Thank goodness Yanni's musical career won't be interrupted by domestic violence charges:

Yanni will not face domestic battery charge

Associated Press

MANALAPAN, Fla. ? Musician Yanni won't be charged with domestic battery in an alleged dispute with his girlfriend, authorities said Friday.

The Greek-born pianist, whose real name is John Yanni Christopher, was arrested March 3 at his beachfront home in Manalapan.

His girlfriend, Silvia Barthes, 33, told police Yanni grabbed her and shook her, then threw her on a bed and jumped on her, according to a police report.

Barthes had a bloody lip, but told officers she thought she might have hit herself when Yanni shook her, the report stated.

Yanni, 51, claimed Barthes kicked him during the scuffle.

"Essentially, it came down to a 'he said, she said,'" Mike Edmondson, a spokesman for the state attorney in Palm Beach County, said Friday. "The alleged event took place behind closed doors without any independent witnesses or evidence to support the charge."

In a statement, Yanni said, "The allegations claimed were always false and completely without any merit."

It wasn't immediately clear who was representing Barthes. Her phone number wasn't listed.

[What other musical stars do you think perpetrate musical abuse? Please specify whether the abuse should be categorized as a felony or misdemeanor.]

OK, I know what some of you are thinking. Bradley is really reaching with this topic, merely trying to crack off a few good ones against defenseless muscial artists.

Well, yeah, that's true.

But, there is a criminal law connection. Cutting edge prosecutors need to know what theme music is admissible in court. As you stand tall and speak for the State, who should the jury be hearing in the background?

You don't want to have the wrong musician. Or, like in Salazar v. State, 90 SW3d 330 (Tex. Crim. App. 2002), you could find some judge reversing your case on appeal by saying, "the Enya and Celine Dion background music greatly amplifies the prejudicial effect of the original error."

So, please, let's take these postings seriously. Whether it's tattoos, theme music or cowwaboration evidence.

For what it's worth, I had a friend who is a bankruptcy attorney call me recently. It seems she somehow ended up on this website and lurked her way through some of our more creative threads. She called just to say "God, you guys are a riot compared to us civil geeks!"

I told her that these postings are all very serious business and are only so that we may better practice or chosen profession....

This actually looks like a corrolary to Dan Bradley's 10 songs that you need to have with you when you get stranded on an island. I think every trial should come with a soundtrack.

I used to have a trial partner who, during trial, would write me notes saying, "The theme song for this witness is (fill in the blank)." After a while, I had to stop looking at his notes because I'd laugh.

Ex-Village People Singer Faces Jail Sentence

SAN FRANCISCO (March 28) - The singer who dressed as a policeman in the flamboyant late 1970s disco band "Village People" has been arrested after disappearing while drug and gun charges against him were pending, officials said on Monday.

Victor Willis, who co-wrote some of the band's hits such as "In the Navy" and "YMCA" has had a number of run-ins with the law since he left the group in 1980 and now faces as much as five years in prison, said Morley Pitt, assistant district attorney in San Mateo County south of San Francisco.

"It's just sad that his life has spiraled down to the point where in all likelihood he's going to go to prison," Pitt, who said he enjoys the song "YMCA," told Reuters. "You never like to see anybody go to prison, let alone somebody who is 54 years old."

Willis was arrested last year on charges of possessing a gun and cocaine, but he disappeared after agreeing to a plea deal that set a maximum sentence of 16 months behind bars, Pitt said.

He was re-arrested on Sunday and the singer is due in court on Tuesday.

Because he went missing, the San Francisco-area resident now faces as much as four years, four months in prison on those charges, as well as an additional eight months on possible new narcotics charges, Pitt said.

Easily remembered for their outlandish costumes including a construction worker, a policeman, a cowboy and a leather-clad biker, the Village People were one of the best known bands of the disco era. Their song "YMCA" is also a favorite gay anthem.

When I worked in Chambers Co., we were often visited by citizens complaining about this or that. One day the Clampet family (at least, they looked like the Clampet family, of Beverly Hillbillys fame) dismounted from their old car, and filed into the courthouse and then into our office.

Luckily for us, our boss, Mike Little was there that day (he spent half his time in Liberty Co.), so they all filed into his office. There must have been 7 or 8 of them, and they all looked like they were very VERY closely related to Jeeter Lester of Tobacco Road. All stood in a half circle around Mr. Little's desk, and stared at him, as the family matron address Mr. Little.

She wanted to know why the police were not investigating her son's death as a murder.

Mr. Little patiently explained that all the evidence, including the medical examiners report, showed that he had deliberately killed himself by running his car in a closed garage.

She argued with him that Junior would never kill himself, and that he was murdered.

"There is just no evidence he was murdered," Little explained.

The old lady became impatient, and finally said, "Mr. Little, I was with Jr. at the funeral home, the night before he was buried. He suddenly sat up in the coffin, put his arm on my shoulder, and said, 'Ma, I didn't kill myself. I was murdered!' Now--what about that evidence!"

It was about that time, as I recall, that someone in the office hit the Play button on the office boombox, and the theme song from the movie Deliverance, "Dueling Banjos" filled the room, as Mr. Little explained, as best he could, that statements from beyond the grave were hearsay.

quote:

---

Originally posted by jane starnes:
I used to have a trial partner who, during trial, would write me notes saying, "The theme song for this witness is (fill in the blank)." After a while, I had to stop looking at his notes because I'd laugh.

---

C'mon Jane! How about some examples, strictly for legal purposes.

So, it would be imflammatory to hear Ozzy screech "All Aboard ...." right before I present my closing argument on Insanity, with the soft sounds of heavy metal in the background? I think the jury pool is getting around the age where they find that music 'nostalgic'!

quote:

---

Originally posted by Beck Gibson:
So, it would be imflammatory to hear Ozzy screech "All Aboard ...." right before I present my closing argument on Insanity, with the soft sounds of heavy metal in the background? I think the jury pool is getting around the age where they find that music 'nostalgic'!

---

I think alot of them would be confused as to Ozzy actually making music rather than that TV dude that can't talk and can only scream "SHARONNNNN"

quote:

---

Originally posted by Beck Gibson:
So, it would be imflammatory to hear Ozzy screech "All Aboard ...." right before I present my closing argument on Insanity, with the soft sounds of heavy metal in the background? I think the jury pool is getting around the age where they find that music 'nostalgic'!

---

I think Crazy Train might work as well.

Or: Smoke on the Water.

I've had several murder cases where Bohemian Rhapsody would've worked.

I have long suffered under the implication that my theme song at trial should be Metallica's "Enter Sandman"; not because of my prowess but because of my recurrent tendency to put jurists and jurors to sleep.

Other, more generic possibilities, include:

"Keep Your Hands to Yourself" -- Georgia Satellites
"Hit Me with your Best Shot" -- Pat Benatar
"She Got the Gold Mine, I Got the Shaft" -- Jerry Reed
"I Used to Love Her, But I Had to Kill Her" -- Guns 'N Roses
"The Greeks Don't Want No Freaks" -- Eagles
"Why Me?" -- Planet P Project
"Spanked" -- Van Halen
"In the Jailhouse" -- Jimmy Rodgers
"Saturday Night Special" -- Lynrd Skynrd
"Uneasy Rider" -- Charlie Daniels Band
"Highway to Hell" -- AC/DC
"The White Knight" -- Cletis Maggard (an old CB song, good for speeding ticket cases)
"Folsom Prison Blues" -- Johnny Cash
"The Devil's Right Hand" -- Steve Earle
And, obligatorily, "Jailhouse Rock" -- Elvis Presley

"Janey's Got a Gun" by Aerosmith
"What Was I Thinking?" by Dierks Bentley
"Who's Sorry Now?" by Connie Francis
"Let's Get It Started" by Black Eyed Peas

For those special arsonists:
"The Unforgettable Fire" by U2

And for Shannon, since he was kind enough to give us the Village People news update:
"Hot Cop" by the Village People

Old Bobby Bare tune:

Open the gates up, hey Screw did you miss me?
Jimmy, I see that you've found a new friend.
Warden come down here and kiss me hello, 'cause I'm back home in Huntsville again.

And as the guilty verdict is being read,...

"I Fought the Law and the Law Won"

I tend to favor Marty Robbins.....They're Hangin' Me Tonight

"I Shot the Sheriff" by Bob Marley.

(I just heard this again last week and noticed for the first time that the sheriff's name was "John Brown" -- guess we've got a new nickname for our Operations Mgr. at TDCAA headquarters ... "the Sheriff"!)

Thank goodness country music stars are reclaiming their rightful place on the most wanted list ...


Hank Williams Jr. Surrenders in Assault Case

Tuesday , April 04, 2006

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (FOX) - Hank Williams Jr. surrendered to police Tuesday on a warrant issued in an alleged assault on a hotel waitress last month, a charge his publicist claimed is driven by "greed."

Holly Hornbeak, 19, has told police she was waiting tables at the Peabody Hotel's lobby bar March 18 when the country superstar asked to kiss her and lifted her off the ground in a chokehold. No charges were issued in the case until an arrest warrant was taken out Monday.

In a release headlined, "Hank Jr. victim of greed," publicist Kirt Webster said Tuesday that Williams received a March 21 letter from Hornbeak's lawyer seeking "an outlandish amount of money." Webster contended Hornbeak decided to press charges because Williams refused to meet the demands.

The country singer cut short a hunting trip to return to Memphis and surrender to the sheriff's department, Webster said.

Williams, 56, has been in Memphis since his daughters Holly Williams, 25, and Hilary Williams, 27, were seriously injured in a March 15 car crash near Dundee, Miss.

Webster told The Associated Press on Monday that Williams hasn't been interviewed by police.

"There's nothing to say," Webster said. "He doesn't know what all the allegations are and what the charges are."

Hilary Williams underwent another minor surgery Monday, and doctors were discussing moving her to a Nashville hospital in coming weeks, Webster said.

Holly Williams has been released from the hospital.

Hank Williams Jr. has had a string of No. 1 hits including "Family Tradition" and "All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight." He has sung the theme for ABC's "Monday Night Football" since 1989.

His father, a star in the late 1940s to early 1950s, had hits such as "Your Cheatin' Heart" and "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry." He died Jan. 1, 1953, when Hank Jr. was 3.

quote:

---

Originally posted by Shannon Edmonds:
Thank goodness country music stars are reclaiming their rightful place on the most wanted list ...

---

And thank goodness, sort of, it is for an alleged crime long associated with the country music greats of the 60's-70's (like pill taking and drinking), not like that psuedo-country star who got arrested on the park bench a few years for groping a male undercover vice officer.

Here's hoping Hank gets through this one ok. His son, Hank III, has been playing some mighty fine gigs around Austin lately. Besides, I have never heard of Hank Jr. testifying for a death penalty inmate like another country star recently in the news....