Category: Criminal law

Bizarre, Criminal law, Society

Bicyclist Allegedly Arrested After Officer Almost Hits Her With Car Door

A cyclist in New York has a harrowing tale about a literal run-in with a police officer. Christina Thede says that she was biking home when a man in a double parked car suddenly opened his door. She braked so hard that a delivery biker ran into her. She yelled at the driver that he should watch what he was doing and continued on. The man proceeded to chase her and arrested her. He is a New York police officer.

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Bizarre, Courts, Criminal law

Ohio Man Arrested For Stealing Gavel of Judge From Courtroom

Lorain (Ohio) Magistrate Daniel Cook may have to recuse himself from a recent theft case. It appears that two citizens who came before him decided to leave with their own measure of justice: they stole Cook’s gavel. The alleged gavel grabber is Christopher Collins, 47, who was promptly arrested in the world’s most moronic act.

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Bizarre, Criminal law, International, Politics, Religion, Society

Indonesian Islamic Legislator Who Cracked Down On Pornography Caught Watching Explicit Video During Parliamentary Debate

An Indonesian member of the Islamic Prosperous Justice Party known only as Arifinto has become the latest religious hypocrite who does not practice what he preaches. Arifinto, 50, is one of the leaders of the staunch Islamic party and helped lead the fight to pass a tough anti-pornography law. Arifinto, however, is shown in the articles below, watching sexually explicit videos on his computer on the floor of the Parliament during a debate.

Continue reading “Indonesian Islamic Legislator Who Cracked Down On Pornography Caught Watching Explicit Video During Parliamentary Debate” →

Criminal law, Society, Torts

Applebee’s Accused of Giving Margarita To Toddler in a Sippy Cup

Applebee’s is looking at a serious tort action if the Dill-Reese family is sensible. They had to take their 15-month boy to the hospital after someone at Applebee’s allegedly filled his sippy cup with alcohol. The toddler had a blood alcohol level of .10 and has recovered.
Continue reading “Applebee’s Accused of Giving Margarita To Toddler in a Sippy Cup” →

Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Supreme Court, Torts

CONNICK V. THOMPSON AND PROSECUTORIAL IMPUNITY

Submitted by Mike Appleton, Guest Blogger

John Thompson spent 18 years in prison, 14 of them on death row, following convictions for attempted armed robbery and murder in separate incidents. A scant month before the scheduled execution, an investigator hired by Thompson’s lawyers made a startling discovery in the crime lab archives: a lab report which completely exonerated Thompson on the attempted robbery charge. Continue reading “CONNICK V. THOMPSON AND PROSECUTORIAL IMPUNITY” →

Criminal law, Politics, Religion

The “Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act of 2011″

-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger

Jan Brewer

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer has signed into law House Bill 2443, named the “Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act of 2011.” I don’t think the name was intended to be humorous. The law makes it a Class 3 felony to:

PERFORM AN ABORTION KNOWING THAT THE ABORTION IS SOUGHT BASED ON THE SEX OR RACE OF THE CHILD OR THE RACE OF A PARENT OF THAT CHILD.

Continue reading “The “Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act of 2011″” →

Bizarre, Courts, Criminal law, Justice

Well, What Do You Expect? She’s A Forger.

Submitted by Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger

Forty-one-year old Michelle Astumian sure has moxie. Facing a sentencing hearing in a San Luis Obispo, CA court for two counts of forging drug prescriptions and one of passing a fraudulent check, she presented Judge Barry LaBarbera with a doctor’s note in an effort to delay the proceeding. The savvy Judge dispatched a deputy DA to verify the note and was quickly told it was a fake. Nonplussed, Astumian collapsed when the Judge ordered the $45,000.00 bond revoked and her into custody. No word on the nature of her mysterious ailment, but her trip to the hospital granted her wish to delay the sentencing. I’d call that winning the battle only to insure losing the war.

Source: KVEC

~Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger

Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Politics, Society, Supreme Court

Fifth Circuit Rules Against Lawyer and Client in Public Criticism of An Indictment and Its Motivations

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has handed down a ruling against both a client and his lawyer for the violation of a gag order. The ruling against Don Hill, the former Dallas official, and his lawyer, Ray Jackson, could have implications for lawyers defending their clients in public against alleged governmental misconduct. Hill was given 30 days on top of the 18-year prison sentence in 2009 for corruption and Jackson was given a $5,000 fine levied by the trial court as well as a 120-day suspension from any client appointments in the Northern District of Texas

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Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Politics, Society

Mississippi Polling: Roughly Half of Polled Republicans in Mississippi Believe Interracial Marriage Should Be Illegal

A poll released this week shows that 46% percent of Mississippi Republicans believe that interracial marriage should be illegal. That staggering number is accompanied by only 40% who believe that adults should be free to marry who they want. This poll just happens to come out on the anniversary of the argument in Loving v. Virginia, 388 U.S. 1 (1967), where the Supreme Court in a 9-0 vote struck down Virginia’s anti-miscegenation statute.
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Criminal law, Lawyering, Society

Former Judge and Prosecutor in Newark Confesses To Arranging False Confession By Innocent Man To Clear Career Criminal

Former prosecutor and judge Clifford J. Minor has confessed to taking a bribe, procuring a false confession, lying to investigators, and falsifying documents. Before serving as a prosecutor and a judge, Minor was a police officer. He later ran for mayor of Newark.
Continue reading “Former Judge and Prosecutor in Newark Confesses To Arranging False Confession By Innocent Man To Clear Career Criminal” →

Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Lawyering

Michigan Lawyer Found To Have Rendered Ineffective Counsel After Allegedly Expressing Happiness Over Client’s Conviction

There is an extraordinary ruling in Michigan where the Michigan Court of Appeals has found the defense attorney Susan Prentice-Sao rendered ineffective counsel to Jeffrey Gioglio, who was convicted of second-degree criminal sexual conduct. To her credit, prosecutor Christine Bourgeois raised concerns over the case after Pretice-Sao allegedly told her that she considered Gioglio guilty, held back on her defense, and expressed happiness with the verdict (stating “He’s toast” to the prosecutor).

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Bizarre, Criminal law

Florida Woman Accused of Bilking Elderly In-Laws To Support Multimillion Gambling Habit

Jennifer Dennison appears to be the face of gambling addiction in an extraordinary case where she is accused of stealing more than $500,000 from her elderly in-laws to gamble at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Tampa. Police say that she won roughly $13 million over two years — but lost $14 million.
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Bizarre, Criminal law, Politics, Society

In the Land of the Armless Men, The One-Armed Man is Gang Leader: Maine Moves To Legalize Switchblades For One-Armed People

Maine lawmakers are addressing what appears to be a pressing public policy issue: one-armed people who want switchblade knives. A bill will allow one-armed persons to possess the currently illegal switchblades knives.
Continue reading “In the Land of the Armless Men, The One-Armed Man is Gang Leader: Maine Moves To Legalize Switchblades For One-Armed People” →