If there is one rule for the corrupt public officer it is this: cash only. Parking Enforcement Aide Jamila Judkins is accused of violating that rule when she allegedly demanded that a man write her a personal check when he explained that he did not have cash to pay her rate of $20 for ignoring a parking violation.
Continue reading “Corruption 101: How Not To Accept A Bribe”
Category: Criminal law
Grant Smith, 47, of Utah is the subject of a rare case of child pornography involving witnesses. Usually child porn cases arise from searches of personal or work computers. Smith, however, allegedly decided to review his cache of child porn on a flight from Utah to Boston. Another passenger in First Class reported him to flight attendants who called in the police. [Update: Smith is a professor at the University of Utah and has pleaded not guilty].
Florida Judge Donna Miller is delighted by the results of a novel sentence that she handed down to a 345-pound man jailed for driving with a suspended license. Miller told George McCovery, 37, that she would reduce his time by a pound a day for weight loss. He lost 25 pounds in 20 days and received early release. Miller is one of the judges who has merged justice with the entertainment industry — replaying proceedings on the television show “Lake Courts.” I have previously written about the dangers of such “novel” sentencing in judges using their courtrooms for entertainment or self-aggrandizement. While some judges have been sanctioned for crossing the line in merging judicial with their entertainment careers, Miller appears to be flourishing in the practice.
Continue reading “Florida Judge Combines Criminal Sentencing With Weight Loss Offer”
Submitted by: Mike Spindell, guest blogger
America has the world’s highest rate of incarceration, currently 738 per 100,000. Our nearest competitor for this dubious distinction is the Russian Federation with 607 and Cuba with 487. “The US incarcerates at a rate 4 to 7 times higher than other western nations such as the United Kingdom, France, Italy, and Germany and up to 32 times higher than nations with the lowest rates such as Nepal, Nigeria, and India.”
http://www.nccd-crc.org/nccd/pubs/2006nov_factsheet_incarceration.pdf Despite possible protestations that this is because we have the best law enforcement, my sense is that the reasons lie more in the system, than those who enforce it. No one ever lost an election in America because of the perception they “were tough on crime”.
“Race: Black males continue to be incarcerated at an extraordinary rate. Black males make up 35.4 percent of the jail and prison population — even though they make up less than 10 percent of the overall U.S population. Four percent of U.S. black males were in jail or prison last year, compared to 1.7 percent of Hispanic males and .7 percent of white males. In other words, black males were locked up at almost six times the rate of their white counterparts.” http://www.nccd-crc.org/nccd/pubs/2006nov_factsheet_incarceration.pdf
Despite possible protestations that this is because we have the best law enforcement, my sense is that the reasons lie more in the system, than those who enforce it. No one ever lost an election in America because of the perception they “were tough on crime”. “Race: Black males continue to be incarcerated at an extraordinary rate. Black males make up 35.4 percent of the jail and prison population — even though they make up less than 10 percent of the overall U.S population. Four percent of U.S. black males were in jail or prison last year, compared to 1.7 percent of Hispanic males and .7 percent of white males. In other words, black males were locked up at almost six times the rate of their white counterparts.”
http://www.laprogressive.com/law-and-the-justice-system/boiling-hot-mad/.html
These two sets of statistics when viewed together tell a terrible tale of how racial oppression still exists in this country despite our Black President and Black Attorney General. This Administration hasn’t caused of this problem, but they don’t seem to have made any progress dealing with it. We do know that there has been a widespread effort to play down the racial division that continues to plague this country. This continues despite Civil Rights Laws, Martin Luther King’s Birthday and TV beer commercials that always include at least one black male friend enjoying the camaraderie. Clearly there is a disconnect between how we Americans want to see ourselves and the reality for many Black males. Continue reading “The Incarceration of Black Men in America”
They don’t call it Black Friday for nothing. A woman in a Los Angeles Walmart hit the store at 10:20 pm to grab the holiday deals only to find other customers rushing toward the items that she wanted. Police say that, as the coverings on the items were removed, she pepper sprayed the other customers. Twenty people were injured.
Continue reading “California Woman Pepper Sprays Other Customers To Get “Upper Hand” in Black Friday Deal”
I previously wrote a column about the ongoing controversy over statutory rape prosecutions, the subject of prior blogs. Now, Grant County District Attorney Lisa Riniker appears intent on outdoing other prosecutors by charging a 6-year-old boy with first-degree sexual assault for what the family says was playing doctor with a 5-year-old girl.
As many of you know, I am lead counsel in the Sister Wives case challenging the constitutionality of Utah’s statute criminalizing plural or polygamous marriage. I also served as legal expert in the challenge to a similar law in Canada. The court has now ruled in that case and upheld the law in the decision below. While I strongly disagree with both the legal and factual conclusions of the Court, it is a decision that is worth reading. The decision can now be appealed to the higher courts in Canada.
Continue reading “Canadian Court Upholds Polygamy Law”
We previously followed the horrific story of an elderly man knocked unconscious by a teenager while his friends laughed and mocked the man at a CTA station. He is Scotty Strahan, 18, who does appear to be the man in the widely viewed videotape on YouTube.
Continue reading “Chicago Police Arrest Alleged Attacker in YouTube Video”
Everyone person who has illusions about the still awaited breakout of democracy and freedom in Afghanistan should read the article below. It details the life of a woman called Gulnaz who was raped by her cousin’s husband and became pregnant. Rather than prosecute the man, she was convicted of sex outside of marriage and given a choice: marry your rapist or spend twelve years in jail. She has been serving the sentence with her daughter in jail in this abomination produced by Sharia law. In the meantime, the EU has yielded to demand by the Afghan government that it bar the showing of a movie featuring her story, and other women like her.
Continue reading “Meet Gulnaz: The Face of The Plight of Women in “Free” Afghanistan”
In Chesapeake, Virginia, Ashley Fowler, 22, is our latest example of an a human who allegedly expresses her feelings by killing or torturing a pet. In this case, it was a pet piglet of her friend’s former boyfriend, Zach Sawyer, who raised piglets as therapy after an accident. Fowler is accused of decapitating the piglet.
Continue reading “Virginia Woman Accused of Stabbing and Decapitating Piglet”
The Justice Department is infamous for conducting long investigations of its own attorneys and finding no grounds for criminal charges as in the dubious investigation of attorneys involved in the torture program. Now, a special prosecutor has found that (surprise) there is no basis for criminal charges against Justice Department officials who concealed evidence in the prosecution of former U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens in open contempt of court. The reason is something only found plausible in the Justice Department’s review of its own conduct: U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan failed to order them not to conceal evidence and comply with ethical rules. I kid you not.
Continue reading “Special Prosecutor: DOJ Attorneys Cannot Be Charged With Criminal Contempt Because They Were Not Ordered To Comply With Legal and Ethical Rules”
Two teenagers share a passing kiss is viewed by most people as a sign of young love. The assistant principal at Orange River Elementary School, however, viewed it as a matter for immediate police intervention. The teacher called in the Lee County Sheriff to handle the teens. As Oliver Wendell Holmes said “[t]he sound of a kiss is not so loud as that of a cannon, but its echo lasts a great deal longer.” That was not even counting the time for arraignment in Florida.
Continue reading “Forbidden Love: Florida School Officials Reportedly Call In Police After Seeing Two Teens Kiss”
We have previously seen fake doctors arrested after harmful or lethal operations, often low-cost cosmetic surgeries. Few compete with the alleged medical practice of Oneal Ron Morris, who is accused of injecting the buttocks of women with cement and flat-tire sealant in her “practice.” The use of flat-tire sealant appears to be a favorite off-the-counter item for such faux cosmetic doctors, given past cases. She was charged criminally for practicing without a license and obviously can be sued civilly.
Continue reading “Meet Oneal Ron Morris: Alleged Fake Doctor Who Injected Victims With Cement and Flat-Tire Sealant For “Curvier” Bodies”
Kevin Daly, 22, may need both a clothing and legal make-over. He was not only arrested for allegedly driving drunk and crashing into a police cruiser, but was wearing a tee-shirt reading “I’m not an alcoholic, I’m a drunk. Alcoholics go to meetings.”
Submitted by Mike Spindell, Guest Blogger
Last week during a long road trip, I was listening to a CD from the band The Eagles. A song came on written by Don Henley and Glenn Frey the group’s songwriters and leaders. The song is called “Get Over It”. As the autumn beautiful Shenandoah Valley landscape was passing by, a line from the song jarred me from my motoring reverie and made me think of this blog. The line was:
“The more I think about it, Old Billy was right
Let’s kill all the lawyers, kill ’em tonight.”
Continue reading “Let’s Kill All The Lawyers?”