University of New Hampshire officials have suspended Phi Mu Delta after two students were sent to a hospital with alcohol poisoning after a pledge period. Police arrested seven students on alcohol possession. It is a classic example for potential vicarious and personal liability that we have discussed in class.
Continue reading “Pledge Problems at Phi Mu:University of New Hampshire Suspends Fraternity”
Sen. Ted Stevens was caught on tape discussing the possibility of a prison sentence with his former friend and wealthy businessman Bill Allen. Unbeknownst to Stevens, Allen was recording the conversation as an informant with the FBI. Stevens sounds every inch a felon on the tape, advising Allen to “really lay low” and be tough. In one particularly damaging section for the jury to hear, Stevens acknowledges “We might have to pay a fine and spend a little time in jail.”
Continue reading ““We might . . . spend a little time in jail”: Stevens Caught on Tape Discussing Criminal Investigation”
In Buffalo Grove, Illinois, a 72-year-old man had just been given a ticket when he made a situation far worse. He floored the car in reverse and rolled over the police car — as captured in this dashcam video.
Continue reading “Note to Self: Drive Forward After Ticket and Avoid Police Cruiser”
With the approach of Yom Kippur, animal rights advocates and officials in California are launching a campaign to end the ritual of Kapparot, where a fowl is held by the neck and swung around the head of a Jewish person. The sins of the person are then transfered to the fowl (usually a chicken) which is then sacrificed. The practice has been denounced as little more than animal cruelty and many have called for criminal charges under state laws.
A California prisoner, Barry A. Hazle Jr., 40, is challenging a condition of his release from prison after a year on drug possession: mandatory drug treatment. It is not the drug treatment idea that bothers Hazle, it is the religiosity of the program. Hazle is an atheist and would like a program that does not require his commitment to both sobriety and God.
Continue reading “What Price Sobriety? Atheist Prisoner Challenges Mandatory Religious Program”
A Marianna, Fla. middle-school teacher, Greg Howard, will not be fired after he allegedly explained to his class what supporters of Barach Obama really mean by “Change.” He reportedly wrote the word on the board as an acronym: “C.H.A.N.G.E. — Come Help A (N-word) Get Elected.” It appears that in Florida, openly racist lesson plans are merely cause for a 10 days suspension and a relocation to a new job within the district.
Continue reading “Florida Teacher Fined But Retained After Allegedly Racist Lesson for Middle School Students”
Officials at the Berkeley Unified School District are investigating an allegation that Jefferson Elementary School teacher Gwen Martin not only told her students that Santa and the Easter Bunny were fakes but told them that God is very real.
Continue reading “Making the Naughty List: California Teacher Tells Students that Santa and Easter Bunny Do Not Exist”
The Pittsburgh diocese has broken away this weekend in the latest defection from the Episcopal Church over homosexuality.
Continue reading “Its Splitsville in Pittsburgh: Episcopal Church Breaks Away Over Homosexuality”
In a potentially wide ranging decision a British immigration court has ruled that a Syrian young couple who converted to Christianity from Islam are entitled to asylum due to the likely threats against their lives. Some Muslim clerics insist that any such converts must be killed. Six Republican members of Congress encouraged the court to rule in favor of asylum.
Continue reading “British Court Finds that Muslims Converting to Christianity Qualify for Asylum”
A federal district court judge has issued an interesting decision in Miller v. Penn Manor School District, (ED PA, Sept. 30, 2008). This case originally captured national attention when a high school student, Donald Miller III, was prevented from wearing a T-shirt that said “Special Issue-Resident-Lifetime License, United States Terrorist Hunting Permit…” The Court upheld the ban on such messages including violent messages. However, it struck down a religious-related ban.
Continue reading “Federal Court Enjoins Limitations on Student Religous Expression”
Sheikh Muhammad al-Habadan in Saudi Arabia is calling for women to wear a niqab, or full veil, that covers all but one eye. Currently, women wear head to toe coverings that show two eyes. However, al-Habadan says women are wearing eye make-up and flirting with their two eyes.
In a clear effort to simply delay an investigation until after the November election, Alaskan GOP politicians have appealed the recent ruling upholding the investigation of Gov. Sarah Palin. Anchorage Superior Court Judge Peter Michalski dismissed their lawsuit Thursday shortly before the debate. I discussed the ruling on the Rachael Maddow Show. This is precisely the same tactic used by Dick Cheney and the Bush Justice Department in filing motions and appeals to advance meritless claims for the sole purpose of delay. In political cases, justice delayed is justice.
Continue reading “Delay and Conquer: GOP Politicians Appeal Troopergate Ruling”
As Congress was passing a bailout of $700 billion to rescue companies like Fannie Mae from their own poor decisions, Addie Polk in Akron, Ohio was being evicted after Fannie Mae foreclosed on her home. She was bailed out of her home when medics carried her out after she shot herself.
Joshua Hickson, 19, appears by any measure to be an idiot. When he found out that a student at Wenatchee High School was severely allergic to peanuts, he repeatedly smeared a peanut butter sandwich on the student’s forehead. However, some people are objecting that he is now charged with criminal assault despite the lack of any injury or allergic reaction. He faces a year in jail if convicted of the misdemeanor. It could be a new addition to our criminal lexicon: Assault and Battery (A & B) with P & J.
O.J. Simpson has been convicted on all 12 counts in his armed robbery case in Las Vegas. The case involving the the robbery of two sports memorabilia dealers at a casino hotel could result in a life sentence for the former football star. Simpson was engaged in a conventional act of self-help in the most unconventional work to retrieve a small number of sports memorabilia items. The drama of the conviction was magnified when his sister Carmelita Durio sobbed as he was being escorted out of the courtroom and then collapses — requiring paramedics to carry her out of the courtroom. Co-defendant Clarence “C.J.” Stewart, 54, was also convicted. The convictions came exactly 13 years to the day after O.J. Simpson was acquitted of two murders in California of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman.