In a potentially important ruling for detainees held by the United States, Illinois U.S. District Judge Michael Mihm rejected prosecution demands and sentenced Qatar native Ali al-Marri to just eight years in jail — with a possible release in less than six years. The reduction from 15 years was expressly tied to the abusive conditions and treatment of al-Marri by the United States while held as an enemy combatant in South Carolina.
Continue reading “Eight Years For Al-Marri: Sleeper Agent Given Low Sentence by Judge Outraged by Abuses of the United States”
Category: Criminal law
Culinary crimes and misdemeanors are becoming the rage. In Illinois, it is Jamaican-Chicken that proved the undoing of a judge. In Wisconsin, the culprit is a Jack Daniels steak that trapped Ian Baker, 23, in his fourth drunk driving charge.
South Carolina appears to have finally moved beyond the Sanford affair. Deputy assistant attorney general Roland Corning, 66, has been fired after he was stopped in his SUV by police during his lunch break. The problem was that he was found with a stripper, Viagra, and sex toys in a cemetery.
Continue reading “Prosecutor Found in South Carolina Cemetery with Teenaged Stripper”
Associate Judge Robert Livas may be put on a vegan diet. The former prosecutor and former police officer is in hot water over a curious order that he placed for Jamaican-style chicken as part of a plea agreement with Darrius Logan. Logan, 24, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor battery and criminal trespass charges and was sentenced to 100 hours community service. Then things got funky . . . Jamaican-chicken funky . . .
Continue reading “La Livas Loca: Judge Accepts Jerk Chicken in Lieu of Community Service”
With Bernie Madoff and other crooks, we have become used to Ponzi schemes. However, lawyer Kevin Cohen of Roslyn, New York is accused of a rather unique variation on this criminal theme: a baby Ponzi scheme.
Continue reading “Ponzi Pampers: Lawyer Accused of Pyramid Scheme Involving Adoptions”
Now this is a novel case. Disgraced former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick (and current Compuware worker in Texas) has sued lawyer Mike Stefani who leaked steamy text messages to a newspaper — ultimately ensnaring Kilpatrick in the scandal that led to his criminal conviction.
Continue reading “Disgraced Ex-Detroit Mayor Sues Lawyer Who Disclosed Evidence that Led to His Criminal Conviction”
Matthew McNelly, 23, and Joey Miller, 20, have discovered that, since the days of highwaymen, the purpose of a mask in crime is not just to conceal your identity but to take off the mask when rejoining society. The two Iowa men used Sharpie markers to draw disguises on their faces — making them rather easy for the police to identify after allegedly trying to break into an apartment.
Rep. Jeffrey Wood has achieved a degree of unwanted national fame after being shown in a police dashcam falling down during a sobriety test. From both a legal and political standpoint, falling down is never good during such tests. It does not make it better when this is Wood’s third arrest in less than a year on suspicion of driving under the influence.
Continue reading “Wisconsin Legislator Falls During Sobriety Check in Third Arrest for DUI in One Year”
When Christopher Swiridowsky, 30, decided to flee the scene after mowing down three pedestrians he had a one problem: one of the victims was lodged in his windshield.
Continue reading “Corpus Delicti: Rhode Island Man Flees Hit-and-Run With One of Three Victims Lodged on Windshield”
Betsy M. Hanks, 25, is a real catch looking for a new husband. The Minnesota woman first shot her common-law husband in the head and then tried to blame the killing on her 3-year-old son.
Continue reading “Hankering for a Better Husband: Minnesota Mother of Four Shoots Husband and Then Blames Her 3-Year-Old Child”
Maryland police Sgt. Eric Janik, 37, may not get the thrust of trick of treat traditions. The Baltimore police officer went to a haunted house called the House of Screams with friends and when confronted by a character dressed as Leatherface with a chainsaw (sans the chain, of course), Janik pulled out his service weapon and pointed it at the man, who immediately dropped character, dropped the chainsaw, and ran like a bat out of Halloween Hell.
Continue reading “A Bit Too Scary: Maryland Officer Arrested For Pulling Gun on Character in Haunted House”
We have previously followed the perils of the press (here), but this videotape shows how reporters can be attacked for simply walking around with a cameraman. Paresh Patel was attacked by drunken thugs in Manchester. What is astonishing is that neither John Nugent, 22, nor David Neville McKenna, 27, will spend time in jail for the unprovoked attack.
Continue reading “Perils of the Press VI: BBC Reporter Attacked By Thugs on Video”
In light of today’s conviction of the Church of Scientology in France, this story from Australia may be of interest. The Church is being accused of actively subverting an investigation into the death of Australian private Edward Alexander McBride. The Church allegedly ordered that McBride’s “auditing file” be sent to the United States before the arrival of a warrant from coroner John Lock.
Continue reading “Church of Scientology Accused of Hampering Criminal Inquiry in Australia”
It is very common for “mules” to swallow balloons of heroin or other narcotics — only to be put under observation until they “produce” the evidence. It is one of the least glamorous jobs for police officers. However, Damien Ankrah, 28, showed remarkable tenacity in a case in England where he refused to go to the bathroom for 16 days — clearly hoping that the police could not hold him indefinitely without evidence.
In a surprise verdict, a jury acquitted former judge Herman Thomas of sexual abuse, attempted sodomy, and assault related to allegations that he brought inmates to his chambers for sex and spankings. The judge insisted that he brought the men to his office to “mentor” them, but prosecutors put forward evidence of semen on the carpet and testimony of numerous former inmates that they had sex with him or allowed him to spank them for lenient treatment.
Continue reading “Judge Herman Thomas Acquitted”