“Supplies of Critical Child Leukemia Drug Are Almost Gone” [Atlantic Wire] Earlier on the shortage of hospital and community drugs, and Washington’s role in it, here, here, here, here, and here.
Archive for February, 2012
Getting a bad judge off the bench
Sinking deeper into substance abuse, a prominent Tennessee judge spins ever further out of control. How long does it take before he’s removed and the public alerted to his problem? Way too long for comfort [Knoxville News Sentinel]
Long-arm blasphemy prosecution
Islamists are demanding the execution of Saudi journalist Hamza Kashgari over tweets, since retracted, that they say are blasphemous toward their religion. Malaysia has detained Kashgari and may extradite him to face the charges; according to reports, the international police organization had put out an order for his arrest at the behest of the Saudi government [Guardian, Nina Shea/NRO, Daily Beast, Reason, Facebook support page, blog, #FreeHamza]
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O lawmakers, heed not the mob’s wrath
They understand not the wisdom of SOPA [Julian Sanchez, Cato at Liberty]
“Lawyer wants jinn to testify in court”
That’s genie “jinn” not potable “gin,” though the latter would work as a headline for a different story. The spirit in question was said to have seized a Saudi judge arrested on corruption charges. [Emirates 24/7]
“Auto-litigation”
Kevin at Lowering the Bar has been collecting more cases in which plaintiffs have sued themselves.
“The court that broke Jersey”
Steve Malanga on New Jersey’s perennially activist Supreme Court [City Journal]. We’ve periodically discussed the court’s lamentable jurisprudence in its Abbott (school finance redistribution) and Mount Laurel (towns given quotas to build low-income housing) decisions. The court has also nullified constitutional limitations on borrowing by the state.
Criminal investigation of ADA noncompliance?
The U.S. Attorney’s office in Los Angeles appears to be proceeding on the theory that city and redevelopment officers committed potential “fraud” by accepting federal money for housing projects but omitting to run the projects in compliance with laws like the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requiring that accommodations be offered for disabled patrons. At Cato at Liberty, I wonder whether we’re in for another venture into criminalization of an area best left to civil law.
Long Island pharmacy massacre
Four people were killed when pill addict David Laffer robbed a Medford, N.Y. pharmacy. Now the survivors of victim Jamie Taccetta are suing a variety of defendants including the drugstore whose pharmacist was killed, the Suffolk County police and a former commissioner, “and pharmaceutical companies that make the drug oxycodone.” [CBS New York, Newsday]
Oglala Sioux tribe sues beer companies over alcoholism
“An American Indian tribe sued some of the world’s largest beer makers today, claiming they knowingly contributed to devastating alcohol-related problems on South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.” The Oglala Sioux tribe is asking for $500 million. [AP; Lincoln Journal-Star; Don Surber] More: Jacob Sullum, Ted Frank.