Kimberly Dawn Bynum, 31, has found not just love but a criminal defense according to her lawyers. Bynum was facing charges of having a sexual relations with a former student from November 2011. The student was 17 at the time. However, her counsel recently told the court that she had married the student and was now living outside the country. The charges were promptly dropped.
Remember the case of the Iowa Supreme Court upholding the firing of a dental assistant because she was too attractive for her boss to resist? The Iowa Supreme Court ruled in December that a dentist did not commit gender discrimination in firing an attractive female employee, Melissa Nelson, at the request of a jealous wife. After a national outcry, the Court surprised many by suddenly vacating its earlier decision and taking back the case. Many hoped the court would discard its prior opinion. Think again. The Court has issued a new opinion with the same conclusion and ramping up its prior holding.
India continues to experience an epidemic of rape — and a continued alleged passivity of the police in dealing with rapes. The latest case occurred in Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav’s home district Etawah where a 20-year-od college student was allegedly gang raped and then lit on fire by her rapists. The men came from a wealthy area of the district and the police refused to register the charges according to her family.
MSNBC has been criticized for becoming as an extension of the Obama White House in the way that Fox News was criticized as being an extension of the Bush White House. Recently, however, many have been alarmed by the degree of blind loyalty shown the president with hosts siding with the White House against press rights and attacking figures like Snowden. This open letter to Snowden by Melissa Harris-Perry however surprises as the host assures him that the Obama Administration will guarantee his rights if only he will return. This follows such scenes as a MSNBC commentator defending the Administration’s attack on press freedom but calling Holder the “Moses of Our Time.”
Below is today’s column on the Zimmerman trial, which is a close follow-up to the web column from the night of the acquittal. As expected, it appears that we have lost a few regulars upset with my opinion of the case. I am always sorry to lose people on our blog. However, this has never been an echo-chamber blog that maintains a party line or ideological view. While we remain fervently pro-free speech and civil liberties at this blog, we often disagree about the outcome of trials or the merits of cases or policies. We try to maintain a site where civil but passionate disagreements and debate can occur. As an academic and a legal commentator and columnist, I have always tried to be fair and call these cases as I see them regardless of how unpopular those views may be. At the same time, I have enjoyed reading the opposing views of others on this blog who often make fast and lethal work of my opinions. I realize that the killing of Trayvon Martin is loaded with social and racial meaning. Yet, this site is dedicated to tolerance and diversity of views in discussing the legal and policy issues of our times. I hope that those who stated that they would leave the site will return and rejoin our discussion. This is a blog that values differing opinions and free thought. This is a chorus not a solo performance and it is the variety of voices and views that makes this blog so unique.
Here is today’s print column:
Continue reading “Law and Legend: How The Zimmerman Case Was Lost By The Prosecution”
By Mike Appleton, Guest Blogger
“So let us be blunt about it: we must use the doctrine of religious liberty to gain independence for Christian schools until we train up a generation of people who know that there is no religious neutrality, no neutral law, no neutral education, and no neutral civil government. Then they will get busy in constructing a Bible-based social, political and religious order which finally denies the religious liberty of the enemies of God.”
-Gary North, “The Intellectual Schizophrenia of the New Christian Right,” (Christianity and Civilization: The Failure of the American Baptist Culture, Number 1, Spring, 1982)
In Loving v. Virginia, 388 U.S 1 (1967), the Supreme Court held that Virginia’s prohibition of interracial marriage violated the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. “The freedom to marry,” wrote Chief Justice Warren, “has long been recognized as one of the vital personal rights essential to the orderly pursuit of happiness by free men.” 366 U.S. at 12. Many people were hoping that the Court would formally accord that status to same-sex marriage last month. But it did not happen. Edith Windsor will receive hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax refunds from the federal government, but the Court did not find it necessary to address the issue of same-sex marriage as a constitutional right, and elected not to do so. United States v. Windsor, No. 12-307 (June 26, 2013).
While that central constitutional issue remains unresolved, opponents of same-sex marriage are on the move. The Freedom Federation, a coalition of civil and religious right-wing organizations ranging from Americans for Prosperity to Wallbuilders, has issued a pre-emptive strike in the form of a signed letter declaring that “the Supreme Court has no authority to redefine marriage… .” The letter, which can be found on the Freedom Federation website, asserts that should the Court grant legal recognition to same-sex marriage, it “will be acting beyond its proper constitutional role,” and concludes with the vaguely ominous warning that “this is the line we must draw and one we cannot and will not cross.” Continue reading “Same-sex Marriage and the New Dominionist Manifesto”
Submitted by Elaine Magliaro, Guest Blogger
Last week, Charles Koch—chairman and CEO of Koch Industries based in Wichita, Kansas—launched a new media campaign “to laud economic freedom and warn the public about government overreach.” This media campaign, which will run in Wichita for four weeks, will cost the Charles Koch Foundation approximately $200,000. Charles Koch, whose estimated net worth is reported to be more than $30 billion, said that if his media effort is successful, it may be expanded to other cities.
Here is the video produced by Koch’s foundation that has been airing in Wichita:
Economic Freedom in 60 Seconds
Respectfully submitted by Lawrence E. Rafferty (rafflaw)-Guest Blogger
It has been discussed for years how expensive the privatization of military support programs can be. It is also not news that the privatization by the military has dramatically increased since 2001. What you might consider news is just how much one large military contractor received on its decade long contract and how much more they are demanding in a Federal Claims Court from the Army just to close out the contract! Continue reading “Stop Funding KBR’s Excesses”
Below is a slightly expanded version of today’s column in USA Today on the Zimmerman verdict. As I wrote before the case was sent to the jury, I saw no alternative to acquittal even on manslaughter and expected the jury to render a full acquittal. I respect the conflicting views of many on this blog on the case and how it was charged and handled. We will now have to wait to see if the Justice Department will re-try Zimmerman as a civil rights matter. I have serious reservations about such an effort, but that can be for a later discussion. For now, a few observations on the verdict can serve to as a foundation for our own discussion.
Continue reading “SEPARATING LAW AND LEGEND IN THE ZIMMERMAN VERDICT”
Submitted by Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
Would a future administration entertain the idea of making a fundamental break from some of the misdeeds of administrations past? That it would be substantial, or not, remains to be seen. One such topic for discussion can be the issue of Bradley Manning.
As most of the readers here are aware, Bradley Manning is a soldier who is imprisoned for his alleged leaking of vast numbers of diplomatic cables concerning the United States diplomatic service’s sensitive correspondence along with equally vast numbers of logs relating to the war efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan. He has plead guilty to ten of these charges and is awaiting a verdict on several others having severe penalties such as Aiding the Enemy. Those documents found way to the website WikiLeaks and then to the public in various avenues, causing much embarrassment and alarm on behalf of the US Government and military.
A full spectrum of thought encompasses the reaction of this, with very vocal groups labeling him from a hero to a whistleblower to a traitor, often using the same information as supporting evidence. But with regard to a Greater Good, should Bradley Manning receive a pardon?
-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger
Our thoughts, but they’re working on that. The right to privacy, or from Justice Brandeis’s overly broad understanding: “the right to be left alone,” is fundamental to a civilized society. We each choose the amount of information about ourselves we want to disseminate to other members of our society. Each of us has different levels of comfort about when and which information is disseminated and to whom. Some information that we would share with our best friends, we would not want divulged to a complete stranger. In most situations, the information most of us would share with a complete stranger would max out with our first name. Yet, without our knowledge or consent, because we live in a technological society, our personal information is being vacuumed up by strangers who exercise the power of the state.
-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger
The impala jumps into the SUV through an open window. The door is then opened and the impala exits.
by Gene Howington, Guest Blogger
I wasn’t going to do a column this weekend for a variety of reasons. However, I saw this video this morning and wanted to share it. As a kid, I spent one summer immersed in playing with a yo-yo. The physics of the thing was a very satisfying distraction. However, my brief fling is nothing compared to the lifelong passion for the toy found by the Japanese performance artist known as Black. This TED talk begins with him explaining how he came to acquire his skills and an interesting story of perseverance. It is followed by a demonstration that is just pure fun to watch. Without further comment, I present Black and his moment of Zen . . .
~submitted by Gene Howington, Guest Blogger
Submitted By: Mike Spindell, Guest Blogger
As I write this I’ve just read a story in the New York Times about the U.S. threatening countries in South America to not grant asylum to Edward Snowden. In typical “Times” fashion these countries are characterized as “leftist” mavericks against the assumed U.S. hegemony in that vast continent. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/12/world/americas/us-is-pressing-latin-americans-to-reject-snowden.html?pagewanted=2&_r=0&hp . The attitude of the story is that these countries by resisting our government’s pressure are acting in a petulant manner. This is typical of the mindset of many supposed journalists today who are unable to put in context the history behind the actions of certain players on the world stage. What it highlights for me is that there seems to be unprecedented pressure by our government to capture and punish Mr. Snowden for his “crimes”. With my admittedly jaundiced view of much of the history of my country in my lifetime, the attempt to take Snowden down for his “crimes” makes sense if you put into the context of American history with respect to foreign relations and how foreign relations has impacted the growing unconstitutional treatment of United States citizens at home and abroad. Since this is a huge topic deserving of many tomes and therefore doesn’t lend itself to the guest blog format, my piece will present my own impressionistic view of the interaction between foreign policy and the growth of the American Police State since World War II, which can be expanded, abetted or contradicted by you the reader.
For all practical purposes the Second World War began with the almost total loss of the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor. While it was known that President Franklin Delano Roosevelt had actively been trying to aid Great Britain in its struggle against the Axis Powers in Europe, the American Congress was skeptical of foreign involvement and there was a large “isolationist” strain in the American people. The devastation of Pearl Harbor shocked the nation into realizing that it had to focus upon the rest of the world and awakened within the country a strong thirst for revenge. I say this not disparagingly since were I alive at the time, I would have been one with this national outrage and blood-lust. The problem with arousing such a strong emotional call for action in any society is that in the frenzy to act, societal norms are often breached in the name of expediency. In the case of our country World War II planted the seeds of the Corporate/Military/Intelligence Complex (CMIC) that is reaching full flower today. What follows is my personal overview of this development since that embattled time and why this government has such a great need to crush Edward Snowden for his deeds. Continue reading “Who Do You Trust, US or Your Lying Eyes?”
Since the first charging of the case involving George Zimmerman, I have respectfully disagreed with many friends (including on this blog) about the case which I believed was clearly over-charged as second degree murder. The trial has only magnified those concerns and I believe that the jury will acquit Zimmerman and would be correct in doing so. The reason is simple: reasonable doubt. Putting aside the understandable anger and the heavy overlay of social and racial issues in the case, an objective review in my opinion leaves reasonable doubt on every element of the charge, even the lesser charge of manslaughter which the court has allowed the jury to consider. Continue reading “Reasonable Doubt: Why Zimmerman Should Be Acquitted”