Another story I missed that seems to have long legs: the New Age retreat run by self-help guru James Arthur Ray. 50 people were crammed like sardines inside a sweat lodge, 21 got sick, and now three have died. Authorities are treating the three deaths as homicides.

According to one of those present:

a channeler at the retreat last Friday said the deceased had an out-of-body experience during the sweat lodge ceremony and "were having so much fun that they chose not to come back."

For a thorough take-down of the new-age scam, see Theresa at Making Light, "$9,695 New Age sweat lodge session kills 2, injures 19"

I wonder how much media attention the story would have garnered if the participants hadn't each paid $9,695. to attend the weekly retreat.

Pretty funny:

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is calling out his wife, Maria Shriver, for apparently violating a state law he signed — holding her cell phone while driving. The celebrity Web site TMZ.com posted two photographs Tuesday showing Shriver holding a phone to her ear while she's behind the wheel. It says one was snapped Sunday and the other in July.

[. . .] On his Twitter feed, Schwarzenegger wrote to TMZ.com founder Harvey Levin: "Thanks for bringing her violations to my attention. There's going to be swift action."

Heh. "Swift action," BTW, means "he'll ask his wife not to hold the phone while driving."

Full disclosure - I once pleaded down a speeding ticket to a cell phone violation and have, on occasion, violated similar laws regarding cell phone use in a moving automobile.

The defense has rested in the trial to the court of New York state senator Hiram Monserrate, charged with assaulting his girlfriend with a broken glass, causing her to get 20 facial stitches. Monserrate, as is his right, did not testify. (Background on case here and here, on waiving jury here.)

The Judge threw out two charges after the prosecution rested. [More..]

Anthony Marshall, the 85 year old son of philanthropist Brooke Astor, was convicted today of 16 crimes related to his handling of his mother's $200 million estate. The trial lasted 5 months. Astor, who died at age 105, had Alzheimer's.

What do you do with an 85 year old man who's convicted of a non-violent offense? Marshall can be sentenced to anywhere between 1 year and 25 years in prison.

What's next? The charities fight over which of Astor's wills is valid to get the most money they can. [More...]

Roman Polanski has lost his first bid for bail in Switzerland. Swiss Justice Ministry spokesman Folbco Galli said Polanski was too great a flight risk.

Polanski is also seeking release from Switzerland's highest criminal court.

Regardless of the court decision, Polanski will likely have to remain in prison for months as his case in the Swiss courts progresses. The Federal Criminal Court has said it will rule in the case in the "next weeks," and a verdict in either direction can be appealed to the country's highest judicial body, the Federal Tribunal.

Gerry Shargel, the excellent New York defense lawyer for Joe Halderman, the CBS news producer accused of extorting money from David Letterman, appeared on both the Today Show this morning and Geraldo At Large last night. You can watch both interviews here.

He offered more details on the Geraldo segment than the Today show, perhaps because Ann Curry acted like a accusatory prosecutor while Geraldo, who went to law school with Gerry and considers him a friend, was more conversational than inquisitional and didn't start from the premise that Halderman is guilty. [More...]

French lawyer Ronald Sokol explains in an op-ed in the New York Times today why the Roman Polaski arrest doesn't sit will with him. It's a law-based article. the highlights:

Despite the certainty of guilt and the crime’s gravity, the prosecutor’s belated pursuit is both legally and morally troubling. A prosecuting attorney in Los Angeles has sought his extradition from Switzerland based on a treaty between Switzerland and the United States.

An extradition treaty is simply a written agreement between two countries whereby each agrees to surrender to the other country persons sought for specified crimes. The crimes include most felonies. It is normal practice for a nation not to extradite one of its own citizens. For this reason France would not agree to extradite Mr. Polanski, if it had been asked to do so, because he is a French citizen, but as he does not have Swiss citizenship and was arrested in Zurich, this exception does not apply.

[More...]

The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments last week in a civil case brought by Pamela Phillips against BATF Agents whom she claims illegally wiretapped her. The issue is whether the BATF agents are immune from her suit.

There is an active arrest warrant out for Phillips in Arizona, on charges she conspired to commit first degree murder by hiring a former boyfriend to kill her husband. Her husband, real estate developer Gary Triano was killed in 1996 when a pipe bomb in his car exploded at a country club in Tuscon. She took off, reportedly to....Switzerland. [More...]

Marina Zenovich, the director of last year’s documentary, "Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired" has issued a statement regarding former LA Deputy DA David Wells' recantation of his statements regarding his contacts with the judge in the Roman Polanski case:

“I am perplexed by the timing of David Wells’ statement to the press that he lied in his interview with me…. Since June of 2008, the film has been quite visible on U.S. television via HBO, in theaters and on DVD, so it is odd that David Wells has not brought this issue to my attention before.”

[More....]

Update: Polanski's defense strategy could work to keep him out of prison due to the allegations of judicial miscounduct.

Former LA Deputy DA David Wells then (paraphrased from the documentary, "Wanted and Desired"): I wanted Roman Polanski to go to jail. So I told the judge how he could sentence him to prison while avoiding the possibility of Polanski appealing. He did it. Months later, I showed the judge a photo of Polanski in Europe and told him Polanski was "flipping him off." The judge took it personally, as I intended, and decided to sentence Polanski even more harshly at the final sentencing.

Shorter version, David Wells now: I lied in the documentary. I never told the judge anything. He did what he did all on his own. I had nothing to do with it.

[More...]

I finished watching "Wanted and Desired" last night, with my good friend Anita Thompson, who is down from Owl Farm and staying with me a few nights a week for the next month or so as she takes the LSAT prep course in Denver. She was a toddler in 1977 when Polanski was arrested and hadn't followed the case.

Now, having watched the film, and listened to ex-prosecutor David Wells tell in his own words how he manipulated and advised the Judge behind closed doors how to get around a plea bargain in a manner that would prevent Polanski from appealing, heard the Judge state in his own words how he intended to impose an illegal condition on Polanski, watched as both the DA on the case and Polanski's lawyer separately tell, in their own words, the same story about the judge's misconduct, from making express promises he later renegged on to forcing them to participate in a sham hearing while demanding they not tell the media, listened to the victim and her lawyer describe, in their own words, how events transpired and how the Judge disregarded what was in her best interests, Anita too is appalled at how Roman Polanski was treated. [More...]

Director Roman Polanski has filed his request for bail. A Swiss official said it could take a few weeks to decide, and the decision can be appealed.

The D.A.'s office in Los Angeles denied the recent appellate ruling (or the current round of pleadings attacking the validity of the guilty plea and arguing over whether Polanski had to be present for a ruling) were the reason for the extradition request. They say it was simply a matter of opportunity, they had enough advance notice of when he would in Zurich via the film festival's press releases.

Ms. Gibbons, the district attorney’s spokeswoman, said the appellate court ruling had nothing to do with the extradition request, which, she said, was handled by David Walgren, a deputy district attorney assigned to Mr. Polanski’s case.[More...]