If this week’s hearings seem devoid of serious content, it is due to the little known Ginsburg Rule. Today’s column discusses how we can restore some serious content to confirmation hearings.
For weeks, we have been discussing how Judge Sonia Sotomayor could result in the loss of ground for liberals on the Supreme Court given her sometimes conservative voting record in areas like free speech, student rights, and police abuse. One such area concern the use of foreign judgments. She is replacing a jurist who did rely on such judgments, but today Sotomayor aligned herself with Scalia, Thomas, Alito, and Roberts in rejecting the use of such judgments –even to “influence” decisions. It was one of the few substantive moments in the hearings.
Continue reading “Sotomayor Rejects Use of Foreign Law — Siding With Conservatives on the Supreme Court”
As many on this blog know, we try to keep track of who is likely to assert tyrannical control over the Earth so that the Turley bloggers can be the first to capitulate and curry favor. We now have two stories that, when combined, indicate that it will be our monkey masters. A report has surfaced that monkeys have proven capable of using robots with mind control devices. When combined with the recent story of robots capable of surviving on biomass, including human body parts, the meaning is obvious: our monkey overlords will soon be operating human-eating robots with their minds.
Officials in Livingston Parish, Louisiana are reviewing a video from a traffic stop by Deputy Chris Sturdivant that resulted in the broken neck of Adam Stogner, 42. Sturdivant believed that Stogner might be hiding drugs in his mouth when he wrestled him to the ground.
Continue reading “Louisiana Officer Suspects Man Has Drugs in Mouth and Breaks Man’s Neck During Arrest”
Elizabeth Loveday, 38, of Portsmouth, New Hampshire is someone in dire need of a divorce. Loveday was arrested outside of a courthouse after shoving court-ordered marriage mediator and then biting the woman’s forearm in an effort to assault her estranged husband.
Continue reading “Calling Off Loveday: Woman Arrested for Assaulting and Biting Marriage Mediator at Courthouse”
The Wisconsin Supreme Court has handed down another victory for lead paint manufacturers in ruling that paint is not defective due to the lead. The rejection of the defective design claim by Ruben Baez Godoy is only the latest such victory for the industry (here).
Continue reading “Wisconsin Supreme Court Rules In Favor of Lead Paint Manufacturers”
Hamas has accused Israeli intelligence of another fiendish plot to undermine the Palestinian cause. The weapon of mass cultural destruction? Gum. Hamas accuses Israel of sneaking in chewing gum that increases the sex drive of Palestinian kids in order to “corrupt the young.”
Next time you think of kicking that lawn mower, you might want to reconsider. The Defense Department is funding the development of a new line of robots that will be powered by eating organic material on a battlefield, including human bodies. The Robotic Technology Inc.’s Energetically Autonomous Tactical Robot (EATR ) may confuse programmers from foodstuffs, but they can operate without being refueled to operate their steam engine.
Continue reading “Big Eatrs: Defense Department Developing Robots Which Can Feed on Dead Bodies”
The Georgia Supreme Court is facing a rather odd legal question: is a land mower a motor vehicle or lawn device? The answer to that question has considerable importance to Franklin Lloyd Harris who received a 10-year sentence for stealing a lawn mower from Home Depot.
Continue reading “Georgia Man Accused of Vehicle Theft Over Lawn Mower”
Arizonans are now allowed to carry concealed weapons into bars. Gov. Jan Brewer signed the law on Monday to guarantee the right to be fully loaded in bars.
Continue reading “Loaded in Arizona: New Law Allows Guns in Bars”
Everyone is told about the dangers of hitchhiking: you simply do not know who the driver might be. The lesson was learned by Mark E. White, 50, who decided to rob a bank just three weeks after being paroled from prison. He then flagged down a car for a ride — driven by a cop.
Continue reading “The Dangers of Hitchhiking: Bank Robber Hitches Ride With Undercover Officer”
While going to law school in Chicago, many of us were envious of kids that graduated from Wisconsin law schools who were not required to take a state bar. It now turns out that we may have been victims of an unconstitutional discrimination against outside law schools. In an interesting opinion written by Judge Richard Posner of the United States Supreme Court, the Wisconsin rule was found to be a violation of the commerce clause.
There is an interesting story out of Florida that shows that, at a typical sobriety roadblock, police arrested 10 people and wrote tickets for 100 others — for virtually every type of traffic violation except DUI. What is fascinating is the comparison to the recent D.C. Circuit ruling finding general crime roadblocks to be unconstitutional. Yet, by calling a roadblock a sobriety checkpoint, you can accomplish the same result.
Continue reading “Florida Sobriety Roadblock Produces Host of Arrests and Citations — Except for DUI”
A London doctor is telling a horrific story of how she was tricked by her family to return to Bangladesh, drugged, put into a psychiatric hospital, and then married to a stranger. The Muslim family felt that Dr. Humayra Abedin was too independent and living a non-traditional life as a physician.
Continue reading “English Doctor Allegedly Drugged, Kidnapped, and Forced to Marry Stranger”
Newsweek is reporting that Attorney General Eric Holder is leaning toward the appointment of a special prosecutor on the issue of torture. Much, however, was not stated and there remains a question of whether Holder will appoint a special prosecutor with the full authority to pursue any and all crimes related to the torture policy. There are rumors that, if an investigation occurs, it may be sharply curtailed.
Continue reading “Holder Reportedly Considering Special Prosecutor — But Serious Questions Remain”