Mich. minister wins appeal on free-speech grounds
Lawyer Blogs
A Michigan appeals court overturned a ruling on Wednesday that had sent a minister to prison for six months after warning a judge that he could be tortured by God.
The Rev. Edward Pinkney was convicted in 2007 of paying people $5 to vote in a recall election in the southwestern Michigan city of Benton Harbor and was sentenced to probation.
Months later, Pinkney wrote a commentary in a Chicago-based populist newspaper that said Judge Alfred Butzbaugh could be punished by God with curses, fever and "extreme burning" unless he repented, a reference to an Old Testament passage. The black minister also described Butzbaugh, a white judge who presided over his case, as dumb, racist and corrupt.
In June 2008, another Berrien County judge sent Pinkney to prison for three to 10 years for violating probation with his words. Pinkney appealed saying his free-speech rights were trampled.
Related listings
-
Sotomayor says Obama didn't ask about abortion
Lawyer Blogs 07/15/2009Judge Sonia Sotomayor said Wednesday neither President Barack Obama nor anyone else in the administration asked her views on abortion rights before she was nominated for the Supreme Court. "I was asked no question by anyone including the president ab...
-
Ohio executes trucker who went on killing spree
Lawyer Blogs 07/15/2009A former truck driver who went on a multistate killing spree has been executed in Ohio for the murder of a Cincinnati-area man who gave him a ride in 1991. Forty-five-year-old John Fautenberry of Oregon was pronounced dead at 10:37 a.m. Tuesday at th...
-
U.S. officials moving Madoff to federal prison
Lawyer Blogs 07/14/2009Swindler Bernard Madoff was temporarily moved to a prison in Atlanta from New York and was in transit to yet another facility on Tuesday, a U.S. official said. A spokeswoman at the Federal Bureau of Prisons said Madoff "had left Atlanta and was in tr...
Victorville CA DUI defense Attorneys
The outcome of a DUI defense will have a long-term effect on anyone’s life, making the decision to receive legal representation an easy one. The fact is, most people accused of a DUI are first offenders with no criminal background. Whether this is your first run in with the law or you have had previous convictions, you are in need of a DUI defense attorney.
The charges you are facing for a DUI range from fines, a 12-month suspension on your license and worst-case scenario, prison time. Your attorney will be able to analyze your situation to decide the best way to go about your case.
Our attorneys know the tricky ways to challenge all of the DUI tests and know how to claim improper collection of evidence. We will be able to negotiate on your behalf and free you from charges and help you keep your drivers license. The DUI process can last up to several months, we can make this process easier on you. .