Larry Craig Can’t Catch a Break
First the guy in the stall next to him turns out to be an undercover cop, then they won't let him withdraw his guilty plea, then he has to retire from the Senate, now they're all "you can't use campaign…
Criminal
Legally Dead Man Sentenced to Be Actually Dead
After I reported on the case of Donald Miller, the Ohio man who failed to convince a judge he should not be considered legally dead ("'No, You're Still Deceased,' Judge Tells Dead Man" (Oct. 10, 2013)), several people wrote in to…
BREAKING: Officers Do Not Kill Suspect
Okay, it's not "breaking," but it does seem worth commenting on two recent cases in which officers did not open fire on a suspect. Of course most police-citizen interactions do not end in death, but lately it has at least started…
Polygamist Ninja Women Unprepared for Swordplay
The polygamists were dressed like ninjas, but not armed like ninjas.
Good Reason to Kill #50: Would Not Buy a Hat
This case did not involve an angry hat-seller, but rather was an incident of domestic violence, which, I hasten to point out, is never funny except on the very rare occasions it is. According to WKRN in Nashville, a woman was arrested Saturday…
Actually, We Were Wondering How You Signed the Claim Forms
In May, South Carolina's Attorney General reported that the number of insurance-fraud cases in the state had reached an all-time high in 2013. The report (via Overlawyered) is mostly just numbers, but it does include two or three examples of now-closed cases,…
ADVISORY: Do Not Attempt to Yank Down the Shorts of a U.S. Marshal
There are exceptions to any rule, of course, but the exceptions here are really quite limited. Perhaps you are also a U.S. marshal and are attending an informal gathering of U.S. marshals during which shorts-yanking horseplay might be expected. Or…
Hipster Opponent Convicted of Making False Reports
The NY Daily News reports that the Brooklyn man who repeatedly called 911 to complain about hipster-generated noise in his neighborhood (see "Hipster Infestation Not 'Emergency,' Say Police" (Jan. 6, 2013)) has been convicted of making four false crime reports as part of his…
Author Arrested for Writing About Murder in the 30th Century [Updated]
In Maryland it is apparently not only illegal to write dark science fiction, people who write it may simply disappear. Sadly, that's not the first line of my review of a new dark-science-fiction novel about people who disappear after writing…
Mullet Gang Convictions Reversed
Before people start checking their beards into the witness-protection program, I should point out that the hub of this conspiracy, Samuel Mullet, Sr., is not about to be released. He and four other members of the Mullet Gang did not…