On Vacation for 2 weeks

Even blustering, blithering, bloggers need vacations. I'm signing off for about two weeks. Thanks for putting up with me, participaitng and contributing. Keep up the good work! Take care! Prof. Ray Kessler

More on the Danziger Bridge incident in New Orleans

One of the most egregious examples of police misconduct in recent years continues to play out aganst New Orleans PD. The latest at LINK

ACLU finally coming around on 2nd Amend.?

One of the most egregious acts of public hypocrisy by a national organization supposedly dedicated to civil rights has been the ACLU's failure to support the individual rights approach to the Second Amendment. For many years they supported a collective rights approach which was rejected by the Supreme Court in D.C. v. Heller. Perhaps the ACLU is eventually going to become a TRUE civil liberties organization some day. LINK

Judge strikes down federal Defense of Marriage Act

A District Court judge struck down parts of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Many conservatives sacrificed federalism (which they claim to value) to pass this law to try to protect the traditional heterosexual definition of marriage. IMHO the DOMA was beyond the powers granted to the federal government and these matters were reserved to the states under the 10th Amendment. LINK Where is it all going to end? There's a good chance it will end with the Supreme Court holding that Equal Protection requires that legal marriage be made equally available to both gays and straights. For a start, see Justice O'Connor's concurring opinion in Lawrence v. Texas. Although O'Connor says her opinion has nothing to do with gay marriage, her logic clearly does. LINK

BART police to get more oversight after suspect killed by officer.

In response the the recent killing of Oscar Grant by BART Officer Johannes Mehserle, the state of California took new steps to increase civilian oversight over BART police. LINK

Oakland/ BART police killing Part Deux?

Just when you hoped things might quiet down in Oakland, another tragic incident involving BART officers. LINK

Murderous Mexican Madness Marches On

18 murdered at Mexican party. In addition to the current chaos, what will Mexico be like when the next generation, who grew up in the midst of a bloody narco-war where many seem to place little value on human life, takes over. LINK

Good summary of last Supreme Court term's decisions

For a short and readable summary of the Supreme Court's decisions from the just-ended term, see the ACLU's. LINK Although the ACLU leans heavily to the left, their summary is almost always fairly bias free.

The BART shooting tragedy: drawing the handgun rather than the Taser

Article by an officer involved in the criminal case of BART officer Johannes Mehserle. He lists a surprisingly large number of other cases where the officer made the same claim. LINK Mehserle faces a sentence anywhere from probation to 14 years in prison for his involuntary manslaughter conviction in this case.

New DNA technique, familial matching, nabs accused serial killer

A relatively new DNA matching technique, "familial DNA," helped catch an accused serial killer. If this technique proves valid and reliable, it could result in even more of the guilty being punished and more of the innocent being cleared. LINK

California to Legalize Marjuana?

Legalizing marijuana is a hot topic in California. It's on an upcoming voter inititiative and has been called a "civil rights issue" by the CA NAACP. LINK Just in time, there is a new Rand Corp. study on legalizing marijuana in CA. Unfortunately, as the report notes, it is difficult to draw firm conclusions about the effects of legalizaiiton. LINK Finally, even if legalizied in CA, federal law which bans pot, generally prevails over state laws. A few years ago, the Supreme Court found that federal law too precedence over CA's medical marijuana law. LINK

Provocative Article on Race and Gun Control

Strong stuff, but there is some truth in there! LINK

Riots Follow Mehserle Verdict in BART killing

Former BART police officer Johannes Mehserle was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the shooting death of a Black teen. Mehserle claimed he thought he had drawn his Taser and fired it instead of his handgun. Mehserle was initially charged with first-degree murder, but the judge threw out that charge because of insufficient evidence of "premeditation." The jury passed on the more serious charge of second-degree murder. Demonstrations were reported in many cities, but rioting was reported thus far only in Oakland. Many think the verdict was a "compromise." Mehserle faces 2-4 years in prison for the offense, but the jury found an enhancement for a "gun crime" which increases the possible imprisonment from 5-14 years. LINK

Feds sue Arizona over state immigration enforcement law

The Obama administration has sued the state of Arizona over the state's new law regarding questioning suspects in lawful contact with police (e.g. Terry stop) about possible illegal immigration. As is usual with culture wars issues, emotion trumps reason and facts, and there is lots of heat being generated--but little light. The law is, at least in part, an emotional reaction to frustration caused the inability or unwillingness of the feds to control illegal immigration. Laws based on emotional reactions are often, but not always, unwise. The way I, and others interpret the law, is that there must already be a lawful reason for the officer- citizen contact before the inquiry about citizenship is made. The inquiry about citizenship can then only be made on reasonable suspicion. The way I read existing 4th Amendment and Equal Protection law, ethnicity alone can never justify police intervention. The law does not authorize anything that some state officers in AZ and elsewhere have been doing lawfully for years. The Fourth Amendment and Equal Protection clause and numerous anti-discrimination and anti-profiling laws are available, at least on paper, to prevent abuses. Is it a good policy? Will there be widespread abuse? Who knows! Given that the law has yet to be enforced and that this is an on-its-face challenge based on supremacy clause arguments (which seem dubious in this case since the law assists the feds) it appears to me to be more grandstanding by the Obama administration. See the text of the law at the first link and commentary thereon at the second link LINK LINK

Great editorial on the McDonald Dissenters.

I don't always agree with conservative columnist Jacob Sullum, but he hit the the nail on the head with this critique of the dissenters in the Second Amendment incorporation (McDonald) case. Constitutional law makes strange bedfellows. It's usually the conservatives who make these arguments in civil rights cases. However, when ideologue liberals don't like the results in a civil rights case, they pull the arguments they have long dismissed out of their result-oriented tools bag. The same tool bag used by the conservative ideologues on the Court. LINK

Study on Career-Ending Misconduct of Police in NYC

There are lots of interesting and provocative reports of research funded by the U.S. Government that never get any publicity. The U.S. Dept. of Justice Funded this study entitled "Bad Cops: A Study of Career Ending Misconduct Among New York City Police Officers." Relative to the bad publicity, there are surprisingly few NYPD officers whose careers are ended because of brutality and abuse. The authors suggest that NYPD effectively controls and disciplines its officers and thus the low rate of dismissals. Others might disagree. One of the authors is James J. Fyfe--a well-respected criminal justice authority on the police. LINK

New Study on less than lethal weapons, esp. Taser

The Weapons and Equipment Research Institute of Florida Gulf Coast University is the author of "Less Lethal Weapon Effectiveness, Use of Force, and Suspect and Officer Injuries: A Five-Year Analysis."(Report to NIJ, 2008). The report is generally positive about Tasers. LINK

Sotomayor speaks with forked tongue?

Now-Justice Sotomayor told the world at her confirmation hearings that she supported the individual rights approach to the Second Amendment. However, the opinion she joined in McDonald seems to say otherwise. Why is it so hard to find people with real integrity for public office? If we can't get it with judges, where can we get it? LINK

Great short comment on McD. v. Chicago

Law Professor Robert Cottrol hits the nail on the head. Great, short read! SCOTUSblog 6/30/10. Scroll down to bottom. Among the ironies are the refusal of the liberals on the Court to continue their previously unwavering desire to incorporate constitutional rights. No other incorporated right has been subjected to such "ifs, ands, or buts" by dissenters. Ironically, in this case liberal dissenters. This decision is a monument to hypocrisy by the liberals. LINK

Censorship of student speech about guns on campus (FIRE)

FIRE (the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education) is an important group advocating First Amendment protections for students, faculty, and staff on college campuses. You should at least sign up for their e-mail alerts. They have just released a short video on widespread campus censorship of protected student speech about guns. An example is the opposition "empty holster" protesters have faced. LINK

Campus gun bans probably still safe after McDonald?

Many college campuses ban handgun possession by civilians, even those with concealed-carry licenses. Personally, I think these bans for licensees are bad policy, but I'm not sure about their constitutionality. These experts think these bans will survive Second Amendment challenges. LINK

Don't waste your time on the Kagan confirmation hearing.

Unless she carelessly drops a smoking gun, she's in. I concur with liberal columnist Susan Estrich that it's a charade. Skeptical Senators are reduced to finding 20 year old memos written by the nominee. Estrich writes:

“Watching the confirmation hearings, unless you're a masochist or a satirist, is a waste of time. You learn nothing except how silly the process has become. Ever since Robert Bork -- who was highly qualified but also arrogant and divisive -- went down in flames at his hearing, every successive nominee has understood that the game is to say as little as possible, disown prior controversies, eschew any hint of ideology and simply endure. Five days of misery are certainly worth a lifetime appointment.” LINK

Two Tampa Bay Officers Killed in Shootout

Two Tampa Bay officers killed in shootout. We must never forget that the violence flows both ways out there in the real world. LINK

Fort Worth offers $2 million to settle Taser death case

The City of Fort Worth, Texas has offered $2 million to settle a case brought by the family of a man who died after being Tased by a female Forth Worth police officer. The officer held back the trigger on the Taser for 49 seconds. She claimed she didn't know the device would continue to discharge electricity until she released the trigger. According to one source, the officer has not been disciplined. LINK. Link with news VIDEO

The Good Guys Win Again--2nd Amend applies against states

In case you haven't heard, the U.S. Supreme Court held today that the Second Amendment applies against the states. Libertarians are celebrating, liberals are seething. However there are a couple worrisome points. First, although 5 Justices voted to incorporate the Amendment against the states via the 14th Amendment, 4 used the due process clause and 1 (Thomas) use the Privileges or immunities clause. This makes this case a more vulnerable precedent than if all 5 had agreed on one rationale. As usual, Kennedy, probably the only one on the Court who can rise above ideology, was the swing vote. As expected, the 4 knee-jerk liberals voted against incorporation. This is probably the first time in history that liberals voted against incorporating a provision in the Bill of Rights. It shows, IMHO, rank hypocrisy among those who claim to be champions of a free society. Sotomayor is falling into line as a liberal flunky. I am very disappointed--I thought she would be more intellectually independent. Obama got what he wanted. Your Second Amendment rights hang by the thin reed of a one-vote switcheroo somewhere down the line. If you want to provide more security for our Second Amendment rights, you better start getting politically involved and make sure the Republicans come up with a quality candidate who will appoint Justices who support a truly free society.

See the slip opinion at LINK

New Orleans tries to reform its Police Department

Apparently the police shooting and killing of two unarmed civilians at the Danziger bridge during the Hurrucane Katrina aftermath was the last straw. Let's hope this works. Reform efforts in many cities have failed. LINK For more on the shooting,the police coverup, and an officer's guilty plea see LINK

The BART shooting video

There's a video of the shooting incident in the Mehserle case at the link. Unfortunately, the video doesn't help much. LINK

BART murder trial: Officer received training on the problem shortly before the killing

The officer (Johaness Mehserle, who is on trial for murder) in the BART killing of an unarmed arrestee, claimed he mistakenly drew his handgun rather than his Taser. However, he received training on this problem shortly before the shooting. LINK

Police Friendly-Fire Deaths

Fortunately, one type of police officer death that is relatively infrequent is an accidental shooting of one officer by another. Since 1981, according to the report below, there have been only 26 such deaths.. The report below is, to my knowledge, the first and only attempt to deal with this topic in a fairly comprehensive fashion. With proper policies and training, most of these incidents should be preventable. Does the police agency in your jurisdiction have such policies and training?

New York State Task Froce on Police-on-Police Shooting, “Reducing Inherent Danger: Report of the Task Force on Police-on-Police Shootings,” 2010. LINK

Houston PD fires 7 officers for excessive force

It is rare to see this many officers fired at one time by any PD. Four were indicted on misdemeanor charges. LINK