Grand Juries Become Latest Abortion Battlefield

WICHITA, Kan. —Opponents of Dr. George Tiller and his clinic here, one of the nation’s few providers of late-term abortions, have tried many ways to stop him over three decades. They have held protests, lobbied lawmakers and complained persistently to state regulators and prosecutors. There have also been several acts of violence, including one in which Dr. Tiller was shot in both arms.

Now his opponents are using a legal tactic that some find startling and others consider inspired. They have turned to an unusual state statute, adopted in 1887, that allows ordinary citizens who gather enough signatures on a petition to demand that a grand jury investigate an alleged crime, a decision usually left to a prosecutor.

Tenacity on both sides of the issue. Especially the doctor who has been shot in both arms!

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Man Falls After Receiving Spirit, Sues

From The Smoking Gun:

Last June, Matthew Lincoln was attending an evening service at his nondenominational Tennessee church when he approached the altar where a visiting minister was offering individual prayers for parishioners.

Assigned "catchers" were present on the altar in case congregants fainted, fell, or otherwise lost control. When the minister, Robert Lavala, slightly touched his forehead, the Knoxville-area man "received the spirit and fell backwards."

Except nobody was there to catch him, Lincoln charges in a $2.5 million lawsuit filed yesterday against Lakewind Church and its pastors.

Lincoln, 58, claims that he fell backwards, striking his head against the "carpet-covered cement floor," according to the Circuit Court complaint, which was first reported by Courthouse News Service.

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R. Kelly Acquitted

I Believe He Can Fly:

R. Kelly has been acquitted of child pornography charges that he appeared on a videotape having sex with a girl as young as 13.

The jury read the verdict shortly after 2 p.m. They cleared the R&B superstar of all 14 counts.Kelly dabbed at his face with a handkerchief and hugged each of his four attorneys after the verdict was read.

The verdict brought to an end a criminal case that has been pending for six years. Kelly had argued from the beginning that he was not the man on the video, and the alleged victim said she was not the one who appeared either.

The graphic, sordid video shows the female dancing and urinating on the floor in the man's direction. He then has sex with and urinates on her.

Beyond a reasonable doubt:

In just two days, Kelly's lawyers called 12 witnesses. They included three relatives of the alleged victim who testified they did not recognize her as the female on the tape.

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Scott Peterson Back in Court

CNN.com informs us that Scott Peterson's civil trial is set to begin next month:

MODESTO, California (AP) -- Convicted killer Scott Peterson will be heading to trial again over the death of his pregnant wife, this time in civil court.

The parents of Laci Peterson have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against him, seeking a multimillion-dollar judgment.

A Stanislaus County Superior Court judge has ruled that Peterson would have to stand trial in the civil case.

A jury found him guilty in 2003 of killing Laci Peterson and her fetus and dumping the body in San Francisco Bay on Christmas Eve 2002.

At a hearing Friday, Peterson's defense attorney cited in court a videotape made at San Quentin State Prison in which he maintains his innocence.

The judge stayed his ruling until June 23 to allow lawyers to
appeal.

The trial is set to begin July 8.

Given the lower burden of proof in a civil case, things don't look too good for Ol' Scott (who, incidentally, was arrested with $15,000 in cash, four cell phones, multiple family members’ credit cards, camping gear, knives, tents, tarps, a dozen pairs of shoes, several changes of clothes, a gun, a shovel, rope, 24 blister packs of sleeping pills, Viagra, and his brother's driver's license). Just sayin'.

YIKES!

A nightmare come to life:

About 130 people aboard an American Airlines flight got a sharp scare after one of the MD-80's two jet engines was disabled by shards from a broken window in the passengers' cabin.

American Airlines spokesman Tim Smith said the outside pane of the triple-pane window shattered about 20 minutes after the 7:35 p.m. take-off Sunday from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.

Remember the hundreds of American Airlines flights cancelled a few months back due to shoddy maintenance? FYI, those were also MD-80s.

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Texas Judge Returns 400 Children To Polygamist Sect

If you've been following the case of the polygamist compound in Texas, the children that were taken are being returned to their parents. The legal issue rested on whether or not Texas child welfare officials proved the children were in immediate danger before taking them. It's worth noting that there were no arrests in this case.

A Texas district court judge has signed an order returning custody of more than 400 children taken from a polygamist group's compound to their parents.

The order returning the children taken from the Yearning for Zion ranch to their parents comes a few days after the Texas Supreme Court ruled that the Texas Child Protective Services department overreached when it took the children away from their parents.

I think one of the most interesting aspects of this case is the language choice made by the media. For example, on talk radio this morning, they consistently used the word "sect." Yes, it is in fact a sect, so the use of that word is accurate. However, phonetically it's problematic: in a case underscored by allegations of sexual abuse, hearing "...the polygamist sect's" (say it out loud) conjures none-too-pleasant images. Intentional?

A less controversial (although perhaps not as accurate) language choice would be denomination, faction, group, or enclave.

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