Belarus has long been a dangerous place for both free speech and a free press. However, many gasped when a court sentenced journalist Aleksandr Sdvizhkov to three years hard labor for publishing the cartoons of Muhammad that led to worldwide protests. This follows an equally abusive decision of the government to shutdown his newspaper, Zgoda (Consensus), over the incident. Continue reading “Free Press: Journalist Sentenced to Three Years Hard Labor for Publishing Cartoons of Muhammad”
Category: Justice
A Bush appointed federal bankruptcy judge was arrested for driving drunk and has resigned. A torrent of coverage followed the arrest after it was disclosed that Judge Robert Somma, 63, was dressed as a woman at the time of the accident. The case raises some questions over the treatment of judges who follow alternative lifestyles. Continue reading “Federal Judge Resigns After Arrest for DUI”
Emails and text-messages have now brought down one of the most powerful prosecutors in the country and may soon lead to criminal charges against the Mayor of Detroit. Harris County District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal resigned this week after his emails were revealed in a police abuse case. In the meantime, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick has appealed the release of his text messages in a case involving police whistleblowers. He has asked the Michigan Supreme Court to protect what remains of his privacy and political future. It is death by blackberry and plenty are politicians across the country are watching and wincing at the scandals. Continue reading “You’ve Got Mail — and a Subpoena — Emails and Text Messaging At the Center of Scandals in Michigan and Texas”
Steven G. Bradbury, the acting chief of the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, offered one of the most detailed defenses of waterboarding by the Administration to date. In a bizarre twist, he insisted that the Administration was less like the Spanish Inquisition and more like the Khmer Rouge in its particularly version of the torture technique. Of course, his distinction would be lost on all but torture affectionados and, of course, Democrat and Republican members desperately trying to avoid a criminal investigation. Continue reading “Latest Defense of Bush Torture Program: Not As Bad as Spanish Inquisition; More Like Khmer Rouge”
In West Virginia, coal is king and many are suggesting that its reach extends into the very chambers of the state’s highest court. An interesting fight is brewing in state and federal courts over allegations of bias for and against a leading coal company, Massey Coal. Supreme Court Justice Larry Starcher has already recused himself under demands from Massey while he has accused other justices of having far greater bias in favor of the company and its executives. Continue reading “Mining for Justice(s): West Virginia Scandal Erupts Over Mining Company Influence”
Officer Todd Greeves appears to take traffic very seriously. so, when fire fighters were trying to move an injured driver, he demanded that they move their truck. When they refused, he arrested the fire captain. He will now have to pay $18,000 for the incident on in May of 2003. For the video, click here
Hillsborough County Deputy Charlette Marshall-Jones, 44, has been criminally charged with dumping a paralyzed man from a wheelchair in a shocking video from the county jail. Brian Sterner, 32, was paralyzed in a 1994 wrestling accident and is shown on the video being dumped to the floor by the officer. Continue reading “Deputy Sheriff Charged in Abusing Disabled Man By Dumping Him to the Floor — As Captured by Video”
An astonishing thing happened yesterday, one of the houses of Congress actually stood on principle and refused to cave to the demands of the President to give telecom companies immunity or face imminent annihilation. The question is whether this is a true commitment or just political theater. Continue reading “House Defies Bush: Allows Surveillance Law Expire”
The attorney for Brian McNamee, Richard Emery, started a firestorm over his suggestion that Roger Clemens could receive a pardon from President Bush if accused of lying about his alleged use of performance-enhancing drugs. It is possible for the president to grant such a pardon in anticipation of a criminal charge, though it would be an facial abuse of authority. Continue reading “Washington Buzzing About A Presidential Pardon for Roger Clemens”
Former Circuit Judge Alex Ferrer is again in the news after a recent (and unpromising) appeal to the Supreme Court over a contract dispute. The Florida Supreme Court has heavily criticized the television faux jurist “Judge Alex” for his testimony in a case involving a man who once appeared before him. Judge Alex’s role is related to the case of Noel Doorbal, 36, who received two death sentences from Ferrer for the torture-slayings of a wealthy South Florida couple in 1995. The actual testimony related the prosecution of one of Doorbal’s victims, Marcello Schiller. Continue reading “Florida Supreme Court Spanks Television Faux-Jurist “Judge Alex””
When the Saudi justice system is not flogging rape victims, it is trying women as witches. It turns out that witchcraft is treated as a catch-all charge for an offense against Islam. She could be executed. Continue reading “Saudi Woman Convicted of Witchcraft in Latest Horror from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s “Justice” System”
It is doubtful that the Fifth Circuit timed the opinion to coincide with Valentine’s Day, but the court has issued a very interesting opinion striking down a Texas law prohibiting the promotion and sale of sex toys. It represents an extension of the precedent in Lawrence v. Texas, striking down a criminal prohibition on homosexual relations. Continue reading “Fifth Circuit Strikes Down Texas Prohibition on Promotion and Sale of Sex Toys”
House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers appears to have been able to break the hold on the still pending criminal contempt resolutions against White House chief of staff Joshua Bolten and former White House counsel Harriet Miers. A House vote could trigger another confrontation with Attorney General Michael Mukasey, who has indicated that he will refuse to prosecute the case — not long after telling Conyers that he will also refuse to investigate the crime of torture ordered by the President. Continue reading “Conyers Moves Contempt Matter Against Meirs and Bolton Toward House Floor”
Justice Antonin Scalia has long been criticized for his habit of discussing pending issues before the Court and abandoning a long tradition of restraint by justices in their public appearances. His most recent defense of torture in a BBC interview has caused yet another controversy over Scalia’s disturbing lack of self-restraint. Continue reading “Scalia Holds Forth on the Proper Use of Torture — As Experts Debate the Propriety of Such Public Statements”
Given the most recent public controversy involving statements made by Justice Scalia on torture, this prior column may be of some interest: Continue reading “Scalia and the Advent of the Celebrity Justice”