Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh seem to be vying for which country is the most repressive in the application of Islamic Sharia law. The Saudi courts have ordered a Filipino woman to be lashed 100 times after she was raped. The Bangladesh courts outdid their Saudi counterparts and ordered a girl lashed 101 times for being raped. At what point does the Obama Administration publicly denounce these countries for systemic human rights violations against women?
Category: Politics
Associate Justice Clarence Thomas appeared to take on President Obama this week in discussing the ruling in Citizens United — contradicting the President’s portrayal in the State of the Union. In my view, the President did overstate the holding (not unheard of in the halls of Congress), but I continue to despair over the increasing public role played by justices (here). In my view, Thomas should not be engaging in such a public debate and should allow these decisions to speak for themselves.
Continue reading “Clarence Thomas Defends Recent Ruling on Campaign Finance”
Harris County criminal Court-at-Law Judge Reagan Helm has resigned after protests over his allegedly taunting remarks to victims of domestic violence. Helm, 68, reportedly admitted to suffering from dementia and having “medical issues.” He was accused of extreme bias against women in these cases. In one instance, Helm told men accused of domestic abuse that these women have them “by the balls.”
Continue reading “Houston Judge Resigns After Claims of Bias Against Domestic Abuse Victims”
There is an interesting investigation in Brooklyn where Internal Affairs is looking into allegations that Brooklyn police officers refused to take criminal complaints and downgraded crimes to lower crime statistics. It brings a new meaning to officers warning people not to become a statistic.
Continue reading “Fighting Crime . . . One Statistic A Time: Brooklyn Police Accused of Fixing the Books”
A church in Oregon has the infamous reputation of killing children in the name of faith. Now, two parents — Jeff and Marci Beagley — have been found guilty of negligent homicide. Their case was discussed in this prior column. It is a welcomed charge (often religious parents are given lesser charges in the death of their children due to faith-healing), but the likely sentence is likely to be relatively low given the history of this church and the loss of life.
Continue reading “Faith-Healing Parents in Oregon Convicted of Negligent Homicide”
In a disgusting pornographic collection called “the Misty series,” a little girl named Amy was photographed by her uncle who then distributed the pictures worldwide on the Internet. As discussed earlier, now an adult, Amy has succeeded to securing restitution not from her uncle but from a man who was found in possession of the pictures. As reported by John Schwartz in the New York Times article below, it has raised serious questions from lawyers and law professors (including myself) but the Obama Administration is now supporting such claims.
Continue reading “Pay Misty for Me: Courts Mull Over Restitution Payments to Victims of Child Pornography From Possessors”
France has been stepping up its opposition to the Muslim tradition of women wearing full veils. It has not only moved toward a ban in public places, but it has now denied citizenship to a Moroccan man for his attitude toward women, including forcing his wife to wear a veil.
Continue reading “France Refuses Citizenship to Moroccan Man Who Forces Wife To Wear Veil”
Lorianne Updike Toler, lawyer and head of the Constitutional Sources Project in Pennsylvania, has found a rare early draft of the United States Constitution in the hand of James Wilson. It is a major historical and legal find at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.
Continue reading “Early Draft of Constitution Found”
Donna Rock is accused of one of the lowest possible crimes: raising money for a 5-year-old girl with cancer and then keeping the money for herself. This week, Rock was arrested and charged with theft of the money raised for Serena Lambert.
Continue reading “Between a Rock and A Hard Place: Baltimore Woman Accused of Raising Money for Cancer Victim and Then Keeping It”
The good people at The Laughingsquid showed the world how to deal with fanatics like the hate-mongering Westboro Church crowd. Westboro loves to show up at funerals and other events with large signs proclaiming such things as “GOD HATES FAGS.” A bunch of counter-demonstrators showed up recently with signs of their own proclaiming such things “I WAS PROMISED DONUTS” and “GOD HATES SIGNS.”
Continue reading ““God Hates Signs”: Westboro Protest Triggers Theater of the Absurd”
A federal court may have to decide who owns the “who dat” phrase in footnote. The NFL, which has a reputation of claiming a wide array of trademark rights against fans, has sent letters to various companies and fans telling them not to use the phrase “who dat” in combination with the Saints’ fleur-de-lis logo. It has led to Louisiana Sen. David Vitter (fresh from his prostitution scandal) to cry foul and demand that “who dat” belongs to the people. In the meantime, two fans have claimed ownership to the phrase since 1966.
Leading Iranian Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati used his Friday prayer sermon to celebrate the recent executions of protesters and to call for more executions as the will of God. Jannati explained that the Koran (Qur’an) expressly allows rulers to execute critics.
Continue reading “Iranian Cleric Calls for Execution of More Protesters As Sanctioned By God”
We have another curiosity out of London where police arrested Michael Mancini, 39, for blowing his nose in his van while it was stopped at a traffic light. The police officer insisted that he was not in control of his vehicle.
Continue reading “A Nose for Crime: London Police Arrest Man For Blowing Nose at Traffic Light”
Attorney General Eric Holder suffered an embarrassing setback yesterday when the White House ordered the Justice Department to find another location for the trial of the 9/11 suspects. If true, this would be a troubling intervention of the White House into a pending criminal case and seems to follow political pressure on the venue for the trial.
Continue reading “Obama Reportedly Orders Justice Department to Consider Alternative Sites for Terror Trial”
For those who wanted President Barack Obama to address the issue of pork in the State of the Union, the speech of Argentina’s President Cristina Fernandez this week shows just how much Obama is withholding from the public. Fernandez not only praised the benefits of eating pork but encouraged that a little pork in your diet can spice up your love life. What do we get? A discussion of market recovery and jobs initiatives.
Continue reading “Obama Avoids Pork Issue in State of the Union”