Posts

Amid the recent allegations from the White House that the Russian government was involved in the DNC cyber attack, questions have been arising about the legality of international hackers interfering with elections. There are several laws on the books in the United States – and in most countries – that make it illegal to interference with an election, whether through cyber attack or otherwise. However, it’s not so simple to determine how these laws can be enforced against a person in a different country....

Dollree Mapp, the appellant in a groundbreaking case, Mapp v. Ohio, which fundamentally strengthened our Fourth Amendment rights, has passed away. Despite being in a landmark Supreme Court case, it took about a month after Mapp’s death for the media to take notice. The New York Times reports that Mapp was believed to be 90 or 91 when she died October 31 in or near Conyers, Georgia. In remembrance, let’s review the Mapp case and all it has done for civil rights....

An early step in many criminal cases is a motion to dismiss the charges. It is a request from the defendant, asking the court to end the case before it ever gets to trial. Motions to dismiss can be based on numerous issues and only some of them are granted. While every criminal case is unique, let’s take a look at a few of the reasons why a court will grant a motion to dismiss....

The Penn State/Jerry Sandusky sex scandal has led to another arrest – this time, for DUI. Jay Gray, an NBC News national correspondent covering the scandal, was arrested for drunken driving after apparently boozing it up with Sandusky’s lawyer, Joe Amendola. Who is Jay Gray? He primarily works for NBC’s affiliate news service, reporting for hundreds of NBC stations nationwide. With nearly two decades of experience, Gray is often recruited to report for NBC’s Division I newscasts, “Today” and “Nightly News....

Scoring points for creativity, but not for intelligence, a pair of Oklahoma women were arrested on felony charges after being caught shoplifting at TJ Maxx. The women, Ailene Brown and Shmeco Thomas allegedly stuffed the items underneath their breasts and body fat. Ailene Brown and Shmeco Thomas are accused of trying to walk out with $2,600 of merchandise at the store but were caught red handed. That’s quite a lot of money for a TJ Maxx isn’t it?...

In the wake of the recent salmonella outbreak related to peanuts, lawmakers are calling for a new federal agency to oversee food safety. Suggestions range from splitting the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) into two agencies to creating a new agency that would combine pieces from the different agencies that currently attempt to oversee food safety. The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports that 650 people in 44 states have been sickened, and at least 9 have died, due to salmonella from peanut products....

Rulings against Texas’ abortion law and New York City’s stop-and-frisk policies were blocked by two separate federal appeals courts on Thursday. In the Texas case, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a ruling preventing a Texas law from requiring abortion providers to have “admitting privileges” at local hospitals. In the New York case, which chastised the NYPD for unconstitutional search and arrest practices, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held that the ruling judge was biased....

Topps meat company, the frozen beef manufacturer that recalled more than 21 million pounds of ground beef products on September 25 due to links to E. coli bacteria, has announced that it is going out of business. The New York Times reports that “the company, based in Elizabeth, N.J., said a few of its 87 employees will remain at the plant to help the United States Department of Agriculture investigate how the E....

Most people accused of a crime don’t just sit in jail waiting for their trial. Instead, they are released on bail, a sort of financial insurance policy on their future appearance in court. But when faced with the choice of going to court and going on the run, not all criminal defendants choose the former. So what happens if you skip town while you’re out on bail? Nothing good. Arrest Warrants Obviously, if you fail to appear in court, a warrant will likely be issued for your arrest....

A warrant was issued for Robin Hall’s arrest back in 1991 after she was caught shoplifting cigarettes and failed to pay some court fees. She gave police the slip for 22 years, but her past finally caught up with her – and totally ruined her vacation. To be fair, it’s not like Hall was living a life of crime. In all these years, she earned her degree, got married, had children, and now designs jet engines for an aerospace manufacturer....

If you’ve seen “Trailer Park Boys” and, for whatever reason, wished it was real life, you’re in luck. “Welcome to Myrtle Manor” is a “docu-drama” reality show on TLC about a group of South Carolinians living in a trailer park. But in what could be a new record for reality TV, three stars of “Myrtle Manor” were arrested in the span of one weekend. Here’s the lowdown on what the method actors were cuffed for:...

Accidental deaths in the United States increased more than 20 percent from 1995 to 2005, according to the National Safety Council (NSC), a nonprofit, nongovernmental, public service organization. Over 113,000 accidental deaths occurred in the U.S. in 2005 (the year for which the latest data is available). In a press release, the NSC states that “for people between 1 and 41 years of age, accidents are the leading cause of death in the nation....

Over two years after the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage, same-sex couples are still battling on the fringes for the same rights as heterosexual couples. And when it comes to parental rights, those battles – for custody, visitation, even access to a spouse and child during and after childbirth – can be fierce. The Arizona Supreme Court leaned on that U.S. Supreme Court ruling to settle one of those battles, pertaining to parental rights under the state’s paternity statute....

If you do an online search for “Bev Stayart,” the search engine may suggest “bev stayart levitra.” So the real Bev Stayart filed a lawsuit against Google and other search engines. She wasn’t pleased that her name is associated with a medication for erectile dysfunction. She sued Yahoo! and lost, and then filed a lawsuit against Google, claiming the search engine violated Wisconsin’s privacy laws. She’s right that Wisconsin does have a right to privacy law....

Fireworks combine our love of bright lights and loud noises with our equal affection for fire. But as many Americans learn first-hand around the Fourth of July, you can be arrested in many states for simply possessing fireworks. Although enforcement of fireworks laws varies from county to county and state to state, possessing or setting off illegal fireworks can lead to your arrest. It may simply depend on the type or amount of fireworks whether you end up with a citation or in handcuffs....

The alleged David Beckham affair with a prostitute is finding the gossip magazine that first broke the story in the middle of a large lawsuit. Calling the allegations that he had a threesome with the prostitute back in 2007 “unequivocally false,” David Beckham is suing In Touch magazine for a cool $25 million. Under oath the British soccer star went after the David Beckham prostitute story, claiming that he never engaged in any inappropriate conduct with a prostitute named Irma Nic....

Teenagers are the most dangerous drivers on the road, with a crash rate almost four times that of older drivers. Males are particularly susceptible, and the rate is especially high during the first year of driving. We also know technology can greatly affect a teen driver’s accident risk. But so does the number of teen passengers. A new study by the American Automobile Association Foundation for Traffic Safety pinpoints just how much....

Joe Halderman, the former CBS producer and blackmailer who tried to extort $2 million from late-night host David Letterman will be spending the next six months behind bars. Halderman is scheduled to begin serving the prison sentence handed down in March, on May 4. He pleaded guilty to attempted grand larceny, the Associated Press reports. The Letterman blackmailer will serve his sentence in New York’s Rikers Island. Joe Halderman is an Emmy-nominated news producer, worked on a variety of legal stories for CBS including those on Madeleine ‘Maddie’ McCann’s disappearance and Italy’s murder case against American foreign exchange student Amanda Knox....

For every lawsuit there typically is a countersuit. At least when Paris Hilton is involved. The latest headline from the heiress: Paris Hilton Files Hair Extension Countersuit. Yes, the suit that accused Miss. Hilton of wearing the wrong hair extensions and seeking $35 million in damages is now getting a response from Paris’s legal team on the hairy situation. In addition to the whole wrong hair extension issue, Hairtech International sued Paris for breach of contract and failing to appear at important promotional events....

Toy and scooter manufacturer Razor USA and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) have announced the recall of thousands of Razor scooters and four-wheeled ride-on vehicles, due to two separate product defects that can cause injuries to riders. The scooter recall announced Thursday involves about 103,000 Razor “PowerWing” three-wheeled scooters, black or silver in color. According to a CPSC Press Release, the scooter’s foot platforms can have sharp edges and may pose a laceration hazard....