard studies tend to push people toward conservative candidates.
Continue reading “Harvard Study Finds Fourth of July Celebrations Help Turn People Into Republicans”
We previously discussed how the parents of Amanda Knox are being sued by police for objecting to their shoddy investigation. It is an absurd case — one of many such defamation cases in Europe where courts allow lawsuits over comments that would be protected from liability in the United States. Now, the judge in the libel case has resigned due to a conflict of interest, but the police are still going forward with the lawsuit — despite the fact that recent disclosures establish clearly shoddy work by the police.
Continue reading “Knox Parents Get New Judge In Defamation Case”
In St. Petersburg, Florida, Officer Thad “Stu” Crisco is under investigation after a supervisor learned that he told the father of a robbery victim that one part of town was a bit dangerous for his 16-year-old daughter to be hanging around after she was robbed. Crisco has an unblemished record, but he is being hammered for the well-intentioned advice. In his comments in the article below,
Mayor Bill Foster does not appear to be concerned about an officer being disciplined for simply informing a parent about a rough area. He stated “I always want to know my officers are representing this city in a very positive light.” Well, how about a positive statement like “hey, you know this area excels in robberies and is second to none in homicides.”
Continue reading “Florida Officer Faces Suspension For Warning Father About His Daughter Hanging Around Dangerous Area”
We have had a spate of woman catching falling babies this year. A Beijing woman outdid a British tourist in Florida by catching a toddler who fell ten stories. Niu Niu, 2, was left unattended by her grandmother and crawled out the window. Wu Juping, 31, her dangling from the window and rushed over to catch her as she fell.
Continue reading “Chinese Woman Catches Baby After Ten-Story Fall”
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.
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.
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”