President Barack Obama today defended his decision to close the military detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and promptly raised more serious concerns for civil libertarians. In his speech, Obama announced that the country’s “moral authority” demanded closure but then said that his lawyers were working new policies to hold certain detainees indefinitely without trial.
Continue reading “A Law Unto Himself: Obama Promises To Hold Some Detainees Without Trial”
There has been a spate of juror problems of late in courts around the country. Grant Faber, 25, in Hillsboro, Oregon (left) is facing contempt charges for walking out of a trial due to “extreme boredom” while Erik Sly, 36, got into trouble in Gallatin county in Montana for writing the court to inform it that he would “rather count the wrinkles on my dog’s balls” than serve on a jury.
Continue reading “Two Angry Men: Recently Unsuccessful Juror Excuses”
A French judge has ordered a magazine off newsstands for publishing a photo of a Jewish man Ilan Halimi, who was allegedly tortured to death. The alleged culprits are facing trial. Judge Phillipe Jean-Draeher based his decision on the “exceptional” attack by Choc magazine on the feelings of Halimi’s mother and sisters.
Continue reading “French Judge Censors Magazine to Protect Feelings of Family in Torture Case”
This will not be a POPS case. A 78-yea-old woman is being held on $70,000 bond after repeatedly beating her 84-year-old husband with a bowl, metal pipe, and carpet cleaner as well as kicking him in the groin. The reason: the long festering anger over her belief that her husband cheated on her 35 years earlier.
Marcia Powell, an inmate at the Goodyear prison in Arizona, died after being left outside during the day in an uncovered chain-link cell in the desert heat. With temperature reaching 103, Powell collapsed and was later pronounced dead.
Continue reading “Arizona Inmate Dies After Being Left in Outdoor Cell with Temperatures as High as 103”
Paul Bergrin, 53, a former federal prosecutor, and three others were arrested this week on charges relating to the murder of a witness in a drug case as well as racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering charges. He is also accused of trying to hire a hitman. Prosecutors says that Bergrin had a favorite saying: “He liked to say ‘No witnesses, no case.”
Continue reading “Jersey Boys: Former Federal Prosecutor Arrested in Murder of Witness”
I have to say that was something odd in this story out of London where authorities appear to complement the planning and consideration that David Grant showed in his own suicide.
Continue reading “Atta Boy: Police Compliment Man for Excellent Suicide”
Colleen Hauser and her son, Daniel, have disappeared in the wake of losing the court fight to block chemotherapy needed to save Daniel’s life. He is suffering from Hodgkin’s lymphoma and an x-ray on Monday showed that the tumor had grown.
Continue reading “Minnesota Mom Flees with Ailing Son To Avoid Chemotherapy”
A video showing police officers beating an unconscious suspect, Anthony Warren, had led to the firing of five Birmingham officers. The beating occurred after a high-speed chase. An officer turned off the video camera but it still was able to capture the critical footage.
Pirates being tried in the Netherlands are announced that they want to stay in the country — citing such things as the toilets in their cell as just one of the great things about the country. One Dutch professor has suggested that the promise of a better life in the West might be a good incentive for pirates to surrender.
A federal jury in Tennessee ruled that three officers — Jason Creagan, Jonathan Mays and Jaime Scruggs — did not use excessive force in the death of Patrick Lee, 21, at a nightclub in 2005. Lee was tasered 19 times after he was seen acting strangely outside of a nightclub (ironically named the the Mercy Lounge) and allegedly resisted arrest.
For all of the economic and social pressure of this time, lawyers in the United States still have much to be thankful for. In moments of doubt, they need only consider the plight of lawyers in other countries like Guatemalan lawyer Rodrigo Rosenberg, who was killed recently. Rosenburg predicted his own murder in an amazing video (below) after alleging high level corruption in the government.
Continue reading “Guatemalan Attorney Murdered After Predicting His Own Death In Video”
In past blogs, we have been keeping track of the horrible fate of children and women in Nigeria and other parts of Africa accused of witchcraft. Belief in witches is common in Africa and shown recently with disclosures about one of Gov. Sarah Palin’s favorite preachers. Now, these children are protesting to try to get the world to pay attention to their plight and to get the government to act.
Continue reading “Bewitching Protest: Accused Nigerian Child Witches Protest Abuse”
Keni Garcia in Haverhill, New Hampshire really really love target practice. The native of the Dominican Republic told police that he had 30,0000 bullets to fuel his love for target practice.
Continue reading “Locked and Loaded: Man Arrested With 30,000 Bullets Claims To Be Target Enthusiast”
We have seen a number of cases on this blog where prosecutors fought efforts by prisoners to obtain DNA tests that might prove their innocence — only to be proven innocent once the tests were performed. Prosecutors are rarely denounced for these reprehensible efforts. The story in the New York Times indicates that prosecutors are continuing to oppose such testing even in states that passed new laws guaranteeing such testing.
Continue reading “Prosecutors Still Opposing DNA Access for Prisoners Despite New Laws”