Jehovah’s Witnesses in Arkansas will soon be called to be witnesses of a different kind for John Baldwin, 35. Baldwin is charged with aggravated assault after firing 13 times at the Jehovah’s Witnesses who approached him in his front yard. After Baldwin told Laura Goforth, 47, and Rachel Boshears, 55, to get off his lawn, the Jehovah’s Witnesses were leaving when one of them heard Baldwin tell his wife “Get me my 9.” (A referenced to his Springfield XDM-9). While Isaiah 43:10 may proclaim “Ye are my witnesses, saith Jehovah, and my servant whom I have chosen,” these pious folk will soon be called by a more earthly authority to bear witness.
Category: Criminal law
Police have made an arrest in the extraordinary case of a gang of bikers who terrorized a family of Alexian Lien, 33, in New York City. One of the bikers filmed the entire chase and attack and then posted it on YouTube. He may have succeeded in incriminating his colleagues, including Christopher Cruz, 28. Cruz was charged with reckless endangerment, menacing, reckless driving and acting in a manner injurious to a child less than 17. (Update: A second suspect — Allen Edwards, 42, of Queens, charged with reckless endangerment, criminal mischief and menacing. He is believed to be the man seen on video below striking the Range Rover windows with his fists.).
Continue reading “New York Police Make First Arrest in Biker Attack on Family (Updated)”
We have followed controversies over fake pictures in Chinese newspapers, fake eggs in Chinese stores, fake meat in Chinese markets (here and here) and fake lions in Chinese zoos, but that does not appear to the end of it. Recently, cash rained down from an apartment building after a raid by policemen. The occupants tossed out $50,000 to try to destroy evidence of their fraud: fake scholarly articles being sold to academics.
Destiny Desbrow certainly had a marriage ceremony that would be hard to forget. It has the usual features of most weddings: a cake, a ring, and an audience. However, the location and time was a bit odd. She married Danne Desbrow just minutes after he was sentenced to 53 years to life for murder by Judge Patricia Cookson who not only had sentenced him but baked the cake for the wedding.
London police believe they have a colorable claim against Yafet Askale, 28, for breaking into the vehicle. Askale insisted that he was not guilty and then the police brought in an ultraviolet light.
We have long covered the abuses of the Saudi Arabian religious police known as the Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice. These are the religious fanatics who reportedly forced girls back into a burning school in Mecca because they were not sufficiently covered in public — 15 died as a result. When they are not apparently burning girls, they are forcing women to cover up “attractive eyes” or shutting down dinosaur exhibits or shutting down lingerie stores or arresting women having coffee. When it comes to their own crimes, however, they appear less committed to harsh Sharia punishment. A young Saudi was killed in a car chase last week trying to flee the religious police. After he crashed, the police fled the scene.
There is another lawsuit over a family dog shot by police. In Austin, Julian Reyes has sued over the killing of Shiner Bock, his German Shepard. He claims in the lawsuit that police were responding to a burglary call and shot Shiner Bock when the dog challenged them by barking.
Continue reading “The Killing of Shiner Bock: Artist Sues Austin Police In Death Of Dog”
by Gene Howington, Guest Blogger
“O, beware, my lord, of jealousy;
It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock
The meat it feeds on; that cuckold lives in bliss
Who, certain of his fate, loves not his wronger.”
“Trifles light as air
Are to the jealous confirmations strong
As proofs of holy writ.”
– Wm. Shakespeare, Othello, Act III, Sc. 3
Shakespeare had a lot to say about human nature. He was particularly fond of addressing jealousy. Indeed, jealousy is the axis around which his play Othello revolves although it features prominently in some of his other works as well. He so profoundly understood human nature, one has to wonder what he would make of the NSA surveillance state. To go to the other end of the literary scale, but to a no less valid observation and aspirational goal, Spiderman’s prime operating principle is a lesson he learned both directly from and from the death of the character of his uncle, Ben Parker. “With great power comes great responsibility.” Not all people behave responsibly, let alone consistently responsible. This is why we build systems that allegedly contain oversight mechanisms – to prevent, catch and rectify irresponsible behavior as quickly as possible. When these systems fail, we must evaluate the wisdom of creating such a power to begin with. Just because we can do something doesn’t mean we should do something. Which brings us to the NSA’s total information awareness strategy, their employees and policies for dealing with abusive employees and the tools to implement this ongoing violation of our 4th Amendment right “to be secure in [our] persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures”. An NSA employee was found to have twice collected communications of an American and had been secretly intercepting the phone calls of nine foreign women for six years (1998-2003) without ever being detected by his managers. The consequences of this criminal abuse of power upon discovery?
Nothing of substance.
There are a couple of interesting stories out this week on the use of paid writers to plant false reviews on sites like Yelp. In the case of Yelp, the company insisted that its filters suspicious reviews, but New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman has fined businesses which admit to this fraudulent practice. They range from massage centers to plastic surgeons.
A new watchdog report revealed this week that U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has conducted dozens of unauthorized undercover investigations into illicit cigarette sales, misused $162 million in profits, and lost track of at least 420 million cigarettes.
Body cameras have been credited with not only uncovering police abuse but generally improving the conduct of officers in relation to the public. Recently in Las Vegas, controversial shootings have led to the demand of such tiny cameras. However, the Protective Association representing Las Vegas police has announced that it pushed through an agreement with Sheriff Doug Gillespie to make the wearing of such cameras optional for officers — an option unlikely to be taken by most police officers.
Continue reading “Las Vegas Union Pushes Through Deal That Bars Mandatory Use Of Body Cameras”
It has been a bloody week for elephants in the news. Yesterday, we discussed how NBC has aired a program showing a NRA lobbyist shooting an elephant in the face for ratings while in Cameroon serial elephant poachers are facing just three years for killing more than 100 elephants. Over in Zimbabwe, three poachers have been sentenced to roughly 15 years in prison for killing another 81 elephants by poisoning their water holes. This sentence is more substantial and welcomed, though it is hard to imagine what you would have to do against the environment to merit a life sentence.
There is an increasing danger posed by new technology to privacy and civil liberties. New technology is being brought online at what seems an increasing rate with little consideration of their implications — or even their efficacy. This includes a license plate recognition (LPR) system being adopted by cities around the world which tracks and identifies the movements of vehicles — and by extension their owners. Now, a study by the National Institute of Justice has found no evidence that LPR actually reduces crime. It does however clearly reduce privacy.
Continue reading “Study Shows No Reduction In Crime Due To License Plate Recognition Technology”
The reason why elephants are going extinct may have something to do with a trial in Cameroon against twin brothers accused of killing more than 100 elephants in Central Africa. What is most striking about this story is that these brothers — Symphorien Sangha and Rene Sangha — have been arrested before and never served a day in jail. Now, with over 100 dead elephants to their credit, they are only looking at a maximum of three years in jail. Indeed, Symphorien Sangha was found guilty of killing elephants and wounding a forest ranger. He will receive 10 years for wounding the ranger but no more than three years for killing a huge number of elephants and a long record of poaching. With a deterrent level of that kind, it is astonishing that any elephants remain alive.
In torts, I often discuss the collateral consequences for same-sex couples not having recognized marriages from intentional infliction of emotional distress claims (which are limited to close family members in seeking third-party claims) to spousal immunity claims. Kentucky last week demonstrated the problem for such couples with the opinion below. Bobbie Jo Clary (left) and her domestic partner, Geneva Case, claimed spousal immunity on the basis for a civil union in Vermont in 2004. However, Judge Susan Schultz Gibson ruled that they could not claim spousal immunity in a criminal case because they do not have a marriage recognized under Kentucky law. It is an example of the type of “full faith and credit” cases that could lead to a showdown before the Supreme Court. Normally, states are required to give full faith and credit to the contracts from other states, including out-of-town marriages.
Continue reading “Same-Sex Couple Denied Protection Of Spousal Immunity In Kentucky Murder Trial”