Category: Courts

Constitutional Law, Courts

Barnes v. State of Indiana (2011)

-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger

The Indiana Supreme Court, in a 3-2 decision, has ruled that the common-law right to reasonably resist unlawful entry by police officers is trumped by public policy. Appellant Barnes was involved in a domestic dispute with his wife when police tried to gain entry into the house. They asked if they could enter the house and Barnes refused, blocking the doorway. The police entered anyway and Barnes “shoved [an officer] against the wall.” The officers used a taser on Barnes and arrested him. There were no charges regarding domestic violence.

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Bizarre, Courts, Criminal law, Society

Mississippi Man Forgets He’s Naked As He Waves to Underage Girls

Submitted by Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger

Forgetful HermanHerman Broadus is a grandfatherly type who loves interacting with all the local kids. Problem is Herman can’t remember to keep his clothes on.  The Moss Point Mississippi man was arrested by police when  the mother of  two young girls — ages 8 and 10 — complained.  The girls claimed they saw the 70-year-old man “standing naked in the doorway, holding something in one hand and waving to them with the other.”

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Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Society, Torts

Bin Laden’s Son Reportedly Announces Possible Lawsuit Against United States Over Killing and Burial of His Father

Omar bin Laden, bin Laden’s fourth eldest son, has allegedly issued a statement that calls the killing of his father as a “criminal” act and a humiliation for his family. Notably, he indicated the possibility of a lawsuit against the United States.

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Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Lawyering

Sooner Justice: Oklahoma Murder Conviction Overturned Due To Comments By Judge That Jurors Should Not Be “Hardheads” In Delaying A Verdict

There is an interesting case out of Oklahoma where the murder conviction of Kassie Lakei Bills was overturned due to the comments at trial by Judge Ray Elliott of Oklahoma County. Elliott told the jurors to reach a quick verdict and not be “hardheads” by keeping everyone at the court. I guess that is why they call folks in Oklahoma “Sooners.”
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Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, International, Lawyering, Media, Politics, Society

Baltasar Garzón To Receive Human Rights Award and Speak in New York

For civil libertarians, there are few heroes who can match Baltasar Garzón, the Spanish judge who ordered the arrest of former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet in 1998 and later worked to identify human rights violations committed during the Spanish Civil War and the Franco dictatorship. He will be the first recipient of ALBA/Puffin Award for Human Rights Activism. I will have the honor of serving as the interviewer of Judge Garzón at the award luncheon on Saturday, May 14th, and to explore his views of contemporary civil liberties issues as well as his famous career.
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Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Lawyering, Testimony

Speak No Evil

Submitted by Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger

Here’s a great legal war-story from U.S. District Court Judge Alan Johnson (via lawhaha.com) that needs no commentary:

“A very-veteran criminal defendant was about to be tried in federal court in Wyoming on bank fraud charges. The allegation was that, while in the county lockup on an unrelated stolen-vehicle charge, he had used the jail phone to call a local bank and, posing as a prominent wealthy individual, persuaded the bank to deliver a cashier’s check for $10,000 to the jail for the ostensible purpose of bonding out the man’s “nephew” (the nephew’s name, of course, being the defendant’s own).
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Constitutional Law, Courts, Lawyering, Politics, Society

Virginia Severs Ties With King & Spalding

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli has severed his office’s relationship with King & Spalding after the firm abandoned its representation of the House of Representatives in the challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). In my view, Cuccinelli is right to do so. While I have long been critic of DOMA, I have been highly critical of the firm’s handling of the case and dumping a client under pressure. Paul Clement has now left the firm and will represent the House of Representatives as part of Bancroft PLLC.
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Constitutional Law, Courts, Justice, Politics, Supreme Court

John Yoo Calls the Kettle Black

Submitted by Lawrence Rafferty, (rafflaw), Guest Blogger

Earlier this month, President Barack Obama announced that he was considering an Executive Order that would mandate that all contractors who receive Federal money must disclose their political contributions.  Since I am not a big fan of Executive Orders and since President Obama was not a big fan of Executive Orders when he was a candidate, I was not especially enthralled about the possibility of another Executive Order.  However, once I read what the proposed Executive Order was going to do, I have to admit that I embraced it with open arms. Continue reading “John Yoo Calls the Kettle Black” →

Bizarre, Courts, Criminal law

Florida Police Mistakingly Raid Judge’s Home and Order Family Out of House at Gunpoint During Easter Dinner

Broward Circuit Court Judge Ilona Holmes probably does not like bringing work back home with her, but sometimes works shows up anyway. Holmes, her sister and her sister’s family were ordered at gun point by several Broward Sheriffs Deputies on Easter Sunday in a botched police raid. The police went to the wrong address. Police were responding to a report of a break-in next door.
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Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Politics

Supreme Court Denies Virginia’s Effort To Get Expedited Review

As expected, Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s effort to bypass the appellate court has failed with a denial at the United States Supreme Court. The Rule 11 motion was turned down — as it is in the vast majority of cases. The Obama Administration opposed the motion and is expected to continue to try to slow the momentum of the challenge.
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Animals, Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Justice, Lawyering

Ohio: Let Sleeping Police Dogs Lie

Submitted by Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger

Twenty five year-old Ryan James Stephens will probably never be confused with actors Rex Harrison or Eddie Murphy but he may be the new Dr. Doolittle. Stephens has been charged with violating Cincinnati’s ordinance prohibiting citizens from “talking” to police dogs.

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Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Justice, Lawyering, Society

Odor Of Marijuana Not Enough For Probable Cause

Submitted by Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has issued an interesting decision concerning the prerogative of police to order a suspect to exit a car after smelling marijuana smoke coming from within. Seems the opinion turned on the Bay State’s decision to  decriminalized possession of less than one ounce of the wacky weed in 2008.
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Courts, Lawyering, Politics

Boston District Attorney Demands Removal of Judge Viewed As Being Too Pro-Defendant in Criminal Cases

Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley (left) wants Judge Raymond G. Dougan Jr. (right) removed from criminal cases. Dougan is not being accused of being a drunk, pill-popper, or mentally incompetent. His offense is being too pro-defendant in criminal cases for the tastes of Conley. This appears to becoming a trend of prosecutors seeking to remove judges or boycott (or in one case, arrest a judge) who rule too often against the prosecutors or police.
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Bizarre, Courts, Justice, Lawyering, Society, Testimony

Gut Feeling: New York Belly Dancer Loses Alimony

Submitted by Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger

Forty-three year old belly- dancer, Dorothy McGurk, has learned just how expensive internet dancing can be. Receiving $850.00 in monthly alimony due to a disability, the Staten Island resident was hauled before a county judge by her husband, Brian McGurk, who caught her dancing act on her blog and who now claims his ex-wife’s disability has actually “slip-sided away.”  

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