We have been following cases where public employees have been disciplined or fired for activities in their private lives from teachers to coaches to lunch ladies (and here and here) to prison guards to city officials to police officers. There have also been such cases involving private employers as well as international cases (here). Now, Portland police Capt. Mark Kruger has been disciplined for his actions celebrating the exploits of German soldiers — actions that have labeled him a “Nazi sympathizer.”
Continue reading “Oregon Police Officer Disciplined as “Nazi Sympathizer””
There is a fascinating case in Canada on the legal status of babies carried by surrogates. We have seen various rulings in surrogate cases, including surrogates awarded custody and surrogates fighting for such rights. The couple who (upon learning that the baby carried by their surrogate had Down’s Syndrome) wanted to abort the baby. However, the surrogate refused and wanted to complete the pregnancy.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee has pulled an ad showing real West Virginia guys complaining about West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin (D). The problem is that the real guys were not only actors but actors from Philadelphia. The ad makers told the talent agency that “We are going for a ‘Hicky’ Blue Collar look.”
Continue reading “National Republican Senatorial Committee Uses Philadelphia Actors to Portray “Hicky” West Virginia Voters”
This is pretty cool. Scientists are about to release mosquitoes infected with a bacteria that cut cut the incidence of dengue fever in half.
Continue reading “Scientists To Release Altered Mosquitoes To Fight Dengue Fever”
Philadelphia police officers Sean Alivera, 31, and Christopher Luciano, 23, have been charged with an impressive list of crimes, including criminal conspiracy, robbery, kidnapping, unlawful restraint, false imprisonment, theft, and other related charges. These alleged crimes culminated in what police say was Alivera and Luciano robbing an undercover police officer. In the meantime, 129 police officers in Puerto Rico have been arrested in a widespread federal corruption investigation.
Continue reading “Philadelphia Police Officers Arrested After Allegedly Robbing Fellow Officer”
We have previously discussed how the Obama Administration played down the environmental damage caused by the BP oil spill, including public statements by people like Carol Browner that the oil (which was later found) had miraculously disappeared. Now, documents have been disclosed suggesting that the Obama Administration blocked efforts by federal scientists to tell the public of how bad the oil spill was. Once again, there is relatively little attention to this story. The Bush Administration was accused of the same type of manipulation of scientific reports and was generally (and rightfully) savaged in the press.
Continue reading “Obama Administration Accused of Blocking Report on Potential Seriousness of BP Spill”
In Pittsburgh, Allegheny County Judge Joseph Williams has caused a controversy by rejecting a plea bargain on the ground that it is the type of deal that “only goes to white boys.” The plea agreement involved three months probation for a man accused of fighting with police during a traffic stop.
Continue reading “Pittsburgh Judge Rejects Plea Agreement As Something That Prosecutor Only Gives “To White Boys””
San Diego police officer Robert Acosta and his wife Monique were allegedly not happy with the foreclosure on their million-dollar home. According to witnesses, they trashed the home, tore up the garden, and stole items before leaving the property. They now have been arrested and face a claim for over $200,000 in damages.
Continue reading “San Diego Police Officer Accused of Trashing Million Dollar Home After Foreclosure”
Mississippi Chancery Judge Talmadge Littlejohn means it when he asks everyone to stand and say the pledge of allegiance. When attorney Danny Lampley of Oxford stood but did not recite, Littlejohn threw him in jail.
Littlejohn was just honored by the Mississippi bar for 50 years in public service.
Continue reading “Mississippi Lawyer Jailed By Court For Not Reciting Pledge of Allegiance”
As has been the practice on this blog, I wanted to disclose my representation of the Brown family, who are the subjects of the new series “Sister Wives” on TLC. As in the past, any comments on the case by me will be limited. However, various people have suggested the reported criminal investigation as a subject for this blog and I wanted to explain why I have not posted anything on the controversy.
Continue reading “Representation in “Sister Wives” Case”
Andre Shipley and his wife, Korisha, were already mourning the loss of their son Jesse when they were given an added injury by the New York city medical examiner when they learned that their son’s brain was on public display in a jar. The case is the latest controversy over the “right of sepulcher.”
Continue reading “Right of Sepulcher: Medical Examiner Sued After Former High School Friends Observed Deceased Boy’s Brain In a Jar During Morgue Tour”
There is a raging controversy in Israel where feminists and doctors have accused health officials of using a controversial birth control drug Depo Provera on female Ethiopian immigrants. The activists charge that the policy is based on racism and doubts over the “Jewishness” of the Ethiopians.
Continue reading “Report: Ethiopian Jews Allegedly Being Given Controversial Birth Control Drug”
We have seen a steady stream of criminal cases involving Arab princes and princesses accused of beating or killing their servants (here and here). Now, one prince, Saud Bin Abdulaziz Bin Nasir al Saud, 34 (grandson of Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah) is accused of strangling his male servant Bandar Abdulaziz (left) after sexually assaulting him in their luxury London hotel suite.
Continue reading “Saudi Prince on Trial For Sexually Assaulting and Murdering Servant”
This girl gained international infamy by throwing puppies into a fast-moving river while being videotaped. They then put the videotape on YouTube. Now, the Bosnian police have decided that she will face no punishment of any kind due to her age.
Continue reading “Bosnian Police Announce That They Will Not Press Charges Against Girl Who Threw Puppies Into River”
It is perhaps an indication of our contemporary politics that 37 years ago, on November 17, 1973, Richard Nixon was declaring “I am not a crook.” Now, Delaware Senate candidate Christine O’Donnell is about to run an ad declaring “I am not a witch.” Our political system has become a parody of itself.
Continue reading ““I Am Not A Witch”: O’Donnell Releases Unique Campaign Ad”