The trial of Aaron Hernandez, former New England Patriots player before he was charged with the 2013 murder of Odin Lloyd, has a link to the Super Bowl. Judge Susan Garsh has ruled that the jury may watch the Super Bowl. And some may think that whether jurors should be able to watch the Super Bowl seems irrelevant to the Hernandez trial. The trial began on Thursday in Boston. While it appears the Super Bowl would have no relationship with the trial, the jurors in any trial are always advised to refrain from watching TV accounts of the trial as well as looking on social media. And Hernandez played in Super Bowl XLVI for the Patriots as a key player. So it is perhaps likely that the mention of his name and the trial may occur during the Super Bowl on Sunday. The judge has further advised jurors that if they hear Hernandez’s name mentioned that they must either leave the room or refrain from watching any mention of him. Yes—the law has its funnier moments at times. But on Monday, … [Read more...] about Super Bowl XLIX and Aaron Hernandez Trial
Archives for January 2015
States Seek to Strengthen Rape Reporting on College Campuses
Laws to strengthen reporting of sexual assaults on college campuses are being considered in several states. So far, Virginia, New York, New Jersey, and Rhode Island have introduced bills which would require in some instances that police be notified of campus rapes and sexual assaults. Virginia’s bill HB 1343 would require that once a victim reports a sexual assault to campus or local law enforcement that the local Commonwealth’s Attorney be notified in 48 hours of the incident. The bill, according to those in support of it, has everything to do with ensuring tighter collaboration between sexual assault victims on colleges, college security, police and prosecutors. On many college campuses in Virginia and elsewhere in the U.S., often times, sexual assaults are not reported to the police by the victim or campus police. A report by the Department of Justice found that of college rape and sexual assault cases only 20% of students report rapes and sexual assaults to the … [Read more...] about States Seek to Strengthen Rape Reporting on College Campuses
Another “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot” Black Man Killed by Police
Another “Hands up, Don’t Shoot” case of an unarmed black man killed by police occurred this time in New Jersey with two police officers- one white and one black doing the shooting. A newly released video of a December 30 encounter in Bridgeton, New Jersey between two police officers and Jerame Reid, shows what starts out as a routine police car stop for running a stop sign and then turns into what appears as a cold blooded killing of the driver, Reid, by the police officers. The gruesome and appalling video shown on the police dash cam shows the incident as it unfolds. The driver who is identified as Jerame Reid says, "I'm not reaching for nothing. I ain't got no reason to reach for nothing. I'm getting out and getting on the ground." As he attempts to exit of the car with hands up, he is shot with at least 6 bullets by both officers. Videos don’t lie. There is no resistance by Reid. Reid is by all accounts obeying the police officers. While one officer … [Read more...] about Another “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot” Black Man Killed by Police
Why MLK Day Should be Everyday
Martin Luther King, Jr.’s holiday, celebrated on the third Monday in January, is the federal holiday that is set aside to honor Dr. King’s birthday, life and legacy. The principles of justice and equality that he fought and died for should be a part of our daily life and not just once a year. Over the years, we have looked back on his life, celebrated his legacy in ways such as a day of service to honor him. And when the day ends, many persons forget about community service or Dr. King’s legacy and what he stood for until the next January. For some persons, Dr. King’s holiday is a day off from work. For others, Dr. King has been reduced to one day of service, one great “I Have a Dream” speech and one great monument on the mall. Many persons do not know what Dr. King really fought for or stood for. First, for many persons who did not live through the Civil Rights era, study it in school or fail to understand the impact of Dr. King on our country today, we need to educate those … [Read more...] about Why MLK Day Should be Everyday
Metro Accident Set to Cost Millions
Metro’s accident on Monday which injured dozens of persons and took the life of Alexandria, VA resident Carol Inman Glover, a mother, grandmother and named 2014 Employee of the Year by her communications firm, may soon be a court battle that could cost Metro millions of dollars for its lack of safety precautions. Metro could be held accountable for the actual fire occurring on the track, if it was avoidable and due to their negligence. Metro, exclusively, is responsible for maintenance and upkeep on the tracks. And every weekend, they perform track maintenance. And Metro’s further legal potential negligence surrounds the enormous length of time, it took for fire crew and first responders to arrive on the tracks to assist passengers. Some Metro riders who took recordings with their cell phones are able to verify the alleged 45 minutes to over 1 hour. Imagine if a fire truck took that long in responding to a fire. Or if EMT personnel took 45 minutes to respond to a 911 call for … [Read more...] about Metro Accident Set to Cost Millions
Top Priorities for “WIN” Presented to DC Mayor Bowser
On Thursday, January 8, one of the coldest days of 2015, the Washington Interfaith Network (“WIN”) with over 900 persons, packed St. Augustine Church in Washington, DC to speak to Mayor Muriel Bowser about their priorities and concerns for the city. Their agenda was simple: Work for residents at a living wage; Eliminating unsafe guns in the city; Affordable housing for all incomes; and Ending Homelessness. Local residents told their stories to the mayor and packed crowd of how a decent pay wage and building job skills is at the heart of eradicating homelessness. And building affordable housing for all stages of life and all incomes is necessary. Gun control is not new to the District, having fought several court battles over gun ownership in the city. Rev. David Brawley spoke on behalf of the Metro Industrial Area Foundation and asked the City to join with 69 other jurisdictions to address unsafe guns at the manufacturing level and demand that guns be made safe, noting … [Read more...] about Top Priorities for “WIN” Presented to DC Mayor Bowser