Lubna Hussein, a former journalist and current United Nations worker, is facing 40 lashes for the crime of wearing pants in a public place — an act of unspeakable “indecency” under Sharia law in Sudan. She says that 10 other women arrested at a restaurant in Khartoum, including some non-Muslims, were already flogged.
Category: Criminal law
Former Pennsylvania lawyer Ralph Mirarchi appears to have as bad marital as legal problems these days. Under a plea bargain, Marachi was supposed to have his sentence reduced once his wife sold their New Jersey home to help repay his victims. Instead, Mirachi, 69, was sentenced to up to 8 1/2 years after his wife of forty years Dorothy “Dot” Mirachi decided to keep the home and allegedly used money from another real estate sale to pay off her Lexus rather than her husband’s victims.
Continue reading “Dot Con: Wife Refuses to Turn Over Money to Victims to Reduce Husband’s Sentence”
When Antonio Love failed to heed orders to come out of a bathroom at a Dollar General store, Mobile police used pepper spray and a Taser on him — ultimately arresting him for resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and failure to obey a police officer. The problem is that Love, 37, is deaf and mentally disabled.
Continue reading “Shocking Love: Police Taser and Pepper Spray Deaf, Mentally Disabled Man for Not Complying With Orders”
The debate continues to rage this week over the push by Vice President Dick Cheney and others to have former President George Bush deploy active military units in a suburb of Buffalo to arrest a small group of men who were suspected of supporting terrorism (here). Nor surprising, Bush officials went to Berkeley law professor John Yoo to tell them that (surprise!) the President was not bound by the Fourth Amendment or federal law if he unilaterally declared the operation to be a national security matter. Yoo and his former colleague conclude that “the president has the legal and constitutional authority to use military force within the United States to respond to and combat future acts of terrorism, and that the Posse Comitatus Act does not bar deployment.” I discussed the controversy on this segment of Countdown.
Continue reading “Yoo Must Be Kidding: Professor Argues That Bush Could Negate Both The Fourth Amendment and The Posse Comitatus Act By Simply Declaring Deployment To Be A National Security Matter”
Stephen L. Thompson, 58, a courthouse janitor in Clark County, Indiana had a curious response to a court reporter who rebuffed his expressions of affection. Hell hath no fury like a janitor scorned.
Continue reading “Urine a Lot of Trouble, Mr. Thompson: Janitor Filmed Relieving Himself on Court Reporter’s Chair”
Alexandria (Va.) Police Chief David P. Baker, 58, has been put on administrative leave after crashing his unmarked city car and then blowing 0.19 on a sobriety check — twice the legal limit. Deputy Police Chief Earl Cook has replaced him as acting chief.
Continue reading “Baker Replaced By Cook: Alexandria Police Chief Arrested for Drunk Driving”
Denver police officer Derrick Curtis Saunders, 29, allegedly wants his fast food faster. Saunders is “on leave” to deal with criminal charges after reportedly pulling his weapon at a McDonald’s to speed things up behind the counter.
Continue reading “Denver Police Officer Charged After Allegedly Demanding Fast Service at McDonalds at Gunpoint”
There is another horrific story out of Pakistan in the abuse of women and girls. In this case, Assiya Rafiq, 16, was kidnapped by a group of men who proceeded to beat and rape her for a year. When police accused them of bank robbery, the men agreed to turn over a bribe — and Assiya. The Police Chief and his officers then allegedly proceeded to rape her and accuse her of bank robbery.
Burundi authorities have secured a life sentence for an individual accused of involved in the trafficking of albino body parts for witchcraft. The victims were murdered and then mutilated to sell as parts for witchcraft ceremonies and potions.
Continue reading “Report: Albinos Murdered and Body Parts Sold for Witchcraft”
Rabbi Izhak Levy Rosenbaum of Brooklyn has been arrested for running an international human organ selling ring. Rosenbaum’s role was disclosed to the FBI by an anthropologist, Nancy Scheper-Hughes of the University of California, Berkeley, who has been studying organ markets. She described him as the “main broker” in the international trafficking of human organs — allegedly taken from “vulnerable” people in Moldova, Israel and possibly other countries and sold to wealthy recipients in the United States. Rosenbaum called himself “the matchmaker.”
Continue reading “Matchmaker: New York Rabbi Arrested As Head of International Organ Trafficking Ring”
Saudi Arabian police have arrested Mazen Abdul Jawad for the crime of speaking about his sex life in public. Shariah law makes it a crime for him to be “publicizing his sinful behavior,” according to prosecutors. Various people filed complaints after Jawad appeared on a Lebanese show called “Red Line.”
Continue reading “Saudi Arabia Arrests Man For Speaking About His Sex Life in Public”
In yet another indication of how extreme Bush officials were in their war on terrorism, the New York Times is reporting that Vice President Dick Cheney and others pushed former President George Bush to send troops into Buffalo New York to arrest a group of men accused of terrorism.
Continue reading “Report: Bush Considered Sending Troops Into Buffalo for Terror Sweep”
The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee today called for U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to appoint a special counsel to probe potential abuses of power under the Bush administration. House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers (D-Mich.) has called upon U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to appoint a special prosecutor to look into alleged Bush crimes. Holder has continued a rather transparent effort to block or curtail any investigation to prevent the prosecution of Bush officials for the torture and surveillance programs.
Continue reading “Conyers Calls for Special Prosecutor on Alleged Bush Crimes”
It took New York Attorney Joseph DePaula four years but he has finally prevailed in his false arrest claim after he was thrown into jail for calling an officer a “prick” in court in 2005.
Continue reading “If You Prick Us, Do We Not Bleed? New York Lawyer Prevails in Contesting Arrest for Foul Language”
The recent gang rape of an eight-year-old girl by four boys — aged 9-14 — was shocking enough. Now, police have stated that the girl’s father — who is from Liberia — blamed the girl for being raped and told that police “Take her, I don’t want her.”
Continue reading “Arizona Father Reportedly Tells Police to Keep Raped Eight-Year-Old Girl”