New England Sun-Times

By: Tracey Tyler LEGAL AFFAIRS REPORTER, (Originally Published on Sat Jan 24 2009) In a stunning and unusual family law decision, a Toronto judge has stripped a mother of custody of her three children after the woman spent more than a decade trying to alienate them from their father. The mother's "consistent and overwhelming" campaign to brainwash the children into thinking their father was a bad person was nothing short of emotional abuse, Justice Faye McWatt of the Superior Court of Justice wrote in her decision. The three girls, ages 9 to 14, were brought to a downtown courthouse last Friday and turned over to their father, a vascular surgeon identified only as A.L. Their mother, a chiropodist identified as K.D., was ordered to stay away from the building during the transfer and to have her daughters' clothing and possessions sent to their father's house...

A former accountant has been convicted of threatening to kill an IRS agent and rape and kill the agent's wife over a $330,000 tax bill. Andrew A Calcione of Cranston Rhode Island was found guilty on charges of threatening to assault and murder an IRS agent and his family in federal court on Friday, and now faces up to 20 years in prison. The 49-year-old was arrested for leaving two disturbing voicemails on his IRS agent's work phone, after receiving the news that he owed thousands in taxes. In April 2013, Calcione and his ex-wife Patricia were asked to sign a form allowing extra time to assess their case. Calcione signed the document, but his wife did not, spurring the agent to leave a voicemail on Calcione's cell phone asking about the form the following July. Three days later, an infuriated Calcione left a threatening voicemail on his agent's work phone and a transcript of part of the message was revealed in court papers. 'The next time...

A white professor is suing Alabama State University (ASU) over claims the historically black university discriminated against him and his partner based on their race and sexual orientation. According to the lawsuit filed in federal court on June 11, Dr. John Garland is suing the ASU and eight current and former employees for racially discriminating against applicants for university positions and subsequently targeting him when he retaliated against those practices. “[Garland’s supervisor] expressed his opinion, stated or implied, that Dr. Garland did not belong at the University and was not ‘suited to [the University’s] type of students’ because Dr. Garland is not African-American,” the lawsuit states . Garland, who is a member of the Choctaw Nation but is identified as white by colleagues, was hired by the university in August 2008 as an adjunct professor. In January 2009, Garland was rehired as an assistant professor for the Master of Rehabilitation Counseling Pr...

A lot has happened in the four years since the publication of Michelle Alexander’s The New Jim Crow , a landmark book that showed how the “war on drugs” and the mass incarceration of black Americans has undermined much of the progress achieved by the civil rights movement. States around the country have downsized their prison systems. Washington and Colorado legalized recreational marijuana for adults. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has promoted a less punitive approach to the prosecution of drug crimes. And yet, in a press call on Thursday sponsored by the Drug Policy Alliance , a group that advocates for the decriminalization of drugs, Alexander warned against complacency. She called for the U.S. to not just stop the war on drugs, but to pay “reparations” and give a public platform to the communities of color most harmed by the drug war. “When I see images of people using marijuana and images of people who are now trying to run legitimate marijuana businesses...

Pulaski County, Indiana, is home to less than 14,000 people. In all of 2012, they saw only 11 larceny or theft incidents, one murder and a grand total of 17 property crimes. Yet, their police force has a mine-resistant ambush protection vehicle at their disposal. Mine resistant vehicles and other wartime assets are going to law enforcement agencies across the nation. The Pulaski County Sheriff in Indiana received an MRAP to police its roughly 14,000 citizens, and a county with the same name in Arkansas got one as well, shown here (Image source: KTHV-TV). “It’s more intimidating than a Dodge,” Pulaski County Sheriff Michael Gayer told the Indianapolis Star . Eight Indiana law enforcement agencies acquired MRAPs from military surplus since 2010, The Indianapolis Star reported. The vehicles are among a broad array of 4,400 items — everything from coats to computers to high-powered rifles — acquired by police and sheriff’s departments across the state. “The United ...

EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — Rhode Island State Police charged an East Providence man for withdrawing over $70,000 from customer accounts at Bank Rhode Island. Victor N. Silva, 34, reportedly used the funds to pay his mortgage and other personal expenses. Silva was the East Providence Branch Manager, and also filled in as Pawtucket Branch Manager at Bank Rhode Island. State Police say he withdrew money several times at both locations from three separate customer accounts. The former Bank RI Branch Manager reportedly forged withdrawal slips to make the unauthorized transactions. Silva was arraigned at the Sixth Division District Court on charges of embezzlement by a bank officer or employee over $1,500 and forgery. He was released on $10,000 personal recognizance and is scheduled to return to district court on August 14 for a pre-arraignment conference. If convicted, Silva could be face 20 years in prison and a $21,000 fine.

(Reuters) - Baltimore has become the latest U.S. city planning to set curfews for teenagers to curb rising crime, with critics calling the move legal overreach. The Baltimore City Council voted late on Monday to require children under 14 to be off the streets by 9 p.m., and those under 16 to be home by 10 p.m. Parents can be fined $500 if their children are caught on the street after the curfew. Democratic Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said she would sign the law next month, calling it a much-needed tool. The curfew would take effect in July. "We all know that when children are on the streets late at night without proper supervision, they are more likely to either become the perpetrators or the victims of violent crime," she said in a statement. Indianapolis; Oakland, California; and Austin, Texas are considering curfews. Several other U.S. cities have already imposed them, including Miami, Philadelphia and Houston. The clampdown in Baltimore come...