Right Juris

 
The state of Montana has decided to pick a fight with the Federal Government. The Montana State Legislature recently passed legislation, which was signed into law by the Democratic Govenor Brian Schweitzer, which exempts citizens of Montana from federal background check requirements if a gun was made in Montana, sold to a resident of Montana, and intended to remain within Montana.

The idea behind this is that if the gun remains within the state then the commerce clause of the U.S. constitution does not apply and the Federal Government would not be allowed to regulate the sale or distribution of these firearms. This is an interesting concept, and is sure to generate a fight. This one could get really ugly, really fast.

MSNBC, story found here, states:

Under the new law, guns intended only for Montana would be stamped “Made in Montana.” The drafters of the law hope to set off a legal battle with a simple Montana-made youth-model single-shot, bolt-action .22 rifle. They plan to find a “squeaky clean” Montanan who wants to send a note to the ATF threatening to build and sell about 20 such rifles without federal dealership licensing.

If the ATF tells them it’s illegal, they will sue and take the case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, if they can.

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Susan Henwood, a Utah woman and mother of four, has been sentenced to thirty days in jail for contempt of Court because she sent a text message from Court.  She thought she was helping her husband out by providing an update when she went to Court for him to ask the Judge for a continuance because he was ill.  Her husband asked for updates and she sent him a text message from the Courtroom.  The story, found here, states:

Susan Henwood, a mother of four, has been sentenced to 30 days in the Tooele County Jail because she sent a text message about a court hearing she was observing.

“She shouldn’t be there. She did nothing wrong,” her husband, Joshua Henwood, said.
In early April, Joshua was sick and couldn’t make his court appearance in a debt collection case. He sent Susan to ask for a continuance and to keep him updated, so she sent a text that said: “It doesn’t look good for you” and “They’re coming for the Polaris Ranger.”

The Polaris was one of several items the other side of the case wanted to sell to recoup supposed losses. Henwood says his wife’s text wasn’t a warning to hide anything, just a heads up.

But Judge Stephen Henroid caught wind of the text and held Susan in contempt of court. She started her 30 day sentence Monday.

So why 30 days?  Because pursuant to Utah Code Annotated 78B-6-310 the Court may punish contempt in the following manner:

Contempt — Action by court.
The court shall determine whether the person proceeded against is guilty of the contempt charged. If the court finds the person is guilty of the contempt, the court may impose a fine not exceeding $1,000, order the person incarcerated in the county jail not exceeding 30 days, or both. However, a justice court judge or court commissioner may punish for contempt by a fine not to exceed $500 or by incarceration for five days or both.

Alright, I can’t resist this next question.  Do you think Judge Henroid ever got made fun of in school?  Yes, I spelled the name right, and yes that is his name.  Alright, so I’m completely juvenile, but his name makes me laugh.

Now back to the story.  There are clear warnings posted at the Courthouse to turn off your cell phones and not to use them in the Courtroom.  She is being held for warning her husband about the actions that the opposing party were taking to collect the debt.  I am sure this sounds pretty innocent, but think about what would happen if this type of behavior were allowed to go unpunished.  Parties would simply have text messages sent out from the Courtroom instructing third parties to hide or dispose of assets if a hearing did not look favorable.  It’s the content of the text that really got her into trouble with the Judge. I know I’m going to sound like the crotchety old man here, but people these days have no sense of manners when it comes to text messaging.  Text messages in church, class, driving, and other equally inappropriate places is a huge problem.  This type of behavior needs to be dealt with.

I’m sure this was quite the shock to this woman, but I can guarantee nobody will ever do something like this again from Judge Henroid’s courtroom.  My prediction is that she will not even come close to spending 30 days in jail.  My best guess is that she’ll probably be called into Court on Thursday or Friday and the Judge will once again read her the riot act and then have her released from custody.  Even if she does spend the next month in jail, which I highly doubt, notice has been served that cell phones aren’t something that are looked upon kindly in Judge Henroid’s courtroom.

UPDATE:

I hate to gloat when I’m right, wait a minute, no I don’t.  Mrs. Henwood was released from jail today after talking to the judge and having him explain why he put her in jail.  I don’t think the judge did anything at all wrong in this case.  He’s taking a lot of heat, but I think it’s just because half the story makes for a pretty good headline.  The updated story is found here.

Stacey Anvarinia is a North Dakota woman who is facing charges of breast feeding while drunk. Read about the case below and see her mugshot and the incident report.

Stacey Anvarinia Mugshot

Stacey Anvarinia is a 26-year-old woman from Grand Forks, North Dakota. She was in court on April 28, 2009 facing charges of breast feeding while intoxicated (BWI). Who knew there was even such a criminal charge? It makes sense, but its just not that common.

According to the court records, Anvarinia pleaded not guilty to the charges against her. The incident happened in February when police came to her home when they were called to respond to a domestic disturbance. When the Grand Folks Police Department officers arrived at her home they observed her as being ‘extremely intoxicated’. She began breast feeding her baby in the presents of the officers.

After observing this, the officers arrested Anvarinia for neglect of her six-week-old infant on the grounds that alcohol can pass from mother to child via breast milk. The baby was taken to Altru Hospital for an examinatin and Anvarinia was booked and locked up on charges of child neglect.

So what do you think? Should this young mother be charged with neglect for breast feeding her 6-week-old baby while she’s dog drunk? Was she putting the baby in danger? We report, you decide.

You can see her mug shot above and the incident report below.

Incident Report

Philip Markoff, the accused Craigslist killer, has asked the Court to be appointed an attorney. The AP is reporting here that Markoff can’t afford a lawyer and has asked the Court for an appointed public defender.

The story states the following:

The document says the Boston University student has been unemployed long enough to be eligible for an appointed attorney paid through public funds.

I’m sure that there are a lot of people out who think that he doesn’t deserve a lawyer.  I’m also sure that there are others who think this is a good thing because they think that a public defender isn’t as good as someone they can go out and hire.  I’m not one of those people.

I believe that Markoff is entitled to the best defense available. I’ll explain why I feel this way. It is a right of every American to be represented by counsel when they are facing jail time.  These defense lawyers are tasked with the job to ensure that everyone has a fair trial.  I believe that if an accused has competent, aggressive, defense lawyers then it removes the claim of ineffective assistance of counsel during the appeal. Everything the Court can do to ensure the fairness of a trial ought to be done. This way, if an accused is convicted then hopefully the Judge will throw the book at the guy.  So long as the rules are followed, and the accused is provided competent and effective counsel, there will be no basis for overturning the conviction upon appeal.

I say give him the best criminal defense attorney around.  It will keep the prosecutors honest, and it will make them better at their jobs.  Sure there are times when the prosecutor doesn’t quite meet the standard of the defense attorney (think O.J. Simpson here) but this protects all of us from overzealous prosecutors and it keeps the system honest.

If he did it, throw the book at him.  If he didn’t then let him go.  The last thing we want to do as a society is to move toward a determination of guilt or innocence based upon mere opinion.

The older I get the more I love Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. The book presents a similar case. In the story a man was accused of rape. The accused man had no lawyer, but the most respected lawyer in town was appointed to represent him. Without the protections set forth in our constitution we would all be subject to prosecution by public opinion. I know I don’t want that.

The video below is a recent story about Markoff being placed on suicide watch because there were marks on his neck which allegedly came from shoelaces.

Video

George Zinkhan, a marketing professor in the Terry College of Business, has allegedly shot and killed his ex-wife and two men outside a community theater on 25 April 2009.  After the shooting, it was reported that Professor Zinkhan drove away from the scene with this two young children.  The children were then dropped off with a neighbor and then Zinkhan drove away.  The children were not harmed during the ordeal.  It makes you wonder what kind of man takes his children with him if he intends to shoot and kill three people? Someone who lacks any sort of reasoning ability, that’s who.  If you do something like take your children with as you go to shoot their mother besides spending years, if not life, behind bars you should NEVER receive a Father’s Day present again.

The story, as reported on MSNBC states:

Athens-Clarke County Coroner Sonny Wilson said the three victims were shot multiple times. Two different guns were involved, and neither was recovered at the scene, nor at Zinkhan’s two-story colonial in the tidy middle-class suburb of Athens, Holeman said.

Authorities issued a nationwide alert for Zinkhan and his 2005 red Jeep Liberty. Zinkhan also has a house in Amsterdam, Netherlands, and authorities were keeping a lookout at airports. Also, police in Austin, Texas, have been alerted since Zinkhan has family there.

“Anyone who shoots three people is dangerous, that’s the best way I can put it,” Holeman said.

Shortly after the shooting, the university issued a campus-wide alert as a precaution.

It sounds like a lot of prep went into this shooting.  Two different guns and three people dead because one man snapped.  I am not sure if Georgia has capital punishment, but this looks like a fairly clear cut case of pre-meditated murder.  Killing three people in such a deliberate way will make the prosecutors look long and hard at the death penalty if it exists in Georgia.

I am hopeful that this story will not be reported as another example of why stricter gun control laws would have prevented this.  The sad thing is that I’m sure that is exactly what we are going to be seeing.  Somehow it is going to be reported that the fact that guns exist is the reason this tragedy occured.

The bigger question is: What is going on with colleges these days?  There have been a number of stories lately involving violence and those affiliated with college campuses.  Usually it is a student who snaps and kills classmates like the tragic events during the shooting at Virginia Tech.  This shooting occurred because one man decided to act.  If this story is true it is tragic that three people died because  Professor Zinkan was upset with his ex-wife.

Video

Oksana Pochepa

We’ve all heard that Mel Gibson’s wife has filed for divorce and that it’s being alleged that he’s got a new Russian girlfriend.  Now there are pictures that have been released showing Mel’s alleged girlfriend in lingerie on top of a piano.  FoxNews has posted pictures of Oksana Grigorieva in lingerie here.  Now before you click on the link just realize that it does show pictures of a Russian woman in her underwear, so if that kind of thing bothers you then you probably shouldn’t click on it.  There is no nudity, and there are racier pictures in a Victoria’s Secret catalog, but I am providing fair warning about the content of the link.

None of this will end well for Mel. It’s been estimated that Mel is worth anywhere from $900 million to $1.2 billion dollars.  He and his wife have seven children together and have been married for almost 30 years.  It is also rumored that there is no pre-nuptial agreement.  If that is really the case then the soon to be former Mrs. Gibson’s lawyers are really going to have some serious clout at the bargaining table.  Nearly thirty years of marriage, plus seven kids, plus allegations of adultery, plus pictures of the alleged mistress, plus very public drunken rants, plus a marital estate close to a billion dollars, plus no pre-nup, equals HUGE spousal support for Mrs. Gibson.  She is not going to ever have to worry about the money ever again.

Without a prenuptial agreement Mrs. Gibson is entitled to half of her husband’s wealth earned during the marriage.  Because the couple married before Mel became a star, and they have been married for almost thirty years, this is going to potentially be the largest divorce settlement in history.  The settlement will be in the range of $450 million to $600 million depending on the valuation of the estate.  I don’t know about you but this is the only person I know of who is going to that much out of 28 years of marriage.  I know my wife won’t be getting that much from me after 28 years of marriage.  I can only imagine how happy Mrs. Gibson’s lawyers are that these pictures are coming out in the press.

I’m guessing there is going to be a settlement and that it will come relatively quickly.   Neither party is going to want to drag this through the courts.  She’s going to want to get at her money, and he’s not going to want to have even more details come out in the press.

UPDATE: I was informed (thanks Greg) that I made a mistake in labeling the pictures. The woman in the pictures I posted are of 24 year old Oksana Pochepa and not Oksana Grigorievae who is on the piano. Apparently Mel is HUGE in Russia and has all sorts of hot Russian women after him. I don’t know how he keeps his Oksanas straight. We all should have such a rough life.

Photos

As a lawyer there have been times where I’ve had to tell clients that I’ve heard enough and I don’t need to hear anything else from them on a particular issue.  I always counsel clients before going to court that I’m going to do the talking and they have to follow the basic rule that unless the judge asks to hear from them specifically they are to sit at the table and just keep their mouth shut.  It might sound harsh, but one of the fastest ways I know of to upset a judge is to speak out of turn.

From here on out if a client questions me on this issue I am going to tell them this story from Pocatello Idaho.  The AP is reporting that a defendant in an Idaho courtroom upset a judge enough that the judge ordered his mouth to be duct taped shut.  The story, found here, reads as follows:

A state judge who said he lost patience with an unruly defendant ordered court officials to cover the man’s mouth with duct tape. The unusual move was ordered Monday by 6th District Judge Peter D. McDermott during a probation violation hearing for Nicklas Frasure. The 23-year-old Frasure was convicted of felony theft in 2008 and recently released from prison.

During the hearing, Frasure made repeated outbursts and ignored the judge’s orders to refrain from interrupting the court. The judge then ordered bailiffs to silence Frasure.

The Idaho State Journal reported that bailiffs found a roll of duct tape, tore off a piece and put it over his mouth.

The judge ordered Frasure placed in the custody of the Department of Correction mental health facility in Boise.

You KNOW the bailiffs had fun carrying out this order. I can just imagine the conversation:

Judge: “Bailiff, silence that man.”

Bailiff #1: “Yes sir.”

Bailiff #2: “Hey, we just happen to have some duct tape, do you think that will work?”

Bailiff #1: “Sounds good to me.”

Judge: “Thank you.”

Defendant “#%$%!”

I know there have been numerous articles written about the uses of duct tape and how you can do anything with it.  Now we can add enforcement of court orders to the list. Just for fun I found this video that shows how something like this might work.  I’m just glad the kid in the video realized that he might want to leave his nose uncovered before he finished the job.

Video

Foxnews has published some photos of at least one man who is connected to the Craigslist killings, Phillip Markoff. The so-called Craigslist killer is wanted in connection with at least two robberies and one murder. Last Thursday the body of Jessica Brisman was found in a Boston Mass Marriott, shot multiple times.

The reason they think that Markoff is involved is because his photo was taken leaving the scene of a R.I. Holiday Inn and a Bostin Westin hotel, where two different robberies had taken place. Markoff advertises himself as a masseuse on Craigslist and at least one of the victims advertised erotic services on Craigslist. Strangely her husband broke up the attack before it got out of hand (what kind of husband lets their wife advertise for erotic services on Craigslist? I thought they were called pimps).

I will say this, I’ve always been wary about advertising or buying stuff off of craigslist. With ebay its all impersonally done via the mail, but with Craigslist you oftentimes have to go to some unknown’s house, half the time in some shady part of town. You have to be careful when dealing with the unknown like this. Also, this is one of the dangers of being involved in the sex trade. I’m not saying that this lady deserved to be attacked, but that business deals with very dangerous individuals.

Video

Carmen Canas bought some microwavable hot wax from beauty supplier Sally Hansen. When she microwaved it, she got burned. Now she is burning Sally Hansen for $160 million in a lawsuit over the hot wax burns. The burning question is … whose fault is that Carment Canas apparently has trouble following directions. Read about it below along with a photo and video.

Carmen Canas had a mishap with some microwavable wax that she bought from beauty product supplier Sally Hansen. She filed a $160 million lawsuit against Sally Hansen and the wax manufacturer, Del Lab, Wednesday in Brooklyn District Court in New York. She alleges the company is responsible for 2nd and 3rd degree burns she received when she spilled the wax on herself while she was removing it from the microwave.

Thirty-eight-year old Carmen Canas has decided that Sally Hansen and Coty Inc., are to blame for her apparent inability to follow simple directions. She is suing for $160 million from the company … to help ease the pain and suffering she went through after microwaving the microwavable hot wax. She alleges the wax boiled over and splattered her on her thigh, breast and lower back about 3 years ago when she was removing it from the microwave.

Sounds to me like she perhaps started the juggling act with the hot wax container (which had a handle) after realizing that it was …… well … HOT! How else would she get it on her lower back … was she naked while microwaving? Yet we are to believe this is Sally Hansen’s fault.

She claims she was rushed to St. Mary’s Hospital in Hoboken where she was given morphine to ease the pain of the second and third-degree burns she sustained on her lower back, breast, and right thigh. Due to the severity of her injuries, she was transported to the burn unit of Saint Barnabas Hospital in Livingston for additional care.

Canas’ attorney, Phil Rizzuto had this to say:

“It is unconscionable, how multi-million dollar corporations … are placing such dangerous products into the stream of commerce without taking into consideration the user’s safety.”

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Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg recently spoke at a symposium hosted by the Moritz College of Law at Ohio State University.  In a story reported by The New York Times Justice Ginsburg stated the following:

I frankly don’t understand all the brouhaha lately from Congress and even from some of my colleagues about referring to foreign law

Really?  You don’t understand the problem with The United States Supreme Court using foreign courts to interpret the United States constitution?  I am not going to make the mistake of assuming that Justice Ginsburg is dumb.  I think that she understands perfectly why conservatives have a problem with using foreign law and foreign courts to interpret the constitution.  She is a lawyer, and an extremely gifted one at that.  In her discussion of the issue she does what all good lawyers do, she frames the issue in a way that makes her argument seem like the only reasonable option.  The New York Times goes on to state:

Justice Ginsburg said the controversy was based on the misunderstanding that citing a foreign precedent means the court considers itself bound by foreign law as opposed to merely being influenced by such power as its reasoning holds.

“Why shouldn’t we look to the wisdom of a judge from abroad with at least as much ease as we would read a law review article written by a professor?” she asked.

She added that the failure to engage foreign decisions had resulted in diminished influence for the United States Supreme Court.

The Canadian Supreme Court, she said, is “probably cited more widely abroad than the U.S. Supreme Court.” There is one reason for that, she said: “You will not be listened to if you don’t listen to others.”

Not to sound like the ugly American or anything, but the United States Supreme Court shouldn’t be worried about how many times it is cited throughout the world.  I would be much more worried if Americans began ignoring Supreme Court decisions than if other countries cited the Canadian Supreme Court in a decision.

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