We have been following the case of Andrew Scott who was fatally shot by Lake County Deputies looking for a suspect in his apartment complex. Police did not identify themselves when they knocked on Scott’s door around 1:30 am. When Scott came to the door armed and allegedly pointed the gun at the officers, they killed him. Now, there is an allegation that officers increased the alleged crime of the suspect after the shooting.
Category: Criminal law
When the the Star Spangled Banner is sung at Tropicana Field before the Rays take on the Cleveland Indians tonight, you might want to look more closely at the singer. William Dillon, 52, was released from prison to make the gig after serving 27 years for a murder that he did not commit. His story is not simply an inspiring account of one man’s struggle to prove his innocence, but illustrative of the problems in our criminal justice system.
Continue reading “National Anthem To Be Sung Tonight in Florida By Wrongly Convicted Man”
Giovanni Verdelli, 60, was arrested after allegedly groping a Jersey City woman on a PATH train. Women in the area were rightfully shocked to learn that this is the 169th arrest of Verdelli — often for sexual molestation and misconduct of women and girls. He is a serial groper and it is not clear if 169 will be the charm to put him away.
The Human Rights Watch has issued a damning report on the loss of freedoms and civil liberties under Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez. HRW found a comprehensive rollback of core political and legal rights for journalists, dissidents, and the courts. As I have noted before, I am astonished how many in the liberal community in the United States have been muted in their opposition to Chávez who has modeled his government on that of Castro in Cuba while establishing alliances with some of the worst dictators in the world.
Continue reading “Human Rights Watch Issues Report On Loss Of Civil Liberties Under Chávez”
Robert Bell is fighting for a quintessential expression of free speech in New York and New Jersey — he was arrested for flipping the bird at police officers. We have seen such cases in other states where officers have arrested citizens for this vulgar but protected form of speech. After Bell was charged with disorderly conduct for making an “obscene gesture” and causing public alarm and annoyance, the charges were dropped. He then sued. As in so many other cases of abusive arrests, there is no record of any discipline taken against the officers who made the groundless arrest. The lack of discipline allows some officers to carry out baseless arrests with the knowledge that the citizen will be punished by the inconvenience of going to jail or to court or both — with the added need of securing an attorney.
Continue reading “New Jersey Man Sues Over Arrest For Flipping The Bird At Police Officers”
I have heard about some bad interview experiences from law students but few could top Cody Slaughter, 22, who interviewed for a job with the border patrol. Slaughter was a bit more forthcoming than usual in answering questions by revealing that he had molested a 2-year-old girl, had sexual relations with a dog, horse and pig, and had a history of drug abuse. He didn’t get the job but he is working with law enforcement after his arrest.
A Minnesota appellate court has rejected the free speech claims of former nurse William Melchert-Dinkel, 48, who encouraged people to commit suicide online. As with other civil libertarians, I have expressed concern over the implications of the case in convicting Melchert-Dinkel for sharing information on suicide and encouraging third parties to end their lives.
It has been a rough year for my hometown from thugs in limos to random beat downs. Now, Delfino Mora, 62, a father of 12, has been beaten to death by teens who filmed the murder and posted it on a gang members Facebook site. Three teens — Malik Jones, 16, Nicholas Ayala, 17, (shown left) and Anthony Malcolm (shown right), 18 — have been arrested. The beating is what is called “happy slapping” where thugs will beat people at random and then post it on Facebook or YouTube.
Sheriff deputies in Lake County, Florida are the focus of public outcry after they went to the wrong home to arrest an attempted murder suspect, did not announce they were officers, and then shot and killed Andrew Lee Scott, 26, when he pointed a gun at the strangers at his door.
Saudi Arabia is moving to expand its already draconian laws concerning blasphemy. The new regulations by the ultra-conservative Shura council following the arrest of Saudi blogger and columnist Hamza Kashgari, 23, was arrested for tweeting comments deemed as insulting the Prophet Mohammad.
Witnesses in Houston are contradicting police accounts of the fatal shooting of Rufino Lara. Officer J. McGowan arrived at the scene after reportedly being called by friends of Lara who said that he was being chased by men with a knife (he does not speak English). The friends of Lara insist that when McGowen arrived she told Lara to put his hand in the air and then shot the unarmed man. A friend started to film the scene as McGown allegedly ripped open his shirt in search of a weapon until McGown seized the camera and said that she is not allowed to film police officers.
-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger
United States District Judge for the Western District of Louisiana, Dee Dodson Drell, has upheld the district court finding that an Alexandria, Louisiana, ordinance banning fortune-tellers is unconstitutional. Drell said that banning fortune-telling is a violation of the First Amendment’s right to free speech.
The city of Alexandria argued the business of fortune-telling is a fraud and inherently deceptive.
Continue reading “Fortune-Telling Is Constitutionally Protected Speech”
There is an absolutely fascinating contempt finding in Florida where Millionaire Dan Rotta, 65, has been sent to jail for 180 days for criminal contempt in a divorce case — for allowing his 16 year old son to get married in Las Vegas. The court had ordered that the boy be sent to a special school in Utah — at the request of his mother Rene Rotta — in light of his problems with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Oppositional Defiant Disorder. However, by marrying with the consent of one parent in Vegas, the boy is now legally treated as an adult and is no longer under the jurisdiction of the court as a child in the divorce case.
What would be the fast-food restaurant of choice for a pedophile? Why Wendy’s of course. Juan Antonio Rosa, 36, has been sentenced to nearly 22 years in prison for distributing child porn with food at Wendy’s in San Antonio. The password for pedophiles? No, it wasn’t the Wendy’s slogan: Now That’s Better. It was the far more creepy, kid-friendly password: “Scooby Doo.”
Continue reading “Now That’s Better: Texas Man Convicted Of Using Wendy’s To Distribute Child Porn”
You know the problem with stealing security cameras? Being videotaped stealing the security cameras. Of course, some officers appear to forget about that dimension of destroying or stealing cameras.