Category: Criminal law

Criminal law, International

Irishman Given Five Years After Punching Hole In Monet Masterpiece

Claude Monet Argenteuil Basin with a Single Sailboat 1874.ashxAndrew Shannon, 49, now has something that he can say puts him in a small group shared only with Steve Wynn. Both have punched holes in valuable paintings. Unlike Wynn, however, Shannon wanted to punch a hole in a Claude Monet masterpiece hanging in the National Gallery Ireland in 2012 and did so in front of witnesses. Fortunately, he also did so in front of a security camera given his later defense. Monet’s 1874 work Argenteuil Basin with a Single Sail Boat has since been repaired though some small pieces were lost due to the damage on the painting.

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Academia, Criminal law, Society

Columbia Law School Delays Exams To Allow Students To Overcome The “Trauma” of Ferguson and New York Decisions

200px-ColumbiaNYUCoat.svgColumbia Law School has decided to delay exams for law students to overcome “trauma” of Ferguson, Garner decisions. It is the first such delay of exams for such decisions that I have seen at a law school and it has attracted criticism from both academics and lawyers as a poor preparation for real life as lawyers. Nevertheless, students at Harvard and Georgetown are now demanding the same right to delay their exams. Columbia has brought in a A “trauma specialist” to work with students. The University of California-Irvine has also offered such counseling to facilitate “healing, grieving and support.”

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Criminal law, Society

The Beer-Battered Fish Did It: Wisconsin Man Allegedly Use Novel Claim In Effort To Avoid 10th DUI

B9315435283Z.1_20141209170848_000_GLE9C78LF.1-0This rather stern looking gentleman in the booking line is John H. Przybyla , 75. If he looks a bit ticked, it may due to his falling victim to that siren’s call of dinner plates: beer-battered fish. When Przybyla was pulled over on what would be his 10th DUI, he allegedly told the deputy that the alcohol that he smelled was just his classic Wisconsin dinner. Unfortunately for him, the officer did not buy the blue plate special defense.

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Congress, Constitutional Law, Criminal law

SENATE REPORT: U.S. TORTURE PROGRAM “MORE BRUTAL” THAN PREVIOUSLY DISCLOSED AND CIA OFFICIALS GAVE FALSE INFORMATION TO CONGRESS

CIAsenate_large_seal The Senate report is out and linked below. It is remarkable in both its candor and breadth. I was particularly moved by watching Sen. John McCain, a victim of torture, explaining to his colleagues why this country must not only condemn this torture program but come clean about our failure to meet the fundamental values that define us as a people. It was a true profile of courage — an all too rare moment in our contemporary politics where a politician transcends politics and stand boldly on a higher moral ground. What McCain showed was the difference between a politician and a statesman. He proved himself to be the latter this afternoon.

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Bizarre, Criminal law, Society, Torts

New York Doctor Charged With Abortion And Strangulation In Allegedly Forcing Girlfriend To Swallow Morning After Pill

6137541_GThere is a highly disturbing case out of New York where a Hudson Valley anesthesiologist, Thomas Pfeiffer, 44, had been charged with strangulation, abortion and assault after he allegedly choked a woman and forced her to swallow a “morning after” pill after she told him she was pregnant. The abortion charge is relatively rare in criminal cases.

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Bizarre, Criminal law

Trouble in Whoville II: Woman Captured on Television Stealing Christmas Wreaths From Farm

Screen Shot 2014-12-06 at 8.10.27 PMThe_Grinch_(That_Stole_Christmas)Yesterday, we discussed the story of two men who celebrated the holiday by ruining it for everyone else. Brandon Ancell, 19, and Brandon Chait, 18, followed a UPS truck and stole gifts arriving at homes. Now, a Massachusetts woman has joined this ignoble list after she was captured on security cameras stealing several hundred dollars of holiday wreaths from the Sunshine Farm in Sherborn, Massachusetts. She does not appear to be too hard up for cash since she pulled up in a Range Rover. Well, at least it was not a small dog with antlers tied to its head.

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Academia, Criminal law, Society, Torts

Rolling Stone Retracts University of Virginia Rape Story While Lena Dunham Faces Possible Libel Action Over Her Alleged Rape At Oberlin College

220px-Rolling_Stone_February_1_2012_coverLena_Dunham_TFF_2012_Shankbone_3There are two separate controversies this week over rape stories that have been challenged by critics. Both stories involve leading U.S. universities. Unlike the Duke Lacrosse controversy, neither school is accused of wrongdoing. Rolling Stone magazine has apologized for shocking failures in reporting a sensational rape story where a woman named Jackie alleged that she was gang raped at the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity house, but the Washington Post reported on discrepancies in the account, including the fact that no party was held at the fraternity on the day in question. In the meantime, Lena Dunham’s story of being raped in college has been challenged as containing discrepancies and the man who has faced the most accusations is now considering a libel lawsuit against the author and director.

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Courts, Criminal law, Lawyering, Media, Society

DUI Charges Against Texas Judge Dropped For Lack of Evidence . . . Then Police Release Video Of Judge Stumbling Through A Sobriety Test

judge16n-2-webLast November, questions were raised over a decision of prosecutors to drop all charges against 13th Court Justice of Appeals Nora Longoria for alleged drunk driving. There were concerns of special treatment but prosecutors insisted that they simply lacked sufficient evidence. Now it appears that there was a dash cam video that clearly shows Longoria unable to complete sobriety tests. It would seems a fairly easy case for prosecution.

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Bizarre, Criminal law

Mugshot Maven: Another Booking Shot Goes Viral

HT_BATHRICK_MUG2_141205_DG_16x9_992We previously discussed the best and worst of mugshots. There is a curious trend developing after the publication of mugshots on the Internet: some are finding that their mugshots have made them overnight sensations. Alysa Suguro Bathrick, 18, is the latest of these mugshot mavens. Her mugshot has gone viral following her arrest on drug charges.

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

Bail-Ins and Empty Pockets

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Respectfully Submitted by Lawrence E. Rafferty (rafflaw) Weekend Contributor

The Banksters are at it again.  You may recall an article that I wrote in March of 2013 which detailed a plan agreed to by the Bank of England and the FDIC which would allow banks to grab depositors funds in order to avoid a bank failure. The prime example given in that article was a similar plan that was put into action in Cyprus. Similar plans were on the books elsewhere, but the Cyprus grab had actually been activated.

Now it seems that the joint FDIC-Bank of England agreement from December of 2012 was not enough to make the Banksters whole in the event that their derivative gambling went south.  The idea has gone global and it puts all of our deposits, and even our pension investments at risk! Continue reading “Bail-Ins and Empty Pockets” →

Bizarre, Congress, Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Free Speech, Society

Stolen Valor Video: Airborne Veteran Confronts Man Falsely Claiming To Be Army Ranger At Mall

Screen Shot 2014-12-05 at 5.50.05 AMI was on BBC yesterday talking about the Stolen Valor Act and the video below that has gone viral after a man was confronted in a mall on Black Friday by a veteran who called him out as a fake. (Warning: the video contains bad language). The man, identified as Sean Yetman, 30, walked by a real veteran from the famed 101st Airborne Division who was not buying the uniform or claim that Yetman is an Army Ranger. He spotted problems right away, starting with the multiple Combat Infantry badges.

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Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Media

Should Michael Brown’s Stepfather Be Criminally Charged For Inciting A Riot?

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Ferguson Police Chief Tom Jackson indicated this week that they are “pursuing” an investigation into whether comments made by Michael Brown’s stepfather Louis Head (shown here in the white cap) should be charged for his inciting a riot for his response to the news that there would be no indictment of Officer Darren White. While I certainly do not condone the language, I have long been a critic of such “violent speech” prosecutions and I believe that such charges would violate his free speech rights and ignore the mitigating factor of a family member in a highly emotional position that night. Warning: profane words are contained in the story below and the videotape.

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Bizarre, Criminal law

McFelony: Iowa Man Arrested After Allegedly Using McChicken As A Weapon In Domestic Assault

250px-McD-McChickenB9315352707Z.1_20141203081446_000_GOM9A6ORK.1-0We have seen a trend in criminal charges where police are defining virtually any object as a weapon to elevate the potential penalties in a given case. The charges in Des Moines against Marvin Tramaine Hill II, 21, appear to be such a case. He is charged with attacking his pregnant wife with a weapon. The weapon? A McChicken sandwich from McDonald’s.

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