Former D.A. is looking at potential jail time for criminal contempt and has pleaded not guilty in North Carolina. For story click here
The broader question remains our failure to deal with prosecutorial abuse, for prior columns click here and here
The health problems of Chief Justice Roberts raises a long-standing problem on the Court, addressed in this prior column.
Orignially published in August 2005
It came as something of a shock at the beginning of the summer when Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist announced that he would not be resigning from the Supreme Court. He is suffering from thyroid cancer, has had a tracheotomy to help him breathe and will be 81 years old at the start of the new court term. The smart money was on retirement.
But Supreme Court justices answer only to themselves and God when it comes to stepping down from the bench. Once Congress hath joined a nominee and his office, only death or retirement can separate them. Continue reading “Through Addictions to Dementia: Supreme Court Justices Have Refused to Step Down — The Need for Reforming the Supreme Court”
In Sundbury, Pa, a court has ruled that a former owner can continue to demand that a show dog not be neutered and continued to be made available for breeding. At issue is a a 5-year-old French bulldog named Duffy. The breeder gave the dog to a third party with the understanding that Duffy would continue to supply services — valued at $73,000 over the last three years. The case has raised issues of animal health and continuing limitations on ownership. For the full story, click here
It is a classic tort — the slip and fall. Now a woman is suing Oprah for falling during the scramble for a seat on her television program. Continue reading “Oprah Sued for Slip and Fall”
The military has been pouring money into non-lethal weaponry that can break up a crowd or immobilize individuals without bullets or permanent injuries. One is already in production: a truck mounted ray that makes people feel like their skin is on fire. Requests to use the truck in Iraq have been denied. Continue reading “Questions Over Use of New Military “Ray Gun””
Joseph J. Vecchiarelli, 26, is employed in one of the world’s oldest professions: grave robbing. He stripped corposes of jewelry, gold teeth and other valuables, even dumping bodies (including an infant) on the ground in Waterbury, Connecticut. He is a vivid example why grave robbing is one of the oldest torts and crimes.
For the story, click here
The creation of a school with an emphasis on Arabic culture has drawn criticism in New York. The controversy should not be one about Arabic culture but the departure from a traditional view of public education that one sought to create a shared curriculum and culture for a diverse population. Continue reading “Arabic School in New York Drawing Attention to the Balkanization of Public Education”
Brothers Mark and Matthew D’Avella were fired from A & P for using the store and their jobs as packers to make a rap video entitled Produce Paradise. The rap has such memorable lines as “It’s all about the produce produce, we don’t like to kid/It’s the lower middle portion of the food pyramid.” Continue reading “A & P Files Tort Action Against Fired Rapper Employees Over Video”
Not only is China facing lethal levels of water and air pollution tied to its run away economic expansion, it is losing one of its most lasting national symbols: the Great Wall.
Click here
Another long-incarcerated prisoners has been cleared by DNA. Dwayne Allen Dail was cleared after the tests proved that the DNA found on the 12-year-old victim’s nightgown matched belonged to another man — who is currently serving time on a different offense. Continue reading “DNA Case Reaffirms Unreliability of Line Ups”
Sen. Craig’s suggestion that he is considering re-visiting his plea with the assistance of counsel is not without merit — it is only fatally delayed. There is much to challenge in this arrest. The officer was relying on highly interpretive conclusions about his actions. Had he challenged the arrest, he could have argued that the evidence did not establish the allegations beyond a reasonable doubt.
Continue reading “Legal Challenge to Craig Charges is Valid — But Likely Too Late”
With the American Medical Association and state boards prohibiting doctors from participating in executions as violative of their oaths, some have donned moon suits to hide their identities from the AMA, families and the public. Click here
A judge in Montana was asked by a defendant to “let it be” after citing “the beetles.” The judge responded with not just a corrective sentence but an opinion correcting the defendant’s understanding of the beatles.
For the full story, click here
She was called the Queen of Mean and the probate of her will is likely to confirm that title for some. Late hotel and real estate (and ex-con) Leona Helmsley has left $12 million for her white Maltese, named Trouble, who will also be allowed to continue to live in her mansion and then be buried next to Helmsley in her mausoleum. Two of her grandchildren, however, got nothing in the will.
For the full story, click here
A San Francisco man named Paul Addis, 35, has been charged with arson and illegal possession of fireworks after allegedly starting the Burning Man burning: four days two early. The huge burning man is supposed to be the climax of the counterculture festival in the Black Rock desert in Nevada. Instead, Addis allegedly lit the object and is therefore charged with arson for the premature burning.
For the full story and a picture of the culprit, click here