Free Republic

Former Pittsburgh school police officer Robert Lellock has been arrested and charged with raping 22 male students he was hired to protect. A federal lawsuit notes that school officials should have known about the abuse, as Lellock was frequently taking boys out of the classroom to rape them in a janitor’s closet. According to the Tribune-Review, Robert Lellock worked for the Pittsburgh public school system as a school police officer where he repeatedly sexually abused at least 22 boys. One victim claims that Lellock removed him from class at least two dozen times to rape him in a janitor’s closet....

"If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants."

Ron Hosko is the former head of the FBI's criminal investigative division. He now runs a legal defense fund for police officers. He's watched the video of Walter Scott being fatally shot by Michael Slager from beginning to end and says he's never seen anything like it. "Arguably what he should be doing, before pulling out his gun is chasing him, right? Foot pursuit. Happens every day," Hosko said. "If he's unarmed, and presumably he is from the background, chase him. Cops chase every day. Call for backup. Have others come help chase." But did Scott pose a threat based...

HELENA, Mont. (Apr. 8, 2015) – A bill that would heavily diminish the effect of federal surplus equipment programs that militarize local police was given final approval by the Montana House today. The vote was 79-20. Introduced by Rep. Nicholas Schwaderer (R-Superior), House Bill 330 (HB330) bans state or local law enforcement agencies from receiving drones that are armored, weaponized, or both; aircraft that are combat configured or combat coded; grenades or similar explosives and grenade launchers; silencers; and “militarized armored vehicles” from federal military surplus programs.

WICHITA, Kansas – Voters in Wichita went to the polls on Tuesday and approved easing penalties for possessing small amounts of marijuana. The final results came in at 9:15 p.m. The proposed ordinance does not legalize marijuana. It makes first-time possession a criminal infraction with a $50 fine. Under state law, it is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $2,500 and a year in jail. -snip- Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt has said he would sue the city if it passes. The initiative says they’re starting to raise money in case the state sues.

Voters in three critical swing states, Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania, support legalization of medical marijuana by margins of 5-1 or more and also support legalization of recreational marijuana use by smaller margins, according to a Quinnipiac University Swing State Poll released today. Support for medical marijuana is 84 - 14 percent in Florida, 84 - 15 percent in Ohio and 88 - 10 percent in Pennsylvania, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University Poll finds. The Swing State Poll focuses on Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania because since 1960 no candidate has won the presidential race without taking at least two of these...

Decline in speeding ticket revenue throughout Nevada threatens the state judicial budget. Nevada courts are out of cash because police are not writing enough speeding tickets. State Supreme Court Chief Justice James W. Hardesty sounded the warning before the state Joint Subcommittee on General Government on March 11, telling lawmakers that the coffers are running dry at an alarming rate. "We thought the decline would be about three or so percent," Justice Hardesty explained. "We budgeted for a five percent decline in the budget that the governor recommended. We now believe based on the numbers we're seeing that the decline...

BISMARCK, N.D. (Mar. 29, 2015) – Last week, Gov. Jack Dalrymple signed a bill into law authorizing the farming, production, and sale of industrial hemp in the state, effectively nullifying the federal prohibition on the same. Introduced by Reps. David Monson (R-10) and Alan Fehr (R-36) along with Sen. Tom Campbell (R-19), House Bill 1436 (HB1436) passed 87-5 in the House last month. A 46-1 vote in the Senate this month sent the bill to Dalrymple’s desk for a signature. HB1436 not only sets up the framework to effectuate a commercial hemp farming program in the state, it expressly rejects...

VENICE (CBSLA.com) — Police sought the public’s help Friday to locate two men accused of using a skateboard to attack a woman in Venice. The assault occurred around 9 p.m. Thursday at the Venice Beach Skate Park, located near Pacific and Windward avenues, according to police. A woman recorded the assault on her cellphone and turned it into police. Her friend, Laura Lee, shared details of the graphic attack with CBS2/KCAL9. Lee explained the female victim was involved in a verbal fight with several men at the skate park before she walked away, which then led to a violent turn....

A bipartisan effort to legalize medical marijuana at the federal level is now underway in both Houses of Congress, and its sponsors acknowledge they face an uphill climb to passage - but they believe the public is on their side. "Polls show that at least 86 percent of Americans say medical marijuana should be available," said Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tennessee, in an interview with CBS News. "Legislators rarely lead, they generally follow. I guess it's called cultural lag...Eventually, people in Congress start catching up." Cohen and Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, unveiled a bill on Tuesday that would reclassify marijuana as...

<p>Three off-duty New Jersey cops and a pal heading home from a Staten Island strip club got into a wrong-way, head-on crash with a tractor-trailer early Friday — killing one of the officers and the civilian friend, authorities and sources said.</p>

States where residents have a high well-being are more likely to have higher new home sales. Together, the top 10 states for well-being make up more than a quarter of 2014’s new home sales, based on a recently released Gallup-Healthways study and Metrostudy data.

(Washington, DC) - Today, U.S. Senator Dean Heller (R-NV) announced he is cosponsoring the Compassionate Access, Research Expansion and Respect States (CARERS) Act, S.683, to ensure that states, like Nevada, have the right to determine their own medical marijuana laws. The bipartisan legislation is also supported by Senators Rand Paul (R-KY), Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY). Heller stated: “The time has come for the federal government to stop impeding the doctor-patient relationship in states that have decided their own medical marijuana policies. This bipartisan legislation puts Americans who are suffering first by allowing Nevada’s medical marijuana patients, providers,...

Sens. Rand Paul, Cory Booker and Kirsten Gillibrand will introduce on Tuesday a Senate bill that would legalize medical marijuana under federal law, another possible step towards relaxation of once strict policies toward the drug. The Kentucky Republican and his New Jersey and New York Democratic colleagues will propose legislation that allows states that have passed medical marijuana laws to enact those programs without operating illegally under federal law. That bill would also allow veterans in states with medical marijuana programs to receive care from the government, according to guidance issued by their offices

For the first time, the General Social Survey -- a large, national survey conducted every two years and widely considered to represent the gold standard for public opinion research -- shows a majority of Americans favoring the legalization of marijuana. In interviews conducted between March and October of last year -- when the legal marijuana markets in Colorado and Washington were ramping up -- researchers asked 1,687 respondents the following question: "Do you think the use of marijuana should be made legal or not?" Fifty-two percent said pot should be legalized, 42 percent opposed it, and another 7 percent were...

Sounds pretty interesting so far. Guests seem to think it's a big deal. John asks whether this a diversion for a bigger story. He must read FR, lol!Will post direct link to the podcast when available, usually within an hour or so after the broadcast.

The lawsuit brought against the state claims sheriffs are faced with a "crisis of conscience" A group of sheriffs will file a lawsuit Thursday against Colorado for its legal marijuana law. The lawsuit says legalizing pot on a state level while it’s still illegal on a federal one creates a “crisis of conscience,” USA Today reports. Colorado is “asking every peace officer to violate their oath,” Larimer County, Colo., Sheriff Justin Smith, the lead plaintiff in the suit, said. “What we’re being forced to do … makes me ineligible for office. Which constitution are we supposed to uphold?”

A Volusia County deputy is under investigation after shooting an unarmed man in the face and killing him while trying to serve a narcotics search warrant at a home in Deltona. Derek Cruice, 26, was inside a home on Maybrook Drive, when a narcotics task force showed up with a warrant around 6:30 a.m. Wednesday. The sheriff's office said Todd Raible, a SWAT team member who was working as a narcotics investigator, fired his weapon at Cruice after his actions caused the deputy to perceive a threat. -snip- The sheriff's office said investigators recovered approximately 217 grams of marijuana during...

A South Florida man charged with growing marijuana he claims he needs for a medical condition was found not guilty Monday. Jesse Teplicki, 50, had been charged with manufacturing cannabis and was facing up to five years behind bars. "This case is about medical marijuana and for the hundreds of thousands of patients who can use this medicine as an alternative," Teplicki said. It took jurors just 30 minutes to return the verdict.

Utah is considering a bill that would allow patients with certain debilitating conditions to be treated with edible forms of marijuana. If the bill passes, the state's wildlife may "cultivate a taste" for the plant, lose their fear of humans, and basically be high all the time. That's according to testimony presented to a Utah Senate panel (time stamp 58:00) last week by an agent of the Drug Enforcement Administration. "I deal in facts. I deal in science," said special agent Matt Fairbanks, who's been working in the state for a decade. He is member of the "marijuana eradication" team...