Beginning in January 2018, people at Greene, Green Haven and Taconic Correctional Facilities in NY will no longer be able to receive packages directly from family members or friends. All packages must be ordered through an approved vendor. Its currently a pilot project but in September 2018, this policy will apply to ALL 54 prisons […]
An Upstate NY food truck that serves fusion barbecue fare under the name “Wandering Dago” scored a significant victory at the end of a legal battle with the State, which had banned Wandering Dago from serving its offerings at the Saratoga Race Track. and as part of the NY State Lunch Program on the Empire […]
Arthur Johnson was 18 years old when he was convicted of murder following a street fight that occurred in 1970. He was sentenced to life without parole and committed to the custody of the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections. He was a troubled inmate in his early years of incarceration, taking part in two violent escape […]
Suffolk County, NY judge Janine Barbera Dalli sent text messages to Suffolk County prosecutors this week, guiding them on how to charge and try a case against a defendant, in clear violation of judicial ethics that bar judges from communicating privately with one side in a case. To their credit, prosecutors immediately disclosed the texts […]
On Tuesday The Supreme Court will hear oral argument on one of the most anticipated cases on the docket for this term: Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission Back in 2012, Charlie Craig and David Mullins were set to celebrate their wedding in Denver, after having been married in Massachusetts. Jack Phillips, a well […]
Some cases take on a bigger life. Some cases get caught up in a political firestorm. Sacco and Vanzetti, The Scopes trial, The Rosenbergs, Willie Horton, Rodney King to name a few. They end up being not about what actually happened but about some larger societal issue that is reflected in the case. Anarchists, Evolution, […]
The Dept of Defense changed a policy this month affecting the 41 remaining detainees at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, known as Gitmo. The DOD ruled that detainees did not possess the artwork they created while detained and could not display it publicly or sell it. Art classes started at Gitmo “in the later years of […]
Illinois Judge Jeffrey O’Connor took a short nap during the presentation of evidence in the murder trial of Nicholas Sheley, charged with a notorious killing spree. At the 2014, trial, the lights were dimmed so the jury could watch security camera footage on a monitor. When the presentation ended, an assistant attorney general asked that […]
File this article under “You Can’t Make This Up” or “The Constitution is Overrated.” Warren Demesme is awaiting trial on charges of first-degree rape and indecent behavior with a victim under the age 13. He sought to suppress a purportedly incriminating statement made to the New Orleans Police Department sex crimes detective Nijel Baddoo (his […]
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