4.23.2013

The Boston Bomber Has A Court Appointed Harvard Educated Lawyer


Link.

The Year Of The Mugshots?


She allegedly took her high heel to the face of a gal at a bar in Tulsa.


Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts



  • Phone service was a mess in Wise County yesterday. 
  • Netflix streaming service at $7.99 a month is too cheap, isn't it? But maybe they know what they are doing as the company's stock is set to explode this morning. (The concept of Blockbuster now seems archaic.) 
  • Sean Hannity was advocating water-boarding the Boston Bomber last night. How does he just ignore that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is a U.S. Citizen? Hannity may not like it, but how can he just pretend that a fact does not exist?
  • A phrase being thrown around last night on the news shows was that a "first year law student could prosecute this bomber case." They might want to tap the brakes on that that. 
  • From the Update: "Yolanda Wallace was named principal of Prairie View Elementary School in Rhome." That name reminds me of Marcellus Wallace telling Yolanda to "be cool" at the end of Pulp Fiction. Edit: That was a huge error. Jules said it. 
  • I can't do this justice, but some spare New York State Senator was on Piers Morgan last night and it turned into the Theater of the Bizarre. Morgan tweeted afterwards, "Quite extraordinary interview with @ball4ny - called me 'dude', mocked my accent, and challenged me to an arm wrestle. Weird man."
  • "I don't remember absolutely not much of anything." - Very confusing statement from a lady from West, Texas who was the focus of a news segment last night by Fox 4. 
  • President Obama will visit Baylor University for the Memorial Service for the West victims on Thursday. From the main sports blogger for the school: "I shouldn't have to say this, but I will: if anyone boos President Obama at the memorial service Thursday, I will shame you into the dust."
  • Mrs. LL got sucked into some show called Awkward on MTV. I watched about fifteen minutes and did a lot of head shaking. 
  • The Travis County DA agreed to a quick plea bargain of 45 days in jail after her DWI arrest. Something sounds fishy. Anyone see how much time she'll actually do and whether it will be satisfied through the very loosely governed "work release"?
  • I heard yesterday that a Lifetime movie will be made about the Jodi Arias case. Any chance it will be completed before the trial is?
  • It's NFL draft time on Thursday which means we are all going to be beaten down the phrase of "draft the best athlete available" which is obvious yet impossible to implement without error. If they could identify the best athlete there would never be any first round busts.
  • Ron Washington was caught smoking in the dug out the other day. Funny
  • Not many people raised an eyebrow about the Boston police searching house after house without  consent last Friday. 
  • Edit: A rare response from me. Some guy, suggesting I was wrong,  keeps asking me to remember my post of "Let's See What A Constitution Loving Senator Says" where I took a shot at Lindsay Graham suggesting the defendant not be read Miranda. I don't understand. The bomber was read his Miranda warnings yesterday by a federal judge. And anything the cops learned from prior questioning can't be used against him unless there is a Miranda exception to be used (which is highly unlikely.) 


4.22.2013

Forgot To Mention How Uncle Ruslan Just Killed It On Friday





News That Broke On Friday Which Must Be Mentioned


Last Thanksgiving I read the two part Texas Monthly series on the wrongful conviction of Michael Morton. It was shocking then. It's shocking now.   Afterwards, a "Court of Inquiry" was created to investigate the DA who prosecuted Morton to make a determination of whether he intentionally withheld evidence. Talking to folks, I constantly heard, "That DA needs to be in jail" -- a phrase which most Texans had never uttered before.

But most of my friends in the criminal justice had never heard of a Court Of Inquiry and really didn't know what power, if any, it had.

Well that Court at least believes it can issue a warrant for the arrest of the Former DA and that's what happened on Friday.

Edit: Here's the judge's detailed order.

Random Monday Morning Thoughts



  • And when it was all said and done, the remaining Boston Bomber was caught by a guy who went outside for a cigarette.
  • A lot of people were freaking out that the bomber may not have been his Miranda rights. The only consequence for not doing so is that any statement made post-arrest without the benefit of Miranda can't be used against him. That doesn't impact any other proof against him. No reason to freak.
  • But then the experts started talking about a "public safety" exception to Miranda. I've been practicing criminal law for over twenty years and not one time have I ever heard of that exception being invoked.
  • London Marathon wheel chair wreck. Man, those things move too fast to be in there with runners. 
  • While doing yard work, I got hit up by a little Cub Scout to buy a $20 discount card. I shelled the money out on Cuteness Principles. 
  • Reese Witherspoon got arrested for Disorderly Conduct over the weekend while her husband was being subjected to field sobriety tests. Apparently, she kept getting out of the car despite instructions to remain inside. After being told to return to the car, she “stated that she was a ‘U.S. Citizen’ and that she was allowed to ‘stand on American ground,’” police say.  Nice touch. 
  • Al Michaels got a DWI arrest but I'm not sure he'll suffer much of a consequence since his breath sample was right at the legal limit of .08.
  • On Sunday, the UIL's Medical Advisory Committee unanimously recommended limiting football programs to 90 minutes of full-contact, game-speed practices per player per week during the regular season and playoffs. I didn't think much of it until I read that Committee has never had one of its proposals rejected. 
  • Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, Rick Perry, John Cornyn and Ted Cruz all did a photo op at West, Texas. 
  • The old Uncle Julio's on Greenville Avenue burnt/burned down overnight. I feel like I ate their back in the day, but really have no specific memory of the place. 
  • 60 Minutes had a feature last night on the 9/11 Museum which is being built under Ground Zero. It looks perfectly done. 
  • The Family Puppy has opened its eyes and is trying to stand up. Every female in the house tells me the little thing has already been sold, but they sure are acting brave about its impending departure if that is true. 



4.19.2013

Above The Fold

Wow. Just wow.

Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump)
Is the Boston killer eligible for Obama Care to bring him back to health?

If the news is right (who knows), the Boston Bomber is dead in a boat behind this house

Let's now hear from a constitution loving U.S. Senator.

It's Been A Long Week


John Cornyn Goes To West, Texas And Just Dropped Huge News


Edit: He might have been a little careless.



DWI Warning Of The Day


Think someone could get a DWI conviction for driving a golf cart at the Texas Motor Speedway? An opinion released today demonstrates that it happened.

Although the DWI statutes require a person to be driving a "motor vehicle", the definition is so broad that the State "offered a horse and buggy as an example [during jury selection] and elicited from the jury panel other examples, including a bicycle, a skateboard, a moped, a golf cart, and a tractor."

"Motor vehicle" is defined as “a device in, on, or by which a person or property is or may be transported or drawn on a highway.” See Texas Penal Code Ann. § 32.34(a)(1)

The Bomber On The Run Used To Be A High School Wrestler


Random Friday Morning Thoughts


  • Dead Boston bomber's photo gallery named "Will Box For Passport".
  • "Boston Bombing Suspect Posted Video on Al Qaeda Prophecy on YouTube."
  • Those guys are Caucasians from Chechnya but they'll be remembered for being Islamic. 
  • Google map of the area where the cops think the Bomber-On-The-Run is located right now. (Although it is sounding like he may not be there.)
  • What a weird society: Someone has created a fake twitter account for the bomber. 
  • And the surviving bomber is 19 years old and has been in the U.S. for almost a decade?
  • This guy claims to be right next door to the house the police are surrounding, he's posting pics, and it seems authentic. 
  • Stolen from Twitter: "So far the least interesting news story this week is an Elvis impersonator trying to poison the President." And that's absolutely true.
  • The Uncle of the Bombers was told about the death of his nephew on live TV.
  • Man, CNN's John King is taking a ton of heat, as he should, about reporting an arrest of a "dark skin man" two days ago. 



While We Wear Sleeping - A Crazy Night In Boston


Audio of shootout:



4.18.2013

The Internet Detectives Are Amazing


After the FBI released photos of the "persons of interest" this afternoon, Internet sleuths had come up with the photo below (see far left) within an hour. There will be more.



Edit: And another one . . .

I'll Take "Inappropriate Phrase For Trying To Negotiate A Better Deal" For $100, Alex



And I love it how someone had to slip him a note.