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

New study suggests frequent racial discrim. in jury selection

This is a study from the Equal Justice Initiative. LINK

More repeal the 2nd Amend propaganda.

This blog has a good debate over repealing the Second Amendment. The blogger is another ideologue who is obviously more interested in propagandizing than informing. I agree with the first two commenters. WaddaUtink? LINK

More PC craziness--voters can cast up to 6 votes for one candidate!

Federal judge gives voters the option to vote for the same candidate six times. I thought it was supposed to be one person, one vote? Is this a great country or what? LINK

Crime fighting gets even more high-tech: gunshot sensors and smart cameras

I guess this is the future. I just sometimes feel a little uncomfortable with Big Brother having all this capability. LINK

Right-wing nonsense on the Second Amendment

Time to go after some of the wackos on the right. Looks like Republican Senate candidate Sharron Angle never read the leading opinion on the Second Amendment--D.C. v. Heller. It did not interpret the 2nd Amend to give a legal right to insurrection or revolution or a legal right to keep and bear arms for such purposes. The Second Amendment is not absolute. According to Heller, it protects only weapons in common use and for legal purposes. Insurrection is not legal. Looks like she never checked the Constitution to see what was in there or wasn't. Angle is just another sad example of how candidates seem to prefer to lead from the fringes, rather than the political middle. Can't the Republicans find better candidates? LINK

Common sense and the instruments of crime.

Common sense and the instruments of crime. This article states the obvious to anyone with an open mind. It's amazing how ideological blinders prevent people from rational comprehension. My thanks to Paul Wright for this link. LINK

Recent U.S. S.Ct. Decision

Berghuis v. Thompkins, No. 08-1470, Decided June 1, 2010. Thompkins was in custody under arrest. The police told Thompkins that he had a Miranda right to remain silent. He remained silent and did not say anything. He did not request an attorney. The police continued to ask questions, but Thompkins said nothing. After 3 hours of interrogation and silence he made an incriminating statement. The Supreme Court held that there was no Miranda violation. The suspect must specifically say something that indicates an assertion of Miranda rights. By talking, Thompkins waived his Miranda rights. This is a bad decision which further erodes the protections of Miranda. The police are in control of the situation and (hopefully) know the law. They told him he could remain silent. How can one assert a right and still remain silent? Because the police are in control of the situation and know the law, the silence should have been interpreted as an assertion of the right to remain silent, and the police should have left. The police should not be able to exploit ambiguous situations. I agree with the dissenting liberals on this one. I was disappointed that Kennedy voted with the knee-jerk conservatives on this one. LINK

Two-thirds of American's can't name even one S. Ct. Justice.

Is this a great country or what? LINK

Recent Supreme Court decision--Quon case

Now that the Supreme Court's term is drawing to a close, I'll be posting on some of the more important decisions for CL&J. The first case to be discussed is CITY OF ONTARIO, CALIFORNIA, ET AL., v. QUON ET AL., No. 08-1332, Decided June 17, 2010. The Court held that there was no Fourth Amendment violation when the police department "searched" the officer’s agency-provided alpha-numeric pager (which could send text messages) without a warrant. Although I think the individual should get the benefit of the doubt in close cases when challenging government action violative of constitutional rights, this case wasn’t even close. The Court unanimously overturned the 9th Circuit (California, Idaho, etc.) which found for the officer. The 9th Circuit is probably the most frequently over-ruled Circuit. Although sometimes they get it right, there are too many left-wing ideologues on that Circuit Court of Appeals who appear to be unwilling to read and apply Supreme Court precedent. LINK

Utah murderer executed by firing squad

The U.S. Supreme Court and other courts refused to stay the execution by firing squad, and now it's over. Many Europeans are screaming in outrage. The linked article provides an eye-witness account of the execution LINK (I am not a big fan of the death penalty. IMHO the range of offenses and offenders eligible needs to be limited to the unusually culpable. Changes must be made to insure better attorneys for defendants. More safeguards are necessary to see that innocent persons are not executed. Although there are lots of problems in the system, I'm not quite ready to become an abolitionist.)

Toy Soldiers Violate School's Weapons Ban

The anti-gun wackos are at it again. Where do these school districts find these people? (In the interest of balance, I promise to go after some right-wing kooks in a later post) LINK

Local Prof. makes the local paper on 2nd Amend case

Article on Sul Ross State University Criminal Justice Professor Dr. Ray Kessler in Alpine Avalanche LINK

Firing Squad Execution

Utah inmate Ronnie Lee Gardner is scheduled to be executed by firing squad-- the method he chose. Is it more humane than lethal injection? This is a case which causes left-wing ideologues to go apoplectic. It combines two things these self-righteous folks hate--guns and the death penalty. Lots of moaning and groaning and gnashing of teeth. Lots of talk about the "wild west" and guns causing more death, ad nauseum, ad nauseum, ad nauseum. LINK

Death of Mexican teen heightens tension on border

Just when you thought things couldn't get any worse on the border! Latest news on the situation. Rumors are that Mexico will ask that the agent be tried IN MEXICO. If they do, it will be a sticky situation. Link

O.J. Appeal at Nev. Supreme Court

I am not a fan of O.J., but even our most notorious citizens deserve a fair trial. There are significant problems with his Nev. trial. Maybe not enough to get a new trial. Don't look for the Nev. Supreme Court to find in favor of O.J. Link Here

Stevens--the greatest Justice? LOL

Justice Stevens is the "greatest Justice"—so writes one former clerk (see link at bottom) Now that Stevens has announced his retirement, praise will be flowing further from former clerks, friends, patronage recipients, many on the left, and various sycophants. The most over-the-top praise is in the link. The author excluded CJ’s so as to avoid the obvious error of ranking Stevens above Marshall and Warren. But, Stevens has some black marks which make him unworthy of such adolescent adulation. His greatest and most unforgivable sin was voting against the First Amendment in the flag-burning case (Eichman). Stevens lets his personal patriotism trump fundamental First Amendment principles. A case in which my candidate for the non CJ award, (at least for the 20th Century) Brennan, voted in favor First Amendment principles. Although he has supported 4th Amend. values (e.g. Richards v. Wisc.,1997; Groh v. Ramirez, 2004) ) and the exclusionary rule, Stevens has too often. IMHO, voted in favor of the government in 4th Amendment cases, (e.g., U.S. v. Ross, 1982; Md. v. Garrison, 1987; Ill v. Caballes, 2005) He’s obviously not as destructive to those values as Scalia, but his support has not been as consistent as was Brennans. His dissent in U.S. v. Lopez was one of the most unprofessional I’ve seen. His dissent in Heller was sloppily researched and written. Stevens greater than Brennan? Than Brandeis? Than Holmes? Than John Marshall Harlan? Than Joseph Story? I could go on, but you get the picture. They all have their warts, but Stevens “greater?” In your dreams. Gimme a break! Although not as bad as some on the Court, Stevens was, too often, a knee-jerk liberal. Fortunately, he was countered by knee-jerk conservatives.

http://www.scotusblog.com/2010/06/the-greatest-justice/

Police Pursuit of Dirt Bike Rider Ends Tragically

Police Pursuit of Dirt Bike Rider Ends Tragically. I teach an academic course on roadblocks and pursuits. Although all the facts are not out yet, IMHO agencies should have policies to minimize these types of situations. Pursuits, just like shootings, can severely damage police-community relations. Thanks to Michael Weininger for the link. Link

Big Decision soon from U.S. Supreme Court

The landmark decision on whether the Second Amendment applies to the states (McDonald v. Chicago) could be released any day now. The blockbusters are almost always released late in the term which usually ends around the middle or end of June. Like many I expect a 5-4 decision for McD., and a greater victory for libertarianism, the rule of law, and constitutionalism The conservatives, Alito, Scalia, Roberts and Thomas along with the swing vote, Kennedy for McD. Majority opinion to be written by Scalia or Kennedy. The 4 liberals, Soto, Stevens, Ginsburg and Breyer for Chicago. Dissent written by Stevens or Breyer.

For some background see

http://www.scotuswiki.com/index.php?title=McDonald_v._City_of_Chicago

BART shooting Trial: Potential for Riots?

California bracing for possible riots a la Rodney King if a police officer on trial for murder is acquitted. It is practically unheard of that an officer is charged with murder in a possibly excessive force case where the arrestee suspect dies. Is it credible that a supposedly trained officer attempting to subdue an unarmed suspect attempts to pull out his Taser and pulls out and fires his handgun instead? On the other hand, the officer’s spontaneous verbal reaction supports the theory. This isn’t the first time this argument/excuse has been made by an officer. I look for the jury to come back with a compromise verdict of guilty of manslaughter or some form of homicide less than murder.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/06/15/BAGI1DUVHV.DTL