Category: Bizarre

Bizarre, Criminal law, International

“Hot Tub Gang” in England Avoids Getting into Hot Water with Police

Submitted by Elaine Magliaro, Guest Blogger

Police in Lancashire, England, have been investigating a series of strange home burglaries. It appears the perpetrators of the burglaries like to target homes with hot tubs. The burglars sneak onto people’s property, soak in the spas, and then enter the homes and steal from their victims.

To date, there have been four such burglaries. The “hot tub gang” has allegedly stolen thousands of pounds worth of cash and goods—including a 42-inch plasma television, a laptop computer, and a Nintendo Wii games console.

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Academia, Bizarre, Criminal law

Indelible Education: Teacher Has Middle School Student Arrested for Use of Marker

A 13-year-old boy in Oklahoma City was arrested in class in possession of a . . . wait for it . . . here it comes . . . a permanent marker. That’s right, Roosevelt Middle School teacher DeLynn Woodside, 50, had the boy arrested when finding him with a permanent marker in violation of a city ordinance.
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Bizarre, Society

“Greedy” Americans Donate $48B This Holiday Season

Submitted by Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger

Following the worst economy in a generation, Americans this year are poised to hand away $48 billion to the needy. In what must have pure capitalists scratching their heads, charitable donations are up more than 30% over last year. In fact, 74% of Americans are participating in the benevolence according to Convio Inc.’s annual year-end giving report.

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Bizarre, Society, Torts

Legal Mulligan: New York Court Rules Against Golfer Blinded By Fore-Less “Shanked Shot”

The New York Court of Appeals has ruled in favor of a golfer who failed to yell “Fore” and blinding another golfer in one eye. Dr. Anoop Kapoor and Dr. Azad Anand were playing on a nine-hole Long Island course in October 2002 when Kapoor took the swing without the warning. Anand was hit in the head and sued. However, the court found that he had assumed the risk by going on the golf course — even with a “shanked shot.”
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Bizarre, Lawyering, Media, Politics, Society

Misinformation Campaign Alleged in ABA Journal Competition

Well, our friend Lottakatz has certainly stirred up a hornet’s nest. Various posters on the blog have contacted me about the sudden surge of over 100 votes on Legal Satyricon to take it from just 15 votes to the lead in the ABA competition. There was a surge of over 100 votes in less than an hour. I have discouraged (and even deleted) a few postings on the issue to keep the matter civil. After all, this is just a fun distraction for bloggers and we tend to have more fun than most. However, with some sleuthing, Lottakatz appears to have found a campaign of misinformation on pro-gun sites where an alleged regular on LS claims that I am a leading anti-gun advocate. The false representation promptly made opposition to our blog as cause celebre for gun rights advocates. Given the emails from our regulars, I wanted to address the controversy.
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Bizarre, Criminal law, International, Religion, Society

Harry Potter Star in Court After Father and Brother Allegedly Threaten Her Life and Demand Arranged Muslim Marriage

Afshan Azad, 22, is a talented and beautiful actress who played Padma Patil, a classmate of Harry Potter in the Harry Potter series. She is now achieving equal notoriety in court after she sought protection from her father and brother who allegedly threatened her life over a association with a male Hindu. Her family is Muslim and allegedly wanted her to accept an arranged marriage. Her father — Abul Azad, 53– allegedly threatened her life and called her a “slag” and a “prostitute.” She also accused her brother — Ashraf, 28 — of making threats against her life. However, she then refused to give testimony in court as if the entire incident were wiped away with a memory charm.
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Academia, Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Supreme Court, Torts

Publish or Perish Prosper: Law Professors Win Millions Over “Sham” Update of West Treatise

Law professors David Rudovsky of the University of Pennsylvania and Leonard Sosnov of Widener University have won an extraordinary verdict: $5.2 million in compensatory and punitive damages for defamation by West Publishing. At issue was a shoddy 2008 pocket part issued under their names. Rudovsky (left) called the update a “poorly researched ‘sham’ pocket part.”

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Bizarre, Criminal law, Lawyering, Society

Pre-Trial Jury Nullification? Potential Jurors in Montana Excused After They State That They Would Not Convict On Possession of Small Amount of Marijuana

We often discuss jury nullification in class, but usually such a controversial decision to refuse to convict someone on clear evidence of guilt comes at the end of a trial. Not in Montana this month when potential jurors announced that they would not convict a person of possession of a small amount of marijuana regardless of the evidence. In polling the potential jurors, District Judge Dusty Deschamps found only 5 of 27 were willing to convict someone on a small possession of pot.
Continue reading “Pre-Trial Jury Nullification? Potential Jurors in Montana Excused After They State That They Would Not Convict On Possession of Small Amount of Marijuana” →

Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Politics, Religion, Society

Federal Reserve Bank Examiners Demand Removal of Crosses and Merry Christmas Buttons at Oklahoma Bank

There is an interesting case out of Perkins, Oklahoma where Federal Reserve officials reportedly ordered a small bank (The Payne County Bank) to remove religious Christmas displays. I fail to see the authority of Federal Reserve officials to limit the free speech to a bank, particularly religious-based speech. If the bank wants to marginalize non-Christian customers through sectarian displays, I think it has a constitutionally protected right to do so. What it cannot do is actually discriminate in the establishment or handling of accounts.
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Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Politics, Religion, Society

Iowa Legislators To Impeach Iowa Justices Who Voted For Same-Sex Marriage

For Republican legislators in Iowa, it was not enough that three state supreme court justices who voted to strike down a ban on gay marriage were recently defeated in their reelection bids after being targeted by conservatives. Now, legislators want to impeach the remaining four justices from the unanimous decision.
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Bizarre, Courts, Criminal law, International, Justice, Military, Politics, Society, Uncategorized

Pssst, Hey Buddy, You Wanna Buy a F-5B?

Submitted by Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger

The Feds have arrested 35-year-old Californian, Marc Knapp, for trying to sell an F-5B fighter jet to Iran. Knapp was nabbed in a government sting operation that crisscrossed the country from Pennsylvania to California and even ranged to Budapest, Hungary. For his part, Knapp was unconcerned that the nation that once promised “Death to America,” and  is reputedly looking for a nuclear weapons capability might acquire an  US-made fighter jet.

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Bizarre, Torts

Has Johnson & Johnson Become Dumb & Dumber or Just Lax and Laxer?

Submitted by Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger

Even free marketeer Republicans are sick of it – literally. Rep. Darrell Issa, (R., Calif.),   has asked U.S. regulators to look into J & J’s use of a contract manufacturer to make Rolaids antacids that were recalled for quality problems. Issa has requested a probe of J & J product and identified the contract manufacturer as Best Sweet, a Mooresville, N.C., maker of confectionary-based consumer health-care products.

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