Free Republic

LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) -- Some West Texas men on probation are in trouble again, this time for using the Whizzinator to help them pass court-ordered urinalysis tests. In the past six months, five men on probation were caught using a realistic-looking prosthetic that dispenses synthetic, drug-free urine, Lubbock County sheriff's officials said. One was caught by an alert officer who heard something unusual in the restroom. "A body part when it's up against a plastic cup isn't going to go 'clink,'" said Tom Madigan, interim assistant director of the Lubbock County adult probation office. The device, reusable and available in...

Fines gone but anger remains for 11 Democrats (Rats use race card) Senate Republicans voted Thursday to place 11 of their Democratic colleagues on probation, opting to drop fines and sanctions put in place after the Democrats fled to New Mexico this summer to block action on congressional redistricting. GOP Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst said it was an effort to allow senators to move forward and put the matter "behind us." It did not work. Instead, the action triggered racially heated rhetoric sure to linger and echo in the chamber for a long time. Sen. Kyle Janek, R-Houston, sponsor of...

CHEAPER TO KEEP HIM by Timothy Rollins, Editor and Publisher September 9, 2003 Living in Milwaukee is an assorted mixed bag. You have the conveniences of a big city and a decent quality of living without the headaches you'd find 85 miles south in say, Chicago where the costs are in a word … exorbitant. It seems we in Milwaukee are stuck with a scumbag named Billy Lee Morford, 57 (right), who was recently released from prison. Why he got out is still beyond me, especially given his rap sheet. In reviewing his notorious history, we find that this walking...

NORMAN, Okla. -- A University of Oklahoma football player will play in the Alabama game Saturday despite being arrested and ticketed after failing to stop at a stop sign. Safety Brandon Everage was cited for disregarding a stop sign at 24th Avenue S.E. and Alameda Street in east Norman about 10 a.m. Friday. He also received citations for driving without a valid driver's license, transporting an open container of alcohol, not having insurance verification and driving with an expired tagZ, said Lt. Tom Easley, a spokesman for Norman police. Everage, 22, of Granger, Texas, told police he ran the stop...

Basketball players received excessive meal money -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Associated Press SALT LAKE CITY -- Utah's athletic program was placed on three years' probation by the NCAA on Wednesday for rules violations that included excessive meal money for men's basketball players and academic fraud on the football team. The Utes may still participate in postseason tournaments and no restrictions were placed on TV appearances. The NCAA Committee on Infractions announced the punishment after a two-year investigation of a university review. Infractions committee chairman Tom Yeager said the violations were relatively minor and did not warrant more serious penalties. "These were not five-course...

<p>COLFAX -- In March 2000, Paula Pinckard shot her 11-year-old daughter Aubrey to death before shooting herself in their Rock Hill home.</p> <p>On Thursday, Pinckard was released from Eastern Louisiana Mental Health System, formerly Feliciana Forensic Facility, a hospital for the criminally insane, according to Grant Parish District Attorney Jay Lemoine.</p>

AIRPORT ARREST A Charlotte man arrested after bringing a defused land mine to Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, Conn., has been given a special form of probation. A Superior Court judge in Enfield, Conn., Monday granted accelerated rehabilitation to Tommy Dale Smith, 45, on a breach of peace charge. Under the program for first-time offenders, Smith's criminal record will be erased if he completes the terms of his probation.Smith said he is a retired Army Special Forces demolitions expert and was traveling to an Arab country to teach members of its military how to disarm the explosive. Smith said...

The former executive director of the Virginia Republican Party was sentenced today to three years of probation and fined $5,000 for illegally intercepting a Democratic Party conference call. The former official, Edmund A. Mr. Matricardi III, apologized before Judge James R. Spencer of Federal District Court for illegally eavesdropping on two calls among the state's top Democrats in March of last year. "I stand before you a humbled man," Mr. Matricardi, 35, said. He said he had not known he was breaking the law when he joined the call using access codes provided by a disgruntled former Democratic Party worker,...

Pickin' and Grinnin': College football goes to the courts June 12, 2003 The unthinkable has happened. College football is now mirroring society. Let's all officially welcome the group entering through the back door, with their shiny suits and plastic hair and their arguments for the sake of argument. Ladies and gentlemen, lawyers and politicians have their slithery sights set on our sacred game. The problem: They were invited by five jilted and jaded girlfriends from the Big East, who can't understand why The Bachelor didn't pick them. Officials from Virginia Tech, West Virginia, Pittsburgh, Connecticut and Rutgers have filed suit...

The ACC announced Tuesday that a vote for expansion might not occur until later this month, but regardless of the outcome the Big East is going to be proactive about its future and pursue a 16-team league, a source told ESPN.com. At least one source close to the Big East said the conference wouldn't stand idle waiting to get raided again by the ACC or another league. The source said the Big East cannot remain a fractured 14-team league in basketball and eight teams in football. The financial issues would still be divisive if the league remained as is even...

URL: http://www.reporter-news.com/abil/nw_local/article/0,1874,ABIL_7959_1925972,00.html Leija hopes fame changes his lifeBy Jason Sheehan / Reporter-News Staff WriterApril 30, 2003 Taylor County Sheriff’s officials faced a firestorm of criticism for arresting a hometown hero who has gained the national spotlight. The Taylor County Sheriff’s Office and the Abilene Fire Department were bombarded with messages Tuesday as hundreds of people across the country expressed outrage at the arrest of Kris Leija. Meanwhile, Leija spent most of the day telling his story to national media outlets. Leija, credited with carrying four children to safety during the massive fire in the 21/21 Apartments, was arrested Monday...

Non-Contemporaneous Probation Violations A little background, I am an independent computer consultant. My latest position was at the Washington DC Superior Court System in the nations capitol. I was the lead consultant in re-building the Court Finance and Remittance System (CFARS). This system collects many of the fees/fines/escrow and other transactions the court undertakes on a daily basis. The system accounts for tens of thousands of dollars of transactions daily. My current concern is multiple jurisdictional court-to-court computer linkages, which are becoming more common because of advances in technology. What is found in the linkages may result in many small...

Thu Dec 12, 1:08 PM ET Actor Nick Nolte (news) arrives at the Malibu Courthouse Thursday, Dec. 12, 2002 in Malibu, Calif. Nolte pleaded no contest Thursday to one count of driving under the influence of drugs and he was immediately sentenced to three years of probation, which includes counseling and drug testing. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)

Computer Connectivity and Putting 40 Something's in Jail for Stuff they did in there 20s I am 40 years old, and I am doing OK. I just have one little problem, to get my drivers license back; I may have to do thirty days in jail. Let me explain. Five years ago I was in Ohio, where I lived for several years. I haven't lived there for 12 years now. I went to a restaurant that serves the best margaritas in the world. I had several. I planned on sleeping them off in my car. The owner came out about...

Sharp as tacks! Boy, do our officials have their priorities straight or what?! Ananova: 12-year-old gets probation for overdue dolphin library book A 12-year-old Colorado girl has been put on probation for returning a library book about dolphins late. Marisa Gohr appeared in Littleton Municipal Court to face charges of unlawful retention of library materials. She borrowed The Great Book Of The Sea from the Bemis Library and didn't return it until she got a court summons at least 11 weeks later. The Denver Post says Judge James Kimmel accepted her guilty plea and she paid $15 court costs. The...