TresSugar

Rough Justice? Parents Sue Judge to Stop Spanking Sentence

LibertySugar — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 06:00:51 -0700

Parents of a 15-year-old Texas girl are seeking a restraining order against a local Justice of the Peace, who offered the girl's step-father a choice between paying a $500 fine, or spanking his daughter in court with a paddle. The girl had been found guilty of truancy.

Justice of the Peace Gustavo Garza has been given time to consult a lawyer before the case against him for abusing ~~citizens~~ his power moves forward. I wonder how the lawyer will try to get him out of this one . . .

Last week Justice Garza said that the punishment was lawful, citing a statistic that 98 percent of parents choose the spanking option as opposed to the fine. I wonder how that stat gets broken down between wealthy and impoverished defendants.

Is Garza actually helping out families who may not be able to afford the fine? Should they be given the option to undergo humiliating physical punishment in public? Is there a difference between discipline and abuse?

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Annulment Based on Bride's Fake Virginity Outrages French

LibertySugar — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 11:00:51 -0700

A court's decision to annul a marriage because the bride lied about being a virgin has the French worried that their secular values are under siege by religious immigrants.

The case involved a Muslim couple. Under their strict religious tradition, a woman must prove virginity on her wedding night. The court ruled that since the couple was Muslim, virginity was a prerequisite to the marriage. Thus, her misrepresentation of the requirement made the marriage invalid.

Women's rights activists say that the ruling treats women as a defected good in a commercial transaction. In addition, France's champions of secularism, who have worked to resist the religious influence of some 5 million Muslims that help make up France's population of 64 million, are outraged.

Their interpretation of secularism often leans towards forced secularism. To see how, read more.

France could be a secular state if it allowed its citizens to marry and divorce according to their own religious values. Instead, the French brand of secularism prefers no religious expression, to freedom of all religious expression - see France's ban of headscarves and other religious symbols from classrooms as an example.

It appears that once again, the French are the mirror image of their American counterparts, many of whom worry that the country's religious roots are being attacked. Do you think religious requirements should be left out of a state marriage proceeding? Or was the court correct to release the man from his contract, since he thought he was marrying a virgin?

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High School Principal Outs Two Gay Students

LibertySugar — Thu, 01 May 2008 15:45:29 -0700

A Memphis high-school principal accused of outing two gay students, is now at the center of an American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) lawsuit. The principal, Daphne Beasley, asked teachers to compile a list of student couples, in order to assist her in the fight against public displays of affection. Once armed with the romantic information, the principal posted the list in public, for teachers, students, and parents to see.

Two gay students, Nicholas and Andrew, were effectively outed. In an interview with local news, Nicholas explained: "I really feel that my personal privacy was invaded. I mean, Principal Beasley called my mother and outed me to my mother!" Nicholas also alleges that a teacher would not let him go on a school trip to build homes in New Orleans because he would embarrass the school with his gay affection. As a result of the list, Nicholas and Andrew say they are being harassed by fellow students as well.

The ACLU hopes the lawsuit will bring school-district policies that would stop such out-of-control behavior by administrators, policies they say violate students' constitutional rights. They also are asking that the principal apologize to the students, who should also be monetarily compensated for the horrible experience.

Are you outraged by the principal's action? Is PDA in high schools such a threat to the educational experience that it deserves such drastic action? Do these students deserve financial compensation? Is it the only way to get the school district's attention?

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Is Death Penalty For Child Rape Cruel and Unusual?

LibertySugar — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 15:45:55 -0700

For the first time in 30 years, the US Supreme Court will consider the legality of imposing the death penalty in nonmurder cases.

Tomorrow the Court will hear arguments on whether the crime of raping a child warrants execution. The case involves a man sentenced to death for raping his 8-year-old step-daughter. Currently, all executions in the US are on hold, awaiting a decision by the Supreme Court on another case involving lethal injections.

The Court, which meets between October and July, has already considered big issues like guns and abortion in jail this session.

Is the death penalty an extreme sentence in the case of child rape? And putting aside the defendant's constitutional rights, if the punishment is the same, doesn't a rapist have an incentive to kill the child victim, who is also the major witness to the crime?

Should the Supreme Court strike down execution in the case of child rape? Should the death penalty be used in nonmurder cases?

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Chronic Groper Faces Life in Prison

LibertySugar — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 03:00:09 -0700

Freddie Johnson has been arrested 53 times for groping women on NYC subway trains. Now, he faces life in prison for his latest arrest, which came only two weeks after his release from prison.

This time, plainclothes officers recognized Freddie from police photos of repeat offenders. They followed him, while he groped a female passenger selected at random.

Gropers often attack in crowded areas, and almost always escape. Apparently, there is not a crossover of offenders that grope, and those that engage in rape or other serious sexual assault. According to a recent survey, 63 percent of respondents reported being sexually harassed in some way on the NYC subway.

Like graffiti - the negative impact of an anonymous grope seems less severe than other crimes; but both subway-prone crimes decrease the overall feeling of security in the community. Plus, unlike graffiti, which everyone sees, groping involves personal violation, not shared with all the other riders.

If Freddie Johnson is intent on re-offending, does New York have no choice but to lock him up forever? Or, should we spend tax money locking up more dangerous offenders, while suffering an occasional grope?

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Shady Justice? Court Says Blocking Solar Panels Is Illegal

LibertySugar — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 11:00:34 -0700

In an epic showdown of redwood trees and solar panels, two environmentally-conscious families from Northern California met in criminal court for a battle of the shade. One electric car-owning family complained that their Prius-driving neighbors had redwood trees that were preventing the sun from hitting their solar panels. This is not an episode of South Park, but an actual proceeding in California criminal court.

The solar panels triumphed, and the convicted tree neighbors were forced to significantly trim decade-old redwoods. Under the Solar Shade Act, owners can be fined up to $1,000 a day for trees that impede solar panels. To see which came first, the solar panels or the shade, read more.

While this appears to be a case unique to California, typical neighbor issues were at play. Over the years, shade from their neighbor's growing trees, prevented the solar family from enjoying their hot tub or growing corn in the backyard. Seeking refuge in the solar law, the family installed the panels, informed the neighbors of the law, and offered to remove and replace the trees. The tree owners didn't want to touch the trees that were there first, so they all ended up in court.

California lawmakers recognize the dilemma. State Senator Joe Simitian has introduced a bill that will allow trees to grow if they were planted before the installation of solar panels.

Which neighbor do you find more sympathetic - the tree huggers or the tree haters?

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Elderly Women Allegedly Kill Homeless Men For Money?

LibertySugar — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 14:30:31 -0700

Criminals are very imaginative. Since the well of quirky court cases never dries up, I decided to do a reoccurring post highlighting some of the most outlandish. The Court of Liberty is now in session. I'll be like Nancy Grace, just less scary.

The Crime: Olga, 75, and Helen, 77, are accused of murdering for financial gain. They allegedly killed two homeless men by running them over with a car.

The Motive: The elderly women wanted to collect $3 million in insurance money coming from plans they had taken out on the men's lives.

The Whole Story: Prosecutors allege that Olga and Helen found the two transient men at a Hollywood Church. They set them up in an apartment, and supported them for two years. Meanwhile, they took out several life insurance policies on the men's lives. Eventually, they drugged their transient friends, and proceeded to run them over with a car, making it look like a hit-and-run.

My Verdict: These women were getting pretty up in their age. Was the long-term investment of supporting these men for two years, only to kill them, a risky financial move? How could they be sure they would see their return? OK, all joking aside, it's outrageous if these women in fact took advantage of - and killed! - these vulnerable victims.

Your Verdict? Tell me in the comments!

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Britain to Impose Booze-Ban on "Antisocial" Drunks

TresSugar — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 10:00:00 -0700

Starting today, anyone who behaves "antisocially" while drunk can be banned from pubs, bars, and other public places in England and Wales for up to two years.

Many people in Britain believe that drastic policing like this must be used to change the culture of heavy drinking. But not everyone is on board with the latest crackdowns - or booze antisocial behavior orders (ASBO). One civil liberties activist says:

It will be jelly bean ASBO for sugared-up kids next. Surely it's time to call last orders on endless new legislation.

While this is the first time antisocial behavior orders will be handed out for public drunks, British courts have been using them to curb other bad behavior for some time now. So what else counts as anti-social behavior in the UK? Earlier this month, a man was given an animal ASBO after bees from his hives repeatedly stung the neighbors. The beekeeper was ordered to move his hives. And a magistrate judge gave another Brit an ASBO for throwing shopping carts outside a supermarket two or three times per week. The ASBO makes it criminal for the man to throw shopping carts going forward. That sounds about right.

Do you think this sort of targeted justice is the best way to solve societal problems like excessive alcohol consumption? Will telling a drunk that he can't go to pubs and bars for a couple of years change anything?

Do You Think Prop. 8 Should Be Repealed?

LibertySugar — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 03:01:12 -0800

This weekend CA Attorney General Jerry Brown asked the CA Supreme Court to void Proposition 8 because it is unconstitutional. The attorney general must defend the laws of California. Yet Brown says Prop 8 makes his job impossible, because the amendment contradicts another part of the state Constitution: the equal protection clause.

Right after 52 percent of voters passed the gay marriage ban, Brown claimed he would uphold the will of the voters, and when the Court legalized same-sex marriage earlier this year, Brown had argued against it. But now, Brown says:

"Proposition 8 must be invalidated because the amendment process cannot be used to extinguish fundamental constitutional rights without compelling justification."

Brown thinks that in the conflict between the people's amendment power, and the court's duty to protect minorities and liberties, the court's duty should prevail. What do you think?

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Anti-Advertising "Crusaders" Try to Sell Message in France

LibertySugar — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 12:30:51 -0800

The French are known for loving things just so. In Almost French, I learned that the sloppily dressed could make a Frenchman feel "unwell" - a taste for drama being another strength. So you can imagine, I'm sure, how ads plastered through metro tunnels, covering buildings, and lining block after city block make them feel.

Unwell enough that a group called The Dismantlers is protesting billboards. The self-titled "anti-ad crusaders" invite police to protests, making sure to offer a warm welcome upon their arrival. Three activists are then instructed to deface ads with messages like "Avert your eyes from ads: You risk being very strongly manipulated," which surely sounds better in French. When they're done, the police handcuff the vandalizers and the crowd applauds. A song, with lyrics written for the occasion, is sung. How very French?

To see what's in it for the protesters, read more.

The goal, of course, is to get arrested and gain publicity. Members of The Dismantlers gather funds to pay police fines, which run low since the vandalism is minimal. But once they get to court, they argue the righteousness of their cause. It's an "assault on individual liberties" and a "waste of money" (in French) - the ad industry is worth the country's entire education budget. It's aggressive, oppressive, and, besides, requires trees for paper.

The Dismantlers represent a fray in French life today. While the country elected moderate-conservative Nicolas Sarkozy and citizens enjoy the decadent lifestyle of the West, a large percentage of the population is still hostile toward the capitalist system. If "hostile" means protests filled with applause and song.

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