A South Carolina woman has been arrested for never returning a VHS rental. If you’re wondering who in the world still watches VHS tapes, rest assured, the rental was from 2005 – the year of “Hollaback Girl,” “Capote,” the death of Pope John Paul II, and Hurricane Katrina. Kayla Michelle Finley, 27, of Pickens County, is facing a misdemeanor charge of “failure to return a rented video cassette,” CNN reports....
A woman who was arrested after she “F-bombed” police officers is getting what she deserves… $100,000. Cobb County, Georgia, is set to pay that amount to Amy Elizabeth Barnes to settle her claims in federal court. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Barnes is a “well-known political activist” who was jailed after a 2012 incident where she shouted “f— the police” and gave two officers the finger. How did this ordeal end with Barnes getting paid $100,000?...
Just what we need – another non-lawyer giving lawyers a bad name. Antonia Barrone, 48, impersonated an attorney and swindled more than 400 prison inmates by claiming to specialize in parole cases. She pleaded guilty to fraud and has been ordered to pay nearly $270,00 in restitution and fines. She faces 16 months to three years in a New York state prison. One thing’s for sure, she won’t be passing out business cards there....
We’ve written about women who smuggle drugs in their nether regions, and prisoners who smuggle drugs into prison via children’s coloring books, but this one takes the cake. Aisha McClinton, one of Illinois’ newest jailhouse residents, is now serving 120 days for trying to smuggle a gun into a local prison. As the local press reported it, Ms. McClinton hid it in her “intimate area.” In March 2010, Alisha McClinton visited a male inmate at the Stateville Correctional Center near Joliet, Illinois, reports The Chicago Sun Times....
Should an employee receive workers’ compensation for a sex injury incurred while on a business trip? A court in Sydney, Australia this week has been tasked with answering just this question, with a woman claiming that she should be compensated for her sex injuries because they occurred “during the course of her employment.” She isn’t a prostitute. As an employee of the government, the Sydney Morning Herald reports that the unnamed woman was required to travel and stay overnight in a motel in order to attend a morning conference....
At the Wyoming Supreme Court building, a new art exhibition, located in the aptly named Equality Hall, is set to debut in early February. The exhibition celebrates the contributions of women to the law and honors many of Wyoming’s women who broke new legal ground. Notably, Wyoming, which adopted the nickname the Equality State, was the first state to pass women’s suffrage, as well as actually allow women to vote, serve on juries, and hold public office....
According to a recent ruling by the D.C. Circuit, federal judges have no authority to “second-guess” the practice of federal prosecutors cutting deals with companies indicted for criminal wrongdoing. Such deals are known professionally as “deferred prosecution agreements.” The opinion, written by Judge Sri Srinivasan, shines a light on the somewhat controversial practice of negotiating with criminal defendants to pay big money instead of marring themselves with a criminal record....
A New Jersey man allegedly poured water in the middle of an intersection to create a black ice slick as an excuse for (also allegedly) drunkenly crashing his car into a nearby guard rail. Another New Jersey man is accused of attempting to aid in the plan. Both were arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated. A ‘Slick’ Approach to a DWI Excuse Police officers in Sparta, New Jersey, found Brian Byers and Alexander Zambenedetti at an icy intersection in the middle of the night....
Denver Broncos running back Knowshon Moreno’s lead foot led to his arrest last week for DUI in a construction zone, according to police. Moreno, 24, was pulled over for speeding Feb. 1 in a Bentley convertible with personalized license plates that read “SAUCED,” Denver’s KDVR-TV reports. Moreno was going 70 mph in a 45 mph construction zone on Interstate 25, the station reported. The Denver police officer who stopped Moreno smelled alcohol....
What would you do for a Chanel handbag? Would you save your pennies for a big stylish splurge or just drive a car through the security grill of a fancy boutique and scoot off with the pricey goods, leaving the car behind? Last week, burglars in Paris opted for the latter, driving a sports utility vehicle through the Chanel boutique in a posh central neighborhood. This is one in a string of robberies of high-end shops in recent years reportedly....
San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon has put an untold number of people in jail, but now he wants millions of them out of the system. Gascon, with backing in the California state assembly, is pushing legislation to scrub criminal records automatically. If passed, the law would be the first of its kind to clear records of arrests, misdemeanors, and felonies. Last year, the district attorney moved to expunge more than 3,000 marijuana convictions....
In a shocking civil suit stemming from the sexual assault of a 15-year-old football player at a high school in Texas, allegations surfaced that the school administration and coaches were aware of repeated sexual assaults related to student on student hazing incidents, and did nothing to stop them from continuing. As of now, over two dozen students, six of which that are now adults, have been arrested and charged with criminal sexual assault....
A California appeals court ruled that court fines against poor defendants are unconstitutional. In People v. Duenas, the Second District Court of Appeals reversed a $220 fee imposed on a woman for misdemeanor driving offenses. Velia Duenas was homeless and disabled, and didn’t have the money. She served over 50 days in jail because she could not afford the fine. The appeals court said that was unjust. Suspended License Case Duenas was a teenager when she was first cited....
In-house counsel have seen their fortunes rise and fall with American business, almost as predictably as the stock market. Right. Right? Obviously, it is hard to predict or even monitor the ups-and-downs of the economy, especially in terms of the pay of in-house counsel. They are bound by ethics and law not to reveal certain aspects of their clients’ businesses, and they are often unwilling to share information about their compensation....
Federal railway laws do not categorically preempt the California Environmental Quality Act, the state Supreme Court said, slowing down a Northern California train pending an environmental review. The Court said CEQA applies to the state North Coast Railroad Authority – just like any other state agency – on its projects. The Interstate Commerce Commission Termination Act, a federal law that regulates public rails, does not displace state laws in carrying out those projects....
On the same day Judge Alex Kozinski retired, the handbook for federal clerks was revised to address sex harassment complaints against judges. Public allegations against Kozinski probably prompted the sudden change, even though the jurist’s behavior went unchecked for decades. In any case, the handbook specifically lifts the veil of confidentiality that has hid him and other judges from scrutiny. The revision says nothing in the handbook “prevents a clerk, or any judiciary employee, from revealing misconduct, including sexual or other forms of harassment, by their judge or any person....
A man who was convicted for second degree burglary in California successfully convinced a California Court of Appeal that stealing by false pretenses was a form of shoplifting, thus falling under the umbrella of reduced sentences under Prop 47. It could be one of the first cases in a very long time in which a defendant wanted to be branded a thief. The case involves the application of California’s Prop 47, a California law that was passed in late 2014 that reduces sentences for a host of non-violent felonies and also requires a misdemeanor sentencing for petty theft crimes....
Police in Polk County, Fla. are currently seeking a 6-foot-tall single slice of pizza. The allegedly kidnapped pizza slice is believed to be wearing pepperoni, mushrooms, green peppers and black olives. The slice was last seen Sunday evening at a local Papa John’s Pizza restaurant, where surveillance video showed it being forcibly taken through the front door. Police are also looking for the mastermind behind the operation – a white male believed to be about 18 years of age....
Sheriff’s deputies investigating graffiti at a San Diego County courthouse didn’t have too look far to find their suspect. The prolific alleged tagger had been in court just two months earlier facing charges of – you guessed it – vandalism. Francisco Canseco, 18, was arrested again last week, after officers obtained a search warrant for his San Diego home and found graffiti-related supplies that linked him to the courthouse vandalism, reports KNSD-TV....
What follows is an excellent example of when to call 911 – and when not to call 911. It is true that stories abound here on the FindLaw Blogs of those with quite a warped sense of when to contact emergency dispatchers. Who could forget the man who 911’ed because his mother took his beer? Or the woman who wanted a date? But in the story that follows, there is both an example of a legal, as well as an illegal, use of a 911....
