France’s highest court, the Constitutional Council, has ruled that access to the Internet is a basic human right in a decision striking down a key component of the a new internet piracy law by the Sarkozy administration.
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Category: Criminal law
Chicago police officer William Cozzi, 52, has been sentenced to more than three years in prison for beating a stabbing victim who was handcuffed to a wheelchair. The attack was caught on video.
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Civil libertarians have been complaining that many liberals are ignoring that Judge Sonia Sotomayor has been viewed as hostile to core liberal values and has a fairly conservative voting record in many areas, including free speech, student rights, and criminal procedure. For a review of her cases, click here. Another case has come to light that shows little of the empathy cited by the White House. While Vice President Joe Biden has emphasized the Sotomayor “watches the back of police” in cases (which is supported in some of her more controversial rulings), she has shown little empathy for those challenging police or convictions. The case of Jeffrey Deskovic is being cited as one such case.
Continue reading “Meaning of Empathy: Sotomayor Refused to Consider Appeal of Man Based on Technicality — Man Later Found Innocent Based on DNA”
It nows appears that murderer and Neo-Nazi James W. von Brunn was drawn to the Holocaust museum by the performance of an Anne Frank play. Reportedly a World War II veteran, von Brunn was a holocaust denier with a particular fixation with the play.
Continue reading “Police: Neo-Nazi May Have Been Drawn to Holocaust Museum by Anne Frank Play”
With all of the bad news about bankers of late, here is one banker who will be greatly missed. Frank McGarahan, a senior executive with Barclay’s, saw a group of youths beating a homeless man. Instead of walking by, McGarahan intervened and paid with his life. He was in East Anglia for the baptism of his niece Thea.
Continue reading “The Good Banker: Good Samaritan Beaten To Death By English Thugs”
Officials at Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women reportedly know a lesbian when they see one. The prison is being challenged for segregating inmates by such telltale lesbian characteristics as loose-fitting clothes, short hair or otherwise masculine looks. They are allegedly shipped off to the “butch wing.”
Many liberal are disappointed with the appointment of Sonya Sotomayor who was often suggested as a nominee for George W. Bush and has voted against free speech, student rights, and other cases with important liberal causes. As I have discussed in my review of her cases and criticism of past commentary of this nomination, liberals will lose ground on the Court if Sotomayor votes as a justice the way she voted as a judge. One of those areas is police abuse where Sotomayor has been criticized for siding with police in cases with strong evidence of abuse. Now, Vice President Joe Biden has drawn attention to the later cases by assuring a police organization that Sotomayor is pro-police and will watch their back when cases come before the Supreme Court.
Fox News writer Don Broderick ran into a story in Central Park this week when Brian Dooda, a Brooklyn film archivist, says he ran over him and drove with him cringing to his hood after an altercation. When told that the driver was a reporter, Dooda joked that he must work for Fox News. He was right, though Broderick says that Dooba is a “vigilante.”
Continue reading “Fox News Reporter Chases Down Story in New York”
Cheyenne Cherry, 17, has “issues” with small animals. She was arrested for cooking a kitten Tiger Lily (shown right) to death as a “joke.” She has a history of crimes relating to small animals.
Continue reading “New York Teen Charged With Cooking Kitten To Death As “Practical Joke””
University of Washington Professor Shirley Scheier has settled the lawsuit over her arrest by the City of Snohomish for taking pictures of power lines. The American Civil Liberties Union represented her and settled for $8000. The settlement is disappointing and disturbing given the small damages and lack of deterrent effect for the city.
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The London Metropolitan Police has been accused of waterboarding suspects in the Enfield area of North London. There has been a shake-up but, as in the United States, no one has yet to be charged with the torture.
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In both Canada and the United States, courts are imposing heavy criminal sentences for individuals for the transmission of HIV through consensual sex without disclosure to their partners. It is a trend that has alarmed some AIDS activists who fear that the scope of the prosecutions will put many HIV-positive individuals at risk of prosecution for negligence. I discussed the trend on this segment of NPR’s Talk of the Nation.
For two years, the courts in Florida have been dealing with a bizarre filing by death row inmate William Deparvine, who was convicted in the killing in 2006 of Richard and Karla Van Dusen. He is suing to get a vintage Chevy pickup truck owned by the dead couple.
Continue reading “Florida Death Row Inmate Sues To Get Truck of His Victims”
U.S. reporters Laura Ling and Euna Lee have been sentenced to 12 years hard labor in North Korea after being captured while covering the misery of defectors along the China-North Korea border.
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Bishop Nicholas A. DiMarzio of Brooklyn is reportedly threatening dire consequences for both legislators and the Church if New York lifts the statute of limitations to allow victims of child sex-abuse to sue. The one-year suspension will, according to the Bishop, bankrupt the Church and lead to social and political backlash for legislators.
Continue reading “Who Will Rid Me Of These Meddlesome Victims?: Brooklyn Bishop DiMarzio Warns Legislators That Allowing Child-Abuse Victims to Sue Would Virtually Bankrupt Diocese”