falkner, now bac to justice with judge jeanine. . >> judge jeanine: remember the woman who sued mcdonaldause her coffee was too hot? she's got nothing on our cast of characters tonight. yes, the annual awads for the most ridiculous lawsuits of 2011 as chosen by our viewers. my guest tonight. joey jackson. a legal analyst, gentlemen, women, what a year. >> judge jeanine: happy new year and guys, coming in at number five. you may remember this video of a dea agent holding up a gun at an education course. it went horribly wrong though. >> take a look at this. >> and that i know of, and i was-- i'm going to laugh. so he shot himself and then the video was released publicly and he gets mocked. he sees the dea for releasing the tape of him shooting himself. all right. guys, was there a lawsuit here? >> joey, listen, i say no suit. no way. why? number one, can't sue your employer, governmental immunity. >> judge jeanine: why can't they sue? >> because they're the government. >> absolutely. immunity acatching and the mutilation lawsuit is going nowhere. it's based on fact. to himself. that's the

>> judge jeanine: you are maritime attorney. thank you for being with us this evening. n these passengers sue what rights do they have? >> they absolutely can sue, judge. and first thank you so much for having me. unfortunately, what has been really a crazy scary, terrifying incident is really just a tip of the iceberg for the passengers. mark hit the nail on the head with the cruise ticket contract because in that that requires these u.s. passengers if they are injured and even grievously injured would have to go that is an expensive and incredible endeavor. >> isn't carnival based in the united states? >> i wish it were that simple and i have had so many federal court judges say there is no way you can have jurisdiction over there. carnival is here and the parent corporation of costa. but costa makes the argument that everybody buys the cruises in america but you have to sue us in genoa italy. to be clear if this is a costa cruise that leaves out of miami the forum selection clause in the ticket contract would say sue in miami but because this didn't touch a u.s. port

>> judge jeanine: you are maritime attorney. thank you for being with us this evening. ese passengers sue what rights do they have? >> they absolutely can sue, judge. and first thank you so much for having me. unfortunately, what has been really a crazy scary, terrifying incident is really just a tip of the iceberg for the passengers. mark hit the nail on the head with the cruise ticket contract because in that that requires these u.s. passengers if they are injured and even grievously injured would have to go that is an expensive and incredible endeavor. >> isn't carnival based in the united states? >> i wish it were that simple and i have had so many federal court judges say there is no way you can have jurisdiction over there. carnival is here and the parent corporation of costa. but costa makes the argument that everybody buys the cruises in america but you have to sue us in genoa italy. to be clear if this is a costa cruise that leaves out of miami the forum selection clause in the ticket contract would say sue in miami but because this didn't touch a u.s. port they

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i'm harris faulkener, now back to "justice with judge jeanine." >> jeanine: a "fox news alert," hermannnounced that he is endorsing newt gingrich. governor sarah palin joins us now. governor, thanks for being with us this evening. >> thank you so much and big news, this the cain train is chugging along, good for newt, garnering the support and the supporters from herman cain. it will be beneficial. >> jeanine: certainly, i think one of the few national individuals who endorsed newt gingrich. but, let's go back a little bit. now, why do you think that ronald reagan would be ashamed of republicans now? >> well, ronald reagan wasn't afraid to take on sitting members of his own party. who were in office in the '70s, he challenged a sitting republican and, he knew, though, that the politics of personal destruction ultimately hurt the cause of conservatism and when we see today what happened there, in florida, over this last week it has gone beyond the pale and beyond just aggressive and fair campaigning against an opponent. and it has been disengagement, in the politics of personal destruct

likely to ever commit another crime and are the best people in a situation like this. >> gregg: judge jeaninege jeannine." goods to see you. he says they are crimes of passion, does it make them any less dangerous. >> hogwash. these are crimes of passion and we let them out, five of these guys, apparently trustees in the governor's mansion are convicted of murder with life sentences, one shot his wife in the back and one shot his wife while she was holding a baby and another guy was involved in a robbery, gregg, who after the store clerk was shot, shoots him in the head, two more times, to make sure that he can't identify the robber. and what you have here is a governor who is using these pardons as -- in a way to basically create his own criminal justice system and what is happening now, is because he's letting these guys loose you now have a judge who put a stay on the release of 21 of them and five of them, murderers who have been released are now in question in terms of whether they have to serve their term. >> gregg: part of the legal challenge is that the governor in granting clemency a

>> joining us right now is the host of "justice with judge jeanine pirro" judge jeanine pirro. >> gooder they hit the reef and they're saying, our problem? we had a blackout. >> you know, it's not unusual for a lot of these vessels to actually lie to the passengers. we know that. >> but to the coast guard? >> but in terms of what they've done before. but to actually lie to the coast guard when the coast guard gets on the phone and says hey, we heard from a member of your crew that dishes are flying, people are getting hit in the head. so they're in this basic denial which, apparently, is standard operating procedure. >> what do you mean by that? >> well, we know it from the ecstasy, the tropical, the star princess, the royal princess, the splendor. they never tell people what's going on! and either what they're trying to do is cover up the problem because what we do know and what is unassailable is the fact that, so to speak, is the fact that this captain made a decision to go close to the port. once he made that maneuver, the alarms sounded and then when they hit the rock, the ship st

joining me is judge jeanine. this is outrageous. many people find this outrageous.have more rights sometimes than people living outside the prison. >> i have always believed that, gretchen. i even think the criminal justice system should be called the victim has justice system because that's what the focus should be on. this guy is really making a mockery of the system and of the fact that in prison, these guys and women as well, have a life of luxury. i mean, they have access to three medical -- free medical care. they have the ability to take a nap when they want. they have the ability to have three balanced meals a day. look, how many senior citizens go to the grocery store and look at the price of food and compare it to whether or not they can afford it? i mean, we are far too generous as a society. as a culture to these inmates. we get to the fundamental question: what is the purpose of sending someone to jail? is it to punish them? is it to rehabilitate them? is it to deter the next guy or is it to just segregate them from the rest of society? >> gretchen: you

>> steve: let's talk to the host of "justice," judge jeanine on the curvy couch.eans to support themselves, they should get alimony for life. >> alimony is based on the notion that generally women gave up their careers, they gave up the chance to work, to get into the work force and when they get divorced, they don't have that chance to get back into the work force. >> alisyn: at one time that was true. >> it was true, therefore, they got alimony or spousal support. now there is a movement saying, wait a minute. everything can work. >> steve: nothing is stopping you. >> yeah. massachusetts has already eliminated lifetime alimony. and other states are rethinking the concept saying, should it be 'til death do us part? should we have to pay this person that we were married to? a lot of people are saying absolutely not, especially in this economy. >> alisyn: because as you point out, things changed since the 50s and so if somebody has to pay lifetime alimony, that could bankrupt them now adays. >> there is also the thinking that with this lifetime alimony, that genera

judge jeanine weighs in, up next . ♪ side by side, e, two, three ♪ ♪ counthe birds in the big o tree the inspiring story of how shipping giant can befriend a forest may seem like the stuff of fairy tales. ♪ ♪ you and me and the g old tree side by side ♪ butyou take away the faces on the trees... take away the pixie dust. take away the singing animals, and the charminoutfits. take away the sprites, and the storybook narrator... [ man ] you're le with more electric trucks. more recycled shipping materials... and a growing number of lower emissions planes... which still makes for a pretty enchanted tale. ♪ la la la whoops, forgot one... [ male announcer ] sustainable solutions. fedex. solutions that matter. yeah. the spectrum is from lg. and the r2 unit is from... from naboo. naboo. yeah. the spectrum's got a 4.5" screen, fits nicely in your hand. r2-d2 needs a starfighter. starfighter ? that's like a million dollars in gas. yeah, it's pricey. it's got verizon's 4g lte for lightspeed downloads and a true hd screen to watch movies. i'm going to go with the... it's a good choice. ... phon

we're going to have judge jeanine walk on back over to the curvy sofa. >> steve: have a fantastic weekend. now we go to "america's newsroom." so long, everybody. bill: don't know where i live but they were turning up the heat in florida. newt gingrich who many thought would bury mitt romney but it was romney last night who went for the jugular. quick sample. >> mr. speaker, i'm not anti-immigrant. my father was born in mexico. my wife's father was born in wales. they came to this country. the idea that i'm anti-immigrant is repulsive. don't use a term like that. bill: it went on from there. good morning, everybody on a friday. i'm bill hemmer. some fireworks there. we'll see if it changes the dynamics of tuesday's vote. martha: i'm doing great. good morning, everybody. i'm martha maccallum. last night's debate setting up what looks like a two-man race in florida when you look at all the polls across the board. a lot of passion. a few jabs. a little bit of humor mixed in. look at highlights. >> i did say and i don't know of any american president has a swiss bank account. i woe be glad for

judge jeanine is here with an update from immigration. >> brian: then how would you like to wake up eachere live. but first, let's find out what's happening over the weekend. >> gretchen: with that guy? >> brian: he's not even moving. >> steve: there is nobody that could stop that thing even close. >> looks good. coming up, it's a critical time for the republican presidential hopefuls as they get ready to debate in new hampshire. karl rove will be here to weigh in on what the candidates need to focus in on now. >> plus, a story of love and loss. the wife of patrick swayze opens up for the first time about her 4-year marriage -- 34 year marriage to him. >> if your new year's resolution was to shed pounds, jillian michaels will be here with her weight loss tips. >> oh, no. is she going to yell at us? >> we're going to try to lose ten pounds during saturday's show. it starts at 6:00 a.m. eastern time [ kate ] most women may not be properly absorbing the calcium they take because they don't take it with food. switch to citracal maximum plus d. it's the only calcium supplement that can be tak

judge jeanine pirro is next. ♪ living with the pain of moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis...te to severe ra, humira's proven to helrelieve pain and stop joint damage. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal events can occur, such as infections, lymphoma, or other types of cancer, blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. before starting humira, your doctor should test you for tb. ask your doctor if you live or have been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. tell your doctor if you have had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have symptoms such as fever, fatigue, cough, or sores. you should not start humira if you have any kind of infection. ask your rheumatologist how you can defend against and help stop further joint damage with humira. the trial of former presidential hopeful john edwards is on hold at least two months because of a life threatening heart condition. yesterday a federal judge announced he has had an undisclose

but, she came out and spoke to judge jeanine pirro last night, talking about the anti-establishment narrativerich. you have to rage against the machine at this point in order to defend our republic and save what is good and secure and prosperous about our nation. we need somebody who is engaged in relentless reform and is not afraid to shake up that establishment. so, if for no other reason, rage against the machine, vote for newt, annoy a liberal, vote newt. keep the debate going and as more debate happens, judge we'll hear more from newt and the other candidates who will oppose his position, as he claims he's not part of the establishment, let's hear more about it. >> clayton: there is disagreement among republicans whether or not the long process helps or hurts them. karl rove thinks it helps them and the vetting process, president obama and hillary clinton and the protracted fight and other republicans think it is bad for the party. >> alisyn: voters like it. if you judge by the ratings of the debates. they are not slacking off, and they keep getting more and more and mitt romney, ever si