Animals, Criminal law, Torts

Florida Woman Arrested After Performing C-Section On Mastiff Without Anesthesia

dog20n-1-webThere is a bizarre case out of Tampa where Candace Patricia Hauser is facing one charge of aggravated cruelty to animals . Brenda Hines, 31, brought her Mastiff, Nadia, to Hauser’s house to see if she could help deliver puppies. Nadia was able to delivered (with help) the first 12 puppies but had trouble on the last two. Hauser proceeded to do a canine Caesarian and cut open Nadia to deliver the final two puppies. She then used standard, non-surgical glue to close the wound. This was all done without anesthesia and Nadia died.

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Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Politics, Society

Kansas Legislation Would Allow Police To Charge Citizens Who Bring Abuse Charges Against Officers When The Charges Are Dismissed . . . By The Police

KS_-_Highway_Patrol_BadgeWichita_PoliceThe Kansas House Standing Committee on Corrections and Juvenile Justice has introduced an extraordinary bill that would allow citizens to be criminally charged if they bring abuse or misconduct charges against police officers are that later dismissed by the police department. They would be subject to a felony charge for perjury in such cases — a clear threat that will chill anyone considering such a charge in the future.

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Academia, Society

Ohio School District Upholds Punishment of 10-Year-Old Boy For Using Finger Gun

220px-gesture_thumb_up_then_down_forefinger_out_like_gun1We previously discussed the bizarre case of Nathan Entingh, 10, who was suspended for merely pointing his finger at another student and saying “pow.” It was discussed nationally as an insane example of abuses under the zero tolerance policies of teachers and administrators. Just to show that neither logic nor judgment will be allowed to influence their use of authority, the school district has upheld that punishment and affirmed this type of institutionalized lunacy.

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Society

A Dish Best Served Cold: Dish Found To Have Blacklisted Employee Who Disclosed Fraud

200px-US-OSHA-Logo.svg200px-Dish_Network_logo_2012.svgIf you are debating between the Dish and cable, this might help you make up your mind. Dish has been hit with a $250,000 for retaliating against an employee who actually disclosed that a vendor was ripping off the company. OSHA found that Dish had blacklisted the whistleblower for revealing fraudulent invoices and testifying at a deposition. Notably, there is no indication that, even after OSHA found such outrageous conduct by company officials, anyone has been fired for the blacklisting of the employee. Dish was also found recently to be the worst and “meanest” company to work for. CEO Charlie Ergen appears not to be bother in the slightest by this record as a bad corporate actor. Ergen’s company seems to follow the Italian view that “revenge is a dish best served cold.”

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International, Society

Qatar Accused Of Killing Nearly 1000 Workers In Preparation For World Cup Games

600px-Doha_Qatar_skyline_at_night_Sept_2012It appears that the 2022 World Cup will come with its own stadium . . . and attached cemetery. Qatar was delighted to be selected for the games and has been pulling out all of the stops on construction. Part of that effort appears to be tossing aside workplace safety concerns. Over 900 workers have died in the various construction projects. To give a point of reference, only six workers died during the construction for the 2014 World Cup preparation in Brazil (and 25 died before the Sochi Olympic games this summer). Advocates fear that, unless something is done, thousands more will die before the first ball is kicked in the first game.

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Academia, Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Society

[THE UNCENSORED] RAPE JOKE: AN INVESTIGATIVE REPORT BY TANVI KUMAR

bildeWe recently discussed a controversy involving the censorship of an article on rape by a high school student in Wisconsin. The article, entitled “The Rape Joke: Surviving Rape In A Culture That Won’t Let You” was written by Fond du Lac High School senior Tanvi Kumar described a “rape culture” at the school. The school officials immediately moved to censor and block the publication. Fond du Lac High School Principal Jon Wiltzius objected to both the text and a picture in the article. In criticizing the actions of the school, I offered this blog as a forum for publishing the uncensored article. I was contacted by Kumar who said that she would like to avail herself of that opportunity. Photographer Gabi Padovano also agreed to have her remarkable photographs shown on the blog. I am also particularly proud to announce that Kumar will be attending George Washington University in the fall as one of our undergraduate. I wish I could take credit for that last fact but Kumar did that all on her own. So, without further ado, here is the uncensored “The Rape Joke.”

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Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Society

Tennessee Sheriff Sued Over Shackling Woman While She Delivered Baby

hammond_cs267209_240501739303289_2480949_nThere is a disturbing lawsuit filed this month in Tennessee against CCA Silverdale and Hamilton County Sheriff Jim Hammond (left). Charity Flerl was incarcerated when she went into labor last summer. The police proceeded to force her to give birth while shackled because, as explained by one individual in this article, because “They’re criminals, so you never know what they might do.” Now here is the kicker: Flerl was not in for some violent offense. She was in for failure to pay child support. It is not clear what “they might do” in such a case: failure to pay child support on the new baby?

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Academia, Bizarre, Criminal law, International, Society

The Drunken Selfie: Student Snaps Off Leg Of 19th Century Work In Vain Effort To Capture a Selfie Shot

220px-Barberini_Faun_front_Glyptothek_Munich_218_n2We previously discussed cases of tourists demanding art in efforts to get memorable photographs, including a recent incident involving an American tourist. We now have an even more egregious incident where a tourist actually climbed on the leg of an early 19th Century statue entitled “The Drunken Satyr” to take a selfie and caused the entire leg to snap off.

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International, Lawyering, Society, Torts

“Give Me All Your [Money]”: NFL Demands $15.1 Million From M.I.A. for Profane Displays At 2012 Super Bowl

170px-Mia20061200px-Super_Bowl_29_Vince_Lombardi_trophy_at_49ers_Family_Day_2009You may recall that we discussed the scene in the 2012 Super Bowl when pop star Mathangi “Maya” Arulpragasam (AKA M.I.A.) flipped the bird and sang “I don’t give a shit” while performing the song “Give Me All Your Luvin'” with Madonna. Personally, I did not like it, though I am often in the minority in objecting to inappropriate conduct at such events by players or performers. I thought it was immature and vulgar and inappropriate for the millions of kids watching the show. It was a lapse that occurred in a flash and was probably not noticed by many viewers. My kids however say it as did I. It was a stupid and thoughtless addition by M.I.A. to the show. It now appears that the National Football League (NFL) felt the same way and has not forgotten the violation. They are demanding compensation from M.I.A. and estimate the cost at $15.1 million in restitution.

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Academia, Society

Northwestern Student Sues Over Failure To Fire Professor Accused Of Sexual Assault

220px-Northwestern_University_Seal.svgLudlowThere is an interesting controversy at Northwestern concerning an allegation of sexual assault brought against philosophy Prof. Peter Ludlow. While the school investigated the allegation and disciplined Ludlow, it did not find sufficient evidence to terminate him. That decision is the basis of a Title IX lawsuit which prohibits sex discrimination by higher education institutions receiving federal funding. The case will raise the question of how far a court will go in countering the conclusions of a university investigation. In this case, the university responded but the student disagrees with its conclusions. The question is whether such a disagreement amounts to a form of discrimination.

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Academia, Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Lawyering, Politics

Ohio Student Expelled, Arrested, Jailed For 13 Days . . . After A Small Pocketknife Is Found In His Locked Car Trunk By School Officials

jordan-wiser-e1394634913232Jordan Wiser, a student at Ashtabula County Technical School in Jefferson, Ohio is rightfully confused after being being arrested for bringing a weapon into school. The “weapon” was a pocket knife that he had in his EMT medical vest . . . that was locked into the truck of his car. That’s right, in the latest example of the insane application of zero tolerance rules, the school officials called police after searching the trunk of a locked car to find a pocket knife used by a senior in his work as a EMT. He was then fed into a legal system that refused to show discretion in his prosecution. Notably, prosecutor Harold Specht ran for office based on a pledge that he would maintain a “hardline, zero tolerance policy” as a prosecutor. It was the perfect storm for Wiser: zero tolerance administrators handing a student over to a zero tolerance prosecutor. But it gets worse . . .

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