Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX) once called the jurors in his recent trial his “brothers and sisters.” His view has changed a bit since they convicted him and he was sentenced to three years. DeLay has been making the talk show circuit and said on “The Today Show” that the jury was a liberal cabal led by a Greenpeace activist.
Continue reading “Twelve Angry Liberal Jurors: DeLay Slams Austin Jury Pool and Venue”
Category: Criminal law
As Democratic and Republican members rush to line up with new bills to restrict speech or guns after the Tucson massacre, Rep. Peter King once again will not be outdone in criminalizing conduct. He is reportedly planning to introduce a bill that would make it illegal to knowingly carry a gun within 1,000 feet of the President, Vice President, Members of Congress or judges of the Federal Judiciary. This, of course, raises the problem with politicians being mobile. In states allowing concealed weapons, the appearance of any federal official or judge would require a fast estimation of 1,000 feet to avoid criminal charges.
We have been following the general trend toward criminalizing conduct in America and particularly the use of criminal penalties in our schools (here and here). Now, a study by Texas Appleseed shows Texas schools routinely using criminal misdemeanors against unruly students.
U.S. District Judge John McBryde of Fort Worth, Texas has issued a massive opinion holding attorneys S. Tracy Long, Melvin K. Silverman, Joseph F. Cleveland, Jr., and John P. Gillig liable for ethical breaches and recommending criminal prosecution after they challenged his impartiality and temperament in a case. The lengthy opinion below details the case against the lawyers in litigation over golf club patents. What is most striking about the case is the decision of the judge to conduct the inquiry himself — rejecting obvious concerns over his own conflict of interest in eliciting testimony on his own conduct. [See the update below]
We have been following “stolen valor” cases and the constitutional controversies raised by faux warriors. There is now a disturbing case out of New York which could present the next context for such prosecution. This picture is of a true American hero: Sgt. Roberto Sanchez, 24, a US Army Ranger killed in combat in Afghanistan in 2009 after five tours of duty. It was reportedly stolen by a man named “Dylan Sorvino” to claim to be a special forces soldier to attract women and praise for his service on Facebook.
Italian Darco Sangermano, 28, took matters into his own hands literally while waiting in an emergency room to be seen after being shot in the head. Sangermano was hit in the head by a bullet fired by one of those morons who like to shoot their guns on New Year’s Eve. Sangermano suddenly sneezed in the Naples hospital and the bullet came out his nose.
Continue reading “Italian Man Sneezes Out Bullet”
Gun shops are reporting near record sales after the massacre in Tuscon, particularly of the Glock semi-automatic pistol used by Jared Loughner, 22.
Continue reading “Nothing Like a Massacre: Gun Sales Soar After Tuscon Shootings”
This is the rather bizarre mugshot of Jared Loughner that was released yesterday afternoon. He has been assigned lawyer Judy Clarke, who defended the Unabomber.
Continue reading “Meet Jared Loughner”
Unfortunately, one of the most predictable things to follow a madman’s attack in this country is a slew of new laws proposed by politicians — often laws that threaten first amendment or fourth amendment rights. In the first of what may be a slew of such measures following the Arizona massacre, Rep. Robert Brady (D-Pa.) has indicated that he now plans to introduce legislation that would make it a federal crime to use language or symbols that could be perceived as threatening or inciting violence against a federal official or member of Congress. The law will be designed on the model of the law criminalizing threats against the President. That law has long been controversial with civil libertarians and Rep. Brady’s law will only magnify the constitutional concerns.
There is an interesting case involving the team doctor to the San Diego Chargers, Dr. David Chao. Kathleen Adams, a former patient, was awarded $2.2 million by an arbitration panel due to Chao botched hip surgery in 2007 in which he lacerated her femoral artery, vein and nerve. What is most interesting is that Chao, 46, has a long history of malpractice despite his high-profile position with the Chargers.
Continue reading “Chargers Doctor Loses Malpractice Case And Investigated By Federal Authorities”
Michael Haydon, 44, is having a Perry Mason moment. Just as his case appeared unwinnable for the prosecutors, a surprise witness has popped up in court . . . his best friend . . . his German shepherd, Boomer. The Court has ruled that prosecutors in Wisconsin may introduce DNA evidence from his dog at his upcoming murder trial.
Continue reading “The Hair of the Dog That Bit You: Man Faces His Own Dog in Murder Trial”
Submitted by Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger
Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, preparing for a run for President, has granted clemency to two African-American sisters serving life sentences for an armed robbery 17 years ago. The sisters were convicted of robbing at gunpoint two men who were driving them to a nightclub in northern Mississippi in 1993. They had no prior criminal record and got $11.00. Each was sentenced to two life terms. Civil Rights activists have lobbied for their release arguing the sentences were too long.
Continue reading “Miss. Governor Frees Sisters Who Robbed $11 – But With A Catch”
The mother of Takara Davis, 13, was in shock as she rushed with Takara to surgery after she was hit by a car on her way back from school. Takara was in a coma and doctors were rushing to save her life when a Las Vegas police officer pulled Kellie Obong aside . . . to hand her a ticket for her daughter’s jaywalking.
Continue reading “Police Officer Goes to Hospital of Comatose Teenager Heading into Surgery . . . To Give Mother a Ticket for Jaywalking”
In the video below, police appear to shoot a man in a wheelchair who was armed with knives and may have stabbed an officer. There are a number of questions raised by this video over the use of lethal force.
Continue reading “Video: San Francisco Police Shoot Man in Wheelchair”
The mainstream Islamic organizations have rallied in response to the assassination of of Salman Taseer, governor of Punjab province by one of his bodyguards. However, they are not rallying to denounce the killing but to celebrate it because Taseer had stood up against the country’s notorious blasphemy laws. Islamic leaders warned people not to mourn his death and warned other politicians that they could face the same fate if they tried to curtail blasphemy prosecutions. In the meantime, his killer, Mumtaz Qadri was showered with rose petals and kisses by supporters in court.
Continue reading “Mainstream Pakistani Islamic Groups Praise Assassin of Governor and Warn Others That They Would Be Killed For Opposing Blasphemy Prosecutions”