Last week, the disclosure of a total of five immunity agreements handed out by the Justice Department as part of its investigation of the Clinton email scandal. The extent of the deals and the recipients were surprising, particularly in the failure to previously disclose those deals. As a criminal defense lawyer, I was surprised to see the deals include Cheryl Mills, one of the highest officials accused in the deletion of tens of thousands of emails and the failure to heed warnings over the risk to national security from the use of the Clinton private server. Below is the column.
Customs officials at Graz airport in Austria made a shocking discovery in the carry on luggage of a Moroccan woman: the entrails of her husband. If that is not bizarre enough, Austrian police insist that there is nothing illegal in taking body parts of your loved ones as carry on — subject to any size limitations of the airline of course.
We have yet another story of educators showing no regard for the interests of students in the imposition of a thoughtless and baseless punishment. In this case, the Wayne-Westland Community Schools had children using discolored and tainted water in their restrooms. Hazel Juco took a picture of the disgusting water and posted it in the hope of getting action. The school administrators responded by suspending her.
I recently expressed unbridled pride in my alma mater, The University of Chicago, in taking a stand for free speech and rejecting the notion of sheltering students from opposing or disturbing views with “safe spaces” and speech codes. Now, across town, my other alma mater, Northwestern University, appears intent on embracing the opposing view. Northwestern President, Morton Schapiro, has called faculty and students who adhere to views underlying the “Chicago Principle” as nothing more than “lunatics.” Fortunately, I only went to Northwestern for graduate school and was able to secure my undergraduate degree at Chicago in a free and robust community of free thought and free expression. The contrast in the two schools on different sides of the city captures the deep division among academics. However, as one of those “lunatics” and “idiots” denounced by Schapiro, there is no question in my view where the better educational environment can be found in light of Schapiro’s comments. He also denounced those with opposing academic views as just speaking from their privileged backgrounds and lifestyle.
Continue reading “Northwestern University President Calls Faculty And Students Opposed To Safe Zones “Lunatics””
I have been a long critic of the erosion of free speech on college campuses and the use of the ill-defined concept of “micro aggressions” to sanction students and faculty alike. Now there is a national campaign by the National Association for Bilingual Education and the Santa Clara County Office of Education that indicates that a teacher who mispronounces a student’s name is causing an offense to the student’s identity. negative emotional state that can lead to poor academic success.
The campaign, titled “My Name, My Identity” says on its website, “Did you know that mispronouncing a student’s name negates the identity of the student? This can lead to anxiety and resentment which, in turn, can hinder academic progress.” The author of an influential report on the issue, Rita Kohli, an assistant professor of education at the University of California at Riverside, maintains that such mistakes can be deemed a “microaggression.” That is chilling for some of us who are notoriously bad at pronouncing names.
Continue reading “Is Mispronouncing A Name A “Microaggression”?”
There have been many past tort cases involving questions of whether pools had sufficient lifeguards at a pool to avoid a drowning. The City of New Orleans could face a rather unique tragedy where a fully clothed man drowned at a party for lifeguards with 100 lifeguards partying around the pool at the time.
Continue reading “Man Drowns At New Orleans Lifeguard Party Surrounded By At Least 100 Guards”
Let it not be said that football does not bring people together . . . or at least the hatred of certain teams. When South Carolina Officer Michael Blackmore saw a man about to jump off a bridge, he struggled to find a common connection or interest. He found it in their mutual hatred for the Dallas Cowboys. With the crushing defeat of my Chicago Bears last night, I also have found a new reason to live.
Continue reading “Hatred For the Dallas Cowboys Gives Suicidal Man Reason To Live”
By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor.
Free-speech claimed another victim in the Middle-East after Jordanian Journalist Nahed Hattar, who is accused of sharing online an “anti-Islamic” cartoon, was assassinated outside a courthouse where he was facing trial for insulting Islam.
Continue reading “Jordanian Writer, On Trial For Insulting Islam, Murdered At Courthouse”
By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor.
In May of this year, we reported a disturbing allegation of an unlawful use of force against a then fifteen-year-old girl by a Tacoma Police Officer working an off-duty assignment at a large shopping mall.
Originally filed in with the Pierce County Washington Superior Court, on September 19th the case was removed to the U.S. District Court of Western Washington.
Surveillance video shows what appears to be disturbing actions by a professional police officer used against a petite fifteen year old for alleged criminal acts against her that were later dismissed. Plaintiff alleges in her tort claim that race discrimination was a factor in the incident.
If you were still wondering what the thousands of dead and wounded U.S. soldiers (and billions in funds) lost in Afghanistan accomplished, your confusion is about to be exponentially increased. This week, our Afghan allies in the government pardoned one of the most ruthless terrorists in the world — a man who murdered Americans, supported throwing acid in the faces of girls and women, and stood out among the most blood-soaked terrorists in the world. He is now effectively the ally of the Afghan government and by extension the United States. The man is Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the hated leader of the militant group, Hezb-i-Islami. He is better known by his popular and well-earned nickname: “The Butcher of Kabul.”
Three Phoenix police officers have resigned after a bizarre and disturbing case of abuse. Richard G. Pina, Jason E. McFadden, and Michael J. Carnicle are accused of making a 19-year-old Phoenix man eat marijuana found in his car after a stop — an act that left the man feeling ill. The resignations occurred just before the officers were fired, but there remains a couple of disturbing questions.
Sharon K. Bidell, 55, was pulled over in her car by police on suspicion of drunk driving. Those suspicions were not elevated when she objected to police that her 1965 Chevy Nova was “not my drinking car.” Perhaps but it turned out to be her impounded car.
Continue reading ““Not My Drinking Car”: New York Woman Comes Up With Worst DUI Defense Ever”
Deputy PD, Erika Ballou, has refused to comply with a judicial order to remove a Black Lives Matter pin from her blouse — a clear violation of court rules. As we recently discussed with regard to such pins, judges maintain basic rules of decorum and dress in their courtrooms, particularly in barring political symbols that may influence a jury or witnesses. What is astonishing is not just that Ballou defied the court but that Clark County Public Defender Phil Kohn was standing next to her and a dozen defense lawyers stood behind her in support.
Continue reading “Public Defender Refuses To Remove “Black Lives Matter” Pin Despite Judicial Order”
While riots and looting continued in Charlotte over the shooting of 43-year-old Keith Lamont Scott, the Charlotte police are pushing back on the widely repeated report that Scoot was unarmed and shot walking away from police without any provocation. Police say that Scott was armed and refused to drop his weapon. Continue reading “Rivaling Accounts of Scott Shooting Emerge In Charlotte”
Another university has cancelled a conservative speaker under the guise of security concerns. The speaker is Milo Yiannopoulos who has repeatedly been disrupted or cancelled in his effort to speak on campuses (as well as being barred by Twitter). Yiannopoulos attracts considerable opposition and seems to relish the controversy with his “Dangerous Faggot” tour.
Continue reading “University of Miami Cancels Milo Yiannopoulos Event In The Name Of Security”