Some time has now passed since the dismissal of the charges against the Duke Three. We now begin to confront the aftermath. One man who was very silent during the process – understandably – was the now former Duke lacrosse coach Mike Pressler. Pressler’s book on the whole catastrophe, ‘It’s Not About the Truth,” will…
Should Prostitution be Legalized (or at least de-criminalized)?
One note up front – I am not interested here in the esoteric and arcane distinctions between legaization and decriminalization. That is a discussion for another time. That said. A commenter to an earlier post linked to a site called Prostitution Pro-Con. This site, to which I have linked, offers a wealth of information and…
Why Is Prostitution Illegal?
Cathy Young of Reason magazine very persuasively argues that the continuing criminalization of prostitution is the real scandal that has been exposed in the D.C. Madam fiasco: The resignation of Randall Tobias, the chief of the Bush administration’s foreign aid programs, for “personal reasons” following the revelation that he had engaged the services of two…
The Federal Hate Crimes Bill Is a Dangerous Expansion of Federal Authority
Jacob Sullum of Reason magazine on the federal hate crimes bill: “Hate crimes have no place in America,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi boldly declared last week, “no place in a nation where we pledge every morning ‘with liberty and justice for all.’” Pelosi was urging her colleagues to approve a bill aimed at violence motivated…
Guilty Plea in OxyContin Case
From yesterday’s Times: The company that makes the narcotic painkiller OxyContin and three current and former executives pleaded guilty today in federal court here to criminal charges that they misled regulators, doctors and patients about the drug’s risk of addiction and its potential to be abused. To resolve criminal and civil charges related to the…
Federal Judge Enjoins D.C. Madam From Releasing More Phone Records
The Washington Post reports that the federal judge presiding over the D.C. Madam case has enjoined the alleged Madam, Jeane Palfrey, from making any further release of her phone records: Deborah Jeane Palfrey, the woman accused of being the D.C. madam, can’t release any more phone records that would reveal patrons of her Washington escort…
Paris Hilton Sentenced to Jail
The title pretty much says itm all. 45 days in the slammer for Paris. Read about it here. Or wait for the TV movie.
Bad News for the D.C.Madam
Now here is something about which I am just stunned. Really. It seems that one of the former clients of Jeane Palfrey’s escort service, Harlan Ullman, is prepared to testify that he did in fact have sex with women he hired through the service. Which would appear to give the lie to Palfrey’s ridiculous defense…
Court Approves Jury Award Against Microsoft
A federal judge signed off on a $1.53 billion jury verdict in favor of Alcatel–Lucent in a digital music patent dispute against Microsoft.Judge Rudi M. Brewster of Federal District Court in San Diego concluded that Microsoft’s Windows Media Player software infringed on patents owned by Lucent Technologies, an American telecommunications equipment maker acquired last year…
Credit Suisse Banker Charged With Insider Trading
A Credit Suisse investment banker was charged today in an insider trading scheme linked to acquisitions involving nine publicly traded United States companies that netted a co-conspirator more than $7 million. The banker, Hafiz Muhammad Zubair Naseem, a 37-year-old Pakistani who worked for Credit Suisse’s Global Energy Group in New York, has been charged with…