A McKinney, Texas police officer has been suspended pending review after the posting of a videotape where he draws his gun and manhandles a group of teenagers outside of a pool party. The officer has been identified as Cpl. Eric Casebolt and he is shown being verbally and physically abusive toward young people who are not clearly doing anything unlawful.
Atlanta lawyer and inventor Scott Horstemeyer has responded to a critical posting on one of his patent as “stupid patent of the month” by filing what is clearly the stupid lawsuit of the month. The defendant is the Electronic Frontier Foundation which only expressed its opinion on the patent but Horstemeyer appears to believe that the expression of such opinions can be defamation. Also named is Daniel Nazer, the EFF lawyer who wrote the post.
The Islamic State is offered the world another horrific view of its enforcement of Islamic or Sharia justice. The Islamic extremists tosses gay men from a building in front of a large crowd. The men were held by their ankles and then dropped from the roof. WARNING: the photos at this site are highly disturbing.
By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
Those having great concern of the rise of Turkish President Recep Erdogan as a threat to free speech and his pursuit of an increasingly autocratic government can breathe, at least in the short term, a collective sigh of relief. With ninety-nine percent of the polling counted, Erdogan’s AK Party lost its parliamentary majority, preventing it from successfully pursuing constitutional changes that could solidify his power and what likely would lead further erosion of the traditionally secular state. This is the most significant setback to the AKP in the thirteen years it has governed over Turkey.
The announcement of the loss of majority came as a surprise as many feared manipulation of the voting process and witnessed numerous attempts at voter suppression and the jailing of media officials and those critical of the president.
Continue reading “Erdogan’s Ruling AKP Loses Majority In Turkish Elections”
By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
We read with sadness of an aspiring young man who lost his life while he and his critically wounded field training officer attempted to spike strip a vehicle fleeing during a pursuit.
Army Veteran Taylor Thyfault died Memorial Day Weekend. He was twenty one years of age. His FTO Trooper Clinton Rushing received critical injuries.
Continue reading “21 Year Old Trooper Cadet Murdered During Vehicle Pursuit”
We have followed various cases of exorcisms that result in injury or death over the years. A video has gone viral of one such ritual that did not harm the “possessed” individual but again raises questions over the abusive nature of these rituals. “Father Valeriy” of Church of St Michael in the self-proclaimed state of Transnistria, in Eastern Europe is shown riding the man like a donkey as he protests. After the man collapses, the priest stands on top of him and raises his arms in victory. The Moldovan Orthodox Church has launched a probe. Assuming that this is not just some horrible joke, the video shows the potential for great abuse in such rituals.
We have previously discussed the increasing trend toward monitoring and disciplining private and public employees for comments on social media. These cases raise difficult questions of free speech in our society. The most recent such case involves Leslie Anderson, a law clerk for a New Jersey judge who resigned after being suspended after she made comments on Facebook criticizing a state trooper who was killed in a crash with a deer. While some praised 24-year-old Anthony Raspa (left) as a hero, Anderson also expressed sympathy for the dead animal, saying “I agree that it is sad and heart-wrenching for the family members left to suffer the consequences of the trooper’s recklessness—especially for the deer family who lost a mommy or daddy or baby deer.”
We have been discussing the expanding number of terms and phrases deemed racist or, in the new lexicon, a form of “microagression” against minority groups. An example this week is found in the decision of the Port Authority in Pittsburgh stripping buses of its new ad campaign after complaints that “Ziggin Zaggin” is racially offensive because it reminds riders of the n-word when read backwards.
We have followed the horrific environmental problems in China after decades of the communist putting industrial production above every health and environmental priority. That is beginning to change as cancer rates continue to soar and the country becomes increasingly unliveable in parts, including Beijing. When stories come out, the pollution and health dangers are often on a scale that is literally breathtaking. This week had another report from the environmental ministry itself — long viewed as hiding data and underplaying environmental damage. The report says that roughly two-thirds of China’s underground water, and a third of its surface water, were rated as unsuitable for direct human contact in 2014.
Continue reading “Report: Two-Thirds of China’s Underwater Resources Unfit For Human Use”
LawDragon has released the results of its increasingly popular survey of the top lawyers in America. I was fortunate to again make the list this year. This year is the 10th anniversary of the annual report which has become very popular in the profession. I have been honored to be on the list in prior years and it is always gladdening to see so many friends and GW graduates on the list.
Continue reading “Turley Selected Among The Top 500 Lawyers in Annual Ranking”
Harvard Law Professor Emeritus Alan Dershowitz is now the plaintiff in slip and fall against TD Garden for an injury that he suffered in an arena bathroom during a Celtics game. Dershowitz blames the lack of paper towels for the wet floor that caused him to slip and injure his right knee and leg.
Continue reading “Alan Dershowitz Sues TD Garden Over Slip And Fall In Bathroom”
With the exception of the controversies involving involving Christine O’Donnell and Sarah Palin, witchcraft has not been a persistent problem in this country’s elections. The same cannot be said for Tanzania. Indeed, the problem is so great that the government has released a warning to candidates in the October elections not to engage in witchcraft in an attempt to improve their odds. The warning is primarily meant to protect the country’s 30,000 albinos who are often murdered so that people can use their body parts in witchcraft.
Continue reading “Tanzanian Election Warning: No Witchcraft”
The English court system is considering a controversial new report by Dame Elish Angiolini that would establish a rule that women cannot be viewed as consenting to sex if they are found to be intoxicated. The report is pushing an amendment of the Sexual Offences Act to establish the rule.
A New York City police officer Ymmacula Pierre, 30, has been charged with possession of stolen property, identity theft and official misconduct after allegedly stealing the credit card information of a man found dead in an apartment in Union Square. She allegedly used the information to go to Zales and buy a diamond ring.
Continue reading “N.Y. Police Officer Allegedly Steals Dead Man’s Credit Card and Buys Diamond Ring”