We previously discussed the decision of prosecutors to grant ultra-Orthodox Jewish defendants anonymity — denied to other defendants — in facing sex-crime charges. It is, in my view, a highly problematic form of favoritism shown to a powerful community in Brooklyn. Moreover, as discussed earlier, it is highly unlikely in this tight-knit community that the identification of both the accused and victims would not be known. Now, four Hasidic men have been arrested for alleged harassment and obstruction of witnesses, including the offer of a $500,000 bribe to refuse to testify against a Hasidic leader. The prominent accused man in the Satmar Hasidic community, Nechemya Weberman, has been accused of 88 counts of sexual misconduct, including oral sex with a child younger than 13 years old. In addition to the money, the men are accused of threatening to withdraw the kosher certification from the restaurant of the boyfriend, Hershy Deutsch, unless the woman dropped her claims.
Continue reading “Four Hasidic Men Charged With Attempted Coercion and Bribery Of Victim To Protect Prominent Hasidic Defendant in Child Abuse Case”
Category: Criminal law
As a parent, this video of middle school students taunting a grandmother Karen Klein, 68, on a school bus is nothing short of revolting. The grandmother was on the bus as a monitor and is reduced to tears by the cruel comments and threats of the children. The bus belongs to the Greece Central School District in New York.
Continue reading “Police Reviewing Video of Abuse of Grandmother On New York Middle School Bus”
Norwegian prosecutors today did something that U.S. prosecutors appear incapable of doing in high-visibility case — admit that a defendant is legally insane. Prosecutors in the case of confessed mass killer Anders Behring Breivik’s trial told the court that he should be committed to compulsory psychiatric care instead of prison. They stated that their were too many doubts about his sanity when the 33-year-old Norwegian killed 77 people in a bomb and gun rampage on July 22.
Continue reading “Prosecutors Admit Defendant Is Insane In Major Homicide Case . . . In Norway”
Two California lawyers have been arrested in a bizarre alleged conspiracy to plant drugs in the car of the PTA president of their child’s school. Lawyers Kent Wycliffe Easter, 38, and Jill Bjorkholm Easter, 38, targeted Kelli Peters because they felt she treated her son poorly by locking him outside of the school for 20 minutes. They are accused of putting Vicodin, Percocet, marijuana, and a used marijuana pipe behind the front seat of her car to frame her.
President Barack Obama today asserted executive privilege over documents long sought by Congress in the investigation of the “Fast and Furious” operation. The assertion in my view is facially overbroad and excessive. It is the latest example of sweeping claims of executive power and privilege by this Administration. Congress has ample reason to investigate this operation, which involves alleged criminal acts that may have resulted in the death of third parties, including a U.S. agent. The Justice Department is accused of complicity in one of the most ill-conceived and harmful operations in recent years. The very officials and agency accused of wrongdoing is claiming that it can withhold documents from a committee with oversight responsibilities.
Continue reading “Deliberative or Evasive? Obama Asserts Privilege Over “Fast and Furious””
While kissing babies is the stereotype of a politician, Democratic Senate candidate Thomas K. Owens is accused of a far more felonious interest after a charge of the solicitation of a minor. Police say that when asked about the solicitation of a 7-year-old girl, he said “I have a problem with that.” He was not considered a serious candidate for the primary.
Jerry Sandusky’s legal team is claiming that the former Penn State coach suffers from histrionic personality disorder, which is why he corresponded so extensively with his alleged victims and exhibited sexually seductive behavior. It is the type of argument that tends to leave many jurors unconvinced and can be viewed as too clever by half.
Associate Circuit Judge Barbara T. Peebles is under investigation for allegedly allowing her clerks to handle litigation matters as she vacationed in China last year. To make matters worse, there is a criminal investigation into the disappearance of a document related to the vacation. In the meantime, another judge, Margaret J. Walsh resigned after allegations that she ordered the handcuffing of an assistant city counselor and used inappropriate or abusive language as well as allegedly attempting to influence city officials when her son was rejected for a job.
Saudi Arabia’s Sharia-based courts continued their application medieval notions of justice this week with the execution of another person accused of “witchcraft and sorcery.” Muree bin Ali bin Issa al-Asiri was beheaded after he was found in possession of books and talismans. He was also accused of adultery.
San Francisco prosecutors have brought relatively rare felony vehicular manslaughter charges against a bicyclist who allegedly hit and killed an elderly man, 71-year-old Sutchi Hui in a crosswalk. Chris Bucchere, 36, allegedly ran a red traffic light before hitting Hui who died later of his injuries. His trial could feature a highly inadvisable blog posting that he allegedly published after the fatal accident — bemoaning the loss of his helmet.
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Prosecutors in the trial of former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky are asking NBC to turn over the tapes of an interview with him that had unaired creepy segments. It is not clear why NBC chose not to air the statements where Sandusky appears almost self-incriminating. There is no reason for NBC to protect Sandusky so many of us are perplexed why such revealing lines were left unaired.
In Texas, two school employees have been sued after they allegedly verbally abused a boy for being “smelly” and forced him to strip and shower in front of them. The boy was just eight years old and attended Peaster Elementary School. The child’s parents, Amber and Michael Tilley, also filed a police report but no charges were brought against the employees. The lawsuit names Peaster Independent School District and Peaster Elementary School employees Julie West and Debbie Van Rite in federal court in Fort Worth.
Continue reading “Texas School Sued After Forcing “Smelly” Kid To Strip and Shower At School”
Former “NYPD Blue” screenwriter Ted Shuttleworth, 51, is now part of a case that could easily end up on an episode of show. He seems to have answered Det. Danny Sorenson’s question “Where’s a good homicide when you need one?” Shuttleworth has been arrested after punching his poodle in the face on May 29th so hard that it died of a brain injury.
Continue reading “Poodle Puncher: Former NYPD Blue Writer Charged With Killing Poodle”
A West Virginia lawyer Hiram C. Lewis IV, 41, narrowly lost a race to become the state attorney general in 2008 but has now found himself on the other side of the courtroom charged with malicious wounding and wanton endangerment with a firearm. Lewis is accused of shooting a man at his home in Procious, West Virgina. He is invoking the Castle Doctrine, which allows citizens to use lethal force in defense of their homes. I have been a long critic of Castle Doctrine laws, which have spinned off various extensions for the work place, cars, and other locations. Called “Make My Day” laws in some states, we now have “Make My Day Better” laws allowing people to use lethal force in defense of other property like cars as well as laws like “Stand Your Ground” involved in the Zimmerman case and other cases in Florida.
Police in St. Petersburg, Florida, have arrested a popular teacher in a bizarre alleged crime. Danielle Harkins, 35, is accused of telling students that they have demons inside them and that the only way to be rid of them is to cut themselves and then burn the wounds. They proceeded to do so and she is now charged with child abuse.