Legal Commentary

Governor Signs Controversial Immigration Law Amid Promises of Legal Challenges

Posted on April 24, 2010
Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer has signed that state’s new immigration bill despite widespread questions over its constitutionality. Shortly before Brewer announced the signing, President Barack Obama ordered the Justice Department to monitor possible civil rights violations, here...

Carina, Carina, Where You Been So Long . . .

Posted on April 24, 2010
This amazing picture was snapped by the NASA Hubble Space Telescope image, showing “activity atop a three-light-year-tall pillar of gas and dust that is being eaten away by the brilliant light from nearby bright stars.” For the rest of us, it is a picture of a cool colorful space cloud...

Rotten Apple: Police Investigating After Gizmodo Pays ?Source? $5000 For Prototype Apple Phone

Posted on April 24, 2010
The story of how an Apple employee left a prototype phone at a bar has been out this week after Gizmodo bought the phone, took it apart, and featured it on its site. What I find interesting is that someone found the phone at a bar and proceeded to take it and sell it to [...

Pennsylvania Representative ?Outs? Opponent For Being a Faux Bisexual

Posted on April 23, 2010
Pennsylvania Rep. Babette Josephs (D., Phila.) has outed her opponent, Gregg Kravitz, in a bruising campaign in Philadelphia. While politicians often face allegations of being a closeted homosexual, Josephs is accusing Kravitz of being a closet heterosexual in the liberal district...

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Pope on a Rope: Benedict XVI Named in New Abuse Lawsuit

Posted on April 23, 2010
Pope Benedict XVI is named in a new lawsuit on child abuse in a case that will test the claims of diplomatic immunity claimed by the Vatican’s lawyers, here. The claims stem from the alleged cover-up of abuse by a priest at a Catholic school in Wisconsin, Father Lawrence Murphy...

Hold It For New York: Govenor Closes Last Restrooms on Non-Toll Roads in New Jersey

Posted on April 23, 2010
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie strongly suggests that you go before taking to the New Jersey non-toll roads. As another example of how states are selling reducing basic services in this economic crisis, Christie will close the last two restrooms to $270,000...

Catcher in the Why: Student Leaps To Victory As Catcher Wonders Where the Runner Went

Posted on April 23, 2010
Fordham’s Brian Kownacki shows why the best baseball is not always found in major league parks. This incredible leap secured the win against Iona. The opposing coach is obviously not happy, but there are some acts that you have to just accept it is the will of God or at least fate.

Two California University Students Arrested for Torturing Hamsters and Then Posting Video on YouTube

Posted on April 23, 2010
Henry Nguyen, 18, of Oakland, and Josue Melendez, 19, are accused of a bizarre crime: torturing two hamsters and posting the video on Facebook and YouTube. Both are students at the University of California, Davis and were arrested for felony animal cruelty and conspiracy...

Three Kentucky Teens Arrested For Allegedly Beating Lesbian High School Student and Trying to Throw Her Off a Cliff

Posted on April 22, 2010
In what could be a female version of the Matthew Shepard case, three high school girls from Kentucky are accused of beating a friend and trying to throw her off a cliff because she is a lesbian. Corinne Schwab and Ashley Sams, both 18, and an unnamed 17-year-old girl have been arrested in the case...

Here Comes the Sun

Posted on April 22, 2010
NASA has unveiled new images of the sun from the Solar Dynamics Observatory, a space telescope designed to study the Sun. They are quite impressive –particularly on Earth Day. The observatory was launched on February 11th and has been in geosynchronous orbit for the last two months...

New York Town Threatens To Use Eminent Domain If Citizens Do Not Sell Out To Powerful Developer

Posted on April 22, 2010
Despite the criticism of the Supreme Court’s eminent domain ruling in Kelo, the city of Auburn, New York appears undeterred and is threatening to invoke eminent domain to seize private property for a private company. The Kelo opinion was wrongly decided in allowing a Connecticut town to seize homes to give the land to [...

Playing Center Field: Three Men Sue Organization Over Allegedly Being Found Insufficiently Gay

Posted on April 22, 2010
There is an interesting discrimination lawsuit filed in Seattle where three bisexual men –Steven Apilado, LaRon Charles and Jon Russ — say that were barred by the North American Gay Amateur Athletic Alliance from participating in the Gay Softball World Series because they were insufficiently gay...

South Park Creators Threatened With Death Over Depiction of Muhammad

Posted on April 22, 2010
Trey Parker and Matt Stone are the latest writers or artists to face death threats over a depiction of Muhammad. In this case, the threats are based on an image of Muhammad in a bear suit on the cartoon program “South Park.” Abu Talhah Al-Amrikee of RevolutionMuslim wrote on his Twitter account “May Allah [...

Not Funny: Comedy Central Accused of Self-Censorship of South Park

Posted on April 22, 2010
We previously posted on the death threats levied against South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, here. The extremists appear to have succeeded. Comedy Central confirmed that they blocked out mention of Mohammad’s name and image in the later episode...

The Politics of Hate

Posted on April 22, 2010
This video of a person named William Gheen shows more than any other how this country is descending into bigoted and shrill demagoguery. Gheen not only accuses Sen. Lindsey Graham of being gay but suggests that he is being blackmailed by mysterious forces in Washington...

Obama to Gay Rights Protesters: You Don?t Have To Holler

Posted on April 22, 2010
President Barack Obama chastised liberal protesters who interrupted his speech this week in support of Senator Barbara Boxer by asking why they think they need to holler to be heard. In the meantime, back in Washington, the White House was clearing Lafayette Park of media who were unable to hear protesters who handcuffed themselves [...

Terror Tots: Girl Suspended for Terroristic Threat in Pointing Finger At Teacher and Saying ?Pew, Pew?

Posted on April 21, 2010
Our war on terror has nailed another domestic terrorist in our midst. This one is Taylor Trostle who was found lurking in the Bleyl Middle School in Houston, Texas. Trostle, 13, made her move at the end of math class when she suddenly turned on a teacher pointing her finger at her and [...

State Liquor Commissioner Fired After Arrest for DUI

Posted on April 21, 2010
Richard Simard appears out of a job after he was arrested for driving while intoxicated. Not good for anyone, but particularly for the New Hampshire State Liquor Commissioner. Gov. John Lynch fired him. The grounds for the termination are interesting...

Saudi Head of Virtue Police Fired For Suggesting Men and Women Can Mix in Mecca

Posted on April 21, 2010
Ahmed bin Qassim al-Ghamidi is no longer the head of the religious police in Mecca. His offense is not corruption or nepotism or adultery. It is a single statement made in an interview in a newspaper where he suggested that men and women should be allowed to mingle in the district...

Video: White House Pushes Media Out of Lafayette Park

Posted on April 21, 2010
This is a very disturbing video. A small number of veterans chain themselves to the White House fence. Reporters are eager to take pictures — even from across the street — and to shout questions on their protest of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy...

H.R. 5069: Chairman Johnson Introduces Bill To Remove Barriers To the Courts

Posted on April 21, 2010
Rep. Henry C. “Hank” Johnson Jr., chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts and Competition Policy, has taken on an important and worthy cause — reforming the federal rules to remove barriers to average citizens and public interest groups in the forms of financial costs and penalties...

Video: Runaway Saw Blade Damages House

Posted on April 21, 2010
In a torts case, the chain of causation is rarely captured on videotape, but this film shows a runaway street blade looking for a tort. The film was taken on a home security camera in Lorain, Ohio. What is interesting is that the worker appears to look around for witnesses and the incident [...

Congress Pulls D.C. Vote Bill

Posted on April 21, 2010
The Democrats have finally pulled the plug on the D.C. Vote bill — citing an amendment that would strip the city of its gun control laws. While D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D) previously stated (here and here) that there was an agreement to pass the amendment as the cost for the D...

Woman Charged After Tug-of-War Over Elderly Mother?s Applesauce

Posted on April 20, 2010
This video is getting a great deal of attention after the TSA brought charges against a woman, Nadine Hays, who is accused of hitting a TSA agent. Nadine and Hays got into a tug of war over a cooler with her grandmother’s applesauce. While you may want to do without the narrative, the [...

Man Arrested While Driving Barbie Car While Intoxicated After A Very Very Slow Car Chase

Posted on April 20, 2010
No it was not Ken. Paul Hutton, 40, was arrested for driving a child’s Barbie car while drunk on a city road in England. He is accused for failing to stop and trying to flee at speeds reaching as high as 4 miles per hour. Hutton found the car discarded eight months ago and [...

Saudi Hunters Post Video Bragging About Killing Endangered Species

Posted on April 20, 2010
The video below features two of Saudi hunters who filmed their own depraved sense of sport: competing who could shot more endangered animals. The hunters display prohibited sniper rifles used to hunt gazelles in a massacre — that they proudly lay out on the desert floor...

Supreme Court Strikes Down Dog Fighting Video Law

Posted on April 20, 2010
In a major free speech victory, the Supreme Court has ruled in the Stevens cases — striking down a law designed to punish the sale of dog fighting and so called “crush films.” The vote was 8-1. This case focused on a federal law criminalizing sale or possession of such images...

Lawmiss: Judge Refuses to Recuse Herself While Suing Newspaper For Revealing Her Identity in Anonymous Postings

Posted on April 20, 2010
There is an interesting lawsuit filed over Cuyahoga Court of Common Pleas Judge Shirley Strickland Saffold who is suing the Plain Dealer over disclosing her identity and that of her daughter after the posted anonymous comments on articles. They are seeking $25 million in compensatory damages and $25 million in punitive damages for alleged [...

City Backs Down From Smoking Ban for Employees in Their Homes and After Hours

Posted on April 20, 2010
The officials in Brooksville, Florida have shelved a controversial measure that would have required city employees to quit smoking and disqualifying others from employment who are already smokers. The city council also proposed a policy to forbid employees and citizens alike from smoking or chewing tobacco on any public property or property being used for [...

How to Write a College Admissions Essay

Posted on April 19, 2010
The essay below appeared on Reddit and purportedly succeeded in getting the student accepted to NYU. I hope it is true because is a great admissions essay. IN ORDER FOR THE ADMISSIONS STAFF OF OUR COLLEGE TO GET TO KNOW YOU, THE APPLICANT, BETTER, WE ASK THAT YOU ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTION: ARE THERE ANY [...

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