Legal Commentary

English Couple Sues After Their Last Embryo is Implanted in Wrong Woman

Posted on June 15, 2009
An English couple has a novel case against Cardiff’s University Hospital of Wales after their last embryo was mistakingly implanted into another woman. The hospital has agreed to pay damages in the lawsuit and apologized. When the hospital discovered its mistake, it gave the patient a morning-after pill to terminate the procedure — resulting in the [...

Student Arrested for Blocking the Ability of Teachers to Input Grade

Posted on June 15, 2009
In Clifton Park, New York, Shenedehowa High School student Matthew C. Beighey came up with the next best thing to getting good grades — keeping teachers from entering bad grades, or any grades at all. Beighey figured out a way to block teachers by inputting incorrect passwords three times for each of them [...

Senatorial Privilege? Sen. Dick Durbin Cashed Out His Stocks and Shares After Meeting With Paulson and Bernanke on Economic Crisis

Posted on June 15, 2009
Sen. Dick Durbin, the second most senior democrat in the Senate, cashed out his stock the day after meeting with Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. Durbin took the money and invested much of the $115,000 in Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc...

Court: Judge Charles Bernstein Acted as ?Co-Prosecutor? and Denied Defendants Fair Trial

Posted on June 15, 2009
Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Charles G. Bernstein has been found to have acted so improperly in two criminal cases that he became a “co-prosecutor” and denied the defendants a fair trial. Steven Diggs (found guilty of drug possession) and Damon Lamar Ramsey (convicted of possession and intent to distribute) will receive new trials...

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

Prosecutor to Seek Dissolution of Scientology in France

Posted on June 15, 2009
State prosecutor Maud Coujard has recommended that a Paris court dissolve the French branch of the Church of Scientology. Scientology has been accused of being little more than a criminal enterprise in France and other countries that uses escalating courses or levels to bilk individuals of thousands of dollars...

Judge Rules that Jose Padilla Can Sue John Yoo

Posted on June 15, 2009
U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White has cleared the way for Jose Padilla to sue University of California Professor John Yoo for the violation of his rights due to his physical abuse as a detainee. It is a relatively novel ruling that holds that government lawyers must be treated as other officials in participating [...

Police Arrest Alleged Serial Cat Killer in Florida

Posted on June 15, 2009
Miami-Dave police say that they have serial cat killer: Tyler Weinman, 18. He is accused of who mutilating 19 cats in South Miami-Dade. He does not exactly fit the image of a deranged, torture-loving loser that you would expect. Weinman is reportedly a popular student and swim instructor...

Former Priest Claims that He Was Given 11-Year-Old Boy an ?Anatomy Lesson? in Latest Arrest

Posted on June 14, 2009
Former Roman Catholic priest Desmond Laurence Gannon has been jailed in a fifth prosecution for child abuse in Australia. His defense in this latest case is that he was merely giving an 11-year-old boy ?anatomy lessons.? Gannon, 79, was previously convicted of such abuse in 1995, 1997, 2000 and 2003 but remarkably has served only [...

Putting the Bars Back Into Bar Mitzvah: Rabbi Accused of Throwing Lavish Party in the Tombs

Posted on June 14, 2009
The New York prison system is dealing with a bizarre scandal after the media revealed taht an inmate at “the Tombs” in Manhattan was given an elaborate bar mitzvah party for 60 people with catered food, an Orthodox singer, and 60 guests. The party was thrown by Tuvia Stern, a bail jumper and scam artist [...

The Scourge of Equine Gingivitis

Posted on June 14, 2009
Just a reminder to all of the Turley bloggers: flosh, brush, spit, and repeat. There is hope. There are horse dentists available.

?April?s Mom? Admits That Terminally Ill Baby and Anti-Abortion Sensation was a Hoax

Posted on June 14, 2009
For months, a blogger known as “April’s Mom” has been the heroine of religious and pro-life sites, recounting how she chose to give birth to a terminally ill baby and allowed the child to die naturally hours after giving birth. April’s Mom turns out to be Beccah Beushausen, 26, a social worker from outside [...

Former Prosecutor Arrested for Arranging Prostitutes for ?The Minnesota Nice Guys?

Posted on June 13, 2009
Former Hennepin County prosecutor John St. Marie, 65, has been arrested for arranging for wealthy clients to hook up with high-priced prostitutes for a club known as “The Minnesota Nice Guys.” St. Marie allegedly did the work of setting up flights, hotels and logistics for sexual services and did not accept money as part of the [...

From Paine to Pappert: Citizen Arrested for Complaining Too Often to City Officials

Posted on June 13, 2009
In a bizarre case, Bridgeville Borough resident has been convicted for repeatedly writing and calling his elected officials to complain about their lack of effort to relieve a local nuisance. If you count copies sent to some officers, Marshall Pappert sent around 350 and was arrested for criminal harassment...

Killer Sale: Unabomber Sues to Block Fire Sale of Personal Items

Posted on June 13, 2009
“Unabomber” Ted Kaczynski may soon be in front of the Supreme Court this week trying to stop a public auction of his personal possessions , who terrorized the country with a series of mail bombs over nearly two decades, is fighting to stop a public auction of his diaries and other personal possessions to compensate [...

Two Former West Palm Beach Officers Indicted After Beating Handcuffed Suspect

Posted on June 13, 2009
Two former West Palm Beach police officers have been arrested in the beating a handcuffed robbery suspect, Pablo Valenzuela, 43, as captured on this dash cam video from May 2008. Louis Joseph Schwartz, 30, and Kurt John Graham, 24, were fired last August and are now facing felony conspiracy to commit official misconduct and [...

Car Kvetsh: Orthodox Jews United Against Parking Lots in Jerusalem

Posted on June 12, 2009
Ultra-Orthodox Jews are threatening widespread protests to prevent what they insist is a grave insult to their faith: a parking lot. The activists insist that no parking lot should be open on the Sabbath despite the fact that many Jews and non-Jews do not share their religious beliefs on driving...

Chicago Police Officer Sentenced to Three Years For Beating Stabbing Victim Shackled to Wheelchair

Posted on June 12, 2009
Chicago police officer William Cozzi, 52, has been sentenced to more than three years in prison for beating a stabbing victim who was handcuffed to a wheelchair. The attack was caught on video. Cozzi previously pleadd guilty and admitted that he “lost it” when he attacked 60-year-old Randle Miles, 62, who was handcuffed and shackled [...

Chavez Continues Crackdown on Journalists and Free Speech

Posted on June 12, 2009
Venezuela President Hugo Chavez has renew his threats against one of the few remaining networks that voice opposition to his government. Chavez told executives at Globovision “to reflect” upon its criticism of him and change its tone or it “won’t be on the airwaves much longer...

Women?s Robes Recalled After Six Fire Deaths

Posted on June 12, 2009
The Consumer Product Safety Commission has recalled a popular chenille robe made by Blair LLC (in Pakistan) after six deaths of women after the robes caught fire. Five of the women were cooking at the time when the Blair Full Length Chenille Robes allegedly caught on fire...

Sunbathing Woman Run Over By Police Car

Posted on June 12, 2009
The Jacksonville Beach Police Department needs to secure a good defense lawyer. On May 1, Officer Lewis Keller decided to make a u-turn on the beach in his SUV. He proceeded to run over Anne Marie Giffen, 41, who was sunbathing. Keller and another man lifted the SUV off Giffin so that others [...

Palestinian Family Hangs 15-Year-Old Boy Due To Suspicion of Collaboration with Israel

Posted on June 12, 2009
In Ramallah, West Bank, Palestinian police say that a family hanged a 15-year-old boy because they believed that he might be a collaborator with Israel. The police doubt that he was a collaborator due to his young age. Police report that the boy was hanged by his own father, uncle, and cousin...

French Court: Access to Internet is Basic Human Right

Posted on June 12, 2009
France’s highest court, the Constitutional Council, has ruled that access to the Internet is a basic human right in a decision striking down a key component of the a new internet piracy law by the Sarkozy administration. The new law creates HADOPI, an agency that would track abusers of the Internet and cut off their access [...

Police: Neo-Nazi May Have Been Drawn to Holocaust Museum by Anne Frank Play

Posted on June 11, 2009
It nows appears that murderer and Neo-Nazi James W. von Brunn was drawn to the Holocaust museum by the performance of an Anne Frank play. Reportedly a World War II veteran, von Brunn was a holocaust denier with a particular fixation with the play. von Brunn, 88, is a native of St...

The Good Banker: Good Samaritan Beaten To Death By English Thugs

Posted on June 11, 2009
With all of the bad news about bankers of late, here is one banker who will be greatly missed. Frank McGarahan, a senior executive with Barclay’s, saw a group of youths beating a homeless man. Instead of walking by, McGarahan intervened and paid with his life...

Look of the Lesbian: Virginia Prison Challenged Over Segregation of Women Who Look Lesbian in ?Butch Wing?

Posted on June 11, 2009
Officials at Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women reportedly know a lesbian when they see one. The prison is being challenged for segregating inmates by such telltale lesbian characteristics as loose-fitting clothes, short hair or otherwise masculine looks...

Meaning of Empathy: Sotomayor Refused to Consider Appeal of Man Based on Technicality ? Man Later Found Innocent Based on DNA

Posted on June 11, 2009
Civil libertarians have been complaining that many liberals are ignoring that Judge Sonia Sotomayor has been viewed as hostile to core liberal values and has a fairly conservative voting record in many areas, including free speech, student rights, and criminal procedure...

Indian Colleges to Expel Any Women Wearing Jeans or Shorts ? In Order to Protect Them

Posted on June 11, 2009
Colleges in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh have a novel way to protecting women from sexual harassment. Officials announced that any female students wearing jeans, shorts, minishirts, or tight blouses will be expelled because men are harassing them...

New York Times: Sotomayor Called Herself an ?Affirmative Action Baby?

Posted on June 11, 2009
The New York Times reports that Judge Sonia Sotomayor once described herself as ?a product of affirmative action? and that she was admitted to both Princeton and Yale with “subpar” scores due to affirmative action. The comments have heightened criticism of her vote in the New Haven firefighters case where she supported the [...

Professor Settles Lawsuit With City Over Arrest For Taking Pictures of Power Lines

Posted on June 10, 2009
University of Washington Professor Shirley Scheier has settled the lawsuit over her arrest by the City of Snohomish for taking pictures of power lines. The American Civil Liberties Union represented her and settled for $8000. The settlement is disappointing and disturbing given the small damages and lack of deterrent effect for the city...

Palin Proletariat: Alaskan Governor Acclaims the Common Resources in Her State and Then Warns That We Are Embracing Socialism

Posted on June 10, 2009
Alaskans Unite! You have nothing to lose but your chainsaws. Now, for our latest manifesto from Comrade Palin. See video clip below with Sean Hannity. While this does not compete with the Palin Turkey Grind video, this one is a gem. In an interview with Fox, Palin explains how Alaska is a [...

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