j u s t c r i m

Face it, the death penalty is broken - latimes.com

Californians will vote this fall on an initiative to abolish the death penalty. Proponents of the measure say it is necessary because capital punishment is too costly. Opponents argue that costs can be cut by streamlining the system.

But whether one is for or against capital punishment, trying to make the process cheaper and quicker is a terrible — and dangerous — idea.

Recently, my coauthors and I published the results of an extensive four-year investigation into the Texas execution of Carlos DeLuna, a young Latino man with a childlike intellect who was convicted of murder. His case flew through the courts. The entire process, from arrest to lethal injection, took only six years, or half the national average for capital cases.

via www.latimes.com

How to Make Law School Affordable - NYTimes.com

If we don’t change the economics of legal education, law schools will graduate streams of economic casualties each year and an enormous barrier to the legal profession will be erected.

THE economics of legal education are broken. The problem is that the cost of a law degree is now vastly out of proportion to the economic opportunities obtained by the majority of graduates. The average debt of law graduates tops $100,000, and most new lawyers do not earn salaries sufficient to make the monthly payments on this debt. More than one-third of law graduates in recent years have failed to obtain lawyer jobs. Thousands of new law graduates will enter a government-sponsored debt relief program, and many will never fully pay off their law school debt.

How did we get into this mess? And how do we get out?

via www.nytimes.com

Charles Manson scholars eagerly await release of new tapes

Eight cassette tapes containing hours of conversations between one of Charles Manson's most fervent followers and his late attorney will be released to the Los Angeles Police Department for review.

A U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge in Texas granted the request this week, and authorities are hoping the tapes of Charles "Tex" Watson will hold new clues that could shed more light on the Manson murders.

Detectives believe Watson may have discussed "additional unsolved murders committed by followers of Charles Manson," according to a letter sent to the U.S. Justice Department by LAPD Chief Charlie Beck.

via latimesblogs.latimes.com

Psychiatrists Puzzled by Hernandez’s Confession in Etan Patz Case - NYTimes.com

Some experts offered possible explanations for how the suspect could have strangled a boy and lived with the secret all these years; others wondered if he confessed to a crime he did not commit.

Details about the life of Pedro Hernandez, who confessed last week to the 1979 murder of Etan Patz, a 6-year-old who disappeared while walking to a bus stop in SoHo, are still far too scarce to make any authoritative judgments, psychiatrists say.

But if Mr. Hernandez’s trajectory from obscure family man to prime suspect appears highly unusual, so, too, is the 33-year-old case, and perhaps also its solution. Some experts offered possible explanations for how he could have strangled the boy and lived with the secret all these years, while others wondered if he confessed to a crime he did not commit, a common phenomenon in notorious crimes.

via www.nytimes.com

Sex Offenders Face Growing Restrictions on Public Places - NYTimes.com

Communities around the country have gone beyond regulating where sex offenders can live and begun banning them outright from a growing list of public places.

Convicted sex offenders are barred from surfing at the famous pier in this Orange County city.

In nearby Dana Point, they are prohibited from casting a fishing line in the harbor.

And if they wander into a public park in Mission Viejo, they could be shipped back to jail for six months, following the City Council’s vote this year to ban them from a host of places where children congregate.

via www.nytimes.com

Sidebar - A Judge’s Proposal to Curb Prosecutors’ Sentencing Power - NYTimes.com

Judge John Gleeson says prosecutors are forcing judges to give onerous mandatory sentences for small-time offenses.

Judge Gleeson is not shy about meting out tough sentences. “Most people, including me,” he wrote in a 2010 decision, “agree that the kingpins, masterminds and midlevel managers of drug trafficking enterprises deserve severe punishment.”

But he has lately been saying that his old employer, the Department of Justice, has stopped living up to its name when it comes to some small-time criminals.

via www.nytimes.com

"it's a business"

 

Philip K. Dick, Sci-Fi Philosopher, Part 1 - NYTimes.com

He was one of the most influential science fiction writers of the 20th century, but few people consider him a thinker. That would be a mistake.

This is the first in a three-part series.

~~~

via opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com

NYU Press - Killing McVeigh

On April 19, 1995, Timothy McVeigh detonated a two-ton truck bomb that felled the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 people. On June 11, 2001, an unprecedented 242 witnesses watched him die by lethal injection.

 

In the aftermath of the bombings, American public commentary almost immediately turned to “closure” rhetoric. Reporters and audiences alike speculated about whether victim’s family members and survivors could get closure from memorial services, funerals, legislation, monuments, trials, and executions.  But what does “closure” really mean for those who survive—or lose loved ones in—traumatic acts? In the wake of such terrifying events, is closure a realistic or appropriate expectation? 

via nyupress.org

SB 1506 | Time for California to get smart on crime, put the War on Drugs behind

Time for California to get smart on crime, put the War on Drugs behind.   SHARE     For low-level drug offenders, treatment – not incarceration – is effective crime prevention. California can no longer afford to continue locking up thousands of people each year for years on end and branding them "felon" for life simply for possessing a small amount of illicit drugs for personal use. The waste, in dollars and lives, is far too great. State Senator Mark Leno is sponsoring Senate Bill 1506 to revise the penalty for the simple drug possession under state law from a felony a misdemeanor. The legislation will free up funding that can be used effectively to help more people get the treatment they need. It will help to safely relieve overcrowding in our jails and prisons. And it will remove barriers to community reintegration that work against sobriety and public safety. Tell your state senator to support SB 1506 for meaningful drug law reform in California. Note: SB 1506 does not change the penalty for sales, manufacturing, transportation or possession for sale.

 

 

Mexican Congressional Candidate Hopes Topless Ad will Lift Flagging Campaign

Sex sells, but can it also get out the vote? A philosophy professor running for Mexican congress aims to find out.

She and six of her Party of the Democratic Revolution colleagues went topless for a campaign billboard that is stirring up drama in the conservative city of Guadalajara.

Asked if she is concerned about potential backlash, Natalia Juarez, who seeks to represent Jalisco's 8th district, says conservative voters weren't going to vote for her anyway. "Even if I dressed as a nun and carried a rosary and said that my party was going to give away Bibles and rosaries, they wouldn't. Conservatives are never going to vote for me," she said.

via gawker.com

[ "When it comes to drugs and the violence generated by drug trafficking, we need to start thinking in a radical way," she says. "What do I mean by that? Well, we need to start a debate. Let's legalize (drugs), tax them and use the money for other things."

Mexico's presidential and congressional elections will be held on July 1st. ]

Sexual Victimization Reported by Former State Prisoners, 2008 (BJS)

BJS Announcement:  "Presents data on sexual victimization experienced by former state prisoners during their prior term of incarceration, including any time served in a local jail, state prison, or postrelease community-correctional facility. This report is based on data from the first-ever National Former Prisoner Survey, conducted between January 2008 and October 2008. The report provides detailed information on the experiences of persons age 18 or older who were under active supervision following their release from custody. It provides data on the prevalence of sexual victimization while incarcerated, by the type of victimization and sex of former inmate. The report also examines individual-level and facility-level characteristics that may be correlated with sexual victimization and describes the circumstances surrounding victimization. It provides details on the post-release responses of victims to sexual victimization, HIV rates of victims, and information on current employment status, housing, and living arrangements. Highlights include the following: An estimated 9.6% of former state prisoners reported one or more incidents of sexual victimization during the most recent period of incarceration in a jail, prison, and postrelease community-treatment facility. Among all former state prisoners, 1.8% reported experiencing one or more incidents while in a local jail, 7.5% while in a state prison, and 0.1% while in a postrelease community-treatment facility. About 5.4% of former state prisoners reported an incident that involved another inmate. An estimated 3.7% of former prisoners said they were forced or pressured to have nonconsensual sex with another inmate, including manual stimulation and oral, anal, or vaginal penetration. About 5.3% of former state prisoners reported an incident that involved facility staff. An estimated 1.2% of former prisoners reported that they unwillingly had sex or sexual contact with facility staff, and 4.6% reported that they "willingly" had sex or sexual contact with staff. Press Release PDF (1.4M) ASCII file (118K) CSV (Zip format 123K)

SLATE on ...

SLATE on sentencing law and gender http://slate.me/M1LfF4

so friday

 

people are [insane]

 

Google adds Knowledge Graph to search results

Google unveiled significant changes to its core search engine Wednesday that could make it easier one day to search using natural language.

The Mountain View company began to roll out the Knowledge Graph, a structured database of information that maps out connections between people, places and things. The database, which draws on sources including Wikipedia, the CIA World Factbook and Freebase, has 500 million entries and has mapped 3.5 billion facts and connections around those entries.

The result is that Google can now be much smarter when it receives a vague query, like "kings." Did a user mean the Sacramento Kings? The Los Angeles Kings? The TV show "Kings"? When the Knowledge Graph is rolled out, users will see those options in a panel to the right of the traditional search results. If a user was seeking the Sacramento Kings, clicking it inside the new panel would refine the results to include only pages related to the basketball team.

via www.sfgate.com

As Roger Clemens’s Trial Drags, Jurors Keep Dozing - NYTimes.com

Two jurors have already been dismissed at Roger Clemens’s perjury trial, and they weren’t the only ones falling asleep.

They were asked about their education, their occupations and their attitude toward athletes and performance-enhancing drugs. They were asked whether they had ever discussed or read about the use of steroids or human growth hormone.

But it seems that for all the care and caution that went into scrutinizing the Washingtonians who would end up determining Clemens’s fate, one fundamental question was overlooked: can you stay awake during the trial?

via www.nytimes.com

"The first juror excused by the judge, Reggie Walton of United States District Court, was a 27-year-old chronically unemployed man who was let go last week. During juror questioning, he told prosecutors that he would “rather be asleep” than serve on the jury. In the end, he tried to do both but failed..."

Native American Rights Fund -- News: An Evening with author Steven L. Pevar author of The Rights of Indians and Tribes

Native American Rights Fund 1506 Broadway Boulder, CO

Join us for a memorable evening as Stephen Pevar discusses the genesis of his benchmark book, The Rights of Indian Tribes. See slides from his first days as a young attorney on the Rosebud Sioux Reservation and hear how needing to "learn by doing" led to a guide for all who followed. Mr. Pevar will answer questions after the presentation.

About the AuthorStephen L. Pevar is a senior staff counsel of the American Civil Liberties Union. Mr. Pevar worked for Legal Services on the Rosebud Sioux Reservation from 1971-1974, and taught Federal Indian Law at the University of Denver School of Law from 1983-1999. He has litigated numerous Indian rights cases and has lectured extensively on the subject.

via narfnews.blogspot.com

[ This book is indispensable ]

Did Texas execute an innocent man?

Did Texas execute an innocent man?

"Did it leave the real killer on the streets to terrorize his neighbors for years to come?  Los Tocayos Carlos, a book-length monograph and comprehensive website published by the Columbia Human Rights Law Review, helps answer these haunting questions. Based on one of the most thorough investigations of a criminal case in U.S. history, the groundbreaking article by Columbia Law School Professor James Liebman and a team of students uncovers evidence that Carlos DeLuna, a poor Hispanic man with childlike intelligence who was executed in Texas in 1989, was innocent.   

 

Dewey Partners and Retirees Face Huge Financial Losses - NYTimes.com

For the law partners at Dewey & LeBoeuf, losing their jobs may be the least of their worries...

All past and present partners could lose pensions, and recent partners will probably lose investments in the firm and could be forced to return salaries as the firm closes.

They are likely to lose the money they were required to invest in the firm. They could lose their pensions. They may have to give back money they have already been paid. And even if creditors eventually agree to accept a small portion of what they are owed, the partners may owe taxes on the forgiven debt.

Many partners have found new jobs. Still, a new reality is sinking in: not only will they lose the sizable sums tied up in the firm, they may actually owe money. And that has resulted in difficult conversations with spouses, phone calls to advisers and even for-sale signs on front lawns.

via www.nytimes.com

Same-Sex Marriages: Legal Issues (CRS Report)

Same-Sex Marriages: Legal Issues [By Alison M. Smith  Source: Congressional Research Service (via Federation of American Scientists), May 9, 2012 (Via DocuTicker)]

+ Link to the full report (PDF; 403 KB)

"The recognition of same-sex marriages generates debate on both the federal and state levels. Either legislatively or judicially, same-sex marriage is legal in seven states. Other states allow civil unions or domestic partnerships, which grant all or part of state-level rights, benefits, and/or responsibilities of marriage. Some states have statutes or constitutional amendments limiting marriage to one man and one woman. These variations raise questions about the validity of such unions outside the contracted jurisdiction and have bearing on the distribution of federal benefits. ...

"This report discusses DOMA [Defense of Marriage Act] and legal challenges to it. It reviews legal principles applied to determine the validity of a marriage contracted in another state and surveys the various approaches employed by states to enable or to prevent same-sex marriage. The report also examines House and Senate resolutions introduced in previous Congresses proposing a constitutional amendment and limiting federal courts’ jurisdiction to hear or determine any question pertaining to the interpretation of DOMA..."

 

The end of football? Why concussion lawsuits won't bring down the game. - Slate Magazine

As a young athlete, Dustin Fink suffered 11 concussions while skiing and playing football and baseball. Three years ago, he began to suspect that the knocks had seriously damaged his brain. He kept getting headaches, had trouble sleeping, and started feeling depressed and emotionally unbalanced. For one awful moment, he says, he was on the verge of suicide.

Fink, the proprietor of the Concussion Blog, couldn’t help thinking that his symptoms were consistent with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, the degenerative brain disease that has recently been linked with the suicides of several former NFL players. Fink felt this way because he’s an athletic trainer. For years, he instructed high-school football players who’d suffered concussions to sit out for 15 minutes or so, then sent them right back onto the field—a protocol that was considered sound practice until about seven years ago. Now he can’t help but wonder whether he endangered the lives of the students he was supposed to protect.

No one knows whether the suicide last month of former San Diego Chargers star Junior Seau had anything to do with the concussions he suffered throughout his career. Seau’s high-profile death, however, has lent new urgency to the question of just how dangerous football is for those who play it. It has also made a relatively new and hypothetical question a little less hypothetical: Could football’s days be numbered?

via www.slate.com

JURIST - Paper Chase: DOJ files discrimination suit against Arizona sheriff

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) [official website] filed suit [complaint, PDF; press release] Thursday against Maricopa County, Arizona, the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, and Sheriff Joe Arpaio [official websites] alleging discriminatory conduct.

The DOJ conducted a comprehensive and independent investigation initiated in June 2008 under Section 14141 of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 [text, PDF] and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 [DOJ materials]. In December the DOJ issued a 22-page letter of findings [text, PDF], which found reasonable cause that sheriff's office and Arpaio were engaged in a pattern or practice of unconstitutional conduct and violations of federal law. The DOJ attempted to reach a settlement, but negotiations were unsuccessful, and the lawsuit followed. Arpaio, who took office in 1993, has called himself "America's Toughest Sheriff." In 2008 a federal judge ordered him to take steps to remedy overcrowded and unhygienic conditions [JURIST report] in Maricopa County prisons.

Paper Chase is JURIST's real-time legal news service, powered by a team of 30 law student reporters and editors led by law professor Bernard Hibbitts at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. As an educational service, Paper Chase is dedicated to presenting important legal news and materials rapidly, objectively and intelligibly in an accessible, ad-free format.

via jurist.org

And on the new york city stop and frisk ...

Great post by Peter Wagner (of the Prison Policy Initiative) on New York City’s “stop and frisk” policing strategy (racial profiling) at Prison Law Blog ... http://bit.ly/IGgcwy

Anatomy of an American Execution - In Depth - Al Jazeera

In 2010, while making an episode of Fault Lines on the death penalty in the US, Josh Rushing interviewed death row inmate Michael Selsor. It was the only interview Selsor ever granted. Two years later, Rushing returned to watch Selsor die. In this special report, he takes an unflinching look at an American execution.

I came to Oklahoma to witness a killing, a homicide in fact.

At a microphone Debbie Huggins fights tears and with a strong southern drawl says slowly, emphatically: "What we did to him today was much kinder than what he did to my dad." "Him" refers to Michael Selsor and "what" to the murder of Clayton Chandler, a clerk shot six times during a gas station robbery in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Selsor pulled the trigger even after Chandler had complied and volunteered the loot. "In 1975 I never would have thought that it would take 37 years for justice," Huggins says.

via www.aljazeera.com

[ ‎"Michael Selsor served the longest time between conviction and execution of anyone in U.S. history. He was first sentenced to death in 1976 for murder and was imprisoned over 36 years prior to his execution on May 1, 2012..." He was also the most recent person executed in the USA. ]