This ain't Hell, but you can see it from here

Category: Legal

  • Judge in hiding for ruling against Zombie Muhammed

    The DC Caller reports that Judge Mark Martin has sequestered himself and his staff because of death threats he and his office have received from people who are less than pleased with his interpretation of his duties as a judge.

    Mechanicsburg District Judge Mark Martin and his staff moved to the more secure Cumberland County Courthouse in Carlisle, Pa. Tuesday. Martin will not elaborate on how long he and his staff will remain there for security reasons, according to The Patriot-News.

    Apparently, Ernest Perce, otherwise known as “Zombie Muhammed” told the DC that he, too is the victim of death threats as well;

    In a recent interview with The Daily Caller, Perce said he had received over 470 threats since Elbayomy’s acquittal.

    “People have said that they would kill me, rip my eyes out, run me over, shoot me and then laugh at me, since I have blasphemed Muhammad,” he said. “They say I will be found out and hung in front of my family.”

    I guess the big difference is that the judge is probably protected by better men than him in the uniform of the County Sheriff, whereas Perce must depend on his own resources. Good thing PA is a “shall issue” state. Perce is probably being threatened by Amish intent on drive-bys in their horse-drawn carriages that they’re so well-known for perpetrating.

    In my personal experience, though, death threats are harmless. Usually made by cowards who have no intention of following through. No matter how much I try to entice them into action.

  • Judge: Occupy tents are Free Speech

    Jason sends us a link from the Boise Guardian which reports a US District Court judge declared that tents are free speech, and if there are no tents, the Occupy movement is rendered pointless;

    Winmill found the new state law “only prohibits ‘sleeping’ and ‘camping’ on state grounds and does not purport to ban the maintenance of a symbolic tent city which could be staffed 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. Yet Gov. Otter’s letter announcing his signing of the legislation appears to require the removal of all tents, and that appears to be how the State Police are interpreting the law. Such action is simply not authorized by the statute.”

    The judge also said, “Because the reach of the State’s enforcement may exceed the grasp of the statute, this creates the appearance that the state is stretching to suppress the core political message of Occupy Boise – its tents – as presented in a public forum. These circumstances render the State’s enforcement policy of removing Occupy Boise’s tents presumptively invalid under the 1st Amendment.”

    In describing Otter’s eviction order for Occupy Boise, Winmill wrote, “Governor Otter’s edict, and the stated intention of the State Police, is to remove Occupy Boise entirely – tents and all. … This creates the appearance that the State is stretching to shut down a political message – a tent city – presented in a public forum.”

    I guess no one has thought for a moment that the Occupy movement is pointless with or without their symbolic tents. And since everything seems to be free speech these days, the first hippie to get his lights punched out as an expression of free speech had better be prepared to except the judge’s ruling.

  • Sharia Law comes to Pennsylvania

    So this atheist dude dresses up for a Halloween parade as Zombie Mohammed and gets assaulted by a Muslim man, Taaliq E. and caught it all on video. The Mechanicsburg, PA police arrested the criminal and thought they had an open-and-shut case. Until the case got to trial in front of Judge Mark W. Martin, himself a Muslim and a military veteran.

    Martin wouldn’t allow the video of the assault in the trial and then dropped the charges against the defendant because of a lack of evidence of an assault. The he began to lecture the victim on Islamic Law (which isn’t relevant in this country).

    But here’s a local news report;

    Me? I wouldn’t have dressed up like Zombie Mohammed, neither would I have dressed like the Zombie Pope like another character in the parade. But everyone has the right to do or say what they want in this country.

    I’ve seen Muslims assault non-Muslims for merely disagreeing with them. You can watch the videos of the assaults in my YouTube channel. And I’ve watched the police let them get away with it. But this was in court, people aren’t supposed to get away with shit in court. This is the United States of America and we’re all equal under the law…you know, the whole blind justice statue swinging a sword thing.

    Here are some links if I didn’t summarize it well enough for you.

    Jihad Watch

    Opposing Views

    And here’s the 36-minute audio of the trial;

    Thanks to Old Trooper and Valerie for the links.

  • One last Stolen Valor post today

    TSO called just as I was leaving to get my 2 MacDonald’s fish sandwiches for $3 (cuz I’m hungry, but I’m cheap), and he told me I should read the New York Times report on the Supreme Court business yesterday, so I did, cuz I always do everything TSO tells me. The Times, which by the way, filed an amicus brief on Alvarez’ behalf, seems to think that the Court will uphold the Act and Alvarez’ punishment;

    [Alvarez’] case ran into trouble at the Supreme Court as it emerged that many justices accepted two fundamental propositions. First, most of the justices seemed to accept that the First Amendment does not protect calculated falsehoods that cause at least some kinds of harm. Second, there seemed to be something like a consensus that the government has a substantial interest in protecting the integrity of its system for honoring military distinction.

    To arrive at those two propositions, the justices worked through any number of hypothetical questions and worried about the collateral damages to free speech values that a ruling upholding the law might generate.

    They also recounted two admissions by Alvarez’ attorney that may have flipped the case in our favor. When asked by Kagan what free speech will be chilled by the SVA, Libby responded;

    Mr. Libby’s response seemed to surprise Justice Kagan. “It’s not that it may necessarily chill any truthful speech,” he said. “We certainly concede that one typically knows whether or not one has won a medal or not.”

    Justice Kagan considered what she had just heard. “So, boy, I mean, that’s a big concession, Mr. Libby,” she said.

    Mr. Libby also acknowledged that the government may punish false speech that is intended to obtain something of value. Chief Justice Roberts asked whether Mr. Alvarez, who was politically active, benefited from his lie. Mr. Libby said that was possible.

    The chief justice said this, too, was “an awfully big concession.”

    The Times concludes;

    There was universal agreement on one point at Wednesday’s argument. No one spoke up for Mr. Alvarez, including his lawyer.

    “Certainly, people are entitled to be upset by these false claims,” Mr. Libby said. “I mean, I’m personally upset by these false claims.”

    Yeah, you’re pretty much screwed if your lawyer thinks you’re a jerkweed.

  • Deputy kills Marine

    The LA Times reports that an Orange County deputy shot and killed Sgt. Manuel Loggins Jr., when the deputy saw Loggins getting into his SUV with his two daughters

    Jim Amormino, a spokesman for the department, said the deputy was fearful that Loggins — who he said appeared to be acting irrationally — was about to drive off with the girls.

    “The real threat that was perceived was the safety of the children,” Amormino said.

    “The deputy formed an opinion that he had a deep concern for the children, that he would not allow Mr. Loggins to drive away with the kids,” Amormino said.

    Nice call, deputy. The Times says that Loggins regularly took his daughters to school early in the morning and walked the school’s track while reading his Bible. That’s pretty irrational.

    In another article, the union blames Loggins;

    When Loggins abruptly returned to his SUV, he ignored orders not to start the car and instead put it in gear, preparing to drive “and further endanger the children.”

    The union said the deputy, positioned by the driver’s window, fatally shot Loggins as he began to pull the vehicle forward.

    People who know Loggins doubt the union’s side of the story;

    Loggins’ friends and fellow Marines, who said they were baffled by the incident, described him as a deeply devout Christian who had received good-conduct medals for his military service. Aaron Banks, who served with Loggins and saw him as a mentor, said he didn’t believe the union.

    I, honestly don’t see a reason to shoot someone dead because they’re driving away from an officer. If it’s true, the Marine wasn’t armed with a weapon and presented no danger to the officer, who probably already had enough information on him to arrest Loggins later.

    But then, I wasn’t there and I’ve never been a cop.

  • 10th Circuit reinforces the Stolen Valor Act in Strandloff case

    Unlike their numerically and intellectual inferiors in the 9th Circuit, the three judge panel of the 10th Circuit Court upheld the Stolen Valor Act in regards to Richard Strandlof/Duncan according to the Denver Post. Strandlof was a member of both the IVAW and VoteVets who pretended to be a gay Marine Captain with nine fingers (despite sporting ten in the average assortment) and a plate in his unscarred pate.

    Today’s decision by the 10th Circuit means the charges against Strandlof are re-instated and his case goes back to the trial court, where his prosecution can continue.

    The 10th Circuit is the second federal appellate court — one step below the U.S. Supreme Court in authority — to consider the constitutionality of the Stolen Valor Act.

    It probably didn’t help Strandlof’s case when he resurfaced in Colorado as a gay Jewish lawyer by the name of Rick Gold while he was awaiting the 10th Circuit’s decision. It’s beginning to look like he’s really married to the gay aspect of his personae.

    Thanks to Zero for the link.

  • German arrested in LA fire starter investigation

    Harry Burkhart, 24, a German immigrant was in custody as a “person of interest” in the scores of fires that have been set in the Los Angeles area over the last several days. Apparently his mother is facing deportation which prompted him to tell police “I hate America”, according to the UK’s Daily Mail.

    Fifty three blazes have flared since Friday in Hollywood, neighbouring West Hollywood and the San Fernando Valley, causing about $3million in damage.

    According to Los Angeles Police Department Chief Charlie Beck, Burkhart is believed to a foreign national from Germany.

    Well, look, Konrad (I know that’s not his name, it’s what we used to call Germans when I was stationed there), if you hate America, WTF are you still doing here? If you and your mother are German nationals, GTFO and go home, don’t burn our property. I’m pretty sure he hates us because he’s getting used to being here and enjoying our way of life and climate as opposed to Germany, that third world country.

    Now, he’s going to hate America even more locked up in the nearest Federal homosexual recruitment office and discovering why we call our prisons “pounds”. Swift move, Konrad.

  • President votes “present” on detainee detention

    Yesterday, the President signed the National Defense Authorization Act “despite having serious reservations with certain provisions that regulate the detention, interrogation, and prosecution of suspected terrorists.” He had previously threatened to veto the bill in it’s entirety because of that provision, but so much for the courage of his convictions. He instead issued a “signing statement” – a practice he criticized President Bush for during the 2008 campaign.

    [The Obama Administration] will oppose any attempt to extend or expand them in the future, and will seek the repeal of any provisions that undermine the policies and values that have guided my Administration throughout my time in office.

    In other words, he’ll pick and choose which laws he will enforce – that kind of runs contrary to the whole purpose of the Executive Office, the duties of which include executing the laws passed by the Legislative branch. That’s why they call it the Executive branch – it’s supposed to execute not legislate.

    Since the White House has failed to publish that signing statement on it’s website in a timely manner, I’m forced to rely on media accounts of the signing statement.