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Why on earth would it matter if a chicken is a “beast” or not? Well, it mattered a great deal to a man in Indiana who was charged with sodomizing a “beast.” Or, as set forth in the opinion:

[Mr. Murray], without benefit of counsel, entered a plea of guilty to a charge by affidavit that he committed the “abominable and detestable crime against nature with a beast …”

Armed with a lawyer, based on the title of the post, you can probably guess what the defense was.

[Mr. Murray] contends that the term “beast” as used in Sec. 10-4221, supra, does not include “fowl” …

This is Indiana – in 1957. How do you think that argument was received? Webster’s Dictionary looked to offer some encouragement.

2. Any four-footed animal, as distinguished from birds, reptiles, fishes and insects.

Hmm. What about definitions 1. and 3.?

1. Any living creature; any animal. 3. An animal; – distinguished from man.

Uh oh. The court also noted that …

Under a statute concerning cruelty to animals, this court has held [in 1887!] that a fowl, i.e., a goose was an animal.

A duck has been held to be an animal under an English statute pertaining to sodomy. Reg. v. Brown (1889).

Said the Supreme Court of Indiana …

In our opinion a chicken is a beast within the meaning of that term as used in Sec. … Judgment affirmed.

The case is Murray v. Indiana, 143 N.E.2d 290 (1957).

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Your home is your castle, right? And your garage too? Not always, as this Florida man found out. As reported by tcpalm.com:

Port St. Lucie police on Sunday went to Francisco Rojas’ home after his wife told 911 dispatchers her 49-year-old husband was “drunk and in the garage trying to pull his tooth out with a pair of pliers, and she needs the police to respond.”

Yeow!

Three officers made contact with Rojas. “We observed him attempting to extract his tooth and there was vomit on the floor from his attempts,” an affidavit states.

Rojas’ wife lifted the garage door at an officer’s request to dispel the barf smell.

Asked what was troubling him, Rojas started cursing and was asked to calm down. “This is my [fucking] house, I can say and do whatever the [fuck] I want,” an affidavit states. “I’m [fucking] drunk and you can’t do nothing about it.” [expletives reinserted] 

Another officer asked Rojas to calm down, but he’s accused of more yelling and cursing that “affected the public decency as well as the peace and quiet of the children playing in the neighborhood.”

Rojas, of the 1000 block of Southwest Firestone Avenue in Port St. Lucie, was arrested on a breach of peace charge.

Breach of peace? Wasn’t the guy quietly trying to pull out his tooth (and puking) before the police came and stirred things up? Ay ay ay. Here’s the source, including the charging papers.
 
 

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That Chinese cooking oil you brought is probably fine. It’s probably not the product of a certain illegal operation, as reported by chinadaily.com:

Chinese police have arrested 32 suspects for producing and selling illegal cooking oil in a cross-province crackdown, the Ministry of Public Security said in a statement Tuesday.

Why is it gross? Well …

More than 100 tonnes of such oil, made from leftovers dredged from gutters behind restaurants, were seized after busting a criminal network spanning 14 provinces, the ministry said.

Tasty! Here’s the source.

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Nobody can argue that times are not tough. Some people might argue, though, that this is not the best way to go about getting money. As reported by wesh.com:

It’s not normally a problem when a disrobed woman asks customers for money at a strip club. But it is when the woman doesn’t work there.

Deputies said that’s exactly what happened Tuesday night at the Baby Dolls strip club in Pinellas County.

Continue reading →
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Judges can do many things to end up facing discipline. They can skip out on work too much. They can treat parties poorly. They can disrespect lawyers who appear before them. Or, as a Pennsylvania disciplinary court found regarding Allentown District Judge Maryesther Merlo, all of the above, per The Morning Call.

Regarding attendance:

Merlo had a habit of calling out of work when dozens of hearings were scheduled and litigants, police and attorneys were assembled in her courtroom, her staff testified. According to the decision, Merlo missed 116 days of work from September 2007 to December 2009.

“This is not to mention that on the days when [Merlo] did come to work, she was never on time — she was always late,” the court added.

Former Lehigh County President Judge William H. Platt and Court Administrator Gordon Roberts testified their efforts to address her work habits fell on deaf ears. The disciplinary court noted Merlo’s explanation that her absences were excused because she never took vacation was belied by the fact she did take 49 days of vacation during the period at issue.

Excellent work habits. How did she treat parties and witnesses?

In one case, Merlo described a young man who appeared in court with his mother on a traffic offense as “a dog who needs to be retrained.” In another case, she ordered deputy sheriffs to arrest a woman who had been counseled by her lawyer not to testify to avoid incriminating herself, according to the decision.

[There was also testimony about] bizarre courtroom behavior, including an episode in which she ordered a defendant to call himself “scumbag.”

And the court examined Merlo’s conduct in 10 cases and found six in which her demeanor constituted a violation of the rules of conduct. Witnesses testified Merlo’s behavior was often demeaning, intimidating and offensive.

Okay. But what about Judge Merlo’s side of the story?

In each of the six cases, the court found the witnesses who complained about Merlo’s behavior to be more credible than the judge.

Doh! That hurts.

The state disciplinary court examined Merlo’s demeanor during truancy hearings, noting her practice of continuing cases to give the kids “a second chance” interfered with the district’s efforts to discipline students with attendance problems. Her own tardiness set a poor example for the students, the court noted.

Suzette Arcelay, a school counselor, testified Merlo’s behavior was often rude and erratic, including an episode in which Merlo told her to “shut up.”

Judge Merlo has the option of appealing the findings. You can read more here.

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If everyone just went about their business, we’d all be better off. But the cops would sure be bored. No worries about being bored for some cops in Indiana, as reported by The Chicago Tribune:

The still-unidentified man was discovered wandering along the [Interstate 65] just south of U.S. Highway 30 at about 2:30 p.m. “marching like a drum major” while holding the 35-inch [samurai] sword, state police said in a news release.

The shirtless man moved the sword rhythmically like a baton until Master Trooper Rick Hudson approached, officials said. The man swung defensively at Hudson, but dropped the sword when Hudson ordered him to, authorities said.

So far, so good …

Authorities said the suspect then tried to get into the 2010 Chevrolet SUV until he was ordered to the ground at gunpoint and Merrillville police took him into custody.

Nice job, pal. Just got yourself some more charges.

Once in custody, the man gave authorities different names and addresses, but told Lake County Jail officials that he was “Cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs.”

The charges?

Though his identity hadn’t been verified, authorities charged the man with attempted car jacking, resisting law enforcement and possession of marijuana.

You’ll find the source here.

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It’s not uncommon for people to try to shoplift by putting items down their pants. But an entire rack of ribs? Twice? Truth, as reported by The Sentinel (Pennsylvania).

After going three months without getting in trouble, a Carlisle man was back in police custody Sunday afternoon after trying to steal a rack or ribs by sticking them in his pants.

Carlisle police said Donald Noone, 65, attempted to pull the same stunt on May 22 at the Giant on South Spring Garden Street.

This next bit will shock you.

Both times, Noone was found to be “highly intoxicated” when he tried to steal the meat, police said.

You can read more (a fair amount) here.

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If you find yourself at home with a court-ordered ankle monitor on, you might think you really can’t leave the house undetected. This would be true for most people, but not Mr. Christopher Lowcock. For Mr. Lowcock, beating the ankle monitor was a breeze. How so? Here’s how, per The Guardian:

Private security firm G4S has sacked two members of staff who tagged a man’s false leg, allowing him to remove it and flout a court-imposed curfew.

How could they not have known they were tagging a prosthesis?

Christopher Lowcock, 29, fooled the two employees by wrapping a prosthetic leg in a bandage when they set up the tag at his home in Rochdale, Greater Manchester.

He was then able to remove the limb and break a curfew imposed for offences involving drugs, driving and a weapon.

You fell for the bandaged prosthesis? That has to be the oldest … uh, never mind. It’s probably never even been attempted. So how did he get caught?

G4S revealed managers became suspicious last month but when they returned to Lowcock’s home he had been returned to custody accused of a driving-related offence.

Oops. Here’s the source.

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There’s probably a perfectly logical explanation for this man’s behavior. Or not. As reported by The Gainesville Sun:

A man wearing a long sleeved shirt and nothing else while carrying a mop and bucket Wednesday was arrested for exposing himself.

The man told police he was trying to water plants and check the electrical meters.

Now it all makes sense?

Witnesses called the Gainesville Police Department after they spotted the man walking around outside his apartment building without his pants but with the mop and bucket.

One witness told police that the man began to chase her and her 11-year-old child, and then told the woman, “If you can get the mop to work right, I will cook you a steak dinner.”

Following his arrest for indecent exposure, the man told Officer Christopher King that in addition to watering plants, he had been checking electrical meters for himself and his neighbors.

Say what? Here’s the source.

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To say that this Pennsylvania woman showed no remorse after faking cancer to make a buck would be an understatement. She’s actually irate with one of the people she conned! As reported by The Delaware County Daily Times:

A former Pottstown woman who served jail time for lying about having breast and ovarian cancer and duping friends into organizing a fundraiser for her is in trouble again, this time for allegedly harassing one of those friends.

Alicia E. Tolton, 27, formerly of Pottstown and most recently of the 100 block of Allison Road in Upper Moreland, faces an Oct. 5 arraignment in Montgomery County Court on a new charge of harassment in connection with a July 30 incident during which she allegedly left an obscenity-laced voice mail message on the phone of a woman who testified against Tolton in the fake cancer scheme.

“Hey (the victim), it’s Alicia. And, uh, I just wanted to let you know that I got out of jail on Tuesday. Go (expletive) yourself…” Tolton allegedly uttered in her July 30 phone message to an Upper Moreland woman, according to a criminal complaint.

Tolton placed the call just days after being paroled from jail and placed on probation in connection with the fake cancer scheme, according to court papers filed in county court.

Hmm. Sounds like a probation violation too. You can read a lot more here.