Former GOP state Assemblyman George C. ”Chris” Ortloff pleaded guilty in federal court this week to a felony charge stemming from his attempt to have sex with two sisters, ages 11 and 12. A former member of the state Parole Board, Ortloff, 61, now faces a minimum 10-year prison sentence and a maximum of life in prison. He was a staunch “tough-on-crime” legislator who called for severe sentences for sex offenders.
Continue reading ““Tough-On-Crime” Legislator Pleads Guilty to”
Maryland State Police Officer Bruce Wrzosek, 22, has been far from a model officer. Earlier this year, he was suspended for misconduct. However, after returning to work, Wrzosek went a bit too far: driving his marked squad car while drunk, kidnapping a man from a Taco Bell restaurant, and then taking his colleagues on a high-speed chase.
Mayor Karl Zuber of Avon Lake, Ohio appears not to have gotten the memo on the separation of church and state a bit late. Zuber had a sign put up in front of the city hall reading “Remember Christ is in Christmas.” He then received a series of calls from the city attorney, city council members, and an advocacy group asking him to remember the separation of church and state is in the Constitution.
Police in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania have a unique case of criminal trespass. Stanley Carter, 21, was arrested after leaving in the attic of the Ferrance family — helping himself to their food, clothes and property.
Continue reading “Pennsylvania Family Finds Man Living in Their Attic”
Four District of Columbia police officers have been put on desk duty after they were reportedly caught on a video tape, shown below, stealing from Toys for Tots. This appears to be a trend this month with police accused of stealing laptops and XBox from cars along the roads.
In New Orleans, a gay couple from California has won an important victory after U.S. District Judge Jay Zainey ruled that their adopted son’s Louisiana birth certificate must bear both of their names as the adoptive fathers. Oren Adar and Mickey Ray Smith of San Diego will be jointly listed under a full faith and credit ruling that could signal a major advance for gay couples and parents.
Continue reading “Federal Court in Louisiana Rules In Favor of Gay Adoptive Fathers”
A father and son were talking during the playing of the movie The Curious Case of Benjamin Button when James Joseph Cialella Jr., 29, became angry. Many people might sympathize with the complaint but Cailella threw popcorn at the boy and when the father objected he shot the father with a .380-caliber handgun. It was a horrific act in a movie with a tagline; “Life isn’t measured in minutes, but in moments.”
Continue reading “The Curious Case of James Cialella, Jr.: Philadelphia Man Shoots Father in Front of Family for Talking in a Movie”
As the United States continues to spend $1 billion a day in Iraq and Afghanistan, cities are selling off roads, bridges, zoos, and everything short of citizens to pay for their budgets. There are 44 states in dire financial shape — yet we continue to pour money into the occupation of Iraq where journalists show shoes at the President and the majority of people want us out.
Continue reading “States and Cities Selling Off Airports, Parks, and Zoos to Make Budgets”
After the anti-bovidae prejudice that I encountered for my happy goat, I give you a happy deer in the spirit of the season.
Continue reading “A Happy Deer”
There is an interesting question raised in St. Louis in a capital murder case: is a defendant denied a fair jury and trial if two jurors has sex while sequestered as well as two sheriff’s deputies. Roberto Dunn, now 34, who was convicted in 2000 of killing his girlfriend’s mother and found out later that the trial was a real turn-on for the jurors and deputies.
Continue reading “Sequestered Sex: Convicted Murderer Demands New Trial After Disclosure of Sex Among Jurors and Deputies During Trial”
My recent interview on Legal Times on prosecuting Bush Administration officials for crimes committed in the torture program and unlawful surveillance program has attracted the ire of some conservative law faculty. My colleague Orin Kerr has raised this question on the conservative legal website Volokh Conspiracy. It is not without a good faith basis for such academic debate but, in my view, it should not be a barrier to prosecution.
The voting continues on the top blogs. The Turley blog was selected as one of the 100 top legal blogs by the good people at the ABA Journal. It currently holds the number one spot for law professor and legal theory blogs. The tally shows the Turley blog with 387 votes with Mirror of Justice with 234 votes. The voting ends on January 2nd. You have done well Turley bloggers.
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The highly controversial sheriff from Maricopa, Arizona, Joe Arpaio may be facing serious charges of civil rights abuses and discrimination, but Hollywood considers him such a laugh that they are giving him his own reality show. He intends to use suspects as props for scenes written by comedy writers and staffed by actors. It is the latest sign of the decline of our criminal justice system as our judges, prosecutors, and sheriffs vie for notoriety on television and in the press.
Continue reading ““Smile: You’re Under Arrest: Arpaio Goes Hollywood”
Over seventy-five percent of Americans say that they will not miss President George Bush and that he cannot leave office too soon. That is 24 four points higher than the 51 percent who said that they would not miss Bill Clinton.
A Missouri police officer is charged with felony theft after he brought a laptap into the Sheriff’s office for the installation of new software. The only problem is that it was the same computer that Southwest City officer Andrew Cummings was accused of stealing a year earlier. He is an officer with the Southwest City police and, appropriately for the season, a reserve officer with the Noel police.