MetaFilter posts tagged with court

Will take approx none of your sh..

spiderskull — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 21:11:48 -0800

Everyone around the watercooler is talking about supreme court justices. You want to join in, but you just don't have the time to research them! Don't fret! dalmatianparade's Quick Guide to the Supreme Court Justices is here to help!

A very Pyrrhic victory

MuffinMan — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 12:33:28 -0800

9 years and 364 days ago, the then MEP (and later cabinet minister), Chris Huhne caught a flight back from Brussels to London Stansted, landing at 10.27pm. He picked up his car, with the distinctive number plate H11HNE, and sped back to his home in Clapham, South London, setting in motion a chain of events that would ultimately see him and his wife, economist Vicky Pryce, each sentenced to 8 months in jail. A tragedy in several parts: The players Chris Huhne: former Guardian journalist, entrepreneur, Member of the European Parliament for South East England (1999-2005), Liberal Democrat MP for Eastleigh (2005-2013), former Energy Secretary, cabinet minister and one-time contender for leader of the Liberal Democrats; married to Vicky Pryce (1984-2011). Vicky Pryce: former Joint Head of the United Kingdom's Government Economic Service (2007-2010), visiting professor at City University's Cass Business School (2002-2006, 2008-2011) and Imperial College Business School (2010-) and Visiting Fellow at Nuffield College, Oxford (2008-), senior managing director at the finance consultancy firm FTI Consulting (2010-); married to Chris Huhne (1984-2011). Isabel Oakeshott: Political Editor at the Sunday Times; 3rd cousin of Liberal Democrat peer Matthew Oakeshott. Constance Briscoe: barrister, and one of England's earliest black female judges; Clapham neighbour of Vicky Pryce. Carina Trimingham: former journalist and Liberal Democrat press aide, Director of the Electoral Reform Society; Chris Huhne's lover (2008?-). The crime Driving towards London, Chris Huhne's car was photographed driving at 69mph in a 50mph zone on the 12th March 2003. Huhne already had 9 points on his licence. A further motoring offence would see him lose his licence and possibly jeopardise his election prospects. Huhne persuaded his then wife, Vicky Pryce, to complete official forms to the effect that she was driving, thereby taking the points and the fine. Ironically, Huhne would lose his licence in December 2003 for driving while using a mobile phone. The affair In June 2010, five weeks after the General Election, Carina Trimingham left her civil partner for Huhne following the exposure of their affair by the now defunct News of the World. Huhne also told his wife he was leaving her. The affair attracted significant publicity, especially from the Daily Mail, which published more than 65 articles about Huhne's bisexual lover. Trimingham sued the newspaper for harassment but lost, subsequently withdrew her High Court appeal and was ordered to pay legal costs of £400,000. The revenge In March 2011, Vicky Pryce met with journalist Isabel Oakeshott and exchanged a series of emails discussing how to treat the story. Pryce's aim was to reveal Huhne had got someone else to take his speeding conviction without revealing it was her. Having consulted with neighbour Constance Briscoe, Pryce subsequently revealed much more to the Mail on Sunday, which ultimately led to the revelation she had, in fact, taken the points. Huhne was questioned by police in May 2011 but denied the allegations. On February 3rd 2012, Chris Huhne resigned as Energy Secretary upon learning he would face charges of perverting the course of justice. Vicky Pryce would also face the same charges. The pair appeared before magistrates on February 16th 2012. On June 1st, Pryce pleaded not guilty with a defence of marital coercion - an old and now controversial law that was scheduled for abolishment in 1977. Briscoe was arrested in October 2012 for lying to the police about her role in speaking to the media and could face trial The trials After months of denying the charges, Huhne surprised observers at his trial on the 4th February 2013 by admitting guilt for perverting the course of justice. He had, however, put in a failed application to stay the proceedings as an abuse of process of the court, as well as an application to dismiss the case. Sentencing was delayed until Vicky Pryce's trial was completed. Vicky Pryce's first trial began on the 5th February 2013. By then, it had emerged that Huhne's family was no longer talking to him. The last text message exchange between Huhne and his youngest son, Peter, ends "Don't text me you fat piece of shit." As part of her defence of marital coercion, Pryce revealed during proceedings that Huhne had pressured her into an abortion in 1990. And that in 1992 she had refused, giving birth to their son Peter. Pryce's trial ended in farce on the 20th February 2013 as, at the 11th hour, the jury asked 10 rather important questions. The jury reached deadlock after asking the 10 questions that suggested they were “struggling” with the most “basic concept” of trial by jury. The trial judge said he had “never come across” such a response from a jury in nearly 30 years of working in criminal courts. Pryce's second trial ended on the 7th March 2013. She was found guilty. The sentences On the 11th March 2013, Huhne and Pryce were both sentenced to 8 months in jail for perverting the course of justice. Pryce was described as "controlling, manipulative and devious." Huhne was told Huhne he had "fallen from a great height" but had only reached such heights in his career through his deception. The aftermath Both Huhne and Pryce will initially spend time in a London prison before transferral to an open jail. Huhne also faces costs of up to £110,000 while Pryce faces costs of £38,000. Huhne's Eastleigh seat was fought as a by election on the 28th February 2013. In a highly contested election, the Liberal Democrats retained their seat. UKIP came second. The Conservatives, who had hoped to win the seat, called it "disappointing."

"Roe has been her life, but it's no longer much of a living."

zarq — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 16:05:26 -0800

"Better known as the “Jane Roe” in the landmark Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade, Norma McCorvey has led a conflicted life. Forty years ago, she was at the center of the court decision that famously legalized abortion. Today, she is a zealous anti-abortion advocate." Why did McCorvey turn against the cause she once championed? Tracing the life of an Accidental Activist. Via

I Am Not A Mouse

Wordshore — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 02:10:30 -0800

"Escape From Tomorrow" is playing at the Sundance 2013 Film Festival. The black and white movie describes one family man's mental disintegration over a day at Disney's Orlando park. Randy Moore directed the film on-site without the knowledge of Disney. Reviews are generally good, with comparisons to The Truman Show and Eraserhead, though people who have seen it wonder how this will play out legally. Filmmaker Magazine: "The film is like a bad acid trip version of National Lampoon’s Vacation, but with Wally World substituted by the real thing." New York Times (spoilers): "There is a gruesome vomiting scene, a creepy obese guy on a motorized scooter and a sequence at Disney’s Epcot theme park where Mr. Abramsohn’s character gets Tasered in the crotch. He is then taken to a secret room underneath Epcot’s Spaceship Earth sphere — referred to in the film as “the giant testicle” — and brainwashed. Ultimately, he suffers a bloody death at Disney’s Contemporary Resort." LA Times: "To make the movie, Moore wouldn’t print out script pages or shot sequences for the 25 days he was filming on Disney turf, instead keeping all the info on iPhones. This way, when actors and crew were looking down between takes, passersby just thought they were glancing at their messages." The director on filming: "So it wasn’t like we weren’t prepared, but the whole thing was still extremely distressing as we basically lived the movie with the actors. At one point, I even made the camera department shave off their facial hair and dress in tourist attire, which almost provoked a mutiny." A clip from the movie, the movie poster, and an associated twitter account.

"This was not a complex killing"

Benjy — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 20:47:49 -0800

On Monday, a 12-year-old California boy was convicted of the second-degree murder of his father, regional Neo-Nazi leader Jeff Hall. Prosecutors were successful with their claim that the boy was guilty of a “premeditated and deliberate” crime when the then 10-year-old shot his father, citing testimony from the youth's younger sister and the boy's history of violence and aggression. The boy admitted to taking his father's .357 handgun from a closet early one morning and shooting him as he lay sleeping on the couch. The defense unsuccessfully pointed to the fact that Child Protective Services had been called to the home over 20 times due to reports of abuse and the fact the the boy, who was expelled from several schools after aggression towards peers and teachers, was being home-schooled. The youth could potentially be kept in juvenile detention facilities until age 23.

“I thought that modern penology has abandoned that rehabilitation thing”

the man of twists and turns — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 12:54:39 -0800

In Sentencing Criminals, Is Norway Too Soft? Or Are We Too Harsh?

It’s not very often the concept of restorative justice gets much play outside scholarly publications or reformist criminal justice circles, so first, some credit for Max Fisher at The Atlantic for giving it an earnest look last week. In seeking to explain Norway’s seemingly measly twenty-one-year sentence for remorseless, mass-murdering white supremacist Anders Breivik—a sentence that is certain to be extended to last the rest of his life—Fisher casts a critical eye on the underlying philosophy that animates that country’s sentencing practices, finding it to be “radically different” from what we’re used to in the United States.

The Effectiveness of Restorative Justice Practices: A Meta-Analysis Inside The World's Most Humane Prison at Halden (previously), Norway, called by The Economist Plush and Unusual Punishment (Norway's Modern Prisons, previously). Norway also has the famous prison island of Bastøy. Terror, Trial and Justice in Norway

The contrast in these figures is quite striking, and despite the initial shock at what seems to be the near luxury of the most recently built prison, the statistics show that the Norwegian approach is relatively effective. However, we do need to bear in mind that, unlike the U.S., Norway is a small country, with a fairly homogeneous population.

Anders Breivik and the Norwegian Justice System 'Restorative justice emphasizes repairing the harm caused by crime. When victims, offenders and community members meet to decide how to do that, the results can be transformational.' Brief Information About The Norwegian Legal System, from NORLAG, Norwegian Mission of Rule of Law Advisers to Georgia.

“Mother of God, Blessed Virgin, drive out Putin!”

Fizz — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 05:22:21 -0800

Pussy Riot found guilty of anti-religious ‘hooliganism’ for church protest. [NYTimes.com] Previously Previously.

Nowhere is such freedom more crucial than in a science classroom

roomthreeseventeen — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 06:57:32 -0800

The Ohio Supreme Court has announced it will hear the appeal of John Freshwater, a Mt. Vernon eighth grade science teacher terminated after being accused of preaching Christian beliefs in class when discussing topics such as evolution and homosexuality. He was also accused of burning the image of a cross on students' arms. The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the appeal on the basis of two propositions of law submitted by Freshwater: •No. 1 — “The termination of a public school teacher’s employment contract based on the teacher’s use of academic freedom where the school board has not provided any clear indication as the kinds of materials or teaching methods which are unacceptable cannot be legally justified, as it constitutes an impermissible violation of the rights of the teacher and his students to free speech and academic freedom the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and a manifestation of hostility toward religion in violation of the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause.” •No. 2 — “The termination of a public school teacher’s employment contract based on the mere [presence of religious texts from the school’s library and/or the display of a patriotic poster cannot be legally justified, as it constitutes and impermissible violation of the rights of a teacher and his students to free speech and academic freedom under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and a manifestation of hostility toward religion in violation of the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause.”

British Columbia court legalizes assisted suicide

Lemurrhea — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 14:42:10 -0800

The British Columbia Supreme Court has struck down a ban on physician-assisted suicide, in a whopping 1415-paragraph decision. The decision was suspended for 1 year, meaning that the law remains on the books for a while. However, the judge gave one of the plaintiffs, Gloria Taylor, an exemption from the law with some restrictions, to ensure that she "has an effective remedy" from her lawsuit. Ms. Taylor suffers from ALS. This case will likely be appealed to the Court of Appeal and then to the Supreme Court. Physician-assisted suicide last came before the Supreme Court in 1993, and remained illegal, in Rodriguez v British Columbia. BC will join Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Switzerland (home of Dignitas (previously), Montana, Oregon, and Washington State. More information can be found at Wikipedia.

DOMA doomed

klangklangston — Thu, 31 May 2012 10:59:34 -0800

First Circuit Court of Appeals rules Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional.

Money Unlimited

modernnomad — Tue, 15 May 2012 05:55:36 -0800

Money Unlimited How John Roberts Orchestrated the Citizens United decision. If the Justices had resolved the case as Olson had suggested, today Citizens United might well be forgotten—a narrow ruling on a remote aspect of campaign-finance law. Instead, the oral arguments were about to take the case—and the law—in an entirely new direction.

United States v. Shipp

jedicus — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 21:52:21 -0800

The Supreme Court of the United States has held only one criminal trial in its history: United States v. Shipp. The Famous Trials project has an excellent page on United States v. Shipp, including primary sources, trial transcript excerpts, and contemporary newspaper accounts. The case produced two opinions: United States v. Shipp, 203 U.S. 563 (1906) (addressing preliminary matters and holding that the trial could proceed) and United States v. Shipp, 214 U.S. 386 (1909) (delivering the result in the trial). It's not addressed clearly in the case, so in case you're wondering: the reason that the Supreme Court had original jurisdiction in the case despite the limits of Article Three, Section 2 is that the Court had appellate jurisdiction over Ed Johnson's habeas corpus case, and thus had the power to issue necessary orders in aid of its jurisdiction, including holding state officials—such as Shipp—in contempt. Ex parte Young, 209 U.S. 123 (1908); Act of Sept. 24, 1789, ch. 20, § 14 (the Judiciary Act of 1789).

Zaire Paige Not Only Played a Movie Killer, He Became One in Real Life.

reenum — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 11:23:17 -0800

Zaire Paige had a breakout role in Antoine Fuqua's movie, Brooklyn's Finest. He was seen as a rising star. But, it all went away when he murdered a gang rival and was sentenced to 107 years in prison. BONUS: Quotes from Wire cast members Hassan Johnson (Wee-Bey) and Michael K. Williams (Omar). SECOND BONUS: Here is a printable version of the article.

"Caught between Recovery and the Coffin"

zarq — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 21:06:06 -0800

If I Die Young: Struggling with Addiction and Recovery. "Last year, 249 people died of prescription drug overdoses in Pinellas County, FL. Just about everybody who knew Stacy Nicholson figured she was next. Then an empathetic judge gave her a choice: recovery, or the coffin." This is an extensive special report by the St. Pete Times. The first link in this post goes to the special report page. The second goes to the primary article. Additional resources: photo gallery and a related series they did last year on Florida's prescription drug crisis. Also, "Drug court helps people regain lives 'after something has truly taken their soul'" Video interviews: Part I: Death and Determination Part II: Recovery and Relapse. Part III: Another Chance.

“I‘m not lying!”

zarq — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 20:25:45 -0800

This past August a murder charge was dismissed against Nga Truong, a young mother who had confessed to Worcester, MA Police interrogators in 2008 that she had smothered and killed her 13 month-old baby, Khyle. A judge later concluded that confession was coerced -- extracted in part by police "deception," "trickery and implied promises" -- and the case was dropped. (pdf). Her case raises questions: What coercive power do detectives have who are driven to extract confessions? Under what circumstances might someone admit to a crime they have not committed? WBUR (Boston's NPR station) investigated Truong's case and has an extensive report, Anatomy of a Bad Confession: Part One and Two Truong spent 2.5 years in jail awaiting trial. She was 16 when she was arrested and is now 20. Video excerpts from the interrogation. Reporter David Boeri's additional opinions on the case and police interrogation techniques. (videos) Worcester Police Department statement on the case

We hold these vegetables to be self-evident

davidjmcgee — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 07:51:07 -0800

Tomato: fruit or vegetable? In 1893, the US Supreme Court unanimously ruled in Nix v. Hedden that the tomato is legally a vegetable and not a fruit, botanical definitions be damned. In 2001, the European Union disagreed, saying that "tomatoes, the edible parts of rhubarb stalks, carrots, sweet potatoes, cucumbers, pumpkins, melons and water-melons are considered to be fruit". Arkansas punted on the decision, in 1987 naming the tomato its official fruit and vegetable. In 2005, New Jersey upheld SCOTUS precedent and named the tomato its state vegetable. In 2009, Ohio stood firm with botanical taxonomy and named the tomato its official fruit. Recently, the US Department of Agriculture has proposed new school lunch standards (PDF warning) relating not tomatoes proper, but to tomato paste:

This proposal would specifically change the current practice of crediting tomato paste and puree. Currently tomato paste and puree are credited as a calculated volume based on their whole-food equivalency using the percent natural tomato soluble solids in paste and puree, while other fruit paste and purees (such as blackberries puree) are credited based on actual volume as served. Under this proposal, schools would credit tomato paste and puree based on actual volume as served. Schools would not be allowed to credit a volume of fruit or vegetables that is more than the actual serving size.

The US Congress this week is preparing to reject that proposal. For now, according to US law, not only is the tomato legally a vegetable, two tablespoons of tomato paste is too.

Supreme Court grants cert to Affordable Care Act

insectosaurus — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 12:05:36 -0800

Yesterday, the Supreme court granted certiorari to several of the challenges to the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act. Here's a great roundup of several news stories. I like the NPR story for a quick summary of the issues. The Court will hear a total of 5.5 hours of oral argument, and a decision is expected by the end of the current term, in June.

Australia's High Court Rules The "Malaysian Solution" Unconstitutional

Fiasco da Gama — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 00:12:44 -0800

Australia's High Court has handed down a 6-1 judgement against (PDF) the Commonwealth Government's deal with the Malaysian Government, to replace the so-called Pacific Solution, under which the two countries would have "swapped" asylum seekers.

Addressing the Justice Gap

reenum — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 08:09:13 -0800

Several commentators are advocating the deregulation of the practice of law.

Does digital writing leave fingerprints?

iamkimiam — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 11:38:24 -0800

"When legal teams need to prove or disprove the authorship of key texts, they call in the forensic linguists. Scholars in the field have tackled the disputed origins of some prestigious works, from Shakespearean sonnets to the Federalist Papers."

Decoding Your E-Mail Personality Ben Zimmer, of Language Log discusses the Facebook case and forensic linguistics in the NY Times. More on forensic linguistics (and forensic stylistics) over at Language Log. For a much more in-depth discussion of the Facebook case, including a plethora of links, Language Log's post High-stakes forensic linguistics has got you covered. Other linguistic and forensic stylistic analyses and commentary: Bellweathers to the state of your relationship Donald Foster's Wikipedia page, follow-up NY Times piece about the real author of Shakespeare's sonnets, the Ramsey murder, and more issues for Foster and the use for forensic stylistics in the anthrax letters case. Neural Network Applications in Stylometry: The Federalist Papers (this is a JSTOR link to a first page, abstract and downloadable PDF) Recording police questioning (A NY Times short opinion) Using linguistic analysis to determine exactly how many events took place in New York on that morning in September: An excerpt from 'The Stuff of Thought' and the final World Trade Center insurance settlement. Interview with Carole Chaski and the Keyboard Dilemma (Google Books link) Other forensic linguistics resources: The Forensic Linguistics Institute, including a corpus of texts! Institute for Linguistic Evidence International Association of Forensic Linguists International Association for Forensic Phonetics and Acoustics

Give me that old time religion - or not.

IndigoJones — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 12:32:07 -0800

In 2002 a Mrs. Soile Tuulikki Lautsi, a Finnish/Italian woman and member of the Italian Union of Atheists, Agnostics and Rationalists objected to the crucifixes on the wall of her child’s public school. Failing to win their removal through Italian courts, she sued in the European Court of Human Rights, claiming it violated European Convention on Human Rights. In 2009, she won. Some were dismayed. Italy appealed. In March 2011, the court’s Grand Chamber reversed that ruling in a unanimous vote(pdf). Some were dismayed. The decision is final. There are further links here for those interested in the legal arguments on both sides. (For those who simply enjoy good prose, I recommend the concurring decision (pdf), by Judge Bonello of Malta.) Americans gear up for this kind of suit every Christmas, but the European venue naturally brings out other flavors. Consider these observations from Lithuania. See also the plaintiff's open letter (pdf) after the first judgement.

Literal Wisconsin Supreme Court battle

East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 14:37:06 -0800

Two weeks ago, the Wisconsin Supreme Court voted 4-3 [video] to reinstate the controversial anti-union Budget Repair Bill, which a district judge had declared void due to a law requiring 24 hours' public notice of meetings. The Supreme Court's deliberations were heated. The liberal Justice Ann Walsh Bradley now says that after she asked conservative Justice David Prosser to leave her office, he put his hands around her neck in a choke-hold. Justice Prosser denies the allegation. Some anonymous witnesses support Bradley's story, while one says Prosser acted in self-defence. Justice Prosser, recently re-elected in an unusually tight race, has a history of fiery debates with female Justices. Police are investigating. In Wisconsin, threatening physical harm to a judge is a felony. Supreme Court judges can be removed by the legislature in various ways.

Giving new meaning to "Contributions of employees have brought about visionary strategies that have defined not only our company, but an entire industry."

blue_beetle — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 11:57:39 -0800

Is American law enforcement colluding with Cisco? A quick lesson on how to abuse the law and quiet whistleblowers.

Anonymous Satire of Koch Industries Prevails

filthy light thief — Wed, 11 May 2011 12:41:58 -0800

In December 2010, a Koch Industries press release spoof (Scribd; alt: screencap) was posted on a website that mimicked the appearance of the official site for Koch Industries. The press release stated that Koch would no longer support research and advocacy initiatives that denied or questioned the human role in climate change. The press release was quickly identified as a hoax, and both the fake press release and site disappeared quickly, yet the Koch company pursued the identities of those behind the stunt, going as far as to file a lawsuit to expose the anonymous pranksters as part of a larger lawsuit. This past Monday, the lawsuit was thrown out of court in Utah, with the judge citing that parody is not commercial speech, and thus a First Amendment issue. Related: A Forbes blog compares the US case versus a similar UK case, in which billionaire US hedge fund manager Louis Bacon won a case in the UK to find the identity behind a number of online commenters on Wikipedia, the Denver Post and WordPress. (However, legal experts have told the Guardian that the US-based companies could legally ignore or refuse to comply with the orders.) Tangent: As previously covered on MetaFilter, a study funded by Koch and others confirmed global climate change in late March 2011, yet the Koch Industries "Climate Controversies and Energy Needs" page is not yet updated to reflect the recent study.

Supreme Court: Suppressing fruit since 1920

AndrewKemendo — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 05:16:34 -0800

Fruit of the poisonous tree is a legal term used to describe illegally gained evidence. The logic of the terminology is that if the source of the evidence is tainted, then anything gained from it is as well.

For the uninitiated, such terms used as described make for odd introductions to supreme court arguments (PDF warning) MS. SCHWARZ:...Instead of suppressing the poisonous fruit of the illegal car stop, the DMV records, the New York Court of Appeals chose to create a new categorical rule that prevents application of the exclusionary rule whenever the police act in violation of Prouse. JUSTICE SCALIA: Was -- was -- was the poisonous fruit the DMV records, or was the poisonous fruit the fact that this person who is contained in the records was the one driving the car?