Category: Uncategorized

68-year-old great-grandfather, Ernest Satterwhite, of South Carolina was shot and killed by police in his driveway, because he allegedly ignored police who were attempting to pull him over.
This incident occurred back in February, but did not come to light until last week when North Augusta Police Officer Justin Craven was indicted on misdemeanor charges of “misconduct in office”.
The prosecutor initially sought voluntary manslaughter charges, which could have carried up to 30 years in prison. However, the grand jury declined the motion and indicted him under the misdemeanor misconduct charge, which is usually applied to officers who are caught accepting …read more

Montville, N.J. – In the upscale New Jersey community of Montville, in Morris County, a proposed ordinance could give sweeping power to law enforcement that would allow officers the right to enter private property without a warrant if underage drinking is simply suspected.

Under the new ordinance officers would have the ability to search homes with probable cause, without any warrant required, if underage drinking is even suspected.
Residents are understandably questioning whether the privacy gutting and property rights destroying ordinance gives law enforcement too much discretion.
“I just feel that it’s not really their business to be going into people’s houses,” said …read more

On September 30, Dan Cox, who was the Montana Libertarian nominee for U.S. Senate in 2012, won a federal injunction allowing him to publish a complaint he made about a state court judge some time ago. In Montana, if anyone files a complaint against a state judge with the Judicial Standards Commission, and the Commission(More)… …read more

On September 30, California Governor Jerry Brown signed AB 2351, which makes it easier for a group to qualify as a party in California, and also makes it easier for an already-existing party to remain ballot-qualified. The old law required an already-existing party to either poll 2% for any statewide in a general election, or(More)… …read more

“I just watched him go like this and just stiff-arm this guy right in the chest,” neighbor Easton Richards said. “And I was like ‘man that’s police brutality!’”
Bonney Lake, WA — A Bonney Lake man says he was assaulted, arrested and his cellphone stolen by police, because he was filming a fire in his neighborhood.
Silis Verdant like all of his other neighbors were curious about a car parked on their street that was on fire, so he began filming.
“I hopped out and I just started filming with my phone,” said Verdant.
According to KIRO 7, Verdant lives a few doors down …read more

Yeah, so you’ve read the headline. No criminal activity. No charges brought. And a cheap shot fired across the bow of the Fourth Amendment, not to mention Vermont’s own Constitution.
Image Credits: rustejunk, Flickr
Tech Dirt
But let’s travel back further to set this up. Twenty-one-year-old Gregory Zullo was supposedlypulled over for having his license plate registration sticker (incidentally) covered by a small amount of snow.
Not a crime. From the ACLU filing [pdf link]:
At all times relevant to this action, it was not a violation of Vermont law to drive a car on which the validation sticker on the rear license plate – …read more

All five candidates who are on the ballot for Governor of Massachusetts participated in a televised debate. See this story. …read more

Here is a newspaper story describing the September 29 hearing in Orel v Kansas Democratic Party, the case in which a voter sued the party to force it to run a U.S. Senate candidate. The plaintiff did not appear in court. There is nothing that says plaintiffs must appear in court in their own cases,(More)… …read more

A rare police encounter was recently captured on video which shows officers upholding their oaths to the Constitution.

Activist and independent journalist Brett Sanders was conducting a First Amendment test in White Settlement, TX.
He was filming outside of the Lockhead Martin facility when 3 officers pulled up to inquire as to what he was doing.
What happened next was completely unpredictable. The officers from White Settlement police department weren’t belligerent or confrontational. They were actually cordial.
Sanders refused to identify and they actually respected him for it! Instead of shoving his camera down or trying to confiscate it one officer sparks up a …read more

4 Memphis police officers were recently suspended after they tipped over a portable toilet that had a human being inside. 31-year-old Joseph Hampton was allegedly being chased by police when he ducked into a construction site and hid in one of the toilets.
According to Reuters, Hampton was at the home of someone who did not want him there, and that person called police.
The relationship that Hampton had with this person, and the details of the encounter at the home are unclear. When police arrived on the scene, Hampton allegedly ran and eventually led the police to the construction …read more