Former DOJ spokesman Mark Corallo, now in his own consulting firm, has filed an affidavit with the Court hearing the motions to quash subpoenas served by the government on San Francisco Chronicle reporters in the baseball steroid case, saying that the subpoenas represent "a reckless abuse of power." Ashcroft, he says, never would have allowed them to be issued.

He said Mr. Ashcroft's successor, Alberto R. Gonzales, had acted improperly in issuing the subpoenas. "This is the most reckless abuse of power I have seen in years," Mr. Corallo said in an interview. "They really should be ashamed of themselves."

The subpoenas, part of an effort to identify The Chronicle's sources for its coverage of steroid use in baseball, would not have been authorized by Mr. Ashcroft, Mr. Corallo said. "You just don't ride roughshod over the rights of reporters to gather information from confidential sources," he added.

Corallo now represents Karl Rove.

The Dixie Chicks were on Larry King Live last night. Crooks and Liars has the video.

by TChris

Andrew Cohen sums up the Fifth Circuit:

This appellate court and many of the judges on it are simply hostile to the rights of criminal defendants and have been for many years.

Case in point: a 2-1 death penalty affirmance that upheld a judge's refusal to allow the jury to hear how the defendant's death would affect his family and friends.

by TChris

John McCann concluded a confusing opinion piece in the Durham Herald Sun with this:

The lacrosse boys brought it on themselves, though -- even if the accuser's lying.

Talk about blaming the victim. Maybe you can figure out how "the lacrosse boys" brought on a false accusation. McCann is incoherent on the subject.

Here's a rebuttal to McCann.

by TChris

Criticism of Homeland Security spending that enriched smaller communities at the expense of dense urban areas led to assurances that spending would be allocated according to need. Did Omaha and Louisville deserve 40 percent increases while New York City and Washington D.C. had their antiterrorism grants slashed?

Nabiha Nisaif Jassim's brother was racing her to the maternity hospital in Samarra, Iraq, about 60 miles north of Baghdad. U.S. troops fired on the car because it didn't stop at a roadblock and killed her and her about to be delivered child. Her fetus died too. Her female cousin also was killed. Jassim was 35.

U.S. version:

The U.S. military said coalition troops fired at a car after it entered a clearly marked prohibited area near an observation post but failed to stop despite repeated visual and auditory warnings.

Jassim's brother's account:

``I was driving my car at full speed because I did not see any sign or warning from the Americans. It was not until they shot the two bullets that killed my sister and cousin that I stopped,'' he said. ``God take revenge on the Americans and those who brought them here. They have no regard for our lives.'' He said doctors tried but failed to save the baby after his sister was brought to the hospital.

This kind of "collateral damage" is no more acceptable than this continued war.

[hat tip Patriot Daily.]

by TChris

Remember when John Ashcroft assured us that the Patriot Act wouldn't be used to access library records? Raw Story has a nice piece that explains how the government kept the truth quiet until the Patriot Act was reauthorized.

[Connecticut] Librarians, members of Library Connection, a not-for profit cooperative organization for resource sharing across 26 Connecticut library branches sharing a centralized computer, were served with a National Security Letter (NSL) in August of last year as part of the FBI's attempt to attain access to patron's records. ...

On September 9 of last year, a federal judge lifted the gag order and rejected the government's argument that identifying the plaintiff would pose a threat to national security.

Yet the government continued to appeal the case throughout the reauthorization debate, passionately arguing that not a single incident of civil liberties violations by the Patriot Act had occurred. By continuing the appeal, the government effectively silenced any evidence to counter their claims.

I'm headed up to Aspen for the NORML Legal Seminar. I'll be blogging from Aspen tomorrow through the weekend, with an edited report of our Saturday day trip to Hunter Thompson's Owl Creek Farm where I hear Jimmy Ibbotson of Dirt Band fame, will be performing his brand-new anti-drug war song. Anita (Thompson) is putting together a souvenir booklet of some of Hunter's writings on defense lawyers. If you are a defense lawyer, it's not too late to attend -- just show up to register.

Here's some news from the rest of the world:

• Sen. Barbara Boxer calls for troop pullout from Iraq - by Thanksgiving.

• The Government says Congressman William Jefferson tried to hide his papers. Some are praising Congressman Sensenbrenner for his demand for info on the raid. Not me. He's a menace. He's behind some of the worst proposed legislation out there -- from the most punitive immigration bill in history to his "five years for passing a joint bill" and "snitch or go to jail bill."

• A federal judge has ruled the Government must release information about monitoring converstations beween detainees and defense lawyers. The New York Times reports:

by TChris

Last year, TalkLeft discussed the inability of prosecutors to admit their error in convicting Larry Peterson, despite the mountain of new evidence (including DNA) that proved he wasn't the person who raped and murdered Jacqueline Harrison. Although Peterson was granted a new trial on the strength of the new evidence, the TalkLeft post predicted that prosecutors would drop the case in the face of overwhelming evidence of Peterson's innocence. Happily, that happened on Friday, but as this editorial opines, it took much too long.

After initially opposing Peterson's requests to conduct DNA tests, the prosecutor's office received clear scientific evidence in February 2005 that Peterson was wrongly convicted. Yet [prosecutor Robert] Bernardi effectively prevented Peterson from being released on bail for six more months.

Peterson remained charged, awaiting possible retrial, for 15 months after the DNA results were known. That's a disturbing application of the prosecutor's power. Once he possessed such urgent information, it shouldn't have taken an officer of the criminal justice system so long to conclude this case. Bernardi should have moved as swiftly as if it were his own brother behind bars.

Even more disturbing than the prosecution's refusal to concede its mistake is the role it played in obtaining Peterson's conviction.

Al Gore told the Guardian the Bush administration is a band of right-wing extremists. He also repeated his now familiar refrain that he is a "recovering politician." Yet when the Guardian pressed him on a 2008 run, he gave non-definitive denials.

My prediction remains that he won't run. Here's more from the Guardian:

At the weekend, Time magazine reported that he was telling key fundraisers they should feel free to sign on with other potential candidates. The magazine quoted unnamed Democratic sources as saying that the former vice-president had also been asking the fundraisers to "tell everybody I'm not running".

I just found out from some e-mails that one of the Montel Williams shows in his What's America Talking About series which I went to New York to tape a few weeks ago aired today.

Topics include immigration, gasoline prices, the Duke lacrosse case and Iran's nuclear capability. Panelists include MSNBC's Rita Crosby, former New Jersey governor Christine Todd Whitman, defense lawyer Jeralyn Merritt, criminal investigator Rob Wheeler and actor Esai Morales.

Montel repeats at night in some markets, but not Denver. If anyone gets the repeat and can tape it on VHS or DVD for me and send it to me, it would be much appreciated. I'd be glad to cover the cost and send a copy of Eric Boehlert's Lapdogs in return -- or give you a gift certificate for iTunes. The show is on vacation now, so I can't ask them.

It was a very spirited discussion -- I remember being very emphatic about how we need to legalize the undocumented.

The next one should air June 7 -- Lou Dobbs, Joe Trippi and actor Joe Pantaleone are also on.

by TChris

Driving while black is a too-common reason for traffic stops. In Eastpointe, Michigan, bicycling while black was viewed as sufficient reason to stop bicyclists, according to a lawsuit filed "on behalf of black youths from Detroit who said police violated their constitutional rights by unfairly stopping and searching them as they rode their bikes."

The City maintains its officers did nothing wrong, but it agreed to pay $160,000 to settle the claims of 21 kids who were stopped by Eastpointe police.

The settlement comes less than a year after the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned U.S. District Judge John O'Meara's 2003 dismissal of the case. The appellate court expressed concerns about potential Fourth Amendment violations and said there was enough evidence of racial discrimination and illegal searches by the police department to take the case to a jury trial.