The city of Roselle, New Jersey has passed a new law criminalizing the act of sleeping in public. Police Chief Paul Morrison insists that he is only going to use it against homeless people but that may be a statement that city lawyers will come to regret in court.
Continue reading “Constitutional Nightmare: New Jersey Town Bars Sleeping in Public”
Category: Criminal law
We have long followed trend toward “Make My Day” and “Make My Day Better” laws (also known as “Castle Doctrine” laws) allowing homeowners to kill anyone who invades their homes (here). Some of us have been very critical of these laws as unnecessary and based on a misrepresentation of both the criminal and common law. Citizens are being told that they could be sued for defending their homes from invaders. Now politicians in Pennsylvania have latched on a new gimmick: a law called “stand your ground” that allows people to use lethal force to defend their homes from the outside.
Continue reading “Pennsylvania Passes New Castle Doctrine Law”
In England, four prison officers were injured after discovering Charles Bronson naked in a gym and covered in butter. Ok, this might need a bit of explanation. Bronson, it turns out, is England’s most violent prisoner — a man who has spent nearly all of the last 36 years in prison for one violent crime or another. On this effort, he decided to butter himself to make it more difficult for guards to grab him — it worked. It took 12 guards to finally subdue the greased con.
Continue reading “Do You Want Butter With That Bronson?”
In Manchester, New Hampshire, a woman has learned the costs of vanity . . . well at least vanity plates. Bonnie Usher, 43, allegedly was careful to hide her face in a hooded sweatshirt when she robbed a Rite Aid. The problem was the getaway car: her car boasted vanity plates reading “B-USHER.” It did not take long for the police to arrive at her house and recover the cash.
Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio has been the right-wing poster boy for tough law enforcement. Subjecting his prisoners to spoiled food, tent villages in scorching heat, pink underwear, and then launching criminal investigations against public officials who challenged him just added to his “Walking Tall,” tough-cop credentials among his backers. He also is the moving force behind Arizona’s tough anti-immigration law backing Governor Jan Brewer in her “Show Me Ze Papers” campaign against Mexican immigrants. Now it seems the worm has turned, and Maricopa County officials are wondering why Arpaio needs to keep two sets of books.
Some of you may recall reading Professor Turley’s recent post about a Massachusetts priest who allegedly stole more than $80,000 from his parish to support his pornography habit. Well, there’s a new story about a priest in Spain who is alleged to have saved more than 20,000 pornographic images of children on his computer.
William Blake may have stood in awe of the ferocity and power of the great cat, but modern man sees quite a different thing. British-based Traffic International, a wildlife preservation group, reports that despite the international ban on the sale of tiger parts, over 1000 tigers have been illegally killed in the past decade. An analysis of seizures of tiger parts — from whole skins to claws, penises, and skulls — yielded the conservative estimate. India, home to half of the world’s tigers, leads all nations with 276 seizures uncovering parts from more than 530 tigers killed. Many Pacific rim nations are not far behind in tiger deaths. Tiger parts are used in many cultures for decoration, traditional medicines and good luck charms.
Source: Daily Mail
–Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger
Yes, this will be our mugshot of the week. Not since the mugshot of Sirius Black from Azkaban has a prisoner made such an impression. Mark Siebenmorgen, 46, was arrested in Milwaukie, Oregon for terrorizing town residents. Who would have guessed?
Continue reading “Meet Mark Siebenmorgen: Our Mugshot of the Week”
The Chinese have jailed another activist. This time the victim is Zhao Lianhai, the father of a child sickened by one of the country’s food safety scandals. At least six children died from melamine-tainted milk in 2008 and Zhao’s son was injured. More than 300,000 children were left with kidney problems. Zhao has been demanding answers. He just received one in the form of a 2½ years in prison sentence for “disturbing social order.”
Continue reading “China Sentences Food Safety Advocate to Over Two Years in Prison”
President Barack Obama continued his effort to preserve the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy in a filing before the United States Supreme Court. A trial court had imposed an injunction to halt the discriminatory policy. The Administration could have allowed the injunction to stand pending an appeal but succeeded in getting the order reversed. Now, it is defending its intention to continue to discriminate against gays and lesbians in an appeal to the Supreme Court.
Continue reading “Obama Fights To Preserve Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Before Supreme Court”
I previously posted notice of my retention as a legal expert in the polygamy case before the British Columbia Supreme Court — a case that is being watched closely around the world. My office has received a number of requests for the affidavit, which I have been informed is now part of the public record and is linked below.
Continue reading “Turley Affidavit in Canadian Polygamy Case”
The Iranian police has found another threat to the Islamic faith: rap music. The morals police has raided parties across Iran to nab kids who just want to play rap music. These teenagers have been meeting in abandoned buildings to listen to the music and dance.
Continue reading “Taking the Rap: Iranians Arrest Teenagers Across Country For Playing Rap Music and Using “Western Musical Instruments””
In Massachusetts, prosecutors are dealing with a bizarre case of a man who allegedly store $83,147 to pay for his pornography habit. What makes the case even more bizarre is that the victim was the St. John the Baptist Church and the alleged felon was its pastor, Rev. Keith LeBlanc.
Continue reading “Collared: Massachusetts Priest Accused of Stealing $83,000 To Support Porn Habit”
While we have been criticizing public officials for their criminalization of baggy pants, it appears that we can now add the objection that they are assisting crime by requiring tailored outfits. Columbus police have a video showing a man who failed in a bank robbery effort when he tripped over his baggy pants.
Continue reading “Holy, Inseam, Batman! Bank Robber Foiled By Baggy Pants”
In Salem, Massachusetts, lawyer Ilya Ablavsky, 32, has been charged in a bizarre alleged crime of stealing the file for his cousin’s murder trial and destroying it. Ablavsky, a recent graduate of Western New England College School of Law, reportedly stated that it was his understanding that, absent the original indictment, a person could not be charged.
Continue reading “Massachusetts Lawyer Accused of Shredding Court File To Block Murder Trial”