Legal Commentary

Between a Rock and A Hard Place: Baltimore Woman Accused of Raising Money for Cancer Victim and Then Keeping It

Posted on February 01, 2010
Donna Rock is accused of one of the lowest possible crimes: raising money for a 5-year-old girl with cancer and then keeping the money for herself. This week, Rock was arrested and charged with theft of the money raised for Serena Lambert. Serena has been battling cancer for 18 months and it will cost [...

Police Set Man On Fire With Taser ? Again

Posted on February 01, 2010
Police in Perth are investigating a case where officers accidentally set a 44-year-old man on fire after shooting him with a taser. The man has previously doused himself and his house with fuel and was threatening to light himself on fire. This is the second such case for the city’s police, here, in [...

?God Hates Signs?: Westboro Protest Triggers Theater of the Absurd

Posted on February 01, 2010
The good people at The Laughingsquid showed the world how to deal with fanatics like the hate-mongering Westboro Church crowd. Westboro loves to show up at funerals and other events with large signs proclaiming such things as “GOD HATES FAGS.” A bunch of counter-demonstrators showed up recently with signs of their own proclaiming [...

DOG AND DUCK

Posted on January 31, 2010
This is a case of a really brave duck and a really really restrained dog. The fact is that dogs do not get enough credit for canine restraint.

To access this complete feed in the blog feed reader login or register for free.

CBS Refuses to Air Gay Dating Commercial During Superbowl

Posted on January 31, 2010
CBS has rejected a Super Bowl ad submitted by ManCrunch.com, a gay dating site that shows two male football fans making out. The network said that the commercial violated its standards and sources suggested it was just a ploy to get publicity. ManCrunch has called the move discriminatory and pointed to controversial commercials [...

Long Arm of the Law: Video Captures Police Beating Tasered Suspect

Posted on January 31, 2010
This video of Winnipeg police officers repeatedly beating Cody Bousquet during an arrest on February 27, 2009. Bousquet reportedly had been tasered by the officers. One of the officers Const. Ryan Law was previously arrested for aggravated assault for kicking a suspect in the stomach in an interrogation room...

Please Stare at This Light: Rip Torn Arrested For Breaking Into Bank

Posted on January 31, 2010
In Salisbury, Connecticut, actor Elmore “Rip” Torn, 78, has been arrested for breaking into a bank and carrying a firearm while intoxicated. He was found inside of the Litchfield Bancorp with a loaded gun. He appears to have had everything but the one thing he needed from MIB: his neuralyzer...

Who Dat Say Dey Gonna Sue Dem Fans? Political and Legal Fight Brewing Over ?Who Dat? Tee-Shirts

Posted on January 31, 2010
A federal court may have to decided who owns the “who dat” phrase in footnote. The NFL, which has a reputation of claiming a wide array of trademark rights against fans, has sent letters to various companies and fans telling them not to use the phrase “who dat” in combination with the Saints fleur-de-lis [...

Meteorite Sets Off Firestorm of Litigation in Lorton

Posted on January 30, 2010
There is a fascinating property dispute brewing in Virginia. Dr. Marc Gallini and Frank Ciampi almost became galactic fodder when a meteorite came crashing into Examining Room No. 2 at their Williamsburg Square Family Practice. They decided to give the meteorite to the Smithsonian for a $5000 payment of “appreciation...

A Nose for Crime: London Police Arrest Man For Blowing Nose at Traffic Light

Posted on January 30, 2010
We have another curiosity out of London where police arrested Michael Mancini, 39, for blowing his nose in his van while it was stopped at a traffic light. The police officer insisted that he was not in control of his vehicle. Mancini completed his nose blowing and put away his handkerchief when he was pulled [...

Hey, Man, Looking For Some Really Good Sh-t? Arizona Police Find Almost 800 Pounds of Pot in Septic Tank

Posted on January 30, 2010
Next time you are asked that question from a pot dealer, you may want to ask if he is speaking figuratively or literally. Police in Tucson, Arizona stopped a truck with a septic tank filled with human waste . . . and 743 pounds of pot. This is one bust when you really do [...

Philadelphia Father Accused of Setting Puppy on Fire for Nipping at Kids

Posted on January 30, 2010
John Fleet, 33, was allegedly upset by a pit bull puppy when it nipped at his kids. That is understandable. His reaction was not. He allegedly rubbed alcohol on the puppy (not the one shown) and set it on fire in front of the kids. Fleet’s kids told a school counselor about [...

O?Keefe Goes Public With Defense on Landrieu Controversy

Posted on January 30, 2010
Conservative filmmaker James O’Keefe has gone public with what is likely to be his defense at trial to the felony charge that he entered federal property with “false pretenses for the purpose of committing a felony.” In a statement published on bigovernment...

Iranian Cleric Calls for Execution of More Protesters As Sanctioned By God

Posted on January 30, 2010
Leading Iranian Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati used his Friday prayer sermon to celebrate the recent executions of protesters and to call for more executions as the will of God. Jannati explained that the Koran (Qur’an) expressly allows rulers to execute critics...

Obama Reportedly Orders Justice Department to Consider Alternative Sites for Terror Trial

Posted on January 29, 2010
Attorney General Eric Holder suffered an embarrassing setback yesterday when the White House ordered the Justice Department to find another location for the trial of the 9/11 suspects. If true, this would be a troubling intervention of the White House into a pending criminal case and seems to follow political pressure on the venue [...

Obama Avoids Pork Issue in State of the Union

Posted on January 29, 2010
For those who wanted President Barack Obama to address the issue of pork in the State of the Union, the speech of Argentina’s President Cristina Fernandez this week shows just how much Obama is withholding from the public. Fernandez not only praised the benefits of eating pork but encouraged that a little pork in your [...

Not-So-Happy Meal: Colorado Man Tells Children To Bite Officers at McDonald?s

Posted on January 29, 2010
Joshua Alger, 28, in Colorado Springs, Colorado is a few fries short of a Happy Meal. Not only did an intoxicated Alger allegedly pass out in a McDonald’s play area, but he encouraged his two children to bite the arresting officers. I have to assume that he is a Hamburglar fan...

Oregon Police Officer Pepper Sprays Burning Man

Posted on January 29, 2010
When Daniel Shaull, 26, was spotted by a Portland officer after he burst into flames, the officer grabbed what she thought was a fire extinguisher and ran to put him out. Instead she succeeded in pepper spraying Shaull, who died later of his injuries...

J.D. Salinger Dead at 91

Posted on January 29, 2010
Author J.D. Salinger has died at 91. The author of “The Catcher in the Rye” died on Wednesday in his New Hampshire home. He had recently broken his hip but was doing well when he suddenly became ill and died of natural causes. It sounds like a quiet end to a quiet [...

Van Steals Porsche to Go to Court on Stolen Lexus

Posted on January 29, 2010
Tony Van, 37, a hairstylist from San Francisco, is allegedly someone who likes to arrive in style. When he appeared in court to face charges of stealing a Porsche, Van allegedly decided to arrive in a stolen Lexus — leading to another arrest and charge...

Virginia School Pulls Diary of Anne Frank From Shelves After Objection to Sexual Explicit Reference

Posted on January 29, 2010
The Culpepper County Public Schools has become the latest addition to the dubious list of schools banning Anne Frank’s ‘Diary of a Young Girl.” The move to pull the books from all of the shelves in the county reportedly came after one parent found a passage to be sexually explicit...

Filmmaker O?Keefe Tweets on Pending Charges Despite Gag Order

Posted on January 28, 2010
It appears that conservative filmmaker James O’Keefe is continuing to comment on his case despite the gag order of the court. Raw Story and other sites are reporting that O’Keefe tweeted shortly around midnight last night that “Govt official concedes no attempt to wiretap...

Justice Alito Shown Shaking His Head and Mouthing ?Not True? in Response to State of the Union Address

Posted on January 28, 2010
In a breach of protocol, Associate Justice Sam Alito was filmed during the State of the Union address last night shaking his head and mouthing “not true” in response to the President’s criticism of the Citizens United ruling on corporate campaign finance limits...

Teacher Resigns After Sending Home 5-Year-Old Special Needs Student With Bag of Human Feces

Posted on January 28, 2010
Elementary school teacher Sue Graham in Yakima, Washington has resigned after being reprimanded for sending a bag of human feces home with a five-year-old student from her special education class. She sent home the feces with a sticky note reading ?This little turd was found on the floor in my room...

Dork Hunters: English Police Use Anti-Terror Laws To Detain Film Crew of Children?s Program

Posted on January 28, 2010
The hosts and film crew from ITV show Toonattik were shooting a scene for “Dork Hunters” when they were detained by police in London under the Terrorism Act. They were wearing utility belts with “spangly” hairdryers and hairbrushes and flak jackets...

Punxsutawney PETA: Animal Rights Organization Wants Town To Use Robotic Groundhog

Posted on January 28, 2010
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) wants Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania to free its famous groundhog and use a robotic animal to stop what it views as cruelty to Phil. In response, the town insists that Phil lives a better life than most children in Pennsylvania — which raises some serious questions about the [...

I?m Loving It: Dutch Court Rules Against McDonald?s For Firing Employee Over Slice of Cheese

Posted on January 27, 2010
A Dutch court has ruled against McDonald’s and found that the company was wrong to fire an employee who simply gave a colleague an extra piece cheese on her hamburger. She had paid for a hamburger and McDonald’s viewed the gesture as a violation of company policy against gifts...

Botox Terrorists: Black Market Botox Raising Concerns With Terrorism Experts

Posted on January 27, 2010
Authorities appear to be on the look out for youthful-looking terrorists with a notable absence of winkles. The burgeoning black market Botox market is raising concerns of how one of its active ingredients might be used by bio-terrorists. There are even Botox kits for sale illegally on Ebay...

Running on Empty: AWOL Soldier Arrested After Stolen Humvee Runs Out of Gas

Posted on January 27, 2010
A soldier has learned in a very personal way the perils of gas guzzlers. Private Sean Johnson reportedly decided to go AWOL and grabbed a Humvee to make his escape. He was arrested down the road with an out-of-gas Humvee as eco-friendly AWOL soldiers zoomed by in their Minis...

Head Haitian Voodoo Priest Objects To Scientologists and Others Proselytizing Through Aid Activities

Posted on January 27, 2010
We have been following the arrival of Scientologists and Evangelicals in Haiti to spread their faith with needed aid to survivors. Now, Haiti’s top Voodoo priest is objecting to the use of the aid efforts to spread the off-island faiths. In the story below, Al Jazeera interviews the top Voodoo priest (he appears [...

Bloggers, promote your law blog by nominating your blog for inclusion in USLaw.com's Law Blog Directory and RSS Reader. Benefits described.