The Herald Sun reports on a new round of attacks on the Duke lacrosse accuser's credibility in the alleged rape case.

For example, three defense sources, who asked not to be identified, said a forensic examination of the alleged victim found no tearing, bleeding or other injury associated with a sexual assault. Instead, the exam detected only swelling in the accuser's vagina and tenderness in her breasts and lower right body, the sources said.

by TChris

Reasonable arguments can be made that laws should require drivers to wear seat belts, or that motorcylists should be required to wear helmets, because society often bears the cost of injuries that exceed insurance coverage. Others reasonably argue that the government should allow individuals to make their own judgments about the costs and benefits of using seat belts or helmets.

Putting that debate aside, states that mandate seat belt use must decide whether the police should be allowed to stop a vehicle solely because the officer suspects that someone in the car hasn't buckled up. The Massachusetts House wisely declined to give the police the power to stop motorists solely to write a seat belt ticket. About half the states permit only "secondary enforcement" of seat belt laws, permitting seat belt enforcement when the police make a traffic stop for some other traffic violation while prohibiting traffic stops just to write a seat belt ticket.

by TChris

The company that manufactures Tasers bases its safety claims on tests conducted on pigs. Pigs aren't people. Although a pig's heart and an adult human heart are similar in size, a thicker layer of fat and muscle protects the pig's heart.

A researcher who stripped away some of that fat and muscle to more closely replicate human anatomy found that Taser shocks kill pigs when the Taser dart delivers a shock within 17 millimeters from the heart. So much for the theory that Tasers are always safe -- a theory that has been debunked by the fatalities that have occurred when humans have been shot by Tasers.

Amnesty International has linked over 150 deaths to Tasers since 2001, according to one of its reports.

TalkLeft's Taser coverage is collected here.

by TChris

After criticizing Haley Barbour for refusing to pardon Clyde Kennard, TalkLeft praised Judge Robert Helfrich for vacating Kennard's conviction. Kennard was wrongly accused of buying stolen chicken feed and sentenced to prison after he tried to enroll in an all-white university in Mississippi.

This happy ending is under attack by Richard Barrett. Sadly, Barrett is a lawyer. He's also the newspaper editor for the white supremacist organization the Nationalist Movement. He filed a petition asking Judge Helfrich to reverse his decision on the ground that Helfrich had no authority to act.

Barrett filed his petition on behalf of five "common folks" from Central Mississippi.

Barrett professes to be concerned that the correction of racial injustice might become a trend that will lead to the renaming of Forrest County, "because its namesake is Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest - founder of the Ku Klux Klan." And that would be a bad thing why?

Lloyd Bentsen, 85, Former Senator, Secretary of the Treasury and Vice Presidential candidate on the 1988 Democratic ticket with Michael Dukakis has died at his home in Texas. He had had two strokes in recent years. His most priceless moment came during his 1988 debate with Dan Quayle:

Quayle: ... I have far more experience than many others that sought the office of vice president this country. I have as much experience in the Congress as Jack Kennedy did when he sought the presidency. I will be prepared to deal with the people in the Bush administration if that unfortunate event would ever occur.

Moderator: Senator Bentsen.

Bentsen: Senator, I served with Jack Kennedy. I knew Jack Kennedy. Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy.

R.I.P., Senator Bentson

by Last Night in Little Rock

Over the weekend, the FBI searched the Congressional office of Rep. William Jefferson, and Republicans in the House are crying "foul" and "separation of powers." See House Leaders Question F.B.I. Search on NYTimes.com today.

As readers of this website and FourthAmendment.com have undoubtedly noticed, I tend to lean toward the citizen on Fourth Amendment claims. I also read the cases everyday, and I know the trends and what the courts can do and not do with particular facts. I am also a Fourth Amendment realist seeking to balance individual privacy and government need.

Senator Chris Dodd of CT has announced he is exploring a bid for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Thoughts, anyone?

No surprise here, but General Michael Hayden was approved by the House Intelligence Committee today as CIA Director and now will go to the full Senate for a confirmation vote. Today's vote was 9-3. Voting against him were three Democrats, Russ Feingold, Ron Wyden and Evan Bayh.

The ACLU responds:

And the hits, they just keep coming. The latest is Osama bin Laden's newest audio tape in which he says Zacarias Moussaoui was not a part of 9/11.

"He had no connection at all with Sept. 11," the speaker, claiming to be bin Laden, said in the tape posted on the Internet. "I am the one in charge of the 19 brothers and I never assigned brother Zacarias to be with them in that mission," he said, referring to the 19 hijackers.

The al-Qaida chief said the Sept. 11 hijackers were divided into two groups, "pilots and assistants." "Since Zacarias Moussaoui was still learning how to fly, he wasn't No. 20 in the group, as your government has claimed," bin Laden said. "It knows this very well," he added. Bin Laden said Moussaoui's confession -- that he helped plan the attacks -- was "void," calling it the result of "pressures exercised against him during four and a half years" in U.S. prison.

Will Moussaoui's lawyers ask for a new trial based on newly discovered evidence showing he's innocent? Is it admissible, if authenticated? Would it have made any difference to the jury? Does anyone care any more about Moussaoui, or has he already become a footnote in 9/11 history now that he is languishing at Supermax?

Remember Texas Supreme Court Justice Nathan Hecht who served as the Administration's unofficial spokesman in advancing Harriet Miers' nomination to the Supreme Court? (Background here.)

He has been admonished for his conduct by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct which issued a public admonition to him for his media comments.

Last fall Hecht estimated that he gave 120 interviews to the press about Miers' qualifications for the bench -- including information about her religious beliefs and views on abortion -- after her Oct. 3, 2005, nomination came under attack from conservative groups. [See "Texas Attorneys Support Dallas Native's High Court Nomination," Texas Lawyer, Oct. 10, 2005, page 1.]

At that time, Hecht jokingly said to Texas Lawyer that he had been acting as a "PR office for the White House" and had been filling in gaps about Miers' background to the press, countering some conservatives' skepticism about her qualifications -- statements that were referenced in the commission's admonition. [See the commission's admonition.]

Washington Post Photo

The trial of Abu Ghraib dog handler Sgt. Santos A. Cardona opened today. He is accused of letting his dog bite a detainee, which resulted in the detainee receiving stitches. The actual charges are:

....assault, dereliction of duty, maltreatment of detainees, conspiracy to maltreat detainees and lying to investigators in late 2003 and early 2004. If convicted on all counts, he faces up to 16 1/2 years in prison.

Opening statements were held this morning.

The BBC News reports today that a panel of experts in Britan have recommended a program that has been in effect in Switzerland for years -- heroin addiction rooms, where addicts can go to get clean needles and shoot up, with a nurse on staff to help them find a vein or provide medical or treatment advice.

Addicts can get a shower, there is a small restaurant providing nutritious food, and even a corner with comfortable armchairs and table football. But perhaps the most important thing the centre provides, apart from the clean needles, is psychiatric support.

Most doctors who treat long-term addicts agree there is always a point when an addict is ready to give up heroin, and there are staff here to watch for those signs, to counsel, and to refer patients for therapy.