A Willard police officer Joshua Dorsey, 28, received what is being criticized as a remarkably light sentence after allegedly pressing a knife to the chin or neck of his girlfriend and kicking her in the stomach. He was ordered to undergo anger management and fined $150.
Category: Criminal law
Well, there are mandatory parenting and driving schools. Now, there are “John schools” for men caught soliciting prostitutes. Cities are turning to John schools to curb prostitution. They might have to teach some old dogs new tricks. This week, an octogenarian was arrested in a sting targeting johns outside of Washington.
Continue reading “Men Lining Up for Admission into John School”
There was a bizarre scene in Ericho, Arkansas where Fire Chief Don Payne went to court for a second time in one day to complain about the police use of abusive speed traps in the small town. An argument erupted in front of Judge Tonya Alexander and Payne was shot from behind by one of the officers. It appears that there is widespread complaints against the local police who are accused of doing little else but ticketing citizens for driving a couple miles over the speed limit to sustain their small department.
Continue reading “Shooting Payne: Fire Chief Argues with Police Officers About Speed Traps — Police Officer Shoots Fire Chief”
OK, this is incredibly disgusting but it is another example of what lawyers sometimes have to deal with in court. James Orr, 66, stopped his trial for robbery and kidnapping when he removed his colostomy bag and began to consume the contents. While this particular act is thankfully uncommon, the courts have to grapple with such acts to terminate trials. Judges are reluctant to reward such conduct with a mistrial, but there are not many good options for the judge. In this case, however, Common Pleas Court Judge Ethna Cooper appears intent upon continuing the trial and prosecutors have argued the act was nothing more than a tactic to stop the trial.
Continue reading “One Orr in the Water: Defendant Stops Trial After Eating Own Waste in Court”
When he served as the attorney general for Ontario, Michael Bryant argued for harsh punishment for criminals, including a crackdown traffic crimes such a speeders. He is now accused in a shocking act of road rage that killed a bicyclist who Bryant allegedly rammed into a mailbox.
Anthony Miller, 39, does not appear to have heard of a no-fault divorce. Caught in a joyless marriage, Miller says that he did the only thing that he could of to escape his wife: he robbed a bank and waited to be arrested.
Continue reading “Till Prison Do Us Part: Man Claims Private Necessity in Robbing Bank to Escape Wife”
There is an extraordinary case out of Queensland, Australia. Chris Illingworth, 61, is charged for merely copying and watching a viral video of a man swinging a baby. Prosecutors have charged that he distributed a child abuse video –even though the government itself rated the video as MA15+ (appropriate for anyone over 15). It is part of an ongoing trend in the West in rolling back on free speech rights.
Continue reading “Australian Man Faces Twenty Years for Sharing Baby-Swinging Video”
There is an interesting criminal and torts case out of Georgia. Roger Stephens, 61, is accused of slapping a 2-year-old child across the face when she would not stop crying. That is bad enough, but the child was not his.
Gary Moody appears to have a problem. In 2005, he pleaded guilty to trespass in a pit toilet in White Mountain National Forest property in New Hampshire. He was ordered to seek help. However, he has now been arrested again for climbing down into a pit toilet at the park. It turns out that it is a crime to climb into a public pit toilet.
There is a mass arrest story. As has been discussed earlier, we have an ongoing arrest case in Washington, D.C., here. In May 2007 police arrested dozens of young people who police alleged were basically rioting through the streets. The students insisted that they were on their way to a funeral for a murdered friend. Now, there has been a settlement of the case with all charges dropped and the payment of damages.
Continue reading “New York Settles Mass Arrest Case — Drops Charges”
Michail Sorodsky, a Brooklyn man accused of practicing medicine without a license and abusing patients under anesthesia, has won bail — sort of. The court set bail at either $11 million cash or $33 million bail bond. The constitutional question is whether an $11 million bail is the same as a denial of bond.
Continue reading “Brooklyn “Doctor” Wins Bail — Just $11 Million in Cash”
An Illinois sheriff this week is seeking to reverse a board decision reinstating three officers in Tazewell county, Illinois despite this shocking video tape. On the video, Sergeant Richard Johnston, and correctional officers Jeffery Bieber and Justin Piro are shown beating Becky Behm after she was arrested on a charge of driving under the influence of alcohol October 17, 2008.
West Virginia defense lawyer Ed ReBrook had a difficult case in representing Thomas H. Gravely, 31, who was accused of raping Charleston prostitutes. However, critics charge that he made a difficult case worse by calling no witnesses and using highly offensive terms to describe the victims.
Continue reading “West Virginia Lawyer Tells Jury that Raped Prostitutes Were Not Like Their Mothers and Daughters — Nothing More Than “Whores” and “Tramps””
While Memphis is dealing with an officer who allegedly helped run a major cocaine operation (here), Illinois police are dealing with a former Harvey police deputy marshal and an Illinois State Police reserve officer who has been arrested in a drugs and weapons operation. Leroy Grant, 38, is accused of both running drugs and selling weapons for a Chicago drug dealer. Grant reportedly told the drug dealer: “Money’s what … we here for!. And if it’s easy, it’s easy!”
While Memphis officials trying to keep tasers out of the hands of their officers (here), they are also trying to do the same with narcotics. A major bust this week led to the arrest of officer Lowell Duke, 37, who is accused of participating in a large drug operation.
Continue reading “The Thin White Line: Memphis Officer Arrested in Major Cocaine Bust”