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September 2007 September 2007

Michael Vick tested positive for marijuana earlier this month. That is a violation of his condition of release as he awaits sentencing in Federal Court.

Judge Hudson who will sentence Vick on December 10th ordered Vick confined to his Virginia home between 10:00 pm and 6:00 am with an electronic monitoring device. Vick will also be required to undergo random drug tests.

If Vick fails another drug test he will likely end up in jail like his co-defendant Quanis Phillips who has been incarcerated since his August 17 plea hearing.

Phillips failed a drug test when he had the electronic monitoring and drug testing requirements.

Judge Hudson can take the violation of conditions of release into consideration when he sentences Vick. Vick faces up to five years in federal prison on the charges on which he is awaiting sentencing.

If this were not enough problems for Vick, the Commonwealth of Virginia has filed state charges on Vick that mirror the presently pending federal matter.



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Thursday, September 27, 2007 Filed underCategories:in  Michael Vick  |  Permalink  |  Comments (0)
Warren S. Jeffs, the man revered as the prophet of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS) was convicted of being an accomplice to rape.

Jurors accepted the prosecutions theory that Jeffs advice to the 14 year old church member to obey her husband and submit to his requests amounted to accomplice behavior.

The accuser, Elissa Wall testified that Jeffs told her she must marry her 19 year old first cousin, Allen Steed whom she disliked. To defy Jeffs meant darkness and virtual excommunication from the church.

A few weeks later according to her account, Steed said it was time “to be a wife and do your duty.”

After they consummated the marriage he fell asleep, she swallowed two bottles of pain pills.

On Wednesday, prosecutors filed rape charges against Steed a day after Jeffs’ conviction.



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Thursday, September 27, 2007 Filed underCategories:in  Jury Trials  |  Permalink  |  Comments (0)
Warren Jeffs, a polygamist leader is accused in using his religious influence to coerce a 14 year old girl to marry and have sex with her 19 year old cousin.

Warren JeffsThe jury panel deliberated for 2 hours in their initial session. They will resume deliberations Monday morning.

The prosecutor argued that the only reason the teenager had sex with her cousin is because her “prophet” Jeffs commanded her to do so.

Jeffs’ defense lawyer argued that the accuser is far from a victim and is really pursuing this case so that she can file an eventual civil lawsuit and get a large monetary return.

Jeffs’ faces five years to life in prison on two counts of rape as an accomplice.

The accuser’s ex-husband Allen Steed testified in the trial that his religion did not condone the use of force and that his ex-wife, in fact, initiated their first sexual encounter.

“They prosecuted Warren Jeffs for rape because he is the leader of a religious group that the state does not approve of” his defense lawyer stated in the closing arguments.



Monday, September 24, 2007 Filed underCategories:in  Jury Trials  |  Permalink  |  Comments (0)
Dan Rather announced recently that undue influence of the government and large corporations motivated his decision to file a $70 million lawsuit against CBS.

Dan RatherRather claimed CBS used him as a “scapegoat” and intentionally allowed him to take the blame for a discredited story about President Bush’s military service in order to please the White House.

Unfortunately for Rather, he publicly took personal responsibility for the inaccuracies and it was widely reported at the time that he firmly believed in the truth of the story and was not interested in researching the story any further.

CBS commissioned an independent panel to determine the source of the story’s problems. The panel concluded that the story was neither fair or accurate. As a result CBS fired the story’s producer, asked for resignation of three executives and eventually accepted Rather’s resignation in the aftermath.

Rather claimed on CNN Larry King Live “this was in many ways a fraud. It was a set-up.”

Legal experts don’t give Mr. Rather a high probability of success in this lawsuit.



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Monday, September 24, 2007 Filed underCategories:in  Lawsuits  |  Permalink  |  Comments (0)
Britney Spears has been ordered to undergo random drug and alcohol testing twice a week while a court considers whether she or her ex Kevin Federline should have custody over her two children.

Britney SpearsBritney and Kevin Federline were ordered to refrain from drinking and using drugs around their two children. They were also ordered to abstain from drinking or using drugs 12 hours before either of them cares for the children.

Superior Court Judge, Scott Gordon found that “Based on the evidence presented the court finds that there is a habitual frequent and continuance use of controlled substances and alcohol."

The judge also ordered Spears to meet eight hours per week with a “parenting coach.” The coach will observe and report back to the court about her parenting skills.

Both Britney and Kevin Federline have been ordered not to make any derogatory remarks about each other in front of the children.

If her custody battle was not difficult enough, on Friday, September 21st the L.A. City Attorney charged Britney with hit and run. She could face up to six-months in jail and up to a $1,000 fine.

The hit and run victim Kim Robard-Rifkin, told police all she wanted was for her car to be fixed.

One additional problematic development for Britney, her management firm recently dropped her after her performance at the MTV Video Awards.

More to come.



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Monday, September 24, 2007 Filed underCategories:in  Britney Spears  |  Permalink  |  Comments (0)
Well, John, I’ve had good weeks and I’ve had bad weeks, but rarely have I had a week like this. First of all, I had déjà vu all over again this week. As I was sitting in my recliner chair watching reruns of The Price Is Right, my program was interrupted right in the middle of the Plinko game by a live report from a courtroom. The courtroom itself did not look familiar but there, sitting in the front row was Marcia Clark. And in through the side door comes none other than OJ Simpson dressed in the familiar jail jump suit with his hands shackled. Wow, I thought, did I get transported back to 1995? And if so, can I buy stock in Google? But alas, it wasn’t a blast to the past but simply O. J. Simpleton being arrested again.

This time they got OJ on armed robbery, kidnapping, coercion, cohesion, corrosion, and never finding the real killer. If he is convicted he could spend the rest of his life in prison...something he should have been going for the last 12 years, but now he’s free on bail and working on his next book, If I Stole It.

But I digress.

The fact of the matter is that OJ is back in the news and he will stay in the news until his trial, and then he will become his own reality show called, Who Wants A Piece Of Me.

Speaking of TV, I have discovered a rather disturbing fact this week that I wish to share with the American public for the first time. Last week, we all saw the latest video tape of Osama Bin Laden, making his predictions for the college football season...or whatever the hell he said. Who knows for sure? Then, today, I saw a just released video of Fidel Castro, whom we have not heard a word out of for quite some time. And I couldn’t understand what he said either.

And then, it struck me like a slap in the face with a wet mackerel. Osama bin Laden and Fidel Castro are the same guy. Look at them side by side; slap a turban on Castro and trim up Bin Laden’s beard; and you’ve got twins. The two biggest pains in our collective rear ends are the same guy and we only see him on video tape. I am seeing a wag the dog symptom at work here.

If Bin Laden and Castro are the same guy, who else is in on the scam? What about that guy from the Home Improvement? The next door neighbor who never revealed his mug to the public? Or, maybe, just maybe, OJ is behind this whole thing and for that reason alone he should be locked away with Robert Blake, but once again, I digress.

The main thing I want to tell you John is that I am worried. I am worried about the state of the economy and the simple observation that we don’t even realize that we have all been placed in a handbasket and that we are heading to a place even hotter than the desert.

The stock market is a mess. It’s up and down more often than Paris Hilton’s party dress, and one of these days, it’s going to break all together.

Oil prices are getting higher and higher even though Hollywood celebrities are driving electric cars. If they can’t make a difference, who the hell can?

And the poor kids, nowadays, they have it rougher than anybody. You give the child a toy to play with today, and tomorrow you find out that the Chinese painted it with lead and you have to take it away and give the child a different toy...from China...and the dilemma repeats.

And on top of all of this, the mortgage market is collapsing because the lenders thought that just because you didn’t make much money was no reason not to give you a $500,000 loan. What were they thinking? That everybody they loaned money to was either going to become a CEO or win the big bucks on Deal or No deal?

It’s basic economics as espoused by the late great William Shakespeare, who although he used a lot of clichés, hit the nail on the head when he said “Neither a borrower nor a sub-prime lender be.”

But most of all John, I am worried about the future...the future of our greatest natural resource...celebrities. Our celebs are dropping like flies with Nicole Richie preggers, Britney Spaniel going to jail, Lindsay Lohan and Owen Wilson sharing a spike together. Before you know it, we will be completely out of young vivacious stars and starlets and then...out of the ashes....will arise the spawn of Satan, otherwise known as Michael Jackson’s children.

Mark my words, but when all of our celebrities are either dead or in rehab, Prince, and Paris, and Blanket will burst onto the scene with their grossly misshapen and disfigured old man to take the celeb world by storm.

And speaking of the King of Poop, did you ever notice that all of his facial features are interchangeable...like a Mr. Potato Head. He can change noses, ears, and beards at will. That’s right, I said beards, just like Osama Bin Laden and Fidel Castro wear. In fact, who’s to say that the videos we have been seeing of Ossie and Fidel haven’t been produced by somebody else altogether, somebody who has a lot of money, and video production knowledge, and lives overseas, and has a chip on his shoulder the size of Bubbles the monkey.

That’s right my friends, the perpetrator of fear in this country is none other that Michael Jackson...who you will notice, is never seen in the same picture as OJ Simpson and has been known, on occasion, to only wear one glove. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I rest my case and trust that you will take this conspiracy case for what it is, the ranting of the last angry lawyer.

That’s all from me for now. Lubitsch over and Lubitsch out.



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Monday, September 24, 2007  |  Permalink  |  Comments (0)
Actress Kirsten Storms was arrested in L.A. for DUI.

Kirsten StormsCalifornia Highway Patrol pulled her over after they observed her toss a cigarette out of her car at approximately 3:00 am.

Officers noticed an odor of an alcoholic beverage emitting from her vehicle.

Storms was asked to submit to a series of field sobriety tests. Officers concluded that they had probable cause to arrest her for driving under the influence.

She was taken to the Van Nuys Jail at 4:26 am and subsequently released several hours later on $5,000 bail.

She is due to appear in court on October 2, 2007 for Arraignment.



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Wednesday, September 12, 2007 Filed underCategories:in  Kirsten Storms  |  Permalink  |  Comments (0)
Kate McCan has been advised by her legal counsel that it is possible she can be charged with the death of her daughter, Madeliene.

Police Detectives in Algarvia, Portugal have announced they have found the four-year old’s blood in a family rental car which was hired 25 days after she was found to have been missing.

There are serious questions about the capabilities of the Portuguese Police. A rumor has been floated that McCan was offered a two year plea bargain to admit guilt in the case. The offer was rejected.

Understanding developments in this story are hampered by translation difficulties involving Portuguese legal terms being translated into English legal terms.

New developments are pending.



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Tuesday, September 11, 2007  |  Permalink  |  Comments (0)