Submitted by Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger
Following the worst economy in a generation, Americans this year are poised to hand away $48 billion to the needy. In what must have pure capitalists scratching their heads, charitable donations are up more than 30% over last year. In fact, 74% of Americans are participating in the benevolence according to Convio Inc.’s annual year-end giving report.
Continue reading ““Greedy” Americans Donate $48B This Holiday Season”
Submitted by Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger
2010 could have been the last Christmas for two-year-old Nathan Saavedra of Carpenterville, Illinois. Suffering from a rare birth defect known as “Prune Belly Syndrome,” the toddler faced months of dialysis to stave off the deleterious effects of a failing urinary tract and an uncertain future. Reading about the child’s sad prognosis in the Elgin Courier-News, prompted 38-year-old Chris Doing into “doing” something. Inspired by his own grandmother’s posthumous gift of her organs, Doing contacted the local hospital to volunteer his kidney for the child.
Submitted by Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger
An Ohio Judge and two public defenders are in the Spirit. Hearing the plight of a formerly homeless woman attempting to expunge her record of a minor felony, the three came up with the $57.00 needed to pay her restitution and allow the Cleveland native a new lease on life. Said Judge Timothy McCormick, “it seemed like the easiest and best thing to do, especially given the season.” Amen.
Source: msnbc.com
~Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger
In one of the great civil liberties victories of our age, President Barack Obama this morning signed the formal repeal of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell — an obnoxious policy of discrimination put into effect under President Bill Clinton. At the time, many of us criticized Clinton for not having the courage to reject discrimination against gays and lesbians — even if we lost the fight on principle. Instead, we have had this insidious and hypocritical policy in place — resulting in the discharge or rejections of thousands of brave citizens. It is now relegated to the dustbin of history with the other discriminatory policies once embraced by our nation.
The New York Court of Appeals has ruled in favor of a golfer who failed to yell “Fore” and blinding another golfer in one eye. Dr. Anoop Kapoor and Dr. Azad Anand were playing on a nine-hole Long Island course in October 2002 when Kapoor took the swing without the warning. Anand was hit in the head and sued. However, the court found that he had assumed the risk by going on the golf course — even with a “shanked shot.”
Continue reading “Legal Mulligan: New York Court Rules Against Golfer Blinded By Fore-Less “Shanked Shot””
Many of us have questioned some of the response targeting Wikileaks and the dangers that they pose to journalists and free speech on the Internet. The CIA, it appears, agrees: naming its effort the “Wikileaks Task Force” or WTF.
Continue reading “WTF on the Wikileaks Crackdown? The CIA Agrees”
The Arizona state supreme court has suspended attorney Cynthia Leyh over a conflict of interest and other misconduct in her representation of her convicted boyfriend, Walter Stringer.
Well, our friend Lottakatz has certainly stirred up a hornet’s nest. Various posters on the blog have contacted me about the sudden surge of over 100 votes on Legal Satyricon to take it from just 15 votes to the lead in the ABA competition. There was a surge of over 100 votes in less than an hour. I have discouraged (and even deleted) a few postings on the issue to keep the matter civil. After all, this is just a fun distraction for bloggers and we tend to have more fun than most. However, with some sleuthing, Lottakatz appears to have found a campaign of misinformation on pro-gun sites where an alleged regular on LS claims that I am a leading anti-gun advocate. The false representation promptly made opposition to our blog as cause celebre for gun rights advocates. Given the emails from our regulars, I wanted to address the controversy.
Continue reading “Misinformation Campaign Alleged in ABA Journal Competition”
We have been following a spate of cases (here and here and here and here and here and here)where police officers have shot family dogs in what some are calling over-reactions to such animals. The latest is “Boomer,” a golden retriever who barked at an officer and ran toward him. The Clayton County Police officer “ordered the dog to stop” and then shot and killed it. The dog had an electric fence and was still near the front porch when shot.
Continue reading “Georgia Police Officer Kills Family Dog in Controversial Shooting”
Afshan Azad, 22, is a talented and beautiful actress who played Padma Patil, a classmate of Harry Potter in the Harry Potter series. She is now achieving equal notoriety in court after she sought protection from her father and brother who allegedly threatened her life over a association with a male Hindu. Her family is Muslim and allegedly wanted her to accept an arranged marriage. Her father — Abul Azad, 53– allegedly threatened her life and called her a “slag” and a “prostitute.” She also accused her brother — Ashraf, 28 — of making threats against her life. However, she then refused to give testimony in court as if the entire incident were wiped away with a memory charm.
Continue reading “Harry Potter Star in Court After Father and Brother Allegedly Threaten Her Life and Demand Arranged Muslim Marriage”
Law professors David Rudovsky of the University of Pennsylvania and Leonard Sosnov of Widener University have won an extraordinary verdict: $5.2 million in compensatory and punitive damages for defamation by West Publishing. At issue was a shoddy 2008 pocket part issued under their names. Rudovsky (left) called the update a “poorly researched ‘sham’ pocket part.”
Sufia Begum, 50, has become the latest victim of Sharia justice. The Bangladeshi woman died after being publicly caned for an alleged extramarital affair with her stepson.
Continue reading “Bangladeshi Woman Dies After Caning For Adultery”
We often discuss jury nullification in class, but usually such a controversial decision to refuse to convict someone on clear evidence of guilt comes at the end of a trial. Not in Montana this month when potential jurors announced that they would not convict a person of possession of a small amount of marijuana regardless of the evidence. In polling the potential jurors, District Judge Dusty Deschamps found only 5 of 27 were willing to convict someone on a small possession of pot.
Continue reading “Pre-Trial Jury Nullification? Potential Jurors in Montana Excused After They State That They Would Not Convict On Possession of Small Amount of Marijuana”
A new report found that drinking water in 35 cities across the United States contain hexavalent chromium, a probable carcinogen. The report of the Environmental Working Group, is the first nationwide analysis of hexavalent chromium in drinking water to be made public.
Continue reading “Carcinogen Found in Drinking Water of 35 Cities Across U.S.”
There is an interesting case out of Perkins, Oklahoma where Federal Reserve officials reportedly ordered a small bank (The Payne County Bank) to remove religious Christmas displays. I fail to see the authority of Federal Reserve officials to limit the free speech to a bank, particularly religious-based speech. If the bank wants to marginalize non-Christian customers through sectarian displays, I think it has a constitutionally protected right to do so. What it cannot do is actually discriminate in the establishment or handling of accounts.
Continue reading “Federal Reserve Bank Examiners Demand Removal of Crosses and Merry Christmas Buttons at Oklahoma Bank”