site banner
PaperclipPerfector  1d ago (text post)   1092 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for February 21, 2025

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

1
Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

Couple things stick out:

  • Are you sourcing these on your own or finding them in an adjacent forum? I look forward to these every week.
  • This happened on an indian reservation - not sure how relevant that is.
  • Amazing to have your best friend of 26 years and his daughter sell you down the river. Amazing to have your wife and child beg for a Jury not to convict you of a crime against one of them, and then they do it anyway. I wonder how often abused family members do this, my passive observations suggest it's uncommon but possible.
  • One problem is that these niche cases don't provide any pictures. Frankly if I were a juror they would perhaps have moved me in one direction or the other, though the fact this literally only happened once is more evidence it was just some ridiculous mistake.

more evidence it was just some ridiculous mistake.

Mens rea doesn't matter in blasphemy/sacrilege cases.

One problem is that these niche cases don't provide any pictures. Frankly if I were a juror they would perhaps have moved me in one direction or the other

I now have logged into PACER and uploaded a bunch of the publicly-available files to RECAP. Document 66 attachment 1 lists seven family photographs that the prosecutor used as trial exhibits. But of course those photographs are not publicly available. Still, in document 99 the wife testifies regarding similarities in height and weight, and the defense lawyer's closing statement in document 100 has this quote: "It is clear from the photographs that the Government admitted into evidence that, in 2016 and 2017, [the daughter] and [the wife] were a lot closer in size and weight than they are now. Their hair was significantly more similar to one another's than it is right now."

Amazing to have your wife and child beg for a jury not to convict you of a crime against one of them, and then they do it anyway.

I don't think begging the jury for leniency is permissible, and I see no such begging in documents 98–100 (the trial transcript). But they did beg the sentencing judge for leniency in document 94 (the sentencing transcript), mentioning that the family had to sell its house in order to pay the lawyer fees. Document 79 is a request for permission to appeal in forma pauperis (exempted from paying the filing fee due to poverty).

Are you sourcing these on your own or finding them in an adjacent forum?

I just check out recent New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and federal cases for fun.

This happened on an Indian reservation

That doesn't mean much in Oklahoma, where half the state counts as Indian reservations under a recent Supreme Court ruling.

What is this place?

This website is a place for people who want to move past shady thinking and test their ideas in a court of people who don't all share the same biases. Our goal is to optimize for light, not heat; this is a group effort, and all commentators are asked to do their part.

The weekly Culture War threads host the most controversial topics and are the most visible aspect of The Motte. However, many other topics are appropriate here. We encourage people to post anything related to science, politics, or philosophy; if in doubt, post!

Check out The Vault for an archive of old quality posts. You are encouraged to crosspost these elsewhere.


Why are you called The Motte?

A motte is a stone keep on a raised earthwork common in early medieval fortifications. More pertinently, it's an element in a rhetorical move called a "Motte-and-Bailey", originally identified by philosopher Nicholas Shackel. It describes the tendency in discourse for people to move from a controversial but high value claim to a defensible but less exciting one upon any resistance to the former. He likens this to the medieval fortification, where a desirable land (the bailey) is abandoned when in danger for the more easily defended motte. In Shackel's words, "The Motte represents the defensible but undesired propositions to which one retreats when hard pressed."

On The Motte, always attempt to remain inside your defensible territory, even if you are not being pressed.


New post guidelines

If you're posting something that isn't related to the culture war, we encourage you to post a thread for it. A submission statement is highly appreciated, but isn't necessary for text posts or links to largely-text posts such as blogs or news articles; if we're unsure of the value of your post, we might remove it until you add a submission statement. A submission statement is required for non-text sources (videos, podcasts, images).

Culture war posts go in the culture war thread; all links must either include a submission statement or significant commentary. Bare links without those will be removed.

If in doubt, please post it!


Rules


Recommended Posts And Communities

Recommended Realtime Chats