Category: Criminal law

Academia, Criminal law, Society

Alleged Victim of Florida State Quarterback Sues University

Jameis_Winston_2013_headcropFSU_Seminoles_logoThere has been considerable controversy over the allegation of a woman against Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston of sexual assault. The woman has now filed a civil suit against the university’s board of trustees for allegedly ignoring her claims of sexual harassment and discrimination by Winston in protection of its all-star quarterback. We recently discussed another case where a FSU player was engaged in what appears to be a hit-and-run but was given lenient treatment by local police and campus security.

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Bizarre, Criminal law, Society

Popular Rapper and YouTuber Films His Trashing A Chicago 7-11 . . . But Remains At Large To Make Additional “Prank” Videos

Screen Shot 2015-01-08 at 7.28.06 AMThe video below is one of many by a Chicago man who videotaped himself and a friend ransacking a 7-Eleven on the Gold Coast on New Year’s Day and then stealing a coffee pot. It appears part of a series of such “pranks” by rapper who goes by the name VonMar. What is astonishing is that the Chicago police has not gotten around to arrest this guy who is identified, has sites on YouTube, Vine, and Facebook despite videos like this where he and his friend act like complete thugs and torment the store owner and customers.

Continue reading “Popular Rapper and YouTuber Films His Trashing A Chicago 7-11 . . . But Remains At Large To Make Additional “Prank” Videos” →

Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Free Speech, International, Lawyering, Media, Politics, Society, Torts

Dershowitz Threatens To Sue Victim’s Attorneys For Defamation . . . Attorneys Respond By Suing Him First

image.hmlAlanDershowitz2We previously discussed the threat of retired Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz to sue Utah Law Professor and former federal judge Paul Cassell (and his co-counsel Bradley Edwards) for defamation for papers mentioning him in revelation to the sex trafficking scandal of Florida financier Jeffrey Epstein. The lawyers sought unsuccessfully to depose Dershowitz who has been accused of being one of the men who were given underaged girls to sleep with by Epstein. At the time, I wrote that Dershowitz’s statements themselves could be viewed as defamatory and actionable. It appears that Cassell and Edwards were thinking the same thing. They have now sued Dershowitz for defamation.

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Bizarre, Criminal law

Florida Couple Booked For Shoplifting But Never Tells Police About Kids Locked In Car . . . For Seven Hours

walmartparentsTosheba Hope, 30, and Gerald Moultrie, 24, were arrested outside of a Walmart in Lauderdale Lakes, Florida for walk out of the retailer with $660 worth of tools and automotive accessories. Nothing unique there. Shoplifting is a continual problem for retailers. What makes this case notable is that the police took the couple away and they never mentioned that they had left their three children in a locked car in the parking lot. Indeed, for seven hours in lock up, police say that the parents said nothing about the kids. It was reportedly Walmart workers who spotted the unharmed but highly distressed kids in the car.

Continue reading “Florida Couple Booked For Shoplifting But Never Tells Police About Kids Locked In Car . . . For Seven Hours” →

Bizarre, Criminal law

Can You Guess What John Balmer Was Arrested For?

ByZihXKIf you said drugs, you are correct. John Balmer, 50, was arrested and charged with possession of meth at the Kmart in Hudson, Florida. The arresting officer clearly felt the need to snap a picture at the scene wearing his notably tee-shirt with its admission against interest (“Who Needs Drugs? No seriously, I have drugs”).

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Congress, Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Politics, Society

Police Union Asks Congress To Add Attacks On Police To Growing List Of Hate Crimes

250px-FratPoliceUS-DeptOfJustice-Seal_svgThe National Fraternal Order of Police has launched a campaign to change federal law to add attacks on police as a hate crime. In a letter to President Barack Obama and Congress, the powerful union cites the murders of two New York City police officers, Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu. The demand would treat an attack based on status as the same as an attack based on race. Given the Administration’s expedited investigations of civil rights violations involving deaths caused by police officers in Missouri and New York, the change would create an interesting situation where both future suspects and officers would be arguably protections under federal hate crime laws.

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Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Free Speech, International, Media, Military, Politics, Society

Erdoğan Announces Turkey Has Greatest Level Of Press Freedom In World As Police Arrest Dutch Journalist For “Terrorism”

220px-Recep_Tayyip_ErdoganLike most of the world, we have watched the rapid decline of civil liberties in Turkey after the election of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his coalition of Islamic parties. Just last month, we discussed the arrest of Mehmet Emin Altunses, 16, who allegedly committed the crime of “insulting” Erdoğan. calling people who use birth control “traitors” and saying Muslims discovered America, you are not allowed to be disrespectful or insulting in discussing Erdoğan. The situation is even more dire for journalists who have found themselves threatened or arrested for reporting on Erdogan or his cronies. Now, Turkish police have arrested Dutch reporter Frederike Geerdink on terrorism charges. Erdoğan responded with one of his signature delusional statements, saying that this is just one more “false” report from Western media since it is about terrorism not journalism. It is his statement about the record of Turkey on press freedoms that truly takes Erdoğan’s menacing comments into the realm of madness.

Continue reading “Erdoğan Announces Turkey Has Greatest Level Of Press Freedom In World As Police Arrest Dutch Journalist For “Terrorism”” →

Academia, Bizarre, Courts, Criminal law, International, Lawyering, Media, Politics, Society, Torts

Harvard Law Professor Dershowitz Threatens Utah Law Professor Cassell With Disbarment Action

image.hmlAlanDershowitz2Former federal judge and University of Utah law professor Paul Cassell is facing a rare threat of a bar complaint over his representation of a client in the notorious case of billionaire and convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Even more rare is the source of the threatened complaint: retired law professor Alan Dershowitz of the Harvard Law School. Epstein is good friends with Bill Clinton and Duke of York Prince Andrew, 54, who have been mentioned in litigation over allegations of the use of underaged “sex slaves” and Epstein’s alleged penchant for watching (and filming) people having sex with these girls. Dershowitz’s name has appears on the ignoble list contained in motions before a federal court in Florida. Dershowitz is now threatening to initiate disbarment proceedings against Cassell and Bradley Edwards, a Florida attorney who also represents Jane Doe #3 in the controversy.

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Bizarre, Criminal law, Society

Sacked: Steelers Fan Tweets That He Would Rush Field . . . Steelers Security Rushes The Fan

B6eYE1_CYAA1SoVB6ecI8-IMAAg4xVLike many others, I watched both NFL games yesterday. However, the Cowboys/Lions game proved far more exciting than the Ravens-Steelers game. It was only because we could not get a good view of the stands. Steelers fan Jake Berlin was also a bit bored and decided to tweet that he was going to run onto Heinz field. Among his frenemies on social media was Steelers’ security which promptly located him and threw him out of the stadium — leaving him with these before and after selfies.

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Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Free Speech, International, Justice, Lawyering, Media, Military, Politics, Science, Supreme Court, Uncategorized

NSA Abuses Never End

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

The instances of reported abuse of our country’s laws by our Intelligence services seems never-ending.  The National Security Agency, or NSA is at the top of the list when it comes to violations of our laws and even its own rules and procedures that are allegedly designed to protect our privacy.

Pursuant to a court order in a case brought by the ACLU, the NSA is required to provide a list of its abuses on a quarterly basis.  Of course, the NSA redacts most of what it puts in its own disclosures. Continue reading “NSA Abuses Never End” →

Bizarre, Criminal law

The New Year Brings New Accidental Shootings

220px-Criminologygunglock180px-San_Diego_FireworksA few days after the tragic shooting of a mother in Wal-Mart by her two-year-old son in Idaho, we have two additional negligent shooting in California and Georgia. These cases present differences how such shooting cases are handled. In California, a man was arrested after his girlfriend was hit by a celebratory New Year’s shot while in Georgia a wife was hit by a round fired by a local police chief. [Update: Sheriff McCollum now says that he was moving the gun while in bed when it discharged twice].

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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.

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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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