The Clinton email scandal continues to get worse by the day with State Department officials directly contradicting the long-standing account given by Hillary Clinton. Clinton has long maintained that she turned over a portion of her emails (those not deleted as “personal”) after receiving a letter that went to her and three of her predecessors: Madeline Albright, Colin Powell, and Condoleezza Rice as a routine inquiry. The gist is that there was nothing alarming about her exclusive use of a server under her control rather than the secured State Department system. State Department officials now confirm that the request was specifically related to the discovery that Clinton was using a personal email system as her exclusive means of communication. This revelation occurs the same week that the FBI has announced that it has already retrieved some of the emails and that the Clinton staffers who “wiped” the system did a poor job that left the material easily accessible — deepening the earlier concerns over the presence of what is now confirmed to be classified material on Clinton’s unsecured server. The FBI sources described Clinton’s IT person as “not very good.”
New Jersey Judge Faces Judicial Complaint Over Crude and Personal Comments
Passaic County Superior Court Judge Joseph A. Portelli (New Jersey) is facing formal judicial conduct charges over what was allegedly “poor judgment and a lack of dignity and respect for his office.” What is interesting is the range of comments, including some that would not have been previously considered a basis for discipline but now raise serious judicial conduct questions. The charges could raise an interesting hearing as subject to different interpretations with Portelli claiming that he is merely salty or familiar in his language while others would call it sexist or intrusive.
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Texas High School Coach Reportedly Admitted That He Ordered Vicious Hit On Ref
There is a new development in the controversy over two Texas High School players, Sophomore Victor Rojas, 15, and senior Michael Moreno, 17, who tackled a referee during a game earlier this month. The players said earlier that they were following the orders of John Jay High School assistant football coach Mack Breed. Now, there is a report that Breed admitted to giving such an order. Beyond the disciplinary issues, that also raises some interesting criminal and tort issues.
Flog the Blog: Res Ipsa Blog Nominated For Top Educational Blog
Tired already of the presidential election? Well, I learned today that we have been nominated for another blog award. The Expert Institute has nominated the blog for best Education legal blog in competition with some of our friends in the blogosphere. These competitions are always fun and allow us to interact with other blogs and potential readers. If you want to vote, click here.
New Jersey School District Grapples With Demand For Official Holiday For Eid al-Adha
There is a new conflict over religious rights in public education in New Jersey where Muslim families demanded an official holiday for Eid al-Adha. The meeting erupted when the school board refused to create such a holiday just six days before Eid al-Adha, which would have required thousands to families to scramble to find accommodations for their children. It also raises the slippery slope of adopting some religious holidays and not others. For example, the Jewish community noted that their families do not have official holidays for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. The confrontations raises the question of why public schools should create religious holidays as opposed to giving students excused absences for such holidays, which New Jersey does.
Le Pen To Stand Trial For “Inciting Racial Hatred” Due To Criticism of Muslims In France
Marine Le Pen, the leader of France’s far-right National Front, has been criminally charged with inciting racial hatred in the latest example of the rollback on basic free speech rights in France and other European nations. I have been a critic of the crackdown on free speech in France, including the hypocrisy of the government in the aftermath of the Charlie Hebdo massacre. In this case, Le Pen compared Muslin street prayers to a Nazi-like occupation, a statement that should be clearly protected as political speech in France. Instead, she will be pulled before a tribunal in another example of how free speech is being eviscerated by anti-discrimination and hate speech laws.
Muzzling Ole Mizzou: Missouri Law Professor Challenges Ban On Guns On Campus
University of Missouri associate professor of law Royce de R. Barondes has placed himself at the forefront of the gun rights debate with a lawsuit challenging the ban on guns on campuses in the state. The lawsuit follows the gunning down of history professor Ethan Schmidt on the Delta State University campus. Schmidt was unarmed and Barondes does not intend to go so easily, it appears.
