Over the years, various lawsuits have been filed against movie makers for the alleged influence that their films had on kids who acted out stunts or acts of violence. They have been entirely rejected, but there may be one more on the way. Eric Tavulares, 18, strangled his 18 year-old childhood girlfriend, Lauren Aljubouri.
Category: Criminal law
Speculation is growing that President Bush may pardon those officials responsible for the unlawful programs under his Administration. It will be the subject (and possibly the Sunstein controversy) of my discussion on Countdown tonight.
Continue reading “Is President Bush Preparing a Preemptive Pardon?”
A truly strange case in Boston has now gotten even stranger. Dr. Timothy Stryker, 56, was accused of involvement in the death of his longtime girlfriend, Dr. Lynn Goudey. The 42 year-old doctor’s body was found in her locked Saab at New England Memorial Hospital. In 2006, Stryker was ordered to pay $7 million after a jury found him responsible for the wrongful death. Then, before payment, a witness suddenly came forward to claim to have seen Goudey in her car. The witness Craig Pizzano, was 18 in 1993 and claimed that, after hearing about the O.J. Simpson book, he wanted to clear an innocent man. Now, both Pizzano and Stryker are charged with perjury and subornation of perjury.
Not exactly the press that the flaks were hoping for. Batman star Christian Bale has been arrested for assault on his mother and sister. He could also face a personal injury action — a possibility that seems a bit more likely with a film that shattered the earlier record held by Spiderman (who notably stayed felony-free during both production and syndication). With $156 million in a three-day weekend of sales, it is likely to draw not just viewers but litigants aplenty.
Police allowed Christian Bale and his wife Sibi to attend the European premiere of The Dark Knight despite pending criminal allegations by his mother and sister that he committed assault at the Dorchester Hotel. His mother, Jenny, 61, and his sister, 40, signed out complaints against him, according to media reports.
Continue reading “Dark Knight: Batman Actor Christian Bale Accused of Assault by Mother and Sister”
In Philadelphia, former KYW-TV anchor and former “Access Hollywood” anchor Larry Mendte has been charged with federal crimes over his unlawful snooping into the e-mail of his former co-anchor, Alycia Lane. Mendte reportedly gained access into her e-mails hundreds of times and leaked personal information on her social life a Philadelphia Daily News reporter. Lane was eventually dismissed from the station.
Continue reading “Television Anchor Charged with Federal Crime”
Despite an international outcry over its medieval legal system, Iran has announced a real crowd pleaser: eight women and one man will be stoned to death for adultery. Iran applies Sharia law and will execute them in the name of Islamic justice.
Continue reading “Stoning Season: Iran Set to Stone Eight Women and One Man to Death for Adultery”
With many Democrats still fuming over the refusal of Democratic leaders like Speaker Nancy Pelosi to allow even impeachment hearings into detailed allegations of crimes by President Bush in office, close Obama adviser (and University of Chicago Law Professor) Cass Sunstein recently rejected the notion of prosecuting Bush officials for crimes such as torture and unlawful surveillance. After Sen. Obama’s unpopular vote on the FISA bill, it has triggered a blogger backlash — raising questions about the commitment of the Democrats to do anything other than taking office and reaping the benefits of power.
Continue reading “Obama Adviser Cass Sunstein Rejects Prosecution of “Non-Egregious” Bush Crimes”
In Dayton, Ohio, citizens are upset over an incident where a blind woman, Denise Harris, 49, suffering from cancer was tasered by police — apparently while she was on the floor. The police insist that they needed to taser her “to control her hand movement.”
Continue reading “Ohio Police Taser Blind Woman Suffering From Cancer”
A video has been released that shows an Israeli soldier filing a rubber bullet at close range into the leg of a Palestinian prisoner who is being held by another soldier. [Warning: The video linked below contains disturbing images]. The video was released by the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem. The victim is reportedly named Ashraf Abu Rahma, 27.
Steven Paul Hirschfield, 37, apparently either fell or jumped from a Gay Cruise charter boat in the San Diego Harbor when he was spotted and rescued by police. It would have been just another lucky rescue except for the fact that within minutes Hirschfield was dead from a gunshot wound to the chest. The police insist that Hirschfield suddenly and without provocation started wrestling with one officer, hit him with his taser, and grabbed for his gun.
In Hempstead, Texas, prison guards noticed that Darryl Layne Norris seemed to be watching his weight and slimming down. They found out why when Norris escaped through a foot-wide air vent at the Waller County jail.
Continue reading “Jenny Craig Convict: Inmate Slims Down and Then Escapes Through Vent”
In an act of self-condemnation, the Arab League has denounced the genocide charges and defended Sudan’s president Omar al-Bashir. Many of these 22 countries engage in rampant abuses and torture. While they expressed fears of danger to national sovereignty, there is no doubt a fair measure of concern over their own acts of abuses.
Continue reading “Arab League Denounces Genocide Charges Against Sudan President Omar al-Bashir”
In an important decision for both environmentalists and free speech advocates, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has overturned the conviction of Robert J. Stevens of Virginia who was convicted of selling videos (including so-called “crush videos”) showing dogfighting and other acts of animal cruelty. Stevens, who not surprisingly lives in a place called of Pittsville, had been sentenced to three years in prison.
In 2002, the Administration was telling the public that the detainees at Guantanamo Bay were the “worst of the worst” and that federal courts had to be barred from access because we could not risk a single detainee being independently reviewed, let alone released. Critics cited violations of international and domestic law but the administration assured the public that these detainees were killers and terrorists. Now, it turns out that the Administration was warned by a CIA analyst that one-third of those detainees were innocent. If anything, he was too conservative. Over fifty percent were later found not to be enemy combatants. The analyst was told that, while he had completed interviews and review of each case, the President had determined that they were all guilty and therefore they were.
Continue reading “Book: CIA Found that One-Third of Detainees at Guantanamo Bay Were Not Enemy Combatants in 2002”