Legal Juice

What happens to bad winners? Usually nothing, but this is not the usual case. As reported by phillyburbs.com:

A video game defeat and a bruised ego landed a victim in the hospital with a broken jaw and his buddy in jail facing criminal charges, according to police.

He and the unidentified victim spent Wednesday afternoon at a residence in Evesham playing a video game that Brown eventually lost, police said.

Winning was enough, though. Dude had to rub it in.

The winner taunted Brown so relentlessly about his bad fortune that the defendant punched him in the face, breaking his jaw, according to police.

The victim was treated at an area hospital, but the injury was so severe, he was transferred to Cooper University Hospital in Camden, according to court documents. Brown is being held in Burlington County Jail.

Not looking like such a big win now, huh?

Rodney Brown, 25, of Clementon, made a first appearance in Superior Court on Thursday before Judge Thomas Kelly, who set his bail at $20,000.
Brown was charged with aggravated assault.

Who do you think is the winner? No winners? Here's the source.

And some folks say civility no longer exists in the legal profession! In the case of Avista Management, Inc. v. Wausau Underwriters Insurance Co., Judge Presnell (United States District Court - Florida - Orlando Division) would no doubt agree. The attorneys in the case, whose offices are in the same building, could not agree on where to hold a deposition. Judges HATE to be pulled into such minor disputes. So, when Avista's attorney filed a "Motion to Designate Location of a Rule 30(b)(6) Deposition," Judge Presnell denied it, and issued a novel ruling, paving the way for the first RPS Showdown.

"Instead, the Court will fashion a new form of alternative dispute resolution, to wit ..." Enough legal jargon. The Judge ordered that the attorneys, each with a paralegal as a witness, play "one (1) game of 'rock, paper, scissors'" [the RPS Showdown] on the front steps of the Courthouse on June 30, 2006. Of course, the Judge chose the Courthouse steps only "if counsel cannot agree on a neutral site." Well, their offices are in the same building ... (Click here to read the two page Order.)

So, with the big game just days away, due to either pre-game jitters, or the thought of scores of TV cameras focused on the event, the attorneys agreed on a location for the deposition. (I'm guessing that the game did take place - behind closed doors.) Noting that "with civility restored (at least for now)," Judge Presnell vacated his widely hailed "rock, papaer, scissors" Order. The RPS Showdown was not to be. (Click here to see the Order.)

Civility was short-lived. In the next few months, the case docket reflects more than 70 entries, the vast majority of which dealt with discovery disputes which, as you now know, judges HATE to be bothered with. But alas, all good things must come to an end. And so it was that on November 17, 2006, the parties put the "civil" back in "civil litigation" with the filing of a "Notice of Settlement" and an Order dismissing the case.

Freedom ... can be short-lived. If you follow this Florida woman's lead, very short-lived. As reported by abcactionnews.com:

[Jennifer McNeill, 42 had] just been released from jail a few hours earlier on a trespassing charge.

Naturally, she was hungry, and thirsty. So ...

According to a Hernando County Sheriff's Office report, [she] had dinner Wednesday night at the Carrabba's on Cortez Boulevard in Brooksville. She consumed $45 worth of food and wine.

Delicious. Waiter, check please...

When it came time to pay her bill, the restaurant manager told detectives she handed over a credit card that subsequently was declined.

McNeill proceeded to hand over several other credit cards, according to the report, all of which were also declined.

Uh-oh.

The manager gave McNeill one hour to find someone to come to Carrabba's to pay her bill. When no one responded, McNeill grew belligerent. Then she started texting people.

The old "one-hour rule." [Who knew, though it seems reasonable to The Juice.]

At 11:23 p.m., a deputy took her into custody.

McNeill was given no bond, however, because [of her recent release.]

Back in the pokey for $45. That's gotta hurt. Here's the source, including a mug shot.

Is it really fair to sentence someone to four years in prison for stealing underwear? Before you answer that, you might want to ask "how many times?" and "from where?" As reported by the Winnipeg Free Press:

James Duerksen spent more than two decades invading the privacy of unsuspecting female victims and satisfying his sexual fetishes. Now the convicted serial lingerie thief is headed to prison after the Manitoba Court of Appeal overturned a conditional sentence that allowed him to remain free in the community.

Duerksen, 40, learned this week the high court has imposed a four-year sentence for crimes they call "strange and disconcerting." Duerksen, a married father of two, pleaded guilty last year to 92 charges of break, enter and theft that occurred over a 21-year period in Manitoba and Alberta.

Shazam! You can read more (a fair amount) here.

The pizza delivery person gets robbed so often, that it's almost an occupational hazard. But this young lady decided to flip the script. As reported by wmctv.com (Memphis, Tennessee):

Once the victims' pizza was delivered, a visitor went to leave the home, and noticed her purse was missing from her car.

Down the street, a neighbor's house is wired with video surveillance equipment. Those cameras captured the bizarre theft.

Let's go to the video.

"The pizza was delivered to the house and as the delivery person was leaving, she looked over into the victim's car and saw the purse and took the purse from the car. And left," described Lt. Grigsby.

The purse contained $1,400. That is enough to warrant a felony theft charge.

Apprehending the perp could not have been easier.

By the time deliver driver Amanda Theobald returned to her store around the block, police were already waiting for her.

Curse you surveilling neighbor! You'll find the source, and a video news story, here.

If you find money along the side of the road, can you keep it? Maybe. It depends on where the money came from. In this, case, unfortunately for the finders, it's a "no." As reported by The South Bend Tribune:

The day after a Michigan City-area bank robbery, drivers apparently were stopping in Portage, Ind., and still finding money the holdup suspect allegedly threw from his car window along Interstate 94 during a police chase into Illinois.

So what's the problem? Well ...

On Monday, authorities reminded people that their seemingly good fortune could land them in jail.

Jail? Yikes!

"The bank has reported it as stolen, and it is bank property," LaPorte County police Chief of Detectives John Boyd said.

About 4 p.m. Saturday, a dispatcher received an anonymous call about drivers stopping on the shoulder and picking up cash at the 20-mile marker, police said.

The money belongs to the LaPorte Savings branch on Johnson Road, which was robbed about 2 p.m. Friday.

And the bank robber?

The suspect, a 32-year-old man, was apprehended.

Click here for the source.

So you're saying that stealing a $1 soda can lead to a felony charge? Well, yeah. Here's how, as reported by the Naples Daily News:

After filling a courtesy cup with soda Thursday at the McDonald’s soda fountain and then leaving the restaurant, Mark Abaire, 52, of the 500 block of 14th Street North, was arrested by Collier deputies and now faces a felony theft charge, a sheriff’s report shows.

Really? A felony?

A manager told sheriff’s deputies that Abaire entered the store and asked for a glass of water around 10 p.m. Although the employee told him the cup was for water, Abaire filled it with soda at a fountain machine and sat outside the restaurant, according to an arrest report.

During a conversation with the manager, Abaire declined to pay for the soda, valued at $1, refused to leave the premises, and cursed at the manager, the report stated.

Okay, wrong, uncool, but a felony? Please explain.

While his charge is petty theft, because of previous petty theft convictions, the charge for drinking the unpaid-for soda was increased from a misdemeanor to a felony, the arrest report shows. In Florida, a third-degree felony can result in a sentence of up to 5 years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

Seems a little harsh, even for an enhancement, no? And to add to this gent's woes ...

Abaire faces additional misdemeanor counts of trespassing and disorderly intoxication. On Saturday, he remained in the Collier County jail with bond set at $6,500.

You'll find the source, and a mug shot, here.

How could The Juice possibly know that people in Wyoming were fishing with guns? Well, do you think they would have passed a law prohibiting it if nobody was doing it? Exactly! Here's the law:

23-3-201. Fishing tackle; designation of waters for setline fishing; taking fish with firearm prohibited; snagging; penalties.

... (d) No person shall take, wound or destroy any fish of Wyoming with a firearm of any kind or nature.

Very sporting, right? And so much fun! Here's the source.

What in tarnation was going on in this Sacramento, California apartment? See if you can figure it out. From The Sacramento Bee:

Police attempted to serve a warrant on Fairfield Avenue. 
Officers said that they 
heard a woman talking inside the apartment, and they 
knocked, identified 
themselves as police officers and asked to speak to the 
woman. A man inside 
replied that she wasn’t there, but they could come back 
later. Officers again heard 
a woman inside and re-identified themselves, adding that 
if the occupants did 
not open the door, it would be forced open. After the 
residents again refused to 
open the door, it was forced open, and the woman was 
found talking to police 
and reporting that someone was trying to break into her 
apartment.

Uh... Sorry, wrong number.

Fond of jail? Crime addict? Whatever the reason, a Tampa, Florida man wasted no time getting back on the wrong side of the law. As reported by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office:

On April 14, 2012 at approximately 4:22 p.m., Marcus Wayne Hunt was released from Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office jail after posting bond. Tampa Police Department had arrested Hunt earlier the same day on charges of Fleeing and Attempting to Elude Police and No Valid Driver’s License.

Wait for it (it won't be long) ...

Approximately sixteen minutes after his release from jail, Hunt approached a victim in the area of 78th Street and Gray Moss Lane. Hunt struck the victim in the face and took the victim’s bicycle, valued at $190.00.

Boom! 16 minutes!

Detectives were able to identify and issue a warrant for Hunt in connection with the April 14 incident. He was taken into custody on April 17 at approximately 11:29 a.m. at 8708 Fish Lake Road.

This is pretty shocking for a man with no criminal ... wait ... what's that?

Hunt has an extensive criminal history and was released from prison December 2011.

Here's the source, with a mug shot.

If you like McDonald's iced tea, stop reading now. Remember, The Juice warned you. As reported by wsoctv.com:

Greenville County deputies say a McDonald's employee spit in the iced tea of two customers after they returned them saying the drinks weren't sweet enough.

You were warned. What's the evidence?

Investigators say surveillance video caught 19-year-old Marvin Washington Jr. leaning over the cups before he filled them at the Simpsonville restaurant on Saturday.

Authorities say the customers discovered the phlegm when they removed the lids of the drinks to put more sugar in because the second glasses also weren't sweet enough.

Can you imagine watching that video in slow motion? Yikes.

The McDonald's owner says he follows stringent food safety procedures and asked people not to reach conclusions until all the facts come out.

So, lax food safety procedures would allow spitting in drinks?

Washington was arrested Wednesday and charged with malicious tampering with food. He could face up to 20 years in prison if found guilty. It wasn't clear if he had a lawyer.

Up to 20 years? That's just idiotic. Here's the source.

The good news? No injuries. The bad news (for this young man, anyway - good for the rest of us)? This young man is in the soup. As reported by the Hunterdon County Democrat (New Jersey):

Police responded to a report of a suspicious vehicle on Route 523 in Readington. The vehicle was found to be in reverse, with the engine running, and when police nudged [Matthew] Kelly [19] to see if he was awake, the man’s foot slid off the brake pedal and the vehicle rolled backwards into a tree.

Yikes. Surely that must have awakened him?

Kelly was still asleep after striking the tree, police said.

Police did manage to awaken him, after which he was ...

...charged with careless driving, driving while intoxicated and being under the influence of a controlled dangerous substance.

Here's the source.

Either this was the worst bank robbery ever, or there's something we don't yet know. As reported by The Belleville [Illinois] News-Democrat:

[Jeffery C. Bell, 56, and Rita L. Bell, 58] entered Scott Credit Union, 648 Carlyle Ave., at about 10 a.m. Thursday and demanded money from a teller, who gave them an unidentified amount of cash out of the drawer, according to police.

So far, just your run-of-the-mill bank robbery.

Then the Bells went into the manager's office and asked her to call police.

Say what?

Police responded to the credit union and arrested the Bells. No weapon was ever displayed or implied during the robbery.

Belleville Police Capt. John Moody did not know the pair's relationship or why they requested the police be called. Asked whether he ever encountered a similar case, Moody said, "No, it's the first. (But) I've seen all kinds of things."

And to make it a little stranger ...

Moody said the motive for the robbery, which coincided with Jeffery Bell's birthday, was under investigation.

Happy birthday!

... both ... were charged Friday with robbery, police said. Their bail was set at $70,000 each.

You'll find the source here.

Can it really be a crime to father or have a second child? If it's your second illegitimate child, and you're subject to Mississippi law, then yes. As set forth in the Mississippi Code:

SEC. 97-29-11. Illegitimate children; person becoming natural parent of second illegitimate child; jurisdiction.

(1) If any person, who shall have previously become the natural parent of an illegitimate child within or without this state by coition within or without this state, shall again become the natural parent of an illegitimate child born within this state, he or she shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail for not less than thirty (30) days nor more than ninety (90) days or by a fine of not more than Two Hundred Fifty Dollars ($250.00), or both. A subsequent conviction hereunder shall be punishable by imprisonment in the county jail for not less than three (3) months nor more than six (6) months or by a fine of not more than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00), or both. Provided, however, that for the purpose of this section, multiple births shall be construed to be the birth of one (1) child.

(2) The circuit court of the county in which said illegitimate child is born shall have jurisdiction of any action brought under this section. No male person shall be convicted solely on the uncorroborated testimony of the female person giving birth to the child.

Here's the source.

Although words can cause a lot more pain than a physical injury, a 21-year-old man who called a woman "fat" might disagree. As reported by the Lincoln [Nebraska] Journal Star:

Police say a 24-year-old man is missing a chunk of his right ear that was bitten off by a woman who didn't like being called "fat." Police spokeswoman Katie Flood said officers were called to a Lincoln hospital around 3:25 a.m. Wednesday to talk to the injured man.

Flood said officers later learned that the injured man and two others had been arguing with other people at the birthday party. Flood says the man told 21-year-old Anna Godfrey that she was fat.

Officers said Godfrey then tackled the man and took a bite.

And what about the ear?

Flood said the ear chunk was not found.

Zoinks. The charge?

Godfrey was arrested on suspicion of felony assault and remained in custody Wednesday.

To the South Park fans out there, remember, words are like bullets.

The Juice has the utmost respect for police officers. But, just as there are lawyers who do bad things, such is the case with police officers too. But there are no dashboard cameras for lawyers... Unfortunately for this baton-wielding officer (see below, at the 15 second mark), his dashboard camera was up and running. He was subsequently fired, criminally charged, and convicted, which you can read about here.

Woman looking for hook up hooks up with man looking for same. But this was no ordinary hook-up, as reported by theprovince.com.

The 43-year-old man had met a woman four years his senior in a bar in the southern German city on Monday and she took him back to her apartment for sex, a police spokesman said in a statement.

"There they had sexual intercourse several times," the spokesman said.

"When the 47-year-old wanted even more, her partner said no."

The man then attempted to leave the apartment but the woman prevented him from escaping and demanded he sleep with her again.

The man then attempted to leave the apartment but the woman prevented him from escaping and demanded he sleep with her again.

"Because the 43-year-old saw no other alternative, he complied with the woman's wishes another few times so he could finally leave the apartment," the spokesman said.

Doesn't life just suck? This poor, poor man. Finally, he took a stand.

"... when she continued to refuse and demanded even more sex from him, he fled to the balcony and alerted the police."

What exactly do you yell in that situation?

The woman "then tried to talk the dispatched officers into similar activity but was unsuccessful."

Is there a stronger word than "insatiable"?

She is now facing possible charges of sexual assault and illegal restraint.

Yikes. Here's the source.

It's truly shocking that these guys were caught, what with such a great plan and all. As reported by the Columbia County, Florida Sheriff's Office:

Deputy Sheriff Jesse Cieslik and Deputy Sheriff Will Porter were patrolling the area of East Duval Street. They encountered a subject driving a scooter on NE James Ave. The subject (Wayne Rieley) was carrying two truck tool boxes and two ladders. Deputies Cieslik and Porter approached the man on the scooter and discovered a second person (Paul Bullard) walking rapidly away. Both men were stopped for questioning. When the man on the scooter was approached by the Deputies, he threw the items off his scooter and stated that he “did not have anything to do with it”.

You mean with the stuff you just threw off your scooter, right in front of us? Doh!

Deputies determined that both men had stolen the tool boxes and ladders from the Hacker Sign Company on East Baya Ave. Suspect Bullard was recently fired from the Hacker Sign Company and knew where the items were being stored. The owner of the Hacker Sign Company responded to scene and took possession of the stolen property. The stolen items were estimated to be valued at over $500.00. Both suspects were arrested without incident and transported to the Columbia County Detention Facility.

Click here to see the source, including mug shots.

While many police officers in the United States will arrest you for flipping them off, the courts have consistently held that doing so is protected by the First Amendment. There is nothing offering one such protection in Dubai, as an Iranian woman found out. As reported by gulfnews.com:

A businesswoman was sentenced to a month in jail for flashing her middle finger at two policemen after dining out with friends in a five-star hotel.

They said she had been drinking too. Her defense?

N.I. pleaded innocent claiming that she bit her nails and scratched her finger due to a skin disease that she suffers from when the policemen "confusingly thought she flashed her finger in their face".

... and

The defendant claimed that she didn't drink liquor and alleged that the food she had at the hotel was cooked in liquor.

Okay. Your evidence?

Sources close to the case told Gulf News that N.I. provided the court with a medical report confirming that she suffers from psoriasis.

The report said she remains under treatment because she suffers itchiness in her hands and legs.

And the prosecution?

Records said the policemen spotted N.I. jumping into the backseat of a car and flashed her middle finger in their face.

The policemen chased the vehicle that carried the defendant for two kilometres then asked the driver to follow them to the nearest police station.

N.I. was sent for examination. She tested positive for liquor.

Ma'am?

When asked about the findings, she said: "The liquor in my blood must have been there because the food at the hotel was cooked in liquor."

What's cooked is her goose. In addition to the 30 days in jail ...

The court also fined N.I. Dh3,000 for consuming liquor and she will be deported after serving her term.

You'll find the source here.

You've probably guessed that this sentence was not doled out in a US court. As reported by
emirates247.com, here's what happened:

The two Saudi women, aged 33 and 31 years, had decided to go out with their children for a week end night but differed on where to go.

“An argument ensued and the two women decided to split…one of them later sent a text to her friend's mobile phone swearing at her,” Kabar daily said.

A text?!?! So how did the authorities learn about this crime?

“The other woman went to court and showed the judge the message…although that woman said she was joking, the court ordered her lashed 50 times.”

Thanks, "friend." If it's any consolation, there is at least some hope for the texter.

Kabar said the court gave the sentenced woman the right to appeal the verdict.

Here's the source.

It will become readily apparent why you would not want this woman to look after your kid, though you might want her in the foxhole with you. As reported by wwl.com (New Orleans):

Investigators say 31-year-old New Orleans resident Brittany G. London (pictured above) is the woman who assaulted a security guard with a stun gun at the Esplanade Mall Saturday night.

According to police, London was in the Gymboree store in the mall with an infant in a stroller. When the guard confronted her after seeing London shoplifting, officials say the woman disabled the guard with a stun gun and fled in a gold Honda Accord, leaving the child behind.

Wo! But before you rush to judgment ...

London was not the baby's mother, and the child's mother reportedly contacted authorities to get the child back after Child Protective Services took custody.

See, the baby wasn't hers! So what's all the fuss about? She was just babysitting. The charges?

London faces charges of Child Desertion, Aggravated Battery and Theft.

Here's the source, including a photo of Ms. London.

You might know the rest of the saying ("so shall ye reap"), and so might Pennsylvania dentist Thomas McFarland, Jr., but he paid it no heed. The "sewing" in this case was the dumping of about 300 used needles [and other medical waste] into the ocean, which washed up on the beach in Avalon, New Jersey - where McFarland owns a vacation home!

How did the authorities figure out it was McFarland? As reported in The Press of Atlantic City:

... using identifying codes on the medical debris, [investigators] zeroed in on a small number of dental practices where the debris could have originated... McFarland's was one of them.

The reaping?

McFarland was charged with two third-degree felonies [unlawful disposal of regulated medical waste and unlawful discharge of a pollutant] that each carries a possible prison term of five years and a total of $125,000 in fines, [State Attorney General Anne] Milgram said.

To find out what happened with the case, click here.

Bad things, at least in this instance in Brigantine, New Jersey. As reported in The Press of Atlantic City:

... Kevin Dorsey, 36, was visiting his girlfriend's West Brigantine Avenue apartment and had the .40-caliber handgun out when he somehow shot it into the floor at about 12:40 a.m. It kept going through the ceiling downstairs, then grazed the right arm of a woman who was in the first-floor kitchen.

But that wasn't the end of it:

"Then it hits a kitchen cabinet, hits the floor, deflects 90 degrees and strikes the refrigerator," the detective continued. "That changes the trajectory again, and it winds up about 15 feet away, striking the boyfriend - who's sitting on the couch."

Freaky. What happened to the shooter?

They charged Dorsey with aggravated assault and several firearms violations, including unlawful possession of hollow-point bullets and illegal possession of a gun by a felon. They tacked on several drug charges because in a long search of the apartment, which the woman finally consented to, they found marijuana, cocaine and other illegal drugs. Police determined that the drugs belonged to Dorsey.

Yikes.

Lots of people have a cup of coffee before work. Some weed before work? Not so many. Among those who do so indulge, at least on the day in question, is Mr. Brock Hopkins. Based on the title of the post, you can probably see where this is going. Dude gets high. Dude gets mauled by bear. Dude's employer blames the weed (and also says Dude was a "volunteer" not an employee.)(And yes, The Juice did recently see "The Big Liebowski"). On that last bit, said Mr. Kilpatrick, the owner of Great Bear Adventures [or misadventures] Park, per the AP,

Kilpatrick and the co-defendant in the case, the Uninsured Employers' Fund, contended that Hopkins should not be eligible for workers' compensation for those injuries because he was a volunteer acting outside of his duties and was not a paid employee.

Kilpatrick acknowledged giving money to Hopkins but it was given randomly and "out of my heart," the owner told the court.

Interesting. So what did Judge James Jeremiah Shea of the Montana Workers' Compensation Court have to say about that?

Shea ruled that Hopkins was a regularly paid employee and Kilpatrick's claims were not credible.

"There is a term of art used to describe the regular exchange of money for favors -- it is called 'employment,'" the judge wrote.

Snap! What about the weed?

Hopkins acknowledged smoking marijuana before arriving at work that day, the judge said. Hopkins worked on the park's gate for about two hours, then prepared food for the bears.

Uh-oh.

After he stepped inside the bears' pen with a bucket of food, one of the grizzly bears attacked him. Hopkins fled, managing to escape by crawling under an electrified fence. He suffered severe injuries to his leg and had to be hospitalized, according to the court.

The weed! The weed! What about the weed?

"I cannot conclude based on the evidence before me that the major contributing cause of the grizzly bear attack was anything other than the grizzly," the judge wrote. "It is not as if this attack occurred when Hopkins inexplicably wandered into the grizzly pen while searching for the nearest White Castle. Hopkins was attacked while performing a job Kilpatrick had paid him to do -- feeding grizzly bears."

Bam! Eligible for workers' compensation. Next case!

You may recall the case involving Nevada Judge George Assad, who jailed a guy's girlfriend until he showed up in court. Problem was, she hadn't done anything! (This innocent nurse had just come to court to explain that her boyfriend just started a new job, so he couldn't make it.)

So, in June 2008, the Judge was ordered to apologize. But he didn't send the letter to the Judicial Discipline Commission until over a year later - on July 24, 2009! How was it received by the wrongfully imprisoned girlfriend? We may never know! Per The Las Vegas Sun:

[Ms.] Chrzanowski could not be reached for comment, but her lawyer, Cal Potter, said Wednesday that the apology, coming so many years later, is “hollow” and now “meaningless” to his client. He said he hasn’t been able to locate Chrzanowski, who may have left Las Vegas, to send her a copy of the letter.

You can read more (a fair amount) here.

The Juice definitely doesn't - and not just because it would reduce the amount of material out there. Anyway, talk about a harmless prank. And a damn funny one too ... Check this out, as reported by khou.com:

What happens when you drop the C and the L from class? You get in trouble, that’s what.

Three Cypress Ridge High School students were suspended and fined $135 each for allegedly pulling a prank in the senior class photo.

Seniors posed for the panoramic photos last month. First, there was a formal picture with students in the front row wearing t-shirts that spelled out "Class of 2010."

So far, no problem. But then ...

The second panoramic was an informal shot. The students were allowed to move around so they rearranged themselves, leaving only "ass" on the front row.

"I heard C and L ran off. That’s not ass’s fault. That’s C and L’s fault, said senior Austin Knight. "It was funny and they shouldn’t have been punished."

Right on, sir! You have just been awarded "quote of the month" - "That's not ass's fault."

But it was the three students wearing A, S and S that got in trouble. Along with the fine and suspension, they lost their positions as officers for various clubs.

"S" man George Bermudez, who was the senior class secretary, said it was an accident.

Cy-Fair ISD officials didn’t buy that story.

In a statement, the district said: "Three students were disciplined in accordance with the Student Code of Conduct. "

Uncool. Here's the source, including the photo.

Is it really a good idea to let someone tattoo your back after you've had an argument with him? Um, NO, as a 25-year-old Australian man learned the hard way. The tattoo was supposed to be a yin yang symbol with dragons. As reported by The Courier Mail:

A 21-year-old man has been charged by police in Ipswich for allegedly tattooing a penis on a man's back - instead of the image he had requested.

Yikes.

The 25-year-old victim had been visiting the man, an amateur tattooist, at his home in Bundamba last Wednesday when he was talked into getting a tattoo.

He wanted a yin and yang symbol with some dragons, but was instead shocked to discover the 40cm [almost 16 inches!] tattoo was of a penis with an obscene slogan.

The key word in the slogan was also misspelled.

Talk about adding insult to injury.

The man now faces considerable cost [and pain?] to have the image removed.

Police said the tattooing followed an argument between the men, during which the tattooist allegedly took offence at something the other man said.

The victim has also alleged he was punched and thrown out of the house following the tattooing.

All-in-all, not a good night for the vic. What about the perp? Any charges?

The 21-year-old is due to appear in Ipswich Magistrates Court on November 15 charged with two counts of assault occasioning bodily harm and one charge relating to the Public Safety Act.

Here's the source.

It boils down to this: If you want to tax paranormal practitioners in Romania, prepare to become a four-legged animal - if you're lucky. So maybe that's an oversimplification, but not by much. As reported by The Independent:

Everyone curses the tax man, but Romanian witches angry about having to pay up are planning to use cat excrement and dead dogs to cast spells on the country's government, which has introduced a new levy on those practicing the paranormal.

Superstitions are no laughing matter in Romania – the land of the medieval ruler who inspired the Dracula tale – and have been part of its culture for centuries. President Traian Basescu and his aides have even been known to wear purple on certain days, supposedly to ward off evil.

Romanian witches from the east and west went to the country's southern plains and the Danube river yesterday to threaten the government with spells and spirits because of the tax law, which came into effect on 1 January.

A dozen witches hurled the poisonous mandrake plant into the Danube to put a hex on government officials "so evil will befall them", said a witch named Alisia. She added: "What is there to tax, when we hardly earn anything? The lawmakers don't look at themselves, at how much they make, their tricks; they steal and they come to us asking us to put spells on their enemies."

So, at a minimum, don't drink from the Danube for a while. And lawmakers, you might want to go all purple, all the time. Got any purple skivvies?

The new law is part of the government's drive to collect more revenue and crack down on tax evasion in a country that is in recession.

In the past, the less mainstream professions of witch, astrologer and fortune teller were not listed in the Romanian labour code. People who worked in those jobs used their lack of registration to evade income tax.

Under the new law, like any self-employed person, they will pay 16 per cent income tax and make contributions to health and pension programmes. But the law may be hard to enforce as payments to witches and astrologers are usually made in cash and relatively small.

Okay, so it's virtually unenforceable. For this, lawmakers are willing to give up their entire non-purple wardrobe?

Supporters of Mircea Geoana, who lost the presidential race to Basescu in 2009, blamed his defeat on attacks of negative energy by their opponent's aides. Geoana aide Viorel Hrebenciuc alleged there was a "violet flame" conspiracy during the campaign, saying Basescu and other aides dressed in purple on Thursdays to increase his chance of victory. They continue to be seen wearing purple clothing on important days because the colour supposedly makes the wearer superior and wards off evil.

This isn't new in Romanian politics.

Such spiritualism has long been tolerated by the Orthodox Church in Romania, and the late Communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife, Elena, had their own personal witch.

Queen witch Bratara Buzea, 63, who was imprisoned in 1977 for witchcraft under Ceausescu's regime, is furious about the new law. Sitting cross-legged in her villa in the lake resort of Mogosoaia, just north of Bucharest, she said she planned to cast a spell using a particularly effective concoction of cat excrement and dead dog, accompanied by a chorus of witches.

Cat excrement and dead dog? It's certainly not "a dog's life" in Romania (at least not when the recipe dictates).

"We do harm to those who harm us," she said. "They want to take the country out of this crisis using us? They should get us out of the crisis because they brought us into it." She added ominously: "My curses always work."

Got that, tax man? Always! Here's the source, with a photo of the queen.

People do need to have private lives, though at least one school superintendent feels otherwise. He suspended Kimberly Hester, a teacher's aide, because she wouldn't show him her Facebook page. Here's the story, as reported by wsbt.com:

“It was very mild, no pornography,” she said of the picture she posted in April 2011. The picture shows that co-worker’s pants around her ankles, and a pair of shoes. “It wasn't at work, it was off work time,” Hester added.

Wait, naked ankles? And pants around those naked ankles? No wonder she was suspended! Think of the children!

At the time, Hester was a teacher's aide at Frank Squires Elementary in Cassopolis. According to a letter from the Cassopolis schools superintendent to the Lewis Cass Intermediate superintendent, a parent who was friends with Hester on Facebook notified the school about the picture.

The Juice feels for that parent's kids.

A few days later, Lewis Cass ISD superintendent Robert Colby called her into his office.

“He asked me three times if he could view my Facebook and I repeatedly said I was not OK with that,” Hester told WSBT.

In all seriousness, The Juice applauds Ms. Hester's principled stand.

In a letter to Hester from the Lewis Cass ISD Special Education Director, he wrote “…in the absence of you voluntarily granting Lewis Cass ISD administration access to you[r] Facebook page, we will assume the worst and act accordingly."

It's kind of funny that the fired teacher's aide is doing the real teaching, while the idiotic superintendent is teaching kids that personal privacy and boundaries are essentially nonexistent. So what's Ms. Hester doing now?

Hester said Colby put her on paid administrative leave and eventually suspended her.

Much to her credit, she's fighting it.

“I stand by it,” Hester said. “I did nothing wrong. And I would not, still to this day, let them in my Facebook. And I don’t think it’s OK for an employer to ask you.”

But what about the legality of the superintendent's actions?

... University of Notre Dame labor law professor Barbara Frick said the school didn’t break any laws by asking for Hester’s Facebook information.

Right now there are no state or federal laws protecting social media privacy in the workplace, Frick said.

This needs to be remedied. Good luck to Ms. Hester, who goes to arbitration on this in May. Here's the source, including a video news story.

OMG, that is a sausage in your pants! A bunch of them, as it turns out. Per The Cairns Post:

A man has been caught stuffing sausages down his pants in a bizarre alleged theft at an Innisfail supermarket.

The 38-year-old Innisfail man was charged with stealing after he was seen leaving IGA Innisfail about 6.15pm on Friday.

Police allege he had items of meat concealed in his shorts and several other items in his pockets.

If you happen to buy your sausage at the IGA Innisfail, you'll be glad to hear that ...

The items were not returned to sale ...

Whew! Here's the source.