The Awl

"The only thing ive.got to say is I didnt do it"

Regina Small — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:10:33 +0000

Arguing with the local sheriff's office on Facebook over your imminent arrest seems obviously unwise. But, setting aside immediate judgments, maybe having a very public and mostly neutral exchange with police wherein you affirm your innocence is...not the worst thing, actually? Accusations of coerced confessions and police strongarm tactics (as well as actual instances of coerced confessions and strongarm tactics) might be reduced by some transparency in the arrest and interrogation process, one hopes. Even if it makes everyone else uncomfortable. (And really, the comfort level of "bystanders" reading that exchange ("omg awkward") should be so far down on the priority list if you've been accused of a crime.)

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Your Little Lies Are Constitutionally Protected, For Now

Alex Balk — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 12:00:11 +0000

"If false factual statements are unprotected, then the government can prosecute not only the man who tells tall tales of winning the congressional Medal of Honor, but also the JDater who falsely claims he's Jewish or the dentist who assures you it won't hurt a bit. Phrases such as 'I'm working late tonight, hunny,' 'I got stuck in traffic' and 'I didn't inhale' could all be made into crimes. Without the robust protections of the 1st Amendment, the white lies, exaggerations and deceptions that are an integral part of human intercourse would become targets of censorship."
—Chief Judge Alex Kozinski of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals explains the why the court overturned the Stolen Valor Act of 2005, which "made it a crime punishable by up to a year in jail to falsely claim to have received high military decorations." The decision is expected to go to the Supreme Court.

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Man Gets Five Hours In Jail For Not Reciting Pledge Of Allegiance

Alex Balk — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 10:50:35 +0000

Liberty and justice for almost all: "A Mississippi judge ordered an attorney to spend several hours in jail Wednesday after the attorney chose not to recite the Pledge of Allegiance in court. The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal reported that Chancery Judge Talmadge Littlejohn told a court audience to rise and say the pledge. People in the courtroom said Danny Lampley of Oxford stood but did not say the words."

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Most Exciting Cases Of The New Supreme Court Term

Natasha Vargas-Cooper — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 11:20:31 +0000

All case summaries via SCOTUSblog.

16. Snyder v. Phelps: "Does the First Amendment protect protesters at a funeral from liability for intentionally inflicting emotional distress on the family of the deceased?"

15. General Dynamics Corp. v. United States: "Whether the government can maintain its claim against a party when it invokes the state-secrets privilege to completely deny that party a defense to the claim."

14. Federal Communications Commission v. AT&T, Inc.: "Whether Exemption 7(C) of the Freedom of Information Act – which exempts from mandatory disclosure records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes when such disclosure could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of 'personal privacy' – protects the 'privacy' of corporate entities."

13. Schwarzenegger v. Entertainment Merchants: "Does a state law restricting the sale of violent video games to minors violate the First Amendment right to free speech?"

12. Sykes v. United States: "Whether using a vehicle while knowingly or intentionally fleeing from a law enforcement officer after being ordered to stop constitutes a 'violent felony' under the Armed Career Criminal Act"

11. Staub v. Proctor Hospital: "Can an employer be found liable for the discriminatory acts of supervisors, who do not themselves make employment decisions but do influence the employment decision-makers?"

10. Cullen v. Pinholster: "Whether a federal court can overturn a state criminal conviction on the basis of facts the defendant could have alleged, but did not, in state court."

9. Bruesewitz v. Wyeth: "The National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act protects vaccine manufacturers from liability for certain injuries caused by their vaccines (giving injured patients compensation from the government instead). Does that immunity apply when the victim claims that the design of the drug created an avoidable and unnecessary risk to patients?"

8. Michigan v. Bryant: "The Sixth Amendment generally requires prosecutors to present testimonial evidence through live testimony at trial. Do statements made by a wounded crime victim to police officers about the perpetrator constitute such testimonial evidence, or can the police officer testify at trial about what the victim said?"

7. Kentucky v. King: "Under what circumstances can lawful police action impermissibly 'create' exigent circumstances that preclude warrantless entry?"

6. Premo v. Moore: "When a defendant has pleaded guilty, but later challenges his conviction on the ground that his lawyer should have moved to suppress his confession, is he entitled to habeas relief upon showing that his confession was coerced?"

4. Pepper v. United States: "May a court consider a defendant's post-sentencing rehabilitation as a ground for reducing his sentence below the federal sentencing guideline range? When a sentence is vacated on appeal, and a new judge is assigned on remand, must the new judge follow the prior district judge's sentencing findings?"

3. Virginia Office for Protection and Advocacy v. Stewart: "Does the Eleventh Amendment prohibit an independent state agency established to protect individuals with disabilities from suing state officials in federal court to obtain a court order requiring the officials to comply with federal law?"

2. Skinner v. Switzer: "When a convicted prisoner wishes to sue a state to obtain access to biological evidence for DNA testing, is he required to file a habeas petition or can he file a civil rights suit instead?"

1. Connick v. Thompson: "Can a prosecutor's office be held liable for the illegal conduct of one of its prosecutors, on the theory that the office failed to adequately train its employees, when there has been only one violation resulting from that deficient training?"

Natasha Vargas-Cooper is passionate about the law. And "Mad Men."

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Dancing Panda Bear

David Cho — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 17:01:48 +0000

Believe it or not, if you make a viral video of a bear dancing to rap music, that does not necessarily mean that the editors of this website will automatically post it. In fact, even if you have argued with them for longer than it took to even make the video and upload it to YouTube, they still won't agree to post it. But you know what, sometimes you have to take matters into your own hands and share your gift with the world. So I present to you: "Dancing Panda Bear" by David Cho.

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It Is Still Probably Not A Good Idea To Smoke Pot Around Grizzly Bears

Alex Balk — Tue, 18 May 2010 12:10:43 +0000

"When it comes to attacking humans, grizzlies are equal opportunity maulers; attacking without regard to race, creed, ethnicity, or marijuana usage. Hopkins' use of marijuana to kick off a day of working around grizzly bears was illadvised to say the least and mind-bogglingly stupid to say the most. However, I have been presented with no evidence by which I can conclude that Hopkins' marijuana use was the major contributing cause of the grizzly bear attack."
-Montana Worker's Compensation Court Judge James Jeremiah Shea, ruling in favor of the petitioner in the case of Hopkins v. Uninsured Employer's Fund. Bryce Hopkins, an employee of the Great Bear Adventures bear park, was mauled by a bear in the course of his duties feeding the animals. Employer Rusell Kilpatrick "contended that the major contributing cause of Hopkins' injuries was Hopkins' marijuana use on the morning of the incident. Hopkins admitted smoking marijuana with other employees on the morning of the incident, but claimed the use of the illegal substance had nothing to do with the bear attack." [Via]

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Justice And "The Ick Factor"

Alex Balk — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 15:40:58 +0000

This article by Dahlia Lithwick on Charles Dean Hood-the Texas death row inmate whose trial judge and prosecutor were having a secret affair-is as good as anything she's ever written, which is saying a lot.

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Model's Lawsuit Pretty Much Describes The Purpose Of Modeling

Alex Balk — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 09:30:52 +0000

Did you see the atrocious Vince Vaughn movie Couple's Retreat? You might have. It did pretty well at the box office for some inexplicable reason. In any event, if you didn't take some kind of PTSD memory-blocking drug to obliterate the horror of having endured that film, you may recall a scene in which Jon Favreau's character jacks it to a picture of a pretty lady on a brochure. Turns out said lady is actually a real person, and she's none too pleased about the whole thing. In fact, she's suing!

The New York Post-which helpfully identifies the picture as a "Universal film," lest you be concerned that it was released under the imprimatur of Fox-reports that "Irina Krupnik 'only learned of defendants' lascivious use of her photo in the film' after it was released in theaters — and was horrified to discover it was being used as a 'masturbatory prop' for a character played by Jon Favreau, the makeup artist says in papers filed in Manhattan Supreme Court."

It gets even better! The Times notes that:

Universal Pictures bought the photo from a stock agency, JupiterImages, for $500, according to the lawsuit. The filmmakers doctored the photo for the movie by "inserting it into a fictitious resort brochure," according to the complaint. They further altered the context, the lawsuit continued, by using the photo "as a prop for an overweight, unhappily married male character to masturbate while his wife is in the washroom."

In that scene, the lawsuit said, Mr. Favreau's character waits for his wife to leave the hotel room "before lifting his sleeveless T-shirt over his prominent belly. He then liberally lubricates himself while leering at the image of the youthful Ms. Krupnik on a beach, a scenario apparently intended to be humorous."

The thought of an older man pleasuring himself at the sight of a younger woman is what made the scene especially troubling, according to the lawsuit.

"In fact, it is the very juxtaposition of the wholesome image of a healthy 21-year-old woman on a beach, with Mr. Favreau's much older, desiccated and overweight character creeping around his darkened hotel room to pleasure himself, that is supposed to provide humor," the lawsuit read. "This juxtaposition, into a scene that would be a crime if Mr. Favreau attempted it on a New York City subway, is not something that Ms. Krupnik could have anticipated or should be subjected to."

Yes, it's true! Every scantily-clad model who is photographed tugging suggestively at her bikini bottom only imagines her picture being used in the most wholesome of manners, perhaps being taped on the chalkboard of a Kindergarten to illustrate the concept of summer, or placed in the locker room of a women's fitness center to provide inspiration. The idea that a swimsuit picture might be used as a prop for a spank session-and by a fat, elderly person at that-is almost too horrible to contemplate. No wonder this woman is seeking legal redress; can you imagine the anguish she's gone through? You cannot! Unless you've seen Couple's Retreat, which was awful.

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Alleged Fish-Poisoner Free To Strike Again

Alex Balk — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 12:50:18 +0000

Sometimes the natives of Knifecrime Island like to mix it up a bit and eschew the bladework for which they have gained worldwide renown. Take the case of 19-year-old Chantelle Amies, accused of poisoning a neighbor's three goldfish with bleach. In a staggering miscarriage of justice, Amies' trial was dismissed on the grounds that there was no evidence.

Susanna Chowdhury, prosecuting, said Amies' fingerprints had been found on a bottle of bleach in the house and on the fish tank.

But the court was told that although water in the fish tank had been taken by police they had not sent it away for analysis because it would cost too much money.

Philip Farr, defending, said they could not prove there had been bleach in the tank or whether the fish had been killed by bleach.

The prosecution called three witnesses to say they had smelled bleach in the fish tank.

But as no-one had seen what happened, the case collapsed.

Hahaha, you don't say. Anyway, it's nice to have a frivolous little "crime" story coming out of Britain; the more serious ones can be pretty tough to take.

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The Measure Of A Society Is How It Treats Its Weakest Members

Alex Balk — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 11:20:33 +0000

David Kaiser and Lovisa Stannow look at a new report on juvenile prison rape. I'm not going to include any of the anecdotes or hard numbers, but be assured, everything about it is absolutely horrific.

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