Category: Justice

Constitutional Law, Free Speech, Justice

Police Seek To Prosecute Persecute Unknown Cartoonist

Submitted by Gene Howington, Guest Blogger

Police in Renton, Washington are seeking an unknown cartoonist for cyberstalking.  To that end, officials have obtained a search warrant from a local judge to discover the identity of the anonymous cartoonist.  The alleged crime this cartoonist committed?  Posting cartoons online parodying the Renton Police Department and referring to real life internal affairs incidents at the Renton PD in the dialog.  It is important to note that neither is the Renton Police Department named nor are the real names of any people attached to the Renton Police Department are used in the cartoons linked posted by KIRO TV.   The videos are not in a format that can be embedded in WordPress, but the Jail Parody and the Locker Room Parody can both be seen at KIRO TV’s website.

Parody is protected free speech in many cases, but the case law is unclear in providing bright line definitions of what does and what doesn’t qualify as parody.  This often leads to detailed case by case examination of claims.  When the parody involves copyrighted materials, there are guidelines and tests to apply in determining if the parody is legitimate.  Generally speaking, there are two lines of defense involving parody: the free speech defense based in Constitutional law and the fair use defense based in copyright law.  As these parodies do not involve copyrighted materials, the fair use defense is not relevant here.  The free speech defense is another matter.  As a matter of Constitutional law, parody is protected free speech.  Is the Renton Police Department attempting to use a criminal statute to persecute a critic engaging in critical parody and repress the cartoonist’s 1st Amendment Free Speech rights?  Some think that’s exactly what they are doing.

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Criminal law, Justice

Girl Saves Baby Woodpecker – Mom Gets Fined $535

-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger

Skylar Capo, an 11-year-old aspiring veterinarian in Fredericksburg Virginia, rescued a baby woodpecker from the jaws of the family cat in her Dad’s backyard. Her mother, Alison Capo, agreed to take the baby woodpecker home to make sure it was safe and uninjured. On the way home, they stopped by Lowe’s and took the caged bird inside to keep it out of the heat of their car.

Continue reading “Girl Saves Baby Woodpecker – Mom Gets Fined $535” →

Constitutional Law, Criminal law, International, Justice, Military, Politics, Things That Tick Me Off

The CIA Destroyed Evidence..So Why Shouldn’t They Be Held in Contempt?

Submitted by Lawrence Rafferty-Guest Blogger

 

Since we have been all so absorbed by the ongoing political saga involving the imaginary debt ceiling crisis, I thought it would be therapeutic to discuss something totally unrelated to that nonsense.  As you will recall, the CIA destroyed hundreds of hours of video tape documentation of the infamous CIA Torture Program during the last Administration.  Continue reading “The CIA Destroyed Evidence..So Why Shouldn’t They Be Held in Contempt?” →

Bizarre, Courts, Criminal law, Justice, Society

Designated Delinquent

Submitted by Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger

Not Exactly Robert Young

Given the temptations to imbibe in New Orleans and the benefits of a father-son weekend, Billy Joe Madden  of Mississippi probably thought he was doing the right thing taking his son along to serve as designated driver. Still, something looked odd to Louisiana Troopers as they  saw the  Hattiesburg resident passed out in the passenger seat of his pickup truck as it tooled erratically along Interstate 12 while he son “manned” the wheel  and as his unsuspecting daughter slept in the back seat.  Seems our responsible drinker and father of two felt it quite proper to let his eight-year old son drive the pickup to Dallas –as in Texas –even as his 4 year-old daughter slept. Troopers were not so sanguine and booked Billy Joe (you just can’t make this up) on two counts of child desertion, parent allowing a minor to drive, open container and two counts of no child restraint and no seatbelt. Both of Madden’s children were turned over to child welfare authorities and were awaiting the arrival of a family member who could take custody of them, police said. Billy Joe remains in jail in lieu of his $1,400.00 bond. Who’d bail him out for this anyway?

Continue reading “Designated Delinquent” →

Constitutional Law, Justice, Politics

The GOP And Voter Disenfranchisement

-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger

There are two ways to increase your chances of winning an election, get more voters to cast their ballots for you, or get fewer voters to cast their ballots for your opponent. The GOP had decided to pursue the latter option.

There is nothing more sacred in a democracy that the right to vote, so an attack on voting rights is an attack on democracy. That is exactly what is happening in many states across our land. Republican governors and legislatures are passing laws making it extremely difficult for certain Americans to vote.

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Constitutional Law, Free Speech, International, Justice, Lawyering, Media, Politics, Society

First, We Kill Silence All The Lawyers

Submitted by Gene Howington, Guest Blogger

The July 24th catastrophic crash of a high speed train in Wenzhou, eastern China, made world wide headlines. The dead and injured totals as of today, July 30th, stand at 40 dead and 192 injured although earlier reports indicated as many as 210 injured including 2 foreigners. The cause of the accident is still under investigation, but the preliminary facts indicate that train D301 in service from Beijing South Station to Fuzhou (in Fujian province) and train D3115 in service from Hangzhou to Fuzhou, were derailed when D301 struck the stationary D3115 at around 8:30pm local time. Although both trains are limited to traveling at a maximum of 250km/h (~155 mph), it is uncertain how fast D301 was moving at the time of the accident.

This is more than just a human tragedy for China, but possibly an economic tragedy as well. With China looking to compete globally to sell high speed rail systems that are going to become increasingly important to countries around the world as fuel prices rise, their systems have been plagued by unstable performance and this crash caused the stock of state owned CSR Corporation to plummet 14 points on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Although CSR is technically the world’s largest manufacturer of high speed rail equipment, it faces stiff competition from German and Japanese manufacturers who have more mature and refined products. While none of this is unfamiliar to anyone who has followed businesses in the wake of a disaster in the West, what is unusual is what happened next.

Lawyers were told not to take plaintiff’s cases related to the rail accident.

Continue reading “First, We Kill Silence All The Lawyers” →

Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Justice, Lawyering, Society

South Carolina To Try Citizen For Nutsy Display

Submitted by Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger

Bonneau is a quiet little town in the “Low Country” of South Carolina.   Boasting plenty of southern charm, it covers about 2.9 square miles and sports 354 residents. Not much going on except good red beans and rice and some pleasantly hot summer boat rides on Lake Moultrie. Pretty Mayberry-esque except  it’s also the epicenter for  a debate on South Carolina’s obscenity laws which prohibit motorists from  displaying bumper stickers, decals, or devices depicting “sexual acts, excretory functions, or parts of the human body in an offensive way as determined by contemporary community standards.”

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Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Justice, Politics

Can The Default “Crisis” Be Solved Unilaterally?

Respectfully Submitted by Lawrence Rafferty-Guest Blogger

Following up on the continuing saga of the debt default crisis and our earlier articles, I had a few more thoughts on how the crisis should be handled. The first suggested solution came from President Clinton who argued for it in a recent interview. Continue reading “Can The Default “Crisis” Be Solved Unilaterally?” →

Courts, Criminal law, Justice, Religion, Society

The Eternal Cluelessness of the Avenging Mind

Submitted by: Mike Spindell, guest blogger

Perhaps the real original sin of humanity is the concept of sin itself. There is of course evil in the world and there is good. To me there is little equivocation about some evils and I am hardly a moral relativist. Although these terms become subjective when viewed from the perspective of an individual, there is a wide general acceptance among diverse cultures as to general definitions. We consider murder in all cultures evil, as is robbery, assault, rape, and a host of familiar others. For at least five thousand years, cultures established legal systems to deal with bad behavior and with those systems came the need for punishment. The history of punishment has always been rather draconian and bloody throughout history. While today punishment is perhaps more humane in many places, it still caries with it significant cruelty in its application throughout humanity.

“A woman and her three children had just gotten off the bus at a stop across from their apartment building (in Marietta, Georgia) in October 2010 when her 4-year-old son, A.J., broke away from her and ran into the street. A car struck the boy, causing fatal injuries. Nelson (the woman) and one of her two daughters also suffered minor injuries. Nelson was charged with three misdemeanors: second-degree vehicular homicide, failing to cross at a cross walk and reckless conduct, according to court records. A jury convicted her this month. Although prosecutors did not recommend jail time, each count carried a potential sentence of one year in jail”. What is behind this prosecution? Who among us who has raised young children wouldn’t be chilled with the vision of this happening to them? Why do we see such prosecutorial zeal in our society to find someone to punish when accidents occur? Continue reading “The Eternal Cluelessness of the Avenging Mind” →

Courts, Justice, Lawyering, Politics, Religion, Supreme Court

NY’s Marriage Equality Act Sees First Court Challenge

Submitted by Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger

In This Corner: NY Governor Andrew Cuomo ...

A coalition of conservative groups filed for an injunction in a Livingston County, New York Supreme Court (a trial court in NY parlance) asking the judge to overturn New York’s same-sex marriage law. New Yorker’s for Constitutional Freedom (NYCF) seek to enjoin operation of the law claiming that procedural requirements for the legislation were ignored, legislators were promised huge campaign contributions in exchange for their vote by NYC Mayor Bloomberg, and that Governor Andrew Cuomo violated the three-day review period by falsely issuing a “message of necessity” to the Legislature to speed up passage of the legislation. Through their lawyers, Liberty Counsel, the conservative action group also claims the public and lobbyists were shut out of the process.

Continue reading “NY’s Marriage Equality Act Sees First Court Challenge” →

Congress, Justice, Politics, Society

The Solution to the Debt Crisis is an Easy One.

Respectfully submitted by Lawrence Rafferty-Guest Blogger

I have a slightly different take on the debt ceiling discussion started by Mike Appleton earlier.  The Debt ceiling issue is on every cable and broadcast TV channel and on just about every website and blog including here on Prof. Turley’s blog. The debt limit and its feared default has controlled the airwaves for weeks now, and it isn’t going to end soon if the news reports are to believed. The Democrats want increased revenue and the Republicans want cuts only to spending in order to convince both sides to do something that was done about 19 times during the preceding administration without much fanfare from either side. No matter who you support there is an easy solution to the problem and the majority of Americans agree with it. The Hill Continue reading “The Solution to the Debt Crisis is an Easy One.” →

Constitutional Law, Courts, Justice, Lawyering, Religion, Society

Lessons from Roe in the Brown Polygamy Case

Submitted by Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger

Rarely do I disagree with our host, but on the Brown polygamy case we do. And not so much on the merits of the case as on the timing of it. I’ve said before I would decriminalize the practice of polygamy and regulate it much as we do other human relationships where there exists real risk of overreaching or exploitation. I think this approach serves the interests of the important right of privacy and protects the vulnerable.

Continue reading “Lessons from Roe in the Brown Polygamy Case” →

Criminal law, International, Justice, Politics

You Got To Know When To Hold(er) ‘Em

Submitted by Gene Howington, Guest Blogger

More potential bad news for Rupert Murdoch and News Corp. as Thursday’s Wall Street Journal reports that the U.S. Department of Justice is preparing subpoenas relating to alleged foreign bribery and alleged hacking of voicemail of Sept. 11 victims.  This is in addition to a separate FBI probe into the  alleged hacking of voicemail of Sept. 11 victims and a possible FCPA-related (Foreign Corrupt Practices Act)  investigation by the SEC related to allegations of bribing police in Great Britain.  There are also a substantial number of civil suits springing up related to the activities of News Corp.’s now shuttered News of the World operation.  While Murdoch and News Corp. have attempted to contain the damage done by the News of the World U.K. phone hacking scandal, it seems like their efforts are failing as the investigation into their operations expands across the Atlantic.  The real question lies with A.G. Eric Holder’s Department of Justice willingness to act.

Continue reading “You Got To Know When To Hold(er) ‘Em” →