Free Speech, Politics

We Have Ways Of Knowing If You Vote: Political Letter Directed At Non-Voters Leads To Accusations Of Intimidation

By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor

voteA New York based political committee has been accused of sending what many see as an intimidating letter to party voters who have chosen not to vote in previous elections. Whether this is considered peer pressure, inducing worry, or encouraging others to vote has not diminished the controversy and shows an insight into some of the tactics political parties use to generate more votes to their cause. Letters such as this raise questions as to the ethics of shaming voters to vote. The right not to vote is considered a lawful option of the electorate.

Continue reading “We Have Ways Of Knowing If You Vote: Political Letter Directed At Non-Voters Leads To Accusations Of Intimidation” →

Academia, Bizarre, Courts, Criminal law, Media, Society

The Season of Our Discontent II: “Football Strong(Men)” Vs. Women
Bizarre, Society

Spooky Torts: The 2014 List Of Halloween Litigation Horrors

Here is our annual list of Halloween torts and crimes. This holiday remains a favorite for personal injury lawyers around the world and this year’s additions show why. Of course, with Sandy, our area is already looking pretty spooky with downed trees and tattered exteriors.

So, with no further ado, here is this year’s updated list of actual cases related to Halloween.

Continue reading “Spooky Torts: The 2014 List Of Halloween Litigation Horrors” →

Bizarre

Just When You Thought It Was Safe To Enter The Pumpkin Patch . . .

Screen Shot 2014-10-31 at 9.24.41 AMThe video below shows a particularly well-planned prank for Halloween, though one has to wonder about the danger of injuries to people with weak hearts (discussed in another posting today) or resulting injuries from fright. Nevertheless, everyone shown on the film seemed to enjoy the prank, which had some funny moments.

Continue reading “Just When You Thought It Was Safe To Enter The Pumpkin Patch . . .” →

Academia, Criminal law

Family Sues Teacher Who Performed Oral Sex On 17-Year-Old Student

1414679674234_wps_10_Blow_Job_TeacherThere is an interesting lawsuit filed in Washington D.C. that could test the limits of civil liability for statutory rape. The case was filed by the family of a 17-year-old seeking $11 million after a teacher allegedly engaged in oral sex with 17-year-old male student. The case however falls along the line of consent laws. The teacher, 22 year old Symone Greene (left), was only around 5 years older than the victim and the age of consent in D.C. is 16 years old. Both the criminal and civil cases could raise some difficult legal issues because she had a “significant relationship” with the student.

Continue reading “Family Sues Teacher Who Performed Oral Sex On 17-Year-Old Student” →

Criminal law

Police Officer Leaves Party After Drinking, Runs Over Man In The Road, Leaves The Scene . . . But Will Not Be Criminally Charged

05242011_chad_finchIn New York, former state trooper Brian Beardsley is now clear of any criminal charges following the announcement yesterday of Hamilton County District Attorney James Curry that the grand jury had dismissed an earlier felony charge. Beardsley was charged after he ran over Chad Finch, 20, (left) who had fallen in the road. Beardsley, who was returning from a party with this girlfriend, pulled over briefly and she called police. However, they then left the scene and returned home.

Continue reading “Police Officer Leaves Party After Drinking, Runs Over Man In The Road, Leaves The Scene . . . But Will Not Be Criminally Charged” →

Animals, Bizarre, Criminal law

Man’s Best Friend? Alabama Man Is Arrested After Police Use His Own Dog To Find Him

WireAP_b7dcb5176b9f47d6a41b8a5a80cbbf68_16x9_992Bo is the type of dog everyone loves. Happy, friendly . . . well perhaps a bit too friendly. His owner, Edwin Henderson, ran from police serving a drug search warrant and hid the in the surrounding terrain. When an officer saw his dog Bo he said “go get him” and let him loose. Bo did precisely that, running to some high grass with his tail wagging excitedly in finding Henderson. The police were no less excited. They arrested Henderson with failure to obey police, manufacturing a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. He is accused of being a meth dealer.

It is not clear what will happen to the dog, who is likely to be viewed as something of a rat. There must be a witness protection program for canines to assume a new name and identity, perhaps as a ranch dog in Montana?

Source: ABC

Academia, Constitutional Law, Free Speech, Society

Teenagers In Massachusetts Pose With Airsoft Guns in Pre-Dance Photo . . . School Officials Respond With Indefinite Suspensions Of Both Teens

10409231_707381359356504_6530552318647936744_n-640x853There is another controversy raising the increasing assertion of authority of school officials over pictures and statements made by students outside of school. In Massachusetts, Jamie Pereira was suspended from school after a photo of her and her boyfriend, Tito Velez, both 16, holding Airsoft rifles was posted on Facebook. A caption beneath the photograph read: “Homecoming 2014.” The picture looks like a new American Gothic for some and a threat to others. However, the controversy again raises the limits and discretion of school officials in monitoring speech outside of school for students and teachers alike. There was good reason to be concerned but the punishment was due to the disruption caused rather than an actual threat from the picture.

Continue reading “Teenagers In Massachusetts Pose With Airsoft Guns in Pre-Dance Photo . . . School Officials Respond With Indefinite Suspensions Of Both Teens” →

Criminal law, Society

Utah Police Shoot Man Dressed in Anime Costume and Carrying Sword

210ba04e-d6d3-49fe-8e61-41cc9735b6b8-620x372There is a highly disturbing controversy outside of Salt Lake City where Darrien Hunt, 22, was shot six times by police officers who claimed that he charged them with a sword. Hunt was dressed in a Japanese anime costume with a 2 ½ foot steel sword that the family insists was nothing more than a prop. An autopsy released this week shows that several of the shots entered in the back of his body. The case has raised racial concerns since Hunt was black and the officers were white.

Continue reading “Utah Police Shoot Man Dressed in Anime Costume and Carrying Sword” →

Academia, Environment, Science

Meet Rana Kauffeldi: The New Frog Species Named After The Man Who First Found It 80 Years Ago

81581_relCarl Kauffeld image 450 pxFor many years until his death, Carl Kauffeld, the director of the Staten Island Zoo and at the American Museum of Natural History, insisted that he had discovered a new species of frog leaving in New York and New Jersey, but faced widespread dismissals from his colleagues. Kauffeld died in 1974, but this week he received not just vindication but a new species named after him: Rana kauffeldi. The frog was found living in wetlands from Connecticut to North Carolina near I-95.

Continue reading “Meet Rana Kauffeldi: The New Frog Species Named After The Man Who First Found It 80 Years Ago” →

Free Speech, International, Politics, Religion

Saudi Man Says That He Sat With Muhammad . . . Saudi Police Arrest Him As Clerics Demand His Punishment Under Sharia Law

200px-Coat_of_arms_of_Saudi_Arabia.svgThe Saudi morality police are back in the news with another attack on free speech and the free exercise of religion. The Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (Haia) police arrested a man who believed that he could see Muhammad and believed that he was walking among us. It is an expression of faith but in Saudi Arabia you must believe what the government believes or face arrest or even death.

Continue reading “Saudi Man Says That He Sat With Muhammad . . . Saudi Police Arrest Him As Clerics Demand His Punishment Under Sharia Law” →

Criminal law, International, Religion, Society

Indian Woman Secretly Videotapes Husband Engaged In Homosexual Relations And Then Turns Him Into The Police For Possible Life Sentence

India flagflag-rainbow1There is a bizarre and disturbing case out of India where an Indian man has been criminally charged after his wife filmed homosexual liaisons in their home and took the evidence to the police. It is a crime punishable by life in prison to engage in homosexual relations in India. The case is an insight not only into the abusive Indian criminal code but the traditions of such arranged marriages. What is interesting is that the wife, a dentist, has also charged her in-laws with a crime after alleging that they had to know that their son was gay before the marriage.

Continue reading “Indian Woman Secretly Videotapes Husband Engaged In Homosexual Relations And Then Turns Him Into The Police For Possible Life Sentence” →

Academia, Environment, Religion, Science

New Research Purports To Blow Away The Great Wall of The Midwest Theory

300px-F5_tornado_Elie_Manitoba_2007tao-greyThere was much coverage recently about the claim of physicist Rongjia Tao (left) of Temple University that tornados could be curtailed dramatically in the Midwest by the construction of 1,000-foot walls across the middle of the country. Meteorologist Brice Coffer of North Carolina State University says that his research blows away that theory.

Continue reading “New Research Purports To Blow Away The Great Wall of The Midwest Theory” →

Criminal law, Free Speech, International

Englishman Charged With Bestiality Over Video That Proved To Be A Man In A Tiger Costume

220px-Garry_Moore_Tony_the_Tiger_1955Bus driver Andrew Holland said last year has been a nightmare. He has spent six months on bail, hired an attorney, and stood accused of a heinous crime. People ridiculed him and shunned him for allegedly possessing a film that showed a woman having sex with a tiger. The police charged him with possession of an extreme pornographic image. No one however appeared to actually watch or analyze the film. The film turned out to be a man in a tiger costume who kept saying ‘That’s grrrrrreat’ – the catchphrase of Frosted Flakes cereal mascot Tony the Tiger. All charges have now been dropped, but one has to wonder how the police or prosecutor could have missed this small detail. Putting aside the fact that a man in a tiger outfit hardly looks like the real thing, a talking tiger might have been a clue.

Continue reading “Englishman Charged With Bestiality Over Video That Proved To Be A Man In A Tiger Costume” →