New York undercover police officers filmed themselves framing four men in a drug case. The films shows that brothers Jose Colon and Maximo Colon had no contact with the officers despite their sworn statements that the men sold them drugs. The Colon brothers were ruined over the six months, it took to clear their names and are now suing.
Continue reading “New York Police Allegedly Film Themselves Framing Four Men”
The Texas Supreme Court has ruled that the Pleasant Glade Assembly of God cannot be held liable for injuries to a 17-year-old girl from an exorcism performed on her by the church members. Laura Schubert was cut and bruised and suffered lasting psychological trauma but the Texas Supreme Court said that it is all part of free exercise of religion.
The cherished institution of marriage in the United States is about to be saved. Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID), fresh from his bathroom arrest, and Sen. David Vitter (R-LA), fresh from his call-girl scandal, have co-sponsored S. J. RES. 43, dubbed the Marriage Protection Amendment, to bar same-sex marriage. They have joined their colleagues to amend the United States Constitution to state that marriage “shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman.” Now, that is a wide constitutional stance.
Continue reading “Senators Craig and Vitter Team Up to Save Marriage”
The Ninth Circuit has rendered an interesting first amendment decision on the right to cover one’s car with unpopular or obnoxious statements. Matthew Fogel painted his van with such ditties as “ALLAH PRAISE THE PATRIOT ACT . . . F***ING JIHAD ON THE FIRST AMENDMENT! Most notably, he taunted police with “PULL ME OVER! PLEASE, I DARE YA[.]” The police agreed and did precisely that. He was arrested- then forced by police to paint over the words as a condition for his release. He was charged as a bomb threat by Grass Valley, California police.
Late last night, I filed our challenge to the ironically names “The Fairness for Experienced Pilots Act,” legislation that wipes out the seniority, benefits, and status of pilots who turned 60 before December 13, 2008 — the date of the Act’s enactment. This new Age 60 rule violates a host of constitutional and statutory laws, as the brief below explains.
Continue reading “Senior Pilots Challenge “The Fairness for Experienced Pilots Act””
In England, Dr. Rehab Al-Jumaily faced a common problem of a parent with a child: bullies. However, rather than the usual calls to parents or teachers, Al-Jumaily decided a more chemical approach: she helped her son bulk up with growth hormones.
Continue reading “Mother’s Little Helper: Doctor Faces Charges After Helping Son Bulk Up With Hormones”
In Seffner, Florida, there are questions being raised about a bar’s drinking contest that caused or contributed to the death of one of the contestants. Eric Morris, 26, died after consuming an estimated 25 shots in 30 minutes.
Continue reading ““Absolut” Madness: Florida Man Dies After Vodka Drinking Contest”
Frederick McKaney, 40, of Ypsilanti, Michigan has been charged with an attack with a frozen chicken and attacking his mother with a fork. In addition to assault and battery, he is charged with resisting an officer.
Continue reading “Chickens Don’t Kill People, People Kill People: Man Accused of Frozen Chicken Attack”
We have seen fraud, harassment, and even suicide allegations tied to MySpace in the last year. Now, we have an attempter murder allegation against 18-year-old Stephanie Torres for stabbing her boyfriend’s 12-year-old niece, Stephanie Usche. She was reportedly mad at the girl erasing a comment on her MySpace page.
Continue reading “MySpace Rage: Girlfriend Stabs Child for Deleting Comment on MySpace Page”
The pilots on an Air India flight from Jaipur to Mumbai feel allegedly fell asleep in the cockpit and overshot Mumbai. The pilots were halfway to Goa when they were finally roused by air traffic personnel.
With the final victory of the NRA in securing recognition of an individual right of gun ownership, it will now be time to retire that classic American icon: the “You Will Have to Peel My Cold Dead Fingers From My Gun” Bumper Sticker. This allows still unresolved legal questions to claim the right to use the classic formula of cold dead fingers and hot legal issues. Below are my top ten list but I would be interested to hear your own proposals.
Continue reading “Cold Dead Finger Bumper Sticker Contest”
Justice Scalia wrote a powerful opinion in District of Columbia v. Heller, No. 07-290, but the first paragraph quotes the D.C. statute as requiring gun to be dissembled. As many have noted, it is disassembled — dissemble means to put on a false appearance.
Continue reading “Supreme Blunder: We Did Not Mean to Dissemble the Disassembled Guns in Heller”
The Second Amendment has always been like the lost continent of the Constitution. Well, today the Supreme Court discovered it — right between the first and third amendments — after 127 years. The Court ruled that the Second Amendment does indeed create an individual right to gun ownership. The opinion can be accessed here.
The Supreme Court also gave a victory to millionaires running for office who can finance their campaigns more freely — or buy guns more easily.
After a stinging opinion by U.S. District Judge Denny Chin in February, NBC has thrown in the towel on its defense of “Dateline NBC: To Catch A Predator” in the suicide of a former prosecutor. Louis William Conradt Jr. shot himself after the program accused him of engaging in sexually explicit chats with an adult posing as a child. The program then allegedly pushed for his arrest when he failed to show up at a sting operation.
Continue reading “NBC Settles Dateline Predator Lawsuit Over Prosecutor’s Death”
In light of this week’s settlement in the NBC Dateline case, this past column on talk show liability may be of some interest. From cop shows to talk shows, reality television can suddenly throw average citizens into highly stressful or embarrassing situations. In the recent Dateline case, such actions were alleged as the cause of the suicide of a prosecutor who was accused of sexually explicit communications with an adult posing as a child in a chat room.