The Law Site

What would you do if you woke up and found out that thousands of dollars had been accidently deposited into your bank account? I know most of you would like to say you’d do the right thing, but honestly, I would have done the same thing as a man in Nebraska. Spend it all. He has been charged with theft of mislaid property for spending the money the bank was accidently depositing into his account. I feel really bad for this guy… The bank makes a terribke mistake and should be the ones held responsible. I liken this to leaving bread on a poor man’s table and expecting him not to eat it. It’s not like the bank doesn’t make plenty of money on interest, anyway. The few thousand dollars was huge to this guy, to the bank, it was a few minutes work.

Haha, every once in a while in the field of law, you come across someone so stupid, you can’t help but laugh. I saw on TV last night a story about a man who wrote out a starter check for $50,000 and write “King of Kings, Lord of Lords” in the signature box. Doesn’t this guy know no ones going to cash a starter check? Especially one for 50 grand. Especially one signed by the big man himself. Even though we all got a kick out of his stupid crime, he will still be subject to the same punishment as any other person who tries check fraud: cold, hard time. I hope he can put together a good story to tell his new buddies in jail, though…

Edvard Munch’s “The Scream” is a classic representation of the human response to bustling changes. I guess now, the scream could be more literal, as in screaming when three art thieves took the painting from Oslo’s Munch Museum. Though recovered, the art was tragically damaged. Paint was chipped off, there were buffs, and the frame shattered tiny glass fragments into the canvas. I wonder what would inspire someone to steal such a priceless artifact. After all, it’s not something you;d get away with putting on eBay. The good news is, the paintings will refurbished and the thieves brought to justice.

The insane gunman at Virginia Tech who took over twenty lives in two seperate rampages has been identified. Cho Seung-Hui was described as a loner who rarely, if ever spoke. He creeped out classmates with his dark writing and unfriendly demeanor. When those who know him found out he was the killer, it came as little surprise. I just think it’s a tradgedy on all fronts - given the right treatment for mental disorders, this kid could have lived a stable life. It appears as if he was never helped one bit, and we have over twenty dead to show for it. If he would have lived, there would have never been a more perfect case for the insanity plea.

People may peg me for the last person they’d expect to see at an NRA meeting. This is true, but I do support gun rights. I wish uns weren’t necessary, but they are. As we’ve seen in the past, gun control simply keeps guns out of the hands of those who would use them responsibly. Most street crime is committed with illegal guns, but ones bought legitimately at KMart. Here is another story in the news: apparently, some guy tried to buy a handgun in Michigan, but was denied. He did, however, manage to get a shotgun, which he used to kill three former coworkers at a Detroit office building… Gun control at its finest.

A Jacksboro, Tennessee boy, 15, pleaded guilty to killing his assistant principal and wounding two others. Apparently, he brought the gun to school in order to trade it for OxyContin. When questioned about whether it was real or not in the principal’s office, the young man opened fire on his assistant principal, saying ‘It’s real. I’ll show you, I never liked you anyway.’ Now, I know this isn’t going to make a lot of difference for anyone involved now, but I could have very easily done the same thing. However, I found out that physical violence has a return of zero. If he truly wanted to hurt the school administration, there were plenty of legal and intellectual alternatives. If only everyone could understand that concept, it’d be a perfect world, right?

This one hits close to home, so I felt obligated to share it with you. Fellow blogger Joshua Wolf was released from jail after the good part of a year, 226 days, because he refused to hand over 2005 footage of a street riot. Talk about staning up for your convictions. I like to think of myself as a person who will stand up in a situation like this and take it as Wolf did, but honestly, 226 days locked in a cage? The man is a hero. After cutting a deal with the prosceution, Wolf will leave jail, turn over the tape once and for all, but will not be obligated to take the stand in court. All in all, I think this was a win for Wolf, who defined integrity in journalism with his unselfish actions. Enjoy the pizza and beer, you free man, you.

If you read the title, you might think CNN recently aired a program where couples work out their problems on political talk shows like Glenn Beck. Sadly, this isn’t the case. At the actual CNN building in downtown Atlanta, a gunman rushed the building, mad about a domestic dispute. He shouted, what is the lone bit of humor in this case, “Get out of my way, pimpin!” before he shot and killed a woman he was arguing with, presumably a former lover. You can’t help but think how badly this woman did him wrong, to where he would kill her in plain view at one of the biggest news buildings in the world. Did he expect to escape? Likely not. He must have been very intent on killing the woman…

The only woman on the FBI’s famous “Most Wanted” list was finally brought to justice. I don’t know why she was on there, honestly. They charged her with one count of second-degree murder. Serious? Very. Top 10 fugitive worthy? Maybe not so much. We’re talking about a list that has been home to the likes of Osama bin Laden, Robert Rudolph, The Unibomber, and others. These men were basically all terrorists more than just mere murders. All in all, I’m glad justice was served here, but am a little annoyed that even the FBI goes to these lengths to diversify its Top 10 list. I guess Title IX is making it’s way into the criminal justice world!