Category: Courts

Leading Iranian Cleric Calls for Execution of Some Protesters

250px-flag_of_iransvgThe Iranian government has continued its crackdown on protests, including the arrest of dozens of university professors for merely meeting with opposition leader Hossein Mousavi. Senior cleric Ayatollah Ahmed Khatami has called for the execution of some protesters and harsh treatment of all leaders of the protests.

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Federal Court Rules Against Hustler Magazine in Use of Nude Photos of Deceased Wife of Wrester Chris Benoit

200px-BenoitInTheRing200px-Hustlercoverjune2008The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has issued a major ruling on freedom of the press and privacy. The court ruled that Hustler did not have the right to publish nude photographs of Nancy Benoit, the wife of professional wrestler Chris Benoit. Chris Benoit killed his wife and his young son before taking his own life.

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Sharia Court Cuts Off Hands and Feet of Petty Thieves in Public Display

85px-Coat_of_arms_of_SomaliaThe world has another example of justice by extremists using Sharia law. In Mogadishu, Somalia, an Islamic court held a public ceremony where the hands and feet of weeping thieves were cut off in front of hundreds of onlookers.

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Judge Samuel Kent Resigns to Avoid Senate Hearing

Judge Kent-thumb-100x140U.S. District Judge Samuel Kent has finally resigned after Congress expedited his impeachment and Senate trial. In a remarkably dim-witted act, Kent’s lawyer announced that they had calculated that Congress could not possibly complete an impeachment and start a trial for a year. Thus, he decided that he would resign in a year to continue to bilk the government for salary and benefits. The inevitable result was that an infuriated Congress expedited the process.
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Court Orders New Trial After Lawyer Allegedly Sleeps in Court, Reads Health Magazines During Testimony, and Gives “Laughable” Opening Argument

gavel2 Manhattan trial attorney Michael Harrison has been named as the unidentified lawyer that is the subject of an ineffective counsel ruling where the court found that counsel fell asleep during trial, read magazines during witness testimony and gave such a rambling, implausible opening argument that the jury laughed.
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White Supremacist Leader Arrested for Threatening Federal Judges

easterbrookposnerA white supremacist blogger, Hal Turner, 47, has been arrested for allegedly posting threatening messages about three federal judges in Chicago. Turner was upset with the decision to uphold a handgun ban in Chicago. The judges are Chief Judge Frank Easterbrook, Judge Richard Posner, and Judge William Bauer. Turner is the host of the Hal Turner Show.

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The Wrinkle-Free Divorce: Connecticut Supreme Court Rules That Ex-Wife Is Barred From Speaking About Divorce Forever

Dr._PerriconeIt appears that the Connecticut Supreme Court has found a way to help spouses get rid of unsightly winkles in divorces. It ruled that the wife of wealthy skin and winkle cream doctor Nicholas V. Perricone may not speak of her divorce — forever. Thus, a private waiver signed before discovery is enforceable until death against Madeleine Perricone — presumably she is allowed to discuss the divorce in the afterlife as a matter beyond the jurisdiction of the court.

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Marriage of Convenience: New York Lawyer Suspended After Falsely Claiming to Be Judge’s Wife

weinstein_jeremyThe New York Supreme Court Appellate Division has suspended New York lawyer Cheryl Brodsky in a rather bizarre case where she falsely claimed to be the wife of Queens Supreme Court Administrative Judge Jeremy Weinstein and then refused to get a mental health evaluation.
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Judge Kent Impeached in Expedited Process

Judge Kent-thumb-100x140The now imprisoned U.S. District Court Samuel B. Kent has been openly bilking the government for salary and benefits by refusing to resign. His lawyer even acknowledged that his promise to resign in a year was due to his calculation that the Congress could not move any faster toward a Senate trial. It was a curious legal strategy since it virtually dared the Congress to expedite the matter, which it did. Kent has now been impeached in a fast track proceeding.
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Illinois Judges Rule That They Cannot Be Forced to Retire Based on Age While Justices in Washington Raise the Bar for Age Discrimination for Citizens

FreemanA state judge in Illinois has ruled that an Illinois law requiring state judges to retire after turning 75 is unconstitutional. Notably, the author of the four-judge decision Justice Charles Freeman (left) would himself be forced to retire under the law. In the meantime, the U.S. Supreme Court has voted against age discrimination claims of older workers.
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Supreme Court Rules Against Constitutional Right to Access to DNA Testing

225px-official_roberts_cjIn a split 5-4 decision, Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. ruled that an individual cannot demanded access or testing to DNA material after his conviction becomes final in District Attorney’s Office v. Osborne (08-6).

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Lord Chief Justice: Jury Trial No Longer Required in England and Wales

150px-UK_Royal_Coat_of_Arms.svgRecently, many civil libertarians have been alarmed by legal changes in England restricting the media, free speech, prosecuting insults against religion, and other rollbacks. Now, the Lord Chief Justice has ruled that criminal trials no longer require a jury for the first time in England and Wales.
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Baltimore Judge Orders a Woman Jailed For Saying “I Love You” to Brother

47521620-16045808It appears that expressions of affection cannot simply cost you a high school diploma, it can get you thrown in jail. Baltimore Circuit Judge Alfred Nance is known for having a temper in his courtroom and he appeared to have lost both his temper and his judgment when he ordered the jailing of Tamika Clevenger for throwing a kiss and saying “I love you” to her brother.
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