Killers usually don’t want to be caught, and abducting and murdering strangers typically isn’t an impulsive act. It would be nice to think these twisted psychopaths could be deterred by fear of capture, but historically that wasn’t the case. Threat of consequences wasn’t enou[...]
Archive for the ‘Law and Courts’ Category
August 16th, 2024 - 4:58 am § in Law and Courts
Cop who raped 13-year-old girl gets 20 days in jail
Shawn Jordan (photo, left) was a 38-year-old cop in Rochester, New York, when he raped the 13-year-old girl. Now 40 years old, he pleaded guilty in exchange for 10 weekends in jail, 10 years of probation, and $1,000 of fines. He also has to register as a sex offender, lost his job, and will never [&[...]
August 15th, 2024 - 3:34 pm § in Law and Courts
What’s the proper remedy for abuse of red flag gun laws?
Everyone agrees that Donald S. Willey (photo, left), 65, of Hoopers Island, Maryland, is a “decorated Marine combat veteran.” His neighbors claim he has mental problems. County zoning officials describe his property as a “junkyard” where fires have broken out. No photo is ava[...]
August 15th, 2024 - 5:45 am § in Law and Courts, Republicans
The Supreme Court isn’t a real court anymore
A court makes judicial decisions. This Supreme Court makes political decisions. The Supreme Court is supposed to be one of the Constitution’s checks and balances. It no longer is. This court has grabbed power for itself and eliminated checks on presidential power. Let’s look, for a minut[...]
August 14th, 2024 - 5:53 pm § in Law and Courts
Sign up for Disney+, lose your legal rights
In October 2023, Jeffrey Piccolo and his wife visited a Disney theme park in Florida, and ate in a restaurant there. She had food allergies, they informed their server of this, and he assured them her food was allergen-free. It wasn’t and the allergic reaction killed her (see story here). Pret[...]
Can states ban lab-grown meat?
That’s a complicated legal question the courts will have to answer. The closest analogy I can think of is Wisconsin’s margarine ban in effect from 1895 to 1967 (see story here); as far as I know, it was never struck down by the courts. That ban was enacted to protect Wisconsin’s da[...]
A brief history of free speech in America
Free speech as we know it occurred late in American history, is fragile, and could go away. For most of American history, unpopular political views could (and did) get dissidents, organizers, publishers, and even artists thrown in prison. The notion of a “free trade in ideas,” which spra[...]
August 10th, 2024 - 5:22 am § in Law and Courts, Racism
Do bodycams exonerate cop who killed Illinois woman?
In the early morning hours of July 6, 2024, Sonya Massey, 36, of Springfield, Illinois, a black woman, was killed in her home by Sean Grayson, 30, who is white. Massey called 911 to report a possible intruder. Grayson was one of two responding deputies. They didn’t find an intruder, and her fa[...]
Jan. 6 rioter with extensive criminal history sentenced to 20 years
David Nicholas Dempsey (photo, left), 37, of Van Nuys, California, was one of the most violent Jan. 6 rioters. He “stomped on police officers’ heads,” the Associated Press says (here), and “swung poles at officers defending a tunnel, struck an officer in the head with a metal cru[...]
Is Alabama’s new school segregation scheme illegal?
In March 2024, Alabama’s governor signed a bill authorizing state-funded school vouchers for students attending private schools (see story here). The funding mechanism is complicated, and intentionally so. Instead of directly paying tuition at private schools, or giving tuition vouchers to par[...]