Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Politics, Society, Torts

Same-Sex Couple Denied Protection Of Spousal Immunity In Kentucky Murder Trial

article-2383436-1B1DFDAD000005DC-662_306x423In torts, I often discuss the collateral consequences for same-sex couples not having recognized marriages from intentional infliction of emotional distress claims (which are limited to close family members in seeking third-party claims) to spousal immunity claims. Kentucky last week demonstrated the problem for such couples with the opinion below. Bobbie Jo Clary (left) and her domestic partner, Geneva Case, claimed spousal immunity on the basis for a civil union in Vermont in 2004. However, Judge Susan Schultz Gibson ruled that they could not claim spousal immunity in a criminal case because they do not have a marriage recognized under Kentucky law. It is an example of the type of “full faith and credit” cases that could lead to a showdown before the Supreme Court. Normally, states are required to give full faith and credit to the contracts from other states, including out-of-town marriages.

Continue reading “Same-Sex Couple Denied Protection Of Spousal Immunity In Kentucky Murder Trial” →

Congress, Media, Military, Politics, Society

Documents Details Near Nuclear Explosion Over North Carolina Due To Air Force Accident

Slim-pickens_riding-the-bomb_enh-loresInvestigative journalist Eric Schlosser has uncovered near disaster of epic proportions after a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request confirmed that a 4 megaton nuclear bomb almost exploded over North Carolina in 1961 — an explosion that would have been 260 times more powerful than Hiroshima and would have devastated the United States. What is amazing is that, once again, the government used classification laws to hide that fact that it almost destroyed the large part of the country and was saved by a simple low-voltage switch that fortunately was able to deactivate the armed bomb. The details were hidden for over fifty years by the government.

Continue reading “Documents Details Near Nuclear Explosion Over North Carolina Due To Air Force Accident” →

Bizarre, Criminal law, Politics, Society

Michigan DHS Takes Baby From Home Due To Parents Use Of Legal Medical Marijuana

marijuana_leafThere is a case in Michigan that captures what many parents complain is a child protective system that strips away basic due process rights and at times defies both logic and controlling authority. There may be no better example than the treatment of Gordon “Steve” and Maria Green after their 6-month-old baby girl, Bree, was taken away from them. The reason is the determination that the parents have marijuana in the house. It was not hard for the case worker to find: the Greens have a right to medical marijuana protected under state law. That did not matter to the Department of Human Services however and their baby was taken away from their Lancing home.

Continue reading “Michigan DHS Takes Baby From Home Due To Parents Use Of Legal Medical Marijuana” →

Academia, Bizarre, Criminal law

University Of Florida Professor Reportedly Admits To Filming Female Students To Confirm Whether They Are Wearing Undergarments

professorsamuelsonUniversity of Florida Professor Don Samuelson, 65, has been arrested for a rather bizarre obsession. Using a camera pen, Samuelson was accused of filming under the clothing of female students in his class. What is even more bizarre is his defense: he insists that he was doing research to determine whether any students were not “wearing undergarments.” What Samuelson insisted was harmless research is considered by the police to be voyeurism.

Continue reading “University Of Florida Professor Reportedly Admits To Filming Female Students To Confirm Whether They Are Wearing Undergarments” →

Bizarre, Criminal law, Society

Jacksonville Man Sues After Arrest For “Walking On Wrong Side Of The Street”

JSO_Badgeku-bigpicThe Jacksonville Sheriff’s office clearly has a lot of crime to address when its officers are arresting people for “walking on the wrong side of the road.”  That is what Bobby Wingate says happened to him. He says that the officer punched him and threatened to taser him for the heinous offense.

Continue reading “Jacksonville Man Sues After Arrest For “Walking On Wrong Side Of The Street”” →

Constitutional Law, Free Speech, International, Society

Je Suis Une Bombe: Family Criminally Convicted For Sending 3-Year-Old Son “Jihad” To School With T-Shirt Reading “I Am A Bomb”

1379691716_Iamabomb.jihad.BFMTV

We have previously discussed the wholesale attack on free speech principles in France from limits on religious garments to stripping the Internet of anonymity to attempting to criminalize historical accounts. The most recent case involves a woman who named her boy “Jihad” and then dressed her three-year-old in a sweater with the words “Je suis une bombe – I am a bomb” on the front, along with his name and ‘Born on September 11th’ on the back. She was given a suspended jail sentence for “glorifying a crime” — it is a crime that is only punishable if you disregard the most fundamental principles of free speech. It turns out that the boy was born on September 11, 2009.

Continue reading “Je Suis Une Bombe: Family Criminally Convicted For Sending 3-Year-Old Son “Jihad” To School With T-Shirt Reading “I Am A Bomb”” →

Academia, Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Free Speech, Media, Politics, Society

Kansas Professor Under Fire For Anti-NRA Tweet

BdnQu.St.81We have another example of a teacher being disciplined for an act of free speech in his private time. I have previously written about the increasing scrutiny given public school teachers in their use of social media sites. University of Kansas Associate Professor of Journalism David Guth has been placed on administrative leave after posting an anti-NRA tweet following the recent Navy Yard shootings that killed 12 people. Guth tweeted” “blood is on the hands of the #NRA. Next time, let it be YOUR sons and daughters. Shame on you. May God damn you.”

Continue reading “Kansas Professor Under Fire For Anti-NRA Tweet” →

Academia, International

The Slurpee For The Renaissance Man: At The Sandwich Family, Dessert Preceded Lunch

image_1354-chocolateAccording to Dr Kate Loveman of the University of Leicester, the famous Earl of Sandwich was not the only member of his family with a keen culinary eye. Researchers have uncovered what is arguably the first English recipe in a collection of this grandfather, the earlier Earl of Sandwich. It turns out dessert came first in the family with recipes for chilled chocolate treats in 1668.

Continue reading “The Slurpee For The Renaissance Man: At The Sandwich Family, Dessert Preceded Lunch” →

Criminal law, Justice, Politics, Society, Uncategorized

Lockup Quotas and “Low-Crime Taxes” Helping to Make Money for the Private Prison Industry

PrisonCellSubmitted by Elaine Magliaro, Guest Blogger

In the Public Interest (ITPI), which describes itself as “a comprehensive resource center on privatization and responsible contracting,” released a report this month titled CRIMINAL: How Lockup Quotas and “Low-Crime Taxes” Guarantee Profits for Private Prison Corporations. The report provides information about “the prevalence of prison occupancy guarantee provisions in prison privatization contracts.” ITPI said that it had “identified 77 county and state-level private facilities nationwide and collected and analyzed 62 contracts from these facilities.” Of the contracts that ITPI reviewed, 65% contained occupancy requirements that ranged between 80% and 100%–with 90% being the most frequent quota guarantee.

ITPI found that the states of Arizona, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Virginia were locked into contracts with the highest occupancy guarantee requirements. All four states had quotas requiring an occupancy rate between 95% and 100%.

Continue reading “Lockup Quotas and “Low-Crime Taxes” Helping to Make Money for the Private Prison Industry” →

Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Justice, Lawyering, Military

The Military’s War on Women Continues

United_States_Department_of_Defense_Seal_svg

Respectfully submitted by Lawrence E. Rafferty (rafflaw)-Guest Blogger

I saw this story during this past week and I have to admit, that it made my stomach turn.  Despite the increased interest some in Congress and in the Pentagon have shown in how accusations of rape by female members of the military are treated, women can still jeopardize their careers and their mental well-being if they bring charges against their alleged attackers.

‘”For roughly 30 hours over several days, defense lawyers for three former United States Naval Academy football players grilled a female midshipman about her sexual habits. In a public hearing, they asked the woman, who has accused the three athletes of raping her, whether she wore a bra, how wide she opened her mouth during oral sex and whether she had apologized to another midshipman with whom she had intercourse “for being a ho.”’ New York Times Continue reading “The Military’s War on Women Continues” →

Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Free Speech, Society, Uncategorized

Kentucky Psychology Board vs. the First Amendment. Oh My!

Submitted by Charlton Stanley (aka Otteray Scribe), Guest Blogger

John Rosemond syndicated columnist psychologist
John Rosemond

Kentucky Psychology Board SealSixty-five year old North Carolina family therapist John Rosemond was having a day much like any other day last May, until he opened the certified letter from the Attorney General for the Commonwealth of Kentucky. In a Cease and Desist letter, the Kentucky Attorney General advised him the Kentucky psychology licensing board had determined that by publishing an advice column in the Louisville Herald-Leader, he was practicing psychology without a license. The letter warned him that if he did not cease and desist, he faces criminal penalties which includes both fines and jail time. The Attorney General thoughtfully enclosed an affidavit which John was to sign and return, promising that he would forever give up his life of crime.

You read that right. John Rosemond, syndicated columnist, is being threatened by the Commonwealth of Kentucky that he might face stiff fines and jail unless he stopped writing his advice column in Kentucky newspapers. Naturally, John did what any self-respecting reporter or columnist would do. He got a lawyer. He contacted Jeff Rowes of the Institute for Justice who agreed to take the case, and last July 16, Mr. Rowes and local counsel, Richard Brueggeman, Esq., filed a 45-page lawsuit in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky.

Continue reading “Kentucky Psychology Board vs. the First Amendment. Oh My!” →

Bizarre, Criminal law, Society

Taking It To The Limit: Woman Cuts 64-Year Old Housemate For Playing Eagles Music

By Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger

baderI’ve seen some tough music reviews but 54-year-old  Witchy Woman Vernett Bader takes the cake. Incensed by her housemate’s incessant playing of top Eagles tunes like Hotel California, Lyin’ Eyes, and Life in the Fast Lane, Bader grabbed a 14-inch “steely knife” and cut her 64-year-old victim several times on the arm and hand. This  One of These Nights left Bader charged as a Desperado and facing a sentence for aggravated criminal domestic violence and her victim with a Hole in His World. The night’s Peaceful Easy Feeling was Already Gone when  both parties became so intoxicated that  they could not agree on the music. Proclaiming “I Don’t Want To Hear Anymore,” Bader downed her last Tequila Sunrise and went for the blade after her victim told her to “shut up” and thus starting her on her not so Long Road Out Of Eden.

Continue reading “Taking It To The Limit: Woman Cuts 64-Year Old Housemate For Playing Eagles Music” →

Constitutional Law, Supreme Court, Testimony

Fingerprint Authentication And The Fifth Amendment

-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger

iphone_fingerprintThe iPhone 5s allows the user to unlock their device using biometric data, namely their fingerprint. It is more convenient that typing in a simple four digit passcode. Fingerprint readers vary in vulnerability. Some only check ridges and can be fooled by a good photocopy. The iPhone reader uses radio frequency scanning to detect sub-epidermal layers of your skin requiring the owner to be alive and the finger attached. The new fingerprint reader may protect your iPhone from thieves, but what about protecting your personal data from government snooping?

Continue reading “Fingerprint Authentication And The Fifth Amendment” →