The “lockdowns” and “social distancing” of the 2020 pandemic left many of us isolated, bored, depressed, and discouraged. Is this situation a misfortune or an opportunity? Is the glass “half empty or half full?” Wise King Solomon observed, “There is nothing new under the sun.” In 1665, the Great Plague rampaged through Britain. In London … Continue reading Pandemic Lockdowns: Misfortune or Opportunity?
Some criminals are dumber than others. I prosecuted some of the dumbest ones. An Orange County city had a problem with drug sales in a high-density area. So, the police decided to do a surveillance using their unmarked old beat up surveillance van. Three officers drove in the van to the target location. There was the … Continue reading Dumb Criminal Tries to Steal Undercover Police Van with Cops Inside
(Caution: Violent Content) I presided over a preliminary hearing in a bizarre and tragic domestic violence case. The "couch potato" husband schlepped home after work, just in time to watch the start of the baseball game with his favorite team. He grabbed a couple of six packs of cold beer from the fridge. He eased … Continue reading Case of the “Lazy” Husband Murdering His “Nagging” Wife
I handled a case that could have come from a TV medical drama. An eminent surgeon was having an affair with one of his surgical nurses. The surgeon was married and had several children. The nurse was single. The surgeon kept stringing the nurse along by declaring that he loved her more than his wife. … Continue reading Case of the Surgeon and the Jilted Nurse
Background and Observations on Domestic Violence (DV) Cases The Paradigm Shift From Laxness to No Tolerance One of my judicial specialties is domestic violence cases. Every day, I deal with 5-10 DV cases. In the last 40 years there has been huge paradigm shift in how DV cases are prosecuted. When I was a Deputy … Continue reading Domestic Violence, and the Case of the Wife Who Super-Glued Her Husband’s “Member” to His Abdomen
German Lutheran Pastor Martin Niemoller WWII Post War Poetic Confessional "I didn't speak up" They came first for the Socialists, and I didn't speak up – because I wasn't a Socialist.Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak up – because I wasn't a trade unionist.Then they came for the Jews, and … Continue reading WWII German Pastor Niemoller: Speak Up for the Rights of Others
The story is told of a wise and experienced political science professor at a local university. When his class discussed socialism the young college students became enamored with the concept. On the surface socialism sounds wonderful. It seeks to establish equality. It eliminates the evils of capitalism where the rich get richer and the poor … Continue reading Experiment in Socialism
Great Quotes “There is nothing more frightful than ignorance in action.” -Goethe Paraphrase: “There is nothing more frightening than an active ignorance.” Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) German writer, statesman, poet, philosopher“Faust” is his most famous work -- a of a man who sells his soul to the devil for power.
Today, the initially peaceful assemblies in Seattle, Portland, Minneapolis, and Chicago often mutate into violence and looting. At some point the police make an announcement. “This has been declared a riot. Disperse immediately or you will be arrested.” The crowd has just been “Read the Riot Act.” In 1714, the British Parliament passed the original … Continue reading Riots and “Reading the Riot Act”
Robert Smalls was a slave sailor for the Confederacy who became a hero during the Civil War. In April 1861, the Civil War began with the Battle of Fort Sumpter in Charleston Harbor. The Union Navy blockaded the harbor with a fleet of ships 10 miles off shore. Smalls was a pilot on the CSS … Continue reading A Slave Steals a Confederate Warship and Sails to Freedom
The London Edition 