Legal Commentary

Worker?s Paradise and Paranoia: China Tells Doctors to Stop Treating Patients ? Declaring Sickness Related to New Factory To Be ?Mass Hysteria?

Posted on July 31, 2009
After a new factory opened in Jilin, China, citizens flooded local hospitals with complaints about convulsions, breathing difficulties, vomiting and temporary paralysis. They all lived or worked near the new Jilin Connell Chemical Plant. The Chinese government responded in an all too familiar way: declaring the cases to be little more than “mass [...

Culp-able? Lawyer Arrested After Saying ?I Hate the Police? in Front of D.C. Officers

Posted on July 31, 2009
Lawyer Pepin Tuma, 33, was speaking with friends on Saturday night about his outrage over the arrest of Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. when he passed a group of D.C. police officers, including Second District Officer J. Culp. The lawyer started to chant “I hate the police” as he walked by and ended [...

Naggs at a Buck Party: Stripper Arrested for Rape Insists that Use of Sex Toy Was ?Joke?

Posted on July 31, 2009
Now, this is a rare rape case. The female defendant is accused of raping a man in front of witnesses with a sex toy and then admits to the penetration but insists that it was a joke. That is the case of stripper Maree Naggs who was arrested after a “buck’s party” (bachelor party) [...

Indian Tantrik Beheads Five-Year-Old Girl in Ritual to Give Man Healthy Male Heirs

Posted on July 31, 2009
We have previously followed the work of tantriks in India, here. Now, one of these witchdoctors has been accused of beheading a five-year-old girl in a ritual to help a man produce healthy children. Vandana Kumari, 5, was lured by Mewalal Chauhan to her death...

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OMG Jst Drov N Pool BRT: Truck Driver Accused of Crashing While Texting on One Cellphone and Talking on Another

Posted on July 31, 2009
Tow Truck driver Nicholas Sparks, 25, is being cited as an example of the dangers of multi-tasking — particularly when you are driving a flatbed truck. Sparks is accused of texting on one cell phone while speaking on another cellphone — before hitting a car, crashing through a fence, sideswiping a house and then [...

Fixodent and Forget It? Company Accused of Injuries Linked to High Zinc Concentrations

Posted on July 31, 2009
Fixodent is having trouble convincing some customers that its denture cream allows them to “Enjoy Life Without Worrying About Dentures.” There are a growing number of lawsuits alleging zinc poisoning and neurological injuries linked to Fixodent denture adhesive cream...

Video: Florida Officers Openly Discuss Falsifying Report to Protect Officer From Blame in Accident By Framing a Citizen

Posted on July 30, 2009
Broward County prosecutors in Florida have dropped four DUI charges against Alexandra Torrensvilas after this video showed Hollywood police officers making up a false story to pin the blame of an accident on her. The problem is that they did it in front of their dash cameras...

Obama Political Appointees Reportedly Overruled Career Justice Officials In Dropping Charges Against New Black Panther Party for Voter Intimidation

Posted on July 30, 2009
Associate Attorney General Thomas J. Perrelli overruled career lawyers at the Voting Section of the Civil Rights Division to drop a complaint against three members of the New Black Panther Party of intimidating voters in Philadelphia during November’s election — including one member Samir Shabazz who brandished a nightstick...

Officer Admits That He Repeatedly Called Gates a ?Jungle Monkey? But Insists That He Is Not A Racist

Posted on July 30, 2009
Boston Police Officer and National Guardsman Justin Barrett has gone public to deny he is a racist and apologize to professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. for repeatedly calling Gates a “banana-eating jungle monkey,” insisting that ?I have so many friends of every type of culture and race you can name...

Federal Judge Calls for Investigation of ?The Civil Equivalent of the Ted Stevens Case?

Posted on July 30, 2009
The World Bank/IMF protest case had a sanctions hearing yesterday that had found its way into the media. Because I am lead counsel (with Dan Schwartz) in one of the two cases (Chang) against the District of Columbia, Federal government, Fairfax County, and various police officers, I will not comment on the controversy...

Two Police Chiefs Charged in Burglary of the Home of the Surrogate Mother of the Twins of Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick

Posted on July 30, 2009
Two police chiefs — Martins Ferry Police Chief Barry Carpenter and Bridgeport Chief Chad Dojack — have reportedly been arrested and booked in a case involving actors Matthew Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker — and the surrogate mother who recently gave birth to their twin girls...

Splendor in the Graft: Court-Appointed Trustee Sues Ruth Madoff for $45 Million After a ?Life of Splendor?

Posted on July 30, 2009
When Ruth Madoff recently agreed to a deal with prosecutors under which she would retain millions, we expressed outrage and opined on the possibility of a civil “clawback” lawsuit. It has now happened. Court-appointed trustee Irving Picard accuses Madoff of a “life of Slendor” funded by illegally gained funds from her imprisoned husband [...

Video: Officer Tasers 72-Year-Old Great-Grandmother After a Dare

Posted on July 29, 2009
The Travis County Constable’s Office has released the dashcam video of the tasering of 72-year-old Kathryn Winkfein by Deputy Chris Bieze. We previously discussed this story but the video is highly disturbing in the decision to shoot the 4′11” great grandmother...

Former Journalist and United Nations Worker Faces Flogging in Sudan for Wearing Pants

Posted on July 29, 2009
Lubna Hussein, a former journalist and current United Nations worker, is facing 40 lashes for the crime of wearing pants in a public place — an act of unspeakable “indecency” under Sharia law in Sudan. She says that 10 other women arrested at a restaurant in Khartoum, including some non-Muslims, were already flogged...

Dot Con: Wife Refuses to Turn Over Money to Victims to Reduce Husband?s Sentence

Posted on July 29, 2009
Former Pennsylvania lawyer Ralph Mirarchi appears to have as bad marital as legal problems these days. Under a plea bargain, Marachi was supposed to have his sentence reduced once his wife sold their New Jersey home to help repay his victims. Instead, Mirachi, 69, was sentenced to up to 8 1/2 years after [...

The One That Got Away: Florida Fish Shop Wins Case Against Clearwater

Posted on July 29, 2009
The City of Clearwater, Florida has decided to throw one back. We have been following the story of bait shop owners Herb and Lori Quintero in Clearwater, Florida who challenged a fine for having a fish mural painted on the outside of their business — later covered up by a copy of the first [...

High-Protein Pepsi: Florida Couple Claims to Find Dead Mouse in Soft Drink

Posted on July 29, 2009
Amy and Fred Denegri allege that they were a bit surprised at their Florida beach house when Fred complained about a funny taste in his Diet Pepsi and was a wee bit surprised to find a mouse in the can. We can now understand Pepsi’s old slogan: “It’s the Cola”/”Dare for More” The FDA [...

Fire Sale: Arizona Considers Selling House and Senate Buildings for Cash

Posted on July 29, 2009
The fire sale of America continues this week with Arizona legislators considering selling their House and Senate buildings and then leasing them back from private companies to raise cash. As we continue to pour billions into the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, states are selling off parks and historic sites (here and here)...

British Officer Magazine Soldier Features Openly Gay Soldier on Cover Next to Headline ?Pride?

Posted on July 28, 2009
The British army took a remarkable and commendable step this month by featuring Trooper James Wharton, an openly gay soldier. While U.S. military officers continue to fret over gays in the military and discharge decorated heroes for their private relations, the British has shown that tough guys can be gay guys...

Tweety Tort: Chicago Tenant Sued for Defamation After Sending Moldy Tweet

Posted on July 28, 2009
Amanda Bonnen thought that she was merely expressly herself when she posted a public tweet on Twitter on May 12th complaining about mold in her Chicago apartment. The Horizon Group Management company has responded by suing her for defamation in a rare tweet tort by a business...

California Supreme Court Orders Bar to Allow Quadriplegic To Take Exam

Posted on July 28, 2009
The State Bar of California will allow a remarkable graduate of UC Davis School of Law to sit for the bar exam after the intervention of the California Supreme Court. Sara Granda is a quadriplegic who was barred from sitting on the exam due to a technical glitch on her online application...

Urine a Lot of Trouble, Mr. Thompson: Janitor Filmed Relieving Himself on Court Reporter?s Chair

Posted on July 28, 2009
Stephen L. Thompson, 58, a courthouse janitor in Clark County, Indiana had a curious response to a court reporter who rebuffed his expressions of affection. Hell hath no fury like a janitor scorned. A court reporter Adrianne Fuller repeatedly complained that her chair was wet in the morning...

Triple Your Pleasure: Taser To Introduce New Weapon That Allows Officers To Taser Three People Without Reloading

Posted on July 28, 2009
Despite continuing controversies associated with the expanding use of tasers, Taser International has concluded that the problem is that officers cannot taser enough people before facing the hassle of reloading. Before an enthusiastic crowd of hundreds of law enforcement officers, the company unveiled its new triple action taser X3-20...

Yoo Must Be Kidding: Professor Argues That Bush Could Negate Both The Fourth Amendment and The Posse Comitatus Act By Simply Declaring Deployment To Be A National Security Matter

Posted on July 28, 2009
The debate continues to rage this week over the push by Vice President Dick Cheney and others to have former President George Bush deploy active military units in a suburb of Buffalo to arrest a small group of men who were suspected of supporting terrorism (here)...

Shocking Love: Police Taser and Pepper Spray Deaf, Mentally Disabled Man for Not Complying With Orders

Posted on July 28, 2009
When Antonio Love failed to heed orders to come out of a bathroom at a Dollar General store, Mobile police used pepper spray and a Taser on him — ultimately arresting him for resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and failure to obey a police officer...

Denver Police Officer Charged After Allegedly Demanding Fast Service at McDonalds at Gunpoint

Posted on July 27, 2009
Denver police officer Derrick Curtis Saunders, 29, allegedly wants his fast food faster. Saunders is “on leave” to deal with criminal charges after reportedly pulling his weapon at a McDonald’s to speed things up behind the counter...

Sixteen-Year-Old Girl in Pakistan is Beaten and Gang Raped for a Year Before Being Turned Over to Police ? Who Beat and Gang Rape Her

Posted on July 27, 2009
The is another horrific story out of Pakistan in the abuse of women and girls. In this case, Assiya Rafiq, 16, was kidnapped by a group of men who proceeded to beat and rape her for a year. When police accused them of bank robbery, the men agreed to turn over a [...

Navy Officer Accuses Reporter of Sexual Harassment

Posted on July 27, 2009
Miami Herald Reporter Carol Rosenberg has been accused of sexual harassment in a complaint by Navy Cmdr. Jeffrey Gordon. In what may be the first complaint of its kind against a reporter, Gordon accuses Rosenburg of “multiple incidents of abusive and degrading comments of an explicitly sexual nature...

Camp Hamas: Cooking, Camping . . . Kidnapping

Posted on July 27, 2009
Ah, those long summer nights at Camp Hamas. Who can forget them? A recent media report has shown pictures of kids reenacting the kidnapping of June 2006 abduction of Schalit in front of a beaming Osama Mazini, a senior Hamas political leader leading negotiations with Israel over his release...

Baker Replaced By Cook: Alexandria Police Chief Arrested for Drunk Driving

Posted on July 27, 2009
Alexandria (Va.) Police Chief David P. Baker, 58, has been put on administrative leave after crashing his unmarked city car and then blowing 0.19 on a sobriety check — twice the legal limit. Deputy Police Chief Earl Cook has replaced him as acting chief...

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