An assistant basketball coach at a basketball game of sixth graders is accused of biting off part of another coach’s ear at a Catholic Youth Organization game in Springfield, Massachusetts. Timothy Lee Forbes is reportedly the father of one of the players on his team that lost the game at Holy Name School in the Catholic Youth Organization final. He is charged with first punching the opposing coach and then going Mike Tyson on his ear. Jesus
Category: Criminal law
Former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney and his daughter Elizabeth have canceled speeches in Toronto, Canada out of concern that they would be set upon by people who oppose torture and want Cheney arrested. While Americans appear reconciled with the torture program, citizens in other countries still demand that Bush officials be arrested according to international law.
Continue reading “Cheney Cancels Meeting in Canada With Spectre To Avoid Attempts To Arrest Him”
We have previously looked at the liability questions surrounding injuries and deaths linked to herpes transmissions from Rabbis during ultra-Orthodox circumcision rituals known as metzizah b’ peh. During the ceremony, the rabbi or mohel removes blood from the wound with his mouth. The latest tragedy occurred with the death of a two-week-old boy in Brooklyn who contracted herpes from the Rabbi. In 2005 another infant died from the same alleged transmission from a rabbi. This could raise a difficult question on defining the “reasonable rabbi.”
Continue reading “The Reasonable Rabbi Standard? Brooklyn Prosecutors Reportedly Investigate Rabbi Who Transmitted Herpes To Baby In Circumcision Ceremony”
I recently wrote a column on how the West is curtailing free speech under blasphemy, hate speech, and anti-discrimination laws. As if on cue, lawyer Gloria Allred has called for the criminal prosecution of Rush Limbaugh for calling law student Sandra Fluke a “slut” and “prostitute.” I previously wrote that I believe Limbaugh’s comments were protected speech under the first amendment and constitute opinion for the purposes of any libel action. Such a prosecution would threaten core free speech principles and the law cited by Allred would appear not only inimical to free speech but overtly sexist.
Ok, you may need a cup of coffee to follow this one so pay attention. According to police, Texas personal injury attorney Jeffrey Stern (left) was having an affair with Michele Cabrera Gaiser (right below) and wanted to get rid of his wife, Yvonne Stern. So Stern and Gaiser allegedly solicited Nhut Nguyen to shoot Yvonne. Yvonne was shot in the stomach on May 5, 2010 but survived and filed for divorce — citing adultery. Later, however, Yvonne reconciled with Jeffrey Stern, who is currently charged with soliciting her murder and she is now suing Gaiser in tort. Got that?
As our allies in Afghanistan have embraced a new edict declaring women worth less than men, militias in Iraq have reintroduced gruesome executions of anyone viewed as “gay” because of their haircuts or dress. So called “Emo killings” are on the rise with gays being beaten to death with cement blocks with little investigation or apparent concern from local police. Roughly 60 people have been murdered in the last six months alone in such killings
Steven Mulhall, 21, appears to have a wealth of bad ideas. According to police, his first bad idea was a series of thefts leading to being put on probation. His really bad idea was to pry the nameplate of a Broward Circuit Judge Michael Orlando off his door while visiting the courthouse. His really really bad idea was to take a picture of himself with the nameplate. His really really really bad idea was to post the picture on his girlfriend’s Facebook site.
Below is today’s column in The Los Angeles Times exploring the growing attacks on free speech in the West and the recent controversy of the “Zombie Mohammad” case.
Continue reading “Free Speech Under Fire”
This week we have been discussing Attorney General Eric Holder’s recent speech at Northwestern University Law School detailing the claim of President Barack Obama that he has the right to kill American citizens based on his inherent authority and the ongoing war on terror. I previously wrote a blog and a column on the issue. Those pieces noted that Holder limited his remarks by referring to targeted killing “abroad.” However, I noted that the Administration’s past references to this power are not so limited. Indeed, the only limits stated by the Administration have been self-imposed standards and what Holder calls “due process” — expressly excluding “judicial process.” Now, FBI Director Robert Mueller has entered the fray. On Wednesday Mueller was asked in a congressional hearing whether the current policy would allow the killing of citizens in the United States. Mueller said that he simply did not know whether he could order such an assassination. It was the perfect moment to capture the dangerous ambiguity introduced into our system by this claim of inherent authority. I can understand Mueller deferring to the Attorney General on the meaning of his remarks, but the question was whether Mueller understands that the same power exists within the United States. One would hope that the FBI Director would have a handle on a few details guiding his responsibilities, including whether he can kill citizens without a charge or court order.
Continue reading “Mueller: I Can’t Say Whether I Now Can Kill Citizens In The United States Under Obama’s Kill Doctrine”
As the father of four, I was struck yesterday with a story out of Harford County, Maryland where a 3-year-old girl named Harmony was left at a Chuck E. Cheese’s and the parents did not realize that their daughter was missing until watching the 11 p.m. news.
To paraphrase, Sarah Palin: you know the difference between a pit bull and a Hockey Dad? A laser, apparently. In Boston, Joseph Cordes, 42, has been arrested for allegedly sitting in the stands with a laser that he was using to blind the goalie of his daughter’s opposing hockey team. His daughter was playing for Winthrop against Medway-Ashland in the Division 1 preliminary game when a parent spotted him with the laser. He has now been charged with disorderly conduct.
While strapped to a chair in a padded cell in Steuben County (Indiana) jail, Thomas Mars Willis, 32, spit on a guard’s wrist. He has now been sentenced to two years for that act after a jury found him guilty of felony battery by bodily waste.
Continue reading “Inmate Gets Two Years For Spitting On Guard”
The New York Times has an interesting article on the continuing debate over whether lies are protected under the first amendment — a debate that we discussed earlier in relation to the Supreme Court’s consideration of the constitutionality of the Stolen Valor Act. Mark W. Miller, however, is fighting this issue in a different context — challenging a law that makes it a crime to lie in a political campaign. I have always viewed these laws as inimical to free speech and contrary to the First Amendment. The Supreme Court could resolve the question in the Alvarez case — or reinforce the ability of states to prosecute people for falsehoods utterly in political campaigns.
Continue reading “Ohio Case Challenges Law Criminalizing “Lies” In Political Campaign”
Below is today’s column in Foreign Policy magazine on Attorney General Eric Holder’s speech at Northwestern University Law School. UPDATE: FBI Director declines to answer whether the new doctrine allows the killing of citizens in the United States.
Attorney General Eric Holder was at Northwestern University Law School yesterday explaining President Barack Obama’s claimed authority to kill any American if he unilaterally determines them to be a threat to the nation. The choice of a law school was a curious place for discussion of authoritarian powers. Obama has replaced the constitutional protections afforded to citizens with a “trust me” pledge that Holder repeated yesterday at Northwestern. The good news is that Holder promised not to hunt citizens for sport.
Continue reading “Holder Promises To Kill Citizens With Care”