Not since Sandy Berger have socks figured so prominently in a major Washington scandal. It appears that former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer may have been fingered by Republican political operative Roger Stone. Strangely, Stone’s lawyer cited the fact that Spitzer never took off his knee high socks during a sexual encounter as a key factual element to prove the accuracy of the source. Continue reading “Spitzer’s Socks and Stone’s Secret: Political Intrigue and Personal Hosiery Cited in Spitzer Scandal”
Category: Lawyering
For years, critics have pointed to a notable pattern of the members of the Ohio Supreme Court voting overwhelmingly with campaign donors. One justice, Terrence O’Donnell voted 91 percent of the time with her campaign donors. One Justice complained that campaigning in Ohio made him feel like a “hooker,” pandering before special interests with cases before the Court. This is not unique, as noted below. Continue reading “Ohio Supreme Court Criticized for Ruling Overwhelmingly In Favor of Campaign Donors”
I have often written about judges who seem to relish the imposition of “creative sentences” that often involve shaming or degrading acts to be perform by defendants. Scott County Associate Judge Christine Dalton in Davenport came now be added to this ignoble list. ith a lengthy and violent criminal record to his name, Pachino Hill is going to church. Dalton has ordered a criminal defendant Pachino Hill to attend church in a wildly inappropriate sentence. Continue reading “Iowa Judge Orders Criminal to Church in Another Abuse of “Creative Sentencing””
According to prosecutors, 91-year-old Ralph Ridenour was fully competent to stand trial in Colorado. The only problem was that he was dead at the time.
Continue reading “Fit But Dead: Prosecutors Argue in Court that Defendant is Fit for Trial a Month After He Dies”
A judicial panel has recommended the most severe penalty of removal for a judge accused of making racially insensitive remarks about “white folks.” The panel is seeking the removal of Leflore County Court Judge Solomon Osborne for making racially charged statements about “white folks” and then allegedly lying about it in an affidavit. Continue reading “Mississippi Judge Faces Removal Over Remarks About “White Folks””
Washington, D.C. Judge John Bayly Jr. had accepted a reprimand and apologized for detaining a public defender, Liyah Brown, after she refused to stop talking in his court. Continue reading “D.C. Judge Sanctioned Over Jailing Talkative Public Defender”
The Supreme Court overwhelmingly threw out the murder conviction of Allen Synder due to race-based challenges in a case marred by prosecutorial abuse by Jim Williams and the failure of Judge Kernan “Skip” Hand to maintain a fair trial. Continue reading “Supreme Court Tosses Out Louisiana Murder Conviction Due to Racial Bias in Jury Selection”
Kate and Gerry McCann, parents of missing Madeleine McCann, have accepted £550,000 ($1.1 million) in damages for libel and front page apologies from the Daily Express and the Daily Star newspapers for their coverage suggesting that they killed Madeleine. Continue reading “McCanns Win Over $1 Million in Libel Case Against British Newspapers”
Securities trader Stephen Chang could well create new law with his lawsuit in New York. There are copious cases on medical malpractice, legal malpractice, but now he would like to create a law of stripper malpractice after lap dancer negligently swiveled and hit him in the face with the heel of her shoe. This is only the latest addition to a growing number of cases in the area of stripper jurisprudence. Continue reading “Negligent Lap Dance: Man Sues Over Injurious Lap Dance”
The Supreme Court has accepted a case that will explore the first amendment protections of certain types of profanity uttered on the air by Bono, Cher and Nicole Richie. The question is whether the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) can punish broadcasters for “fleeting expletives” by such celebrities. Continue reading “Bono, Cher, and the Supremes: Supreme Court Takes Profanity Case”
Current and former governors of New York and New Jersey appear to be vying for their own sexual reality shows this week, releasing details on affairs that have not been seen in politics since the primaries of Sodom and Gomorrah. Ex-Governor New York Eliot Spitzer, Ex-Governor New Jersey Jim McGreevey, and current New York Gov. David Paterson all have articles this morning on various sexual exploits. Paterson, however, may prove the most interesting measure of current American politics and mores. His is the only one without a criminal component and may not prove as politically lethal. Continue reading “Governors Gone Wild: New York and New Jersey Governors Expose a Wide Array of Sexual Encounters and Legal Complications”
The Supreme Court today will hear arguments in District of Columbia v. Heller, No. 07-290. The lower court decision in Parker v. District of Columbia, 478 F.3d 370 (D.C. Cir. 2007) contained strong majority and dissenting opinions on the question of whether there is an individual right to gun ownership. The odds favor gun owners for the first time in securing a decision that clearly establishes an individual right. Their case is helped along by a bizarre appearance of Vice President Dick Cheney opposing positions of his own administration before the Court. Continue reading “Supreme Court Hears Second Amendment Case As Cheney Opposes His Own Administration on the Question”
Richard “Dickie” Scruggs has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to bribe a judge — a plea that will likely send him to jail and certainly end his controversial but storied career of the “King of Torts.” While another lawyer from his firm also pleaded guilty, his son Zach is still scheduled to go to trial. Continue reading ““Dickie” Scruggs Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Bribe Judge”
A very disturbing series of allegations have been made against the Albany police involving abusive cavity searches, including one alleged performance in public. Continue reading “Albany Police Charged with Series of Abusive Cavity Searches”
Insanity cases continue trouble the courts and counsel from Andrea Yates to Colin Fergusan to the on-going controversy over John Wayne Hinckley Jr. This prior column explores the issue. Continue reading “The Insanity Defense and the Limits of Legal Reason”