Days like this remind me just how dull my colleagues are . . . and that is a good thing. IRS attorney and Georgetown Adjunct Law Professor Jack Vitayanon, 41, has been arrested in a conspiracy to distribute 500 grams of methamphetamine. Continue reading “IRS Attorney and Georgetown Adjunct Professor Arrested For Meth Dealing”
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit will have a completed record for its review of the lower court’s stay of the Trump immigration executive order this afternoon. While much has been made of the court declined to issue an immediate stay of the lower court under the earlier emergency motion, the decision was very predictable. The Court instead ordered for an expedited response from the states of Washington and Minnesota. That argument is complete today. What remains is a relatively rare procedural process in seeking to review a temporary restraining order (TRO) before the issuance of a written opinion, let alone a permanent injunction.
Continue reading “Ninth Circuit Briefing Completed Today For Ruling On Trump Appeal”
John Haskew of Lakeland, Florida presented a novel defense to his charge of diverting $7 billion from a bank. Haskew told the court that he was justified in making the transfer because “Jesus Christ created wealth for everyone.” He has now given up the ghost of waiting for divine judgment and pleaded guilty.
Continue reading “God Is My Co-Defendant: Criminal Defense in Florida Proves To Be Less Than Divine”
Well, let’s just say that the judge told Julian Mark Ridgeway, 54 in rein his passions.
Continue reading “Can You Guess What This Person Was Charged With?”
84 Lumber is a building materials supply company that is the latest to trigger a Superbowl advertisement controversy over an ad. We have previously discussed how groups like PETA often seems to engineer conflicts (and rejections) to get more attention than would have been generated by a commercial itself. Whatever the motivation, 84 Lumber has garnered massive attention after its commercial “The Journey Begins” was rejected by Fox as too political and divisive. With some 47 percent of the public supporting the Trump executive order, it is a risky move that the attention could create as much anger as support among potential customers. Regrettably, I will be on a flight to Guam (which takes off at the time of the kickoff). I will try to get the game on the flight but I enjoy having a Superbowl party with the kids. We enjoy the commercials often as much as the game. The company said that it was censored but allowed to run an altered commercial. Maggie Hardy Magerko, 84 Lumber’s president and owner, is quoted as saying “I still can’t even understand why it was censored. In fact, I’m flabbergasted by that in today’s day and age. It’s not pornographic, it’s not immoral, it’s not racist.”
Continue reading “The Superbowl Ad You Will Not Be Seeing Today [Updated]”
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has declined a demand for an immediate reinstatement of the Executive Order on immigration but has scheduled expedited arguments and filings in the case for Monday. The decision is not surprising in such a case. Courts need to hear from the other side in the dispute, particularly when the Washington Attorney General prevailed in the trial court. Moreover, a temporary restraining order is very difficult to reverse on an interlocutory appeal. Normally, appellate courts will wait for a final decision and opinion from the lower court before agreeing to review the controversy. Of course, nothing is “normal” about this controversy in terms of procedure or policy. With a major executive order stayed, the Ninth Circuit is clearly moving with dispatch but deliberation. The Justice Department team was not helped by President Trump’s tweets casting aspersations on Judge James Robart of Federal District Court in Seattle as a “so called judge.” Such comments undermine the credibility of the claims. It is less compelling to demand respect for the executive branch if you are viewed as denigrating the judicial branch. While there is ample reason to question the ruling of Judge Robart, but he is a respected judge who made a good-faith decision on a tough legal question. He is not a “so-called judge” but a real judge and has the Senate confirmation to prove it. Having said that, media playing up the “rejection” by the Ninth Circuit are not being entirely accurate. The Ninth Circuit wants more argument and has not reached the merits. There is still question whether it will reach the merits on a TRO appeal. I still believe that President Trump has the advantage legally and we could see this order stayed. The question is when and how since this remains a temporary restraining order without a written opinion from Judge Robart.
If you are not a cat person, this story will reaffirm all of your fears. At least I doubt Daniel Pinedo-Velapatino, 21, is still a cat person. Pinedo-Velapatino was allegedly fleeing the police when he stopped to pet a cat. That is how the police caught him in Boca Raton.
Continue reading “Can You Guess What This Person Was Charged With?”
By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
In another example of attempts to legitimize murder for apostasy, an Islamist Cleric of the Kurdistan Islamic Group (KIG) declared in an interview with the BBC that Kurds who leave Islam to convert to Zoroastrianism are to be murdered; or in his words “Killed and Executed.”
The cleric extended his hand of mercy by allowing those converts three days to regret their decision but thereafter are to be executed.
In an almost brutal irony, Mulla Hassib from Sulaimani said that Islamic religious tenets permit such executions, but ISIS’ practice of killing apostates is partially correct but he criticizes the terrorist organization for spreading the religion by means of “violence”.
Continue reading “Cleric: Killing Kurds Who Convert To Zoroastrianism Is “Legitimate””
The Justice Department’s defense of the Trump executive order is off to a rather shaky start after the Department failed to immediately file an emergency appeal after its loss in Seattle (opening entries for those banned under the order) and then, according to the State Department, overstated the number of revoked visas under the order by over 40,000. Given the recent order by now fired Acting Attorney General Sally Yates to bar the defense of the order, the surprising blunders could fuel concerns in the Administration.
By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
We have now another novel example concerning the use of seemingly private data being used against criminal defendants and potentially in the future other members of the public.
A Middletown, Ohio homeowner is accused in the arson of his own home, reportedly causing four hundred thousand dollars in damage and the loss of a personal pet. Arson investigators became suspicious about the cause of the fire from inconsistent statements made along with finding multiple origins of the fire. Police retrieved the recording of the 9-1-1 call the defendant made reporting the conflagration. During this he made mention of having an “artificial heart.” But what probably seemed ordinary for the defendant led to a trove of information used as incriminating data.
His pacemaker telemetry data became a source of incriminating evidence.
Continue reading “Pacemaker Data Used To Charge Alleged Arsonist”
The controversy over the Trump immigration executive order has already produced sharply conflicting orders from courts in Washington state and Massachusetts. A judge in Seattle has issued a temporary restraining order nationwide over the executive order while a judge in Boston declined to do so. Such divergent results are not uncommon in such controversies. However, as I have previously explained, I believe that the law favors the Administration despite good-faith arguments advanced by the challengers. Moreover, even if courts strike down a portion of the executive order, it is likely that other portions will be upheld on review. While I have been very critical of the order (and how it was rolled out), I still believe that the weight of binding authority on these trial courts favors President Trump. We should get an answer sooner than expected: the Administration has decided to ask for an emergency order from the Ninth Circuit to block the Seattle court. In the meantime, the airlines have been told to start to allow people on planes to the United States and the Justice Department is apparently not filing the emergency motion tonight. That means that people will start to arrive before the Justice Department files. It could look a bit curious that the Administration is claiming a national security danger in these entries but would wait to file the emergency motion.
Continue reading “Judges In Seattle and Boston Reach Opposing Opinions On Trump Executive Order”
There is a novel criminal case in Missouri where the supervisor of a Dairy Queen has been charged with manslaughter in the suicide of Kenneth Suttner, 17. Suttner lived a tragic life — tormented by bullies about his weight and his speech impediment. He finally could not take anymore of the abuse and on December 21 took his own life. It is horrific to think of all of the people who made this boy’s life such a living hell. However, the criminal charge against Harley Branham is problematic in seeking to hold her criminally liable in a suicide case.
Continue reading “Dairy Queen Supervisor Charged With Manslaughter After Suicide By Teenager”
There is an interesting case out of Canada where a relationship between neighbors literally turned into a pile of . . . well . . . litigation. When David Gallant bought his property from Lee and Shirley Murray, he was not aware that they had a cattle farm next door but still maintained a good relationship. However, soon the relationship soured and a pile of manure appeared along their property line — even spilling into their yard. With the addition of other debris tossed on their land and as many as 50 stray cows, the Gallants sued and have now won before the Court of Queen’s Bench in a nuisance action.
Continue reading “Canadian Court Rules That Towering Pile Of Manure Is A Nuisance”
The military has confirmed that a special forces unit flew of Trump flag from a military convoy in Louisville. In a nation that has prided itself on an apolitical military, it was an insult to the professionalism of our military personnel and their traditions. Our Republic once had military officers who viewed their allegiance to the Federalists and led to partisan conflicts. Our tradition of an apolitical military is one of the most cherished in our country.
Continue reading “Navy Confirms Special Warfare Unit Flew Trump Flag”
We recently discussed the courageous stand of the University of Chicago in favor of free speech (a position followed by schools like Purdue). Free speech is being rapidly diminished on our campuses as an ever-widening scope of speech has been declared hate speech or part of the ill-defined “microaggression.” Now Berkeley has shown the world exactly what this intolerance looks like as protesters attacked people, burned property, and rioted to stop other people from hearing the views of a conservative speaker. As on so many campuses, they succeeded. The speech by Milo Yiannopoulos was cancelled. A triumph of anti-speech protesters. Berkeley now must face a defining moment. The only appropriate response for the school is to immediately reschedule the speaker and stand in defiance of those who want to deny the right to speak (and to hear and associate) to others. Moreover, it is liberals who should be on the forefront in denouncing these protests and the effort to stop this event. Otherwise, it can follow the lead of schools like DePaul and cast aside free speech in yielding to the mob.