Legal Commentary

A Dollar A Day Keeps The Babies Away: North Carolina Teens Offered $7 Day to Remain Baby-Free

Posted on June 25, 2009
The University of North Carolina has started a program called the College Bound Sisters where teenagers receive $7 a day to stay in school and stay baby-free. They must also attend meetings each week on abstinence. The rate of teenage pregnancy is on the rise nationwide...

Court Orders New Trial After Lawyer Allegedly Sleeps in Court, Reads Health Magazines During Testimony, and Gives ?Laughable? Opening Argument

Posted on June 25, 2009
Manhattan trial attorney Michael Harrison has been named as the unidentified lawyer that is the subject of an ineffective counsel ruling where the court found that counsel fell asleep during trial, read magazines during witness testimony and gave such a rambling, implausible opening argument that the jury laughed...

When Physicists Attack: Homeless Man Attacks Fellow Transient in Disagreement Over Quantum Physics

Posted on June 25, 2009
This week a homeless man in California hit a fellow transient in the face with a skateboard over a disagreement about quantum physics. In San Francisco, Jason Everett Keller, 40, allegedly attacked, Stephan Fava, over a disputed physics question. At the time of the attack, Fava was discussing quantum physics with a third homeless man...

Marriage First, Then Divorce: Couple in Dispute Over Whether They Were Married by Proxy

Posted on June 24, 2009
It was the perfect scene for a marriage. In a place called Kissimmee, Matthew J. Ditzel, 30, and Heather M. Bowser, 31, were married on a lakefront on a beautiful day on May 24, 2008 and the union was certified by notary and Wyndham Resorts employee, Veronica Gonzalez...

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The fault, dear Kimberley, is not in Your stars, but in Yourself: Teenager Admits that She Asked for 56 Stars Tattoos on Her Face

Posted on June 24, 2009
Belgian Kimberley Vlaminck caused an international outrage when she blamed tattoo artist Rouslan Toumaniantz for tattooing her left side of her face with 56 stars while she slept inside of the three that she asked for. She insisted that Romanian-born Toumaniantz did not understand her French and English instructions and threatened to [...

Iran Bans Soccer Players For Life For Wearing Green Wrist Bans in Solidarity with Protestors

Posted on June 24, 2009
Some of Iran’s most famous football (soccer) players have been banned for life due to their courageous show of solidarity with protesters in the recent World Cup games. The players wore green wrist bans and four refused to take off the bands at half-time when told to do so by the government or face [...

Report: More than 60,000 Inmates are Raped Each Year

Posted on June 24, 2009
A federal commission on prison rape has called for reforms and safeguards to combat prison rape, which involves an estimated 60,000 victims each year among the prison population. The eight-member panel was created pursuant to the 2003 Prison Rape Elimination Act...

Meet The Butcher: Iranian Mullahs Enlist Controversial Figure to Crackdown on Protesters

Posted on June 24, 2009
There are new reports of beatings and shootings as the Iranian government tries to crush protests by citizens demanding more freedoms and democratic rights. The violence is little surprise after it was disclosed this week that the person behind the crackdown is the notorious “Butcher” Saeed Mortazavi...

The Wrinkle-Free Divorce: Connecticut Supreme Court Rules That Ex-Wife Is Barred From Speaking About Divorce Forever

Posted on June 24, 2009
It appears that the Connecticut Supreme Court has found a way to help spouses get rid of unsightly winkles in divorces. It ruled that the wife of wealthy skin and winkle cream doctor Nicholas V. Perricone may not speak of her divorce — forever...

Newspaper Charges Military With Censorship Over Critical Reporting From Iraq

Posted on June 24, 2009
The respected newspaper Stars and Stripes has raised the alarm of censorship against the military. Stripes receives federal funding for the coverage of the military, but has long earned the respect of journalists for its independent reporting. An editorial raises a very disturbing incident involving the U...

Blind Justice? Nevada Supreme Court Justice Kris Pickering Plows Into UPS Store With Her Mercedes

Posted on June 23, 2009
Dane Halovich can hardly complain that justice is slow or distant in Nevada. This week, Supreme Court Justice Kris Pickering drove her Mercedes into his UPS Store. Pickering, a Republican just elected in November, says that she was pulling into a parking space wen here accelerator stuck — propelling her through the front window of [...

New Jersey Man Arrested After Using Geek Squad ID to Impersonate a Police Officer and Demand Sex From Prostitute

Posted on June 23, 2009
Jay Mora, 25, of Newark, New Jersey has been charged with impersonating a police officer when he flashed his Geek Squad ID and demanded free sex from a prostitute. What is most remarkable is that the woman accepted the Geek Squad ID as a police badge and only called for help when Mora allegedly refused to [...

Marriage of Convenience: New York Lawyer Suspended After Falsely Claiming to Be Judge?s Wife

Posted on June 23, 2009
The New York Supreme Court Appellate Division has suspended New York lawyer Cheryl Brodsky in a rather bizarre case where she falsely claimed to be the wife of Queens Supreme Court Administrative Judge Jeremy Weinstein and then refused to get a mental health evaluation...

Bad Hair Day: Indiana Parolee Arrested in Mid Hair Cut During Alleged Drug Deal

Posted on June 23, 2009
We have seen some unfortunately mug shots, but Marcus T. Bailey, 28, has reason to be aggrieved. The parolee allegedly stepped out of a barbershop in the middle of his haircut to do a drug deal — only to be arrested and then booked before, to quote Norma Desmond, he was ready for his close [...

Ohio Inmate to be Freed Over Typo on Sentencing Form

Posted on June 23, 2009
Convicted drug dealer Calvin Eugene Wells is looking at a likely release from prison based not on his conduct or innocence, but a three-letter typo. Wells was sentenced in October 2005 to 10 years for his possession of more than 100 grams of cocaine...

DePaul President Names Former Judge as New ?Interim? Dean for Two Years

Posted on June 23, 2009
DePaul University President The Reverend Fr. Dennis H. Holtschneider (right) has announced his selection of Illinois Appellate Judge Warren Wolfson, 76, as the new interim dean at the DePaul University College of Law for a two-year appointment. The announcement led to the resignation of the associate dean and only further angered the faculty and [...

Negating Neda: Iranian Government Seeks to Erase Memory of Iranian Martyr

Posted on June 23, 2009
Acting true to it authoritarian form, the Iranian government is seeking to erase evidence of Neda Solton, the 26-year-old woman who died during protests when government forces used live rounds to disperse crowds. Officials have ordered the family to take down mourning posters and have barred any gatherings in her name...

Sonia Sotomayor Resigns From Female-Only Club

Posted on June 22, 2009
U.S. Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor has resigned from the all-women Belizean Grove club — waiting for Friday to try to bury the announcement in the weekend news. Sotomayor did not express any personal concerns or regrets about joining an exclusive club and only stated that she did not want it to be a [...

Iran?s Crispus Attucks: Demonstrators Chant the Name of Neda

Posted on June 22, 2009
At the Boston Massacre, an unlikely figure emerged as one of the heros, a man of black or Indian parentage named Crispus Attucks. In Iran, women have played a key role in the protests and protesters have rallied around a female martyr namd Neda. Just as blacks in the United States were fighting [...

Cult or Miscavige of Justice? Newspaper Runs Indepth Exposé on Church of Scientology

Posted on June 22, 2009
The St. Petersburg Times is running a series on the Church of Scientology that has some pretty eye-popping allegations, particularly with regard to Church leader David Miscavige. For those who have long argued that the Church is a cult (most recently in Europe) the exposé will likely reinforce their views...

Jurors Under Investigation for Attempted Bribery

Posted on June 22, 2009
Dorothy Hendricks, 54, of St. Croix has been charged with allegedly trying to sell her vote on a criminal jury. Another juror is also under investigation in the U.S. Virgin Islands for trying to sell their votes for between $3000 and $5000 to a defense attorney...

Website Under Investigation in Israel For Featuring Soldier As Alleged Killer

Posted on June 22, 2009
>Israel has a case that would make for an interesting false light and defamation claim in the United States. Indymedia Israel, a news site popular with civil libertarians, ran a picture of a soldier with the caption “murderer” and said that he was responsible for the death of Bassem Abu Rahma, who was [...

Fish Story? Texas Lawyer Asserts the Catfish Defense in DWI Case

Posted on June 22, 2009
Attorney Bryan Simmons says that he was brought low by the double scourge of hard work and catfish. Simmons drove off the road and got stuck in a ditch with a flat tire– the result of fatigue from a trial and a reaction to the black pepper sprinkled on his catfish...

Video: Two Women Arrested After Asking for Officer?s Badge Number

Posted on June 22, 2009
There English media has been pursuing a series of stories about police abuse, particularly at protests. A new video (below) has surfaced showing the arrest of two such protesters, Val Swain, 43, and Emily Apple, 33, who claim that they were arrested and roughed up after demanding the badge number [...

Palin the Neck: Alaska Governor Says that She Has Spent $500,000 on Frivilous Lawsuits

Posted on June 22, 2009
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has come out with criticism of the citizens who have filed ethics complaints against her. She says that all of these ethics charges are frivolous and politically motivated — and cost $500,000 to defend against. Eighteen complaints have been filed against Palin...

New York Mother ?Cures? Daughter in Religious Ceremony By Burning Her

Posted on June 21, 2009
A New York mother in Queens “cured” her daughter in a religious ceremony by burning the six-year-old daughter Frantzcia Saintil and leaving her scarred for life. The mother, Marie Lauradin, 29, was charged with assault and endangering a child this week...

HAPPY FATHER?S DAY!!!

Posted on June 21, 2009
Gentleman assume your couches! Happy Father’s Day to all of the Turley bloggers. Now that we have thrown over the yoke of Mother’s Day, the entire family can enjoy the greatest holiday of the year. Remember, we are not complex people. A couch, a clicker, and a beer is generally all that is [...

DePaul Students and Faculty Fight to Keep Fired Dean

Posted on June 21, 2009
The dismissal of Dean Glen Weissenberger after only two years into his second term has caused a upheaval at the law school where students and faculty have rallied around the popular dean. Weissenberger was reportedly fired on the recommendation of the provost, Helmut Epp...

Death by Twitter: Teenage Girl Electrocuted To Death While Twittering

Posted on June 20, 2009
Maria Barbu, 17, has died in Brasov, Romania after she tried to Twitter while soaking in a tub. She was found in the tub by her parents. The battery appears to have run out and she plugged in the computer to continue to tweet. Mythbusters confirmed how death could be caused by radios in a bathtub...

Be Polite or Else: New York to Enforce Criminal Penalties on Yielding Seats on the Subway

Posted on June 20, 2009
There has been a steading criminalization of bad conduct in the United States, as discussed in earlier columns. We can add the New York subways push to force people to give up their seats to the elderly and disabled — or face a potential 10 day jail term...

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