Legal Commentary

Polish Singer Prosecuted for Insulting Religion in Poland

Posted on May 09, 2010
Dorota Rabczewska, 26, known as ?Doda?, is the latest victim of a shift in the West against free speech and associational right. Doda is being prosecuted for blasphemy for comments that she made without regard to religion. Doda stated in a television interview that ?it is hard to believe in something written by people who [...

Final Date: Italian Government Holds Divorce Fair for Separating Couples

Posted on May 09, 2010
Getting divorced? Italians have one last date for couples: the divorce fair. The fair allows separating couples to explore life coaching, beauty tips and avoiding stalker former spouses. This is one fair that you might want to pass on with the kids. For the story, click here.

Separate and Not Equal: Michigan School Limits Field Trip To Black Students

Posted on May 08, 2010
Mike Madison, the principal of Dicken Elementary School in Ann Arbor, Mich., is under fire for a field trip to visit a rocket scientist that was limited to black students. He insisted that he was just trying to improve the lower performance of black students through the special race-based program...

After Blocking Image of Muhammad, Comedy Central Announces Series on Jesus Christ

Posted on May 08, 2010
Comedy Central has rightfully been condemned for censoring “South Park” after extremists made implied threats due to the showing of the image of Muhammad. Yet, the network is now reportedly developing a whole animated series around Jesus Christ, who is also routinely shown on “South Park...

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Grading for Goudeau: Louisiana Teacher Sues To Be Able To Give Failing Grades

Posted on May 08, 2010
Sheila Goudeau was reportedly brought in to Riveroaks Elementary School to help the school raise grades and do better in the Louisiana Educational Assessment Test (LEAP) annual certification. The former nominee for teacher of the year, however, was allegedly told by the school?s principal, Shilonda Shamlin, that she was not allowed to give anyone failing [...

Shock Video: ?I?m Going to Beat the [expletive] Mexican Piss Out of You Homey?

Posted on May 08, 2010
Below is a shocking video of Seattle police kicking a man on the ground after he was apprehended in an alleged robbery. A male officer is heard calling the man racial slurs as he kicks him: “I’m going to beat the [expletive] Mexican piss out of you homey...

Bloggie Doggie: Meet Molly

Posted on May 08, 2010
One of our regular bloggers has sent in a picture of Molly in the first of our newest feature of the pets of the people of the Turley Blog. Each Saturday we will feature one such lucky pet, so send me pictures and information by email to make your own pet an Internet star! For [...

Illinois Woman Convicted Of Killing Motorcyclist After Driving While Doing Nails

Posted on May 08, 2010
A jury found Lora Hunt, left, guilty of causing an accident that killed motorcyclist Anita Zaffke, right, by doing her nails while driving. Hunt, 48, was convicted of reckless homicide in the 2009 crash in her Chevrolet Impala. It took the jury less than four hours to convict...

A Star is Born: New Telescope Captures the Formation of RCW 120

Posted on May 07, 2010
This is an amazing picture taken by the Herschel space observatory of a massive star forming — many time the size of our own sun. The image of the bubble of “excited gas” was released near the first birthday of the European telescope’s first birthday in orbit...

Anti-Homosexual Minister Threatens Lawsuit After Papers Reveal Trip With Gay Male Escort

Posted on May 07, 2010
?Various Internet sites are claiming to “out” Rev. George Alan Rekers, a Baptist minister with a long anti-homosexual history of writings and sermons. For this part, Rekers is threatening a defamation lawsuit after stories appeared that he had hired a 20-year-old young man to travel with him from a gay escort site...

Suspicious Package: Security Officer Attacks Colleague Over Jokes About The Size of His Genitalia in Body Scanner

Posted on May 07, 2010
It appears that terrorism is not the only subject you should not joke about at airport security posts. Rolando Negrin, 44, was arrested for aggravated battery after he allegedly attacked a colleague after a supervisor joked about his . . . well . . . under-sized carry-on after he walked through one of the new [...

Censor De Mayo: School Orders Students To Remove American Flag Tee-Shirts On Cinco De Mayo

Posted on May 07, 2010
Oak High School In Morgan Hill, California is now ground zero for a free speech controversy after five students were told to turn their tee-shirts with American flags inside out and remove flag bandannas from their heads. The reason was that it was viewed as inappropriate on Cinco de Mayo day...

Barking Mad: Far-Right Parliamentary Candidate Captured on Video in Fist Fight With Asian Men

Posted on May 06, 2010
This video is a glimpse into the tensions in England over immigration policies — an uncomfortable comparison to our own growing domestic conflicts. The video shows a fight between some Asian men and British National Party parliamentary candidate Bob Bailey in Barking, England...

SWAT Team Raids Family Home, Shoots The Family?s Two Dog In Front of a Seven-Year-Old Child, Finds Only a Small Amount of Pot ? And Charges Father With Child Endangerment

Posted on May 06, 2010
The video below of a SWAT team raiding a home in Columbia, Mo. has raised questions over the actions of police officers and charges brought against a family. In the video, the officers shot the family’s two dogs (including one in front of a seven-year-old child) on a drug raid that only netted a small [...

Obama Administration Exempted BP From Environmenal Impact Statement

Posted on May 06, 2010
Environmentalists are still fuming over the fact that President Barack Obama ignored warnings from NOAA about major spills from offshore rigs before he opened up the East Coast to drilling. Now, it turns out that the Administration exempted BP from doing an environmental impact statement and accepted dismissive accounts regarding the potential for spills...

Lieberman Unveils Citizenship Stripping Bill

Posted on May 06, 2010
Senator Joseph Lieberman has unveiled his new legislation to allow Americans to be stripped of their citizenship if the State Department concludes that they are associated with a terrorist organization. As chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, Lieberman has authority to push the bill which will be introduced also in a house version by [...

New York Woman Accused of Lawyer?s Wallet While Awaiting Arraignment

Posted on May 06, 2010
In Mineola, New York, Shoma Otto, 23, allegedly wanted a bit more out of legal assistance. She is accused to stealing a lawyer’s wallet while waiting to be arraigned on an earlier theft charge. Of course, it is not just defendants. Jurors have also been arrested for courtroom thefts, here...

The Big Deal: William Shatner Earned $600 Million for Priceline Ads

Posted on May 06, 2010
William Shatner is known to warn that you cannot “argue with the Big Deal.” He appears to be right. Due to a decision to take shares rather than money for his ad appearances for Priceline, Shatner has reportedly made $600 million. The secret to Shatner’s success can be found in the Ferengi rules of acquisition, [...

Rights Group Accused Judge Rotenberg Center of Torture

Posted on May 05, 2010
Mental Disability Rights International (MDRI) has filed a disturbing report with the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture alleging that the Judge Rotenberg Center for the disabled in Massachusetts is engaging in the torture of disabled children through electric shocks and restraints...

He?s a Biter: Georgia Man Arrested for Biting Two Eight-year-Old Girls

Posted on May 05, 2010
When we deal with child torts in class, I always note that all kids are either biters or spitters. Gordon Kent Nelson, 44, shows that some adults also fall into one of these categories. Nelson has been arrested for allegedly biting two 8-year-old girls on two separate occasions...

Married Couple in Dubai Win Appeal After Arrest for Having Sex in Car

Posted on May 05, 2010
A newly married Pakistani couple in Dubai won an appeal to overturn their conviction after police arrested them for having sex in their car. The problem was that the car windows were black-out and police had to knock repeatedly to get the couple to roll down the window...

The Fastest Gun Alive?

Posted on May 05, 2010
Ok, I admit that I am a fan of really bad Westerns, so this video of Bob Munden — perhaps the fastest draw in the World — seemed worth sharing. In The Fastest Gun Alive Glenn Ford’s character insists that you need six hours a day to be the fastest draw alive...

Living Art: Texas Man Arrested After Parading Naked Above Billboard

Posted on May 05, 2010
James Apple, 24, has a different idea of how to expose himself to art. The Fort Worth man climbed up a billboard for the Museum of Living Art and walked around naked — slowing traffic for nearly five hours. After hours of trying to coax Apple off the billboard, the police came up with the [...

Federalism and Health Care: A Response to Senator Orrin Hatch

Posted on May 05, 2010
In a recent speech before the Heritage Foundation, Senator Orrin Hatch (R, Utah) cited one of my column’s stating that I consider the claim of federal jurisdiction in the health care litigation to be a threat to federalism. That is certainly true (here)...

Ohio State Refuses To Supply Counsel for Arrested Student Journalist

Posted on May 05, 2010
Alex Kotran is a photo-journalist working for the Ohio State Lantern where he is studying. He was on the scene when cows broke out of their pens and roamed around campus. He was promptly arrested for criminal trespass and the Ohio State University is now refusing to supply him with counsel...

Lieberman to Propose Citizenship-Stripping Law

Posted on May 05, 2010
Greg Sargent at the Washington Post is reporting that Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) will be proposing a new law that could potentially strip Americans of their citizenship if they’re involved with foreign terrorist organizations. The limited details revealed today are enough to send a chill down the spine of civil libertarians around the country...

When You Prick Us Do We Not Bleed? Court Rules That The Welsh Use Profane References for the Police

Posted on May 04, 2010
Waverley Local Court magistrate Robbie Williams has ruled that the Welsh are free to use “prick” in referring to police officers. The ruling ends the prosecution of science student Henry Grech, 22, who used the word to describe Senior Constable Adam Royds during a confrontation...

Florida Senator Under Attack For Looking At Nude Pictures During Abortion Debate

Posted on May 04, 2010
Sen. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton (FL) has learned that one has to be careful what one views on the Senate floor. He is being attacked for looking at porn during the abortion debate in Florida. Bennett insists that he was merely looking at a picture sent to him by a woman “who happens to be a [...

Get (Somewhat) Crazy: Court Dismisses Counts in ?Jersey Shores? Lawsuit But Allows Case To Continue

Posted on May 04, 2010
New Jersey Superior Court Judge Joseph L. Foster has rejected an effort to dismiss a lawsuit involving MTV’s hit reality show “Jersey Shore” — known for its “Get Crazy” theme song. The lawsuit alleges that the producers engaged in a “criminal enterprise” by profiting from showing fights that they provoked between cast members...

GOP Candidates For Congress Brag About Abusing Gays During With Their Military Service

Posted on May 04, 2010
Republican candidates in the 8th Congressional District appeared to brag this week about abusing gays in the military during their military service. Physicians (and congressional candidates) Ron Kirkland of Jackson and George Flinn of Memphis appear to limit that business to not doing harm in their hippocratic oath to patients...

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