Israeli is facing yet another high-ranking official accused of bribery. This time it is Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who has admitted to taking cash from New York financier Morris Talansky. Any indictment would likely be set back for peace efforts given Olmert’s support for negotiations with Palestinians. Continue reading “Olmert Accused of Bribery; Refuses to Resign Unless Indicted”
Bernie Ward, San Francisco’s leading liberal radio host, has admitted to distribution of child pornography by e-mail. He will now face at least five years in prison and as much as ten years. Continue reading “Liberal Talk Show Host Bernie Ward Admits to Distribution of Child Pornography”
Georgia legislators have been busy. With an economy tanking and foreclosures rising, politicians in Georgia have taken action to ban candy that is favored to taste like pot like Kronic Kandy and Pot Suckers. The effort is led by a real stoner, Rep. Doug Stoner to be specific. (Sure, I posted this primarily for the pun, but there is a slim legal issue discovered below) Continue reading “Stoner Bans Pot Candy in Georgia”
British judge Robert Atherton is under attack for a ruling that released pedophile Jon Dixon, 20, after finding that an 11-year-old girl that he met on a chat room “welcomed” his advances and had a high level of “sexual awareness.” Continue reading “Judge Releases Pedophile; Says 11-Year-Old “Welcomed” Abuse”
For many years, civil libertarians have complained about the increase in “no knock”warrants, particularly after the decision in 2006 by the Supreme Court in Hudson v. Michigan. Now, it appears that no knocks have collided with another trend: castle doctrines or “make my day” laws allowing homeowners to defend their homes with lethal force. When Tracy Ingle in North Little Rock heard someone coming through his window, that is precisely what he did. He grabbed his legal handgun and pointed it at the window. A shot immediately ran out, severing most of one leg. After he fell from the bed, he was hit by four more shots from police — who later charged Ingle with assaulting them, even though he had not fired a single shot. Continue reading “No Knock Meets the Castle Doctrine: Man Shot Five Times by Police, No Drugs Found, Arkansas Man Charged with Assaulting Officers”
Professor Michael Todd has been fired by the Maricopa County Community College. This was probably not too surprising. Professors are sometime fired for failing to attend classes, plagiarism, or chronically poor classroom performance. In Todd’s case, it was the dead student found in his home. Continue reading “Professor Fired After Dead Student Found In Townhouse”
A twelve-year-old Muslim girl and her parents have been told by a German court that she must attend co-ed swimming lessons despite her religious objections to wearing formfitting clothing. The court in North Rhine-Westphalia said that the school’s interest in teaching swimming outweighs the bona fide religious objections of the parents. It appears that free style outweighs free exercise in Germany. Continue reading “Sin-chronized Swimming: German Court Holds that Muslim Girl Must Swim Despite Religious Prohibitions”
Yet another teacher has lost her job over private conduct. In Connecticut, Thalberg elementary teacher Marie Jarry has reportedly lost her job after appearing on the Howard Stern Show. It appears that her appearance in a bikini on an adult-oriented show disqualified her from teaching second-year kids. She is only the latest teacher to lose her job to the a new type of American morals police. Continue reading “Video: Teacher Loses Job Over Bikini Appearance on Howard Stern”
Six members of the Philadelphia police department are under investigation after the airing of a video shot from a helicopter of them kicking and punching three suspects after a traffic stop. Continue reading “Shock Video: Six Officers Under Investigation for Taped Arrest and Beating”
Former weather channel anchor Hillary Andrews, 38, has won a sexual harassment arbitration ruling against her male co-anchor, Bob Stokes. Stokes is accused of some pretty raw stuff and it now looks that inclement legal conditions for the weather channel as the owner tries to sell it off. Stokes was fired after the judgment and TWC is now allegedly trying to keep the facts from being aired publicly. Continue reading “Sex Storm at Weather Channel: Former Anchor Wins Sexual Harassment Action”
Ever since they burned the White House, the Secret Service has been a little edgy about British veterans carrying gas cans. Maurice Kirk, 63, who is nicknamed the “Flying Vet”, learned this lesson when he tried to pin a thank you note on the gate of Bush’s ranch. He flew to Texas to thank Bush for his rescue by the Coast Guard in February. He ended up in a psychiatric hospital, charged with a criminal acts and facing deportation. It appears that, with President Bush now the most unpopular president in history, it is considered manifest insanity for anyone to be thankful to Bush for any aspect of his service. Continue reading “That’ll Teach ‘Em: Secret Service Bravely Arrests British Pilot Who Tried to Pin a Thank You Note on President Bush’s Gate”
Federal agents raided the office and home of U.S. Special Counsel Scott Bloch on Tuesday as they investigate whether he destroyed evidence that he retaliated against his own staff. It is a considerable reversal of fortunes for the man who investigates such retaliation against whistle-blowers. It is a scandal that gets more bizarre by the day — even sweeping Geeks on Call into the criminal investigation. Continue reading “Federal Agents Raid Office and Home of U.S. Special Counsel Scott Bloch”
The controversy over Pennsylvania judge Deborah Griffin is over. The state supreme court has removed her from the bench due to her guilty plead to credit card fraud 25 years ago.
Continue reading “Pennsylvania Judge Deborah Griffin Removed From Bench for Concealment of Prior Crime”
For Judge Roy Pearson, made infamous worldwide with his $54 million law suit over a missing pair of pants from a cleaners, has now filed yet another lawsuit. This time, he is seeking $1 million to get his job back plus damages. On one level, this is an improvement of 54 times over his last lawsuit, but he is still likely to be taken to the cleaners again in court. Continue reading “Judge Pearson Returns With New Suit (lawsuit, that is)”
In the law, some people become immortal through a case name. Most reach such immortality through stupid or savage criminal acts like Miranda or Gideon. In the case of Mildred Loving, the case name seemed to fit the principle precisely: she and her husband Richard fought for their right to marry and against the Virginia miscegenation laws. She died this week at 68. Continue reading “Mildred Loving Dies”