Category: Criminal law

Bizarre, Courts, Criminal law, Society

Judge and Police Deputy Charged with Human Trafficking

D. William Garrett (72), a retired Fulton County Magistrate Judge; his son (a Forsyth County Sheriff’s Department Deputy) Russell Garrett (43); and the son’s wife Malika Garrett (42), have all been charged with human trafficking in a federal prosecution in Atlanta, Georgia. The case involves an Indian woman who was convinced to come to the United States to work as a nanny for Russell and Malika Garrett, only to be forced to work without pay.

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Criminal law, Military, Society

Medical Report Finds Evidence of Torture of Detainees Later Found to be Innocent

The respected Massachusetts-based group Physicians for Human Rights has published a report finding that 11 former detainees showed clear signed of torture in medical examinations following their release from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and Afghanistan.. The detainees were released for lack of evidence of terrorism.

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Congress, Criminal law, Military, Politics

Administration Reportedly Planned for Torture Program Months Before Any Request from Field Interrogators

In yet another story alleging an intentional falsehood from the Bush Administration given to the public and Congress, the Washington Post is reporting that Bush Administration officials began laying the foundations for a torture program using waterboarding long before there was any request or inquiry from field interrogators — a direct contradiction of what the Administration has been saying for years.

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Bizarre, Criminal law, Society

Not a Catch: North Carolina Woman With Five Dead Husbands Accused of Murder Solicitation

If you are looking for a soul mate, you may want to reconsider any proposal from Betty Neumar: she has buried the last five men who said I do. Police have arrested the 76-year-old for allegedly trying to hire a hit man to kill one of her five prior husbands. All five are now dead, including Harold Gentry, the alleged target of the murder-for-hire plot.
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Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Politics, Society, Supreme Court

Administration Accused of Holding Detainees That It Knew Were Innocent

On the heels of the Supreme Court’s decision affirming basic constitutional protections for detainees, a report has emerged that shows precisely why habeas corpus is so important. The Administration is accused of knowing that certain detainees were in fact innocent but still held them for years.
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Criminal law, Politics, Society

Cash Machine: A Glimpse into the Economic Empire of Al Sharpton

Details have emerged from the Rev. Al Sharpton’s financial empire and how companies have essentially paid what many have criticized as protection money against threats of boycotts. The leading companies shelling out are some of the biggest Anheuser-Busch, Honda, Colgate-Palmolive, Macy’s, PepsiCo, General Motors, Wal-Mart, FedEx, Continental Airlines, Johnson & Johnson, Chase and Pfizer among the 50 companies who have given to Sharpton and his organizations.
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Bizarre, Criminal law, Society

One-Legged Veteran Saves Mother and Baby From Thugs — And Is Promptly Arrested by Police

Stephen Beerling, a one-legged Navy veteran, could have been excused for not intervening when he heard a mother with a baby being harassed by thugs in England. Instead, he grabbed a rusty retractable truncheon that had long been in one of his drawers. After rescuing the mother and baby, he was charged with use of an “offensive weapon”– as opposed to those non-offensive weapons that one might bring to an assault and battery.

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Criminal law, Society

North Carolina Parents Arrested in Death of Son Who They Tied to Tree

In a reminder that Father’s Day is not always a happy occasion for some children, police have arrested Brice Brian McMillan, 41, and his wife Sandra Elizabeth McMillan, 36, in the death of their 13-year-old son, Tyler Gene McMillan, who they tied to a tree as punishment. The couple in Macclesfield, North Carolina are charged with first-degree murder and felony child abuse.
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Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Society, Torts

Chicago Nurse Wins $7.7 Million After She Rescued an Officer Only to Be Arrested by His Colleagues

Rachelle Jackson, a Chicago nurse, was probably expecting a thankful reception from the colleagues of Officer Kelly Brogan, a police officer that she dragged from a burning police cruiser. Instead, she was arrested and stayed in jail for 10 months on charges that she robbed, battered and disarmed a peace officer. She now has $7.7 million worth of apologies from a Chicago jury. Defense counsel is irate, insisting that the officer said that Jackson put her into a strangle hold and took her gun.
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Bizarre, Criminal law, Media, Society

It’s a Wrap: Television General Manager Resigns After Guilty Plea

Randi Goldklank, 40, the general manager of WHDH-TV (NBC), has resigned her position in Boston after pleading disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. The arrest at Logan International Airport was the obvious result of drinking and the plea means that Goldklank will not face assault and battery charges.

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Courts, Criminal law, Society

Chief Judge Kozinski Accused of Ethics Violations and 2001 Crime Related to Court Computers

Things continued to get worst for Ninth Circuit Chief Judge Alex Kozinski. This week, the ABA Journal has revealed that the inclusion of copyrighted music mp3 videos and copyrighted material on his site could raise ethics issues. Much more alarming is a lengthy letter from Ralph Mecham, who retired as director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts in 2006 that accused Kozinski of a federal crime in disabling a court computer system — exposing the entire court system to hackers. The disclosure came after learning that the music and pornography had previously bogged down the court system.

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Bizarre, Criminal law, Society

“Desperate Housewives” Trial Planned for Two Mothers in Pennsylvania

Angela Honeycutt, 38, and Lynne Long-Higham, 45, have been deemed the “desperate housewife” defendants in Bucks County, Pa. after being charged with abuse or endangerment of teenage boys. Honeycutt is accused of actual sexual contact while Long-Higham is accused of endangering the welfare of children. If proven true, it is astonishing that these two women would think that they could get away with such a party with teenage boys.

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Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Justice, Lawyering, Supreme Court

Supreme Court Rules in Favor of the Detainees in Massive Blow to Bush Administration

In a massive blow to the Bush Administration, the Supreme Court has ruled 5-4 in favor of the detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. In the opinion below, Justice Kennedy delivers the opinion of a lifetime: holding faithfully to the Constitution in a time of prolonged crisis.
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