Legal Commentary

Retired Ohio Auto Worker John Demjanjuk Charged With 29,000 Crimes for Death Camp Murders

Posted on March 11, 2009
German prosecutors have hit retired Ohio auto worker John Demjanjuk, 88, the U.S.with more than 29,000 counts of accessory to murder for his work as a guard at Sobibor death camp. Born in the Ukraine, Demjanjuk lives in a Cleveland suburb, denies involvement, but the Germans will now move for his extradiction...

South Carolina Pastor Charged in Burning of His Own Church

Posted on March 11, 2009
Baptist Pastor Christopher P. Daniels,40, has been arrested for second-degree arson in the burning down of his own church in Belton, South Carolina. Daniels reported the fire himself. Previously, the church lost half of its congregation of 50 and was vandalized with gang-like graffiti...

Somalia Sharia Justice: Court Sentences Rape Victim to Death But Gang Rapists Laugh as They are Given Light Flogging

Posted on March 11, 2009
In Mogadishu, Somalia, gang rapists laughed as they were publicly flogged under orders from a Sharia judge. However, they were light flogging through their clothes that did not break their skin. They laughed as people watched the largely symbolic flogging...

Bernard Madoff To Plead Guilty to 11 Counts and Face 150 Years in Prison

Posted on March 11, 2009
Bernard Madoff will plead guilty this week to 11 counts, including money laundering, perjury and securities, mail and wire fraud. He would face 150 years. Prosecutors insist that there is no deal. Indeed, this may be a plea given in the absence of any cognizable defense...

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Sheriff Joe Arpaio Under Federal Investigation

Posted on March 11, 2009
Maricopa County Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio is under federal investigation for possible constitutional violations and discrimination. The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division is looking into whether his office is engaging in “patterns or practices of discriminatory police practices and unconstitutional searches and seizures...

Time Will Tell: Secret Civil War Message Found In Abraham Lincoln?s Pocket Watch

Posted on March 11, 2009
As a history nut, this story is simply too good to be true. For decades, there has been a rumor that the pocket watch of Abraham Lincoln contained a secret message from the Civil War. The National Museum of American History finally decided to check the story out and carefully opened the back [...

Utah Embraces Marxism: Utah To Allow Citizens Simply to Walk Into Bars and Order Drinks

Posted on March 10, 2009
For those people who agree with Groucho Marx that they would never want to be in a club that would have someone like them for a member, your wishes have been answered. Utah has made a major change that has beer drinkers raising a glass around the world...

Sloth Found On Thomas Jefferson Law School

Posted on March 10, 2009
We previously posted a blog about prehistoric bones of a mammoth found at the new site of the Thomas Jefferson Law School. The ancient sloth may have been about been 10 to 12 feet long and 6 to 8 feet tall. What is particularly amazing is that the ancient sloth found at the Thomas [...

Thou Shalt Not Blaspheme Scientology: England Criminalizes Criticism of the Church of Scientology

Posted on March 10, 2009
England’s Crown Prosecution Service will now criminally charge people who say bad things about Scientology, which is viewed by some people as a dangerous cult. Anyone can be arrested if they ?abuse? or ?threaten? the Church of Scientology under the Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006...

Landslide in Worker?s Paradise: Kim Jong Il Reelected With 98.98 Percent of the Vote

Posted on March 10, 2009
Kim Jong Il has been re-elected again as North Korea’s most beloved dictator by a vote of 98.98 percent. No hanging chads or machine malfunctions, just good old North Korean politicking by the Dear One. It appears that Ron Paul received the remaining 1...

?Illegal Mingling?: Seventy-Five Year Old Woman Sentenced to 40 Lashes and Jail for Merely Speaking With Two Young Men

Posted on March 10, 2009
Khamisa Sawadi, 75, is a Syrian widow of a Saudi man still living in the Kingdom. She has been sentenced to 40 lashes and four months in jail for simply being seen speaking with two young men who are not her relatives. After being flogged and jailed, she will then be deported for [...

One Angry Man: California Lawyer Faces Disbarment Over Alleged Misconduct as Juror

Posted on March 10, 2009
The California State Bar Court Review Department has recommended that San Francisco attorney Francis T. Fahy was disbarred after he allegedly said that he would change his vote simply to get back to his law practice. This is an amazing case that reads like a scene out of Twelve Angry Men when Juror Number [...

Pennsylvania Trooper Stands Trial in Murder of Dentist

Posted on March 10, 2009
A Pennsylvania state trooper, Kevin Foley, (left) has been charged in the murder of dentist Dr. John Yelenic, the estranged husband of his girlfriend, Michele Yelenic (right). Prosecutors allege that Foley not only prayed for Yelenic’s death but tried to convince another trooper to help kill him...

Suing Your Wild Oats: Whole Foods Agrees to Sell Chain in Antitrust Settlement

Posted on March 09, 2009
Whole Foods Market has agreed to a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission in an antitrust case. Whole Foods has been under investigation since its merger with Wild Oats Markets, another high-end organic grocery chain. It was a miscalculation...

Wisconsin Man Arrested After Bringing Internet Instructions on Building a Meth Lab to Hardware Store

Posted on March 09, 2009
Derek J. Haines, 24, of Waukesha, Wisconsin turned to the Internet like some many people trying to better themselves. Haines’ problem was downloading instructions of how to build a meth lab and then taking the print out on a shopping trip to the local hardware store — where he was arrested...

Iranian Justice: Eight Women Face Stoning Deaths for Adultery

Posted on March 09, 2009
Iran is reportedly preparing for the possible stoning to death of as many as eight women for adultery in its medieval legal system. In one case involving a woman, Ashraf Kalhori, who was accused of both adultery and taking part in the murder of her husband...

Stepfather Rapes Nine-Year-Old Girl Who Then Had Abortion ? Vatican Excommunicates the Girl and Her Doctors

Posted on March 09, 2009
The case of a Brazilian nine-year-old girl who was raped and impregnated by her stepfather has shocked many in that country and the world. However, there is a strikingly different view of the most serious elements of this crime. For the Vatican, the most shocking part is that the girl was given an [...

Former Israeli President Moshe Katsav To Be Indicted For Rape and Sexual Assault

Posted on March 09, 2009
Former Israeli President Moshe Katsav is expected to be indicted as early as this week on charges of rape and sexual assault involving multiple women who worked for the government. He will also be charged with obstruction of justice by Attorney General Menachem Mazuz...

Who Wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls Emails? Lawyer Charged With Impersonating NYU Professor

Posted on March 09, 2009
A lawyer is in the midst of a bizarre case that intersects criminal law and academia. Raphael Golb, 49, is accused of impersonating a rival of his father, Norman Golb, a leading expert on the Dead Sea Scrolls and University of Chicago professor. Norman Golb (left) is the author of “Who Wrote the [...

Obama Reverses Bush Policy on Stem Cell Research

Posted on March 09, 2009
In a wonderful moment for both science and humanity, President Barack Obama repealed the policy of George Bush limiting federal funding for stem cell research. The policy put inot place in 2001 has slowed progress toward finding cures from some of the worst diseases like Parkinson’s disease...

Raw Talent

Posted on March 08, 2009
This is why I like dogs. You could never get a cat to do something like this. Sure, a cat could probably get a dog to do it. But when it comes to stepping up to the plate and going for the three ball record, leave it to a dog. Of course, in this competitive species, I [...

Berlin Government Forced to Remove Anti-Scientology Kiosk From Street in Front of Church

Posted on March 08, 2009
It appears that the Church of Scientology has won an administrative ruling that forces Berlin to remove an anti-Scientology kiosk in front of the Church. The ruling In der Scientology Kirche Berlin v. das Land Berlin, (Berlin Administrative Court, Feb...

Judge DuBose Sentences Judge DuBose to Jail

Posted on March 08, 2009
Ex-judge Stuart DuBose in Alabama has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for federal firearms violatons by Judge Kristi DuBose. Judge DuBose actually departed from the guidelines to give ex-judge DuBose a lower sentence. On April 7, ex-judge DuBose was given a restraining order in a divorce case to stay away from this wife [...

Three Atlanta Police Officers Sentenced for Planting Evidence and Killing a 92-Year-Old Grandmother in Botched Raid

Posted on March 08, 2009
Three former Atlanta police officers have been sentenced to prison in one of the most disturbing recent cases of police abuse. Former officers — Jason Smith, Gregg Junnier and Arthur Tesler — were sentenced to ten to three years for their roles in the death of 92-year-old Kathryn Johnston...

Seasoning with the Saints: ?Blessed Christian Salt? Challenges Kosher Salt for the Palates of the Faithful

Posted on March 08, 2009
Christians it appears have been fuming every time that they go into a store and see Kosher salt but look endlessly and unsuccessfully for the Christian salt. Enter former barber Joe Godlewski. Godlewski does not just share God’s moniker, he became God’s instrument in creating “Blessed Christian Salt,” sea salt blessed by an Episcopalian [...

Swank Flasher: Man Who Allegedly Flashed Girls at Lemonade Stand is Finally Caught With Help of Young Victim

Posted on March 07, 2009
Rodney Swank, 52, may be the most misnamed man in the world. Not only is he accused for exposing himself to children, he picked 8 and 9-year-old girls in St. Louis at a lemonade stand to engage in flashing. What is most remarkable is that he returned to the area recently and flashed [...

Private Necessity Defense: Man Claims He Was Speeding to Get To Liquor Store Before It Closed

Posted on March 07, 2009
When Vero Beach, Florida police stopped Justin Lee Williams,24, for an improper turn and suspicion of DUI, he allegedly had a curious defense: he had only five minutes to get to the store to buy beer. The stop occurred shortly before 1:00 a.m. and Williams’ field test showed that he was legally drunk...

Beware of Obama Officials Bearing Gifts: Recent Gift Gaffes Show a Certain Lack of Tact and Sophistication in the New Administration

Posted on March 07, 2009
Author Richard Bach once said “?Every problem has a gift for you in its hands.? But what is the problem is the gift? That is the problem being contemplated by the Obama Administration after a series of truly embarrassing gift gaffes that make the country look cheap, unsophisticated, or ignorant — or all [...

Cookman Takes Money From Beverage Account and Falsely Claims Frye Award

Posted on March 07, 2009
ROMNEY, W.Va. ? Suspended Lawyer and Ex-County Commissioner Donald Paul Cookman has now been charged with three counts of embezzlement and four counts of forgery in West Virginia. The charging papers describe what is alleged to be a snowballing disaster for a lawyer in severe financial distress...

Supreme Court Vacates Fourth Circuit?s Ruling on Al-Marri

Posted on March 07, 2009
This week, the Supreme Court delivered a decision was as brief as it was significant. The Court vacated the recent ruling by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit that the President can detain Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri, a citizen of Qatar who was lawfully in the United States as [...

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