Tunisan Nadar Khiari, 28, will soon be back on his way to Tunisia and should consider himself fortunate that he avoided a longer stay in Sweden after an despicable crime caught on camera. Khiari was waiting for a train when he saw a drunk man fall on to the train tracks. At first, the video below suggests that Khiari is coming to the man’s aid. Instead, Khiari jumps down and robs the unconscious man and leaves him on the tracks where the man is struck and lost his foot (but miraculously survived).
Category: Criminal law
There is an interesting decision out of Chicago in which Judge William Bauer (left) finds that a Chicago zoning inspector is innocent of federal bribery because the bribes were too modest to constitute the prescribed crime. Dominick Owens was convicted under a federal statute for taking two $600 bribes to issue certificates of occupancy for four homes. However, the federal law states a $5000 threshold and the court ruled that the value of the bribes fell below that definition. It is a curious bribery statute that effectively distinguishes between federal non-criminal and criminal bribes on the basis of their worth.
In a blow to science and rational thought, Italian prosecutors have succeeded in convicting seven of that country’s leading scientists of manslaughter for failing to predict the 2009 earthquake that struck central Italy. Despite objections from the world’s science community that such accurate and consistent predictions are still impossible, the government blamed the scientists for failing to alert the public that an earthquake was coming.
Continue reading “Leading Italian Scientists Convicted Of Failing To Predict 2009 Earthquake”
There is a bizarre case out of Pennsylvania that raises both potential tort and criminal liability. At a family Halloween bonfire, Janet Grant spotted a skunk and told her son Thomas Grant to fetch a shotgun and shoot it. When he returned, Janet Grant shined a flashlight on the animal while her son shot it. It was only then that they discovered that Thomas Grant had just shot his eight-year-old cousin in her black and white Halloween costume. What is amazing is that authorities say that they are considering possible animal gaming charges.
We recently saw the relatively light treatment given a Wisconsin juror who walked out of deliberations in a major criminal case to enjoy a vacation in Cancun. The same does not appear to hold true for lawyers who are accused of skipping out on trials, it appears. Lawyer M. Tayari Garrett was convicted of misdemeanor contempt for skipping a trial last year to attend her brother’s wedding in Paris. She was given one year probation and a $1000 fine.
One of the most common complaints by civil libertarians is that prosecutors who abuse the system or rights of defendants are rarely held accountable when convictions are later thrown out. Some like Nancy Grace actually make television careers based on their checkered record as prosecutors. One exception is the Texas proceedings against Texas judge and former Williamson County District Attorney Ken Anderson, who is accused of withholding evidence and making false statements during the 1987 trial of Michael Morton for the murder of his wife. Despite the allegations of his abuses as a prosecutor, Anderson was elevated to the bench to mete out justice as a judge.
Continue reading “Texas Judge Faces Bar Hearing Over Alleged Abuses As District Attorney”
We have been following the effort by police in the United States and abroad to make filming them in public a crime. For a prior column, click here. We can now add Spain to the list. The Spanish government has proposed a law banning the photographing and filming of members of the police. Since such films have been a major deterrent to police abuse, the law is viewed as understandably threatening to citizens as protests increase over Spain’s economic crisis. Last year, one such film caught police attacking protesters during a visit by the Pope. The Spanish government appears to have found a solution: rather than stop the abuse, you stop people filming the abuse.
Continue reading “Spanish Government Proposes Ban On Filming Police”
Jeremie Calo and Tiffani Lynn Barganier are accused of a bizarre crime of having sex in public at a Florida restaurant in front of families with children. Yet, they will not be charged with that crime because none of the adults, including parents, who watched the disgraceful scene are willing to come forward to be witnesses. It is an sad statement about our society that parents, who were upset with the alleged public sex act, do not view themselves as bound by civic duty to step forward as witnesses for the police. It appears that Calo is not the only one treating the incident with a wink and a nod.
Last Sunday, I published a column on “The Death of Free Speech”, highlighting the continuing threat of blasphemy prosecutions around the world. This week we have yet another such disturbing case. Well-known Turkish pianist and composer Fazil Say appeared in court on Thursday on charges of offending Muslims and insulting Islam in brief Twitter posts. Say is a celebrated artist who has appeared with both the New York Philharmonic and the Berlin Symphony Orchestra and will now face 18 months in jail for making a joke on Twitter. Continue reading “Leading Pianist and Secularist Charged With Blasphemy In Turkey”
Gary Raub, 63, can claim that he was arrested by a true “gum shoe” detective by the homeless man was tricked to give up his DNA in a fake chewing gum survey. Raub was arrested in Seattle in the death of Blanche Kimball, a 70-year-old retired dental technician in 1976.
We have another dog shooting by an officer who went to the wrong house on a call. Albert Morales and his brother Hector Serna were awoken by a San Antonio officer banging on a window of their home before dawn. The officer was at the wrong house in responding to a call about a deceased person. As almost an afterthought, according to Morales, the officer said that he might want to check out his dog.
Continue reading “San Antonio Officer Goes To Wrong House On Call And Shoots Family’s Pet Dog”
We have yet another outrage by a devout Muslim who believes that she should not only require others to follow her views of morality but is willing to punish children deemed immoral. In Southern Egypt, a teacher in Luxor forced two 12-year-old girls to hold their hands above their heads for two hours and then cut off some of their hair in front of the class to punish them for not wearing Muslim headscarves or hijab.
Continue reading “Egyptian Teacher Cuts Hair Of Girls Who Failed To Wear Muslim Headscarves”
On Sunday, I ran a column in the Washington Post detailing how free speech is dying in the West. That column featured cases from England prominently as have many stories on this blog. Now we have yet another free speech case to add to our collection from our cousins across the pond. Barry Thew, 39, was arrested after he wore a handmade tee shirt with offensive anti-police words. He was given four months for his exercise of what should be protected free speech.
There is an interesting case out of Mesquite, Texas this week. Melissa Walthall, 30, has been arrested for allegedly posting a picture of an undercover officer in a narcotic case — a picture available on the officer’s Facebook page. Walthall was upset with the officer who testified against a friend in the case and found the picture on the Internet. She has been charged with “retaliation” even though she is not a party to the case and saw the officer in a public hearing. I have serious constitutional reservations about such a charge, even though I understand entirely the concern and anger of the police in a move that could endanger the officer.
The video below shows police officers pummeling a man found drunk and shirtless in a Jewish youth center in Brooklyn. The video shows slight resistance to being cuffed — followed by a virtual beat down by the officer, including one officer who appears to assume a boxing stance. The man has been identified by one site as Ehud Halevi.
Continue reading “Brooklyn Officers Beat Down Drunken Man Found At Synagogue”