Legal Commentary

Who Killed Diane de Poitiers?

Posted on December 18, 2009
It may be one of the oldest product liability cases in the world. The British Medical Journal (BMJ) has published findings suggesting that Diane de Poitiers, a famous mistress of 16th-century French King Henry II, may have died from consuming too much drinkable gold...

Cafe Delicto: Virginia Man Convicted of Indecent Exposure For Appearing Naked Inside His Home While Making Coffee

Posted on December 18, 2009
We previously followed the case of Erick Williamson, 29, who was charged with indecent exposure when he was spotted by two women naked inside his house. He says that he was making coffee and they say he was exposing himself. Well, a Virginia jury has rejected his coffee-based defense and convicted Williamson...

Face Off: North Face Sues South Butt in a Trademark Action

Posted on December 18, 2009
The North Face Apparel Co. is not amused. Jimmy Winkelmann wanted to make fun of people and companies fueling the market for name brand clothing, so he named his company South Butt, as a parody on North Face. North Face is now suing for trademark infringement...

Sheriff Finds No Basis for Charges After Boy Shoots Himself With Gun Left By Parents Behind Christmas Tree

Posted on December 17, 2009
In Cortez, Colorado, police are not going to charge the parents of a 12-year-old Colorado boy who shot himself after playing with a loaded pistol left by his parents behind a Christmas tree. Montezuma County Sheriff Gerald Wallace insists that he does not see any basis for a charge in the case...

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Virginia Man Sentenced For Killing Wife After She Refused to Take Down Christmas Light

Posted on December 17, 2009
Forrest M. Smythers Jr., 54, really wanted those Christmas lights taken down. Smythers was convicted of murdering his wife Dawn Smythers, in a dispute over the lights during which she allegedly hit him with a Christmas angel and he shot her between the eyes with a ...

Arizona GOP Director Accused of Stalking Woman in Phoenix

Posted on December 17, 2009
The executive director of the Arizona GOP, Brett Mecum, 30, is embroiled in a bizarre criminal investigation where a woman has accused him of using the “Voter Vault” system to track her down in Phoenix. She is a young Republican and a former volunteer for John McCain...

Devil in the Details: Televangelist Rod Parsley Calls on the Faithful to Give Him Cash After Devil Took His Money

Posted on December 17, 2009
With Oral Roberts “called home,” televangelist Rod Parsley appears to have taken up his message of “give me money or Satan will win.” This bizarre video below shows Parsley explaining that he is in need of cash because the Devil was trying to financially ruin him and left him with little operating capital...

The High-Fiber Legal Diet: Video Shows Robbery Suspect Eating Bank Note

Posted on December 17, 2009
This video belongs in the Hall of Criminal Fame. John H. Ford, 35, was arrested on suspicion of bank robbery. The police grabbed what they thought was the bank robbery note, but put it next to Ford’s mouth on the police cruiser as they cuffed him...

Hairy Tater Tot: Texas School Suspends Four-Year-Old Boy For Growing His Hair Long for Cancer Patients

Posted on December 17, 2009
Taylor Pugh, 4, (known as Tater Tot) is a bit too hairy for Floyd Elementary School’s principal. Taylor and his Dad are growing their hair to donate it for wigs for cancer patients. The suburban Dallas school district, however, insists that boys cannot have long hair and it has suspended him from classes [...

Friends Don?t Let Friends Deduct: Drunk Driver Allowed to Deduct Cost of Truck Damaged in DUI Violation

Posted on December 16, 2009
Finally, an upside to DUI? A judge with the U.S. tax court has ruled that a man who drove drunk and totaled his truck could claim the damage as a write off. Justin M. Rohrs claimed the casualty loss deduction on Form 4684) in 2005. Rohrs claimed the damage to his 2006 Ford [...

Separation Anxiety: English High Court Rules Jewish School Violated Anti-Discrimination Laws By Excluding Students on Basis of Religion

Posted on December 16, 2009
There is an interesting ruling out of England’s highest court, which found that a Jewish school was guilty of race discrimination by refusing to admit pupils who are not considered ethnically Jewish. The ruling is the latest example of the collision course between anti-discrimination laws and free exercise of religion (and free association)...

Megabyte: Israeli Border Police Shoot Laptop of American Student

Posted on December 16, 2009
American student Lily Sussman, 21, likely has a new appreciation for our TSA personnel after encountering the Israel Border Police. Israeli officers allegedly interrogated her after she entered Israel via Taba, Egypt two weeks ago and ended up shooting her Apple laptop computer...

The Not-So-Speedy Trial: Turkish Trial Ends After 28 Years

Posted on December 16, 2009
We often struggle with speedy trials in the United States, arguing over whether the Sixth Amendment can be honored in 160 days or less. The standard in Turkey appears a bit more flexible where they appear to measure speed in years rather than days. A panel of judges have found 39 people guilty [...

The Accidental Tourist: Art Student Arrested in London for Photographing ?Iconic Sites? as Terrorist Threat

Posted on December 16, 2009
Italian student Simona Bonomo has become the latest tourist to be nabbed in England for taking pictures of historic or “iconic” landmarks. Police community support officers (PCSOs) stopped Bonomo under anti-terrorism after she took pictures of buildings and arrested her under anti-terrorism laws...

Shots in the Line of Duty: Chinese Officer Declared As Martyr of the Force After Drinking Himself to Death

Posted on December 16, 2009
According to the government, Chen Lusheng, 38, in Shenzhen, China “died in the line of duty” as a “martyr” according to the government. If you are thinking of a shoot-out with drug dealers or a police chase gone bad, think again...

Former Lawmaker Convicted of Raping His Daughters Copyrights His Name to Bar Its Use by Daughters and Reporters

Posted on December 16, 2009
Former South Dakota lawmaker Ted Klaudt does not like all of the stories being written about him. Most politicians are delighted with coverage but Klaudt is best known for raping his foster daughters. Klaudt’s solution (after failing to prove innocence) was to copyright his name and demand that newspapers ask his permission to [...

The Perils of Canadian Ice Fishing

Posted on December 15, 2009
This is the effect of drinking unlimited quantities of Moosehead beer and haddock. God help us if these people ever decide to invade.

Rinse, Do Not Repeat: Texas Man Arrested After Breaking Into House and Taking a Bath

Posted on December 15, 2009
I would love to see this lineup. Larry Ticey of Tyler, Texas was arrested while taking a bath at 3:30 am on Sunday. The problem was that it was not his house. A resident called police to report that a man had kicked in the front door of the house. The resident believed that the [...

Milwaukee Teacher Fined After Cutting Off Seven-Year-Old?s Braids As Punishment

Posted on December 15, 2009
A first-grade teacher has been charged with disorderly conduct after she cut off the braids of 7-year-old Lamya Cammon after the girl continued to play with them in class. However, she might not face criminal charges. The teacher had told Lamya not to play with her beaded braids and, when she continued to do [...

Florida Man Attempts to Swallow Baggie of Pot and Chokes to Death After Police Taser Him

Posted on December 15, 2009
A Florida man died after he tried to swallow a baggie with marijuana and was then hit with a taser by police for what they believe was resisting arrest. Andrew Grande, 23, it seen on the video below struggling to breathe as officers try to help him and determine whether he is having an [...

Justice Minister Calls For Israel to Adopt Torah Law As The Governing Rules for the Nation

Posted on December 15, 2009
The application of Sharia law in countries like Saudi Arabia and Iran has supplied this blog with a steady stream of cases involving stonings and censorship. Now, Israel’s Justice Minister Yaacov Neeman wants the country to adopt its own religious book, the Torah, as the basis for the country’s laws...

Suffer Not The Children: Faith-Healing Parents Charged in Death of Teenager

Posted on December 15, 2009
Oregon is preparing to try yet another child death case related to the Followers of Christ in Oregon City, a group of faith healers with a long record of dead children. The group was part of the focus of a recent column on the prosecution of parents for faith-based neglect...

High-Ranking ATF Officer Arrested in Bizarre Hotel Damage Case

Posted on December 14, 2009
Russell Vanderwerf, 44, has presented the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) with a bit of dilemma. He is charged with disabling the fire alarm system and damaging property at a Residence Inn in Metairie, Louisiana. However, the case could lead to litigation over what is an employee’s [...

Study: Airline Passengers May Be Exposed to Harmful Levels of Radiation From Storms

Posted on December 14, 2009
There is an interesting science story out this week that could raise legal issues as to risk of radiation for airline passengers. A new study at the Florida Institute of Technology, University of California, Santa Cruz and the University of Florida found that passengers could be exposed to a radiation dose equal to that [...

Anti-Corruption Advocate and Lawyer Dies in Jail ? Kremlin Fired Prison Head and Others

Posted on December 14, 2009
Sergei Magnitsky, 37, was a courageous lawyer who fought the corruption in Russia and went public with his accusations. The result was first his arrest on tax evasion charges and then his death in a Moscow prison. Now, President Dmitry Medvedev has fired the prison head and 19 other officials...

An Ear For Crime: Ohio Appellate Court Rules that Officer Cannot Issue Speeding Tickets Based on Sound Alone

Posted on December 14, 2009
Ohio officer Ken Roth doesn’t need no stinking radar guns, he has speed-calibrated hearing. Well, he did until the Ohio Court of Appeals ruled that a motorist cannot be convicted based solely on what Roth said he “heard” as speeding...

Skin Flynt: Jury Rules In Favor of Hustler Owner in Dispute With Nephews

Posted on December 14, 2009
Larry Flynt has won a jury verdict in a four-day trial over his nephew’s violation of his trademark and invasion of his privacy. Flynt prevailed on the trademark case. One of the more interesting aspects of the trial was Flynt’s admission that (while his company is worth many millions of dollars) he fired [...

Starbucks Psychosis: Washington Man Claims Caffeine Induced Hysterin

Posted on December 14, 2009
Daniel Noble, 31, has a novel defense after he was caught by Washington State University Police after speeding down a country road and hitting two people while wearing only pajamas and flip flops (in 5 degree weather) — he was over-caffeinated. This could be a new line of criminal defense cases with defendants claiming that they [...

Leading Scientist on Global Warming Has Heart Attack During Debate While Delegates Storm Out Over Impasse Over the Agreement

Posted on December 14, 2009
This video is simply incredible. During a television debate on global warming, Henrik Svensmark was hit by a heart attack. Henrik Svensmark is a physicist at the Danish National Space Center in Copenhagen Reports indicate that he is alright and that his pacemaker kicked in...

You?ve Got Mail . . . A Lot of Mail: 22 Million Missing E-Mails From Bush Administration Found

Posted on December 14, 2009
The Bush Administration repeatedly denied that there were missing emails and later insisted that any emails that were missing could not be found. Now, 22 million missing White House e-mails have been found, according to two public interest groups who reached a settlement over the records...

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