Pointing out that the judge worked as a prosecutor has a problem: while one might posit a bias toward the police, you also have a real prosecutor pursuing the case. Wouldn’t that tend to cancel out any bias towards the defense?

Reagan’s firing of the traffic controllers was wildly popular at the time.  You might want to remember that.

For what it’s worth, Illinois tried Kelly for child pornography in the 2000s. They actually had a video of Kelly abusing a young girl. However, due to the girl and her family all claiming that it wasn’t her in the picture, the attempt failed.

Apparently nobody here on Kinja read that line either.

You didn’t talk about why most people pay attention to sports: winning. While the union might indeed improve conditions for the athletes, will they continue to get medals?

So Warren should apologize for her microscopic Native blood quotient by becoming chief spokesperson for Native Americans in the Senate? Yeah, that will work.

What is the alternative to the vegetative state? Smothering her with a pillow?

Here in Chicago I can’t remember how long it’s been since I entered a men’s room that didn’t have a changing table.

The press is 100% against Trump, and continuously does exactly as you suggest. Entire careers (Colbert, Kimmel, Fallon, Noah etc.) are based on prodding him. Nevertheless, he persists. Why should that change?

Isn’t this much the same situation as that of Prince? All sorts of assets like unreleased songs and master tapes, but no instructions on how to distribute the proceeds?

Is it enough of a deterrent to invoke a nuclear option— the US skips one Olympics in Gymnastics? Would that sufficiently punish the powers that so failed the gymnasts? Of course it would also punish the gymnasts themselves, who are blameless. No good way out of this one.

John Legend did an Xmas special the other week that was supposed to be a takeoff of the stupid 60s era holiday specials. It was atrocious and almost incomprehensible. Much the same as last night’s Pentatonix show. Nobody does variety shows any more, so nobody knows how to do it right. Music, a few jokes, the Rockettes…

If he’s so incompetent how did he get to be a Professor at UMaryland?

A few years ago HBO had a documentary called “Nobody Dies in Lily Dale”, which looked into a spiritualist summer colony in New York. The mediums all seem like very nice people, but it’s all cold reading all the time. Well worth a look.

The lack of electronic presence could also be someone trying to stay completely off the radar. I have known people to disconnect to avoid stalkers.

Are judges obligated to honor sentencing deals worked out between the DA and the defense? I suppose if the deal is not honored the defendant will just withdraw the plea and go for trial, but in this case it looks like a sure guilty verdict?

The article doesn’t really deal much with one big issue: crime. Brazil has one-third fewer people than the USA, but triple the murder rate. Surely that’s a factor in the election of tough-guy candidate.

Paralyzed is kind of a generic term. Its extent in this case is rather vague. Is she quadriplegic and on a respirator? Or some lesser degree of disability? How tragic is her accident. And will everybody’s jokes change if she is left a lifelong invalid?

The bare minimum in this case comes to well over half a century in jail. Not too shabby.

In Illinois, First Degree vs. Second Degree doesn’t mean what you think it means. Premeditation does not directly impact the definition. It’s a rather technical use of the terminology, but this article might make it a bit clearer.