Category: Criminal law

Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Free Speech, International, Media, Society, Torts

Is The Threat of David Boies To Media Over Use Of Hacked Documents Real?

Sony_Entertainment_Network220px-David_Boies_2011_ShankboneThere are continuing rumblings in the media about the threat of Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) lawyer David Boies over media sites using material hacked from the studio, including embarrassing emails where executives dish on leading stars like Angelina Jolie and the disclosure of contract information. Boies has warned that such material must be ignored or destroyed and suggested legal repercussions in the use of “stolen information.” But how serious is this threat? In my view, not very.

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Animals, Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Society

Iowa Food Supplier Indicted For Allegedly Falsely Labeling Halal Meat Sold To Millions of Muslims

black-and-white-cow-3Midamar Corp. and directors Jalel and Bill Aossey have been criminally charged in Cedar Rapids for allegedly falsely marking $4.9 million worth of meat as meeting strict halal standards and selling the noncompliant meat to millions of Muslims worldwide in Malaysia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates and other countries. Also indicated is Islamic Services of America, an organization approved by Malaysia, Indonesia, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and UAE to certify beef for import under Islamic standards. They are facing 91 other counts for allegedly making false statements on export certificates, wire fraud and money laundering. The case could raise an interesting free exercise question.

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Congress, Criminal law, Society

Lobbyists: No Money , No Super Bowl

200px-Super_Bowl_logo.svgThe last ten years have been a windfall for insurance companies: first with the post-9-11 legislation and then Obamacare. Now however, lobbyists are threatening to cancel the Super Bowl unless Congress renews the TRIA—the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act to cover insurers so that they will not have to actually pay out for any costs associated with terrorism. There may be good reasons for the bill coverage but there are also some unanswered questions. Do not expect too many answers however.

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Criminal law, Lawyering, Society

Former Georgia Chief Magistrate Found Guilty Of Sexual Assault, Witness Tampering, and Conspiring To Plant Drug On Woman

bryant_cochranFormer Murray County Chief Magistrate Judge Bryant L. Cochran has been found convicted by a federal jury in a bizarre case where he engineered the false arrest of a woman who alleged that she had been sexually propositioned by Cochran. He was also convicted of tampering with a witness and for sexually assaulting a county employee. The conspiracy detailed in the indictment is a rather twisted tale of a sex-crazed judge, meth-using mother of four, treacherous friends, and corrupt cops. Hint: it turns out that like Agatha Christie, virtually all of them are guilty of something.

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

The CIA Lost Its Soul and Took Ours With It

220px-John_Brennan_CIA_official_portrait

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

This past week’s news reports of the Senate report on the CIA Torture program were both distressing and enlightening.   I was dismayed to not only read what the full extent of the CIA’s Torture program was, but also when I read pundits and former CIA officials claim that rectal rehydration was merely a medical procedure! I was further discouraged when commenters on this blog made claims that waterboarding and other torture tactics were either necessary or what the devils deserved.

Very few pundits or commenters seem to care if the so-called Enhanced Interrogation techniques were legal or ethical when the CIA resorted to them shortly after 9/11.  This “debate” over the actions taken in our name by the CIA has gone from a report based on the CIA’s own words to denials that the techniques were torture, to claims that great intelligence value was gained using the torture and claims that it was a biased report written by Democrats. Continue reading “The CIA Lost Its Soul and Took Ours With It” →

Criminal law

“I Just Recorded It Because It Was Funny”: CTA Seeks Two Men Shown Slapping Around Elderly Man On Subway

6198432_GThe Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) is looking for at least two young men who slapped and taunted an elderly man for fun on the blue line this week. The video below is incredibly depressing to watch the sadistic fun of the young men. The person taking the video was identified when he captured his own image in the video. He later told the media that “I don’t know why they did what they did. I just recorded it because it was funny.” You can watch it and determine for yourself how funny it is. If your reaction is like mine, you will be left with a chilling notion of kids who seem to lack any sense of humanity.

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Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Free Speech, International, Media, Religion

New Zealand Man and Two Myanmar Citizens Arrested For Posting Advertisement Of Psychedelic Buddha Wearing Headphones

buddhaWe have yet another crackdown on free speech in the name of religion. A New Zealand bar manager in Myanmar was arrested with two Myanmar employees for “insulting Buddha” by posting an advertisement showing a psychedelic image of Buddha wearing headphones. Philip Blackwood was arrested with the bar’s owner, Tun Thurein, and an employee. The men could be sent to prison for two years because the image insulted Buddhists.

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Criminal law, Society

Lawsuit: Baltimore Police Taser Woman Videotaping Them In Public and Then Erase The Videotape On Her Cellphone And Arrest Her On Later Dropped Charges

Screen Shot 2014-12-12 at 7.38.54 AMThere is another disturbing video of a citizen being arrested after trying to videotape police in public. Kianga Mwamba, 36, says that she was tased by police and arrested after she tried to film the arrest of a man with her mobile phone. The police took her phone, deleted the video, and arrested her. The video was later recovered from the cloud and shows an officer telling her at the end: “You a dumb bitch, you know that?” She was charged with the serious crime of trying to run over a police officer, but those charges were later dropped. However, no charged or discipline have been brought against the officer.

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Bizarre, Criminal law, Politics, Society

Report: Tanzanian Albinos Being Killed And Eaten In Folk Medicines

Albinistic_girl_papua_new_guineaThere is a highly disturbing, and disgusting, story out of Tanzania involving the systemic killing of albinos to eat their hair and flesh as part of African medicines. What is most striking disclosure is that witch doctors are behind the murders and have been found to pay $600, in one case, for the severed arm of a young girl. Yet, despite over 70 such murders, only 10 have resulted in charges because (according to some in the country) powerful families believe in and use albino medicines prepared by witch doctors.

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Academia, Criminal law, Media, Society, Torts

Washington Post Publishes Details On Journalistic Lapses By Rolling Stone In Alleged Rape Story

220px-Rolling_Stone_February_1_2012_coverScreen Shot 2014-12-11 at 7.52.39 AMThe Rolling Stone Magazine and it writer, Sabrina Rubin Erdely (right), are facing yet another story detailing the astonishing lapses in journalistic ethics and practices related to its article about a rape on the University of Virginia campus. Among the most starting is a statement by Erdely that a key student would not speak with her about the rape out of loyalty to his fraternity. That student says that Erdely never contacted him and that he would have been more than willing to speak to her. As for the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity, it confirmed that it did not host any registered social event the weekend of Sept. 28, 2012.

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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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