Bizarre, Courts, Criminal law, Lawyering

New York Judge Arrested For DUI On Way To Court

astacio-via-ABC-13-Wham-screengrab-e1455564701829-247x162We have previously dealt with the issue of judges arrested for DUI and how to address such cases in their continuing on the court (here and here and here and here and here). Another such case has arisen with the arrest in New York of Judge Leticia Astacio. While it was a Saturday morning, police say that Astacio was on her way to work when she had an accident with another car on Interstate 490. She refused to take a Breathalyzer and was arrested for DUI. Astacio is a former assistant district attorney who prosecuted drunk driving cases.

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Academia, Bizarre, Free Speech, Media, Politics

Poland Moves To Criminalize Speech Suggesting Any Polish Responsibility For War Crimes In World War II

180px-Auschwitz_entrance.JPGKinder_KzPoland has added its name to the countries seeking to criminalize unpopular opinions or speech. In a law that attacks both free speech and historical scholarship, the Polish government is seeking to make it a crime to imply the country bears any responsibility for atrocities carried out on Polish soil by Nazi Germany. Violators who simply argue Polish complicity in war crimes could face five years in prison.

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Bizarre, Free Speech, International, Media, Politics, Society

England Moves To Bar Support For Israeli Boycott Movement

England flagWe recently discussed the highly disturbing cases of 12 protesters who called for the boycotting of Israeli products. France’s Supreme Court (the Court of Cassation) upheld the shocking prosecution of the twelve anti-Israel activists in a blow to free speech. Now, England is moving to bar local councils, public bodies and even university student unions from boycotting “unethical” companies.
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Columns, Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Media, Politics

Supreme Folly: The Senate Should Consider A Nomination By President Obama And President Obama Should Forego Any Use of a Recess Appointment

Below is my column today in USA Today on the prospect of a recess appointment fight in the filling of the vacancy left on the Court by the passing of Associate Justice Antonin Scalia. The White House could well use any refusal to consider a nominee as a license to use a recess appointment while the Senate could move to stay in session to preempt such a recess appointment. In my view, the Senate should consider any nominee submitted by the President and, for his part, the President should forego any recess appointment if the nomination is not successful. Here is the opinion:

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Animals, Environment

150,000 Penguins Perish After Massive Iceberg Collides With Feeding Grounds

Hope_Bay-2016-Trinity_Peninsula–Adélie_penguin_(Pygoscelis_adeliae)_04There is a truly shocking story out of Antartica after 150,000 Adelie penguins died after an iceberg the size of Rome converged with their traditional feeding grounds. The addition of the iceberg (B09B) required the penguins to make an 120km round trip to feed.

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Environment, Politics, Science

Report: Pollution Kills 5.5 Million People Worldwide Each Year

220px-AlfedPalmersmokestacksThere is a disturbing report from the Global Burden of Disease project that more than 5.5 million people worldwide are dying prematurely every year as a result of air pollution. It is likely to be no surprise that the greatest lethality is found in China and India. Ironically, those are the countries that have opposed efforts to curtail greenhouse gases and combat climate change.

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International, Politics

How Does An Irish Political Party Manifesto Differ From Those In The United States?

By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor

fine-gael-logoOne aspect of American politics I find particularly disappointing is the lack of substance inherent in political platforms of both the Republican and Democrat parties. Since most voters in the United States have only experienced the politics resident in our country, I thought in light of this year’s election it would be worthwhile to experience another point of view that is removed from our current political ideologies.

It seems unfortunate that most of what we see today are mere soundbites of half a dozen topics considered to be of utmost importance to each of the parties — seemingly only designed to inflame emotions and provide the voter with very little information which can be ambiguous at best.

I present to you a political platform from another nation, and  political perspective: the 2016 Fine Gael manifesto.
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Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Media, Politics, Society

SCALIA AND HIS LEGACY

scaliaThe Washington Post posted my column on Sunday discussing the passing of Associate Justice Antonin Scalia, a towering figure on the United States Supreme Court and an icon for conservative jurists. It is regrettable that people today often demonize those with whom they disagree. Scalia was personally a warm and engaging person. Indeed, liberal justices Ginsburg, Breyer, and Kagan appeared quite close to Scalia as not just a colleague but a friend. I expect that Scalia has left a lasting legacy that will withstand the test of time, as I discuss below. He was a man of principle. One could certainly disagree with those principles, as I sometimes did. However, he left 30 years of opinions that challenged and often changed doctrines in a wide array of areas. These opinions show a depth and scope that sets them apart in the annals of the Court. Liberals and conservatives alike should be able to recognize the impactful and brilliant life of Nino Scalia. Here is the column: Continue reading “SCALIA AND HIS LEGACY” →

Constitutional Law, Free Speech, Religion, Torts

WA Florist Who Refused To Provide Flowers For Gay Wedding Files Brief With WA Supreme Court

By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor

In April 2013 our host published an article featuring Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson had sued Barronelle Stutzman, the owner of Arlene’s Flowers and Gifts after she had refused to provide flowers for a gay wedding.

Washington’s consumer protection act bars discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation AG Ferguson sought a $2000 penalty for each violation and to end the business’ allegedly discriminatory practices. The case garnered considerable attention in both the state and nationally in which the religious rights of business owners do not necessarily comport in some cases with antidiscrimination statutes which require equal services be provided for all customers.

After the defendant received an unfavorable ruling at the Superior Court level, her case advanced through the appellate system and now is before the state Supreme Court.
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Academia, Criminal law

Assistant School Principal Accused of Sexual Exploitation Of A Minor

By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor

Nate Piturachsatit
Nate Piturachsatit

Law Enforcement Officers in Coulee Dam, Washington arrested thirty-seven year old Assistant-Principal Nate Piturachsatit on two counts of possession of child pornography, three counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, and one count of communicating with a minor for immoral purposes.

The case stems from an investigation by the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. Mr. Piturachsatit is accused of soliciting and sending sexually explicit pictures to of 14-year-old girl residing in Wisconsin. Court documents allege that Mr. Piturachsatit conveyed these images via Instagram using his cell phone. Fortunately, no other minors are presently suspected as being victims.
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Bizarre, Politics

DNC Rolls Back Rule To Allow Presidential Campaigns To Accept More Money From Federal Lobbyists and PACS

Wasserman Schultz225px-Hillary_Clinton_official_Secretary_of_State_portrait_cropThe Democratic National Committee has long been criticized as being overtly biased toward the Clinton campaign, particularly Democratic Chair Debbie Wasserman-Shultz. First there was the scheduling of debates when no one was watching and refusing more debates in what was universally viewed as a move to help Clinton. Then, when Clinton lost her lead in the polls, the DNC suddenly scheduled more debates at primetime hours. Now, with Sanders setting records for donations from ordinary voters, the media is reporting that the DNC rolled back restrictions introduced by presidential candidate Barack Obama in 2008 that banned donations from federal lobbyists and political action committees. While it is not clear when this was done, the relative secrecy about the change on such a major campaign issue is pretty shocking. The Washington Post broke the story today.  The issue of such contributions was only addressed in one substantive question by the moderators last night in the PBS debate.  Many were surprised that neither moderator asked Clinton whether she would release the transcripts of the speeches in light of growing demands to see what she told Wall Street and banking groups.

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Bizarre, Criminal law

Shkreli Takes Break From Criminal Prosecution, Congressional Investigations, and Civil Lawsuits To Offer To Buy Kanye West Album For $10 Million

Martin Shkreli may be the worst criminal defendant client since John Gotti, who loved to taunt and flaunt while facing criminal charges. After his cocky performance (just reciting the invocation of the right to remain silent) at the House committee this month, most criminal defense attorneys were cringing. Then came his not-so-silent tweets mocking the committee after his appearance. Now, after the IRS hit him with a massive tax bill for unpaid taxes, the former drug company head has offered $10 million to Kanye West for rights to his album The Life of Pablo. This follows his controversial $2 million deal for Wu-Tang Clan’s Once Upon a Time in Shaolin amidst condemnations of his bilking AIDS victims through over-pricing of life sustaining drugs. Not since Colin Ferguson has a defendant done more to get the court, potential jurors, or anyone on Earth to truly hate him.

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Academia, Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Free Speech, Media, Religion, Society

Texas Preacher Given Citation For “Offending People” For Speaking Off Campus at the University of Texas

Screen Shot 2016-02-11 at 6.25.33 PMThere is a new disturbing video that seems to reaffirm the growing intolerance for free speech on (or in this case near) our campuses. In the confrontation between a preacher named Joshua and University of Texas at Austin police, the preacher was told that, even though he was not on campus, he was still guilty of “offending someone” with this speech and would be given a citation.

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Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Free Speech, International, Media, Religion, Society

Pakistani Government Bans Valentine’s Day As “Insult” To Islam

220px-Nisar_Ali_Khan240px-Antique_Valentine_1909_01Pakistan is the latest Muslim country to ban a holiday as a threat to Islam. In this case, it is not Christmas but Valentine’s Day. The Interior Ministry has proclaimed that the harmless holiday is now deemed an “insult” to Islam and banned by order of Interior Minister Nisar Ali Khan (right). Khan is one of the leading and most senior members of Pakistan Muslim League.

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Constitutional Law, Free Speech, Media, Society

Detroit Police Sergeant Under Investigation After Criticism of Beyonce’s Superbowl Performance

BPowerLogoThere is a free speech controversy brewing out of Detroit where an unnamed police sergeant is under investigation for expressing his opinion about the controversial Beyonce performance in the halftime show of the Superbowl. Beyonce dressed herself and her dancers like Black Panthers and formed a X in an apparent reference to Malcolm X. Police around the country objected to the glorification of an organization that has advocated violence against police. The sergeant compared the performance to one featuring the KKK on Facebook and is now facing possible discipline.

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