Category: Criminal law

Bizarre, Criminal law, International

Natural Self-Selection: New Year Brings Arrests Of The Criminally Challenged

170px-Charles_DarwinPrisonCellIf Darwin wanted proof of natural self-selection, he would would need to look no further than Darwin, Australia where two men broke into the restaurant and loaded up a wheelie trashcan with 151 bottles of booze and eight cases of beer. However, the men aged 33 and 44 decided to stop and have a few for the road. Police later found one of the men passed out in front of the store with empty bottles scattered around him. The other man was not hard to find: he left his backpack with his ID card inside the store. They have competition in any race for the bottom of the criminal evolutionary scale this week with two master criminals of our own.

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Animals, Criminal law, International, Politics, Society

Chinese Man Sentenced After Organizing Trips To Kill and Eat Endangered Tigers

Tigress_at_Jim_Corbett_National_ParkThe appetite of Chinese consumers for endangered and threatened species is considered one of the greatest threats facing environmentalists and animal activists. Even Chinese diplomats have been accused of massive violations of laws protecting these species. As Chinese consumers acquire more disposable income, the demand for such products is increasing. The depth of this problem is illustrated in the recent prosecution of a wealthy real estate developer, identified only by his surname Xu, who (according to police) has “a special hobby of grilling tiger bones, boning tiger paws, storing tiger penis, eating tiger meat and drinking tiger blood alcohol.” He was convicted of killing and eating three rare tigers in the Chinese version of the Gourmet Club from The Freshman.
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Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Free Speech, International, Politics, Society

Make that 101: Chinese Filmmaker Does Documentary On China’s 100-Year Struggle For Constitutional Rule . . . China Sentences Him To One Year In Jail

130px-Mao_Zedong_portraitThe Chinese government again proved that little has changed in the People’s Republic in the denial of basic civil liberties and human rights. Filmmaker Shen Yongping has become the latest and more poignant example of the totalitarian regime’s continued crackdown on free speech. Shen produced a documentary on the 100-year struggle of the Chinese for constitutional government. Chinese officials responded by arresting him and now sentencing him to a year in jail. It appears that a sequel is in the making.

Continue reading “Make that 101: Chinese Filmmaker Does Documentary On China’s 100-Year Struggle For Constitutional Rule . . . China Sentences Him To One Year In Jail” →

Bizarre, Criminal law, International, Media, Politics, Society

Is The “Dear One” The Innocent One?

Sony_Entertainment_Networkkim-jong-unNow this would make for a great movie (certainly better than “The Interview”). Here’s the plot. A reportedly awful movie is produced by Sony with little expected success. Then the company is hacked with threats not to release the movie. All fingers are pointed at North Korea, including statements from the White House and the FBI. There are widespread reports of the U.S. shutting down the North Korean Internet in retaliation. However, the real culprits are actually laid-off Sony staff. In the meantime, the suppressed movie racks in millions as viewers (including my kids last night) rush to see the forbidden movie. Now that’s a movie plot. It is not clear however if it should be fiction or non-fiction. Media is reporting that experts believe that North Korea was in fact innocent of the hacking and that the culprits were former employees of that other hermit kingdom, Sony.

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Criminal law, Religion, Torts

Heather Cook, Maryland’s First Female Bishop, Accused of Fatal Hit-and-Run

244F92AB00000578-2889726-Tragic_Maryland_s_first_female_bishop_58_year_old_Heather_Cook_c-m-5_1419843198355244FA2C300000578-0-image-m-7_1419834114326The second highest Episcopal minister in Maryland, Bishop Suffragan Heather Cook, is under fire for an alleged fatal hit-and-run. Cook hit bicyclist Tom Palermo, 41, on a sunny Saturday afternoon, and left the father of two young children dying of a head wound on the side of the road. She returned 20 minutes later.

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Criminal law, Society

Teenager Who Garnered National Attention As Ferguson Protest Leader Arrested For Arson

la-na-ferguson-activist-arson-burglary-2014122-001During the coverage of the Ferguson protests, activist Joshua Williams, 19, became something of a celebrity as an advocate for peaceful protests. He was profiled by MSNBC and shown walking hand-in-hand with Cornel West. Williams was the counter image of the violent protesters who burned and looted Ferguson. However, this week, Williams was charged for setting fire to a convenience store during those very protests — a crime that police say he confessed to in a videotaped interview. It is sad development for a young man who garnered national attention for his work as a protest leader.

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Bizarre, Criminal law

Reality Check: Illinois Police Officer Arrested As Allegedly Serial Burglar

549dba0cbb29b.preview-300When I was in Chicago this week for Christmas, Brian Barker, 41, was all over the news. The Edwardsville police officer is accused of being a serial burglar, including break ins while on duty. He seems wanting as a police officer but as a crook he is even worse. They found stolen items in his home and there is a security tape reportedly of him burglarizing one of the locations. The end came fittingly at the Reality Salon and Spa for Barker.

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Bizarre, Criminal law, International, Society

Have A Very Sexist Christmas: Feminist Group Inserts Protest Notes In Barbie and Other Toys For Children To Discover

220px-Barbie_doll_modernIf you gave a Barbie to a child in France, you might want to check the box. The French feminist group FièrEs secretly inserted pamphlets into hundreds of barbie toys and plastic guns reading “this toy is sexist. They stressed that “We have caused no damage or ripped any plastic. We simply slipped the message in boxes, or in books.” Of course, there is the injury to families who do not want to expose their children to the rantings of an extreme group that wants to use their children to make some point of social protest.

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Bizarre, Criminal law

Logan’s Run: Boston Man Falls Through Ceiling Of Women’s Airport Restroom and Then Allegedly Goes on Rampage

Naked-Man-arrestedCameron Shenk, 26, presents what can only be described as a tough defense case. A woman was in a bathroom stall in Terminal C of the Logan Airport in Boston when Shenk reportedly fell through the ceiling naked. It went from bad to worse from that point on.

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Criminal law, Free Speech, Media, Society

Massachusetts Man Arrested For Posting “Put Wings On Pigs” On Facebook

chicopee-charles-dirosa1Charles DiRosa, 27, has been criminally charged in Chicopee, Massachusetts after he posted “Put Wings on Pigs” to Facebook. It was a despicable act after the murder of two New York police officers, but in my view it was protected speech.

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Animals, Criminal law, International

Italian Circus Owner Charged After Dyeing Two Dogs To Pass Off As Pandas

ca29cf71-7e4e-4169-b762-f8a848b27466-bestSizeAvailableWe previously discussed how a Chinese zoo displayed a lion that caused a bit of a commotion when it suddenly barked. The zoo could to afford a lion so it made a large dog into a lion. An Italian circus in Brescia has proven even more daring – and dishonest. It dyed two chow-chow dogs to pretend that they were pandas. It did not seem odd to many people that a small zoo would have not one but two of the endangered animals.

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Bizarre, Criminal law

Bad Elf: New Jersey Man Arrested For DUI While Dressed As Elf On A Shelf

16612540-largeBrian Chellis, 23, has some serious naughty issues to address back at the home office. When police responded to a DUI call at 3 am, they found a gray Toyota van next to the loading dock of a Target store with its engine running, lights on, and music blaring. Inside, they found Chellis was dressed as an elf on a shelf and allegedly loaded smelling of a bit too much of the old holiday nog. Chellis was asleep at the wheel.

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Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Free Speech, Politics, Society

Police In Philadelphia and New York In Uproar Over Anti-Police Postings and Shootings

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A Philadelphia Fire Department paramedic is under fire for posting this picture with the caption: “Our real enemy.” The caption also said “Need 2 stop pointing guns at each other & at the ones that’s legally killing innocents.” Marcell Salters has also published highly antagonistic language toward police officers. He has since apologized but some have called for his punishment or termination. In the meantime, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio is under attack after Ismaaiyl Brinsley effectively executed two police officers over his anger with the recent decisions by grand juries in Missouri and New York. police have been protesting what they view as de Blasio’s unfair portrayals of police after the decision, including turning their backs on the mayor when he came to give a press conference on the murders.

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Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Free Speech, International, Justice, Lawyering, Politics, Society, Uncategorized

Just How Much of Big Bank Fines Are Actually Paid and Who Profits?

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Respectfully submitted by Lawrence E. Rafferty (rafflaw)- Weekend Contributor

It should not surprise any of the regular visitors to this blog that I have written many articles detailing the abuses of many of the Big Banks and the resulting fines that they have paid on multiple occasions.  When a taxpayer reads about Billion dollar settlements being paid by Banks and financial companies as a result of a Justice Department investigation, they probably assume that the entire amount of the fine is being paid.

Those very same taxpayers may be surprised to learn that in many cases, the Banks are able to deduct from their taxes up to 75% of the fines and settlements made with the Justice Department. Continue reading “Just How Much of Big Bank Fines Are Actually Paid and Who Profits?” →

Criminal law, International, Society

Mexican Psychologist Accused Of Killing and Dismembering Husband and Then Faking Mental Illiness

Mexico Killer WifeMexico is fixated on an extraordinary murder case involving psychologist María Alejandra Lafuente Caso, 40. Lafuente Caso is accused of drugging, murdering, and chopping up the body of her husband Allan Carrera Cuellar, 41. She has claimed spousal abuse as a defense.

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