A prosecutor joined a worrisome trend by trading criminal charges for push ups. Continue reading “Prosecutor Drops Charges for Push Ups”
Category: Constitutional Law
A New York settlement will give up to $4000 for prisoners improperly strip searched. Continue reading “150,000 Former Prisoners to Receive Between $3000 to $4000 Each for Improper Searches”
A civilian judge has stopped a court martial for an accused deserter. Continue reading “Federal Court Stops Court-Martial of Iraq War Objector”
President Bush came out today to address the latest controversy over torture involving secret memos that appear to endorse the use of methods considered torture under international law. The President, however, simply repeated his statement that “we don’t torture.” Continue reading “President Bush Defends Administration on Latest Torture Flap”
In the most predictable ruling of the year, a court denied the effort of Idaho Sen. Larry Craig to withdraw his guilty plea after his arrest in a Minnesota public restroom. Craig, however, got the last word and, once again, reversed an earlier decision. He now insists that he will serve out his term in office. Continue reading “Craig Loses Motion on Plea; Pledges to Stay in Senate”
In the on-going controversy over the defamation lawsuit against Rep. Jack Murtha, one of the collateral issues has been whether the Marines that he accused of a massacre would be tried for murder. Today, it appears that there will be no such charges coming out of the killing of roughly two dozen Iraqi citizens in the town of Haditha in November 2005. Continue reading “Bad News for Murtha? No Murder Charges Likely in Haditha case”
There was a time when an office football pool was viewed as sufficient outlet for competition. However, the LA Times now reports that deputies at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department have been competing to see how many people they can arrest in a 24-hour period. Continue reading “Cops At Play: Arrest and Impound Competitions in the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department”
A new report shows that the Bush Administration may have continued its endorsement of tactics viewed as torture in secret despite public claims to the contrary. Continue reading “Justice Department Continued to Endorse Possible Torture in Secret Memo”
You can never forget to leave your business card at home as a lawyer, even when going to mass it seems. Continue reading “Parishioner Sues Priest for Statements in Homily”
HEADLINE: A liberal’s lament: The NRA might be right after all
This term, the Supreme Court may finally take up the Voldemort Amendment, the part of the Bill of Rights that shall not be named by liberals. For more than 200 years, progressives and polite people have avoided acknowledging that following the rights of free speech, free exercise of religion and free assembly, there is “the right of the people to keep and bear arms.” Continue reading “A Liberal’s Lament: The NRA Might Be Right After All”
The perils of nonfiction. As Rita Crosby is being sued for her book on Anna Nicole Smith, John Grisham is being sued for his first nonfiction book on a real crime case in Oklahoma. Continue reading “John Grisham Sued for Defamation over Nonfiction Crime Book”
Howard K. Stern, the lawyer and companion for former Playboy playmate Anna Nicole Smith has filed a $60 million libel suit against the author and publisher of a new book on Smith’s life and death. Continue reading “Rita Crosby Sued for Defamation by Anna Nicole Smith’s Former Companion”
A new video shows police officer hitting a cuffed suspect in Braddock, Pa., for not apparent reason. Continue reading “Video Shows Police Officer Hitting a Cuffed Suspect”
For years, some of us have been pointing out repeatedly the fact that the Domestic Surveillance Program implemented by President Bush constituted a federal crime. Indeed, many were horrified when the Democrats decided to extend the program, codifying if only temporarily an unlawful program. Now a former top Bush attorney has admitted that he and others knew it was illegal. Continue reading “Former Bush Administration Official Admits that Parts of Surveillance Program Were Clearly Illegal”
This week, six justices participated in the tradition of the Red Mass. This is a traditional that originates in Europe around 1245 at the start of the judicial year of the Scared Roman Rota, the court of the Holy See. It is a tradition that has long made me uneasy and this year’s homily by Archbishop Timothy Dolan showed why. Continue reading “The Red Mass and the Calling of the Faithful on the Supreme Court”