Category: Criminal law

Bizarre, Criminal law, Society

Light Saber Versus Taser- And The Winner Is …

Submitted by Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger

A man in Portland, Oregon, may hold the answer to indiscriminate use of   Tasers by police in his hands.  Seems the 33-year-old was shopping at Toys-R-Us, when he seized a toy light saber and began swinging the “weapon” at shoppers and mumbling incoherent statements. Police responded and the man met them in the parking lot seised for battle. A few swings later and the police whipped out their Tasers.  Simultaneously,  feeling and then opposing “The Force,” our Skywalker wannabe apparently mentally disabled the first taser when it failed to work. He then manually disabled the second with a well-placed blow of the plastic sabre breaking one of its wires. Sheer numbers ultimately led to the man’s capture. None of the shoppers in Toys-R-Us were harmed in the making of this episode.  The cosmic lesson seems to be that if you’re anticipating an encounter with Taser-wielding police, arm yourself with 1977  toys and sally forth!

Source: Yahoo News

~Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger

Courts, Criminal law

Border Patrol: It’s A Crime To Give A Ride To An Illegal Alien

-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger

Maclovio Bautista, a legal resident of Washington state and the U.S. for more than twenty years, is under threat of deportation because he was caught giving a ride to an illegal alien. While on their way to see a mechanic, they were pulled over by a Border Patrol agent. Bautista’s companion fled only to be apprehended later. Bautista was held for three days at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma.

Continue reading “Border Patrol: It’s A Crime To Give A Ride To An Illegal Alien” →

Bizarre, Criminal law, Society

Thinning The Hurd: Bears Wide Receiver Arrested in Drug Sting

As if things were not bad enough for Bears’ fans with the loss of Jay Cutler and other mishaps, Bears wide received Samuel Hurd, 26, has been arrested and charged with conspiring to distribute cocaine. Hurd looks like he was sacked in a pretty damning sting operations where he not only is caught arranging delivery of coke and pot but actually accepts a sample (the latter move should have been a tip off of a sting operation).
Continue reading “Thinning The Hurd: Bears Wide Receiver Arrested in Drug Sting” →

Criminal law, International, Society, Torts

France Facing Crisis After Discovery That Tens of Thousands of Women May Have Been Given Industrial Silicone In Breast Implants

France is experiencing a massive tort scandal after it was discovered thousands of women were given breast implants containing industrial silicone rather than medical silicone. We have seen <a href="In Vassallo v. Baxter Healthcare Corp., 696 N.E.2d 909 (Mass.1998), a court looked at the liability of one such company under an implied warranty of merchantability for failure to warn or provide instructions about risks. The appellate court Defendant did have actual or constructive knowledge.”>such cases in the United States of faux doctors using industrial silicone purchased from auto and home repair stores. Nothing, however, comes close to the French scandal. Over 30,000 women in France (as well as some in Spain and the UK) may have had the defective products from Poly Implant Prosthesis (PIP).
Continue reading “France Facing Crisis After Discovery That Tens of Thousands of Women May Have Been Given Industrial Silicone In Breast Implants” →

Bizarre, Criminal law

Shock Video: Police Arrest Tennessee Man Who Allegedly Tried To Kill Friend By Driving Truck Into Convenience Store

This would be a bad start to a criminal defense case. Police in Nashville, Tennessee have arrested Erik Whitaker, 40, after he drove his truck through the front of a market in pursuit of friend Laquisha Dansby, 37. He is then captured on film stealing a Dodge Durango and crashing it into a delivery truck. That pretty much covers most of the criminal code with the exception of endangered species violations (they may want to look under the truck).

Continue reading “Shock Video: Police Arrest Tennessee Man Who Allegedly Tried To Kill Friend By Driving Truck Into Convenience Store” →

Constitutional Law, Criminal law, International, Politics, Society

Happy Birthday, Bill [of Rights]: Obama Breaks Promise To Veto Bill Allowing Indefinite Detention of Americans

There was a brief moment when civil libertarians were stunned to see President Barack Obama actually take a stand in favor of civil liberties after years to rolling back on basic rights of citizens and moving beyond the Bush Administration in building up the security state. Obama said that he would veto the defense bill that contained a horrific provision for the indefinite detention of American citizens. While many predicted it, Obama has now again betrayed the civil liberties community and lifted the threat of the veto. Americans will now be subject to indefinite detention without trial in federal courts in a measure supported by both Democrats and Republicans. It is a curious way to celebrate the 220th anniversary of the Bill of Rights.
Continue reading “Happy Birthday, Bill [of Rights]: Obama Breaks Promise To Veto Bill Allowing Indefinite Detention of Americans” →

Criminal law, Free Speech, International, Politics, Religion, Society

Police In Indonesia Capture Dozens of “Punks” For “Spiritual Cleansing” In The Name Of Islam

My last column discussed how the Obama Administration is continuing its dangerous effort to appease Muslim allies in establishing limitations on free speech to combat “intolerance” for religion. Yesterday, there was an interesting article from Indonesia where police raided punk parties and took kids into custody to be “spiritually cleansed” in the name of Sharia law. Police insisted that the shaving of their heads and other abuses were perfectly consistent with human rights law because it was benefiting the subjects.

Continue reading “Police In Indonesia Capture Dozens of “Punks” For “Spiritual Cleansing” In The Name Of Islam” →

Bizarre, Criminal law, International, Religion, Society

Saudi Kingdom Executes “Sorceress”

The Saudi Kingdom has now executed yet another “sorcerer” — part of a continuing trend in Muslim countries in arrested suspecting Genies and sorcerers in the name of Allah. In this case, the Saudis appear to have arrested a garden-variety carnival healer — a woman saying that she could heal illness for $800 per session.
Continue reading “Saudi Kingdom Executes “Sorceress”” →

Bizarre, Criminal law, Politics, Society, Torts

Police Reportedly Take Two Hunters Into Custody In Texas School Shooting

We have followed a long line of hunting accidents and buck fever cases which are becoming more and more common as housing areas expand into rural areas (here and here). Now in Edinburg, Texas, police have taken two hunters into custody on suspicion of firing the stray bullets that cut down two middle school students at Harwell Middle School.
Continue reading “Police Reportedly Take Two Hunters Into Custody In Texas School Shooting” →

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

Criminalizing Intolerance: Obama Administration Moves Forward On United Nations Resolution Targeting Anti-Religious Speech

Below is my column today in The Los Angeles Times on the conference this week in Washington on religious speech. I have previously written about the Obama Administration’s break with past policies to support Muslim countries in cracking down on speech deemed “defamatory” to religion. While the latest resolution does not repeat the defamation language, the purpose remains unchanged and the dangers for free speech are obvious. The non-binding resolution was passed in March, largely in response to the assassinations of two Pakistani officials who had spoken out against the nation’s blasphemy law. Ironically, however, the resolution will likely reinforce the right of countries to criminalize anti-religious speech and blasphemy laws.

Continue reading “Criminalizing Intolerance: Obama Administration Moves Forward On United Nations Resolution Targeting Anti-Religious Speech” →

Bizarre, Criminal law

Texas Man Sentenced To Life Imprisonment Released After Records Show He Was In Jail At The Time Of The Crime

When a Texas jury sentenced LaDondrell Montgomery to life imprisonment for armed robbery, he insisted that he was innocent. Police and prosecutors, however, insisted that he was the man who robbed a T-Mobile store. It turns out that he was telling the truth, but it was not until after his sentencing that his father showed that Montgomery could not have committed the crime because he was in jail at the time.
Continue reading “Texas Man Sentenced To Life Imprisonment Released After Records Show He Was In Jail At The Time Of The Crime” →

Bizarre, Criminal law, Torts

New Jersey Man Dies After “Doctor” Injects Silicone Into His Penis in Home Procedure

We have been following a line of cases involving faux doctors performing cheap cosmetic surgery by using such medical material as “Fix-A-Flat” gel. The latest such case comes from New Jersey where Justin Street, 22, died after Kasia Rivera, 34, allegedly injected his penis with silicone in an enlargement procedure. Street died the day after the treatment in Rivera’s home.
Continue reading “New Jersey Man Dies After “Doctor” Injects Silicone Into His Penis in Home Procedure” →

Bizarre, Criminal law

California Prison Psychologist Arrested For Allegedly Staging Rape and Burglary

Laurie Ann Martinez, a prison psychologist, has been arrested in Sacramento, California in a bizarre alleged hoax where she staged a rape by splitting her own lip with a pin, scraping her knuckles on sandpaper, ripping her clothing, and having a friend punch her in the face. The reason? According to police, it was to convince her husband to move to a safer neighborhood.
Continue reading “California Prison Psychologist Arrested For Allegedly Staging Rape and Burglary” →

Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Free Speech, International, Politics

Lese Majesty Means Less Speech: Thai Court Sentences U.S. Citizen To Over Two Years In Jail For Defaming Royal Family

We have previously discussed the assault on free speech around the world, including in the West. The Thai courts have added to this ignoble trend by sentencing American Joe Gordon, 55, to two and half years for “defaming” the Thai Royal Family. Defamation law is quite different in other countries, including close allies like Italy, France, and England, and often used to punish critics of the government. Gordon was convicted for simply posting a link to an unapproved biography of the King. It is an example of the outdated use of lese majesty offenses — offense against the dignity of a sovereign.

Continue reading “Lese Majesty Means Less Speech: Thai Court Sentences U.S. Citizen To Over Two Years In Jail For Defaming Royal Family” →