Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Lawyering, Politics

Seattle Bar: Lawyers Can Ethically Smoke Pot

MarijuanaThere is an interesting decision out of the King County Bar Association after the bar grappled with questions from lawyers as to whether they can smoke marijuana after the state legalized pot despite that the fact that it is still deemed a crime under federal law. The bar associate said that the ethical lawyer could smoke pot so long as it did not interfere with their ability to represent clients.  While some would question that standard, the same personal responsibility on consumption applies to alcohol use by lawyers.

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Bizarre, Criminal law, Society

Portland Dumps Roughly 8 Million Gallons Of Water After Man Urinates In Open Reservoir

220px-Water_droplet_blue_bg05Some of you may recall that in 2011 we discussed the efficiency and logic of Portland officials dumping 8 million gallons of drinking water after a man urinated in the city’s open reservoir. Well, it has now happened again. After a 21-year-old man admitted urinating in a Mt. Tabor reservoir last Wednesday, the city cut off its key water supply and dumped 7.8 million gallons of drinking water. The question, again, is the logic of such a move. Even if one does not accept that, as industry experts often spouted, “the solution to pollution is dilution,” this is such a tiny amount of impurities as to be untraceable. This would be no more than 12 ounces within 8 million gallons of water.

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Criminal law, Media, Society, Torts

Two Girls Charged After Suicide Of 12-Year-Old Girl Who Was Bullied On The Internet

article-2420424-1BCF1102000005DC-539_634x502There are two arrests in Florida after the suicide of 12-year-old Rebecca Sedwick (left) who was bullied on the Internet, including at least one mocking posting by one of the girls after the suicide. The two girls (aged 14 and 12) have been charged with felonies.

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Bizarre, Congress

Just When You Thought Congress Could Not Get More Bizarre . . .

628x471For many of us, Congress has become a circus like environment with two parties exercising a duopoly of power despite record levels of contempt from voters for their conduct and policies. For sane people, Congress simply could not get more bizarre. Think again. At the height of the vote to end the government shutdown, Dianne Reidy, an official reporter with the Office of the Clerk, took the mike and began to condemn Congress (starting out well) and then rave against Freemasons (ending not so well). The most troubling thing about the scene? For many voters, she still seemed the most sane and honest person in the chamber.

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Constitutional Law, Criminal law, International, Politics, Religion, Society

French Court Upholds Convictions Of Scientology For “Organized Fraud”

488px-scientology_symbolsvgThe Cour de Cassation in Paris, France’s highest appeals court, dealt another legal blow to the Church of Scientology in upholding the convictions for “organized fraud” by church officials. The court rejected claims of religious freedom by Scientologist lawyers and found that the Church was engaged in fraudulent practices that led to the convictions and $812,000 in fines. Specifically mentioned in the allegations were the Church’s Celebrity Center and a Scientology bookshop in Paris. The court also upheld the convictions of Scientology’s leader in Paris, Alain Rosenburg, and the Celebrity Centre’s former president Sabine Jacquart for taking financial advantage of elderly members of the Church. They were sentenced to two-year suspended prison sentences as well as being handed €30,000 fines for organized fraud. Continue reading “French Court Upholds Convictions Of Scientology For “Organized Fraud”” →

Academia, Bizarre, Society

Illinois Man Threatens To Burn Historic Papers Of Harvard’s First Black Graduate Unless He Is Given More Money

220px-Richard_T_GreenerContractor Rufus McDonald, 52, is upset. He found historic papers of Harvard’s first black graduate, Richard T. Greener, in the attic of an abandoned home. He immediately offered to sell the papers to Harvard but was disappointed by the offer made by the school. Faced with what he describes as an insulting offer for such invaluable papers, McDonald announced that he would burn them unless people gave him more money.

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Bizarre, Criminal law

South Carolina Police Officer Charged After Handcuffing and Allegedly Assaulting Woman In Bar After Being Rebuffed

23698228_BG1The Richland County Sheriff’s Deputy Paul Allen Derrick has been fired after a video was put on YouTube showing him handcuffing a woman after an argument with her in a Columbia, South Carolina restaurant. The police report says that Derrick approached the woman but that 23-year-old Brittany Ball showed no interest in him. They then got into an argument. Things then went from bad to worst as the video below vividly demonstrates.

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Bizarre, Politics

Kentucky Kickback? Mitch McConnell Accused of Cashing In On Deal With Democrats

220px-Mitch_McConnell_official_portrait_112th_Congress220px-OlmstedRendering08_2012While the House of Representatives have been locked in a wrestling match with the White House for weeks over the budget, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R., KY) has been quietly forging a deal that would re-open the federal government – largely on the terms of the Democratic members. This morning, however, various sites are reporting on an added item to the deal: a $3 billion earmark for Kentucky. They are calling it the ‘Kentucky Kickback” and objecting to how these deals reflect the resumption of “business as usual” in terms of spending.

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Academia, Society

No Confession, No Lunch: Idaho High School Reportedly Imposes Collective Punishment On Male Students

1377365540882_wnp250It appears that the school officials at Bonners Ferry High School have learned to appreciate the concept of collective population punishment. After a series of faux bomb threats scrawled in the boy’s bathroom, school officials have placed large areas under continual surveillance and reportedly withheld food from all boys to try to prompt them to turn in the culprits.

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Academia, Bizarre, Society

Massachusetts Teenager Disciplined For Serving As Designated Driver For Drunken Classmate

13583350-smallWe have often discussed the increasing use of zero tolerance policies that allow administrators and teachers to shed any obligation for judgment or discretion. This is no more obvious than the bizarre case of Erin Cox. Cox did what most people would consider the responsible thing when called by a friend who was concerned that she had too much to drink: she agreed to serve as her designated driver. That act resulted in her discipline by North Andover High School, which is defending its decision to punish her as a technical violation of its alcohol policy.

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Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Criminal law

Alabama Legislator Reintroduces Castration Bill

hurst_sAlabama Rep. Steve Hurst (R-Munford) is hellbent on castration it seems. Despite the fact that his colleagues blocked his bill to legalize castration of convicted child molesters if their victims were under the age of 12 (and make them pay for the procedure), Hurst has reintroduced the legislation.

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Animals, Environment, Society

Portsmouth Shelter Director Fired Over The Release of Hundreds Of Feral Cats Back Into The Wild

220px-Cat_eyes_2007-2There is a bizarre story out of Portsmouth that raises questions concerning the handling of feral cats. The Portsmouth Humane Society fired its executive director Jenn Austin over the no-kill shelter’s policy for feral cats. The shelter has been having staff members adopt feral cats, sterilize them, and then release them back into the woods. Over 300 cats are believed to have been released in violation of state law under what is called a “trap, neuter and release” program. The shelter was fined for the violations by state officials and promised to discontinue the practice.

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Constitutional Law, Courts, Free Speech, International, Media, Politics, Religion, Society

Thou Shalt Not Speak His Name: Malaysian Court Reinstates Law Banning Use Of Allah By Non-Muslims

150px-Dcp7323-Edirne-Eski_Camii_AllahA Malaysian appeals court on Monday showed once again how a religious based legal system is fundamentally at odds with not just freedom of speech but freedom of religion. The court upheld an abusive government ban on non-Muslims using the word “Allah.” Other faiths are now barred from using the term after the court upheld a law previously struck down by a lower court.

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Congress, Constitutional Law, Criminal law, International, Politics, Society

Who’s Your Buddy? NSA Gathering Hundreds of Millions of Contact Lists and “Buddy Lists” From Americans

President_Barack_Obama200px-national_security_agencysvgThe Obama Administration — with the clear support of Democratic and Republic leadership — has continued to eviscerate privacy in the United States despite recent controversies over NSA spying on Americans. The most recent report details how the National Security Agency is collecting hundreds of millions of contact lists from personal e-mail and instant messaging accounts, including those of Americans. The reported collection program is a new operation that intercepts e-mail address books and “buddy lists” from instant messaging services. It is the latest effort by the Obama Administration to turn this into a fishbowl society where citizens and their associations are entirely transparent to the government. Once again, the most amazing aspect of this story is the complete lack of response or outcry. President Obama has succeeded, it seems, in changing the expectations of privacy in our society — a change that is unlikely to be reversed to the great detriment of civil liberties in America. It is the latest example of why it is increasingly curious for Americans to refer to this country as “the land of the free” as we construct a massive internal security state and unchecked executive powers.

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Criminal law, International, Politics, Society

“Loud Mouth” The Pirate Arrested In Belgium In Fake Movie Deal Meeting

nicubunu_open_mouth225px-Somali_PiratesIt appears that the greatest danger to piracy is vanity. A notorious Somali pirate leader known as “Loud Mouth” has been captured by Belgian police in a creative sting operation. Mohammed Abdi Hassan was lured to the Brussels Airport in the belief that he was going to sign an agreement to make a movie on his life. He made an estimated fortune of hundreds of millions and recently announced that he was going to move from piracy to politics — a nature transition in any country. Somalia has long been criticized for protecting such pirates but it was vanity that led to his undergoing.

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