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.
Category: Criminal law
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”
Colorado Senator Suzanne Williams (Dem. Aurora) is being accused of an extraordinary act in Amarillo, Texas. Police allege that, after her 3-year-old grandson was ejected in a head-on accident, Williams placed him back into a seat in her SUV after the wreck.
In Barre, Vermont, Patrol Officer Zak Winston, 34, is facing a bizarre criminal charge that he first stole his neighbor’s television from under her Christmas tree and then, after police came to his house, tossed the TV into the Winooski River.
Continue reading “Vermont Police Officer Accused of Stealing Neighbor’s Television From Under Christmas Tree”
There is a public outcry over the video below showing St. Louis City police officer Dustin Ries beating a man with his baton outside of a St. Louis gas station. The police officer insisted that the man was drunk and unruly but the officer seems to use his baton immediately after grabbing the man and then pepper sprays him after striking him repeatedly.
Continue reading “Video: Police Officer Shown Beating and Then Pepper Spraying a Man in St. Louis”
The California Supreme Court has handed down an important ruling that allows police to search an arrested person’s cellphone without a warrant — a ruling that will allow police access to a wide array of information now kept on modern cellphones.
Continue reading “California Supreme Court Allows Warrantless Searches of Cell Phones”