Justice Gerard Hogan of Ireland’s High Court held a novel hearing on December 27th in his own home. Hogan ordered that the government give a lie-saving blood transfusion to a baby boy born in August 2010. His parents are both Jehovah Witnesses and had refused the procedure to save their son.
Continue reading “Irish Justice Orders Baby Saved Over Objections of Religious Parents”
Hugo Chávez continues his assault on political and legal protections in Venezuela. In a move that has been denounced internationally, including by Amnesty International, Chávez demanded the arrest of Judge María Lourdes Afiuni after she granted bail to an accused banker. He is demanding 30 years in prison even though his prosecutors could find no bribe (as he originally alleged on the radio). Instead, they found “spiritual corruption” and threw her in jail with many convicts that she previously incarcerated.
Continue reading ““Spiritual Corruption”: Chávez Jails Judge Who Granted Bail To Banker”
Submitted by Lawrence Rafferty (rafflaw), Guest Blogger
I realize that one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter, but when organizations are added to the Federal government’s list of Terrorist Organizations, the Supreme Court has determined that any assistance to that organization is a criminal act. Even a speech in support of that particular group can be a criminal act. http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/09pdf/08-1498.pdf http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/03/opinion/03cole.html?_r=1 It seems that in December of 2010, former Attorney General Michael Mukasey along with former Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge and Rudy Giuliani, a former Mayor of New York City and a former Presidential candidate, all spoke at a conference in Paris in support of the Mujahedeen Khalq. The Mujahedeen Khalq is an Iranian dissident group that the State Department has labeled as a terrorist organization. http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/other/des/123085.htm
Continue reading “Are Michael Mukasey, Tom Ridge and Rudy Giuliani Aiding and Abetting the Enemy?”
U.S. District Judge John McBryde of Fort Worth, Texas has issued a massive opinion holding attorneys S. Tracy Long, Melvin K. Silverman, Joseph F. Cleveland, Jr., and John P. Gillig liable for ethical breaches and recommending criminal prosecution after they challenged his impartiality and temperament in a case. The lengthy opinion below details the case against the lawyers in litigation over golf club patents. What is most striking about the case is the decision of the judge to conduct the inquiry himself — rejecting obvious concerns over his own conflict of interest in eliciting testimony on his own conduct. [See the update below]
While the legal profession debates the propriety of his decision to participate in the educational sessions for conservative new members of Congress, Associate Justice Antonin Scalia is also causing a stir over his public statement that the 14th Amendment does not prohibit discrimination against women or gays.
Continue reading “Scalia Publicly Rejects the Use of the 14th Amendment to Bar Discrimination Against Women and Gays”
While academics and commentators line up to denounce the plan of New South publishers to edit out the n-word from Huckleberry Finn, a federal jury is set to decide whether there is a different standard for a white person as opposed to a black person in using the n-word in the work place. Former Fox29 reporter-anchor Tom Burlington has sued his former station alleging that he was the victim of racial discrimination and a hostile work environment over the use of the n-word.
Continue reading “Federal Court Clears Way For Jury Trial on Whether There Is A Different Standard for Blacks and Whites In The Use of the N-Word”
The California Supreme Court has handed down an important ruling that allows police to search an arrested person’s cellphone without a warrant — a ruling that will allow police access to a wide array of information now kept on modern cellphones.
Continue reading “California Supreme Court Allows Warrantless Searches of Cell Phones”
I just saw this story on ABA Journal as a cautionary warning to those lawyers who allow their emotions to get ahead of their judgment. Two Florida lawyers — Nicholas Mooney and Kurt Mitchell — have been sanctioned for an exchange of emails that included such notable comments as one calling the other a “scum sucking loser.” The state supreme court was not amused.
Continue reading “Uncivil Action: Florida Lawyers Sanctioned for Email Exchanges”
SUBMITTED BY LAWRENCE RAFFERTY, GUEST BLOGGER
I had a very peaceful Sunday afternoon watching my beloved Bears take it on the chin against their biggest rival, the Green Bay Packers. It was sadly peaceful until I read a story that quoted Sen. Lindsey Graham on Meet the Press as stating that he wanted the United States to maintain permanent military bases in Afghanistan even after all NATO forces are transitioned out by the year 2014. I thought the Bears had done enough to tie my stomach in knots, but Lindsay Graham’s statements forced me to find the last remaining antacid in the house!
Continue reading “Why Doesn’t Senator Graham want to ever leave Afghanistan?”
Submitted by Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger
Pittsburgh area police have arrested 37-year-old Jody Lynn Bennett on suspicion that he stole a hand-held video gaming system from the coffin of 17-year-old Bradley McCombs, who died in a Christmas Day SUV crash. Seems the respectful, but sticky fingered mourner, attended the viewing to pay his respects. In exchange for his “payment,” he stole the electronic device and three games from the decedent’s coffin. Bennett fled the funeral home after being confronted by family members.
Continue reading “Pa. Man Steals Video Game From Teenager’s Coffin”
It is becoming abundantly clear why Kelsey Grammer did not play a lawyer on television. The Frasier star is about to divorce his third wife, Camille Donatacci, who reportedly refused a $30 million settlement because it did not include child support or alimony. He did not have a prenup. However, Grammer, 55, wants to hurry along the divorce so he can marry his fourth wife, 29-year-old Kayte Walsh. However, he is again refusing to do a pre-nup because he is certain this time that they are meant for each other. The case is a textbook account of the limits on lawyers being able to protect clients from themselves.
Continue reading “Hope Over Experience: Kelsey Grammer Preparing for $50 Million Divorce Payout To Third Wife While Refusing Pre-Nup With Fourth Wife To Be”
Submitted by Guest Blogger, Lawrence Rafferty
After a wonderful Christmas weekend spent with my family and my two Grandsons, and after celebrating the Bears victory over the Jets, it is time to get back to work. I was not surprised to read that the Republican minority in the United States Senate have been trying to prevent President Obama’s nominations for the Federal Judiciary from receiving a vote on the Senate floor. However, I was shocked to see the extent of the intentional obstruction. The Obama Administration has the lowest judicial confirmation record since before the Carter administration. Almost one of every nine judicial judgeships is currently without a Federal judge on the bench. How could a minority in the Senate derail the nominations of so many judges to the Federal bench?
The Chinese government has cut off access of lawyers to leading human rights advocate, Liu Xianbin, 42. He was charged in June for subversion for “incitement to subvert state power” for his articles that included his reflections on the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and the arrest of Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo.
Continue reading “China Cuts Off Access Of Lawyers to Leading Human Rights Advocate”
-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger
FAIR and its legal arm, Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI), have been busy. FAIR and IRLI have been hopping state-to-state helping local governments craft anti-immigration ordinances, like Arizona’s infamous SB 1070. Arizona’s legal fees have already exceeded $1 million.
Desperately needed tax payer funds are being used by local governments to fight legal challenges to the ordinances drafted with the assistance of IRLI.
Continue reading “Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR)”
Some judges are lionized for their record of moving cases along. Nevada judge Valerie Vega, however, is being ridiculed when she pushed jurors to work through the night in a murder case so that the trial would not interfere with her vacation plans. It appears that things that happen with Vegas do not stay with Vega.
Continue reading “Justice Delayed is a Judicial Vacation Denied: Judge Orders All-Nighter For Jury in Murder Case To Accomodate Her Vacation Plans”