Adam Hettig, 32, may not have thought out his latest crime with very far. Hettig is accused of robbing a Subway in North Chili, New York while wearing his ankle monitor from the parole office.
Continue reading “New York Man Allegedly Robs Restaurant While Wearing Ankle Monitor”
We recently discussed how University of Illinois math professor Rochelle Gutierrez triggered a national controversy over her work “Building Support for Scholarly Practices in Mathematics Methods” in which she criticized math classes as a “tool of whiteness.” Now, CUNY Professor Laurie Rubel has published a peer-reviewed article in the Journal of Mathematics Education arguing that the concepts of meritocracy and “color-blindness” are ideological precepts that work against minorities. It is a worrisome trend among academics to challenge even the most objective fields of advancement as requiring a more race-conscious approach.
Our close ally Egypt has long been a symbol of religious intolerance and anti-free speech values — a government partially subsidized by billions in U.S. aid. Now, Amr Hamroush, the head of parliament’s religious committee, has announced that Egypt is moving toward the criminalization of disbelieving in God. That’s right, you will be committing a crime in Egypt if you do not believe. Akin to the policy of the “beatings will continue until morale improves,” Egypt may soon instill belief in God by jailing people for not believing.
Continue reading “Pray or Perish: Egypt Moves Toward Criminalizing The Disbelief In God”
Attorney Charles Harder has issued a “cease and desist” letter on behalf of his client President Donald Trump. The letter is addressed to author Michael Wolff and the president of the book’s publisher, but is clearly putting Steve Bannon on notice of a possible defamation action for his statements in the forthcoming book, “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House.” The letter alleges violation of confidentiality rules and defamation in the forthcoming book, “Fire and Fury” by Michael Wolff. The threat of legal action is highly dubious and the suggestion of a prior restraint order or injunction would go against decades of precedent. It also leaves the worst possible optics of trying to stop the release of a book (and suggesting that Bannon is releasing bona fide confidential information).
Continue reading “Trump Lawyer Hits Author With Cease and Desist Letter Over Bannon Comments”
Mariana Flores, a sophomore at the University of California-San Diego, has a curious concept of not just tort liability but personal responsibility. She is suing UCSD for being hit by a car on the highway. However, she was taking part in a protest illegally blocking the highway at the time. She is suing the University of California Regents, the city and county of San Diego, the state of California, and the driver of the car.
I have previously written about my objections to Antifa and its anti-free speech values, including academics legitimizing efforts to violently curtail free speech on our campuses. Germany has banned an Antifa website as an extremist organization. That has not stopped Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., the deputy chair of the Democratic National Committee, from posing with the handbook of the Antifa movement and giving the group a proud shout out. As Democrats seek a new identity and purpose after the debacle with Hillary Clinton, this is a worrisome signal. The Democrats will hand over another election if they simply try to run on being anti-Trump and pro-Antifa.
Continue reading “DNC Deputy Chair Gives Shout Out To Antifa”
This may be the single most challenging defense that I have seen in years. Counsel for Edwin Greco Wylie-Biggs argued that the police had failed to prove that drugs seized in the state prison at Fayette, Pennsylvania belonged to Wylie-Biggs. The problem is that the drugs were found in his rectum.
Continue reading “Defendant Loses Appeal In Contesting Possession Of Drugs Found In His Rectum”
Sherwin Shayegan, 34, may be one of the truly creepiest individuals to make it on a police blotter, if New Jersey prosecutors are correct. Shayegan gave a 14-year-old boy a spontaneous massage at the Newark International Airport last Friday as he sat near a luggage carousel. He then gave the boy a note with a $10 bill. It turns out that Shayegan has a long, bizarre, and deeply disturbing history.
Pudit Kittithradilok, 34, was found guilty to running a Ponzi scheme based on investors artificially high financial returns. A defendant would normally be delighted by a fifty percent reduction in his sentence, but Kittithradilok was sentenced to more than 13,000 years in prison. His reduction left him with a hefty remainder of 6,637 years and six months. Even with regular workouts in the prison yard, it would seem difficult to serve that time.
Tonight we will ring in 2018 at home in McLean, Virginia with my in-laws from North Carolina. New Year’s eve is also my wedding anniversary. Twenty years ago, Leslie and I decided to walk across the street in Old Town Alexandria and get married. Since we dated for eight years, I count the anniversary as our 28th while Leslie insists on counting this year as our 20th anniversary. We will toast our anniversary and the New Year (as we did 20 years ago) with a bottle of Schramsburg Cremant.
Ever wonder who is behind those email messages from Nigerian princes promising millions if you could just send some money to help him release his fortune? Well, meet Michale Neu, allegedly a 67-year-old “Nigerian Prince” from Slidell, Louisiana. Neu was arrested and charged with 269 counts of wire fraud and money laundering by the Slidell Police Department’s Financial Crimes Division after a long investigation into an Internet scam.
Michael Wilson, 32, is accused of an extraordinary crime in rigging his front door to electrocute his estranged, pregnant wife. Police found the booby trap and arrested Wilson, who is now charged with attempted aggravated battery on a pregnant person and theft of a firearm. (The gun charge is related to his taking his father-in-law’s gun from his wife’s house).
Continue reading “Florida Man Arrested After Allegedly Trying To Electrocute His Estranged Wife”
Like many football fans, Republican Rep. Milo Smith is fed up with the protests by NFL players during the anthem. However, while many fans are staying away from games (setting record low attendance numbers), Smith wants to require NFL owners to reimburse fans who object to the protests. While I have expressed my own opposition to any demonstrations during the national anthem, I have previously stated that the ultimate decision rests with the team owners. Like any business owner, a NFL owner can insist that employees refrain from protests during employment hours and activities. However, this legislation would raise serious legal concerns and would likely not survive a legal challenge.
When Wilmer Lara Garcia allegedly decided to steal a Honda Civic, he wore a rather incongruous choice of teeshirt reading “Trust Me.” He did leave a memorable mugshot however with the Fairfax County police.
Continue reading “Virginia Man Features “Trust Me” Teeshirt in His Mugshot For Auto Theft”
For the last year, I have been criticizing over-wrought and at times irresponsible legal analysis proclaiming “slam dunk” criminal cases and long-sought “smoking gun” discovery sealing the fate of President Donald Trump or his close associates. This includes months in which legal analysts referred to the crime of collusion despite there being no such crime. Unfortunately, this trend continues with the recent interview of Jill Wine-Banks, a former Watergate prosecutor, who told MSNBC that Trump’s recent tweets can constitute “obstruction of justice, witness intimidation, and it’s obstructing justice by saying to agents you better not dig too deep, you better not find anything because I will attack you.” I can see little support for such a position in the criminal code or past cases.