Bizarre, Criminal law, Free Speech, Politics, Society

Stolen Valor: Illinois Police Chief Demoted Over False Claim Of Being A Seal

robert kerkorian250px-US_Navy_SEALs_insigniaWe have previously discussed stolen valor cases where police arrest people for pretending to be former decorated veterans and heroes. But what if the man is not only the police but the police chief? When Robert Kerkorian joined the Waukegan, Ill., police department 26 years ago, he said that he was a Navy Seal (a common claim for stolen valor cases). That may have remained his secret until he was promoted to chief and a little checking led to a big embarrassment. Kerkorian was in the Navy for only six months and never even made it to Seal training.

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Animals, Criminal law, Society

Passing the Buck: Indiana Policer Officer Gives Gun To Bystander To Shoot Deer

220px-Whitetail_doe220px-GLOCK_19An Indiana police officer is under investigation in a novel controversy. Witnesses say that he gave his gun to a stranger to shoot a young deer on the side of the road because he did not have the heart to do it. It appears that the bystander may have been Associate Justice Elena Kagan or at least she claims prior experience for such a job.

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Bizarre, Criminal law, Society

Officer Seizes iPad and Threatens Arrest After Being Filmed in Public

This is yet another video of a citizen confronting a police officer about his taking her iPad because she was using it to film him in the course of a stop or arrest. The officer tells her that she can pick it up tomorrow and that she is risking an arrest by continuing to confront him.

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Bizarre, Environment, Religion

Christian Pastors: Colorado Fires Were God’s Retribution For Gay Rights and Abortion

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We have previously seen how Christian leaders like Pat Robertson routinely attributed natural disasters like Katrina to God’s revenge for everything from gay rights to abortion to secularism. Not to be outdone, according to various sites, Colorado pastors Kevin Swanson and Dave Buehner have informed the faithful that the recent deadly forest fires were punishment for gay rights and abortion even though they struck the conservative areas of Colorado Springs rather than places like Boulder. Presumably, God also wanted 19 fire fighters killed in Arizona under the same theory.
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Animals, Criminal law, Environment, Society

Cop Versus Squirrel: Students Object To Police Officer Pepper Spraying Squirrel

We have discussed cases of the use of tasers or pepper spray as first responses by police when alternatives seem obvious. This video shows a confrontation between an officer and a squirrel where the officer pepper sprays the squirrel over the objections of onlookers.

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Lawyering, Society

Covington & Burling Disqualified Over Major Conflict Of Interest in Environmental Case

We previously discussed the finding of a Minnesota judge that the leading firm of Covington & Burling committed a serious conflict of interest in representation in a large environmental case against 3M corporation. Now, a state appellate court has upheld the disqualification — an embarrassing blow for the law firm, which continues to generate bad publicity in the litigation for its current and future clients.

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Criminal law, International, Religion, Society

Dancing In The Rain and Dying In Pakistan: Two Teenage Girls And Their Mother Killed For Dancing During Sudden Downpour

pakistansisters_400_18t1mfo-18t1mfrNoor Basra, 16, and Noor Sheza, 15, and their mother were delighted to have rain in their area of Northern Pakistan recently. Two teenage sisters began to dance in the rain and a video was shown of them dancing in traditional dress with younger children. Local men saw the video and proceeded to kill the girls and their mother in an “honor killing.” Police have detained their step brother as part of the murder plot.

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

California Man Chalks Up A Victory For Free Speech In Bank Of America Case

220px-Chalkimages-1We previously discussed the case of Jeff Olson, Chalk Menace. Olson, 40, was charged with an excessive 13 counts for writing a protest on the sidewalk in front of a Bank of America location. A former aide to the U.S. Senator from Washington, Olson used water-soluble statements like “Stop big banks,” and “Stop Bank Blight.com” outside Bank of America branches last year to protest the company’s practices. The bank’s security contractor (a former police officer) demanded charges from the police and prosecutor who hit the protester with charges that would have allowed 13 years in prison. After Olson was dragged into court, the judge barred him from even mentioned terms like “free speech” or “the first amendment.” I am happy to report that a California jury made quick work of this excessive prosecution and acquitted Olson. It appears that, even with the gag of the court, the jurors could recognize free speech when they saw it.

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Animals, Criminal law

Police Respond To Call Of A Dog Off Leash . . . And Proceed To Shoot The Animal In Front Of Family Home

09d12f7841ecaa8d24955a68ee7b1777Village of South Holland police Officer Chad Barden and other unknown officers are being sued in federal court over another dog shooting.  In this case, the police arrived at the scene of a report of a dog off its leash in a suburb of Chicago. While they had dog catching poles, one of the officers shot Randy Green’s Cane Corso dog, Grady, who was sitting on the front porch of his family home when they arrived.  Green says that a videotape shows that the dog did not threaten or lunge at the officers before they and Barden shot him three times.
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Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Supreme Court

Ohio Police Threaten Unconstitutional Searches To Stop Citizens Who React “Suspiciously”

croppedThe police in Mayfield Heights, Ohio are clearly put out that the Supreme Court has ruled out checkpoints for drugs. They have come up with what they believe is the next best thing: fake drug checkpoints. They are effectively threatening an unconstitutional stop to see which drivers flee . . . and then searching their vehicles. It turns out that Police Chief Fred W. Bittner has support from the local prosecutors in threatening police abuse as a basis to stop cars.

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Criminal law, Lawyering, Politics, Society

The Everyone-Did-It Defense: Oklahoma Supreme Court Refuses To Disbar Former Prosecutor Who Withheld Evidence in Capital Cases and Used False Subpoenas

yvonnekauger-busThe Oklahoma Supreme Court has rejected a request from the state bar association to disbar Robert Bradley Miller, former assistant district attorney for Oklahoma County, and given him just a suspension from practicing law for 180 days and court costs for egregious misconduct in two capital cases twenty years ago. We have often discussed the lack of deterrence for prosecutors who are rarely disciplined for conduct leading to reversals or false convictions. In this case, the bar wanted Miller out of its ranks for hiding a key deal with a witness and using falsified subpoenas to coerce cooperation from other witnesses. The novel defense — accepted by the state Supreme Court — was that lots of prosecutors acted abusively back then. The shocking opinion was written by Oklahoma Justice Yvonne Kauger (left).

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Animals, Bizarre, Criminal law, Society

Florida Man Charged With Strangling And Cooking Family Puppy

130630001605-thomas-elliot-huggins-story-topIn Florida, Thomas Elliot Huggins, 25, has been charged with strangling a family puppy, chopping it into pieces and cooking its ribs on the stove. In this case, however, he could face significant jail time unlike many other cases where such cruelty is treated as a misdemeanor. However, there is a statutory interpretative issue that could present a novel defense challenge.

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Bizarre, Criminal law, Society

Deranged Man Shot After Kidnapping 2-Year-Old Girl At Oklahoma Walmart

mwc-walmart-kidnapping-tape22633102_BG1 The video below is an unnerving video that shows a man, Sammie Wallace, walking through a store clearly looking for a child and then snatching a two-year-old girl. The clearly deranged man then held a knife to the little girl and told the terrified mother to call police. In the end, the officer walked up and shot Wallace point blank in the head when he moved the knife to the girl’s throat and started a countdown.

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International, Society, Torts

Fourteen Onlookers Mowed Down By “Supercar” In Poland’s Gran Turismo

The most amazing thing about this video is that no one died.  A report of nineteen injured but no deaths.  This video however does raise a question of negligence by the organizers and not just the driver of a Koenigsegg CCX supercar at a car rally in Poland. [Warning: graphic images]

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