Articles Posted in Articles of Interest

Just when you thought the Duke Lacrosse story was over, a new lawsuit begins to take shape. The family of one of the accused Duke Lacrosse players has told the alleged victim that if she publishes her memoire about the 2006 lacrosse team party, where she had been hired to perform as a stripper, that they will bring charges for libel and slander. The woman, Crystal Mangum, who appeared publicly for the first time since making the accusations more than two years ago, says in her book that she is not “looking forward to opening old wounds” but that she had to defend herself. “I want to assert, without equivocation, that I was assaulted,” she writes in “The Last Dance for Grace: The Crystal Mangum Story.” After a disastrous local prosecution that led to the downfall of the district attorney, the state attorney general’s office concluded there was no credible evidence an attack occurred. But regardless of the criminal prosecution, do you think Ms. Mangum should be allowed to publish her memoire without facing civil penalties or should her voice be silenced?

Several nonprofit groups filed a lawsuit last week saying a Florida law prohibits their right to free speech.

The state’s electioneering communications law requires groups to register with the state before they voice support for a candidate or constitutional amendment up for a vote. Critics contend that by forcing these small community groups to follow the same types of regulations as professional and political committees it keeps these smaller organizations from participating in elections. “Florida’s law is part of a growing trend of shutting up and shutting out anyone but political pros from politics,” said Bert Gall, an IJ senior attorney. Fines for failing to register under the new code which boasts an upward of 100 possible violations can be as much as $1,000. This regulation on the fundamental right to free speech is mostly justified by the problems with election financing. However, this law ends up hurting the problems it means to fix. Freezing the voices of ordinary citizens and educational non-profits doesn’t seem to be the most efficient way to solve the problems with election finance. Given the small nature of these organizations and the broad implication of the regulations, almost all non-profits will be forced to avoid talking politics or face hundreds of hours of paperwork by attorneys that they simply cannot afford. It seems clear that the legislature is unremorseful about disregarding the voices of thousands. These individuals should be able to have their voices heard without looking over their shoulders first to see if the proper paperwork has been filled out.

A year after the tragic death of two daughters found dead in the back seat of their father’s taxi cab, the FBI is now for the first time labeling this an “honor killing.” The two daughters were brutally killed on New Year’s Day leading to questions about whether their father — the prime suspect and the subject of a nationwide manhunt — may have targeted them because of a perceived slight upon his honor. Although not common in the Muslim world, honor killings occur about 5,000 times a year according to the United Nations. In fact, some countries have laws which that protect men who murder female relatives they believe have engaged in inappropriate activity. Labeling this an honor killing will not bring back 17 year old Sarah or her sister Amina, 18, but hopefully some good will come from this tragedy. Society must begin to recognize warning signs, which seem to have been apparent in this case, so that future honor crimes can be prevented. However, it is also important not to stigmatize the Muslim community as condoning such heinous acts. This is a fine line that must not become blurred. On one hand family and friends of those potentially involved must be watchful for warning signs such as abuse and threats of violence, where on the other hand they must not mistake every person of Islamic faith as capable of such terrible acts.

According to a study released recently, Houston police officers have used Tasers more on black suspects than any other group of individuals.

A Houston city audit found that police officers used Tasers more often on black suspects than on other suspects. Of 1,417 Taser deployments by officers between December 2004 and June 2007, nearly 67 percent were used on black suspects, according to an audit conducted for the city by a team of criminology, statistics and mathematics experts. About 25 percent of Houston’s population is black.

Houston police said their use of Tasers was not tied to race, but to a person’s behavior. “It’s not a racial issue. A Taser device is no different from a radar gun. It’s race neutral,” Executive Assistant Police Chief Charles McClelland said after the Houston City Council meeting during which the report was released. The study found that black officers were less likely than white or Hispanic officers to use Tasers on a black suspect.

According to his lawyer, a convicted sex offender facing execution for raping and strangling a Clemson University student feels so guilty for his crimes that life in prison would be harder on him. This argument was made in a South Carolina court recently.

Jerry Buck Inman, 37, faces the death penalty for the murder of a Clemson University student.

Buck Inman pleaded guilty last month to murdering 20-year-old engineering student Tiffany Marie Souers in May 2006 in her apartment about three miles from the South Carolina college’s campus.

Manuel Castillo expected to drive his truck filled with onions through Alabama back home to California without incident. Unfortunately, he was stopped by a trooper and given a $500 ticket for something he didn’t think he was doing: speaking English poorly.

Castillo was aware of a federal law that requires him to be able to converse in English with an officer but he thought his language skills were good enough to avoid a ticket.

Still, Castillo said he plans to pay the maximum fine of $500 rather than return to Alabama to fight the ticket.

How times have changed! A father in Fairfield, Ohio actually got jail time because his daughter, Brittany failed to receive her General Equivalency Diploma (GED). At the time he was sent to jail, she was 18 years old. That makes her a legal & consenting adult! Even so Juvenile Court Judge David Niehaus sent him to jail on charges of contributing to the delinquency of a minor because at the time he ordered Brittany to complete her GED she was still a minor. To make matters even worse for this dad, Brittany was not even living with him during the time she was ordered to complete her GED. She was living with her mother but since her dad had custody, he was the one held responsible. Brittany is presently attending school to complete her GED and even she thinks her dad is got the short end of the stick. What’s ironic is that if Brittany’s dad would have spanked her in order to get her butt in gear, he’d probably be going to jail on an abuse charge. There’s not much more to say on this one other then this is absurd.

Here’s another one courtesy of our neighbors just north of the border. A twelve year old sixth grader from Quebec, Canada didn’t like being grounded and missing a graduation trip with her elementary school class mates, so she filed a lawsuit. Initially, she was ordered by her dad not to go online because she had posted pictures of herself on an internet dating site. However, when she got into a fight with her stepmother, the dad took it up a notch. He told her that she couldn’t go on the three day trip with her friends. The girl went to stay with her mother and then promptly filed a motion asking the court to overturn the punishment. Outrageous! No way the courts would touch this one, right? Well, if that were the case, it wouldn’t make my blog. Unbelievably, Quebec Superior Court Judge Suzanne Tessier ruled that the father’s punishment was out of line. The Judge’s reasoning was that the girl had already been sufficiently punished.

This case obviously concerns me. All it takes is one clever American child who reads this story and says, “Hey, I shouldn’t have to sit in time out any more. Also, how dare my parents take away my cell phone. We’ll see what Judge Judy has to say about that!” While it may be good for business, I am willing to forgo the opportunity of defending parents in court if it means that our legal system won’t embrace these ridiculous lawsuits

I’d say “thank God” this one happened in Canada and not here, however, I could see this easily happening on our great country. On May 30, 2008, an educational assistant who works in a special education class with five autistic children at Terry Fox Elementary, made a shocking allegation. She alleged that one of her students, 11 year old Victoria, was being sexually abused. The school then immediately contacted the Children’s Aid Society (Florida’s equivalent of the Department of Children and Family (DCF)) who immediately took action.

The teacher didn’t hear allegations of abuse from the 11 year old autistic child. Rather, she heard the information from a psychic. Yes, I said it…a psychic…a psychic who had never met the little girl. Apparently, the teacher went to see a psychic who asked the teacher if she works with a little girl with the initial “V.” When the teacher said, “yes,” the psychic replied, “Well, you need to know that this girl is being sexually abused by a man between the ages of 23 and 26.”

The girl’s mother, 38 year old Colleen Leduc is a single mom working hard to support herself and her 11 year old autistic daughter. She was sick to her stomach when told that school officials were reporting these false allegations. Leduc was told by officials at the school that the school is required to report suspected abuse if there are “reasonable grounds.”

Imagine a place where failing to mow your lawn could land you in jail. I know what you’re thinking…that could only happen in some communist country. Well, think again. In Canton Ohio (that’s the Canton Ohio in the United States), homeowners face possible jail time if they are found guilty of a “second high-grass violation.” The city council unanimously passed a law making a second violation a misdemeanor, carrying a fine of up to $250 and as many as 30 days in the slammer. The new law takes effect in one month. Mayor William J. Healy II said, “This is the type of action we need to take in order to clean up our neighborhoods and our city,”