It’s been a busy week: the country has been captivated with tea parties, patriot parties, the Kagan hearings, Team Edward v. Team Jacob, and, of course, General McCrystal’s regrettable interview (don’t these people have handlers?!).  So it might not be surprising that other things have flown under the radar, and we have entries for each end of the ridiculous spectrum this week.

First, the good: In a shocking shift from prior precedent, a 2-1 majority from the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals (HQ = Atlanta, Georgia) found a portion of Georgia’s death penalty unconstitutional.  Georgia, the state that brought back the death penalty in the 70s with the same momentum that bellbottoms made a comeback in the late 1990s, suddenly finds itself the recipient of corporal punishment because of its capital punishment policy.  The issue turns on the execution of the mentally challenged.

On June 18, 2010 (this one really flew in under the radar), the Eleventh Circuit (Judges Barkett and Marcus) held that the burden Georgia places on death-penalty defendants to prove they are intellectually disabled, and thus exempt from the death penalty, is unconstitutional. The burden required a defendant to prove mental retardation beyond a reasonable doubt – the most difficult standard of proof.

The 11^th Circuit thought that this unreasonably high hurdle violated the Eighth Amendment’s ban against cruel and unusual punishments. In 2002, in Atkins v. Virginia, the U.S. Supreme Court expressly prohibited the execution of mentally challenged individuals.  The Eleventh Circuit, typically conservative on death penalty issues unexpectedly went the other direction, and it earns this week “That’s ridiculous – but awesome!” award.

Our other winner earns the “That’s ridiculous – and depressing” award.  In what has become a time honored Fourth of July tradition, the Nathan’s hot dog eating contest at Coney Island, seems as American as apple pie this time of year. Frankly, the whole event is hard to stomach – literally. I can’t watch it. Have no desire to watch it. It’s not even like a train wreck that you can’t peel your eyes away from.

This year’s competition had a notable absence: six-time champion Takeru Kobayashi.  But then at the end of event (where Joey Chestnut nabbed the title with 50+ hotdogs gobbled down in 10 minutes), Kobayashi jumped on stage in apparent protest and was subsequently arrested. Arrested at a competitive eating event? When I first saw the headline, I thought perhaps he had joined forces with PETA, but as events became clearer, it became ridiculous.

Apparently, Kobayashi did not compete in the Fourth of July event because he refused to sign a contract with Major League Eating, the fast food equivalent of the NFL. Kobayashi explained that he refused to sign because he wanted to be free to enter contests sanctioned by other groups.

Major League Eating (a) is a real entity and (b) requires contracts? Can’t a guy be a free agent? I can only say that this is Major League Ridiculous!

The USDA will begin enforcing these standards in October in hopes of differentiating low quality “impostors” from the best oil. The standards will also conform to international and trade group definitions so that buyers know whether they have a true high-end bottle of EVOO or just the “Two-Buck Chuck” variety.

Patricia Darragh, executive director of the California Olive Oil Council, a trade association of producers responsible for most US-grown olive oil explained that “[t]here has been a concern for some time about the quality and truthfulness of oil brought into the United States.  In the absence of a federal standards, some unscrupulous importers have flooded the market.”

The new regulations provide specific chemical parameters of purity and freshness that provide a basis for enforcement. They include indicators for fatty acid composition, which helps separate olive oils from seed oils, and the ultraviolet light absorption, which indicates the oil’s state of preservation, as well as a taste test by experts.

Glad to know that we have such rigorous criteria for olive oil. It’s certainly more important than applying strict standards to the forensic science promulgated in court and used to lock people away for the rest of their lives.

I’m not surprised by the results in the case of the juror fame-monger who probably has Lady Gaga lyrics tattooed on her head. Likewise for the innocence appeal. No DNA, no service. And even then you’re likely to get the burnt bottom sludge from the coffee pot. But saying that the right to remain silent is waived if a suspect in fact remains silent? I know some preschoolers who can appreciate the disconnect in that decision.

It’s weeks like this that make me miss Scalia’s decision in Melendez-Diaz. Kagan isn’t going to change the game much, unless she tips the balance toward a 6-3 court. Maybe they’ll legitimize oil spills next.

The WSJ Bankruptcy Beat reports that local investors are helping out bankrupt businesses in California and Wisconsin.

In California – a state flush with debt but low on cash - the Pasadena Playhouse will be resurrected by its patrons. The Playhouse filed its Chapter 11 plan of reorganization late last week.  The plan calls for patron donations to pay off the priority, administrative, and secured claims in full. Since the Playhouse has a storied history in California and is beloved by local theatre-goers, this plan might just work.  Moreover, since local and state government’s have little interest in supporting the arts, this is perhaps the only way a plan to save the Playhouse would work.  The stage has been dark since February, and this high school drama geek hopes that new productions will soon bring back light and life to the stage.

In the upper Midwest, struggling businesses need a candyman. It appears that one in Wisconsin has found just that.

The bankruptcy court in Milwaukee has approved the sale of Quality Candy and Buddy Squirrel to local investors.  The investors have promised to keep the candy operation up and running (to the delight of dentists).  A win-win for Wisconsin sweet tooths and the bankrupt company. I just wonder what is a “Buddy Squirrel” – maybe it’s better not to ask.

The blog is back in business – aiming to put out more content due to subscriber demand.

The pre-publication version of my new article, Forensiphilia: Is the Public Fascination with Forensic Science a Love Affair or a Fatal Attraction? is available from SSRN here. The article will be published this summer in the New England Journal on Criminal and Civil Confinement.

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Hustler law will damage access

Restricting or enlarging current law is not the way to remedy the release of disturbing crime scene photos, yet the state Legislature seems poised to do just that. Last month, a true-crime reporter working for Hustler magazine requested photos depicting Meredith Emerson’s nude and decapitated body under Georgia’s public disclosure records laws. In 2008, Emerson was brutally killed while hiking with her dog in North Georgia. The atrocities were horrid and disturbing.

Hustler is now revisiting Emerson’s death for a possible feature in its pages. More widely known for its photos of nude (but living) women, Hustler is no ordinary media outlet. Understandably, last month’s request dismayed the slain woman’s family. But it’s disappointing that it created such pandemonium at the state Capitol that legislators scrambled to pass a law preventing the release of such photos.