Legally Weird

Twitter has been a free-for-all of fake news and misinformation since Elon Musk took over. The coveted blue check mark, which used to mean Twitter had verified that an account was authentic, now looks like it is available for purchase to anyone at $8 a month through a Twitter Blue subscription. Verified accounts are not necessarily authentic any longer. If you were the victim of a fake account with a blue check mark, you might be thinking about suing Twitter. Think again.

The true crime documentary machine continues churning out content, with two new Netflix documentaries highlighting what it means to act in self-defense. "Killer Sally" and "State of Alabama vs. Brittany Smith" dive into the harrowing stories of two women who seemingly acted in self-defense but were still convicted of murder.

Americans love pranks. Hidden camera tv shows fooling people have been popular since 1960's “Candid Camera" and even 40 years later with Ashton Kutcher's Punk'd. Pranks and challenges go viral on social media and across endless YouTube channels. We even acknowledge pranks and hoaxes with two annual events: April Fool's Day and Halloween/Mischief Night. However, some pranks can get merry pranksters like you into trouble when they harm people or property or turn deadly.

Derek and Maria Broaddus bought their dream home in 2014 and were getting ready to move in with their three children when they began finding strange letters in their mailbox. "Dearest new neighbor at 657 Boulevard," the first letter began, "Allow me to welcome you to the neighborhood." But it soon took an unsettling turn.

Don't expect the law to support you if you do something stupid. At least that's the lesson NFL linebacker Bobby Wagner will have taught a protester during Week 4's Monday Night Football game between the Rams and the 49ers at Levi's Stadium in San Francisco. In one of the better hits of the night, Wagner tackled the protester as he raced across the field holding a pink smoke bomb. The protester responded by filing a police report claiming Wagner assaulted him. This is America, after all. But America notwithstanding, this assault claim shouldn't fly.

In the wake of George Floyd's murder, Illinois enacted a package of sweeping criminal justice reforms set to go into effect in January 2023. Part of that package, the Pretrial Fairness Act (PFA), eliminates cash bail for those accused of crimes and makes it harder to detain suspects before trial. Critics have dubbed it "the 'Purge' Law," after the dystopian horror film in which all crime, including murder, is temporarily legalized once per year. But does the law really go that far? We don't think so.