The New York Times is reporting that Alberto Gonzales will finally resign today as attorney general of the United States. It is a sad end to what should have been a historic term for the first hispanic to hold that office. As one of the critics of Gonzales, it is hard not to feel a sense of relief but that is also tempered by a feeling of tremendous waste. I expect that Gonzales may look back at his controversial tenure in a few years and wonder whether he would have better served the president, the country, and indeed himself but being a voice of independence in the government. Instead, Gonzales made a career as the enabler for George W. Bush. When they wanted to strip citizens of all of the constitutional rights at the whim of the president, Gonzales was there to say it was fine. When they wanted to engage in torture, Gonzales was there with a pen in hand. One can only wonder how much better this president would have fared if he had a lawyer prepared to tell him that he did not have such Caesar like qualities.
Category: Justice
Arthur Bremer who shoot George Wallace appears headed for release. He has now served 35 of his 53 year sentence. He is considered a model prisoner despite his crime in 1972 in Laurel, Maryland.
For the story, click here
The man who shot presidential candidate George Wallace in 1972 will be released from a Maryland prison in December.
For a profile of Bremer, click here
A recent article details how many defective toys, like those recalled from China, are still be sold on sites like Ebay. Under the common law, a private seller is not subject to strict products liability. Only commercial sellers are subject to such litigation. What is interesting is that a department store with knowledge of the defect would also be liable. Ebay, however, could offer the novel defense that they are merely a conduit for private sales.
For the article, click here
The ninth circuit has ruled against cops who stopped a car based on a complaint that the stereo was too loud — suppressing the gun found within the vehicle.
For the opinion, click here
A story today about criminal charges against a grandmother for not keeping a nice law is part of a large problem of criminalization of conduct in America. For prior column, click here
Increasingly, legislators are making any obnoxious conduct or social priority a criminal matter. This is not only giving millions of people criminal records, but it is destroying the distinction between civil and criminal violations — a foundation for our legal system.
For the latest criminalization story, clickhere
Johnny Ray Conner became the 400th person executed since the death penalty was reinstated in 1982. Conner was convicted of shooting a convenience store owner in 1998.
For the story, click here
Today, the Daily Mail revealed images of Iran’s continued corporal punishment laws for consensual sex. The pictures are a stark reminder of the cruelty and sadism of these religious based laws. It is a useful and cautionary story to read for those who support the use of the law to enforce morality tenets of a religion. What is most disturbing is the hundreds of people vying to watch the disgusting display of primitivism.
For the story, click here
A recluse has been charged with shooting two girls who came on his property on a dare. His house is viewed by the community as something of a haunted house, leading the girls to dare each other to go close to the dwelling. They did not get far before running away. However, one of the occupants fired a rifle at them. Thinking that the shots were fire crackers, the girls circled and were shot from the house.
Many states have “Make My Day” laws that had led to such shootings, including a terrible case in Baton Rouge where a Japanese student was shot and killed through a front door when he became confused about the address. The common law did not allow the use of lethal force to protect property. It could only be used to defend oneself and had to be a level of force that was roughly equivalent with the threat.
In this case, the man insists that he was just trying to scare the girls. For the story, click here
One of the oldest torts is the mishandling of corpse. FOX reported the judgment against a photographer accused of posing corpses with fruit and other objects. It is a classic tort in a modern setting.
CNN is reporting that American officials are rethinking whether democracy can work in Iraq. What is more interesting if the failure to try a true Madisonian approach in that country. As in Afghanistan, officials yielded to traditional notions of government rather than advocate the system that has lead to the most successful and stable democracy in history. The problem in Iraq is that we attempted to create the appearance of a democratic system without the necessary static elements.
<a href=”“>For the CNN story, see this link.
Prosecutors are considering charging a man 40 years after he shoot an officer who died at 64. Continue reading “Criminal charge 40 years delayed for cop shooting”
Published pril 26, 2002 /
In a hearing this week, the public heard for the first time from Zacarias Moussaoui, the so-called “20th hijacker” on trial in Virginia. If Moussaoui was indeed trained to seek suicidal expression, he was in rare form in Virginia where he is attempting the closest legal equivalent. Continue reading “Zacarias Moussaoui and the 20th Hyjacker”
Published Jan. 21, 2002
IN 1014, Byzantine Emperor Basil II had a bit of a problem. He had decisively defeated the Bulgarian tsar and taken virtually the entire opposing army captive. Basil II was not keen on feeding and holding more than 14,000 prisoners of war, but he also was not inclined to release an entire army that could simply turn around and resume hostilities. His solution was both chilling and simple: He divided the army into groups of 100 and blinded 99 out of each group. He left one man with one eye in each group to lead this line of wretches back to the Bulgarian tsar. Continue reading “Emperor Basil II and America’s Secret Prisons”
Published May 4, 2004
Last week, a New York federal judge refused to dismiss a defamation case that reads like a mix of Dr. Ruth and Dr. Seuss. At its heart is a controversy over what a procurer of prostitutes in Dubai told a “horse whisperer” in Germany who told a gossipmonger in New York who told millions of Americans about former Congress member Gary Condit. Though this might sound like a game of post office for pundits, the stakes are high — for commentators, the Constitution and for Condit. Continue reading “Dominick Dunne, Gary Condit, and the Horse Whisperer”
Published November 6, 2002
“Nothing is too good for our men and women in uniform.”
It may be the world’s most predictable political applause line. It was a central theme of President Bush’s 2000 presidential campaign. With both war and elections looming, it became a virtual mantra among politicians across the country.
This month, however, the Bush administration is waging a little-known battle to preserve a rule that reduces service members to second-class citizens. Continue reading “The Feres Doctrine: Giving our Service Members the Freedom to Sue”