Crime and Punishment

Via the mysterious Dr. X comes an interesting lawsuit that touches on the issue of medical professionals performing forensic tests, a subject I recently blogged about. Here's how Frank Main at the Chicago Sun-Times describes it: Lisa Hofstra said she was the "charge nurse" in the emergency room on Aug. 1 when the officer approached her at about 4 a.m. The officer requested she … [Read more...] about Cop vs. Nurse Over Forensic Blood Work

As a libertarian, I'd like our government to be a lot smaller, but even I acknowledge that there are a number of essential government functions. One of the most important of these is the justice system. That's why it angers me so much that our justice system (at all levels) has drifted so far from the core mission of protecting us from people doing bad things. Instead, it seems … [Read more...] about The Sex Crimes of Children

Let's start off by reviewing the key paragraph in our last episode: On April 16 of 2008, Sheriff Bob Fletcher and Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner filed a hundred-page petition (here's Part 1; here's Part 2) with District Judge Joanne Smith, requesting that the judge revoke what they called Wilson's "conceal and carry permit", and documenting, in great detail, each and … [Read more...] about The Smoking Gun, Part II: When the Going Gets Weird, the Bumbling Get Put on Patrol

[update, 8/19/2009 -- and if you thought this was weird before, you ain't seen nothing, yet. Check out the comments, and watch for the update, later today. JR] The End of Carl Jackson Maybe the 911 call was not Carl Jackson's worst mistake. But it was his last one; it got him killed. He would have been smarter to run, instead. It would have been smarter not getting involved … [Read more...] about The Smoking Gun: a Killing in St. Paul

Chicago police officer Anthony Abbate---caught on video beating up a young woman bartender---has been sentenced. He got probation. Note that Abbate is still a police officer. The Independent Police Review Authority has recommended he be fired, and it sounds like he was convicted of a felony, which should disqualify him for the police force, but God only knows what the Police … [Read more...] about Not Much Punishment For Abbate, Even Less For Conspirators