Author Archives: Susan Simpson

The Greater D.C. Area’s Worst Named Company

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This D.C. area contractor clearly did not do much marketing research before choosing a company name:

I had to check the company out to make sure this was not some kind of prank, but yes, RA Hyman Restoration, Inc. is indeed a real business:

RA Hyman Restoration, Inc. helps people and businesses that are in need of emergency restoration services for damages caused by flood and fire due to accidents or natural disasters.

Whatever marketing research they did plainly failed to include the 13 year old boy test — an important stage of concept testing where, before unveiling any new marketing strategy or company name, you run it by a panel of 13 year old boys first. (Or, apparently, a panel of sufficiently immature 25 year old lawyers.) If their first reaction is to giggle, ditch the name.

I did wonder at first if perhaps this is an old, established company that was saddled with an unfortunate name in a previous, more innocent era. But alas, no, the company was created in 2007. They have no excuse.

-Susan

One if By Land, Two if By Extremely Misleading Headline

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The only redeeming part of the whole Palin nontroversy — “Reveregate,” or whatever we are calling it these days — is that at least people are learning a bit of interesting history about Paul Revere beyond the the traditional American mythology. Palin did not give an entirely coherent recount of the tale, but big whoop — I thought we were beyond stopping the presses every time Palin was less that perfectly clear about something.

For instance, in one article, a historian is quoted giving the following evaluation of the accuracy of Palin’s re-telling of the Midnight Ride of Paul Revere:But the nonsensical “defenses” of Palin’s version of history are written in such bad faith that they are far more troubling than any irrelevant misstatement Palin may have initially made. All too often, The Word of Palin is treated something like the Bible or other mystical text; her proclamations are often vague enough or contain enough non sequiturs that defenders are able to read great mystical truths into her rambling sound bites. Palin only sounds vague and confused, they claims, but in reality she is a deep and worldly historical scholar!

Boston University history professor Brendan McConville said, “Basically when Paul Revere was stopped by the British, he did say to them, ‘Look, there is a mobilization going on that you’ll be confronting,’ and the British are aware as they’re marching down the countryside, they hear church bells ringing — she was right about that — and warning shots being fired. That’s accurate.”

Patrick Leehey of the Paul Revere House said Revere was probably bluffing his British captors, but reluctantly conceded that it could be construed as Revere warning the British.

“I suppose you could say that,” Leehey said. “But I don’t know if that’s really what Mrs. Palin was referring to.”

McConville said he also is not convinced that Palin’s remarks reflect scholarship.

“I would call her lucky in her comments,” McConville said.

And, yet, what was the headline for the article containing this quote?

Experts back Sarah Palin’s historical account

You betcha she was right!

-Susan

Disinformation on the Sovereignty Market: Russia Attempts to Spoil Armenian-Georgian Relations?

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On May 20, Regnum News Agency released an article claiming that Armenian Russians planned to donate nearly a hundred million dollars towards the cause of Abkhazian state recognition:

The Union of Armenians of Russia (UAR) headed by businessman Ara Abramian intends to spend $ 90 million to ensure recognition of the independence of Abkhazia and so-called South Ossetia by third world countries. REGNUM news agency reports with reference to a competent source close to the leadership of the union. They found it difficult to name the source of these funds, but noted that directions of the said activity, according to their information, had been agreed by the UAR with leaders of the Russian diplomacy. Results and geography of spending are not reported.

Given that, back in 2009, Nauru granted recognition of Abkhazia for a mere $50 million, a $90 million donation ought to be sufficient for Abkhazia to buy recognition from at least one more Pacific island nation — possibly even two.

However, Regnum News Agency, a Russian news dissemination service, appears to not be the most trustworthy agency around, and the Union of Armenians in Russia has denied the report:

We have to remind the Regnum’s administration that this is not the first time their agency is publicizing unverified and untrue report, referring to the Union of Armenians of Russia[.]

But even without the UAR’s denial, the story would not add up all the way. Although Armenians make up 20% of Abkhazia’s population, they are politically underrepresented in the region, and it is unlikely a Russian group would spend such a large sum to advance a rather questionable method of obtaining sovereignty. Armenia’s political interest in Abkhazia is also relatively minimal, as compared to, say, Nagorno Karabakh.

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The Wars on Poker and Porn: America Strikes Back

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After the DOJ had a busy week shutting down the three largest online poker sites and instigating criminal charges against eleven officers and directors, you would think those advocating for greater control over Americans’ lives would be content. After all, everyone knows online poker is a national menace and grave security threat; it is about time something was done about it.

But no. Social conservatives will not rest until all moral vices have been banned, so that America may be free once again. Which is why it is an absolute outrage that the DOJ has taken moves to close down the Obscenity Prosecution Task Force, even if the DOJ has offered reassurances that the elimination of the task force doesn’t mean that such prosecutions will be halted, only that it will be “[r]e-incorporating the prosecution of obscenity violations into the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section.”

Reasons for dropping the Obscenity Task Force may include its completely inept handling of the John Stagliano case, as well as the fact that the DOJ’s own attorneys were deeply reluctant to carry out such prosecutions. But, as a disturbingly large portion of the Senate made clear in a letter to the DOJ, that is not good enough. Prosecuting porn is vital to the nation’s future, and the Senate is greatly distressed by the dearth of obscenity prosecutions that have occurred under the Obama administration:

Earlier this month, [Sen. Orrin] Hatch and 41 other senators sent a letter to Holder pushing him to bring criminal cases against “all major distributors of adult obscenity.”

“We write to urge the Department of Justice vigorously to enforce federal obscenity laws against major commercial distributors of hardcore adult pornography,” said the April 4 letter, circulated by Hatch. “We know more than ever how illegal adult obscenity contributes to violence against women, addiction, harm to children, and sex trafficking. This material harms individuals, families and communities and the problems are only getting worse.”

I expect that, within the next week, the DOJ will follow up by announcing prosecutions against rock ‘n’ roll, indecent dancing, and overly-fatty desserts.

-Susan

China’s Assessment of Human Rights in America

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Every year, the United States releases its Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, which assess the human rights records of every other state and almost-state on the planet.

And, every year, the Information Office of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China releases its own report, assessing the human rights record of precisely one country: the United States.

China’s report on the Human Rights Record of the United States in 2010 was just released, and, as always, it gives a funhouse mirror’s eye-view of the U.S.’s record. The report is an unapologetic retaliation against the U.S.’s “malicious design to pursue hegemony under the pretext of human rights”, and contains a hodgepodge of truths, half-truths, and extremely dubious statistics. It also collects approximately every negative statistic about the U.S. that any report has ever found, conveniently compiling them into one rather unshocking exposé. It is also hypocritical, of course, but that is not worth noting — any human rights assessment of another nation is bound to be hypocritical, unless maybe if you’re Sweden or Denmark or somewhere hippy like that. The problem with the Chinese report is therefore not the amount of hypocrisy it contains, but rather the amount of batshit craziness. A few of my favorite passages are as follows:

The census report released on September 16, 2010 showed that working women are paid only 77 cents for every dollar earned by a man.

Shhh, careful there, China. Wouldn’t want the MRAs to hear you make such claims, or they’ll leave lots of nasty comments on your blog.

Every year, one out of every five people is a victim of a crime in the United States. No other nation on earth has a rate that is higher.

You know, I guess it is probably true that no nation on earth is more likely to have a citizen be a victim of crime in the United States than the United States is. That is the only to read those sentences that makes any sort of sense at all.

The number of American people without health insurance increased progressively every year.

China must have missed the news that we’re Socialists, now.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported on November 19, 2010 that a large group of human rights organizations prepared to hold a vigil in South Georgia in support of suspected illegal immigrants being held in a prison in Lumpkin.

Ah, good old Lumpkin County. As goes Lumpkin, so goes the nation.

The ACLU and the U.S. Travel Association have been getting thousands of complaints about airport security measures.

Allowing domestic civil rights groups and private citizens to complain about their government with impunity is definitely a sign of human rights abuses.

A report on The Wall Street Journal on September 7, 2010, said the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was sued over its policies that allegedly authorize the search and seizure of laptops, cellphones and other electronic devices without a reasonable suspicion of wrongdoing. The policies were claimed to leave no limit on how long the DHS can keep a traveler’ s devices or on the scope of private information that can be searched, copied or detained. There is no provision for judicial approval or supervision.

And the founding fathers’ failure to plug up the border search exception is iron-clad proof that they had zero respect for human liberty.

Minority groups confront discrimination in their employment and occupation. The black people are treated unfairly or excluded in promotion, welfare and employment.

… The black people?

The New York Times reported on April 26, 2010 that Wal-Mart was accused of systematically paying women less than men, giving them smaller raises and offering women fewer opportunities for promotion in the biggest employment discrimination case in the nation’s history.

Allowing judicial redress for claims of wrongful discrimination is yet another blatant sign of political oppression.

Bullying is most prevalent in third grade, when almost 25 percent of students reported being bullied two, three or more times a month.

American Third Grade Classrooms: Fourth Member of the Axis of Evil.

Almost 1.8 million [children] are abducted and nearly 600,000 children live in foster care.

That’s right. 1.8 million children are abducted every year, and the U.S. is doing nothing to stop it. Why won’t someone think of the children!

Pornographic content is rampant on the Internet and severely harms American children.

Only by implementing firewalls that censor 90% of the internet can a nation truly protect human rights. And the children.

While advocating Internet freedom, the U.S. in fact imposes fairly strict restriction on cyberspace. On June 24, 2010, the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs approved the Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act, which will give the federal government ‘absolute power’ to shut down the Internet under a declared national emergency… The United States applies double standards on Internet freedom by requesting unrestricted ‘Internet freedom’ in other countries, which becomes an important diplomatic tool for the United States to impose pressure and seek hegemony, and imposing strict restriction within its territory.

Wait, what the hell? Where on earth did China get that idea…

Handing government the power to control the Internet will only be the first step towards a greatly restricted Internet system, whereby individual IDs and government permission would be required to operate a website (Prison Planet.com, June 25, 2010).

Ohhhhh, well that explains a lot.

As a final note, report is also apparently blind to the irony that China’s access to these facts about the U.S. human rights record is only possible due to the U.S.’s liberal stances towards freedom of speech.

However, while the U.S.’s Country Reports on Human Rights Practices is an invaluable resource for monitoring the protections afforded to human rights worldwide, and one that is not currently matched by any other state or NGO, the Country Reports do inevitably and unavoidably leave the United States wide open to charges of hypocrisy and double standards. And that’s fine — there definitely is something hypocritical about highlighting others’ failures where you yourself still have work to do. But the United States has acknowledged and to some extent embraced its critics’ charges:

We do not consider views about our performance voiced by others in the international community to be interference in our internal affairs, nor should other governments regard expressions about their performance as such. Indeed, under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, it is the right and the responsibility of ‘every individual and every organ of society to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance.’

Self-criticism has never been a natural talent of sovereigns, and it is a safe bet that if the U.S. did include a self-assessment of its human rights record, it would have been nothing more than a philosophical puff-piece or abstract celebration of Freedom Yay!! — as was, say, the U.S.’s report of its human rights records, submitted to the UNHRC in November, 2010. So to the extent that there is a void where it comes to examining America’s human rights record, China — and Russia — are not wrong. But the solution is not to call on the U.S. to stop highlighting others’ failures, but to have more even states join in on the fun so that they, too, can call out the human rights abuses of other nations whenever they get the chance.

Like, for instance, the U.S.’s treatment of PFC Manning. I still don’t get how the Chinese report went for over 13 pages, and never once mentioned that.

-Susan

ATS Reversal Watch: M.C. v. Bianchi

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I thought I’d drag myself out of blogger purgatory to make a brief comment on a recent decision out of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania that I noticed earlier this evening. In M.C. v. Bianchi, Chief Judge Bartle denied a Motion to Dismiss on the basis that ATS jurisdiction can be conferred over non-state actors based purely on the heinousness of their actions. Assuming there is an appeal, I think it’s a safe bet the Third Circuit will swat this one down once it is reviewed, because the decision’s basis under international law is rather shaky.

My gut feeling is this is just a case of hard facts make bad law, because Defendant Anthony Bianchi, millionaire and convicted serial child rapist, is one of the least sympathetic litigants you could possibly have, and it’s not hard to see how one might be very strongly motivated to extend any assistance available to the unnamed minor plaintiffs.

But being a really horrible person does not magically invoke the jurisdiction of the ATS. Judge Bartle seems to have taken the requirement that only ‘extreme’ violations of international law are sufficient to invoke ATS liability to mean that, the more morally heinous an act is, the greater the likelihood is that there exists a cause of action for a tort in violation of the law of nations:

“Given the young age of his victims and the frequency with which Bianchi engaged in these heinous acts, this case is extreme enough for subject matter jurisdiction to exist under the ATS. What occurred here is a serious transgression of international law that is ‘specific, universal, and obligatory.’ Under all the circumstances, we conclude that Bianchi’s sexual assault of children through sex tourism falls within the ‘very limited category’ of claims cognizable under the ATS as a violation of the law of nations.” Quoting Sosa v. Alvarez-Machain, 542 U.S. 692, 732.

To put it charitably, the decision is something of an international law train wreck. Its primary justification seems to be the existence of a international instrument condemning acts like those committed by Bianchi:

“[I]n support of this court’s jurisdiction, plaintiffs point to the Optional Protocol on the Rights of the Child, Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography (“Optional Protocol”).” … The Optional Protocol bans the ‘offering, delivering or accepting, by whatever means, a child for the purpose of … [s]exual exploitation of the child.’ S. Treaty Doc. No. 106-37 at art. 3(1)(a)(i). It also declares that parties ‘shall ensure that all child victims of the offences described in the present protocol have access to adequate procedures to seek, without discrimination, compensation for damages from those legally responsible.’ Id. at art. 9(4).

Although the U.S. is a signatory to the Optional Protocol, because that treaty is not self-executing, Plaintiffs had to go the law-of-nations route for the ATS suit, rather than relying on the treaty alone. But calling something ‘customary international law,’ even if it were, does not mean that it automatically comes with a cause of action against private parties. Judge Bartle notes that “‘[The Optional Protocol] also provides that ‘each State Party shall take measures, where appropriate, to establish the liability of legal persons’ for these offenses, both criminal and civil,” and then blithely goes on to assume, “[t]hus, the Optional Protocol clearly contemplates the liability of private individuals.” But that’s not what it says at all. The treaty clearly contemplates obligating nations to prohibit child sex crimes as a matter of domestic law, not making child sex crimes in themselves a violation of international law.

Other than the Optional Protocol, the decision’s basis for finding a violation of international law is based on the following:

“[C]ourts across the United States have acknowledged that child sex tourism … is uniformly admonished by the international community as reprehensible.”

“[Bianchi’s] crimes represent a global problem, whereby individuals from developed nations travel to less developed nations to prey on young children from impoverished communities.”

“Courts have been willing to recognize claims by children under the ATS, even where the same claims would not be actionable if brought by adults.” Citing (questionably) Roe v. Bridgestone Corp., 492 F. Supp. 2d 988, 1019-22 (S.D. Ind. 2007).”

But none of this is sufficient to establish that Bianchi’s crimes were “a serious transgression of international law that is ‘specific, universal, and obligatory.'” His actions were evil and illegal, but not a matter of the law of nations.

Judge Bartle’s judicial over-reach in the name of universal jurisdiction is by no means an isolated decision. There is in fact fairly ample, if scattered, support for the idea that jurisdiction over Bianchi would be proper, under the argument that international commercialized child rape (I cannot bring myself to use the monstrously inadequate euphemism of ‘sex tourism’) is a modern crime akin to the traditional offenses of piracy and slavery. Eugene Kontorovich [PDF] has called this claim the “piracy analogy”. The piracy analogy is

the argument that [universal jurisdiction] is based on principles implicit in the earlier, piracy-only universal jurisdiction. According to the piracy analogy, international law treated piracy as universally cognizable because of its extraordinary heinousness. Universal jurisdiction was never about piracy per se, the argument goes, but about allowing any nation to punish the world’s worst and most heinous crimes. Thus universal jurisdiction over human rights violations is simply an application of the well-settled principle that the most heinous offenses are universally cognizable and not, as critics contend, a radical and dangerous encroachment on nations’ sovereignty.

The Bianchi decision is a text-book example of the piracy analogy in action, and of the mistaken belief that the world’s evils are best fought by expanding the nebulous jurisdictional reach of international law to encompass them. However, while states can and do use international law as a means of combating offenses that are universally condemned, as they have with the Option Protocol on the Rights of the Child, the mere fact that an offense can be regulated by international law cannot transform it into a violation of international law.

-Susan

All* Alien Tort Statute Cases Brought Between 1789 and 1990

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As an addition to my post on successful cases brought under the Alien Tort Statute, below is a list of failed cases under the ATS from its enactment in 1789 through 1990. These are only the cases that were dismissed outright by the court — the list of ATS suits that were either successful, or which were ultimately unsuccessful but at least made it before a jury, are listed in the above link.

I am reasonably confident that the list is a complete list of all losing ATS cases for that time period. Of course, I’ve probably jinxed myself by saying that, but other than maybe some unreported cases I couldn’t get my hands on, pretty much all of the ATS cases for that time period should be here. … That said, if you know of some I’ve missed, please let me know in the comments!

Of course, given that the ATS’s invocation in federal courts has been expanding at an exponential rate, the overwhelming majority of ATS cases were brought after 2000. So this list has a long way to go yet.

Alien Tort Statute Cases Dismissed by the Courts (Complete Through 1990)

1. Moxon v. The Brigantine Fanny, 5317 F.Cas. 942 (D.C.Pa. 1793). “Neither does this suit for a specific return of the property, appear to be included in the words of the judiciary act of the United States, giving cognizance to this court of ‘all causes where an alien sues for a tort only, in violation of the laws of nations, or a treaty of the United States.’ It cannot be called a suit for a tort only, when the property, as well as damages for the supposed trespass, are sought for.”

2. O’Reilly De Camara v. Brooke, 209 U.S. 45, 28 S. Ct. 439 (1908). This is the first time the ATS went before the Supreme Court. (It is also the first time an ATS claim was subject to a motion to dismiss for failure to state a cause of action.) The case involved an alleged violation of the Treaty of Paris, and “was brought by the Countess of Buena Vista, a subject of the King of Spain, residing in Havana, Cuba, against Maj. Gen. John R. Brooke, to recover damages alleged to have been caused to the plaintiff by an order of Gen. Brooke, made August 10, 1899, when he was military governor of the Island of Cuba, abolishing the right or franchise to slaughter cattle in the city of Havana, owned by the plaintiff.” “Again, if the plaintiff lost her rights once for all by General Brooke’s order, and so was disseised, it would be a question to be considered whether a disseisin was a tort within the meaning of [the ATS]. In any event, the question hardly can be avoided whether the supported tort is ‘a tort only in violation of the law of nations’ or of the Treaty with Spain. In this court the plaintiff seems to place more reliance upon the suggestion that her rights were of so fundamental a nature that they could not be displaced, even if Congress and the Executive should unite in the effort. It is not necessary to say more about that contention than that it is not the ground on which the jurisdiction of the District Court was invoked. ” “[W]e think it plain that where, as here, the jurisdiction of the case depends upon the establishment of a ‘tort only in violation of the law of nations, or of a treaty of the United States,’ it is impossible for the courts to declare an act a tort of that kind when the Executive, Congress and the treaty-making power all have adopted the act. We see no reason to doubt that the ratification extended to the conduct of [the General].”

3. Pauling v. McElroy, 164 F.Supp. 390 (D.D.C. 1958). Suit to enjoin nuclear weapons testing. Request for injunction not a tort, and accordingly no relief available under ATS.

4. Khedivial Line, S. A. E. v. Seafarers’ Union, 278 F.2d 49 (2 Cir. 1960). Right of free access to ports not sufficient to establish jurisdiction.

5. Madison Shipping Corp. v. National Maritime Union, 282 F.2d 377 (3rd Cir. 1960). “[I]njunctive relief was prayed for on the theory that the appellants’ acts were violative of the appellee’s rights under the Treaty of Friendship, Navigation and Commerce made between the United States and the Republic of Liberia on August 8, 1938, 54 Stat. 1739. Jurisdiction of both of these claims was asserted to be pursuant to Sections 1331 and 1350 of Title 28 U.S.C. [I]t was [also] alleged that the appellants tortiously interfered with the appellee’s contractual relations in violation of the law of Pennsylvania. Injunctive relief and damages were prayed for, and jurisdiction was asserted to be pursuant to Sections 1332 and 1350, Title 28 U.S.C.” Except the court was reviewing the case under interlocutory appeal, and none of the questions before it reached the requisite standard, so the case was booted out.

6. Bowater S. S. Co. v. Patterson, 303 F.2d 369 (2nd Cir. 1962) (in dissent). Interesting, although questionable, early analysis of the ATS. Majority dismissed the case for lack of jurisdiction on unrelated grounds. In a dissenting opinion, Judge Lumbard, apparently raising the issue sua sponte, argues that the ATS granted the court a separate basis of federal jurisdiction. the Plaintiff, the Bowater Steamship Company, Ltd., was an English corporation. It “advance[d] a claim under the treaty ‘To regulate the Commerce between the Territories of the United States And of his Britannick Majesty,’ signed and ratified in 1815, 8 Stat. 228, and extended indefinitely on August 6, 1827, 8 Stat. 361.” According to Judge Lumbard, “This is sufficient to give the district court jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 and 1350.” However, the relevant treaty did not provide the substantive law, but rather guaranteed a federal form for the litigant. Therefore, the dissent would have, apparently, used the ATS as a means of providing jurisdiction for an alien to assert a claim under New York state tort law.

7. Lopes v. Reederei Richard Schroder, 225 F.Supp. 292 (E.D.Pa.1963). Dismissied; doctrine of unseaworthiness held to be not part of the law of nations.

8. Upper Lakes Shipping Limited v. International Longshoremen’s Ass’n, 33 F.R.D. 348 (S.D.N.Y. 1963). Plaintiff brought claim “arising under the treaty between the United States and Canada concerning the boundary waters between the United States and Canada.” Court found that treaty’s only available remedy was for plaintiff to “seek the espousal of its claim by the Canadian Government and its presentation to the International Joint Commission.”

9. Seth v. British Overseas Airways Corp., 216 F.Supp. 244 (D.Mass. 1963). Not an interesting case. “The theory of the third count is that this Court has jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1350 because this is a ‘civil action by an alien for a tort only, committed in violation of a treaty of the United States. … There being no evidence that BOAC committed a tort or violated any act of Congress, Counts 2 and 3 are dismissed with prejudice.”

10. Damaskinos v. Societa Navigacion Interamericana, S. A., Pan., 255 F.Supp. 923 (S.D.N.Y.1966). “Negligence in providing a seaman with a safe place in which to work, and unseaworthiness of a vessel in that respect, are not violations of the law of nations.”

11. Valanga v. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., 259 F.Supp. 324 (E.D.Pa. 1966). “[A]ctions to recover funds based upon life insurance contract obligations do not impress this Court as being of the calibre of the cases which have been allowed recourse to § 1350. Plaintiff has failed to indicate the impact of defendant’s conduct as violating the “law of nations.” The mere fact that an individual breaches the contractual duty owed to an alien does not mean that such conduct is so flagrant as to warrant this court to conclude, as a matter of law, that it constitutes a violation of the rules of conduct which govern the affairs of this nation, acting in its national capacity, in its relationships with any other nation.”

12. Abiodun v. Martin Oil Service, Inc., 475 F.2d 142 (7th Cir. 1973). Nigerians’ claims alleging fraudulent employment training contracts failed to state a claim involving an international law violation.

13. IIT v. Vencap, Ltd., 519 F.2d 1001 (2d Cir. 1975). Source of the ATS’s famous epitaph:  “[t]his old but little used section is a kind of legal Lohengrin; although it has been with us since the first Judiciary Act, § 9, 1 Stat. 73, 77 (1789), no one seems to know whence it came.” Court found that “[t]hou shalt not steal” is not part of the law of nations.

14. Nguyen Da Yen v. Kissinger, 528 F.2d 1194 (9th Cir. 1975). “[T]he illegal seizure, removal and detention of an alien against his will in a foreign country would appear to be a tort . . . and it may well be a tort in violation of the “law of nations’… We are reluctant to decide the applicability of § 1350 to this case without adequate briefing. Moreover, we are reluctant to rest on it in any event. The complaint presently does not join the adoption agencies as defendants.”

15. Dreyfus v. Von Finck, 534 F.2d 24 (2d Cir. 1976). Seizure of Jewish plaintiff’s property in Nazi Germany and repudiation of 1948 settlement agreement may have been tortious, but not an international law violation.

16. Papageorgiou v. Lloyds of London, 436 F. Supp. 701 (E.D.Pa. 1977). Dismissed under the doctrine of forum non conveniens.

17. Soultanoglou v. Liberty Trans. Co., 1980 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9177 (S.D.N.Y.). “Negligence in providing a seaman with a safe place in which to work, and unseaworthiness of a vessel in that respect, are not violations of the law of nations. []. Soultanoglou has failed to provide the Court with contrary authority. … The Court accepts Magistrate Raby’s conclusion that section 1350 is inapplicable here.”

18. Huynh Thi Anh v. Levi, 586 F. 2d 625 (6th Cir. 1978). There is no universally accepted international right that grants grandparents rather than foster parents custody of children.

19. Benjamins v. British European Airways, 572 F.2d 913 (2d Cir. 1978). Claims arising out of crashed airplane are a tort, but not one in violation of international law or U.S. treaty.

20. Akbar v. New York Magazine Co., 490 F. Supp. 60 (D.D.C. 1980). Libel not a violation of international law or treaty.

21. Canadian Transport Co. v. U.S., 663 F.2d 1081 (D.C.Cir. 1980). “Appellants’ second cause of action alleged that the exclusion of TROPWAVE violated the Treaty of Commerce and Navigation of 1815 between the United States and Great Britain (the 1815 Treaty), 8 Stat. 228. 33 Appellants argue that the District Court had jurisdiction to award them damages under 28 U.S.C. § 1350 (1976), which provides: ‘The district courts shall have original jurisdiction of any civil action by an alien for a tort only, committed in violation of the law of nations or a treaty of the United States.’ Because nothing in the language of this statute indicates that the United States has waived its sovereign immunity from tort suits for treaty violations, the District Court’s decision dismissing this cause of action must be affirmed unless appellants can show another basis for concluding that sovereign immunity has been waived.”

22. Trans-Continental Inv. Corp. v. Bank of Commonwealth, 500 F. Supp. 565 (C.D. Cal. 1980). “Plaintiffs do not claim that any treaty has been violated nor do they suggest that any such claim can be pleaded. Thus, the invocation of Section 1350 jurisdiction is posited directly on their claim that ‘fraud is a universally recognized tort.’ This is essentially the same argument that was made in IIT v. Vencap, Ltd., and the answer must be the same, while the statement is undoubtedly true, universal recognition does not, per se, make the rule a part of ‘the law of nations,’ construed in accordance with Article III.”

23. Cohen v. Hartman, 634 F.2d 318 (5th Cir. 1981). Tortious conversion of funds (embezzlement) is not a violation of the law of nations.

24. Jafari v. Islamic Republic of Iran, 539 F.Supp. 209 (N.D.Ill. 1982). “[T]he ‘law of nations’ does not prohibit a government’s expropriation of the property of its own nationals.”

25. B.T. Shanker Hedge v. British Airways, 1982 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16469 (N.D. Ill.). “The plaintiff alleges that he suffered physical injuries when he was struck by a luggage cart while he stood at the lost and found area controlled by the defendant at the airport in Geneva, Switzerland.” Yeah, not exactly a tort in violation of the law of nations. Now maybe if he’d sued for tortiously bad airline food… *rim shot*. But a somewhat interesting note: “This case alleges a tort, but not one in violation of the law of nations or any treaty of the United States. If jurisdiction were held to exist under this statute over this cause, the exercise of such jurisdiction would probably be in violation of Article III of the Constitution.”

26. Canadian Overseas Ores Ltd. v. Compania de Acero, 528 F. Supp. 1337 (S.D.N.Y. 1982). Suit to recover “spare parts and related equipment.” “[T]his suit is not one to recover allegedly expropriated property and accordingly 28 U.S.C. § 1350, conferring jurisdiction over suits “by an alien for a tort only, committed in violation of the law of Nations,” does not provide a constitutional jurisdictional predicate for the suit. As the Court of Appeals stated in the footnote relied on by CANOVER, ‘commercial violations … do not constitute violations of international law.'”

27. De Wit v. KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, 570 F. Supp. 613 (S.D.N.Y. 1983). Trade secret and employment action. “The court finds that such extraordinary circumstances are not present here and therefore de Wit’s claim of jurisdiction under this provision is also lacking.”

28. Zapata v. Quinn, 707 F.2d 691, 1983 U.S. App. LEXIS 27589 (2d Cir. N.Y. 1983). “This is an unusually frivolous civil rights action brought under 28 U.S.C. § 1350 and 42 U.S.C. § 1983 by the winner of $273,178 in the New York State Lottery against its director, claiming that New York regulations, which provide that the winnings will be paid partly in cash and the balance by way of an annuity over 10 years instead of in one lump sum, deprived her of property without due process of law.”

29. Ramirez de Arellano v. Weinberger, 724 F.2d 143 (D.C.Cir. 1983). “As for remedies (available to the Honduran corporations alone) under the Alien Tort Statute: Assuming without deciding that that legislation allows suits against the United States, in the case.it nonetheless applies only to so-called transitory causes of action. Neither an action seeking ejectment nor an action seeking money damages for trespass would lie, since they are both local actions.”

30. Tel-Oren v. Libyan Arab Republic, 726 F.2d 774 (D.C.Cir. 1984). The ATS gets Borked.

31. Ramirez de Arellano v. Weinberger, 745 F.2d 1500 (D.C.Cir.1984). ATS raised as jurisdictional ground, but court found it unnecessary to address the claim.

32. Munusamy v. McClelland Eng’r, Inc., 579 F. Supp. 149 (E.D. Tex. 1984). This case is something of an accidental invocation of the ATS, and should probably be discarded for purposes of looking at ATS issues:  “[]he Plaintiffs insist the court has jurisdiction by virtue of” the ATS and three other jx statutes, and the causes of action were various, but included “the General Maritime Law of the United States and of Nation.” But the ATS issue is never discussed, and then the case got lost in a FNC procedural quagmire.

33. Tamari v. Bache & Co., 730 F.2d 1103 (7th Cir. 1984). Boring case, not useful: “[t]he alleged violations include excessive trading and churning of the accounts; making false representations, false reports and false statements to the Tamaris; and deceiving the Tamaris as to the true condition of the accounts.” “We note that 28 U.S.C. § 1350 has been narrowly construed and would not supply a basis for federal jurisdiction over the common law claim.”

34. Sanchez-Espinoza v. Reagan, 770 F.2d 202 (D.C. Cir. 1985). My favorite part of this case is the dismissive reference to “so-called ‘customary international law.'” Court found that either the acts of the defendants were private acts and not covered by the ATS, or else were the acts of officials and therefore barred by sovereign immunity: “It would make a mockery of the doctrine of sovereign immunity if federal courts were authorized to sanction or enjoin, by judgments nominally against present or former Executive officers, actions that are, concededly and as a jurisdictional necessity, official actions of the United States.”

35. Greenham Women Against Cruise Missiles v. Reagan, 591 F.Supp. 1332 (S.D.N.Y. 1984). Plaintiffs, British citizens, sought to enjoin the deployment of ninety-six cruise missiles at Greenham Common, Great Britain. “Based on these alleged consequences of deployment, the Greenham plaintiffs contend that the deployment of cruise missiles contravenes several customary norms of international law, subjecting them to tortious injury actionable under the Alien Tort Claims Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1350.” No surprise that the court found that “[t]he instant case presents a non-justiciable political question.” Besides which, their claim wasn’t for a tort.

36. Jaffe v. Boyles, 616 F. Supp. 1371 (W.D.N.Y. 1985). Interesting case, and not just because it involves bounty hunters. Plaintiff was seized and dragged across the Canadian border into the US, where he was prosecuted. Court found that the US-Canada extradition treaty did not create private right of action, and as ATS is jurisdictional only, there was no tort a private person could sue for: “Any alien torts committed against Jaffe in violation of the law of nations occurred in Toronto with his seizure and continued with the crossing of the border here. The extradition treaty may well have been violated at the moment the border was crossed, but as already discussed, plaintiffs have no private right of action under that treaty.” So in a way, this case could go down into the “jurisdiction under ATS” column — the court did find that there may well have been a tort in violation of a US treaty, but it’s not one that Plaintiff was able to recover for.

37. Guinto v. Marcos, 654 F.Supp. 276 (S.D.Cal. 1986). Plaintiffs brought suit alleging Philippines government and seized and suppressed a film. Court rejected the filmmaker’s ATS claims: “However dearly our country holds First Amendment rights, I must conclude that a violation of the First Amendment right of free speech does not rise to the level of such universally recognized rights and so does not constitute a “law of nations.”

38. Saltany v. Reagan, 702 F. Supp. 319 (D.D.C. 1988). Boring case. ATS claim brought and then smacked down under FSIA.

39. Carmichael v. United Technologies Corp., 835 F.2d 109 (5th Cir. 1988). Plaintiff, a British citizen, was stuck in a Debtor’s Prison in Saudi Arabia, for two years, and brought claims against his creditors for false imprisonment and assault and battery. Plaintiff “allege[d] that the defendant corporations conspired with the Saudi government to have him jailed. He further alleges that, knowing of his incarceration and the type of treatment he was receiving, the defendants purposefully delayed giving their unilateral release of their claims in order to force him to sign mutual releases and covenants not to sue.” The court found it lacked PJx over all all defendants but Price Waterhouse. Those claims were dismissed because Plaintiff “simply cannot demonstrate any causal connection between Price Waterhouse’s conduct and his prolonged imprisonment or torture. In this case, there is no evidence that Price Waterhouse was responsible, directly or indirectly, for Carmichael’s initial incarceration. Second, Price Waterhouse owed no affirmative duty to Carmichael simply to release him from an obligation that he admitted owing. And finally, no evidence was adduced in the 12(b)(1) proceeding that Price Waterhouse in any way conspired with or aided and abetted in the act that we have assumed constituted the violation of international law, that is, the official torture of Carmichael.

40. Jones v. Petty-Ray Geophysical Geosource, Inc., 722 F. Supp. 343 (S.D. Tex. 1989). Complaint did not allege Plaintiff was an alien, nor did it plead any violation of the law of nations. “The plaintiff’s complaint alleges that Sudan was negligent in failing to warn plaintiff’s decedent of imminent political danger and violence and failing to provide adequate police protection and security to decedent. However, the plaintiff has not shown where this cause of action arises under the ‘law of nations’ and has not cited any persuasive source that recognizes a sovereign’s duty to protect foreign nationals from harm.”

41. Von Dardel v. Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, 736 F. Supp. 1 (D.D.C. 1990). Dismissing default judgment against USSR that was granted for, inter alia, claims under the ATS. Court found FSIA barred judgment.

42. Adras v. Nelson, 917 F.2d 1552 (11th Cir. 1990). Dismissed, court found “all claims were barred by doctrines of absolute immunity, qualified immunity, and for failure to state a claim, and lack of pendent jurisdiction.”

43. Castillo v. Spiliada Maritime Corp., 732 F.Supp. 50 (E.D.La. 1990). Plaintiffs claimed “retaliatory discharge under the Alien Tort Statute, 28 U.S.C. 1350 et seq.” Unsurprisingly, the case didn’t go anywhere.

————-

Partial, in-progress list of post-1990 cases:

44. Amlon Metals, Inc. v. FMC Corp., 775 F. Supp. 668 (S.D.N.Y. 1991). Amlon involved the shipment of allegedly hazardous copper residue to a purchaser in England for metallic reclamation purposes. Among its claims, the purchaser sought recovery in tort under the Alien Tort Statute, and “assert[ed] that the complaint does allege facts that constitute a violation of the law of nations. In particular, plaintiffs argue that FMC’s conduct is violative of the Stockholm Principles, United Nations Conference on the Human Environment (adopted June 16, 1972), to which the U.S. is a signatory.” The court said yeah right, nice try: “reliance on the Stockholm Principles is misplaced, since those Principles do not set forth any specific proscriptions, but rather refer only in a general sense to the responsibility of nations to insure that activities within their jurisdiction do not cause damage to the environment beyond their borders.”

45. Koohi v. U.S., 976 F.2d 1328 (9th Cir. 1992). No waiver of sovereign immunity. ATS claim dismissed in a quick footnote.

45. Hamid v. Price Waterhouse, 51 F.3d 1411 (9th Cir. 1995). “The wrongs alleged are in substance fraud, breach of fiduciary duty and misappropriation of funds. Although the conduct was international in scope, no violation of what has traditionally been the subject of international law is claimed. International law includes more than international treaties. But looting of a bank by its insiders, and misrepresentations about the bank’s financial condition, have never been in the traditional classification of international law.”

46. Aquinda v. Texaco, Inc., 945 F. Supp. 625, 627 (S.D.N.Y. 1996). Court in Aquinda referenced the possible application of § 1350 for environmental practices “which might violate international law.” Suit was subsequently dismissed on grounds of comity, forum non-conveniens, and failure to join a necessary party.

47. Beanal v. Freeport-McMoRan, Inc., 969 F.Supp. 362 (E.D.La. 1997). Court found that plaintiff “failed to articulate a violation of the international law. Plaintiff states that the allegations support a cause of action based on three international environmental law principles: (1) the Polluter Pays Principle; (2) the Precautionary Principle; and (3) the Proximity Principle. None of the three rises to the level an international tort.” Court also suggested that corporation could not violate international environmental law.

48. Jogi v. Piland, 131 F. Supp.2d 1024 (C.D. Ill. 2001). Dismissed, court held that ATS claims require a tort in violation of treaty, not just any treaty violation.

49. Mendonca v. Tidewater, Inc., 159 F.Supp.2d 299 (E.D.La. 2001). Boring case; lots of alleged violations of international law that make no sense. “the plaintiff can cite no solid support for his claim that the conduct complained of rises to the level recognized by the law of nations.”

50. Doe I v. The Gap, Inc., 2001 WL 1842389 (D.N.Mar.I. 2001). Plaintiffs brought claims of forced labor and deprivation of fundamental human rights in violation of international law. Interestingly, the court accepted the idea that a purely private actor could be held liable under the ATS, but that plaintiffs failed to prove their slavery claims, so the ATS claim was dismissed: “Although international law generally governs the relationship between nations, and thus a violation thereof almost always requires state action, it has been recognized that a handful of particularly egregious acts — genocide, war crimes, piracy, and slavery — by purely private actors can violate international law. As of now, however, only the acts mentioned above have been found to result in private individuals being held liable under international law.” “The court has above determined that plaintiffs have failed to make out a claim for the less egregious act of involuntary servitude and thus it need not consider whether the Unocal court’s equation of forced labor with slavery is sustainable on the facts as alleged here. As to plaintiffs’ claims of other alleged human rights violations, no court has yet accepted plaintiffs’ contention that the freedom to associate and the right to be free from discrimination are standards that have as yet evolved into norms of customary international law sufficient to invoke and be actionable under the ATCA.”

51. Tachiona v. Mugabe, 386 F.3d 205 (2d Cir. 2004). Dismissal of ATS claims for sovereign and head of state immunity.

52. Bancoult v. McNamara, 370 F.Supp.2d 1 (D.D.C. 2004). Plaintiffs tried to claim a “violation of the ATS.” Dismissed.

53. Schneider v. Kissinger, 310 F.Supp.2d 251 (D.D.C. 2004). Claims under TVPA and ATS against Kissinger dismissed. ATS claims did no fulfill the requirements of §2679(b)(2)(B), although TVPA claims “arguably did.” But TVPA claims still dismissed, as “[i]n carrying out the direct orders of the President of the United States, Dr. Kissinger was most assuredly acting pursuant to U.S. law, if any, despite the fact that his alleged foreign coconspirators may have been acting under color of Chilean law. In addition, the TVPA claims appear to be barred by Dr. Kissinger’s qualified immunity from suit.”

54. Ganguly v. Charles Schwab & Co., Inc., 2004 WL 213016, (S.D.N.Y. 2004). Foreign investor seeking to hold brokerage firm liable for losses failed to allege any violation of international law.

55. Mujica v. Occidental Petroleum Corp., 381 F.Supp.2d 1164 (C.D.Cal. 2005). Court found act of state doctrine did not apply, and refused to dismiss certain ATS claims. It then, however, dismissed the entire case, under the political question doctrine.

56. Holland v. Islamic Republic of Iran, 496 F.Supp.2d 1 (D.D.C. 2005). TVPA only good against individual defendants.

57. Joo v. Japan, 413 F.3d 45 (2005). “We hold the appellants’ complaint presents a nonjusticiable political question, namely, whether the governments of the appellants’ countries resolved their claims in negotiating peace treaties with Japan. In so doing we defer to “the considered judgment of the Executive on [this] particular question of foreign policy.”

58. In re Iraq and Afghanistan Detainees Litigation, 479 F.Supp.2d 85 (D.D.C. 2007). Defendants were immune under the Westfall Act. Because the Geneva Convention is not a law enacted by Congress, but rather an international agreement, it does not fall within the Westfall Act’s exception for statutes.

59. Taveras v. Taveraz, 477 F.3d 767 (6th Cir. 2007). Court found parental child abduction does not violate law of nations. Further, “the nexus between Mr. Taveras’s asserted injury and the alleged law of nations violation (that the right of the United States to control who enters its borders was infringed) is highly tenuous, at best. As Sosa definitively established that the underlying tort itself must be in violation of the law of nations to be cognizable under the ATS, we reject Mr. Taveras’s Adra-styled argument that Ms. Taveraz’s fraudulent entry into the United States is sufficient to implicate a law of nations infraction and thereby propel his purely domestic tort action within the jurisdictional ambit of the ATS.”

60. Jama v. Esmor Corr. Serv., 2008 WL 724337 (D.N.J. 2007). “Four of Jama’s claims went to the jury [including] violation of the Alien Tort Claims Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1350.” Ignoring the fact that you cannot violate a jurisdictional statute, the jury found “no liability against any defendant under the Alien Tort Claims Act.” However, it several of the Defendants did settle, so this one can go in both the win column and the loss column.

61. Ruiz v. Fed. Gov’t of the Mexican Republic, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 74736 (W.D. Tex. 2007). “In his Complaint, Ruiz contends that the defendants’ actions have violated the UN Charter and the UDHR. Neither of these documents create a tort actionable under the ATS.

62. Harbury v. Hayden, 522 F.3d 413 (D.C.C. 2008). Stating that “the ATCA cannot be the subject of ‘a violation’ of a federal statute because the ATCA provides no substantive rights that could be the subject of any claimed violation”.

63. Presbyterian Church of Sudan v. Talisman Energy, Inc. (2d Cir. 2009). Second Circuit found that corporate defendant not liable for assisting others’ alleged violations of the ATS in the absence of evidence it intended that those violations be committed.

65. Hurst v. Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, 474 F.Supp.2d 19 (D.D.C. 2007): “In their Opposition, Plaintiffs assert for the first time a claim by Mulroy under the Alien Tort Statute (“ATS”), 28 U.S.C. § 1350, on the grounds that they asserted jurisdiction under the statute in their complaint, and they seek leave to amend if the claim was not sufficiently pleaded. The ATS does not provide jurisdiction over foreign states.”

66. Hoang Van Tu v. Koster, 364 F.3d 1196 (10th Cir. 2004). 10-year statute of limitations adopted from TVPA to bar claims.

67. Rojas Mamani v. Sanchez Berzain, 636 F.Supp.2d 1326 (S.D.Fla. 2009). TVPA claim — dismissed for failure to exhaust all remedies.

68. Turedi v. Coca-Cola Co., 343 Fed.Appx. 623 (2nd Cir. 2009): Dismissed for forum non conveniens.

-Susan

Independent Political Parties Have All the Best Names

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From Rhode Island, here are two more awesome independent party names. In addition to the The Rent is Too Damn High Party and the H.E.R.O.S.H.E.R.O. Party, we also have Gregory Raposa of the Vigilant Fox Party and Robert P. Venturini of the Hour With Bob party.

Sadly, while Vigilant Fox party sounds like exactly the kind of party I’d want to join, whether the political kind or otherwise, the Vigilant Fox Party has a rather esoteric platform. Raposa campaigned for (and lost) the seat for Rhode Island’s First Congressional District.

Independent Gregory Raposa was born in 1947 in Fall River, Mass., and currently lives in Bristol. He earned his associate’s degree from the Community College of Rhode Island in 1968 and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Rhode Island College in 1970. A taxi driver in Boston, Raposa is a member of the Vigilant Fox party.

“I don’t believe in imposing a fine on people who work, so, as a first step in destroying the income tax, I propose to eliminate income taxes on people earning less than $50,000. This income tax money – freed up – will act as a stimulus to the economy in a more natural way than current stimulus packages. A graduated income tax will start after $50,000 to earn the same in taxes as now. I am also proposing to completely revamp the educational system, eliminating almost all schools and colleges, in favor of home and self education, use of modern technology and paying student and their parents directly for their learning accomplishments. This income will allow a parent to stay at home, educate their child, and become a real family again. By 15, most students will have a college degree equivalent. The savings—about half a trillion dollars a year – year after year. I also propose to eliminate retirement benefits for new federal employees. Democrats and Republicans are the worst enemies of this country. Admit your past voting mistakes and stop voting for them.”

The Hour With Bob party is much more heart-warming:

Robert P. Venturini is the familiar, friendly face of “An Hour with Bob,” and “Bob’s Big Adventures,” local cable-access shows watched by Rhode Islanders for 19 years. Some readers have doubtless been on his programs.

Venturini, 62, seeks to parlay his TV-show role as unpaid “state booster” and his community service through hosting an annual Toys for Tots telethon, into elected office. He is in a three-way race with Elizabeth H. Roberts, the incumbent endorsed Democrat and former state senator, and fellow independent Robert J. Healey Jr., who wants to abolish the job to save taxpayers’ money.

“I’m a regular guy trying to make a difference,” said Venturini, a real-estate agent, Cumberland native and Pawtucket resident.

I wish more candidates had their own shows on public-access networks.

-Susan

Supreme Court of the Philippines Threatens to Hold Professors Who Condemned Plagiarism In Contempt

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Previously, Mike posted about a decision from the Supreme Court of the Philippines that extensively plagiarized an article written by two American legal scholars. That case, Isabelita Vinuya v. Executive Secretary, also reached a decision contrary to that of the article the Supreme Court had plagiarized from, despite the extensive copy-and-paste job done on the source material.

37 professors at the University of the Philippines College of law issued a statement condemning the plagiarism. Now, the Philippines’ Supreme Court has threatened to hold the professors in contempt:

[Justice] Del Castillo was accused of plagiarizing portions of his ruling on World War II comfort women, but the Supreme Court cleared him, saying there was “no malicious intent” in the “accidental decapitation” of the attribution marks that would indicate that the research material was borrowed.

The court also threatened to crack its whip on the 37 law professors who aired a statement against Del Castillo, saying the Code of Professional Conduct for lawyers prohibits members of the Bar from airing public statements that tend to influence public opinion while a case is pending.

Can you imagine if that was the rule in the U.S.? That would essentially outlaw legal bloggers.

In its Rule to Show Cause issued against the professors, the Supreme Court stated that it

“could hardly perceive any reasonable purpose for the faculty’s less than objective comments except to discredit the April 28, 2010 Decision in the Vinuya case and undermine the Court’s honesty, integrity and competence in addressing the motion for its reconsideration.” The Vinuya case was controversial enough, it added, but the law faculty “would fan the flames and invite resentment against a resolution that would not reverse the said decision.” The court said this was contrary to the faculty’s obligation as law professors and officers of the court and violated the Code of Professional Responsibility.

There is little doubt, though, that the critics’ charges of plagiarism are accurate. In its order dismissing the plagiarism allegations, the Court excused the failure to cite directly quoted text by noting that, “Given the operational properties of the Microsoft program in use by the Court, the accidental decapitation of attributions to sources of research materials is not remote.” In other words, it’s the “Bill Gates ate my homework” defense.

-Susan

Are PACs Donating to Queen GIVE ME BACK MY KIDS Noble?

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There is a four-way race for the position of D.C. Delegate this year. That seems like a lot of competition, given that the position they are running for is basically just an opportunity to audit the role of congressional representative. Eleanor Holmes Norton, the current Delegate, is guaranteed to keep her post, and she is by far the most well known of the four candidates. One of her opponents this year, Missy Reilly Smith, is getting some publicity, though, for her gross-out campaign videos — which were so bad they got banned from YouTube. A third candidate is Rick Tingling-Clemmens, who is running on a Statehood platform, and also has an awesome name.

And then there is Queen Noble, the Dark Horse of this year’s Delegate race. Noble is running as the candidate for the H.E.R.O.S.H.E.R.O. party:

I am here for my babies kidnapped by kat sabilous department of social services and the department of children and family services in Hollywood, ca. I am Queen GIVE ME BACK MY KIDS Noble, I have 994 trillion law suit active in the us supreme here in dc against this government currently aiding and abetting smith’s kidnapping of my kids in this stolen country. Prima Facie discovery Evidence is proof of target victimization for life and robbed of my family.

H.E.R.O.S.H.E.R.O., by the way, stands for “Helping Equal Rights Opportunity & She’s Helping Equal Rights Opportunity.” That’s from a Missouri Ethics Disclosure Report. But if you want to call Queen Noble, you may be out of luck. Under Committee Telephone Number, she writes “noble hates phones, write something using your racial postal system (see maxine “crack cocaine” waters 35th Dist. SCla. ca)”. To paraphrase the words of a great man, what does this all mean?

It might also be worth pointing out that her campaign expenditures include black-eye peas and corn muffins.  Her previous ballot initiatives include “Bible Belt My Ass.”

Perhaps unsurprisingly, this is not Noble’s first election campaign. She has previously run for Mayor of Cincinnati. In that race, she listed her education as “Jim Crow/George Wallace”, and stated that her qualifications for office were that she is, “Currently a presidential candidate running for the Mayor of Cincinnati 3 times candidate for President 5 times for City Mayor Candidate Congress and City Council Candidate once”.

Here is one of her position papers:

“America” is a stolen Country byway of London England . The German culture is murder, theft, child abuse, mental illness, suicide, genocide at which time to date is also guilty of monopoly of ill gotten gain by way of poor quality unequal health education, well-being, housing, transportation, communications, parks, recreation, justice, law enforcement and clean environments aided and abet by inferior blacks and those calling themselves minorities, the racist culture gave birth to profanity

She has also filed a $994 trillion dollar law suit against the Stolen United States of America, Does, Kenneth D Lewis, Bank of America and Skid Row Housing Trust.

Now here is where the story gets truly surprising: in 2009-2010 alone, Queen Noble’s campaign apparently received $17,000 in political donations from various PACs.

Total 2009-2010 campaign contributions: $17,000

Contributor Total
MINEPAC, A POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE OF THE NATIONAL MINING ASSOCIATION $1000
AFLAC PAC $1000
AMEREN FEDERAL POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE (AMERENFED PAC) $1000
COALPAC, A POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE OF THE NATIONAL MINING ASSOCIATION $1000
BAYER CORPORATION POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE $2000
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF INSURANCE AND FINANCIAL ADVISORS POLITICAL ACTION COMM $2000
NATIONAL VENTURE CAPITAL ASSOCIATION VENTUREPAC $2000
AIR LINE PILOTS ASSOCIATION PAC $2500
FREE AND STRONG AMERICA PAC INC. $4500

So Aflac, Bayer, and a few other boring corporate organizations are reported as having given money to Queen GIVE ME BACK MY KIDS Noble. As is Free and Strong America — a Leadership PAC run by Mitt Romney.

And in 2003, she did even better, receiving over $30,000 total in contributions — including $5,000 from Emily’s List. Apparently Johnson & Johnson, Circuit City, Pepsi, Sears, and the Gap all had their PACs give to her, too, plus there were repeat contributions from alcoholic beverage trade association PACs.

Except at this point, I am kind of suspicious about the accuracy of Congress.org’s data on PAC contributions. This can’t be right, can it? I haven’t figured out where exactly Congress.org got its data, and no other site seems to list these contributions, so maybe people are not giving money to Queen Noble’s campaign after all — I hope not, anyway.

-Susan