Weirton police officer Stephen Mader would seem the very model of courage after he confronted an armed man and, rather than just shooting him (which seems all too common today), he engaged Ronald D. Williams Jr., (shown left) in conversation to try to get him to drop the gun. He said the gun was not pointed at him and was by his side (it turned out to a unloaded and he believed it was a case of “suicide by cop”). He was speaking to the man when two other officers arrived and shot and killed the man. Mader was then fired. Why? Weirton Police Chief Rob Alexander and his colleagues believe Mader should have just killed the man and been done with it.
Category: Criminal law
Joaquin Mendez, 23, has a cousin who is lethally literal. Alexandro Garibaldi, 24, (left) was with Mendez when his cousin asked whether a bulletproof vest he had put on “still worked.” Garibaldi allegedly responded by saying “Let’s see” and shooting his cousin who died from the fatal wounds.
Some people crash parties. Cynthia Ann Frierson, 36, crashes funerals.
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This afternoon, the Brown family filed its appeal with the United States Supreme Court in the “Sister Wives” case. The case is Brown v. Buhman, No. 14-4117. As lead counsel for the Browns, I am joined on the petition by co-counsel Thomas Huff and we benefited from the input of our long-time co-counsel in Utah, Adam Alba. The petition asks the Court to resolve a longstanding conflict among the courts of appeals concerning the extent to which the government can strategically moot a constitutional challenge to a statute by announcing a new non-enforcement policy during the pendency of litigation. The petition is attached below.
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We previously discussed the controversy over the FBI granting immunity to former State Department staffer, Bryan Pagliano, who set up a server in Mrs. Clinton’s home in Chappaqua, N.Y., and worked for her at the State Department. Pagliano had refused to cooperate after invoking his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. He was an obvious target of potential criminal charges if he knew that the server was meant to circumvent federal laws, including the mishandling of classified information. The granting of immunity removed the threat for his cooperation, a leverage often used to implication others who may be higher up in the chain of command. Now, as the record appears to confirm that email records were knowingly destroyed after the issuing of a congressional subpoena to preserve such record, it also appears that the Justice Department gave immunity to the other person most at risk of a criminal charge — and the person some are likely to argue would have been the most likely to be able to implicate others. He is computer specialist, Paul Combetta.
We have previously discussed the alarming rollback on free speech rights in the West, particularly in France (here and here and here and here and here and here) and England ( here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here). Much of this trend is tied to the expansion of hate speech and non-discrimination laws. We have seen comedians targeted with such court orders under this expanding and worrisome trend. (here and here). The roots of these laws can be traced in part to the post-World War German law banning symbols and terms from Nazi Germany. None of the criminalization has stopped the rise of neo-Nazi groups of course. However, it does put the German government in the position of constantly prosecuting ridiculous cases. The latest is a pub owner who displayed four bottles with the picture of Hitler and one showing a Nazi salute.
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Edgar McLellan, 57, was charged with trespassing and felony vandalism but it is the act of trespass that will make him something of a standout in the cellblock.
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We have often discussed how free speech is rapidly being curtailed on college campuses in the name of fighting intolerance and ill-defined “microaggressions.” California lawmakers are showing the same dismissive attitude in legislation that is a response to the recent scandal over secretly taped statements by Planned Parenthood officials. The videotapes by activists caused a national backlash against Planned Parenthood so liberal politicians are moving to stamp out future “gotcha” films by sharply curtailing free speech and press freedoms. Democratic state Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson, Assemblyman Jimmy Gomez, and other Democrats dismissed vehement objections from the ACLU, civil liberties, and press freedom groups. I understand the objections to the videotape of Planned Parenthood and the alleged unfairness in editing. However, the solution is not to further criminalize this area of free speech and press freedoms.
Felix Reagan presented a rather curious alleged burglar for police . . . after they took a look at the family dog.
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We previously discussed the problematic role of all of the Clinton staffers speaking with FBI being represented by the same lawyer despite potential conflicts of interest. The release of material from the FBI has revealed an even more troubling role of a Clinton lawyer. In an accommodation that would have been refused in most criminal investigations, the FBI allowed Cheryl Mills to sit in on the interview of Hillary Clinton on the email scandal even though Mills is a witness and a key figure in the scandal. The FBI still allowed her to advise a witness who could have opposing or conflicting accounts to her own prior statements. It is a dual role that is frowned upon by bar rules and would likely draw intense objections in most cases. The accommodation reinforces the view that Clinton received extraordinary accommodations by the FBI in its consideration of criminal charges.
We have previously discussed the shameful case of the men pushing over ancient hoodoos in Utah with their children and other acts of vandalism of national and state parks. Now we have another groups of destructive narcissists who are shown on YouTube celebrating their destruction of a natural feature. Various adults filmed themselves pushing over a popular sandstone rock formation known as the “Duckbill” on an Oregon beach. For the joy of destroying the beautiful formation, these people ensured that no one will be able to see it.
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We have previously discussed felons who use social media to highlight their crimes or even object to the use of mugshots as unflattering. Mack Yearwood did one better. He actually used his wanted poser as this Facebook profile picture. That led to a quick arrest from police who wanted to friend him.
One of the most troubling aspects of the recently released documents from the FBI is a timeline established for when Clinton staffers used BleachBit to try to eradicate emails and prevent them from ever being recovered. It appears that staff may have deleted the email archive after the staff received a subpoena to preserve all such evidence. The staffer working for Platte River Networks (PRN) in Denver, Colorado reportedly had what was described as an “Oh Shit” moment when they realized that the archive could be used to uncover what the Clinton staff deleted.
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Joshua Lee Crook appears to prove that a name can make a man. However, his list of offenses and the item that triggered the crime spree brings new meaning to the slogan “Dangerously cheesy.”
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Well, the real question regarding James Edward Hatley should be what he was not charged with.
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