Judges in Texas recently have found themselves defendants in a slew of criminal, tort, and disciplinary cases, here, here, here, here, here and here. You can now add El Paso Judge Manuel J. Barraza, 53, who is accused of taking money and asking for sex from defendants.
Continue reading “Another Texas Judge Accused of Wrongdoing”
According to Pakistani Federal Minister Senator Azam Khan Swati of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam the flogging of the 17-year-old girl in Swat was a Jewish conspiracy. He explained that it is the work of Jews aimed at destroying peace in Swat and distorting the image of those Islamists who sport beards and wear turbans.
Continue reading “Pakistani Minister: Video of Flogging of Teen Girl a “Jewish Conspiracy””
Recently, there have been a spate of charges against officers in New York and other cities captured on video cameras in incriminating acts. Philadelphia police appear to have different approach: they first methodically disable cameras before allegedly committing criminal acts. In one video at the heart of the current scandal, Officers Jeffrey Cujdik and Thomas Tolstoy allegedly enter a bodega with other narcotics members and immediately disable the security cameras by cutting wires before removing cash and pigging out on free food. In the September 2007 video, Tolstoy looks at each of the camera and tells the team: “I got like seven or eight eyes. There’s one outside. There is one, two, three, four in the aisles, and there’s one right here somewhere.”Unfortunately for them, there was a back-up system.
With billions of federal stimulus and bailout money engorging lobbyists in Washington, I finally found a photo of one of these fat cats in the aftermath of visiting the public troth.
Continue reading “FAT CAT”
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has announced that he will review the new law legalizing rape of women in the country after an international outcry. It is an act similar to the recent shock expressed by the Pakistani government after it turned over the Swat Valley to extremists and Sharia law — only to have a video surface of the flogging of a teenage girl. Karzai signed the law that requires Afghan women to “preen” for their husbands and submit to rape.
Continue reading “Karzai Promises to Review His Legalization of Rape in Afghanistan”
Recently, Pakistan shocked the world by surrendering the Swat Valley to Islamic extremists and allowing the huge area to be placed under Sharia law. Now, a video (shown below) has emerged of what this means, particularly for women. The video shows a teenage girl being flogged for an improper relationship as she begs for mercy.
Continue reading “Video: 17-Year-Old Girl Flogged Under Pakistan’s New Sharia Law in Swat Valley”
The Texas State Commission on Judicial Conduct had imposed remarkably light punishment in the admonishment of Justice of the Peace Gustavo “Gus” Garza. While the act was in the mid range of the possible discipline, it is disturbing that this Commission would consider Garza to be competent to continue on the bench after he ordered physical punishment to be carried out in his courtroom.
Continue reading “Slap on the Wrist for “Spanking Judge”: Texas Commission Fails To Remove Judge Who Ordered Spankings In Courtroom”
The Oklahoma legislature appears on the verge of passing a bill that would give pregnant women the right to use lethal force in response to threats against their babies. The Use of Force For the Protection of the Unborn Act would protect pregnant women from being criminally charged when they kill people who threaten their unborn children.
Continue reading “Protecting Life or License to Kill? Oklahoma Moves To Give Pregnant Women Enhanced Rights to Use Lethal Force”
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is having a particularly difficult time going national with her small town and family values theme without the cooperation of her family. During the campaign, Palin had to address the teenage pregnancy of her daughter Bristol. The campaign promptly announced that the teen father, Levi Johnston, would marry Bristol. (After the campaign, it was announced that the marriage was off). Then Britstol’s mother-in-law, Sherry Johnston, was arrested as a drug dealer. Now, Todd Palin’s half-sister, Diana Palin, 35, has been arrested for burglary while Levi Johnston has accepted an invitation to participate in a tell-all, tabloid show (The Tyra Banks Show).
I tend to be less interested in the family problems of celebrities and rarely post such stories unless they have legal or policy implications. However, Palin represents a damaging trend in American politics that portrays her family and small town as somehow morally superior or more patriotic than the rest of the country. Just as Gary Hart could not object to people following his private life when he invited the scrutiny, Palin cannot both use her family and town as a model and then condemn the media attention that follows such a campaign.
The Episcopal Church of Rhode Island has terminated the ministry of Ann Holmes Redding over a novel dispute. For three years, Redding has been both a practicing Christian and practicing Muslim. While Redding does not see a conflict, the church has essentially told her to pick a God and go with it.
Continue reading “Double Dipper: Episcopal Church Defrocks Minister Who Converted to Islam”
Now this take a bit of hubris. Disgraced former Pennsylvania judge Mark Ciavarella has moved to discuss federal lawsuits from juveniles who sent to jail after accepting bribes. tax evasion and depriving the public of their honest services for accepting more than $2.6 million in kickbacks in exchange for rulings that benefited the Pa Child Care and Western Pa Child Care centers. In a motion written by himself, Ciavarella demanded dismissal on . . . you guessed it . . . judicial immunity.
Continue reading “Judge Claims Judicial Immunity After Being Sued for Judicial Corruption”
It is well-known that, as a Torts professor, I have made my share of anti-contracts statements — part of a long-standing feud between common law Torts and Contracts faculty. However, to make up for decades of badmouthing contracts, I give you a really interesting contracts case worthy of . . . well . . . a torts class. In Stuttgart, Germany, Demetrius Soupolos, 29, is suing his neighbor Frank Maus, 34, for breach of contract. It seems that Soupolos hired Maus for $2500 to impregnate his wife, a former beauty queen named Traute, but to his surprise Maus desperately tried 72 times without success.
There is an astonishing effort by intelligence officials to block Attorney General Eric Holder and White House counsel Gregory Craig from releasing torture memos from the Justice Department. A senior national-security aide named John Brennan is leading the effort to block the release with the backing of people at the CIA. It takes considerable hubris given the CIA’s knowing destruction of evidence of torture and obvious motivation to withhold the memoranda to further conceal the agency’s involvement in war crimes. One official is quoted as saying “Holy hell has broken loose over this.” That is certainly the proper venue for officials still struggling to cover-up evidence of war crimes.
There is another curious case out of England. Paul Leicester, 18, was acting as a good citizen when he found a cellphone on the street and picked it up to return it to its owner. He rang the last number on the cellphone and spoke to the friend of the owner — telling him that he would leave the cellphone at the local police station. The police, however promptly arrested him for “theft by finding,” took DNA samples, and held him for hours.
In a major ruling, the Iowa Supreme Court has struck down a state law that confines marriage to heterosexual couples. The decision moves the current national debate from the East and West coasts to the heartland.
Continue reading “Iowa Supreme Court Strikes Down Ban On Same-Sex Marriage”