Lavell Vance Named Suspect In Murder of Anne Pressly

Anne Pressly, a popular Little Rock, Arkansas television anchor, was found beaten in her home in October. She died a couple of days later from trauma to the brain in the hospital. Curtis Lavell Vance, 28, was arrested Wednesday night in connection with the 26 year old's death. KATV-TV in Little Rock (A CNN affiliate) reported that police were tipped off to Vance's location after he was publicly identified as a suspect. Police Chief Stuart Thomas did not reveal why Vance was identified as a suspect. Vance will be charged with capital murder. Suspect faces murder charge

Pressly may have been the victim of a burglary because her purse and credit card were missing. A credit card was actually used at a gas station recently. A $30,000 reward from KATV was offered for information leading to the arrest of Pressly's attacker. It is not clear if any one provided the tip that lead to the arrest.

All suspects are innocent until otherwise proven guilty!

Update 11-11-09: Justice marches forward. Curtis Lavelle Vance, a 29 year old man who told police he had been hoping to steal a laptop, was convicted of capital murder of Anne Pressly, an Arkansas TV anchorwoman. Anne had been battered so badly that her face was shattered. She never regained consciousness. The jury panel will also consider whether Vance should be executed or sentenced to life in prison without parole. Vance was also convicted of residential burglary along with rape and theft of property. After the jury vacated the courtroom, Vance gestured toward the empty jury box, pointed to his eyes and ears and shook his head. Sounds like justice to me.

Update 11-13-09: The Pulaski County, Arkansas, jury decided whether the aggravating circumstances in favor of the death penalty outweighed the mitigating circumstances. The jury dicided to sentence Vance to confinement for the rest of his natural life in a 6-by-9 cell with nothing to think about but what he has done. Again, sounds like justice.

Wal-mart Black Friday Rush Results In A Fatality

Black Friday should not really be black. And stores should not hold back customers just to create a line of those greedy to purchase a hot item like a Wii. When will it stop? A Wal-Mart employee died and four others were hurt in the Black Friday rush to get into the Valley Stream Wal-mart this morning. How could any one not say this is a marketing scheme gone bad? The injuries occurred as the shoppers crammed into the Wal-Mart when the doors opened at 5 a.m.
Shoppers knocked a 34 year old Wal-mart employee to the ground at 5:03 a.m. In other words, by playing on greed of getting a resource artificially believed to be in short supply, injuries occurred within three minutes of the mad house beginning. The story ends with this 34-year-old suffering a fatal heart attack.

A 28-year-old pregnant woman was also injured. Fortunately, her baby is fine. And the marketing was a failure any way. The store was closed to incoming shoppers following the incident. Those already inside were allowed to make their purchases and leave.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc., in Bentonville, Ark., have been quiet about the incident. "Local authorities are looking into the situation,"according to Wal-Mart representative Dan Fogleman.

Store managers have some common sense. Shoppers have some common courtesy. After all. what is the rush? Aren't we suppose to be in a recession or something?

Teacher David Grant Accused of Striking 8 Year Old Student

"Be thankful that it is not another teacher sleeping with a student."
"Is that suppose to make it all seem better?"

The couple were discussing the latest alleged teacher mishap down in Florida. David Adam Grant, an elementary school teacher, was arrested by Fort Lauderdale police for punching an 8-year-old student in the face.

Grant, a 36 year old art teacher at Sunland Elementary School, surrendered to the police Tuesday in connection with the November 5 incident. According to police, a "preliminary investigations revealed that an 8-year-old student ... had been battered."
Reportedly the young boy was struck near his left eye. Grant faces child abuse charges. The incident remains under investigation and Grant is to be presumed innocent until otherwise proven.

Eryn Bloomfield Hopes To Reunite With Her Son (Who Is Accused of Murdering His Dad) Over The Holidays

Eryn Bloomfield, the mother of an 8-year-old boy suspected in the shooting deaths of his father (Vincent Romero) and another man (Tim Romans), says that her son "loved his dad." Vincent Romero and Tim Romans were found dead in Romero's house in St. Johns, Arizona. Eryn Bloomfield maintained her son's innocence on ABC's "Good Morning America."

Prosecutors in Apache County, Arizona, recently dismissed one of the two murder charges. (This apparently was the charge for the murder of his father.) A videotape of the boy's police interview initially denied any involvement in the shootings, but later said he had shot his already-wounded father "because he was suffering." Boy interview with police » The video may not be admissible because no attorney or parent was present. Interrogation 'out of bounds'

The boy lived with his 29 year old dad in St. Johns, Arizona. His mom lives in Mississippi.
The mother had weekly visitation rights and holiday visitation. Tim Romans rented a room in Romero's home. Both were killed with a .22-caliber weapon. Why the interrogation is troubling »
Bloomfield will be allowed 48 hours with her son at home over the Thanksgiving holiday. Otherwise, he is in a juvenile detention facility. A court-appointed guardian will be present during the visit.

Listen to the tapes. The boy does not sound like a killer. Was he coerced into a confession?

Indiana Adopts A Rule Restricting Judges From Surfing the Internet

An ex parte communication is a one-sided communication with the judge.
Black’s Law Dictionary defines ex parte as “on one side only; by or for one party; done for in
behalf of or on the application of, one party.” This can be an important issue for both lawyers and non lawyers. Ex parte communications are prohibited in order to preserve the fundamental fairness of the American legal system. Consequently, judges and attorneys are forbidden by the
Indiana Rules of Court from engaging in ex parte communications.

The federal law also prohibits ex parte communication in order to provides due process for participants in the legal system. Due process includes the right to notice of the complaint or criminal charge, the right to be notified of and to be present at a hearing, and the right to confront and cross-examine witnesses. Our system of justice is founded upon the principle that a person has the opportunity to present his own evidence and witnesses in support of his case. This means that judges are to decide the case based solely on the evidence and testimony in the court. With the advent of the internet, the fear is that judges may have been conducting their own independent research. For example, it may not be admissible in a child custody case that one of the parties has been charged with multiple crimes but never convicted. Nevertheless, if the judge uses the internet, she may learn of such charges which otherwise would not be admissible.

A new Judicial Cannon, 2.9 C will go into effect January 1, 2009. It would seem to prohibit Indiana judges from using the internet to learn more about the background on cases. Is this good or bad? Should all states adopt such a rule?

Why Dogs Make Better Mates Then People - by Viper

1. The later you are, the more excited your dogs are to see you.

2. Dogs don't notice if you call them by another dog's name.

3. Dogs like it if you leave a lot of things on the floor.

4. A dog's parents never visit.

5. Dogs agree that you have to raise your voice to get your point across.

6. You never have to wait for a dog; they're ready to go 24 hours a day.

7. Dogs find you amusing when you're drunk..

8. Dogs like to go hunting and fishing.

9. A dog will not wake you up at night to ask, "If I died, would you get another dog?"

10. If a dog has babies, you can put an ad in the paper and give them away.

11. A dog will let you put a studded collar on it without calling you a pervert.

12. If a dog smells another dog on you, they don't get mad. They just think it's interesting.

13. Dogs like to ride in the back of a pickup truck.

14. If a dog leaves, it won't take half of your stuff.


Viper

For scientific research that proves pets are better partners then humans, follow this LINK.

Michel Lapointe Knows Where The Beef Is... More Importantly, He Knows That Beef Can Buy You An Early Release!

For some folks, weight has always been a problem. But for some, being overweight can translate into preferential treatment. Michel Lapointe may fit that category. He weights 430-pounds. He was serving time in a Canadian prison but was released early because the facility could not accommodate his massive frame.

The Quebec Parole Board sided with Michel's claims that he just did not fit in the prison scene. Given his good behavior and what could be legitimate health concerns, Michel received early parole. "Big Mike," as he's known, was in the joint for conspiracy and drug trafficking. Rumor has it he celebrated his early release by a great meal.

For the next few days Legal Pub will be catching up on new law for 2009. So don't expect a new post for a few days.