Category: Criminal law

New York Judge Convicted Of Lying About Assault With A Toilet Lid

18510507-smallIn a truly bizarre case, a jury in New York found that former judge Roger Barto lied about being attacked outside his court in 2013. The police maintained that Barto faked the attack and then collected tens of thousands of dollars in medical costs. Judge Barto was also accused in a separate case of stealing from a cemetery.

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Missouri Man Applies For State Highway Patrol And Ends Up With 20 Years In Prison

highway+patrol+patchEveryone has had a bad job interview experience. However, few have had the Cedric Lovejoy’s experience. Lovejoy interviewed for a state police job with the Missouri State Highway Patrol and ended up sentenced to 20 years in jail.

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Indian Rape Victim Forced To Balance Heavy Stone On Head To Prove Her Virtue

a-rape-survivor-in-india-must-balance-a-heavy-rock-on-her-head-to-prove-her-purity-body-image-1438974892We have been following the plight of women in India from an epidemic of rape to discrimination in marriage and advancement. The medieval mentality found in some parts of India was on display in the Gujarat High Court, which asked a rape victim to balance a 40kg rock on her head in order to ‘prove her purity’ and reside with her husband again. It is part of the bizarre ritual called “Agnipariksha,” or “test of fire.”

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Seattle Police Shooting Likely Will Be Ruled Justified

By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor

dash-cam-spd-shooting-20150717On July 17th of this year a Seattle Police Officer used deadly force resulting in the death of man sought in an earlier felonious assault against another officer. It is the opinion of your author that this shooting will be held to be a justified use of force based on the circumstances made available to the public at this stage. It shows both an example of what constitutes a “Justifiable Homicide” by state law and how little time officers often have to make such decisions on its use.

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Jury Agrees With Insurance Company That Lesbian Couple Faked Hate Crime In Burning Down Their Own Home

2B24880000000578-3186742-Carol_Ann_and_Laura_Stutte_reduced_their_own_house_to_a_pile_of_-m-3_1438851728009There is an interesting case in Tennessee where a federal jury found that a lesbian couple faked a hate crime to describe their torching of their own home. Carol Ann and Laura Stutte however were never charged with arson or filing a false police report.

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Two State Attorneys General Charged Criminally In Same Week

Kathleen_Kane_AG_croppedUnknownWe have previously discussed the criminal investigation of Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane for alleged prosecutorial misconduct. Kane, once a rising Democratic star in the state, has now been charged with leaking grand jury information and lying about it to a grand jury. She is not alone however. In Texas, her counterpart was also charged this week with criminal acts of securities violations. Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is now a criminal defendant facing two counts of his own.
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UN Envoy: Women and Girls Sold By Age By ISIS “Like Barrels of Petrol”

200px-flag_of_the_united_nationssvgFlag_of_the_Islamic_State.svgThe stories coming out of ISIS strongholds continue to disgust people around the world. Indeed, the extremist view of Islam applied by these terrorists often seems hard to believe but, when a United Nation’s envoy releases such stories, there are credible sources for some of these incredible accounts. UN’s special envoy for sexual violence in conflict, Zainab Bangura has released a report that ISIS published ‘price list’ of captured Yazidi, Christian sex slaves for its fighters and customers. In addition, the group has reportedly executed 19 women for refusing to have sex with its fighters.

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Santa Ana Police File Lawsuit Alleging Violation of Their Rights After Store Videotape Allegedly Catches Them Eating Marijuana Products And Disparaging Disabled Woman

nsjjps-b88477454z.120150803213939000gt7b82gh.10There is an interesting case out of Santa Ana this month where police officers were allegedly caught on camera wolfing down pot products in a raid on a medical marijuana dispensary. The officer reportedly disabled all but one of the security cameras. They are now arguing that there rights were violated by being videotaped without their consent.

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Penal Implant: Florida Man Arrested After Allegedly Removing Penile Implant And Leaving Victim Disfigured

bad-surgeon-640x400There is another gruesome case of practicing medicine without a license in Florida where Mark D. Schreiber, 60, is accused of mutilating a patient’s penis while attempting to remove an implant from it. Schreiber crossed over from a penile implant to a penal implant after holding himself out as a doctor when he was reportedly stripped of his license years ago.

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Florida Police Dispatcher Arrested For Alleged Sexual Relationship With II-Year-Old Boy

2B19AEC800000578-3185463-Amanda_Chandler_pictured_40_of_Palm_Bay_has_been_charged_with_ei-a-4_1438741090786There is an interesting case out of Florida where a dispatcher for the Palm Bay Police Department is accused of having a sexual relationship with an 11-year-old boy. Amanda Chandler, 40, is married and a mother of two young children ages 10 and 8. What caught my eye was the account of her husband.

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Fourth Circuit Remands Al-Timimi Case In Light Of New Evidence

US-CourtOfAppeals-4thCircuit-SealThis afternoon, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit remanded the appeal of Ali Al-Timimi, the accused head of the so-called “Virginia Jihad” or “Virginia Paintball” case. The remand was based on evidence that was discovered by the defense after the appeal was filed. I am lead defense counsel for Dr. Al-Timimi and serve with co-counsel Thomas Huff and Allison Wood. We have long argued that the government has withheld evidence in the case.

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Connecticut Professor Arrested For Filing An Alleged False Report of Profiling By Police

MinatiThere is a relatively rare case developing in Connecticut where Professor Minati Roychoudhuri, 62, has been charged with making a false police report after charging that she was racially profiled by a police officer. A review of the dash cam video contradicted factual assertions made by Roychoudhuri in her sworn statement.

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India Blocks Adult Websites In Sweeping Censorship

1024px-Flag_of_India.svgThe India government is under fire for a sweeping censorship move blocking hundreds of adult websites as a social nuisance. A total of 87 websites were blocked — denying millions of adults the right to choose their own associations and entertainment. It is a triumph for morality codes and a significant erosion of free speech and privacy protections for the Indian people.

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Idaho State University Employee Triggers Outrage With Taunting Pictures of Big Game Kills In Africa

Sabrina-Corgatelli_3395602bThe alleged unlawful killing of two lions by two separate American doctors has caused an international outcry and demands for extradition to Zimbabwe for prosecution. (here and here). However, one American woman is using the controversies to taunt animal lovers and apparently drive up traffic on her Facebook site. Sabrina Corgatelli is believed to come from Boise, Idaho and is reportedly a university accountant at Idaho State University who also runs a clothing company called Racks and Ridges. She teased those objecting to the illegal hunts by saying “To all the haters. Stay tuned, you’re gonna have so much more to be pissed off about.” She then posted various photos from the “trip of a lifetime” posing with the corpses of a giraffe, warthog, kudu and impala during a trip to South Africa. To be sure to ignite those grieving over the death of Cecil the Lion, Corgatelli posted a series of pictures with such notes as “All you haters, This is for you!! Have a great day, cuz I know I will!!’

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Second American Doctor Accused of Illegally Killing Lion In Zimbabwe

2B0B22D800000578-3183020-image-m-55_1438531460851Many people around the world have been following the unfolding drama surrounding the death of Cecil the Lion in Zimbabwe by Doctor Walter James Palmer. Zimbabwe is demanding Palmer’s extradition. Now a second American doctor, Jan Casimir Seski of Murrysville, Pennsylvania, has been accused of an illegal lion hunt with a bow and arrow at the very same park, Zimbabwe’s Hwange National Park.

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