Bizarre, Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, International, Justice, Lawyering, Military, Politics, Science, Society, Supreme Court

The Chemistry of Revenge: Bond v. U.S. – A Study In The Carpenters And Treaties

By Mark Esposito, Weekend Guy

130227203059-supreme-justices-horizontal-galleryCarol Anne Bond was overjoyed to learn that her best friend, Myrlinda Haynes, had become pregnant. That joy was short-lived when she learned that the father was none other than her husband,Clifford Bond. The Philadelphia woman embarked on a course of revenge that would result in federal charges for deploying chemical weapons and a trip to the United States Supreme Court. Passed in 1998,  the Chemical Weapons Convention Implementation Act, enabled Congress to enforce the terms of an  international treaty banning deployment of some chemical weapons. Taking advantage of that law, federal prosecutors charged Bond with obtaining two chemicals which together or separately could have killed her pregnant rival.

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Constitutional Law, Courts, Justice, Lawyering, Society, Supreme Court

122 years ago today, a humble but brave shoemaker boarded a train.

By Charlton Stanley, Weekend Contributor

500px-Seal_of_the_United_States_Supreme_CourtOn this day in 1892 Homer Plessy was arrested for refusing to leave his seat in the “whites-only” car of a train. The resulting court case, which Plessy lost, generated one of the most disgraceful decisions the Supreme Court of the United States ever made.

On June 7, 1892 thirty year old Homer A. Plessy boarded a train in New Orleans. A short time later, Plessy was arrested and removed from the train at Press and Royal streets by a private detective with arrest powers. The detective had actually been hired by the Comité des Citoyens (Citizens’ Committee of New Orleans), a civil rights group of which Plessy was a member. They were challenging Louisiana’s 1890 separate-car law.

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Torts

Patient Files Lawsuit Against Hospital For Employee Allegedly Releasing Syphilis Diagnosis Later Posted On Facebook

By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor

University of Cincinnati Medical Center logoA woman in Ohio claims a University of Cincinnati Medical Center employee provided her ex-boyfriend with a medical record indicating a diagnosis of Syphilis. The employee was later fired.

She states that she refused to inform her ex-boyfriend as to why she was a patient at the hospital, and in her lawsuit she alleges he then contacted an employee, who he was romantically involved, and she provided the record.

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Constitutional Law, Society

Federal Judge Strikes Down Wisconsin’s Gay Marriage Ban, Wedding Bells Ring

By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor

LGBT USA Pride FlagThe inertia against state prohibition of gay marriage continues to rise. United States District Court Judge Barbara Crabb declared Wisconsin’s same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional.

In 2006 Wisconsin voters amended the state constitution outlawing gay marriage in any form. The ACLU filed the lawsuit in February on behalf of eight couples who believe their constitutional rights to due process were violated consequently depriving them of protections married couples enjoy due to their gender.

Court clerks in Madison and Milwaukee immediately afterward opened their doors to register marriage licenses to gay couples beginning at 5:00 PM on the sixth, just over an hour after the court issued its ruling. Many couples welcomed this opportunity immediately, due in part to a belief among some that this might be a limited window of opportunity before a possible halt to the marriages during an appeals process.

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Constitutional Law, Courts, Politics, Society

Marijuana Retailer Sues City Of Wenatchee, Washington After Denial Of Business License

By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor

Entreating the GodfatherIn a new twist to the bureaucracy retailers in the fledgling retail marijuana business in Washington face, the City Council of Wenatchee has denied a business license to a retailer approved by the State Liquor Control Board, which regulates the industry, to begin setting up shop.

Shaun Preder, an owner on behalf of SMP Retail, LLC last Tuesday filed a lawsuit against the city in Chelan County Superior Court seeking declaratory and injunctive relief for prohibition of plaintiff’s right to sell marijuana. The declaratory relief sought is for the court to find that the city’s prohibition violates state law codified in RCW 69.50.608 and Article XI Section 11 of the Washington Constitution.

If the city elects to litigate the case there could be ramifications throughout the state and possibly others where recreational marijuana is legal.

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Criminal law, Society

Florida Police Accused of Harassing Citizen Filming in Public and Then Making Anonymous Calls of Possible Crime

florida-cop-frames-activist-masturbation.sivideo cameraThere is a controversy surrounding another confrontation between a police officer and a citizen over filming officers in public. We have been following the continuing abuse of citizens who are detained or arrested for filming police in public. (For prior columns, click here and here). Despite consistent rulings upholding the right of citizens to film police in public, these abuses continue. The latest story has a weird twist. Critics are alleging that, after Michael Burns had a confrontation with Lakeland officer Javier Perez, the officer allegedly placed an anonymous call to claim that Burns was masturbating in his car.

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Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Lawyering

Former Florida Judge Disbarred Over Intimate Relationship With Prosecutor During Murder Case

gavel2We have previously discussed of former Broward Circuit Judge Ana Gardiner who had a secret intimate relations with a prosecutor trying a capital murder case in her court in 2007. She has now been disbarred despite her earlier resignation from the court. That is far harsher punishment than what was received by former assistant state attorney Howard Scheinberg, who was suspended for two years due to the relationship.

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International, Politics, Society

European Central Bank Introduces The Negative Interest Rate

399px-Logo_European_Central_Bank.svgThings just keep getting rougher for average citizens in Europe. Some have faced government seizure of accounts to help fund government operations and requirements that they explain withdrawals to their banks. Now, the European Central Bank (ECB) is imposing a negative interest rate on banks for their deposits. So, you can keep your money under your mattress or put it in a bank where the bank will use it to earn money while charging you for the pleasure. This is of course the central bank which directly relates to individual banks as opposed to individual depositors. Those banks will now pay to park their money and those costs will be passed along to depositors. Banks are likely going to try to hide the fact that the interest rate is now negative through fees and other measures.

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Lawyering, Politics, Society

General Motors Fires 15 Employees After Internal Report

150px-General_Motors.svgI previously wrote on the scandal at General Motors (GM) over its lethal defect in the ignition switch on various models. Now General Motors has fired 15 employees and disciplined five others after an internal investigation by attorney Anton Valukas. The move raises some interesting litigation issues going forward in the controversy with both civil and criminal elements.

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Criminal law, International

Irish Woman Jailed After Rape Allegations Found To Be Hoax

gavel2Magdalena Brojek, a mother of two from Enniskillen, Ireland, has been sentenced to three months in jail after admitting that she made up a gang rape by three Lithuanian men to cover up an affair with a man who she met online. It was only the first lie that she told before admitting the truth.

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Academia, Science, Society

Poll: Eleven Percent Of Americans Believe Florescent Bulbs Are A Conspiracy To Control Their Minds And Other Scary Stuff

220px-Poster_for_The_Conspiracy_(2012_Film)Every once in a while, we will get a poll that is truly unnerving like the percentage of Americans who entirely reject evolution or think that the Earth is only a few thousand years old. However, a University of Chicago study on conspiracy theories is enough for you to put on your tinfoil hat and look yourself in your underground shelter. Eric Oliver and Thomas Wood at the University of Chicago found that half of the country holds these conspiracy theories and some are just plain wacky.

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Society

Southwest Fined For Advertising $59 Seats That Did Not Exist

200px-US-DeptOfTransportation-Seal.svg220px-Boeing_737-2A1_N25SW_Southwest_SAT_17.10.75_edited-2Southwest has been fined again for advertising cheap fares on seats that did not exist. The airline advertised on eight Atlanta stations in which the narrator told viewers, “Discover amazing low sale fares” of $59 “to places like New York, Los Angeles and Chicago.” The problem is that, when people went to book the fares, they were told no seats were available.

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Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Free Speech, International

Pig In A Pokey: Manchester Man Arrested For Impersonating Police Officer By Wearing Pig Mask

Steven-PeersPolice in Manchester have decided not to press charges against Steven Peers who was arrested for impersonating an officer. The twist is that Peers was wearing a pig mask at the time and a toy bobby’s helmet. Peers is an electrical engineer who uses his comic character ‘Officer 666’ to highlight the “violence, corruption and bad behavior.”

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Criminal law, Politics, Science, Society

Legal Pot Sales Soar Nationally As Colorado Reports Continuing Increase In Sales And A Decrease In Crime

220px-Cannabis_sativa_leaf_Dorsal_aspect_2012_01_23_0830There is a statistic that I ran across today that I found quite remarkable. Legal cannabis sales in the United States are expected to reach as high as $2.57 billion this year. That is only the sales for medical marijuana in the 21 states allowing its sale. At the same time, Colorado is reporting a continuing increase in legal marijuana sales with $19 million in recreational pot sale for March — up from $14 million from February. The figures reveal the greatest challenge for opponents. As revenues and experimentation increases, there will be greater pressure for legalization. Businesses are likely to take note of a 2.5 billion dollar industry that has taken hold even with the limitations of medical marijuana and less than half of the states participating. Both the money and the public response appear to be moving in favor of the legalization movement.

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