A Los Angeles man is accused of staging phony car accidents in order to dupe at least 10 elderly drivers into paying him. Investigators believe there may be more victims. David Stevens, 42, allegedly waved down senior drivers, accused them of hitting his car, and threatened to report them to the DMV if they didn’t pay for his phony repairs, Los Angeles’ KABC-TV reports. He was arrested on suspicion of grand theft, felony stalking, and burglary....
The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments today in a case that hinges on the constitutionality of a federal child pornography law. Specifically, the Court will decide whether certain provisions of the 2003 PROTECT Act are overly vague and/or impermissibly vague in violation of First Amendment free speech guarantees. The Associated Press reports that “opponents of the provision of the 2003 federal law that sets a five-year mandatory prison term for promoting child porn have said that movies that depict adolescent sex could fall under the law....
Nearly every internet user has encountered some form of the tech support scam in their browsing history. Although these tech support scams are rather common, the level of sophistication can vary as the majority of these are just online phishing scams. The most common tech support scams involve a user getting a pop-up window, or redirected to a webpage, that warns the user that their computer is or may be infected by a virus....
Most jurisdictions make a distinction between the different types of murder and provide different penalties accordingly. Commonly, states will have both first degree and second degree murder for intentional killings. For states that carry capital punishment, someone convicted of first degree murder could face the death penalty. Someone convicted of second degree murder usually faces life imprisonment. But if both first degree and second degree murder involve intentional killings, you may be wondering just what distinguishes the two crimes....
Rideshare drivers have to put up with quite a bit of nonsense from riders, but one thing they don’t have to put up with is a beat down. No matter how bad your Uber or Lyft driver messes up the route to your favorite mojito serving Scandinavian Jazz bistro, you can’t hit them. As a former Taco Bell executive can attest to, attacking a rideshare driver can have far reaching consequences, including civil and criminal charges, as well as public humiliation and getting fired....
The “Deport Justin Bieber” petition at WhiteHouse.gov has finally gotten a response from the Obama administration, but probably not the one the petition’s 273,000 supporters were hoping for. In an official response titled “Believing in Immigration Reform,” the White House responded, “Sorry to disappoint, but we won’t be commenting on this one.” The response then continues with a discussion of “common-sense immigration reform.” Why won’t the White House take the “Deport Bieber” petition seriously?...
The “plane groper” from a 2012 United Airlines flight has been found guilty of criminal sexual contact and sexual abuse of a fellow passenger seated next to him. Bawer Aksal, 49, of North Bergen, New Jersey, was found guilty of “digitally penetrat[ing]” a sleeping woman on a Newark-bound flight, a crime for which he may face life in prison, reports New York’s WCBS-TV. This airborne abuser may be facing a life sentence, but what do his charges actually entail?...
The American Civil Liberties Union sued the Obama administration Tuesday charging that its collection of vast domestic phone records violates Americans’ constitutional rights of free speech and privacy. The lawsuit could set up an eventual Supreme Court test, The New York Times reports. The ACLU argues the Obama’s administration’s “dragnet” collection of domestic phone call logs is illegal and has asked a judge to stop the practice and order the records purged....
Fox News commentator Bill O’Reilly is suing his ex-wife for fraudulent misrepresentation, saying she lied during their divorce for financial gain. According to Gawker, the O’Reilly filed papers in Nassau County Court in New York accusing Maureen McPhilmy of hiding her extra-marital affair to induce a consensual divorce from O’Reilly. He says she used money from the divorce to finance her extra-marital affair, and that she got more money because she pretended to be loyal....
Good news for teachers in the Golden State: the California Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal challenging teacher tenure and other job protections for educators. This means seniority rules and due process protections for teachers will remain in place, after a trial court judge threw them out in 2014. This case is just one flashpoint in the current push-and-pull of traditional teacher protections and unionization and a platform of education reform that aims to re-make schools in the image of private businesses....
Americans these days seem to be avid consumers of everything web-based. But, if things like Facebook are being used to organize crimes, can the government impose a Facebook ban? Or, even a blanket social media ban? It seems that our neighbors across the pond are considering a ban on things like Facebook and Twitter. The widely-publicized use of social media in organizing crimes like looting and vandalism in London likely influenced this new idea....
Paper money in the U.S. currency system discriminates against the visually impaired, because all bills are of the same size, feel, and color scheme regardless of denomination, a federal appeals court in the District of Columbia ruled on Tuesday. The 2-1 decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit held that the U.S. Treasury Department’s existing paper currency system amounts to a “denial of meaningful access” under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, a federal law that protects the rights of the disabled....
I know what you’re thinking: It’s just a misdemeanor, right? No big deal – I can handle this myself. But misdemeanors are crimes that can include jail time and are prone to turn into felonies if you’re not careful. So while you may not think a misdemeanor charge is serious, you may still want the help a qualified criminal defense attorney. Here’s why: Protect Your Rights First and foremost, you have a constitutional right to have an attorney if you’ve been charged with any crime....
Donald Rumsfeld cannot be personally sued in a torture lawsuit, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled. Two American citizens sued the former Secretary of Defense over allegations that they were tortured by U.S. military forces in Iraq, reports Reuters. However, the federal court found that Rumsfeld and others in the military’s chain of command could not be held personally liable for any injuries. However, the two whistleblowers were themselves taken into U....
Television psychologist Phil McGraw, better known as Dr. Phil, and his wife Robin McGraw, sued the National Enquirer for defamation this month. The couple claim, in a case filed in Palm Beach County, Florida, that the gossip rag has hurt them professionally, emotionally, and otherwise and are demanding $250 million in damages. The National Enquirer, which is accustomed to getting sued, responded to the filing with yet another article insulting the television counseling couple, calling Dr....
Elizabeth Warren, Harvard law professor and chairwomen of the Congressional Oversight Panel, has been credited with the idea for creating a Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA). She recently offered a helpful Q&A about why we need a new agency to protect consumers from dangerous financial products. Last year, the Senate tapped Elizabeth Warren to head the panel overseeing the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (aka the financial system bailout). She has also been a driving force in the call for a federal agency to protect consumers from dangerous financial products (much like they are protected from dangerous physical products by the Consumer Products Safety Commission)....
Step away from the chips and dip. Specifically, from the guacamole and salsa. According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, contaminated salsa and/or guacamole were to blame in nearly 1 out of every 25 restaurant foodborne illness outbreaks between 1998 and 2008. According to MSNBC, some of this problem can be traced to the individual ingredients in salsa — peppers, tomatoes, cilantro; they all have been linked to widespread salmonella outbreaks in recent years....
Idaho and Nevada’s gay marriage bans were struck down as unconstitutional on Tuesday by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. A three-judge panel of the federal appellate court found that both states’ laws were in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection under the law. In their majority opinion, the judges also found that each state had failed to meet the level of scrutiny applied to laws which discriminate against gays and lesbians....
Comedian and filmmaker Tyler Perry is embroiled in a legal fight to build a movie studio on an old Atlanta Army base, but a federal court has ruled the latest lawsuit was premature. Fort McPherson, a 488-acre property once used by the U.S. Army for something other than making “Madea” movies, was eyed by Ubiquitous Entertainment Studios as the new site of a “movie studio entertainment complex.” According to The Hollywood Reporter, Tyler Perry then swooped in and negotiated with Atlanta city officials to purchase the base for $33 million, prompting Ubiquitous to sue… well, everybody....
Libipower Plus, a “dietary supplement” marketed by Haloteco, has been voluntarily recalled nationwide because it contains tadalalafil, the active ingredient in many erectile dysfunction drugs. Tadalalafil can pose particular risks to those taking nitrates (to treat heart problems, for example). When combined, the two can lower blood pressure to dangerous levels. According to a Food and Drug Administration press release, Haloteco announced the voluntary recall after the FDA found the presence of tadalalafil, which is not named on the products packaging....
