Number One at Something

While Boyd School of Law may be fledgeling in the law school rankings, a new list has our local lawyer factory coming in at numero uno. That's right, Boyd has been named the number one school in ... attracting Mormons.

More specifically, Boyd is number one out of the 2009 Top Ten Most Mormon Friendly Law Schools (outside of Utah). The criteria used for the list took into account multiple factors, including the number of Mormons attending the schools (80 at Boyd), and distance to the nearest Mormon temple (that's the really bright building perched up on Sunrise Mountain, 13 miles from Boyd).

Who knew that Boyd was such a Mormon-magnet? From what we've heard, faculty politics are closer to Berkeley than BYU. Above The Law also picked up the story, and the comments over there are a hilarious read. Our favorite:

Firms looking to save money should hire more Mormon summer associates because they do not drink.

There you go local firms, your way out of this economic mess. Green Jello is way less expensive than booze, right?

(MormonLawyers via ATL)

Slipped through the cracks ...

To whet your weekend appetites, here are some of the notable stories that we didn't get around to posting about last week:

• Local windbag to voters: You are all idiots who can't be trusted. (LV Sun)
  
• Red stripper, blue stripper. Old stripper, sue stripper. (Posted Toronto)
  
• They got suspicious when the breakfast burritos started tasting a little too good. (RGJ)
• Another doctor punished for cutting corners to save money. (LV Sun)
• A Las Vegas Mormon who was excommunicated over publishing shirtless photos of return missionaries wants his BYU diploma. (Salt Lake Tribune)

Corrupt Reno Police bring God's Wrath [or at least the wrath of a crazy cult of hatred]

Ever wonder why Nevada has so much corruption? or why cities like Reno and Las Vegas have a negative reputation with the rest of the country?

Well, the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka has found the answer. According to the Reno Gazette-Journal, the "church" [or cult of hatred--depending on your viewpoint] issued the public statement:

“God hates Reno, Nevada”

Never a group to shy from controversy, the "church," which is known for its picketing of gay funerals (and Mormon funerals?), has decided to help the Reno police locate missing 19 year old college student Brianna Denison. And by help, I meant holier than thou [and insane] judgment:

“Reno is a dangerous place to be, with the curse of God upon Reno,” the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan., said in a news release this week. “God hates Reno, Nevada.” Police Chief Michael Poehlman called the church’s statement “despicable,” especially because it begins with references to Brianna Denison, a 19-year college student who has been the target of a search since police believe she was abducted from a Reno home on Jan. 20. “If Brianna Denison dies, blame the corrupt Reno Police,” the church’s statement said, adding that church members will “picket her funeral, in religious protest & warning.”

What the hell does a cult of hatred from Kansas know about Reno? Maybe they're big fans of Reno 911.

[Sorry the snarky comments are so weak. I think its universally agreed these people are fucked up. There's very little response to this level of hatred]

Molestation or Extortion?

A Mormon missionary, claiming that he was falsely accused of molesting two girls under the age of 8, was sentenced in District Court yesterday. During the sentencing (for violation of the plea agreement), John Misseldine maintained that he was innocent and that the mother of the children made the allegation in order to receive money from the Mormon church.

As always in molestation cases where it is the child's word against the accused molestor's word, it's difficult to figure out what actually happened. But here, the mother opened a civil case against the church in the childrens' names:

Records show civil lawsuits filed in 2005 in Clark County District Court against Misseldine, the Mormon church and others were closed in 2007 after the church set up trust funds of $400,000 for the older girl and $382,000 for theyounger girl and her sister.

http://www.lvrj.com/news/13036317.html

I'd feel bad for for the missionary, like maybe he was completely innocent and took the plea deal because it's always hard to prove a small child is lying about molestation, but he had possibly the lightest plea deal available (counseling and community service) and he violated it.