Shifting the Burden: Man Who Was Found Bouncing Naked and Masturbating on Trampoline Given No Jail Time

For our criminal defense attorneys, most of us would like to secure a deal like the one given to James Burden, 55, in Falkirk, England. Burden was found bouncing naked on a woman’s trampoline while masturbating. He then got down and walked naked toward the terrified woman. Giving him only probation, the Court warned Burden that the “[b]reach the probation in any way and you may be removed from the community.” It appears that bouncing naked on trampolines while masturbating is not enough to remove you from the community.

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Misery Loves Company: Rangel Accuses Other Members of Same Conduct Alleged in Case

Rep. Charles B. Rangel (D-N.Y.) is going for the nuclear option on his defense: publicly accusing his colleagues of the very same conduct that is the basis for his own ethics charges. He is basically grabbing on to other members like Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and saying “If I go over, you are going with me.”

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Mississippi Courts Confronted with Array of High-Profile Alienation of Affection Lawsuits

We have previously followed alienation of affection lawsuit — difficult tort actions that are not recognized in most states. Mississippi appears to be cornering the market on such lawsuits this month with lawsuits involving two political different prominent individuals, including Democratic Party chairman Jamie Franks. The state Supreme Court has also released an interesting opinion on whether a law firm can be a defendant in an alienation lawsuit.
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Rape Charges Dropped After IPhone Allegedly Yields “Deleted” Messages Showing Consensual Relations

While England has backed away from extending anonymity to rape defendants (as with rape victims), Australia has a new false rape case involving two anonymous parties. Notably, however, the woman is not being charged with a false report despite the allegation that she may have tried to destroy evidence that the sex was consensual. The evidence was reportedly found among an IPhone’s deleted messages.
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Utah Supreme Court Overturns Jeffs Conviction

The Utah Supreme Court has unanimously overturned the conviction of polygamist leader Warren Jeffs. The Court ruled that the trial court erred in its instructions to the jury and specifically the instruction regarding lack of consent. Jeffs was sentenced to two consecutive terms of five years to life (a rather bizarre range for a determinate sentence).

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D.C. Judge Hits NLJ With Prior Restraint Order

There is a major first amendment case brewing in Washington, D.C. The National Law Journal was hit with a temporary restraining order from D.C. Superior Court Judge Judith Bartnoff preventing it from publishing facts that its journalists found in publicly available documents. The court blocked the NLJ from revealing the name of a government agency investigating POM Wonderful, a pomegranate juice maker. After signing what appears to be an unconstitutional order, Bartnoff is quoted as saying “If I am throwing 80 years of First Amendment jurisprudence on its head, so be it.”
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Tennessee Lt. Governor Questions Whether Muslims Are Protected Under Religious Clauses

Tennessee Lt. Gov. (and Republican gubernatorial candidate) Ron Ramsey has added an alarming new position to the race. He has stated that he is not convinced the Constitution protects Muslims under the guarantee of freedom of religion.

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