Given my testimony today in the House Judiciary Committee on prison reform and older prisoners, I thought this previous column may be of interest. Continue reading “Older Prisoners and Overcrowding”
Category: Criminal law
One of the key lessons for avoiding prosecution for brutality is to avoid doing it in front of a camera or thousands of witnesses, or in this case, both. The Honolulu Police Department has opened a criminal investigation after an officer was videotaped beating a man who simply ran onto the field at Aloha Stadium field after a big win of the University of Hawaii football team over Washington. Continue reading “Shock Video: Honolulu Police Department Beat a Fan Who Ran on to Football Field”
Frank Rusek, 69, is accused of killing his wife Erna Sue Rusek, 68, with a shotgun on Feb. 28 and gave two incriminating statements to police. His attorney is now seeking to have the statements suppressed due to the fact that his client was drunk when he waived his rights under Miranda. Continue reading “Pa. Murder Case: Drinking and Confessing Do Not Mix”
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) has put a criminal contempt vote on the schedule for Thursday in a move that could ultimately call for the prosecution of White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten, former White House political director Sara M. Taylor, former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove and White House Deputy Political Director J. Scott Jennings in their failure to appear or turn over material on the U.S. attorney firings. Continue reading “Senate Judiciary Vote on Criminal Contempt for Rove and Others Set for This Week”
Rep. William Jefferson has filed a motion for a delay in his trial — currently scheduled for January 13, 2008. Continue reading “Jefferson Moves for Delay in January Trial Due to Diminishing Funds”
Police departments appear to be vying for who can claim responsibility for the most outrageous abuse of a taser. This week’s winner: The Wichita Police Department. Continue reading “Police Enter Home on False Alarm and Then Taser a Hearing-Impaired Man Getting Out of the Bathtub”
James McHaney, a 28-year-old staffer to Senator Maria Cantwell has been fired. McHaney was arrested in a sting during his lunch hour for trying to arrange for a sexual encounter with a 13 year-old boy. Continue reading “Cantwell Fires Staffer Arrested in Child Sex Sting”
James McHaney, a 28-year-old staffer to Senator Maria Cantwell has been arrested in a sting during his lunch hour for trying to arrange for a sexual encounter with a 13 year-old boy.The sting was arranged through a cooperating witness. Continue reading “Aide to Senator Cantwell Arrested”
The prosecutors have made public that they will not charge Lori Drew in the infamous Megan Meier case in which a teenager committed suicide after Drew allegedly created a false and ultimately abusive personality on MySpace. Continue reading “No Criminal Charges Against Lori Drew in Megan Meier MySpace Suicide”
States have been increasingly charging teens as adults in response to public pressure for tougher laws. Now, however, science appears to question the basis for such laws — showing that the teenage brain is still forming in substantial ways. Continue reading “Studies on Teen Brains Leads Some States to Reconsider Laws Charging Them as Adults”
The President of the Sudan announced that he has shown mercy and will pardon Gillian Gibbons, the teacher at the center of the Mohammad Teddy bear case. Continue reading “Sudan Grants a Pardon of Remaining 6 Days to Teacher in Mohammad Teddy Bear Case”
The Baltimore Sun is reporting that the recent discovery of a rope and picture of a noose was a hoax, allegedly planted by African-American fire fighter and paramedic Donald Maynard. Continue reading “Black Firefighter Allegedly Planted Baltimore Noose Picture and Rope”
The Bush Administration is seeking to use a new privilege argument to try, again, to withholding records of the visits of convicted lobbyist jack Abramoff to the White House. The new claims mirror the so-called secret service privilege that failed during the Clinton Administration. Continue reading “Bush Administration Claims New Privileges in Renewed Effort to Conceal Contacts with Jack Abramoff”
If a court statement that confirmed every stereotype of the United States as a rogue nation, the lawyer representing the U.S. in a British Court in a case involving Stanley Tollman, a former director of Chelsea football club and a friend of Baroness Thatcher, and his wife Beatrice. Continue reading “U.S. to British Court: We Have the Right to Kidnap Your Citizens if Your Courts Do Not Extradite Them”
A court in Fort Collins has ordered the police to return the property taken in an unlawful search and seizure of James and Lisa Masters last summer, including their marijuana. Continue reading “Colorado Court Orders Police to Return Couple’s Pot After Illegal Search”