When a snitch accuses someone of a crime in order to reduce a sentence that he anticipates or is already serving, there's good reason to doubt the snitch's credibility. Law enforcement agents and prosecutors nonetheless have few qualms about building cases around the testimony of a snitch -- unless the snitch points the finger of blame in the wrong direction, like Raymond Garrett did.

Garrett, who founded the Brick Money Entertainment record company, made a deal with federal prosecutors. He pled guilty to a drug trafficking charge. In exchange for his agreement to cooperate against other wrongdoers, prosecutors agreed to recommend that he receive a 10 year sentence. So far, everybody's happy.

But then "Garrett told investigators that two Utica police officers were involved in criminal activity." If he had made similar allegations against anyone else, they may have been taken at face value, as they so often are. Police and prosecutors were less willing to believe him after he accused the police. [more ...]

Try to wrap your mind around this logic:

Joshua Marquis, district attorney in Clatsop County, Ore. ... rarely, if ever, drops criminal charges because a defendant passed a lie detector test prior to trial. "The science behind them is not strong," Marquis said. "The absolute worst offenders -- people who are true sociopaths -- lying is a way of life for them, so they're going to probably pass them easily."

Marquis, does, however, see polygraphs as a useful tool in monitoring probationers, a growing practice that has been upheld by dozens of courts despite defense lawyers' claims that such tests violate the constitutional right against self-incrimination.

So lie detector tests aren't reliable when defendants offer them as proof of innocence, but they suddenly become reliable when a probation agent wants to question a probationer. Can't have it both ways, Mr. Marquis. [more ...]

Not surprisingly, I don't often get promotional e-mails from the Justice Department and Drug Enforcement Administration. Today I did, with the news that another convention will be taking place in Colorado just before the Democratic National Convention. It's the Law Enforcement Explorers.

Law Enforcement Exploring is a worksite-based program for young men and women who have completed the eighth grade and are 14-20 years old. Law Enforcement Explorer posts around the country help youth to gain insight into a variety of programs that offer hands-on career activities. For young men and women who are interested in careers in the field of law enforcement, Exploring offers experiential learning with lots of fun-filled, hands-on activities that promote the growth and development of adolescent youth.

4,500 teens from all 50 states will be attending the conference. Details of the "fun-filled activities":

The week-long conference will take place on the campus of Colorado State University and will feature several team competitions including arrest and search techniques, crime scene investigation, bomb threat response, and hostage negotiations. Seminars on gang violence, psychological profiling, effective communication, narcotics trafficking and interdiction, and border protection are also planned.

More...

It's official. President Bush invoked a claim of executive privilege to prevent Congress from obtaining Justice Department interviews with Dick Cheney and others over the leak of the identity of Valerie Plame Wilson. A subpoena for the information was issued in June.

The Wilsons respond (no link, received by e-mail):

“Today the president took the unprecedented step of asserting executive privilege to thwart congressional efforts to review Vice President Cheney’s interview with Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald concerning the betrayal of Valerie Wilson’s covert CIA identity. We agree with Congressman Waxman that the position taken by the president is ludicrous.

The American people have a right to know what role the vice president played in the leak of Ms. Wilson’s covert identity for political purposes. The fact that the Attorney General is recommending the assertion of executive privilege reveals that this Department of Justice is as beholden to the White House as that run by former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

More...

Best read of the day so far....Guest Bloggers John J. Donohue III and Daniel Schuker at Balkanization, Dodging the Death Penalty Bullet for Child Rape, about why the Kennedy v. LA decision, despite it's two factual errors, was the right decision.

I hope someone sends it to the Obama campaign.

I've been wondering who will be the musical guests for the Democratic National Convention and related parties. By drips and drabs, we're getting more information. Today's news:

Among the big-name performers likely to make a splash in the Mile High City are hip-hop king Kanye West, reggae/hip-hop artist Wyclef Jean and the rap/rock fusion band N.E.R.D.

Bono will be in town, but not to perform for the convention -- AT&T is throwing a party for his One Campaign. Kanye West may perform at the event. As to Wyclef Jean and N.E.R.D., they likely will be at the MTV/Rock the Vote Party.

As to the big corporate sponsors for the event, it's the usual crew:

United Airlines, Google, Coors Brewing Company, Anheuser-Busch, Xcel Energy and telecom giants Motorola, Qwest and -- a brand you'll see plastered all over the place in Denver -- AT&T.

AT&T will be front and center during the convention since it is providing the wireless. [More..]

Reading the LA Times blog, one would think Hillary is raising money for a 2012 presidential run. She's not. As the article it quotes from the New York Observer makes clear, and as was anticipated in this June, 2008 CBS News article, she's under a 60 day deadline and is asking donors to allow her to transfer the money to her 2012 Senate campaign rather than requiring her to refund it.

Chris Dodd did the same thing. His situation may be iffy because he agreed to public financing which Hillary did not. He's waiting for a ruling from the FEC.

The point is Hillary only has 60 days from the end of her campaign to either refund the money donated to her general campaign or get permission to redesignate it to another campaign. I don't see this as an indicator she's planning another Presidential run.

The key finding in the CBS NYTimes Poll is not the 6 point lead it shows for Barack Obama, 45-39. And it isn't the race relations stuff Adam Nagourney fixated on that has some of the blogs hopping mad (and apparently and foolishly, the Obama campaign.) The key findings come from Question 42, which asks "If John McCain were elected President, do you think he would generally continue George Bush's economic policies or not?" 63% of those polled said McCain would continue George Bush's economic policies. In that, they agree with John McCain, who also says he will continue George Bush's economic policies (he does not say those words literally, he just promises to continue policies that George Bush has implemented.)

The reason this is the key finding is found in the data produced in Question 14, which asks "do you approve or disapprove of the way George Bush is handling the economy?" 20% of Americans approve while 71% disapprove.

This ain't rocket science. The Obama campaign should know what to do - tie McCain to Bush. State ACCURATELY that John McCain will continue George W. Bush's policies. That he is running for George W. Bush's third term.

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only

Scott Horton asks a chilling question: Has U.S. Attorney Alice Martin knowingly prosecuted innocent people? Horton points to:

a string of aggressive prosecutions brought by Birmingham U.S. Attorney Alice Martin. Those prosecutions are marked by convictions overturned and innocent men wronged. Two judges have openly questioned whether she knowingly prosecuted innocent people. The American Lawyer has learned that the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Professional Responsibility has opened an investigation into allegations of misconduct that were made by Axion against Martin.

Martin is "best known for her crusade against former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman, a Democrat." [more ...]

Susan Atkins, age 60, has served 37 years in prison, has one leg, is paralyzed on her right side and has three months to live. Today the California Parole Board denied her compassionate release so she could die outside of prison.

Atkins' doctors and officials at the women's prison in Corona made the request in March because of her deteriorating health. She also has had her left leg amputated and is paralyzed on her right side, her husband, James Whitehouse, told the California Board of Parole Hearings.

Whitehouse, also acting as one of Atkins' attorneys, had argued that his wife was so debilitated that she could not even sit up in bed. He told the parole board there was no longer a reason to keep her incarcerated. "She literally can't snap her fingers," he said. "She can put sentences together three or four times a day, but that's the extent of it."

Atkins' lawyer will now ask a state court judge to order her release. [More...]

This excellent question was "directed at John Moody, executive vice president, news editorial, at Fox News, who was part of a Fox News political panel that included Rove, Chris Wallace, and Howard Wolfson, newly hired as Democratic 'balance' to Rove."

Q. It's a little unusual to have Mr. Rove here, frankly, when I think Congress would rather be talking to you. Mr. Moody, does it undercut your credibility a little bit on your station when you have somebody with so much political baggage and is under subpoena?

Moody's answer: [more ...]

Remember this morning when I posted about the McCain 72-48 advantage on the C-i-C question and how if McCain were not close despite that advantage, it would indicate how slim his chances are for November? As I suspected, McCain is cooked - WaPo has Obama by 8 - 50-42.

McCain is finished barring some incredible and unforeseen event, imo of course.

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only