It is enough to make you blush, but don’t . . . it’s against the rules. The medieval troglodyte known as the Islamic Republic of Iran has issued a new directive. The state television authority has announced that it will bar any women wearing makeup from appearing on television as well as unIslamic “abnormal” music.
Continue reading “Seeing Rouge: Iran Bans Women With Makeup From Television”
There is a disturbing case out of Orlando, Florida involving a curious ruling on child support. John Nelson is a father who had lost his six-figure salary as a software executive. Nelson secured a lower paying job as a teacher to support himself and pay his child support. He waited a year to get a hearing before Family law Judge Julian Piggotte to reduce his $2200 monthly payments in light of his lower income. Instead, Piggotte increased the payments and left Nelson with just $200 a month to survive. She then recused herself because her husband works with Nelson’s ex-wife at the state attorney’s office.
Continue reading “Father Loses Job, Seeks Reduction in Child Support So Florida Judge Increases Payments By $300 and Then Recuses Herself for a Conflict”
Usually privilege fights focus on testimony of White House staffers on conversations with President or military and state secrets. President Barack Obama, however, has invoked the separation of powers to block the testimony of Desiree Rogers, the White House Social Secretary, on the recent controversy over Michaele and Tareq Salahi. It appears that nothing less than Article II and the integrity of the Executive Branch is at stake in hearing from someone who arranges parties for the First Couple.
The entertainment world is quite familiar with the “casting couch” where aspiring actresses and actors are expected to grant sexual favors for parts. Now an attorney has been suspended for 180 days after being accused of using a “restitution couch” for clients to pay for legal services with sexual services. Michigan attorney Murdoch Hertzog pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor assault and battery in exchange for dismissal of charges of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct in 2001. Now, a panel has shown Hertzog the sofa of suspension.
Continue reading “The Sofa of Suspension: Michigan Attorney Suspended Following Criminal Plea and Allegations That He Used a “Couch of Restitution” To Solicit Sex From Clients”
There is an interesting torts suit stemming from the pirating of the Maersk Alabama in the Gulf of Aden. Crew members are now accusing the celebrated captain of the ship, Richard Phillips, of causing the incident by ignoring repeated warnings to sail around the area after earlier pirate attacks.
Continue reading “Crew Member Sues Maersk Over Hijacking of Vessel By Pirates”
Mario Guadalupe Saenz, 22, was arrested in Palmview, Texas after police found a bag of ecstasy pills that seemed strikingly familiar: they are shaped in Obama’s image. Other pills featured Homer Simpson. It turns out that that euphoria that you feel with Obama may be more chemical than political.
Continue reading “The True Obama High: Police Seize Obama Ecstasy Pills”
This video is truly amazing. The British had an entire unit take LSD to see how they performed after dropping acid. With one soldier climbing a tree to feed a bird and the commander rolling around laughing, the unit was ready more for Woodstock than Waterloo.
Many conservative pundits are up in arms over MSNBC host Chris Matthews calling West Point the “enemy camp.” However, what has been ignored is the impact on the status of Gen. Benedict Arnold.
Continue reading “Benedict Arnold Cleared! West Point Found to Be Enemy Camp”
San Diego Superior Court Judge John Einhorn has found a way to reduce his caseload. District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis has told prosecutors to block any criminal cases that go before the judge. Yet, when asked about the boycott, Dumanis insists that Einhorn is a “well-respected jurist” — just a jurist whom she doesn’t want to rule on any criminal case.
Continue reading “No Cases for You: San Diego District Attorney Boycotts Judge”
Cardinal Javier Lozano Barraga, Mexican Cardinal and President Emeritus of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Health Care Workers in the Roman Catholic Church, has declared that there are no homosexuals or transsexuals in heaven. If they want heaven, they have to change their sexual partners to members of the opposite sex.
Continue reading “Cardinal: No Gays Go To Heaven”
One of the most famous federal judges in the country lashed out at the New York Police Department this week, accusing the department of a proven record of “widespread falsification by arresting officers.” The criticism came with Judge Jack Weinstein’s decision not to throw out a lawsuit by two men busted on false narcotics charges, Maximo Colon and his brother Jose Colon. We previously discussed this arrest.
Continue reading “Federal Judge Criticizes NYPD For “Widespread Falsification” of Arrest Reports”
There is an interesting tort case out of Minnesota where a mother mistakingly received a return letter stamped “DECEASED” after she wrote to her son serving in Iraq. Joan Najbar is a critic of the war and is suing the military for negligent infliction of emotional distress and other claims. Her son, Sam Eininger, was serving with the National Guard in Iraq in 2006 and was very much alive.
For those who have fought to introduce religious symbols like the Bible and the Ten Commandments in courthouses in Alabama (here and here), the decision of Judge Clyde Jones could not be more poignant. This week the Birmingham judge literally threw out Jesus Christ from the courtroom. That is the name adopted by Dorothy Lola Killingworth, who appeared as a juror but proceeded to be as disruptive as her namesake in temple market.
Continue reading “Court Throws Jesus Christ Out of Court as Disruptive”
Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon has been convicted of a single count of fraudulent misappropriation by a fiduciary. It was one of the original 12 counts of corruption in an indictment (later reduced at trial, including four counts of perjury, two counts of misconduct, three counts of theft and three counts of fraudulent misappropriations. The allegations stemmed from the use of gift cards from two real estate developers — who gave the cards to help needy families and instead discovered that they were being used allegedly by Dixon to buy things like a PlayStation2, CDs and DVDs.
Continue reading “Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon Convicted of Fraudulent Misappropriation”
Officer Adam Stoddard of the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office has added contempt of court to his prior violation of attorney-client confidentiality. At the urging of his boss, Sheriff Joe Arpaio, Stoddard has refused to apologize to defense attorney Joanne Cuccia after he swiped handwritten notes from her papers — caught in the videotape above. Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Gary Donahoe ordered Stoddard to either apologize or report to jail — a remarkably light sentence. However, Arpaio encouraged his officer to go to jail — just the latest outrageous act by Arpaio who has been widely accused of acting more like a petty dictator than a police officer in Arizona.
Continue reading “Court Orders Arizona Deputy to Jail After He Refuses to Apologize for Swiping Attorney’s Notes in Court”