Daniel Kennedy, 18, and his 16-year-old brother were arrested this week after allegedly overturning a Girl Scout table and attacking the family over a $20 debt. The two Florida teens confronted the family outside of a Palm Coast Wal-Mart over the debt and then demanded payment in cookies. When the family refused, bedlam ensued (and was captured on surveillance cameras).
As often seems the case in Washington, the controversy surrounding the meetings of then Senator Jeff Sessions with the Russian Ambassador has quickly descended into a feeding frenzy. When interviewed shortly after the disclosure, I stated that Attorney General Sessions should recuse himself and clarify his testimony. Late this afternoon, Sessions promised to do precisely that. However, the over-hearted rhetoric has continued with calls for Sessions to resign or even be criminally charged. People are getting ahead of their skis on this issue, particularly in claiming that this is the same type of controversy that led to the criminal charges against former Attorney General Richard G. Kleindienst.
Continue reading “Sessions Recuses Himself From Any Russian Investigation”
Media is reporting that President Donald Trump will issue a new executive order on immigration this week but, according to a source this morning, not today. The order is expected to correct glaring problems in the first order. I have said previously that the original order was poorly drafted, poorly executed, and poorly defended. The Administration will have to significantly improve the lawyering behind any new executive order. Indeed, the law still favors the Administration and the disastrous rollout of the first order was the result of astonishingly casual and frankly sloppy work. As I have previously stated, good lawyering does not often materially alter the outcome of litigation but bad lawyering does. This is one such case. With case law favoring the Administration, the improvisational character of the first order created a target rich environment for courts.
Chicago White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu admitted on the stand in a Miami courtroom that he ate part of a fake passport while flying to the U.S. to cover up his illegal travel as part of a Cuban ballplayer smuggling operation. Now, I am admittedly a lifelong Chicago Cubs fan and we have no love loss with our White Sox neighbors, but it is pretty amazing that this admission (given under a guarantee of immunity) has not resulted in Abreu being dropped by MLB or the White Sox team. Indeed, at the time of immigration reforms and crackdown, this is a case of someone who knowingly used and then destroyed a fake passport to gain entry into this country.
Continue reading “Chicago White Sox Admits To Eating Fake Passport While Flying To United States”
Well, it does not appear that Teresa Drum, 38, shot her husband, Dennis Drum, Sr., 42, over a beer . . . not a beer . . .
Continue reading “Can You Guess What This Person Was Charged With?”
I recently discussed the ethics complaint filed against Presidential Advisor Kellyanne Conway by 15 ethics law professors. For full disclosure, Conway is one of my former students at George Washington University Law School (she graduated in 1995). I criticized the complaint as highly political with little foundation. The only aspect of the complaint that was not frivolous was the allegation that Conway violated the federal rule against endorsing commercial products in light of her comments about Ivanka’s line of clothing and jewelry. As I stated, Conway did violate the rule though I viewed the violation as part of a tongue-in-cheek retort to the controversy. It still warranted a formal reprimand in my view but not an ethics charge or more serious action. The White House appears to have reached essentially the same conclusion though there is no indication of a formal reprimand as opposed to a public confirmation that Conway has been “counseled” and will not commit such a violation again.
Continue reading “White House: Kellyanne Conway Acted “Without Nefarious Motive””
I recently discussed an ethics complaint by law professors against presidential aide Kellyanne Conway that I viewed as facially political in character and lacking a substantive foundation. (Of course, this was before the “Couchgate” scandal) My reaction to a new proposed first amendment lawsuit by news media is little better. Democratic U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney and first amendment advocated joined in condemning the Trump Administration’s exclusion of some new organizations from a White House press briefing. I share their view that the exclusion was wrong and, with the recent attacks on the media by President Trump, contradict our core values as a nation that values the freedom of the press. However, I do not see a credible constitutional claim brought under the threatened lawsuit.
The new Vikings stadium has yet to prove a killer for NFL rivals but it is certainly racking up bird kills according to the Audubon Society and other environmental groups. That modern glass exterior appears to be killing an alarming number of birds and groups are complaining that the stadium is continuing to “study” the problem while the dead birds mount. This stadium seems truly star-crossed. We recently discussed how the stadium has been found to be hazardous to hearing.
Continue reading “Groups: The Vikings Stadium Kills Birds”
Well the question is what Clinton Todd Sproles, 54, was charged with 22 prior times . . .
Continue reading “Can You Guess What This Person Was Charged With?”
I have long been a critic of Supreme Court justices embracing the era of what I have called “the celebrity justice.” Justices are increasingly appearing before highly ideological groups and inappropriately discussing thinly veiled political subjects or even pending issues. She previously called President Trump as “faker.” Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has been a notable recidivist in this type of conduct and does not appear to be deterred by criticism that she is undermining the integrity of the Court. She is back at it with a new interview with the BBC.
There is an ongoing controversy over the new wrestling champion of Euless Trinity High School, Mack Beggs, 17. Beggs was born a girl but is now a transgender boy taking testosterone as part of his treatment. However, the UIL Wrestling State Tournament officials decided that Beggs would still compete as a girl despite the fact that he is taking steroids that have bulked him up in a way that would be normally a banning offense.
Until now, I thought “eco-terrorist” was an industry spin. However, the leader of the Taliban in Afghanistan, Hibatullah Akhundzada, has gone all green. It appears that when his followers are not throwing acid in the faces of girls seeking to be educated or blowing up mosques and markets, they should be planting trees. It is the Taliban version of Greenpeace without the peace part.
Continue reading “Eco-Terrorists: The Taliban Goes Green With Tree Planting Message”
The recent arrest of Ever Valles, 19, for murder has rekindled the debate over sanctuary cities and the proposed crackdown by the Trump Administration. We have previously discussed the status of sanctuary cities. I have maintained that these cities are in a poor legal position to oppose the federal programs and that they would face the loss of badly needed federal funding. The case of Valles will reinforce moves in Congress to clamp down on cities like Denver, which have responded that their police would have no legal basis to hold illegal immigrants for federal officials under the Constitution. The conflict presents an interesting series of issues about the basis for detainers and the legal status of immigration warrants under the Fourth Amendment. There is certainly no barrier in cooperating through notice to ICE and coordinating transfers. The question is whether there are barriers to holding someone for the requested 48 hours under these detention requests.
Alex (Shaya) Lichtenstein has burned various corrupt NYPD cops after he secretly recorded their illegal dealings. The only thing greater than Lichtenstein’s insatiable greed was his obsessive recording of conversations. Prosecutors told a court this week that Lichtenstein secretly recorded some 70,000 conversations. Lichtenstein has pleaded guilty to bribery of police. Lichtenstein was a member of the Orthodox Jewish Patrol that would roam Jewish neighborhoods. His deep religious beliefs however did not seem to stop him bribing officials and committing criminal acts.
The line between cruelty and cuisine can at times be a bit hard to discern. We have previously discussed whether swallowing live gold fish (or even selling gold fish) is an act of criminal cruelty. Now a man, Daniel Challis, 24, has been found guilty of causing suffering to a fish after posting a video of his swallowing the fish on a dare.
Continue reading “Englishman Found Criminally Guilty In Swallowing of Gold Fish”