We have yet another example of the barbaric application of Islamic Sharia law — a medieval system that is used in many Muslim nations to impose Islamic values on citizens. The latest example comes from Saudi Arabia where two women were sentenced by a Sharia “judge” to 20 lashes after having been found guilty of using bad language over WhatsApp.
Continue reading “Saudi Sharia Court Orders Two Women Flogged For Over Bad Language on Social Media”
German Chancellor Angela Merkel long ago established herself as a menace to free speech, particularly in her decision to first apologize to authoritarian Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for a satirical poem and then approve the prosecution of the comedian is a shocking and chilling disgrace. Now, she is throwing her support behind a crackdown on “hate speech” on social media like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube — radically expanding the already broad scope of government regulation of speech.
Continue reading “Merkel Backs Crackdown on Free Speech On Social Media Sites”
University of Arkansas’ Dean, Michael Schwartz, has resigned after a backlash to his reaction over the election of Donald Trump. Schwartz, who has served four years as Dean, free counseling services to students who “feel upset” following the “most upsetting, most painful, most disturbing election season of my lifetime.”
Continue reading “Arkansas Dean Resigns After Trump Election Controversy”
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. We begin this day with the 50th Turley Turkey bowl with a couple dozen neighborhood kids and their families. It is an early game with copious amounts of hot chocolate, donuts, and treats. We then follow with my favorite meal of the year with roughly a large assemblage of friends and family. It is hard to imagine a better day (beyond the other Bears prevailing in a towering victory for Monsters of the Midway).
In celebration of Thanksgiving, I give you our annual Turkey Torts of civil and criminal cases that add liability to libations on this special day (with past cases at the bottom). Many criminal defense attorneys and torts attorneys give special thanks for a holiday that can involve copious amounts of alcohol, strained family relations, over-the-hill amateur football players, “Black Friday” sale stampedes, and novice cooks. The result is a horn of plenty for litigators. Have a happy and safe Thanksgiving!
School officials at Loyola University Maryland pressured student government leaders to drop the “America” theme for their senior class party as “very alienating, divisive and harmful” and against the university’s “core values.” The party was to be one of four celebrations for graduating seniors and the theme was selected by the students themselves but then declared as inappropriate and offensive by university officials.
Continue reading “America Theme For College Party Declared “Alienating, Divisive, and Harmful””
Donald Trump is under fire for saying this week that he is not legally bound to avoid conflicts of interest because such ethical standards do not apply to him. Various commentators objected but Trump insisted “The law’s totally on my side, the president can’t have a conflict of interest.” Trump is legally correct. There is a public disclosure rule that applies but not a binding conflict of interest law. The federal law exempts not just the President but also the Vice President.
Continue reading “Trump Is Legally Correct: Ethics Rules Do Not Apply To Him”
Bowling Green State University has been the scene of protests and outrage after student Eleesha Long claimed to have been attacked by three white men wearing Trump T-shirts the day after the election. It now appears to have been a hoax, though it is not the first false assault case tied to the Trump election.
Continue reading “Bowling Green State University Student Charged After Falsely Claiming To Have Been Assaulted By Three White Trump Supporters”
We have previously discussed how Democrats have rallied around their leaders despite the failure to secure the White House or the Senate. Democratic leaders engineered the primary selection of Hillary Clinton despite polls showing that voters did not want an establishment figure and had deep seated misgivings about Clinton’s honestly and integrity. One of those leaders who has been most criticized over the years has been Nancy Pelosi. Nevertheless, many Democratic members have rallied to her side while younger members are calling for new leadership. Rep. Tim Ryan stepped forward to challenge Pelosi but he is now being denounced as sexist for even daring to challenge Pelosi after years of Democratic losses.
We have followed the actions of various universities and colleges to bar conservative speech either by declaring their positions as hate speech or claiming a campus security risk. One of the targets of this content-based censorship has been conservative British commentator Milo Yiannopoulos. Now, Yiannopoulos, 32, has been barred from speaking at his own former grammar school in the United Kingdom: Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys in Canterbury.
A woman went to Facebook and made a claim that led to an intensive police investigation in Washington: She claimed to have been raped but that the Kirkland Police Department refused to even file a report. People were outraged and the police launched in investigation only to locate the woman who admitted that she made the whole thing up. Her defense? She was “distraught over the recent election.” Police have not filed any charges and have withheld the identity of the woman. Some may find it curious that, while she had no hesitation in defaming police officers and their department with a false allegation, her own identity will be protected.
Continue reading “Woman Falsely Claims That She Was Raped And Police Refused To File Crime Report”
There was an interesting recent interview of President Barack Obama by the German media giant Der Spiegel. In the interview, President Obama insisted that he could not pardon Edward Snowden as a matter of constitutional law. He is manifestly wrong. While the President may not want to pardon someone who deeply embarrassed him and his Administration, he is entirely capable of pardoning Snowden who is widely viewed as a whistleblower.
Continue reading “Pardon Me? Obama Wrongly States That He Cannot Pardon Edward Snowdon”
Kirk Nurmi, the attorney for Arizona murderer Jodi Arias, has avoided disbarment by voluntarily accepting a suspension for four years after writing a tell-all book about his infamous client. Nurmi allegedly sought to cash in on his representation by revealing confidential information in his self-published book, “Trapped with Ms. Arias.” It wasn’t Arias but ethics that trapped Nurmi.
Continue reading “Publish and Perish: Court-Appointed Lawyer For Arias Suspended For Tell-All Book”
We have seen the erosion of civil liberties with the rise of the Islamic parties in Turkey under the autocratic rule of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Like many Muslim countries, Turkey has a long and troubling history of child brides and arranged marriages. Recently, the Turkish Constitutional Court annulled a provision that punishes all sexual acts against children under the age of 15 as “sexual abuse.” Now, a bill which would allow men accused of raping underage girls to be cleared if they marry the girl has been preliminarily backed by Turkish MPs. Notably, the bill would pardon men only if they had sex without “force or threat” and if they married the victim. However, that would legitimate child marriage.
We have previously discussed how some European countries limit the names that can be given to chidren, including some with approved lists of names. We have seen such controversies arise in this country with children, for example, named after Adolph Hitler. However, this generally remains a protected right of parents in the United States. The latest case comes out of France where a court will decide whether a Muslim family can use the name of Mohamed Merah, an Islamic radical who killed seven people in 2012.
Continue reading “French Parents Fight To Give Infant The Name of Notorious Terrorist”
