There English media has been pursuing a series of stories about police abuse, particularly at protests. A new video (below) has surfaced showing the arrest of two such protesters, Val Swain, 43, and Emily Apple, 33, who claim that they were arrested and roughed up after demanding the badge number of an officer.
Continue reading “Video: Two Women Arrested After Asking for Officer’s Badge Number”
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has come out with criticism of the citizens who have filed ethics complaints against her. She says that all of these ethics charges are frivolous and politically motivated — and cost $500,000 to defend against.
U.S. Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor has resigned from the all-women Belizean Grove club — waiting for Friday to try to bury the announcement in the weekend news. Sotomayor did not express any personal concerns or regrets about joining an exclusive club and only stated that she did not want it to be a “distraction” from her record.
Continue reading “Sonia Sotomayor Resigns From Female-Only Club”
At the Boston Massacre, an unlikely figure emerged as one of the heros, a man of black or Indian parentage named Crispus Attucks. In Iran, women have played a key role in the protests and protesters have rallied around a female martyr named Neda Soltan, 26. Just as blacks in the United States were fighting from a position of slavery and discrimination, Iranian women have been throwing off of restrictions of the harsh Islamic regime and taken to the street. One such courageous young person was filmed as she died after being shot by Iranian security. The video is making it through the blackout curtain established by the Iranian government.
Continue reading “Iran’s Crispus Attucks: Demonstrators Chant the Name of Neda”
Gentleman assume your couches! Happy Father’s Day to all of the Turley bloggers.
There has been a steading criminalization of bad conduct in the United States, as discussed in earlier columns. We can add the New York subways push to force people to give up their seats to the elderly and disabled — or face a potential 10 day jail term.
Continue reading “Be Polite or Else: New York to Enforce Criminal Penalties on Yielding Seats on the Subway”
The now imprisoned U.S. District Court Samuel B. Kent has been openly bilking the government for salary and benefits by refusing to resign. His lawyer even acknowledged that his promise to resign in a year was due to his calculation that the Congress could not move any faster toward a Senate trial. It was a curious legal strategy since it virtually dared the Congress to expedite the matter, which it did. Kent has now been impeached in a fast track proceeding.
Continue reading “Judge Kent Impeached in Expedited Process”
There is a disturbing report out of South Africa this week. The South African Medical Research Council has found that one out of four South African men said that they had raped someone and more than half admitted to raping more than one person.
Continue reading “Report: One Out of Four South African Men Have Raped Someone”
A state judge in Illinois has ruled that an Illinois law requiring state judges to retire after turning 75 is unconstitutional. Notably, the author of the four-judge decision Justice Charles Freeman (left) would himself be forced to retire under the law. In the meantime, the U.S. Supreme Court has voted against age discrimination claims of older workers.
Continue reading “Illinois Judges Rule That They Cannot Be Forced to Retire Based on Age While Justices in Washington Raise the Bar for Age Discrimination for Citizens”
Ron Paul has challenged democrats for what he views as their hypocrisy in voting against the war funding during the Bush Administration while now voting for same legislation under the Obama Administration.
Continue reading “Ron Paul Challenges Democrats Who Support an Obama War Over a Bush War”
In a split 5-4 decision, Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. ruled that an individual cannot demanded access or testing to DNA material after his conviction becomes final in District Attorney’s Office v. Osborne (08-6).
Continue reading “Supreme Court Rules Against Constitutional Right to Access to DNA Testing”
Recently, many civil libertarians have been alarmed by legal changes in England restricting the media, free speech, prosecuting insults against religion, and other rollbacks. Now, the Lord Chief Justice has ruled that criminal trials no longer require a jury for the first time in England and Wales.
Continue reading “Lord Chief Justice: Jury Trial No Longer Required in England and Wales”
We have now all seen it: President Barack Obama killing a small fly and then gleefully celebrating that he “got the little sucker.” Now, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) (never late in embarrassing itself) has denounced the killing and encouraged people to use a “catch and release” device.
Continue reading “Obama’s Murderous Rage Raises Ire of PETA”
Attorney General Eric Holder left little question in anyone’s mind this week that the Obama Administration will not allow a prosecution of unlawful surveillance during the Bush Administration. As with the torture program, the Administration has been avoiding questions about its failure to prosecute the illegal surveillance program. Now, Holder has refused to call the program “illegal” and would only refer to it as “unwise.” I intent to use this as my main defense in my next criminal case: my client’s robbery of a bank was merely “unwise” and a lack of wisdom does not justify prosecution.
Continue reading “Holder: Warrantless Surveillance was “Unwise” Rather than “Illegal””
President Obama has already adopted or expanded many of the most controversial Bush policies on executive privilege, detainee treatment, termination of privacy lawsuit, and other matters. Now, he has adopted the identical position of Vice President Dick Cheney in seeking to withhold visitor logs to the White House.
Continue reading “Obama Adopts Cheney Policy and Opposes Release of White House Logs”