Category Archives: Polls

Canada’s Supreme Court Considers Whether a Rotted Tree Falling on a Car is ”an Auto Accident”

Posted on March 15, 2012 by Bill Bickel

On August 1, 2006, in the Canadian city of Westmount, Quebec, a century-old rotted tree fell on Garbriel Rossy’s car, killing him. The city, in response to the family’s $1.3 million lawsuit, claimed that since Rossy had been in his car, his death was an automobile accident and the city … Continue reading →

Posted in Lawsuits, Polls | Tagged , , , | 19 Comments

Police ”Search” Cell Phone Without a Warrant

Posted on March 2, 2012 by Bill Bickel

The complete details and the appeals court’s ruling are here, but this is the short version: At the time of arrest, the police seize a cell phone. They don’t take any incriminating information from the phone, just the phone number, and subsequently use the phone number to — strictly within … Continue reading →

Posted in Court Rulings, Current Criminal Justice Headline News, News, Polls | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

Friday Morning Miscellany: Three Things To Be Paranoid About

Posted on March 2, 2012 by Bill Bickel

The Gift Card Scam: Why your gift card might not work Can Apple and Google Steal Your Personal Photos Right Out of Your Phone? Apparently, yes. Is This ”An Unprecedented Age of Censorship”? A columnist for The Economist — and author of You Can’t Read This Book — makes the … Continue reading →

Posted in Don't Be a Victim, Polls | Tagged , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Update: Federal Investigators Decrypt Ramona Fricosu’s Hard Drive

Posted on March 1, 2012 by Bill Bickel

And just like that, all the court decisions made, all the court decisions waiting to be made, and all the constitutional issues are rendered moot.February 28, 2012: The case of the Colorado woman ordered to turn over the contents of her hard drive to federal investigators is on hold: at … Continue reading →

Posted in Articles, Court Rulings, Criminal Justice Issues, Polls | Tagged , , , | 42 Comments

Middle School Teacher Fired For Posting Naked Self-Photo on Facebook

Posted on February 15, 2012 by Bill Bickel

A middle school teacher (and high school football coach ) in Maine has been fired after posting a nude photo of himself on his Facebook page. What complicates an obvious offense-and-punishment is that he’d intended to send the photo to a friend — but hit the wrong button and shared … Continue reading →

Posted in Polls | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

Thursday Morning Miscellany

Posted on February 9, 2012 by Bill Bickel

Using Statistics in Court (part of a BBC podcast; this is the first ten-minute segment) Sea World Sued Because ”Whales Deserve the Same Protection Against Slavery as Humans. And because the whole reason we pay for a judicial system is to subsidize PETA’s publicity stunts. Joseph Bray Has a Court … Continue reading →

Posted in Lawsuits, Lighter Side, Media-Articles, Polls, Strange Lawsuits, Weird World Of Crime | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Arizona Supreme Court Upholds Ban on Non-English-Speakers Holding Local Office

Posted on February 8, 2012 by Bill Bickel

The Arizona Supreme Court today upheld a lower court ruling that Alejandrina Cabrera is barred from running for a San Luis city council seat because the state constitution requires office holders to be proficient in English. According to one of her attorneys, a U.S. Supreme Court appeal is possible.February 2, … Continue reading →

Posted in Court Rulings, Polls | Tagged , , , | 27 Comments

Friday Afternoon Miscellany

Posted on February 3, 2012 by Bill Bickel

Susan B. Komen’s Pink Guns Illinois Supreme Court Reaffirms Ban on Confessions Obtained Through Torture: Seriously? This was even a question?? Dutch Supreme Court Rules That Theft of In-Game ”Virtual” Property is a Real-World Crime Should in-game ”virtual” property be treated, under the law, the same was ”real world” property … Continue reading →

Posted in Court Rulings, Lighter Side, Polls, Weird World Of Crime | Tagged , , | 20 Comments

Is It Legal For a Roommate Ad to ”Discriminate” Against Certain Groups?

Posted on February 3, 2012 by Bill Bickel

Roomates.com, a web-based business that matches up potential roommates, asks it members to specify their cohabitation preferences with regard to gender, sexual orientation and family status, and invite them to list other desired criteria. All of these questions violate the federal Fair Housing Act and in California, the Fair Housing … Continue reading →

Posted in Court Rulings, Polls | Tagged , , , | 9 Comments

400-Pound Felon Sues Over Lack of Clothing

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Bill Bickel

Elias Diaz, who recently spent eight months behind bars at New York City’s Riker’s Island and the Vernon C. Bain Center (on gun charges), weighs about 400 pounds, and wears clothing size 7X. Since the prisons wouldn’t issue him clothing in his size, he says, he had to spend his … Continue reading →

Posted in Bill Bickel, Managing Editor, Editorials, Lawsuits, Polls | Tagged , , | 12 Comments