Mark Bennett | October 14, 2009
Texas Governor Rick “Goodhair” Perry says that Cameron Todd Willingham is a “monster” and a “bad man” who murdered his children (Houston Chronicle). He is convinced that Willingham was guilty of his crime.
That’s good enough for me. If the Governor of Texas says someone is a monster, then dadgummit he’s a monster. Why is he [...]
Category: government, government protecting itself, politics |
7 Comments »
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Mark Bennett | December 29, 2008
HPD Officer Paul Lassalle comments on this long-ago post about his communications with Harris County Assistant District Attorney Warren Diepraam (who will likely be at the coronation on Thursday) concerning whether HPD has to actually use the videotaping equipment that the statute requires them to have and maintain.
When a man with a gun and a [...]
Category: DUI/DWI, Houston Police Department, criminal defense lawyers, government protecting itself |
22 Comments »
Tags: Paul Lassalle, Warren Diepraam
Mark Bennett | December 22, 2008
Illinois criminal defense lawyer Jeremy Richey asks, “is it ethical to plead not guilty” when you know that you are factually guilty? He (being a criminal defense lawyer) gets the answer right, of course: no [edit: duh, yes].
But I’ve been thinking: in addition to the fact that any boob who has ever sat through an [...]
Category: government protecting itself, philosophy |
15 Comments »
Tags: Jeremy Richey
Mark Bennett | December 12, 2008
The city of Minneapolis will be paying at least $618,000 in a settlement to the family whose house was shot up by a city SWAT team last December.
The officers who participated in the botched raid, you’ll recall, got medals.
(H/T Joel Rosenberg.)
Category: government protecting itself, isolated incidents |
6 Comments »
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Mark Bennett | November 25, 2008
From The Agitator and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina criminal defense lawyer Bobby Frederick (if I ever get tossed in jail in South Carolina, I’m calling Bobby Frederick to bust me out): Jacksonville, Florida public “defender” Matt Shirk, elected to be tough on crime (“His campaign promises included a vow not to oppose funding cuts to [...]
Category: criminal defense lawyers, government protecting itself, public defenders |
14 Comments »
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Mark Bennett | August 12, 2008
Beaumont, Texas police officer fired after an assistant chief finds out that, in the course of investigating of prostitution ring, the officer received oral sex a half-dozen or so times (and maybe “one ‘active coitus’”, according to his lawyer) with the approval of his supervisor and his wife.
In Texas, “I’m a police officer” is not [...]
Category: government protecting itself, police misconduct |
6 Comments »
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Mark Bennett | July 30, 2008
The [edit: Minneapolis,] Minnesota Police Department has given medals to eight officers who participated in the botched raid last December of a family home. They were at the wrong house; the homeowner, there with his wife and six kids and thinking he was being robbed, shot at them, and the police shot back.
Minneapolis police spokesman [...]
Category: government protecting itself, informants, police misconduct |
14 Comments »
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