The case reads like a modern version of Arsenic and Old Lace, but here the old ladies are killing the old men for their insurance policies. Helen Golay, 77, and Olga Rutterschmidt, 75, are accused of insuring homeless men and then running them over to collect millions in insurance benefits.
Continue reading “Autos and Old Lace: Elderly Women Accused of Insuring and Then Running Over Homeless Men”
I can’t resist posting this video of the problem of seizing a van of suspected illegal aliens along a highway. Continue reading “Video: How Not to Seize a Van Full of Illegal Aliens”
The Supreme Court has accepted a case that will explore the first amendment protections of certain types of profanity uttered on the air by Bono, Cher and Nicole Richie. The question is whether the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) can punish broadcasters for “fleeting expletives” by such celebrities. Continue reading “Bono, Cher, and the Supremes: Supreme Court Takes Profanity Case”
Current and former governors of New York and New Jersey appear to be vying for their own sexual reality shows this week, releasing details on affairs that have not been seen in politics since the primaries of Sodom and Gomorrah. Ex-Governor New York Eliot Spitzer, Ex-Governor New Jersey Jim McGreevey, and current New York Gov. David Paterson all have articles this morning on various sexual exploits. Paterson, however, may prove the most interesting measure of current American politics and mores. His is the only one without a criminal component and may not prove as politically lethal. Continue reading “Governors Gone Wild: New York and New Jersey Governors Expose a Wide Array of Sexual Encounters and Legal Complications”
The Supreme Court today will hear arguments in District of Columbia v. Heller, No. 07-290. The lower court decision in Parker v. District of Columbia, 478 F.3d 370 (D.C. Cir. 2007) contained strong majority and dissenting opinions on the question of whether there is an individual right to gun ownership. The odds favor gun owners for the first time in securing a decision that clearly establishes an individual right. Their case is helped along by a bizarre appearance of Vice President Dick Cheney opposing positions of his own administration before the Court. Continue reading “Supreme Court Hears Second Amendment Case As Cheney Opposes His Own Administration on the Question”
Richard “Dickie” Scruggs has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to bribe a judge — a plea that will likely send him to jail and certainly end his controversial but storied career of the “King of Torts.” While another lawyer from his firm also pleaded guilty, his son Zach is still scheduled to go to trial. Continue reading ““Dickie” Scruggs Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Bribe Judge”
They seem so cute in the Bee Movie. Yet, Sacramento drivers were prevented for using a highway after a truck overturned, spilling crates with as many as 12 million bees. Various people report being stung, including a volunteer in this video who claims 80 stings. It presents a rather interesting possible tort case. Continue reading “Highway Closed as Twelve Million Bees Threaten Motorists”
A very disturbing series of allegations have been made against the Albany police involving abusive cavity searches, including one alleged performance in public. Continue reading “Albany Police Charged with Series of Abusive Cavity Searches”
Insanity cases continue trouble the courts and counsel from Andrea Yates to Colin Fergusan to the on-going controversy over John Wayne Hinckley Jr. This prior column explores the issue. Continue reading “The Insanity Defense and the Limits of Legal Reason”
Harold J. Stewart may be a high school dropout, but he is no fool –despite that fact that he had himself for a lawyer in a first-degree murder case. Stewart not only was acquitted of all charges, but the pro se defendant had previously rejected an agreement that his defense attorney supported for a second-degree murder plea. Continue reading “No Fool I: High School Dropout Represents Himself and Beats Murder Charge”
Belarus police were notified recently that a drunk driver was careening down a highway. As discussed in the video below, they reacted quickly by lining up cars filled with people and children as a human shield and then got out of the way. Continue reading “How to Stop a Dangerous Drunk Driver in Belarus: Throw Citizens and Children in His Path”
A 21-year-old woman, Centava Dozier, has filed a $200,000 lawsuit against American Airlines for alleged negligence that led to another passenger masturbating on a flight next to her and ejaculating in her hair. The case will pit the higher duties of a common carrier against the concept of a superseding intervening act. Notably, this is not the first such attack of this kind — adding to the foreseeability element. Continue reading “American Airlines Sued in Flight Masturbation Case”
In a remarkable development, prosecutors appear to have granted immunity to call girl
Ashley Alexandra Dupré to testify in a grand jury investigation. It appears that Dupre could succeed in securing a windfall contract while avoiding any serious criminal charge. Continue reading “Dupre Sings: Prostitute Given Immunity and Reportedly Testified Before Grand Jury”
In the latest rebuke of U.S. District Judge Manuel Real, the Ninth Circuit has again reversed a sentence by the judge viewed as too lenient and too little justified — in this case, the sentencing of ex-producer Jospeh Medawar. Continue reading “The Real Deal: Ninth Circuit Reverses Sentencing of Hollywood Producer Medawar”
Only recently, the world was given the first two-inch gun. Now, for those looking for more firepower but less bulk, there is the pocket collapsible “machine gun.” Continue reading “Video: Pocket Machine Gun to Take the Mass Out of Massacre”