Judge Tosses Piracy Charges Against Pirates

How the heck do we restore common sense into our judicial system? It seems as if the entire legal system has been taken over by a bunch of Orwellian legalspeak numbnuts.

"The court finds that the government has failed to establish that any unauthorized acts of violence or aggression committed on the high seas constitutes piracy as defined by the law of nations," Jackson wrote in granting the defense motion to dismiss.

Really? Here is the Navy report on that attempt.

At approximately 5:00 a.m. local time April 10, USS Ashland (LSD 48), was fired upon by a skiff manned by suspected pirates in the Gulf of Aden, approximately 330 nautical miles off the coast of Djibouti.

During the attack, Ashland received small arms fire on the port side from the six man crew of suspected pirates aboard the skiff. Ashland, in accordance with her rules of engagement, returned fire.

USS Ashland fired two rounds at the skiff from her MK-38 Mod 2, 25mm gun. The skiff caught fire and the suspected pirates abandoned the skiff. Ashland deployed her rigid-hull inflatable boats (RHIBs) to assist the pirates who were in the water near their skiff.

Once it was verified that the suspected pirates no longer had weapons on their person, all six were brought on board Ashland where they received medical care. There is no apparent damage to USS Ashland, and there were no injuries to any members of her crew.

Once again it seems this judge is swayed by the fact that the pirates attacked a military vessel as opposed to a civilian vessel, which is the only thing I can think of. But then again I never went to law skool.