How the hell was this done? Somebody just waltzed into Victoria's Secret in Flagstaff, Arizona and stole 350 bras! Mind you, the store was open. And for some reason, the anti-theft tags did not trigger the alarm. The haul has a retail value of about $15,000. For more on this (not much), click here.
So was Amy Schneider. She opened a can of green beans, and poured them out. Then she noticed a bean that looked a little bit too large. And it had teeth. And it was a snake head, about the size of a golf ball! So claims Ms. Schneider in a recently filed lawsuit. You can read more about this, and a little bit about what the federal government's guidelines allow to be in your food (yikes!), here.
(No, that's not the shirt!) Ilinois high school senior David Clark will have to think twice, though he's worn the shirt before, without incident. But not this time. So what did it say? "I [heart] My Wiener" with a picture of a dachsund under it. See, David's dachsund was hit by a car and killed a few months back. The shirt is David's way of honoring his dog.
Unfortunately, Principal Wes Choate didn't see it that way. He gave David 3 choices: change shirts, turn it inside out, or leave. When faced with these stupid choices, David made the best one: he left - even though it meant getting a zero in each class. David Sr. makes a good point about the arbitrary dress code, which prohibits
students from wearing any clothing that is disrupting to the educational process, interferes with the maintenance of a positive teaching and learning climate or compromises reasonable standards of health, safety and decency.Here's what David Sr. has to say about the enforcement of the dress code:
They make the rules up as they go. It depends on what mood they are in that day. If you can't wear that [his son's] shirt, you shouldn't be able to wear one that says 'Coke.'"Right on, Clarks. Principal Choate, lighten up. For more on this story, including a picture of David with the wiener dog shirt on, click here.
(For this story, you can safely put aside your position on legalizing marijuana. It's not about the pot.) So back in April 2006, then-Cpl. Edward Sanchez, of the Dearborn, Michigan police, called 911 and said:
I think we're dying... We made brownies and I think we're dead, I really do.As you might imagine, this sparked an investigation, during which Sanchez resigned.
Not exactly your fall-on-the-sword type of guy, Sanchez first told investigators that, while he was sleeping, his wife took the pot out of his car. His wife (who admitted to taking cocaine from her husband's police car and using it during a 3-week binge!), truly a stand-by-your-man woman, told investigators that she tricked her husband into eating the pot brownies.
It wasn't long, though, before Sanchez cracked. He admitted that, not only had he taken the pot from his car, but he also made the pot brownies! And, per investigators, he admitted to taking the pot "off the street from unknown persons." Wow. So many laws broken, yet neither Sanchez nor his wife was charged with any crime! It's not over yet, though. Said Dearborn Councilman Doug Thomas, who said he will investigate the matter further:
If you're a cop and you're arresting people and you're confiscating the marijuana and keeping it yourself, that's bad. That's real bad. That's like apprehending a bank robber and keeping some of the money for yourself.
That is what Londoner Tim Brady was clocked at by the police. Of course part of the blame belongs to the car, a Porsche 911 turbo. Brady was, and I mean "was," employed by a company that provides high-end loaner cars. He badly wanted to drive the Porsche, but was denied permission to do so. No worries, though. He returned the following day - his day off - and took the car out for a spin with a co-worker.
While the police were busy ticketing someone for going a mere 115 MPH, Brady flew by. When stopped by the police, here's what he had to say:
Oh shit, oh shit, I've lost my job, everything. I've just got a new job.And it's not like Brady was on the Autobahn. He flew through an area with cross streets, parking areas, and pedestrian access. I think the judge was probably a little pissed. The punishment? Ten weeks in jail, no driving for 3 years, and a fine of about $1,000.
Oh, and it took Brady 681 metres (about 7 football fields!) to stop! You can read more here.
Not that a lot of smart people ingest a pill of unknown origin from a drug dealer but... Emma Louise Fischer and Tara Jay Loane, both age 21, definitely put some distance between themselves and the rest of the ecstacy pack.
It all started when the police busted a drug dealer, and started checking the numbers on his cell phone. They put names to the numbers, and then addresses with the names. Our young ladies happened to be on the dealer's phone. When the police went to their house, they found another cell phone. On that phone was a video of 2 girls who filmed themselves ... snorting ecstacy! Brilliant! Not surprisingly, they pleaded guilty. You can read more here.
I think it's safe to say that Ilinois Junior High School Special Education Teacher Patrick E. McCarthy won't be teaching again for quite some time, if ever. As reported in the Daily Herald, here's what he's been up to just this school year:
In one incident, McCarthy threw cookies and called a 12-year-old an obscenity after the student took a treat without asking, [Assistant State's Attorney] Palac told Cook County Judge Kay Marie Hanlon.
In another instance, Palac said, McCarthy became agitated with a non-verbal 12-year-old and shoved him face-first into a metal cabinet.
Another time, she said, he made a child put on a weighted vest and jump for 40 minutes straight on a trampoline, forcing him to keep going even when he began crying. The boy had bruises on his legs afterward, Palac said. His parents told police he later had a seizure.
McCarthy also tied a student to his chair with a jump rope, Palac said. The child was able to wriggle free, but McCarthy later got behind him, crisscrossed his arms, squeezed his cheeks and shoved his body against a wall, pressing his own body up against him, Palac said.Damn! Must have had a really bad summer. So what happened to Mr. McCarthy? Aside from being placed on administrative leave, he was charged with 3 counts of aggravated battery and 1 count of unlawful restraint. To read more, click here.
So what did it say? I don't know! This dude appeared before McCracken (Kentucky) District Judge Chris Hollowell wearing an "inappropriate" t-shirt. (James Hinman was in court on a contempt charge for failing to pay a traffic fine.) Said hardcore criminal Hinman: "The shirt isn't really obscene, but it does imply something obscene." What did it say?!
Said the Judge about the incident: "I'm not trying to be the fashion police, but what he was wearing was extremely disrespectful and inappropriate." Damn it! AP reporter, what did it say?
"The T-shirt used an altered spelling of an expletive that implied an obscene phrase."
Shizzle. I give up. Oh, and what about turning the shirt inside out? Hinman offered, but the Judge refused. Don't go! I found it. Ridiculous self-censoring media makes you scour the net for a friggin' shirt! Here it is, really.
No doubt the taser is effective in protecting police officers. It's equally clear that it is way overused - when there is NO imminent threat to police officers. And I'm not just talking about this dude at the Kerry speech. Just go on YouTube and search "taser."
Back to the latest victim - Shawn Manrose of Omaha, Nebraska. He came home drunk one night, without his keys. A neighbor saw him trying to get into the front door of his home, and called the police. Shawn says he told them it was his house, and that he wasn't a burglar. He admits that he used profanity and would not take his hands out of his pockets. But does that mean he should have been juiced? Well he was, and then he was busted for obstruction of justice and resisting arrest. The verdict? Guilty! The sentence? Seven days in jail. Shawn is out on bail pending appeal.
This statement by prosecutor Marty Conboy highlights the misuse of tasers: "Unfortunately this young man, at his own house, if you look at it objectively, could have avoided a lot of this problem by complying with some simple requests of the officers." Yes master. Whatever you say master. Here's the question, Marty: Was the kid a threat to the officers? It sure doesn't seem like it. It seems more like they were pissed off because he wouldn't follow their orders, and because he cussed at them. So they tased him. It's a bad road we're going down. You can read more here.
... he has sex with her 12 days after operating on her! And then again 3 days after that!
Maybe he meant no sex with anyone but him? So what was the punishment be for California OBGYN Stuart Fischbein? An Administrative Law Judge who heard the matter recommended that Dr. Fischbein's license be revoked. The state medical board disagreed, and put him on conditional probation for seven years. When he sees female patients, there must be a chaperone in the room. He must also take ethics courses, and continue with his psychological counseling. You can read more here.
As reported in The Huffington Post, Patrick Syring, who "apparently" is a former State Department foreign service officer, really, really dislikes Arabs and the Arab American Institute. (He's been indicted for threatening the staff at the Arab American Institute.) Here are a few voice-mails and e-mails:
[Voice mail to the Institute:] Hello, I'm Patrick I'm in Arlington VA, and I think James Zogby is worse than Osama bin Laden. Since he supports Hezballah, he's an anti-Semitic motherfucker, and the only good Arab is a dead Arab.
[Voice mail to an Institute employee:] Hello Valerie, you fucking Arab American shit. James Zogby and you are all Hezballah supporters. The only good Arab is a dead Arab... You God [inaudible] bitch.
[E-mail to two Institute employees; all e-mails sent to work addresses:] Zogby's anti-Semitic, anti-American statements (and those of the AAI in general) are abhorrent, repulsive and disgusting. The only good Lebanese is a dead Lebanese (as the IDF knows and is carrying out in its security operations, God bless them.) Fuck the Arabs and Fuck James Zogby and his wicked Hizbollah brothers. They will burn in hellfire on this earth and in the hereafter.Oh, and there's plenty more here.
... [allegedly] during a service, and flashes a gun. Old Wendell Hollingsworth's alleged cohort, Ms. Smith, walked around the church with a bag, collecting the parishioners money and other valuables. Ms. Smith pleaded guilty, and got 7 years - 6 for the robbery, and 1 more for old Wendell's gun. Quite the crew. Now when Wendell was in court the other day ...
in a wheelchair, he started kicking his lawyer, to the extent that a deputy zapped him with a taser. Should have read his jacket more closely. Back in '92, Wendell popped his lawyer, to the tune of 8 stitches. Restraints anyone? Or maybe his next lawyer ought to consider a preemptive pop, just to establish who's going to be doing the poppin' from now on.
Dr. Alfredo Gonzalez, of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, learned this the hard way. While the doc was out, his burglar alarm went off. The police responded and, while searching for a burglar, instead found a $4,000 "BloomBox," and seven marijuana plants. Doh! And guess where doctor Gonzales works? He directs a drug treatment facility! Word is, per court documents, that Dr. Gonzalez was tired of getting hosed, so he decided to cut out the grower and the dealer. Having been charged not just with possession, but with distribution and possession with intent to distribute, perhaps he now understands the reason for the mark-up. Those folks have a little more at risk than a guy caught with a little Mighty Mezz. You can read more here.
So at long last, the slumlord, anesthesiologist Esmat Zaklama, appeared before Guttenberg, New Jersey Municipal Judge Frank Leanza. Here's a little history on Dr. Zaklama (from the New Jersey Law Journal):
"Dr. Zaklama has a history in North Jersey of being a slumlord," said Judge Leanza. Summonses issued to him by Guttenberg and other towns would go ignored for years, and fines continued to mount up. "The police had to find him and arrest him."
When Zaklama was finally brought before Judge Leanza in March 2006, he had amassed over $200,000 in fines.
Leanza said Zaklama had appeared before him once before and, facing high bail, appeared to fake a heart attack but then checked himself out of the hospital the next day without undergoing any tests.So guess what Zaklama did when he appeared before Judge Leanza?
"He grabbed his chest again," said Leanza. "We [the judge and court staff] looked at him and laughed. We assumed he again feigned a heart attack." Eventually, Zaklama walked out of the courtroom.
So why is Judge Leanza, a judge in good standing for 17 years, facing a reprimand? Because after hearing Zaklama's excuses for ignoring all those summonses, he called it "a lot of bullshit." Zaklama told the judge that he had not answered the summonses or warrants because he was away. How did Judge Leanza know this was bullshit? Because he had run into Zaklama in different town halls on numerous occasions! Frankly, it's bullshit that the judge is facing any charges! Here's hoping he walks. You can read more here.
Did Dr. Rhys Cullen really think he could write prescriptions for 50,000 tablets of Sudomyl (used to make Meth) over a 2-year period without anyone noticing? And, did he really think that, after being told by the High Court in February 2007 not to prescribe Sudomyl, that they wouldn't be watching? (He must have, because he started doing it again that month!) That last bit led to his suspension. A hearing on the charges against Dr. Cullen will take place from September 24 - October 5, 2007. To read more about this New Zealand doctor, click here.
What mission? Apparently to become an irritant to everyone in town. He's having some success, too. George Gerhold was a policeman in North Jersey for 25 years. Perhaps he shouldn't have retired. Here's what he's been up to since then, per NewJersey.com:
Police Chief William Smith confirmed that Gerhold has driven down his cul-de-sac when children are playing in an effort to chase them away. Smith said it's technically illegal for kids to play on the street and Gerhold seems determined to enforce the letter of the law. But deliberately driving a car on the street when children are there? "He waits until the kids are in the street" the chief lamented.
In July 2007, he signed nearly 40 citizen complaints for what he claimed were parking violations on his dead-end street by visitors to a townwide garage sale. When some of the alleged violators showed up in court Tuesday to fight these complaints and the $54 fine, Gerhold wasn't there. And instead of dismissing the complaints, the judge postponed the hearing!
In another case, Chief Smith said, Gerhold charged a landscaper with criminal trespassing after branches the landscaper cut on a neighbor's tree fell into Gerhold's yard. The landscaper picked up the branches, but Gerhold filed his complaint anyway – and won the case. "I couldn't believe it," the chief said.Damn! Next time you have a problem with someone in your neighborhood, just think how much worse it could be!
"Give me your phone and your keys," said the mugger, or something like that. Then, he took her shoes off, and LICKED HER TOES! Shazam!
Other than the slobber on her toes, and most likely being totally freaked out, the woman was unharmed. The mugger/toe licker was busted a few blocks away. You can read more (very little) here.
I could not make this shit up! [Sorry.] A priest in Morganfield, Kentucky is suing Shithead's owner and the city for allowing the dog to be buried near a veteran's memorial. It's not the name that upsets Father Gerald Baker: "What are we saluting? A flagpole with a monument to the dog? It's offensive. Any Christian, any American should understand why this is offensive."
Shithead's owner, Judy Hagan, (an American, and maybe a Christian too!) feels otherwise: "What right does he have to come to this town and put somebody else down for something they have done that he knows nothing about. It's not a disgrace. I didn't do it for a disgrace. If that's the way people wanna take it, then that's their problem."
Said Father Baker: "This woman in her arrogance and her ignorance, demanding she has the right do this? Well we'll just see." Yes, we will. You'd think this just happened, right? Nope. Shithead was laid to rest, with the city's permission, in 1999. You can read more in a FirstCoastNews.com article here.
Not only did 64-year-old Dr. Suma Mondal repeatedly fail an English exam, as reported in This Is Lancashire.
She was under professional review by her peers since October 2001 as senior staff attempted to improve her levels of performance.
In January 2003, her colleagues became so concerned about progress that they reported her to the General Medical Counsel ("GMC").
When her case was heard in May 2006 (quite a backlog, there!) the GMC required her to undergo a five-month assessment.
In September 2006, she was banned from practicing medicine for a year.That year having passed, Dr. Mondal applied for reinstatement. Guess what? She got it! There are conditions, though. She must pass an English language test within 12 months, and must pass a GMC competency test too. Kind of makes you wonder about all of those patients she was seeing during the 3 1/2 year it took for the case to get to the GMC hearing.
Some of us, like Michael Righi (and me), have a real problem with groundless intrusions into our lives, even small ones. 
(If you're inclined to give up your rights because "you have nothing to hide, so what's the big deal," you might want to skip this one.) Mr. Righi was leaving a Circuit City store in Pittsburgh, after paying for his item. Per Mr. Righi's blog, here's what happened next:
As I headed towards the exit doors I passed a gentleman whose name I would later learn is Santura. As I began to walk towards the doors Santura said, “Sir, I need to examine your receipt.” I responded by continuing to walk past him while saying, “No thank you.”
As I walked through the double doors I heard Santura yelling for his manager behind me. My father and the family had the Buick pulled up waiting for me outside the doors to Circuit City. I opened the door and got into the back seat while Santura and his manager, whose name I have since learned is Joe Atha, came running up to the vehicle. I closed the door and as my father was just about to pull away the manager, Joe, yelled for us to stop. Of course I knew what this was about, but I played dumb and pretended that I didn’t know what the problem was. I wanted to give Joe the chance to explain what all the fuss was for.Mr. Righi continues:
I twice asked Joe to back away from the car so that I could close the door. Joe refused. On three occasions I tried to pull the door closed but Joe pushed back on the door with his hip and hands. I then gave Joe three options:So what do you think the police officer, responding to Mr. Righi's call, did? He busted Mr. Righi (for "obstructing official business"), patted him down, cuffed him, put him in the cruiser, took him to the station, booked him and finger printed him. Mr. Righi's dad posted his bail. And why was Mr. Righi busted? No, not for refusing to show his receipt (that is voluntary - you can read more about that here and here). He was busted because he refused to show the police officer his driver's license, which he was not required to do! By the way, he was nowhere near the car, and anyway, he was a passenger!
“Accuse me of shoplifting and call the police. I will gladly wait for them to arrive.”
“Back away from the car so that I can close the door and drive away.”
“If you refuse to let me leave I will be forced to call the police.”Joe didn’t budge. At this point I pushed my way past Joe and walked onto the sidewalk next to the building. I pulled out my phone and dialed 911.
Mr. Righi will beat this charge. It's just incredible that it was brought in the first place. And if you're wandering about Mr. Righi's credentials, at age 26, he is an accomplished computer professional, as highlighted by the news stories about him on his blog (in the Q & A section near the bottom).
Props to Cindy Hill for submitting this story to Legal Juice!
Former Colorado prosecutor Laurie Hurst knows this firsthand. She has admitted to having sex with Judge Grafton Biddle in his chambers, and to early morning hook-ups in the women's showers in the courthouse basement! Oh, and this happened when she was trying cases before Judge Biddle.
That's the crime. The time? A 3-year suspension of her law license, with 2 1/2 years stayed if she behaves herself. The judge? His case is still pending.
Then high-school junior Amy Doninger was ticked off that the battle of the bands (Jamfest) was cancelled. So, at home, on her own blog, she posted an entry stating that
Jamfest is canceled due to the douchbags in central office.As events unfolded, it turns out her characterization was pretty accurate. Her punishment? She was told to apologize to the school superintendent, show her mom the blog entry, and withdraw her candidacy for Class Secretary (an office she held since entering high school). She agreed to the first two, but would not withdraw from the race. So the school refused to let her run (she would have won as a write-in candidate, but the votes were ignored!), and she filed suit, claiming that the school violated her right to free speech.
The result? She lost! "The content of the blog was related to school issues, and it was reasonably foreseeable that other LMHS students would view the blog and that school administrators would become aware of it," said U.S. District Court Judge Mark Kravitz. I think her Mom, who was praised on local radio for telling Avery "you're grounded, and we're going to federal court to file a civil suit," has it right. She said
Punishment is up to me. This erodes the training ground for the democratic process, which must be that you have to distrust democracy occasionally in order to make it work. The embedded lesson of democracy at Lewis S. Mills is hollow. Theirs is an overreaching power to orchestrate.Here's hoping the Court of Appeals agrees. You can read more here.
Peeping Tom Dennis Sanders did his time (for secretly videotaping a woman and a teenage girl in their bedrooms and bathrooms), now he wants his porn back! When he was busted in San Rafael, California in 2002, in addition to seizing the illegal materials, police also seized 500 legal porn videos, and 250 legal magazines. Sanders, who was just released, asked for his collection back. Nope, said the police. So Sanders lawyered up, and sued the city. According to his lawyer, the videotapes alone are worth more than $10,000. Sweet fancy moses! The Judge said he would have to review each tape in Chambers before making a decision. Okay, I made that last part up. The matter is currently pending in the Marin County Superior Court.
Cab Driver Tewfik Boukhelal jumped out of his cab - while it was moving! This was not okay with his two passengers, especially the one who was knocked unconscious as she too jumped out of the moving cab. Why did he do this? Because Mr. Boukhelal thought the passengers (1) had released a substance, and (2) were going to steal from him. Say what? I'm having a really hard time reconciling these thoughts. Headache coming. (See below.)
The Judge hearing the case remarked that it was "the most bizarre case of dangerous driving" he'd ever seen. The penalty? No more driving for Mr. Boukhelal, at least for the next 18 months. He was also put on probation for 12 months, given 160 hours of community service, and must retake the driving test. No worries, though. He found a new job as a translator. You will find the rest of the story here.
Kathleen Jennings, age 19, is getting hosed. This young lady is no reprobate. She is a Cub Scout leader who works with disabled children! And she is an A student, and is studying math at Manchester University. She's never been in any trouble before. She is now, and here's why: While riding the train, she put the tips of her flip-flops on the unoccupied seat in front of her. Said the big bad railway man: "Are you comfortable?" She immediately put her feet down. Not good enough.
Ms. Jennings was charged with “wilfully interfering with the comfort or convenience” of other rail passengers. Actually, I'd say that's what the railway man did. Just to reinforce the kind of young lady we're talking about, this was her reaction upon being charged:
I was crying my eyes out. I am not the sort of person who would do anything wrong. I have never been in trouble before and, working with children, I do not want a criminal record.She will have to pay an attorney, and could face a fine of up to £150 ($300 US). Brilliant!
And Ms. Jennings is not alone. Since the "no feet on the seats" policy was implemented in February 2007, the company operating the trains, Merseyrail, has taken about 250 people to court! Mercy! (You can read more here.) And if you want to read about another scofflaw who was busted under this 120-year-old rule, click here.
Her name isn't "Fannie." It just sounds better than "Fudge Shop Catherine." Ms. Catherine Delgado recently moved to Maryland from Massachusetts with her 2 and 4 year old kids. Per her attorney, last month her boyfriend was charged with beating her and fracturing her eye socket. So things weren't going real well for Ms. Delgado. Maybe that's the reason for what happened next.
According to the police in Annpolis, Maryland (and the survellance footage, doh!), Ms. Delgado broke into Uncle Bob's Fudge Kitchen (located on "Main Street" of course) and stole $89 in fudge. She was busted soon thereafter when a police officer saw large bricks of chocolate in her purse. And what did Ms. Delgado do then? Obviously, she tried to flush it down the toilet (really). You can imagaine how that went down. (sorry)
So she was arrested, and held on $100,000 bond! She had been in jail for 28 days when she appeared before Judge McKenna. Said the Judge to Assistant State's Attorney Carolynn Grammas:
I'm underwhelmed. Do you suspect she is part of a chocolate stealing ring or something?
He reduced her bond to $10,000. She is now out of jail. In deciding to reduce her bond, Judge McKenna told Ms. Delgado: "You sound intelligent. The most stupid thing you could do is run."
And what might the defense be? "Clearly there was some alcohol involved," said Ms. Delgado's attorney to the Judge.
Kuo Rong-hui has done a lot of jail time. There's only one problem - he's not a criminal! So why would Kuo plead guilty, numerous times, to all these crimes? And then serve jail time for the crimes? In two words, money and hemophelia. See, Kuo would take the fall for payoffs from the real perps. Then, once in jail, he would reveal that he is a hemopheliac, and the authorities would release him! Seems the prisons didn't want to pay the $1,800 in meds required to treat Kuo's hemophelia.
The scheme unraveled when Kuo tried to take the hit for a co-defendant, and the Judge became suspicious. Interesting career path, huh? You can read more here.
No offense to all of you prison guards, but wouldn't you prefer to be a judge, making twice as much, and being in charge? Allan C. Berkhimer was a Cambria County, Pennsylvania Judge from 1988 until he was canned in June 2005. Now he's a corrections officer trainee. What were the charges that led the Court of Judicial Discipline to can him? As reported in The Tribune Democrat:
The state Judicial Conduct Board, which prosecuted the misconduct charges, said Berkhimer routinely used vulgar and sexually suggestive language in conversations with women who worked for him.
On several occasions, he summoned them into his office to show them computer images of naked women, the board said.
The board also said Berkhimer improperly instructed his staff to mail congratulatory notes to constituents whose accomplishments were publicized by local newspapers at a time he was running for re-election.I doubt he'll be using sexually suggestive language in his new environment. You can read more here.
If you are Matthew Dietrich of Berks County, Pennsylvania, you are PISSED! You just paid Christopher Katz $500 for a pound of marijuana. But when you open the bag - BROCCOLI! So what do you do? Kick his ass? Just leave? Not Mr. Dietrich. He was going to get the last laugh. Or was he? (Cue the creepy, mysterious laugh.) Young Mr. Dietrich called 911, joining the brotherhood of really stupid criminals. He told the police that he was beaten up and robbed by Mr. Katz, who then joined the brotherhood too, telling the police about the failed drug deal. Said Lansdale police Sgt. Robert McDyre:
It is bizarre, isn't it? 'You'd think [Dietrich would] just say, 'I can't believe I'm that stupid' and leave.You can read more on this caper here.
