Missouri Highway Patrol Trooper Ralph Tatoian fell victim to a fatal car crash while en route to the area — 40 miles away — where fugitive Massigh Stallman, on foot, was being sought in a manhunt. Now a jury has convicted Stallman of responsbility for Tatoian’s death (“Jury Convicts Suspect In Highway Patrolman’s Death”, KSDK, Missouri, Jul. 20). More: possibly similar case arises in Phoenix after crash of two news helicopters during police pursuit (Jul. 28).
Posts Tagged ‘crime and punishment’
32 years later
The Rhode Island attorney general’s office has charged a man with rape based on a memory “repressed” by the complainant “until recently”. Harold Allen of Narragansett, 48, at the time of the alleged incident was sixteen years old, as was the complainant. Allen has pleaded not guilty, and through his attorney says he never had relations with the woman, though he was acquainted with her. There is no statute of limitations on the charge of first-degree sexual assault. (“Man charged with rape 32 years later”, AP/EyewitnessNews, Jun. 14; Volokh, Jul. 3).
Speeding Into Court
I smell class action:
Frequent N.H. Speeder Wants Limit Raised
DOVER, N.H. – A man with a penchant for speedy driving has come up with an unusual tactic for beating speeding tickets — raise the limit. So far this year, Larry Lemay has been ticketed four times for speeding.
Rather than slow down, Lemay is suing the state Department of Transportation to study traffic and speed limits across New Hampshire, to see whether limits could be raised. … Lemay said he believes many speed limits are set intentionally low so the state can cash in on drivers.
I’m not sure exactly what this lawsuit is meant to accomplish. So he wins, and a judge orders the state to do a “study” that it doesn’t want to do? Want three guesses as to what the study is going to say?
On the other hand, I might have to give him a call to see if I can file an amicus brief. I have a lot of parking tickets that I think violate my right to park on the sidewalk.
Louisiana Town “Cracking” Down
When showing your crack is outlawed, then only outlaws will be showing their crack:
Cajun Town Bans Saggy Pants (NYT, June 13)
DELCAMBRE, La. (AP) — Sag your britches somewhere else, this Cajun-country town has decided. Mayor Carol Broussard said he would sign an ordinance the town council approved this week setting penalties of up to six months in jail and a $500 fine for being caught in pants that show undergarments or certain parts of the body.
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I totally envision a Footloose-type of situation here where a spry young high schooler rolls into town and teaches all the townsfolk that butt cracks can be a perfectly beautiful and natural occurrence.
The downside of this ordinance, of course, is that it will drive all the plumbers out of town. Better get your sink fixed before it goes into effect. Oh, and as long as we’re talking about plumbers, it gives me an excuse to show you this outstanding commercial. That is all.
A Comedian Who ACTUALLY Kills
You may have heard of condemned Texas death row inmate Patrick Knight, who has expressed his desire to tell a joke as his final statement tonight. (June 4)
From the story:
Knight acknowledges there’s nothing funny about his likely execution later this month for the fatal shooting of his neighbors, Walter and Mary Werner, almost 16 years ago outside Amarillo. But to help him come up with his final statement, Knight is accepting jokes mailed to him on Texas’ death row or e-mailed to a friend who has a Web site for him. The friend then mails him the jokes…
He said he’s already received about 250 wisecracks.
“Lawyer jokes are real popular,” he said. “Some of them are a little on the edge. I’m not going to use any profanity if I can find the one I want, or any vulgar content. It wouldn’t be bad if it was a little bit on the edge. That would be cool.”
Thank goodness he is sparing lawyers from being subjected to an off-color joke. Good thing he’s on their side – unfortunately, it’s with everyone else that he gets a little “murdery.” And I especially appreciate his concern for the feelings of the family. Here’s a valuable tip when you want to show respect for a family – try to avoid shooting them to death. I read that in an etiquette book once, I think.
Court-Ordered Loneliness
In Ontario, Canada, a 24 year-old man has been ordered not to have a girlfriend for the next three years – due to a violent argument he had with his girlfriend. From the story:
Mr. Justice Rhys Morgan told a 24-year-old, characterized as having a dependent personality disorder, yesterday he could not have a girlfriend for the next three years.
The unusual order was added to Steven Cranley’s probation order after he pleaded guilty to six charges relating to an argument he had with his former girlfriend and a roommate Jan. 17.
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While this may seem like an unusual punishment, some of us have already had to suffer through similar periods of not having a girfriend. For me, it was a time period commonly known as “the 1990s.” And I didn’t even need a judge to mandate it. Fortunately, I now have an in-home judge that forbids me from having girlfriends. She is often referred to as “my wife.”
There’s no doubt this guy has mental problems. But as a result, he can now look forward to three years’ worth of late nights watching Cinemax, praying to God he doesn’t recognize any of the actresses’ names in the opening credits.
Committee votes to disbar Nifong
The Duke lacrosse prosecutor acted as a “minister of injustice”, said State Bar prosecutor Douglas Brocker. The disciplinary committee wound up agreeing unanimously on nearly every element of the ethics charges against Nifong, who’s agreed to quit as Durham prosecutor. (Aaron Beard, “N.C. Panel Disbars Duke Prosecutor”, AP/Chattanooga Times Free Press, Jun. 16; “Nifong stripped of law license”, Sports Network, Jun. 17). We’ve covered the case extensively from early on; K.C. Johnson at Durham in Wonderland, who’s led the blog charge on the issue, notes that the New York Times’s Duff Wilson is still slanting his coverage of the case (Jun. 16).
Mamaroneck: our cops won’t ask about legal status
That’s what the Westchester County, N.Y. town has pledged as part of the settlement of a lawsuit charging that cops were overly aggressive in policing an area where Hispanic day laborers hung out to solicit work. Because it’s not as if local police have any business concerning themselves with whether anyone’s violating federal law, right? Or something like that. You can see why David Frum (Jun. 15) might get riled up (Jim Fitzgerald, “Hispanic day laborers, NY village reach tentative agreement over discrimination lawsuit”, AP/Canton Repository, Jun. 11).
Update: New trial for Julie Amero
The Connecticut substitute teacher was tried and convicted after her computer, probably owing to a malware bug, displayed smutty websites in students’ presence (Jan. 20, Feb. 15, Mar. 14). The original trial, notes Glenn Reynolds (Jun. 7), “seemed like a grotesque miscarriage of justice”; prosecutors did not oppose a defense motion for a new trial. (Nate Anderson, “Substitute teacher spared sentencing for porn pop-ups, gets new trial”, Ars Technica, Jun. 7).
Thank the lawyers: Tonya Bell at Unifest
We didn’t note it at the time, but in December, Valentina Chambers won $945 thousand in her suit against DC police from a Washington DC jury. You see, a scofflaw was leading police on a car chase, and hit Chambers’ car, injuring her, and, like trial lawyers want, the deep pocket was liable for not simply letting the criminal get away—though at least not liable for the $100 million Chambers sought. (Henri Cauvin, “D.C. Ordered to Pay in Police Chase”, Washington Post, Dec. 14). Such liability concerns cause DC to have the strictest police chase policy in the country, something we’ve noted has expensive consequences for the non-criminal element of the city.
Tonya Bell, who some say is a temporary worker for Marion Barry, was driving in Southeast D.C. Saturday night, apparently after a full day of smoking crack. She rear-ended a police car at 7:15 pm, and drove away instead of stopping: sure enough, DC police followed the trial-lawyer-driven policy and broke off the chase. Bell rewarded the officers’ diligence by laughingly driving her Volvo through a crowd of people at a street-fair a half hour later, injuring at least forty, before police threw a couple of motorbikes under her vehicle to stop it. Thank the lawyers for yet another wonderful contribution to public safety, though we won’t see any class actions against the trial bar for this one. (Robert E. Pierre, Sue Anne Pressley Montes and Yolanda Woodlee, “Driver Used Crack Before Festival Crash, D.C. Police Say”, Washington Post, Jun. 4).