FAA Investigating Balloon-Boy Case; Balloon Dad Prepares for Apocalypse
Lawyer speculates Balloon Dad wanted to make a lot of money in a hurry because the world was about to end.
Criminal
“Grand Theft Auto” Insanity Defense Fails Again
I know this has been tried before, and I'd be surprised if it has ever worked, but it didn't work this time. In an opinion issued on October 14, the California Court of Appeal held that an insanity plea to…
Armed Robber Sues After Being Shot by Armed Victim
In September, 22-year-old Scott Zeilinski sued the owner and staff of Nick's Short Stop Party Store in Clinton Township, Michigan, alleging that he was shot and wounded during a visit to the store. Those allegations appear to be true. The…
Note: Being Found Sleeping on Large Bag of Pot May Be Seen as Incriminating
"Those drugs aren't mine" is probably a common argument, and commonly unsuccessful. And I would guess that it is an even tougher argument if you were found using a big bag of drugs as a mattress. Customs agents have charged two men with conspiracy and…
Beer-Drinking Woman’s Caning Can Proceed, Says Malaysian Court
Now that Ramadan is over, the case of Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno is back in the news. As you know, Ramadan is the Muslim holy month during which followers abstain during daylight hours from things like eating, drinking, smoking, and…
Police in South Carolina Town Not Allowed to Chase Suspects
There are many sad examples of innocent bystanders and police officers being injured as a result of high-speed chases, and so it is understandable that some cities might direct officers not to engage in those kinds of pursuits, on the grounds that…
Joe Francis Pleads Guilty, Avoids Jail in Tax Case
"I'm happy to finally be able to redirect my attention to the business at hand, which is to provide quality entertainment," said Joe Francis after his guilty plea was accepted on September 23. "Quality" is not really the first adjective…
Big Firm Rocked by Tab-Divider Scam
In what is believed to be the largest tab-divider scam yet perpetrated on a large American law firm, three men are accused of defrauding Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati out of $1 million by charging it for tab dividers that were never delivered. …
Malaysian Woman Sentenced to Caning for Drinking Beer
I have been meaning to post on this case for a while, and given yesterday's post on the story of Lubna Hussein, the Sudanese woman punished for wearing pants, now seems like a good time. In July, Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno,…
Sudan Fines Woman Who Dared To Wear Pants
The New York Times reports that a Sudanese woman has been fined the equivalent of $200 after a trial on Monday in which she was found guilty of wearing pants in public. She was, however, spared the 40 lashes she…