There is an important ruling in England where an Afghan man is believed to have become the first atheist to be granted asylum based on his rejection of religion. The 23-year-old had good reason to fear that if he returned to Afghanistan, he would be persecuted. While the United States has poured hundreds of billions of dollars into the country, the government continues to reject the most basic civil liberties as well as the separation of mosque and state. The punishment is particularly likely for Muslims who reject their faith. They are considered blasphemers and apostates. What is interesting is that we continue to support Afghanistan when the abuses of that government are now viewed as a basis for asylum in England. We now have the ignobility of one ally (England) trying to protect innocent people from another ally (Afghanistan). More importantly, we still have people putting themselves at risk for a government that denies the very rights that define us as Americans in favor of a rigid religious orthodoxy.
We previously discussed the horrific case out of New Mexico involving David Eckert. You may recall that Eckert filed a federal case against the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office, police officers with the City of Deming and medical professionals at the Gila Regional Medical Center. Eckert was stopped on a minor traffic violation and accused by an officer of holding his buttocks. What followed was a nightmare where officers and doctors subjected Eckert to outrageous abuse as they searched for drugs or contraband in his body. Before the police released him after finding no drugs, he would endure five manual penetrations; three forced defecations before witnesses; and an intrusive surgery under sedation. All of this was done without consent and without any basis other than an officer saying he looked like he was clenching his buttocks. Now he has reached a settlement with the city of Demin and the Hidalgo County for $1.6 million. He is still proceeding against the doctors and hospital.
Continue reading “New Mexico Town and County Settle Notorious Cavity Search Case For $1.8 Million”
We have seen prior cases of inopportune or dangerous pictures that result in tragedy on vacations or special occasions (here and here). We now have the tragic case of Anna Bachman, 25, a Chicago graduate student studying for a master’s degree in urban planning and policy at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Bachman was killed when she lost her balance and fell from the Sunset Cliffs in San Diego.
There was an interesting exchange on Tuesday in the arguments in Marvin Brandt Revocable Trust v. United States. The lawyer for a land-owning trust, Steven J. Lechner of Lakewood, Colorado, had started out reading from notes when he was interrupted by Justice Antonin Scalia who asked “Counsel, you are not reading this, are you?”
Continue reading “Oyez! Oyez!: Justice Scalia Confronts Lawyer Over Reading From Notes”
This is going to take a lot of time on the couch for certain thieves in London. The men attempted to steal of 4th Century BC Greek urn holding the ashes of the founder of psychoanalysis and his wife at a crematorium in London. In the process, they severely damaged a 2,400-year-old urn.
Continue reading “The Id and the Ashes: Thieves Attempt To Steal The Ashes Of Sigmund Freud”
Virginia state Sen. Thomas Garrett Jr. has introduced an anti-sodomy law to replace a prior law that was struck down in 2013 that targets sex with individuals below the age of 18. This new and improved morality law could criminalize an array of different forms of consensual relations, including oral sex. I recently wrote a column on the welcomed demise of morality codes in the United States.
Continue reading “Virginia Legislators Introduce New Anti-Sodomy Law”
U.S. District Judge Terence Kern is under fire today from religious conservatives as an “activist judge” after he joined a growing list of federal judges striking down bans on same-sex marriage. Kern found that the state law violated the U.S. Constitution’s equal protection clause. What is most interesting is that, like the earlier Utah ruling, Kern relies heavily on last summers rulings in Windsor and Hollingsworth. While Windsor had positive language for same-sex couples, the Court actually avoided the merits of the constitutional question on equal protection in favor of leaving the matter to the states in striking down the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Yet, courts are reading the ruling as a green light for broader constitutional rulings on the federal level.
Continue reading “Federal Judge Strikes Down Oklahoma Ban On Same-Sex Marriage”
In Florida, two elderly men got into an argument that led to an arrest over two items at an express lane. When John Malherbe, 67, drove his motorized shopping cart into the express 20 or under lane at Walmart (yes, it appears that the “express” lane has 20 items at Walmart), he found himself being monitored by William Golladay, 77, behind him in the line. Golladay counted each of Malherbe and discovered, heavens to Betsy, that Malherbe had two whole items over the limit. That’s right, 22 items in the 20 item line. Golladay then lost it and things went from bad to worst. He is now facing an interesting felony charge.
Well, now I know why my kids have such trouble getting a computer at school in Fairfax. Craig Soderberg, 60, was arrested with more than 1,200 laptop computers at his home. He was charged with embezzlement.
The situation is getting worse for homosexuals in Nigeria by the day. The country has been taken over by a violent homophobia that led a few years ago to the enactment of a draconian law criminalizing homosexuality. Police recently have been arresting homosexuals and torturing them to name others for prosecution under the Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act, which allows for ten years in jail. The law is not just about marriage. Called the “Jail the Gays” bill, it criminalizes homosexuality and threatens AIDS programs in the country. The question is that, as the recipient of a great deal of U.S. aid, why is it appropriate for us to indirectly support a nation that is abusing, and in some cases killing, gays and lesbians?
There is an ongoing controversy in Los Angeles where pharmacist Kim Nguyen, 27, has charged that she was picked up for no reason by police, handcuffed, sexually assaulted, and then thrown out of a moving police car. A video shows the scene as Nguyen is left bleeding on the road.
New York State Supreme Court judge Mary Brigantti-Hughes has been reprimanded in a case that many might view as a case of light discipline. Brigantti-Hughes has been found to have used staff as personal servants and using court resources for personal purposes. She has also been cited for pressuring staff members to participate in prayer sessions. For those acts, she has been given a reprimand.
Woodridge, Illinois, outside of Chicago, has a curious way of meting out justice. You may have a presumption of innocence under the Constitution, but if police arrest you, you still have to pay for the pleasure of the arrest. Starting this year, anyone arrested in a Chicago suburb must pay a $30 booking fee . . . even if they are found innocent.
If a criminal defense lawyer is supposed to take heat of a client, Cody Mann (left), 28, has found the right attorney in Jenny Chaplinski. Chaplinski is under fire for comments that she made regarding her client’s torture, killing, and cooking of his pet cat. Chaplinski dismissed the outrage over the crime as involving just “meat.” Cat meat to be sure but “it’s meat.”
Money laundering has long been a crime and the plot to many a good mob movie. However, Nabil M. Lawandy and Andrei Smuk have published results of research in the ACS journal Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research that suggests that money laundering might just be the ticket for countries looking to save money. A lot of money.