Tom DeLay's arraignment has been set for October 21. A poster at Daily Kos speculates he already has a plea bargain and will plead no contest. He bases this on the Indictment which mentions DeLay's waiver of the statute of limitations (which I referenced in the comments section here) and his having gone in for talks with prosecutors ( discussed here.)

I doubt it. First of all, I don't think Dick DeGuerin was representing DeLay at the time he waived the statute of limitations or when he went in for talks, and that his prior (or newly subjugated) counsel arranged both. This article says DeGuerin only recently has become involved in the case.

This is music to our ears. Dan Balz of The Washington Post writes that the indictment of Tom DeLay, coupled with Bill Frist's problems, RoveGate and Bush's declining ratings due to Katrina, Iraq, gas prices may signal serious setbacks to the Republican Party in the next election cycle, and that Republican leaders in Congress recognize it.

Republican strategists were nearly unanimous in their private assessments yesterday that the party must brace for setbacks next year. On almost every front, Republicans see trouble. Bush is at the low point of his presidency, with Iraq, hurricane relief, rising gasoline prices and another Supreme Court vacancy all problems to be solved. Congressional Republicans have seen their approval ratings slide throughout the spring and summer; a Washington Post-ABC News poll in August found that just 37 percent of Americans approve of the way Congress is doing its job, the lowest rating in eight years.

People for the American Way provides this list of consensus nominees for the replacement of retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor:

There are a number of distinguished judges first appointed to the federal bench by Republican presidents who would, like Sandra Day O’Connor, likely receive overwhelming bipartisan support to replace her. Among them are Ann Williams of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit, Sonia Sotomayor of the 2nd Circuit, Jose Cabranes of the 2nd Circuit and Edward Prado of the 5th Circuit. President Bush would serve the country well by choosing a consensus nominee rather than an ideologue who would move the Court substantially to the right.

My pick: Ed Prado.

by TChris

The Bush administration's effort to suppress disturbing images of prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib has been rejected (once again) by Judge Alvin Hellerstein, who ruled in favor of the ACLU's request for disclosure of the photographs and videos. Freedom of information trumped the government's claim that the nation's image would be tarnished, and that terrorism would be fueled, if the pictures were made public.

[I]n his 50-page ruling, the judge said: "My task is not to defer to our worst fears, but to interpret and apply the law, in this case, the Freedom of Information Act, which advances values important to our society, transparency and accountability in government.

"Our struggle to prevail must be without sacrificing the transparency and accountability of government and military officials," he added.

by TChris

Update: Recent video, via CNN, can be accessed here. Earlier video, via Crooks and Liars, can be accessed here.

.....

In the aftermath of Katrina, some opportunists took advantage of chaos to enrich themselves by theft, while others, desperate to survive, took food and water and other supplies that enhanced their chances of staying alive. The media have done a less than spectacular job of sorting out the two groups.

Starting to come to light, however, is a group of opportunists who were charged with the duty of enforcing the law: members of the New Orleans police department.

by TChris

In light of the FEMA disaster, this TV show sounds more like a comedy than a drama:

"DHS" — a show about the men and women of the Department of Homeland Security "who risk their lives every day to keep us safe”

Problem is, it’s neither. It doesn’t exist, as duped investors learned.

by TChris

No surprise here: John Roberts is the new Chief Justice, confirmed by a vote of 78-22. He'll be sworn in quickly so he can preside over the opening day of the new term, commencing (as always) on the first Monday of October.

Attention now turns to Justice O'Connor's successor. The president's nominee should be announced within days. A photo gallery of some of the contenders for the job is here.

by TChris

Human Rights Watch reports that the sheriff's department in New Orleans left hundreds of inmates locked in a city jail as flood waters began to rise.

Inmates in Templeman III, one of several buildings in the Orleans Parish Prison compound, reported that as of Monday, August 29, there were no correctional officers in the building, which held more than 600 inmates. These inmates, including some who were locked in ground-floor cells, were not evacuated until Thursday, September 1, four days after flood waters in the jail had reached chest-level.

More than 500 inmates are missing. Were any of them left to drown?

by Last Night in Little Rock

Indicted Congressman Tom DeLay (R-TX,22) called the prosecutor who obtained his indictment yesterday a "partisan fanatic."

by Last Night in Little Rock

The NY Times today has interesting articles about the "DeLay Effect," my choice of words, not theirs, on the DeLay indictment. DeLay's successor, picked by the Republicans as Majority Whip, is Rep. Roy D. Blunt (R-MO,7).

Blunt is named in a 9/26 posting on the website of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) of the most corrupt members of Congress, and it names Blunt first. What timing.

by Last Night in Little Rock

JURIST's Paper Chase, a blog written by law students, has a heavily hyperlink annotated posting last night: Judge rejects Aschroft's claim that appeal rules are not applicable in emergencies. The government detained two Muslim men in the wake of 9/11, held them in solitary confinement, and then deported them, denying them all access to the courts while in the U.S. The court ruled that they could sue, rejecting former AG Ashcroft's defense that the rules just don't apply during national emergencies.

by Last Night in Little Rock

The widow of slain Atlanta Superior Court judge Rowland Barnes has served notice on the Atlanta Sheriff that she intends to sue over the negligence of the Sheriff's Office in the judge's March 11th murder as noted on Law.com. As previously reported here, the Sheriff investigated and fired several officers.