I meant to post this the other day but it got lost in draft mode.

The Judge in the Scooter "Libby" case denied most of Libby's request to prevent the Government from submitting secret (ex parte) filings on classified information that may have to be disclosed to the defense. You can read the memorandum order here (pdf.) But he threw Libby one bone.

The Judge ruled (page 12) that Team Libby can file an ex parte (secret) affidavit within two weeks outlining its defense so that the Judge will be more informed before deciding what material Fitzgerald has to turn over to Libby.

That's kind of cool for Libby, because it means the Judge will know exactly where Libby is going but Fitzgerald won't.

The congressional race in Colorado's 7th District has been referred to as one of the most important for Democrats in taking back the House in November, 2006. It's the seat currently held by Republican Bob Beauprez, who is vacating it to run for Governor. There are three Democrats vying for the primary, Peggy Lamm, Ed Perlmutter and Herb Rubenstein. The Republican challenger will be Rick O'Donnell (for whom Dick Cheney came to town in recent months to fundraise.)

Politicians are reaching out to bloggers to get their message across. A few months ago I spent two hours interviewing Peggy Lamm at a local eatery and she followed up with a phone call. This Tuesday, I spent two hours with Ed Perlmutter at a downtown Starbucks.

I just posted my interview with Ed Perlmutter over at 5280, Denver's superb monthly glossy magazine, where I blog on local issues. My post on my followup phone call with Peggy is here. My post on Ed came out much more detailed, so I'm going to write more on Peggy and what she had to say during our two hour interview soon. Colorado Pols reports that Peggy just did a campaign shakeup.

The Hagel-Martinez compromise immigration bill touted by Senate leaders yesterday failed by a 38 to 60 test vote today.

It's just as well. Had it passed, it would have gone on to the house to be reconciled with Sensenbrenner's H.R. 4437 and the Democrats would likely have compromised on keeping some of that bill's excessively punitive provisions.

Frist's bill also failed, garnering even less votes.

My view: Take the punitive provisions out. Let families stay together. Then let's talk about a bill.

Should a bill pass, when it comes time to appoint conferees to reconcile the House and Senate versions, AILA is recommending that the Senate conferees include every member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

by TChris

Jessie Misskelley and two others were convicted of the gruesome murders and mutilations of three 8 year old boys in West Memphis in 1993. A reporter and a lawyer are raising serious questions about their guilt.

[Attorney Daniel] Stidham contends Misskelly had the I.Q. of a 5-year-old and was told by police what to say though hours of interrogations. "It's not really difficult to get someone mentally handicapped to confess to something they didn't do," says Stidham.

by TChris

The knee-jerk conservative response to immigration policy -- kick 'em out if their documents aren't in order -- ignores the plight of people like Manuel Bartsch.

Bartsch, 18, has lived in Gilboa, Ohio, for nearly half his life, but only learned he was there illegally in December when he was jailed after trying to find out his Social Security number so he could take a college entrance exam. He is to graduate high school next month and has been accepted at the University of Northwestern Ohio.

Toby Deal brought Bartsch to the U.S. on a 90 day visa when Bartsch's grandmother died, but didn't adopt him or process his immigration papers. Fortunately, Ohio Sen. Mike DeWine put aside his right-wing instincts long enough to go to bat for Bartsch.

by TChris

After a Texas jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict, the parties agreed to let Judge Chris Oldner decide whether Dena Schlosser was guilty of murder for "cutting off her 10-month-old daughter's arms and leaving the bleeding baby in her crib to die."

Several psychiatrists testified that Schlosser lost touch with reality, suffered severe mood swings and experienced religious hallucinations and delusions. One doctor said she told him she wanted to cut off her baby's arms and her own limbs and head and give them God.

The defense faulted Schlosser's husband for not getting her adequate mental health treatment and also blamed her preacher, Doyle Davidson, who believes only God can cure mental illness.

Judge Oldner rendered his verdict today, finding Schlosser not guilty by reason of insanity. Schlosser will be committed for mental health treatment.

by TChris

Two "highly decorated" New York City police detectives were each convicted of 70 crimes arising out of their side jobs as hit men for the Luchese crime family. TalkLeft background on the nefarious careers of Louis Eppolito and Stephen Caracappa is collected here. The men were responsible for at least eight murders. They'll be sentenced, presumably to life, on May 22.

by Last Night in Little Rock

The U.S. State Department announced on Thursday that the U.S. would not be seeking membership on the UN's new Human Rights Council as reported on PaperChase.

Our government's press statement is a classic "read between the lines" document:

For those that followed the intensive TalkLeft coverage of the first phase of Moussaoui's death penalty trial, and the proceedings leading up to it, you are probably wondering why there has been no coverage of today's proceedings in Phase Two of the death trial.

The short answer is: I have no interest in publicizing or endorsing the Government's victim impact testimony. Also, for me, as a member of Timothy McVeigh's defense team, it's somewhat of a "deja-vu , the unfairness of which I don't care to experience again in my lifetime.

The death case against Moussaoui is a fraud. Giuliani is a joke. Moussaoui may be a demented, blind follower of al-Qaeda but in my view he had no role in 9/11, let alone one that warrants the death penalty. A civilized society does not kill, let alone execute a person for their unconsummated fantasies.

Moussaoui coverage on TalkLeft will resume, if at all, when the defense begins presenting evidence to spare his life.

The Bush Administration may be running on empty when it comes to the warrantless NSA electronic surveillance program. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales testified Wednesday at a Senate subcommittee hearing on budget needs, and even Republicans like Sensenbrenner weren't buying it:

Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales left open the possibility yesterday that President Bush could order warrantless wiretaps on telephone calls occurring solely within the United States -- a move that would dramatically expand the reach of a controversial National Security Agency surveillance program.

In response to a question from Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) during an appearance before the House Judiciary Committee, Gonzales suggested that the administration could decide it was legal to listen in on a domestic call without supervision if it were related to al-Qaeda.

"I'm not going to rule it out," Gonzales said.

Up until Wednesday, the Administration refused to address the question of authority to engage in warrantless eavesdroppoing of purely domestic calls.

President Bush says the United States does not torture. He denies that we outsource detainees to countries known for torture. Today, at a military tribunal proceeding at Guantanamo, a detainee, backed by his lawyer, said differently:

Mohammad, as he said he prefers to be called, has proclaimed his innocence and has stated in court documents that he made false confessions after being extrajudicially transferred to a Moroccan prison where he was beaten, strung up by his arms and cut on the chest and penis with scalpels.

"This is four years of interrogation, highly intensive ... torture, and you still don't have the right name," he told the tribunal's presiding officer, Marine Col. Ralph Kohlmann. "The man you are looking for is not here."

The defendant compared Kohlmann to Adolf Hitler and prosecutors to vampire slayers. He calmly criticized the tribunals as "crap" that set a bad example for the world and poked fun at their formal name, commissions. "This is not a commission. It's a con mission. It's a mission to con the world," he said.

Today, key Senators announced a compromise has been reached on immigration reform. More here. If you're just catching up, here's a good primer on the issues from the LA Times today.

Shorter version: Say goodbye to Specter's Chairman's Mark bill that passed the Judiciary committee last week. Say hello to the Frist bill, that includes a compromise called the Hagel-Martinez bill introduced last night.

The Senate Judiciary bill died a filibuster death today when Senators voted against cloture. A vote on the new compromise legislation could come tomorrow. Congress starts a two week Easter recess Monday.

Background here. Key differences between the Chairman's Mark and the Hagel-Martinez include: