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. [more inside]
posted by MuffinMan
on Mar 11, 2013 -
83 comments
"I now have mixed feelings about this trial. On the one hand, we now expect a guilty verdict. Compared to the judicial machine, we are nobodies, and we have lost. On the other hand, we have won. Now the whole world sees that the criminal case against us has been fabricated. The system cannot conceal the repressive nature of this trial. Once again, Russia looks different in the eyes of the world from the way Putin tries to present it at daily international meetings. All the steps toward a state governed by the rule of law that he promised have obviously not been made. And his statement that the court in our case will be objective and make a fair decision is another deception of the entire country and the international community. That is all. Thank you." -
Yekaterina Samutsevich: Closing Statement at the Pussy Riot Trial
posted by flapjax at midnite
on Aug 9, 2012 -
66 comments
England's
Obscenity Trial of the Decade is over, with unanimous Not Guilty verdicts being returned for all 6 charges.
R v Peacock was a rare outing for the
Obscene Publications Act 1959 and its out-lawing of media which
depraves and
corrupts, and despite being shown DVDs of explicit homosexual acts, fisting, testicular torture, rape scenes, prolaspses and other acts the prosecution described as extreme the jury decided the material didn't breech the law.
Alex d. live tweeted the proceeding and Peacock's supprters are
celebratory. The question now is what is obscene in today's society, and
is the act still relevant.
[more inside]
posted by samworm
on Jan 6, 2012 -
25 comments
June 25th 1906, was the opening night of the musical revue
Mamzelle Champagne on the roof of
Madison Square Garden. In attendance were Stanford White, renowned architect
(Washington Square Arch, Judson Memorial Church, Madison Square Garden itself), and
Harry Kendall Thaw, eccentric coal and railroad scion. During the performance of the song
I Could Love a Million Girls, Thaw "
left his seat near the stage, passed between a number of tables, and, in full view of the players and of scores of persons, shot White through the head."
(pdf) Standing over White’s body, Thaw said “You’ll never go out with that woman again.”
[more inside]
posted by davidjmcgee
on Dec 22, 2011 -
14 comments
I’ve spent the better part of the week serving as the foreman for a jury in a criminal case. As they tell you, you’re not allowed to talk about it with anyone, not even your fellow jurors, during the trial. As they also tell you, once the trial is over you can talk about anything you want. So, here goes.
posted by DarlingBri
on Nov 22, 2010 -
80 comments
As ongoing investigations into the sexual abuse of children, cover-ups and avoidance of justice climb the hierarchy of the Catholic church to implicate Pope Benedict himself, the head of the Vatican's tribunal has taken the unprecedented step of publicly reinforcing the Pope's status not as father of the church but as a head of state - and thus
immune from prosecution.
[more inside]
posted by Bora Horza Gobuchul
on Apr 1, 2010 -
324 comments
Martha "Sunny" von Bulow
died this weekend at a nursing home in New York City, nearly 28 years after being found unconscious at her
Rhode Island estate (and subsequently falling into an irreversible coma) in December 1980. Her husband Claus, who obviously became
a controversial figure, was found guilty of her attempted murder (the alleged method being an overdose of insulin), but his conviction was overturned on appeal and he received a second trial in which he was acquitted.
The sensational case, which featured testimony from many notables including Truman Capote, attracted worldwide publicity and rocked high society. It spawned numerous books, television shows and a 1990
movie.
posted by amyms
on Dec 6, 2008 -
27 comments
Several prisoners held at Guantanamo
are charged, including Khalid
Sheikh Mohammed. According to this
soundbite, after their time in military court, they'll be able to appeal the decision in civilian court.
posted by ®@
on Feb 12, 2008 -
77 comments
Proceedings against
MF Husain have been
stayed in India's Supreme Court.
A painting by the celebrated Muslim artist, apparently depicting Mother India as a nude, led Hindus to bring an obscenity case and proceedings to seize his Mumbai property were initiated. However his lawyers moved swiftly to
frustrate the action, transferring the property into his son's name and then seeking the High Court ruling. Hindus have
taken offense at previous
paintings by Husain, depicting Hindu deities in allegedly obscene ways.
Others disagree.
posted by Phanx
on May 8, 2007 -
41 comments
No Death Sentence for '20th Skyjacker' Moussaoui (he Newsfiltered), and as he was led from the courtroom, the defendant, who had looked for the last few weeks like he was campaigning for martyrdom, clapped his hands and said “America, you lost. I won.” (I had severely underestimated this character's skill at Political Theater) In spite of the final spit-in-the-face-of-the-US,
MSNBC.com's Unscientific Instapoll has 51% saying it was the right decision, while
CNN.com's Poll says 63%, and Foxnews.com's poll... is about tax cuts.
Disclaimer: Yes, I do some writing for the Entertainment section at MSNBC.com, but the News department does not know I exist and doesn't want to. And newssite instapolls are so-o-o Web 1.0, I know, but still, what's with the non-outrage?
posted by wendell
on May 3, 2006 -
76 comments
Andrew Kissel, brother of murdered banker
Robert Kissel was himself found
murdered in the basement of his Greenwich, CT home yesterday. While the
murder trial of Robert Kissel's wife, Nancy, provided a
sordid look into the
troubled life of an extremely rich Hong Kong expat investment banker, his wife, and her lover, the Andrew Kissel case has yet to unfold. Yet with a Andrew's
criminal past, recent
divorce, and speculation of a Mafia-style
hit, this may turn out to be another interesting story of greed, abuse, and revenge.
posted by banishedimmortal
on Apr 4, 2006 -
9 comments
Not guilty. It's been nearly 20 years since
Air India Flight 182 crashed into the ocean off the coast of Ireland, killing all 329 people aboard, after a bomb went off in the luggage compartment. Today, the two main suspects in the case were acquitted.
Families of the victims are upset,
disgusted. Of the 329
victims, 82 of them were under the age of 12. Let's take a moment to remember them; victims of one of the worst terrorist acts prior to September 11th, 2001.
posted by juliebug
on Mar 16, 2005 -
53 comments
