There has been growing unease in Dubai, particularly among foreigners, over that country’s increasing enforcement of morality codes under Sharia-based laws (here). The latest victim is Simon Andrews, 56, who is facing six months in jail for flipping the bird in public.
Category: Courts
I can take the occasional dead bird, but the police cruiser is a bit much for a dog to leave at my door step. This video from Chattanooga, Tennessee shows Winston, a pit bull mix, ripping the bumper off a police car. In all, Winston left four cars (including two police cruisers) with flat tires and a missing bumper.
Continue reading “Things You Do Not Want Your Dog Bringing Home”
An Islamic court in Nigeria has banned any debates on the use of amputations as punishment on Twitter, Facebook, or blogs to protect Islamic traditions from being mocked or disrespected.
Continue reading “Satanic Tweets: Sharia Court Bans Discussion of Amputation Punishment on Twitter and Facebook”
U.S. District Judge Glen H. Davidson has ruled that Itawamba Agricultural High School did violate the constitutional rights of Constance McMillen, 18, in canceling her class prom when she asked to attend with her girlfriend while wearing a tuxedo. However, the court declined to order that the school must hold the prom.
Continue reading “Court Rules School Violated Lesbian’s Constitutional Rights in Canceling Prom But Declines To Order Relief”
The long saga over the estate of Texas oilman J. Howard Marshall II has ended with the family of the late Anna Nicole Smith (aka Vickie Lynn Marshall) receiving nothing. As previously discussed, Smith’s case ultimately led to an important ruling of the Supreme Court.
Continue reading “Stripped Inheritance: Ninth Circuit Rules Against Family of Anna Nicole Smith”
Baltimore County District Court Judge Darrell Russell Jr. is under intense criticism this week after he stopped a non-jury trial to perform a wedding ceremony in his chambers for defendant Frederick Wood and his girlfriend. They then promptly invoked spousal immunity in the domestic violence case to prevent the state from calling the wife to testify against her newly minted husband. Russell has been reassigned to reviewing motions in civil cases in chambers pending investigation.
Monica Conyers, former Detroit City Councilwoman and wife of Judiciary Chairman John Conyers was sentenced to 37-month prison term for birbery — a sentence that has been challenged by some on the city council as too light, here.
Continue reading “Monica Conyers Sentenced to Three Years in Jail”
U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts spoke publicly to criticize President Barack Obama for his State of the Union — calling his reference to the Citizens United “very troubling.” He implicitly denounced the President for allowing the speech to “degenerate[] to a political pep rally.” Most notably, however, he did not have a single word of objection for fellow conservative Justice Sam Alito for his expression of disagreement during the address. Robert’s Rules of Order now appear to be rather selective in their application.
Where Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is widely criticized for abuses in office, many of those abuses (including investigating judges who stand up to Arpaio) are only possible with the help of his enabler Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas. Now, Thomas appears to finally be facing a professional review. The Chief Justice of the Arizona Supreme Court has ordered a special investigator to look into his alleged unethical conduct.
Continue reading “Doubting Thomas: Court Appoints Special Investigator To Look Into Alleged Unethical Conduct of Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas”
Biurny Peguero Gonzalez allegedly was embarrassed when her friends were berating her for ditching them at a bar. Instead of claiming some urgent call or just telling the truth that she got into a guy’s car, she elected to cry rape. She stuck to her story through a trial and through years of incarceration of William McCaffrey for a rape that he did not commit. She has now been sentenced to three years for perjury — less than the four years that McCaffrey spent in prison.
Continue reading “Woman Sentenced to One to Three Years in Jail — After Sending Innocent Man to Prison for Four Years”
While we often follow the painful stories of mistreatment and discrimination against women in Saudi Arabia, there is a story today that shows some progress. The Kingdom is about to release a law that would allow women to argue limited cases in court and even perform some simple legal procedures without a male guardian.
The Virginia legislature passed a flurry of bills stripping away limitations on gun possession in the state. After intense lobbying from the National Rifle Association and over $1 million in NRA campaign contributions, the lawmakers passed 20 gun bills expanding possession and ownership rights in the state.
Continue reading “Guns-O-Plenty: Virginia Passes 20 Gun Bills”
Senior Judge Geoffrey P. Morris has ordered the removal of two billboards proclaiming “hell is real” in Kentucky after finding that they have stood without a permit for five years.
Continue reading “Kentucky Judge Declares Permits (like Hell) Are Real”
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is fighting with another judge and this one seems ready to hold him in contempt in Mesa, Arizona. While Arpaio routinely disregards and even investigates local judges who oppose his controversial policies or actions, here, he picked the wrong fight with a federal judge this time. U.S. district judge Murray Snow has formally found grounds for sanctioning Arpaio for the acknowledged destruction of records in a lawsuit involving racial profiling.
Continue reading “A Mesa in Arizona: Judge Finds Basis for Contempt Sanction Against Arpaio”
The Obama Administration is appealing a ruling in favor of privacy before the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit — seeking to allow it to track people by their cellphones and arguing that there is no privacy expectations to prevent tracking without probable cause. It is another example of Obama’s continued assault on civil liberties — and the failure of liberals to call him to account for such policies.
Continue reading “Obama Administration Seeks To Strip Cellphone Users of Privacy Protections”