Florida Woman Barred From Seeing Dying Partner of 18 Years by Hospital

3265516300_e029f17dc9For years gay and lesbian couples have complained about being denies access to loved ones in hospitals. Now, a lawsuit has been filed in Miami in which Janice Langbehn alleges that she was prevented from being with her partner of 18 years, Lisa Marie Pond, 39, as she died at Jackson Memorial Hospital after a brain aneurysm. The reason for the denial was never made clear to her.

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Drug Interdiction- American Style: Gen. Craddock Calls For Shooting Drug Traffickers Without Proof of Association with Taliban

craddock2_150NATO countries are shocked by the proposal of a leading U.S. military officer on how best to handle drug dealers in Afghanistan. NATO’s senior military commander Gen. John Craddock does not understand why NATO should bother with the need to establish that any given drug dealer is associated with the Taliban. He believes that we should just shoot them all without proof in yet another example of how the United States has emerged as a perceived enemy to the rule of law.

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Ohio Judge Rules That NCAA Cannot Bar Lawyers From Assisting High School Players At Negotiations

180px-ncaa_logosvgA state judge has struck down one of the most obnoxious rules of the NCAA: a ban on college baseball players hiring lawyers to assist them in discussions with baseball clubs. The NCAA suspended Oklahoma State pitcher Andrew Oliver after her allowed legal advisers to listen to contract negotiations after being drafted by the Minnesota Twins in June 2006. It is amazing that it took so long to strike down this abusive rule that appears designed to maximize the opportunity of these clubs to take advantage of college players.

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Homicide by Exercise: Transgender Wife Confesses To Killing Elderly Husband With Excessive Exercise

small_newton-john-decEverything about a murder in Chardon, Ohio is perfectly bizarre. Christine Newton-John, 41, (formerly John Vallandingham before a sex operation) has confessed to killing her husband James Mason, 71, by keeping him exercising and refusing to allow him out of a swimming pool.
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“All Together Ooky”: Man Convicted of Criminal Nuisance for Repeatedly Whistling Theme Song of The Addams Family

215px-addams_gomez5Leopold Wrobel, 51,of Wingerworth, England is whistling a different tone this week after a court found him guilty in a unique form of criminal nuisance. Wrobel is to spend 20 weeks in jail for continually whistling the theme music to The Addams Family series whenever his elderly neighbors, Michael and Kathleen Sharpe, passed by. The Sharpes testified that Wrobel made them prisoners in their own home for four years by watching and whistling.
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HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY: THE LARCENY OF LOVE

hp-history-of-valentineIn celebration of Valentine’s Day, I give you the best criminal cases from the last year of amorous relationships gone bad. There are times when society simply does not understand the attraction of a man to a park bench, mannequin, or car vacuum. That is what this special day is all about on the Larceny of Love. Below are the 2009 winners of the Valentine Villains of Forbidden Love.
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Cashing In On The Kinder: Pennsylvania Judges Plead Guilty To Massive Corruption Charges

gavel2Prosecutors in Allentown are accepting pleas in one of the most disturbing cases of alleged judicial corruption in years. Two Pennsylvania judges was accepted generous plea bargains after taking more than $2 million in kickbacks to send youth offenders to privately run detention centers. The allegations suggest these judges intentionally sent kids to jail to gain personally. The charges named Luzerne County Judges Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan and 14 other defendant.
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Former Yankee Jim Leyritz Jailed For Drinking While Awaiting Trial in DUI Manslaughter Case on

jimleyritz1In Fort Lauderdale, Florida, former New York Yankee Jim Leyritz has been jailed for drinking as he awaited trial for killing a woman in a drunk driving accident. He was busted when his car system (that requires him to blow into a tube to start the car) registered alcohol.
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Federal Court Holds Stevens Prosecutors in Contempt

sullivanThe United States Justice Department has finally outdone the O.J. Simpson prosecution team as the worst in history. After derailing a relatively straightforward case with prosecutorial abuse and creating major appellate issues for former Senator Ted Stevens (R., Alaska), they have now succeeded in getting one of the most mild mannered federal judges to hold them in contempt — with obvious justification.
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Hello Kitty: Transvestite Mafia Boss Named “Kitty” Arrested in Naples

sissy-gangsterHere is your Mafia Valentine story. Ugo Gabriele, 27, a mafia boss in Naples who ran a huge drug, prostitution, and murder racket has been arrested. Police were surprised, however, to find that he insisted on being called Kitty and was now a transvestite. It appears that the mob has finally dropped its long discriminatory hiring practices and removed the glass ceiling for gay, lesbian, and transsexual mobsters.
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Mississippi Judge Bobby DeLaughter Indicted

delaughterWith the recent sentencing of Richard “Dickie” Scruggs on mail fraud charges, there was great speculation as to the fate of Mississippi Circuit Judge Bobby DeLaughter, who was the alleged recipient of a bribe. The speculation is now over with the indictment of the judge with conspiracy, mail fraud and obstruction. The bribery involved a promise to help secure a federal judgeship with the help of Senator Trent Lott (R., Miss.).

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Thirteen Angry Men: Mistrial Declared After Texas Man Convicted by Vote of 13-0

200px-12_angry_menNow, coming from Chicago, I find nothing curious about this story. However, District Judge Mark Kent Ellis was a bit concerned when a jury returned a conviction against Charles Mapps in only 45 minutes by a vote of 13 jurors. Some would say that would make him really really guilty, but there is a small problem of being a violation of the state constitution.

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END OF RAINBOW FOUND: POT OF GOLD MISSING

endofrain1The search is over. The end of a rainbow has been conclusively found, but there was a conspicuous absence of a pot of gold. It seems an unlikely coincidence that this missing pot is revealed on the day that Congress approves the roughly $800 billion stimulus package. Fortunately, thousands of lobbyists followed the rainbow and found almost $200 billion in highway funds at the end.

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Strike Out: Federal Judge Guts Roger Clemens’ Defamation Case Against McNamee

200px-roger_clemens_2004U.S. District Court Judge Keith Ellison gutted the defamation case of Roger Clemens against his former trainer Brian McNamee. As discussed on this blog, the case was unlikely to succeed and seemed part of Clemens’ public campaign to defend his reputation. Now, he is more likely to appear in court as a criminal defendant than as a civil litigant.
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Austrian History: FDR Caused The Great Depression

steve-austria-press-preview225px-fdr_in_1933It appears that the cause of the Depression has been finally determined with certainty. The fault for the Depression, according to Rep. Steve Austria (R-OH), was Franklin Delano Roosevelt. This time traveling moment was all the more impressive since the Depression began in 1929 and Roosevelt took office in 1933.
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