Sen. Christopher “Kit” Bond (R., Mo.), the vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, has told The Washington Times that Eric Holder privately assured him that there would be no prosecution of Bush officials for torture or unlawful acts. The story is reminiscent of last week’s statement by Gen. Michael Hayden that he was assured by President Obama that there would be no investigations or prosecutions allowed for war crimes committed by the Bush Administration. I discussed this story and the recent ACLU demand for the release of the torture and surveillance memos on this segment of Countdown.
Category: Criminal law
Brent Frasier, an eight-year veteran of the Mesa, Arizona police department, is facing remarkably light charges after he crashed his car into a public fountain, fled the scene of the accident and left his car with his badge, Glock handgun, and a clip for an AR15 rifle. He later lied to police about the incident. There has been controversy over the fact that he will be charged with only public damage and false statements in the case.
The former CIA station chief in Algeria is under investigation by the State and Justice departments for the drugging and raping of two women in his home. Reports indicate that videotapes were recovered showing the officer having sex with what appeared to be drugged women.
Continue reading “Former CIA Station Chief in Algeria Accused of Rape of Two Women”
With lawyers and law students getting pink slips in the recession, Cristina Warthen, a Stanford law graduate, had a novel idea to support herself: she ran a high-priced call girl service. Warthen has now pleaded guilty and avoided jail time, agreeing to pay $313,000 in unpaid taxes as a prostitute who went by the name “Brazil.” She will serve a one year sentence of home detention and three years probation. She ran a website featuring her business named TouchofBrazil.net. She has said that the work as a call girl was done to pay off her student loans.
Continue reading “Debt Service: California Lawyer Pleads Guilty to Work as Call Girl”
These are the types of dangers that law school simply does not prepare you for. Weusi McGowan, 37, wanted San Diego Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Fraser to replace his public defender Deputy Alternate Public Defender Jeffrey Martin. Fraser refused, so after a break McGowan returned to court and promptly produced a plastic baggie with fecal matter and smeared in on the face and hair of Martin. He then tossed the waste at the jury. The home-invasion robbery suspect got a new trial, a new lawyer, and presumably a new assault charge.
Continue reading “In Fecal Delicto : Californian Man Assaults Lawyer and Jury With Feces in Court”
Internal documents from the Peanut Corporation of America reportedly show that the company knew that peanut butter was contaminated with salmonella 12 times in the last two years, but shipped out the contaminated peanut butter to customers. The revelation will most certainly increase the liability facing the company from both the government and civil litigants after the death of eight people and the injury to hundreds across the country. Indeed, it would appear that criminal charges may now be warranted.
John Conyers, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, has subpoenaed Karl Rove to testify about the Bush administration’s firing of United States attorneys. The subpoena could force an interesting constitutional fight since President Obama would now be in a position to waive executive privilege and Attorney General nominee Eric Holder could allow the matter to go to a grand jury. I discussed this issue last night on Countdown in this segment.
Continue reading “House Judiciary Committee Subpoenas Karl Rove in Critical Constitutional Showdown”
Jason Stinson, the football coach of Pleasure Ridge High School in Kentucky, has been charged with reckless homicide in the death of a teenage player, Max Gilpin, 15. Gilpin collapsed from heat exhaustion on August 20, 2008 during a practice and died three days later. Gilpin died during a “gasser” where students sprint up and down the field.
Continue reading “Fatal “Gasser” at Pleasure Ridge High: Football Coach Charged With Reckless Homicide”
The Chicago Police Department is struggling to explain this morning how a 14-year-old boy walked into Grand Crossing District station impersonating a police officer and was given an assignment in a squad car for five hours before anyone realized that he was too young to drive, let one patrol the streets of the city.
A new video has emerged in the case of Oscar Grant III, who was fatally shot by former transit police officer Johannes Mehserle in a BART station. The new videotape below shows a second officer, reportedly Tony Pirone, striking one of the detained men (possibly Oscar Grant) on January 1st.
In shocking documents reviewed by the Indianapolis Star, disclosed evidence shows that the Archdiocese of Indianapolis was fully aware that Father Harry Monroe was molesting numerous boys from 1974 to 1984 and allowed him to continue by transferring him from church to church rather than calling the police or terminating his employment or both.
Continue reading “Documents Shows Church Officials in Indianapolis Knew of Repeated Sexual Abuse by Priest But Transferred Him to Other Churches”
Ryan Brinkerhoff has a curious way to dealing with being stuck in an elevator. When he found himself unable to get out of the 40th floor of 7 World Trade Center, he decided the best course of action was to spray the interior of the elevator with cleaning fluid and lighting it on fire. The automatic system then forced the elevator to the bottom floor where he was promptly arrested.
Continue reading “Drunken Commodities Broker Attempts to Set WTC Elevator on Fire in Escape Effort”
Norman Hutchinson, 48, is a member of the Religion of Jesus Church who lives in Mexico, Maine. He has filed a lawsuit in the Oxford Courthouse in Paris Maine against the state, the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency and the Mexico Police Department to protect his right to use marijuana for religious reasons.
Continue reading “Mexico Man in Paris Sues State of Maine in Oxford Court Over Religious Use of Pot”
The Vanguard, one of Nigeria’s largest newspaper, has a different take on the conventional crime beat. The newspaper reported how a thief in Kwara state was chased and cornered by vigilantes and promptly turned himself into a goat.
Continue reading “The Goat Did It: Nigerian Newspaper Reports That Cornered Car Thief Turned Himself Into Goat”
Anthony Hernandez has sued the Chicago police department after officers arrested him without probable cause on drug charges and then held him for six months in jail. Not only did Hernandez lose his jobs, but he missed the birth of a child. It also turns out that one of the arresting officers, Slawomir Plewa, was stripped of his police powers in 2008 for his involvement in a false arrest.
Continue reading “Chicago Man Sues After Being Held Six Months on False Drug Charges”