Category: Justice

Bizarre, Courts, Criminal law, Free Speech, International, Justice, Media, Society

Method Of Modern Love: Twitter-Style

Submitted by Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger

The Happy Couple: Farthing For Your Thoughts Mrs. Puddick?

London plumber, Ian Puddick, was aghast after reading a text message on his wife’s cell phone. It seems  Leena, was having an affair with Tim Haynes, an insurance broker at one of London’s hoary financial houses and a City Director. The affair began at a company Christmas Party (don’t they all) and continued for ten years.   Rather than an immediate face-to-face confrontation with all the messiness that involves, Puddick set up several websites and then began to Twitter the racy cyber-dialog between the illicit lovers. One read, “Where do you want to have sex next? The office, al fresco, the flat or all three you greedy girl?”  He supplemented the shorthand with videos and a blog– all dedicated to the affair.

Continue reading “Method Of Modern Love: Twitter-Style” →

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

How Should A Civilized Society Deal With Criminals?

Contributed by: Mike Spindell, Guest Blogger

All society’s see themselves as “civilized” which connotes that they are humane in their treatment of all within their purview. One society will compare their society towards another, disparagingly in most cases, seeing the “other” as less “civilized” and more barbaric. We all know the clichés about the cruelties of Mexican, or Turkish prisons for instance and our American tendency is to look down our noses upon the barbarity of those countries in dealing with all prisoners, not just felons. How smug we are in our self-satisfaction that America is a modern culture with no hint of the backwardness and barbarism of less modern cultures. In my view this has been merely the legerdemain of mass delusion. I say delusion because the sad truth we all know is that many of our prisons and many of our Jails are “hellholes”, perhaps only degrees better than certain other more “barbarous” Nations are. Our literature and media have for years dealt with the harshness of our prison system. Indeed our gallows humor puts forth the hardly clichéd image of prison rape as a fit punishment for some. A current story conveys our dilemma in seeing the truth of our own lack of civilization, dealing with those who commit crimes both of heinous and victimless nature. Continue reading “How Should A Civilized Society Deal With Criminals?” →

International, Justice, Media

British Parliament Debates Murdoch’s News Corp

Submitted by Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger

We’ve been following the growing worldwide scandal of  phone hacking of  the families of victims of terror and lost servicemen by the British tabloid, News of The World. The 186 year-old British weekly  publication shut down earlier this month amid cries for a full investigation into sensationalist journalism that apparently relied on listening in to voice mails of the victims. British PM David Cameron has recalled Parliament into extraordinary session to debate the phone hacking scandal engendered by Rupert Murdoch’s media empire. Murdoch, his son, James, and officials from NOW’s parent company, News Corp, have appeared before Parliament Select Committees amid torrents of popular protest to answer questions about upper management’s role. To date, Murdoch and his lieutenants have denied any prior knowledge of the methods used to fuel the gotcha’ stories. Calls are now being heard for PM Cameron’s resignation and that of Murdoch himself who has denied any  wrongdoing.

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Free Speech, International, Justice, Military, Politics

Be Careful What You Wish For…

 

Submitted By: Mike Spindell, Guest Blogger

When my NY Times headline feed came in today the headline and then to this article stood out:

 Egypt Military Aims to Cement Muscular Role in Government

 http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/17/world/middleeast/17egypt.html?_r=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha2

Reading it, I thought of the euphoria that we felt when Hosni Mubarak left, overthrown by the bravery of the Egyptian people as they had fought and protested for a more democratic way of life. How stirring the unfolding story was of Muslim Peoples beginning to rise up and overthrow the tyranny they under which they lived. The tipping point in Mubarak’s ouster was the support of the powerful Egyptian Military, who promised a civilian authored constitution and democratic reforms. Knowing Egyptian history for the last 60 years or so did little to damp my enthusiasm, despite the fact that every regime change came about by military coup/intervention. Afterwards, like many of us Egypt passed out of my thoughts as other issues came to the fore. Then this story drew me back to the experiences of my life and the stream of disappointments that followed every seemingly triumphant political moment I’ve lived through. Continue reading “Be Careful What You Wish For…” →

Justice, Society, Uncategorized

What Makes A Good Law, What Makes A Bad Law?

Submitted by Gene Howington, Guest Blogger

In 1780, John Adams succinctly defined the principle of the Rule of Law in the Massachusetts Constitution by seeking to establish “a government of laws and not of men”. This reflects the democratic principles enshrined in the Constitution’s preamble: “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” The very foundation of our legal system says that the law should work for us all, not just a select few.

This raises the question of what is a good law that serves the majority of society and what is a bad law that doesn’t serve the majority of society?

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Criminal law, Justice, Society

Florida Sheriff: No Underwear (And No Dignity) For You!

Submitted by Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger

Jail Reformer Grady Judd

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd has a budget problem. Claiming concern about having to make job cuts in a tough economy or to provide luxury items to inmates, this prison reformer took the path of least resistance. Problem is, to Sheriff Judd, “luxury items” include jail-provided underwear. Seems the prison uniform includes the proviso of “going commando” for the male inmates. Female guests face no such concern and are provided free undergarments and the reason for the different treatment is a tad unclear. Maybe Sheriff Judd is teaching the value of smooth panty lines. In any event, the foundation-free policy is saving his budget $45,000.00 or as Judd puts it “$45,000.00 is one person’s job we’re saving. If inmates want to wear underwear in jail, they can buy it, just like hard working Polk County citizens do.” Lest you think Judd a throwback to the days of Les Miserables, you should know that entrepreneurship is alive and well at the Polk County jail. Briefs can be purchased for $2.54 and boxers for a mere $4.48. And to avoid the tedious chore of having to inspect the skivvies for weapons, male inmates may not bring in their own underwear. No word yet on two for one sales, or if other “luxuries” like tooth brushes and toilet paper will become items offered for purchase at the jail.

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Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Justice, Lawyering

Justice Department Forces Mistrial After Violating Court Order in Clemens Trial

In an enormous embarrassment, the Justice Department forced a mistrial in the trial of baseball star Roger Clemens after its attorneys committed a flagrant violation of the court’s orders. Clemens will now have to be retried after U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton found that the Justice Department severely undermined a fair trial for the accused. The sanction is a sharp blow to U.S. Assistant Attorney Steven Durham and his team — and a rare example of a court imposing such sanctions against the government. Defense attorneys often complain that prosecutors engage in such conduct — including some intentional slips — because they are confident that the jury will simply be told to disregard the evidence. It is not known if this was an intentional or simply negligent act by the prosecutors.
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Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Free Speech, Justice, Politics, Religion, Society

Brown Family To File Challenge To The Criminalization of Polygamy In Utah

As reported by The New York Times and National Public Radio, I will be traveling to Salt Lake City today to file (on Wednesday) a challenge to the Utah statute criminalizing bigamy and cohabitation. The lawsuit will be filed on behalf of my clients, the Brown family. The Browns are featured in the TLC program Sister Wives as an openly polygamous family.
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Congress, Justice, Supreme Court

AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion: Has Consumer Protection Law Been Preempted?

Submitted by Mike Appleton, Guest Blogger

“All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others.”

-George Orwell, “Animal Farm”

The Supreme Court’s decision in the Walmart class action case has understandably generated controversy for its adverse impact on the litigation of workplace discrimination claims.  But the Walmart case is not nearly as far reaching in its implications as the decision issued by the Supreme Court on April 27, 2011 in AT&T Mobility, LLC v. Concepcion, 563 U.S. _____ (2011).  The opinion in Concepcion confirms two truths.  First, Justice Antonin Scalia is firmly committed to federalism except when he isn’t.  Second, corporate America is well on its way to usurping the common law and state statutory law intended to protect the interests of aggrieved consumers. Continue reading “AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion: Has Consumer Protection Law Been Preempted?” →

Bizarre, Courts, Criminal law, Justice, Lawyering, Politics, Society

Government Leaks Evidence To Undermine Whitey Bulger Trial — Judge Asks for “Plan” From Justice To End Unethical Disclosures

One of the longest standing complaints among criminal defense attorneys is that the government often goes ballistic when a defense attorney makes public statements in support of his or her client. Judges often hammer private counsel under increasingly harsh gag orders. Yet, the government routinely influences cases by leaking information that could only come from the prosecutors or investigators on the case. This problem is even more acute in high-profile cases like that of Richard Jewell and my former client Dr. Thomas Butler, where leaks were used to target innocent men to try to force them to plead. Now, like clockwork, the Justice Department has again started the leak war in the case of alleged mobster James “Whitey” Bulger. However, the judge has simply asked the Justice Department for a “plan” on how to stop the leaks. If this were a private firm, there would be a contempt hearing.

Continue reading “Government Leaks Evidence To Undermine Whitey Bulger Trial — Judge Asks for “Plan” From Justice To End Unethical Disclosures” →

Criminal law, Justice, Uncategorized

The “Departed” Returns to Boston: A Sordid Tale of Mobster Whitey Bulger & the FBI

Submitted by Elaine Magliaro, Guest Blogger

I’ve lived in the Boston area all my life. I, therefore, have read a lot of news stories about the Bulger brothers—Billy, a once powerful politician, and Whitey, the fugitive mobster who had been “evading” capture by the FBI since 1995. Both my husband and I were astonished when we heard the news that Whitey Bulger had finally been arrested by the FBI in Santa Monica, California, a few days ago. We have doubted for a long time that the FBI seriously wanted to find Whitey. After all, agents at the Bureau had once looked the other way when the mob boss committed serious crimes–including murder–while he was serving as an informant for them.

Continue reading “The “Departed” Returns to Boston: A Sordid Tale of Mobster Whitey Bulger & the FBI” →

Justice, Politics

You Made Your Bed …

-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger

A little over a month ago, Georgia Governor Nathan Deal (left) signed HB 87, an Arizona-like immigration law. The law was designed to drive illegal immigrants out of Georgia, and now state officials are shocked feigning shock that it worked.

The resulting labor shortage has meant that millions of dollars of unharvested blueberries, onions, and other crops will be left rotting in the fields. Since many farmers live harvest-to-harvest, the loss of one crop could mean the loss of their farm.

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Courts, Criminal law, Justice, Science, Society

When “Gage Is Not Gage”: Neuroscience And The Law’s Assumption of Free Will

Submitted by Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger

The bedrock of modern Western jurisprudence is the supposition that we are free to choose our actions from a range of choices. Some of these choices are socially acceptable and we deem them “legal.” Other choices made in specified contexts are socially unacceptable, and we deem these “illegal.” For those extremely unacceptable actions denominated as “crimes” we reserve progressive punishments to deter their occurrence. Gratuitous violence is one of the most important of these condemned actions, and we have striven for centuries to overcome this endemic feature of our nature. The basic assumption being that we can deter conduct that is the product of free will by imposing undesirable consequences on the actor. How have we done? I suppose the obvious answer is that despite a multitude of approaches ranging from severe punishment to compassionate rehabilitation, we haven’t yet mastered a way to banish senseless violence from our midst. Perhaps it is time to question that basic assumption that violence  is purely volitional conduct.

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Criminal law, Justice, Politics

The Iceman Cometh Back

-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger

It’s been nearly a decade since the death of Manadel al-Jamadi, an Iraqi prisoner known as “the Iceman.” In Alexandria, Virginia, a secret federal grand jury has begun calling witnesses in its investigation of the death of “the Iceman”. Manadel al-Jamadi was killed while in CIA custody at Abu Ghraib and got his nickname from an attempt to keep his body cool and make him look less than dead.

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Congress, Constitutional Law, International, Justice, Lawyering, Media, Military, Politics, Society, Supreme Court

Members of Congress Challenge Libyan War in Federal Court

Today, I have the honor of representing ten members of the United States House of Representatives in challenging the constitutional basis for the Libyan War — and the underlying claims made by President Obama. These members include Democrats and Republicans from across the political spectrum. They share a belief that Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution expressly requires the authorization of Congress before a president can commit the nation to war. The lawsuit will be heard in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. We filed this afternoon and held a press conference with the members in front of the courthouse. A copy of the complaint (which will be heard by Judge Reggie Walton) is below.

Continue reading “Members of Congress Challenge Libyan War in Federal Court” →