Category: Society

Columns, Congress, Constitutional Law, Criminal law, International, Media, Politics, Society

AMERICA’S ANIMAL FARM: SNOWDEN AND THE SQUEALER

AF cover 4Below is my column today in USA Today on the criminal complaint against Edward Snowden. I have been criticizing the charge under the Espionage Act as abusive and a mistake by the Administration. President Barack Obama has been criticized for years for his use of the controversial 1917 Act. He is responsible for six of the nine total indictments ever brought under the Act. More than all presidents before him and putting Richard Nixon to shame. He has used the act against sources for journalists and only recently was criticized for the attacks on the free press under his Administration. I do not question the basis for prosecution of Snowden for the disclosure of classified information or any theft of such documents. However, the effort to put him away for life does raise an interesting contrast with prior cases, which is the subject of today’s column (slightly expanded from the print version).

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Constitutional Law, Courts, Media, Politics, Society, Supreme Court

A Familiar Scene And An All-Too-Familiar Question: The Supreme Court Returns To The Question Of Race [UPDATED]
The U.S. Supreme Court
The U.S. Supreme Court
This morning I will be in front of the Supreme Court to discuss the expected rulings on same-sex marriage, voting rights, and racial diversity in college admissions.  It is the last ruling in Fisher v. University of Texas Austin that brings back many personal memories for me.  I will be with Jake Tapper giving legal analysis from virtually the identical place I was standing in 1977 when Regents of the University of California v. Bakke was argued before the Court.  I was a 16 year old congressional page during the large protests for and against affirnative action.  I remember walking out of the House of Representatives where I was a leadership page and getting swept away by the crowds.  I found a spot near today’s CNN site to watch this passionate display of free speech.  What is most striking is that 36 years later little has truly been resolved in how race can be considered by universities — or the struggle of the Court to find a consistent approach to the question. Update below: The Court ruled 7-1 to impose a higher standard for review under strict scrutiny.
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Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Free Speech, Society

Second Circuit Upholds Conviction Of Radio Host For Attacks On Judges

nicubunu_open_mouthA troubling conviction has now become a troubling precedent for the first amendment. A right-wing Internet radio host, Harold C. Turner, was earlier convicted of threatening three federal judges. Turner, 48, posted comments attacking the three appeals court judges who had upheld a ban of handguns in Chicago. He was charged with a single count of threatening to assault or kill the judges with the intent of impeding their official duties. The referenced judges testified against Turner. They are Judges Frank Easterbrook, William Bauer, and Richard Posner. Now the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has upheld the conviction in decision that could expose more speech to criminal penalties.

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Animals, Criminal law, Society

California Police Shoot Family Dog And Then Offer Account Contradicted By Videotape

ad889af55f078a35d882f5828c82f7e7We have another controversial dog shooting case. Cathy Luu and her family say that an El Monte police officer shot their 2-year-old female German Shepherd, named Kiki inside their fenced-in front yard while looking for a runaway teenager. What is different about this case is that a home security camera recorded the scene and it contradicted the account of the two officers.

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Animals, International, Politics, Society

Canine Contraband: China’s Crackdown On Large Dogs Gets Ugly

220px-YellowLabradorLooking_newDOG1200Canine contraband is the newest crime wave in Beijing. China is cracking down on large dogs under a new law in classic Chinese authoritarian form: Police bearing nets and metal snares are roaming the streets in search of Labradors, Dalmatians and collies and other sizable dogs.

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Academia, Media, Politics, Society

Rahm Emanuel’s Reform of the Chicago Public Schools

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Respectfully submitted by Lawrence E. Rafferty-(Rafflaw)-Guest Blogger

We often hear the term “school reform” used often by politicians of all stripes.  Chicago’s politicians are no different when it comes to talking about and taking action on so-called school reform.  Recently, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who is a big fan of the charter school program and a former investment banker, decided that the best way to “reform” Chicago Public Schools was to close 49 schools and terminate 550 teachers and another 300 school staff employees!

“On June 14, the Chicago Public Schools sent layoff notices to 850 school employees, including 550 teachers. The layoffs will hit hardest at those teachers working in African-American and Latino communities. These are the communities that were targeted in the system’s recent decision to close 49 schools – the largest single school closure in US history.” Truth-out Continue reading “Rahm Emanuel’s Reform of the Chicago Public Schools” →

Free Speech, Lawyering, Society

The Name That May Not Be Spoken: Paula Deen,The “N” Word, And The ’60s South

By Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger

deenI never much liked Paula Deen’s cooking. Filled with butter and gravies and things like Krispy Creme Donuts for hamburger buns, Paula seemed too culinarily eccentric … to foodie excessive … too health oblivious even for a southern cook in 1813 much less 2013. Her story though, like her southern twang, had a certain charm to it: single mother of two left penniless makes ends meet by selling food-to-go out of her home kitchen and works her butt off until she reached the top of the sundae’s cherry with three shows on the Food Network and some spin off shows for her two sons.

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Constitutional Law, Free Speech, Politics, Society

Report: NSA Allowed To Use “Inadvertently Acquired” Communications

President_Barack_ObamaNational_Security_Agency.svgWe have seen a continuing array of spins by the White House and its allies to excuse the massive assault on privacy in the recently revealed warrantless surveillance programs. This effort has included perjury by high-ranking officials, an effort to redefine privacy in a new surveillance-friendly image, ever increasing claims of averting “plots” and misdirection toward other “threats” to privacy. However, one of the consistent claims has been that no content of communications was reviewed — an argument that itself is fallacious. Now however it appears that even that assurance is false. There are various reports that the content of the warrantless communications was accessible. Now, it has also been confirmed that there are two documents dated July 2009 and signed by Attorney General Holder allows the NSA to use “inadvertently acquired” communications.
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Courts, Criminal law, Society

New Jersey Judge to Face Trial for Hindering the Arrest of Robbery Suspect [UPDATED]

gavel2Superior Court judge Carlia Brady, 41, is to stand trial for “knowingly harbor[ing]” a fugitive charged with armed robbery in her Woodbridge home and never calling the police. She was arrested on Tuesday and charged two counts of hindering the apprehension of Jason Prontnicki, 41.

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Bizarre, Congress, Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Politics, Society

The Fantastic Feinstein: How To Make Privacy Disappear While Appearing To Defend It

225px-dianne_feinstein_official_senate_photoimages>Civil libertarians have long viewed Senator Dianne Feinstein (D.,CA) as a menace to privacy and civil liberties in her role on the  Senate Intelligence Committee. She has worked to blocked investigation of torture while supporting warrantless surveillance of our own citizens. Recently, many Californians became aware of her role in seeking ever-expanding powers for the security state. Feinstein desperately tried to get citizens to embrace a new model of privacy that allows for their continual surveillance in the latest scandals under her tenure. That has not worked particularly well so now Feinstein is taking a new approach: she is proclaiming her concern over the dangers of privacy posed by . . . drones. That’s right. Like the street magicians distracting an audience, Feinstein is trying to get citizens to focus on the use of drones for surveillance and promising some form of “regulation” in the future. The obvious intent behind yesterday’s carefully constructed scene was to present Feinstein in the light of a fighter for, rather than an attacker of, privacy rights.

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Bizarre, Criminal law, Society, Torts

Michigan Woman Accused Of False Rape Charges Against Three Men, Including One Released After 10 Years

article-2326336-19A6AE47000005DC-939_306x423Police were investigating the alleged rape of Sara Ylen by two men in her home in Lexington, Michigan when her attending physician noticed something odd: her bruises were wiping off clean. She is now being prosecuted for falsely claiming rape and tampering with evidence. The most chilling aspect of the story is that prosecutors convicted a man previously of raping Ylen. It is the role of the prosecutors that needs to be investigated in this bizarre story.

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International, Politics, Society

The Extraterrestrial Extramarital Defense: English Politician Announces Affair With Green Alien “Cat Queen” . . . Wife Reportedly “Not Happy”

220px-My_stepmother_is_an_alien_h353_w628_m6_otrue_lfalseSimon Parkes appears to be pressing the flesh with all the wrong people. The city council member and married father of three from Whitby Town Council has gone public with an account of a long affair with aliens, particularly an alien named the “Cat Queen” with whom he has had a child. He also claims that his “real mother” is a 9-foot green alien with eight fingers. The Labor politician has also reported the less surprising news that his wife is rather put out by the whole thing. He did raise a novel extraterrestrial defense to extramarital affairs. Continue reading “The Extraterrestrial Extramarital Defense: English Politician Announces Affair With Green Alien “Cat Queen” . . . Wife Reportedly “Not Happy”” →

Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Lawyering, Politics, Society

Brooklyn District Attorney Ordered To Testify On Pattern Of Prosecutorial Abuses By His Office

220px-Charles_J._HynesThe Brooklyn district attorney Charles J. Hynes is not have a particularly good week. First, Hynes had to fire one of his top people after Gang Bureau head Deanna Rodriguez used racist and anti-gay language. Now he will have to testify about allegations that his office ignores and even promotes prosecutorial misconduct. The testimony will occur in the case of Jabbar Collins, who has filed a civil rights lawsuit against the office of District Attorney Charles J. Hynes after he won his release after 16 years in prison for murder. He claims that his case is only one of an array of cases showing a pattern of egregious abuses and misconduct by Hynes’ office and prosecutors.

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Congress, Constitutional Law, Criminal law, International, Media, Politics, Society

Obama’s WMD Moment: The Administration Increases Claims Of Thwarting “Potential” Attacks and Saving Lives

George-W-Bush_jpegPresident_Barack_ObamaGeorge Bush was rightfully denounced for his Administration’s false statements to both the public and the United Nations on weapons of mass destruction in Iraq — the rationale for our invasion of that country. There was little apparent concern from Bush or his aides over the veracity or proof of their assertions as opposed to the desired outcome. The same mentality is in open display with President Obama this month as he and his aides continue to increase the claims of “successes” from the warrantless surveillance programs as public opposition grows. In this case, the increasing claims are being made in a war on privacy, including an effort to redefine privacy in a new surveillance-friendly image. We are now up to over 50 “potential plots” and Obama is sounding distinctly Bush-like in statements today about how these programs “saved lives.” The public, which learned this month that it was openly lied to about the programs in earlier hearings, is expected to accept these assurances on faith alone.

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