This disturbing video has gone viral of a mother on a bus this week who threw her baby in order to fight another women on the bus. The question is what the criminal charge should be in such a case. There is no record of any charge at all but the video feeds offer little information of the aftermath.
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This week produced a reminder of the lack of separation of temple and state in Israel where the government routinely enforces Jewish religious laws. Tourists at the Western Wall watched as women were arrested in Jerusalem’s Old City for merely wearing prayer shawls in defiance of Orthodox beliefs. Orthodox laws govern the activities at the wall and Orthodox Jews believe that only men can wear shawls and pray at the wall.
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Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson is suing Barronelle Stutzman, owner of Arlene’s Flowers and Gifts, after she refused to provide flowers for a gay wedding. I have been writing about the tension between free exercise rights and anti-discrimination laws — a subject that I discussed at the conference this week at the Utah Valley University’s Center for Constitutional Studies. This is now an issue that is arising with greater regularity, including conflicts over wedding cakes and other items.
Continue reading “Washington Attorney General Sues Florist Who Refused To Provide Flowers For Gay Wedding”
We have been following the continuing abuse of citizens who are detained or arrested for filming police in public. (For prior columns, click here and here). Despite consistent rulings upholding the right of citizens to film police in public, these abuses continue. Usually police claim that it is a crime to film them. San Diego police have been videotaped with a new and even more disturbing angle on these cases. Police officers were videotaped telling Adam Pringle that his cellphone was a weapon and then arresting him.
Republican state Rep. Michele Presnell of Burnsville, N.C., shows that the effort to reform the image of the GOP is still a work in progress. When asked recently about whether she would be comfortable with a Muslim prayer opening a legislative meeting, Presnell responded: “No, I do not condone terrorism.” Presnell was one of the legislators who recently sponsored a bill to allow North Carolina to establish an official religion. My guess is that it would not be Islam.
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It appears that Rep. Don Young has a soul mate in Kansas. Saline County Commissioner Jim Gile, 68, complained in a meeting that the county needed to hire an architect to design local improvements rather than “n*****-rigging it.” It is not clear which is worse the statement or his attempt at an apology.
As Vladimir Putin secures a new blasphemy law against critics or mockers of religion, Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill is showing that, while insulting his faith is a crime, insulting women is divine. Kirill condemned “feminism” as “very dangerous” for families and Russia, encouraging women to focus on housekeeping and children.
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The Russian State Duma has reportedly moved forward with new legislation pushed by the Putin government to criminalize blasphemy — a measure designed to please the Russian Orthodox church. As we have discussed previously, Putin has reestablished the link with the Church to crack down on critics and nonbelievers. The new law purportedly protects religious feelings of believers.
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The Justice Department has long been accused of whitewashing misconduct of its own prosecutors and rarely acting on acts of prosecutorial misconduct, including common complaints of federal prosecutors withholding evidence and making misrepresentations to counsel or the courts. Even in high profile cases of misconduct, the Justice Department often drags out investigations only to later quietly end them without sanctions. One of the few sanctions meted out by the Justice Department came with attorneys responsible for the disastrous prosecution of former Senator Ted Stevens where their misconduct not only led to reversal of the case but the waste of millions of dollars. Now, however, an Administrative Law judge has overturned the suspensions of two federal prosecutors.
The Justice Department imposed the suspension after finding that the two prosecutors had engaged in reckless professional misconduct. Notably, this finding excused the prosecutors of intentional misconduct, a finding ridiculed by many in a case of clear prosecutorial abuse. The penalty came years after the misconduct and only involved a suspension without pay. Joseph Bottini was suspended for just 40 days and James Goeke was suspended for just 15 days. Even that is now dismissed under the ruling of Judge Benjamin Gutman. The reasoning gives an insight into why it is so difficult to get the Justice Department to mete out even mild punishment for prosecutorial misconduct.
In torts class, we often discuss Hegelian and other theories on understanding the value of objects. It is often the case that our clients come to us with the loss of property that has a higher value to them than is recognized by the law. This creates a difficult disconnect in seeking to make injured parties whole. The greatest example of this disconnect is the loss of pets. Pets are treated as a form of chattel and any significant damages are usually found not in the value of the pet but in the emotional damages for the human. This issue resulted in a significant decision in Texas Supreme Court last week when it found that damages for the loss of Avery could not include his sentimental value to the owner. In other words, Avery was a toaster. More friendly, more loyal, but a toaster when it comes to torts.
Continue reading “Texas Supreme Court Rejects Loss of Companion Damages For Pets”
This week, the State Bar Court of California took the rare step of not only finding Del Norte County Dist. Atty. Jon Michael Alexander guilty of misconduct but recommending disbarment to the California Supreme Court. Many of us have long complained that prosecutors are rarely punished for abuses like withholding evidence, even when such misconduct leads to costly reversals. This case sends a stronger message that we will not continue to tolerate prosecutors who routinely withhold evidence and violate ethical rules. I have personally seen all of these forms of misconduct by prosecutors in prior cases without any sanction or discipline resulting for those responsible. The Justice Department has a particular poor record in disciplining its attorneys even in the face of outrageous acts of misconduct from supporting torture to withholding evidence.
Continue reading “California Bar Recommends Disbarment of Del Norte District Attorney”
India is dealing with yet another shocking rape case coupled with police abuse. What is most striking about this case is that the police officers abusing the victim were women. A mother brought her 10-year-old daughter to two female officers after she was allegedly raped. The officers responded by putting the girl into jail.
Continue reading “Mother Takes Ten-Year-Old Rape Victim To Indian Police Who Promptly Arrest Victim”
Many of us who opposed the continuing Iraqi and Afghanistan wars, it has been difficult to imagine how politicians and others in Washington could continue to sacrifice lives and hundreds of billions in these conflicts. Now there is a report giving an insight into just how profitable these wars are for key companies. For just Iraq alone, some $138 billion went to private companies with an army of lobbyists eager to keep the pipeline of cash flowing. What is rarely striking however is that some ten contractors received 52 percent of the funds and one company received $39.5 billion. That company is Houston-based KBR, Inc., which is an extension of its parent, Halliburton Co. in 2007. That of course is Dick Cheney’s firm.
Continue reading “Report: Halliburton Subsidiary Received $39.5 Billion For Iraqi War Alone”
There is a bizarre case out of Gonzales, Louisiana where an off-duty police officer named Chase Delatte was cavorting in a strip club called Crazy Horse Cabaret when he went into the bathroom to check if his firearm in his ankle holster was loaded. It discharged and put a slug through the bathroom door. Accordingly to reports, Delatte then went outside, paid his bill, and simply drove home.
Continue reading “Louisiana Cop Discharges Weapon in Bathroom Of Strip Club And Then Leaves Scene”
The ATF continues to struggle in the aftermath of its moronic Fast and Furious operation where they allowed powerful weapons to walk into the hands of gangs. One of those guns led to the killing of a U.S. Border Patrol agent. However, in true lunacy, a more recent operation would seem to demand similar ridicule. In Milwaukee, ATF agents ran an operation using Chauncey Wright, a brain-damaged 28-year-old man with a low IQ in the 50s to set up gun and drug deals. They then shutdown the operation and, you guessed it, they arrested Wright.