After a two-week break from blogging (for an amazing trip with Mrs. @travelblawg around Thailand), I’m happy to be home and get back to writing about the constant supply of travel and law related news to kick off 2014. Happy New Year and Travel Safely! ~ @travelblawg
Travel + Law News From Around The World:
- (A Travelblawg Exclusive) Former Miss Venezuela and Miss Universe runner-up (1984) Carmen Lechin (now Houston, TX resident) was set for a federal court trial on January 27, 2013 after she was accused of causing a disturbance on a June 6 United flight from Houston to Bogota, Colombia. However, due to an “Uncontested Motion To Continue” filed Friday by an Asst. U.S. Attorney who only recently entered his appearance in the case, that trial date will be vacated and a new pretrial/trial date will be set. Additionally, it’s worth noting that a trial may not eventually occur because, as the AUSA’s Motion states, “for the reason that the undersigned has just entered the case and needs additional time in which to explore the potential of resolution of the case without trial.”
- The 2014 Winter Olympic Games kick off on February 7 in Sochi (Krasnodar, Russia). Last week, the State Department released a travel alert for Americans heading to Russia for the Games, which included a specific warning for LGBT Americans about the obscure law that “makes it a crime to promote LGBT equality in public, but lacks concrete legal definitions for key terms.”
- Today, Colorado Springs Airport (COS) started giving passengers unaware it is illegal to carry pot on a plane at COS the opportunity to dump their weed in what are being called “pot amnesty boxes“ installed around the airport.
- IN OTHER NEWS: Pot boxes’ soon to be found stolen from airport?
- IN OTHER OTHER NEWS: Airport officials to warn of lookalike “pot boxes” made of shoe boxes, duct tape and a highlighter?
- Remember the airline passenger arrested for slapping a baby for crying on a plane, along with a stating a racial slur to the mother? He pleaded guilty in federal and was sentenced to 8 months in prison, 2 months more than the governments recommendation. Additionally, it was revealed in court that he was returning from visiting his dying son that same day, telling the court, “I made the most terrible day in my life much worse for me and for others.”
- A Delta flight attendant was arrested at Blue Grass Airport (LEX). She made her initial appearance by counsel in court after arrested and charged with “being an aircrew member under the influence” and for possession of a controlled substance not in its original container (with booking photo). Her BAC test result was .258 according to the arresting officer.
- An Arizona woman takes her lost baggage claim against Spirit Airlines (which had denied her claim) to small claims court… and wins… and Spirit pays up ($1,924.96)!
- Excellent police work by the Miami-Dade Police Department and others led to the filing of a criminal complaint against a man for sending threats via email to the MDPD and TAM Airlines. MDPD was able to trace the origin of the email and determined the email originated from a computer at Montclair State University in Montclair, New Jersey. The university was able to capture video of the person that utilized the kiosk that sent the email and a second email from the same location.
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