Bizarre, Criminal law, Environment

Graffiti Artist Nocket Banned From All Federal Parks

casey.nocket.facebook.800We previously discussed the case of Casey Nocket, a New York-based graffiti artist, who proudly posted pictures of her defacing surfaces in at least six national parks: Death Valley, Colorado National Monument, Canyonlands, Zion and Crater Lake. Thanks to Reddit (one of my favorite sites), she was tracked down by irate viewers who helped the national park investigators. She has now been sentenced to 200 hours of community service but also banishment from all national parks and other federally administered lands. We earlier discussed the fine and probation as facially insufficient. The banishment element is an important advance, even if the lack of jail time is disappointing. For years, I have advocated such a ban for those who deface our national and state parks. Nocket is now banned from 20 percent of the United States and that is a good thing.

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Bizarre, Media, Politics, Religion, Society

Sacramento Pastor Praises Omar Mateen and Says That God Will Finish The Job

920x920It often seems that when the world is grieving some terrible tragedy, there are some religious extremists who will celebrate the loss. Stepping immediately into that role was Sacramento pastor Roger Jimenez of the California-based Verity Baptist Church who praised Omar Mateen’s murder of gays and lamented that he did not “finish” the job. It appears however that Jimenez will have to find another place to peddle his religious-based hate. Harsch Investment Properties has decided not to renew the church’s lease and wants Jimenez out by next March.
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Bizarre, Criminal law

D.C. Man Accused Of Committing Murder While Being Monitored With Ankle Bracelet . . . By Removing His Prosthetic Leg

220px-Low_cost_prosthetic_limbsIt was something out of a whodunit story. A man is murdered but a suspect was under constant surveillance at the time of the murder. The GPS placed on Quincy Green, 44, showed that he remained at home. However, the twist is that his leg remained at the home with the tracking device on it, but the leg was a prosthetic that he removed. According to police, he left the leg and limped to another location to murder Dana Hamilton.
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Academia, Congress, Politics

Turley Testifies Before Congress In IRS Commissioner Impeachment

800px-Capitol_Building_Full_ViewOn Wednesday morning, I have the honor of appearing before Committee of the Judiciary in the United States House of Representatives. The hearing entitled “Examining The Allegations of Misconduct of IRS Commissioner John Koskinen” will address the options facing Congress in addressing alleged misconduct by Commissioner Koskinen. The hearing will start at 10 am in Room 2141 of the Rayburn House Office Building. My testimony is linked below.

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Animals, Bizarre, Environment, International

Brazilians Bring Out Chained Jaguar As Prop For Olympic Torch Ceremony . . . Police Then Shoot Jaguar After Ceremony As Threatening

2016_Summer_Olympics_logo.svgThe Olympics in Brazil have already been an unmitigated disaster and the first race is weeks off. Despite warnings about the environmental and political conditions in Rio De Janeiro, the International Olympic Committee (which has distinguished itself for a long litany of moronic decisions) refused to yield to such warnings. Now, athletes, commentators, and fans are staying away of the country in fear of crime, pollution, and disease. The country is in financial and political chaos as the country still has not fulfilled many of its commitments. For all those reasons, the organizers must have been relieved to finally hold the Olympic torch ceremony in Manaus, but then were left reeling from another disaster. The organizers brought out a chained jaguar named Juma as a backdrop for the photoshoot. Once it was over, police used tranquilizers on the jaguar after it broke loose from its handlers. A soldier then killed it when it continued to move toward him.
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Academia, Criminal law, Society

Two Men Charged In Markel Murder-for-Hire As Police Continue To Investigate Ex-Wife’s Family

1405809806000-Dan-MarkelAlmost a year ago, the legal academy was shocked by the murder of Florida State Law Professor Dan Markel at his home. The police have now arrested Sigfredo Garcia, 34, and Luis Rivera, 33, and they have been indicted in the murders. The investigation is clearly not over. The police are suggesting that this was a contract killing tied to Markel’s divorce from his wife and former law professor, Wendi Adelson. The couple has two children.

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Bizarre, Religion

Pennsylvania Church Harassed After Wishing Muslims A Blessed Ramadan

636017790693237889-YDR-sub-061716-ramadan-signIn a true sign of our times, a Pennsylvania church and its pastor in Dallastown have been harassed after a message was added to the church sign wishing neighboring Muslims a “blessed Ramadan.” Trump supporter Matthew Jansen, an elected delegate to the Republican National Convention, is one of the irate people who called to denounce Rev. Christopher Rodkey and St. Paul’s United Church of Christ. So a demonstration of tolerance and civility became a rallying cry of religious hatred.

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Bizarre, Politics, Society

Obama Administration Releases Full Transcript Of Mateen 911 Calls . . . Confirming What Was Already Known

Loretta_Lynch352EF38500000578-3637414-image-a-131_1465749094436Yesterday, the Justice Department reversed itself and released a full, unredacted transcript of the 911 call of Omar Mateen during his massacre in Orlando. The Justice Department redacted references despite objections from media and political leaders that the redactions were ridiculous. Nevertheless, Attorney General Loretta Lynch went on the Sunday shows and insisted that it was best for the public and the victims. It was a telling moment of how the government now begins with an assumption that it is better to limit what the public reads and knows. What was removed was references to “Islamic State” and ISIS leader “Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.” How exactly do those references, according to Lynch, “revictimize” people? It was well known and widely reported that Mateen had referenced both ISIS and al-Baghdadi. Yet, the impulse of the Justice Department was to censor and control information that was already public.

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Bizarre, Politics, Religion, Society

“University of Jihad”: Pakistan Gives Millions To Maintain Extremist Madrassa

200px-Jameah_Darul_Uloom_DeobandTwo of the closest allies to the United States have long been primary sources for terrorists: Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. Both maintain Islamic schools or madrassas that espouse extreme views of Islam that justify the killing of homosexuals, blasphemers and others. While both countries continually insist that they are not supporting such groups, terrorists have been traced back to both countries in terms of support and education. Indeed, Pakistan continues to jail a doctor who helped the United States find Bin Laden but still receives massive U.S. aid. Now, it has been disclosed that Pakistan’s Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government has allocated Rs 300 million to a madrassa known as the “University of Jihad” because of its infamous alumni of terrorists and extremists, including top Afghan Taliban leaders like the late Mullah Omar.

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Academia, Bizarre

Massachusetts School Sued Over The Use of “Commonwealth” In Its Name

UnknownOne school is an elite school found in 1957 in Boston’s Back Bay that costs $40,000 a year in tuition. The other is an academy in Springfield (90 miles away) for low income and minority students charging $1,200. Few people would confuse the two institutions but the elite Commonwealth School has sued the Commonwealth Academy for the use of the word “Commonwealth.” The school claims “great harm” from sharing the word and even refused an offer from the academy to add “Springfield” to the name.

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Environment, Hikes, Travel Blog

Thank You New Mexico

IMG_4265I returned this weekend from a glorious time in the Land of Enchantment after speaking to the New Mexico Conclave in Albuquerque of federal, state, and tribal judges and lawyers. I stayed an extra day to hike in New Mexico, an area of unique and breathtaking trails. After looking forward for weeks to my planned hikes, I was crushed to fly into Albuquerque over a raging forest fire. In watching the massive fire from the plane I thought that my hiking plans were shot. I then learned that the temperatures would be in triple digits. Nevertheless, I was able to do two magnificent hikes and look a lot of pictures.

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Uncategorized

The other three cases you should be watching this SCOTUS term
Lawandorder01
The only real L&O to me.

Cara L. Gallagher
Weekend Contributor

This Supreme Court term, there is something for everyone in the remaining decisions the Justices will deliver in the next few days. I would argue this term there are more “big” and mid-level cases that will affect the widest and most diverse audience of stakeholders in years: women, immigrants, college applicants, (alleged) drunk drivers, police, and skeptical voters. The issues challenged in these cases spotlight timeless debates over states’ rights, political corruption, and the limits of executive action. These topics cut across scores of different constituencies, and the decisions – assuming the Court avoids splitting 4-4 – will significantly impact Americans on both national and state levels.

If you know about the first three big cases it’s likely because those are the ones that got the most media attention. And while immigration, affirmative action, and abortion undoubtedly impact millions of people, so do the last three. Ask anyone if they think low voter turnout has something to do with distrust of elected officials, if they’re afraid of police encounters, or if they know someone who’s been pulled over for suspicion of or received a DUI? Likely they’ll answer “yes” to one, two, or all three. These cases aren’t glamorous. They’re not the ones protesters come out for. But they highlight pedestrian cases that most people have or will experience at some point in their lives, or, if nothing else, care deeply about when watching Law & Order.

Three mid-level cases you should watch this week: Continue reading “The other three cases you should be watching this SCOTUS term” →

Criminal law, Society

Police Give New Bicycle To Boy Struck By Hit And Run Driver

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By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor

A nine-year-old Moses Lake, Washington boy who fell victim to a hit and run driver found some new friends in the city police department.

Last Tuesday Christian Brokke was walking his bicycle in a crosswalk when he was allegedly struck by a 2004 Ford Escape driven by Suzette Brown. Brown reportedly ran a stop sign and struck the boy with enough force to tear the license plate from the vehicle.

Witnesses to the collision reported that Christian remained sprawled on the hood of the car while Brown attempted to flee the scene, falling to the street after fifteen to thirty feet. She then dragged the bicycle under the car for a block before leaving the area.

EMS transported Christian to a local hospital. He suffered head trauma and was later transferred to Sacred Heart Medical center in Spokane for additional treatment.

Fortunately, Christian recovered from his injuries. Officers from Moses Lake decided to go a step further than simply investigating the collision and together bought Christian a new helmet and something every nine-year-old boy wants–a new bicycle.

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Torts

The Most Liable Place On Earth: Disney Faces Strong Tort Claim In Child’s Death

16alligator_web1-master768-v4Disney is facing what would seem to be an overwhelming case for liability in the death of 2-year-old Lane Graves who was killed in a shallow lagoon near his family’s resort rental. The failure to adequately warn tourists and take reasonable steps to address the danger of alligators was clearly negligent in my view. While the last thing that Matt and Melissa Graves will want to think about is liability (and they have at least a year under the statute of limitations), they should sue Disney for the loss of their son.

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