Category: Criminal law

Sessions Recuses Himself From Any Russian Investigation

jeff_sessions_official_portraitAs often seems the case in Washington, the controversy surrounding the meetings of then Senator Jeff Sessions with the Russian Ambassador has quickly descended into a feeding frenzy. When interviewed shortly after the disclosure, I stated that Attorney General Sessions should recuse himself and clarify his testimony. Late this afternoon, Sessions promised to do precisely that. However, the over-hearted rhetoric has continued with calls for Sessions to resign or even be criminally charged. People are getting ahead of their skis on this issue, particularly in claiming that this is the same type of controversy that led to the criminal charges against former Attorney General Richard G. Kleindienst.

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Chicago White Sox Admits To Eating Fake Passport While Flying To United States

Chicago White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu admitted on the stand in a Miami courtroom that he ate part of a fake passport while flying to the U.S. to cover up his illegal travel as part of a Cuban ballplayer smuggling operation. Now, I am admittedly a lifelong Chicago Cubs fan and we have no love loss with our White Sox neighbors, but it is pretty amazing that this admission (given under a guarantee of immunity) has not resulted in Abreu being dropped by MLB or the White Sox team. Indeed, at the time of immigration reforms and crackdown, this is a case of someone who knowingly used and then destroyed a fake passport to gain entry into this country.

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New York Police Implicated In Thousands of Recorded Conversations With Crooked Gun Dealer

215px-NypdpatchAlex (Shaya) Lichtenstein has burned various corrupt NYPD cops after he secretly recorded their illegal dealings.  The only thing greater than Lichtenstein’s insatiable greed was his obsessive recording of conversations.  Prosecutors told a court this week that Lichtenstein secretly recorded some 70,000 conversations.  Lichtenstein has pleaded guilty to bribery of police.  Lichtenstein was a member of the Orthodox Jewish Patrol that would roam Jewish neighborhoods.   His deep religious beliefs however did not seem to stop him bribing officials and committing criminal acts.

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Englishman Found Criminally Guilty In Swallowing of Gold Fish

The line between cruelty and cuisine can at times be a bit hard to discern.  We have previously discussed whether swallowing live gold fish (or even selling gold fish) is an act of criminal cruelty.  Now a man, Daniel Challis, 24, has been found guilty of causing suffering to a fish after posting a video of his swallowing the fish on a dare.

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Prosecutors Increase Assault Charge To Murder After Elderly Victim Dies Four Months After Attack

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An assault case in New York has been upgraded into homicide after the elderly victim of a vicious punch to the face died months after an alleged attack by Richard Springer, 29, outside of a Queens deli.  Eve Gentillon of Jamaica died Saturday, four months after the assault.

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Two Florida Men Arrested After Allegedly Torturing Turtle And Then Attacking Man Who Tried To Save It

urlIn Dayonta Bearch, Gary Blough, a disabled Navy veteran, is recovering from a vicious beatdown. The reason is not a mugging or a personal feud.  Rather, Blough rescued a turtle that was being tortured by two men.  Ryan Ponder, 23, and Johnnie Beveritt, 18, then allegedly jumped Blough as he tried to release the turtle back into the water.

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Fairfax Mayor Reportedly Close To Pleading Guilty In Meth-for-Sex Case

silverthornemugWe have been discussing lawyers and professors nailed as drug dealers.  Now close to my home, the former mayor of Fairfax City will enter a plea in a meth-for-sex prosecution.  R. Scott Silverthorne, 51, is reportedly ready to plead guilty after allegedly offering an undercover officer methamphetamine in exchange for an orgy at a Tysons Corner hotel.  Silverthorne told The Washington Post that 2015  was  a “terrible year” due to political challenges.  2017 has the makings of a much much worse year.

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God Is My Co-Defendant: Criminal Defense in Florida Proves To Be Less Than Divine

imgresJohn Haskew of Lakeland, Florida presented a novel defense to his charge of diverting $7 billion from a bank. Haskew told the court that he was justified in making the transfer because “Jesus Christ created wealth for everyone.”  He has now given up the ghost of waiting for divine judgment and pleaded guilty.

 

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Res ipsa loquitur – The thing itself speaks