Hurricane Dennis wollopped Cuba today, and Guantanamo was affected.

Winds and heaving surf tossed a guard tower into the sea and roared over a razor-wire fence at the U.S. detention camp for terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay, on the island's eastern end.

by TChris

Lynndie England, the accused prisoner abuser, accomplished what is usually a herculean task: she persuaded a judge that she did not knowingly and voluntarily surrender her right to remain silent.

After testimony from psychologists that England may not have understood her legal rights and may have given inaccurate answers because of a learning disability, Pohl said statements she gave in January 2004 could not be permitted as evidence. "The court finds that under the totality of circumstances in this case, the accused did not understand her rights," he said.

England's lawyer recently asked the military judge to recuse himself, arguing that Judge Pohl would not give England a fair trial. While it's tempting to wonder whether the recusal request induced Pohl to prove how fair he could be (human nature, after all), it's more reassuring to believe that Pohl gave the suppression motion careful thought and came to a conclusion that should be obvious to other judges in many other cases: the accused didn't really understand that she had the right to keep her mouth shut. In any event, it's a nice win for England (please note: that observation is not an endorsement of her behavior), who faces (but probably won't receive) a sentence similar to the ten years imposed on "Abu Ghraib abuse ringleader Charles Graner."

Bump and Update 6:40 pm ET: The Supreme Court has closed for the day, no word from Rehnquist. Scotus Blog reports the White House Press office says no news tonight. The Supreme Court press corps has gone home. MSNBC said the press has been told there will be no more statements from President Bush tonight either.

by TChris

Bay City, Michigan resident Willie Lee filed a lawsuit against members of the Bay Area Narcotics Enforcement Team (cutely acronymed BAYANET), alleging that police officers jumped out of a van and started beating him as he was chatting with his brother and a friend. The police claim they "were doing 'street ops' in a heavy drug-trafficking area" when they stopped to investigate an illegally parked car (yeah, right) before a struggle ensued. Lee was charged with resisting and obstructing, but the officers failed to appear at Lee's trial, causing the judge to dismiss the case.

The criminal charges were dismissed a year ago, but were resurrected shortly after Lee filed his lawsuit. (The charges were dismissed "without prejudice," meaning Lee's right to be free from double jeopardy hadn't kicked in.) Lee believes the police are retaliating for his decision to sue them. He has a point.

Reuters has a good article today on the influence blogs will have in the upcoming battles over Supreme Court nominations.

"A key part of our strategy is reaching out to the Internet community," said Jim Manley, spokesman for Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada..... Reid and other political leaders now hold conferences with bloggers in the same way they meet with traditional press.

"I think they are instrumental in getting information out and deconstructing spin," said Eric Ueland, chief of staff to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, a Tennessee Republican. "They are much defter and swifter than the mainstream media," he said, adding that blogs are also "very clear in their philosophical and ideological leanings."

by TChris

It ain't over 'til it's over, but this time, it might actually be over. At least for the unfairly demonized Michael Schiavo.

When we last visited this case (be sure to read Peter G's insightful remarks in the comments), Jeb Bush made the loathsome decision to send a state's attorney after Michael to look for evidence that he abused his wife, all because of a minor discrepancy in estimates that Michael gave of the time he called 911 after discovering that Terri had collapsed. Never mind that he gave one estimate eleven years after the other; Jeb seized on the inconsistency to continue pandering to the right wing extremists who didn't want the controversy to die with Terri.

Despite Jeb's best efforts, Michael has again been vindicated and, like Terri, can finally be at peace.

The chief investigator in the matter has told Florida Gov. Jeb Bush he found no evidence that Michael Schiavo caused his wife's collapse 15 years ago. Bernie McCabe, the Pinellas-Pasco state attorney, urged Bush to end the state's inquiry into the death of Terri Schiavo. Bush said he would follow McCabe's recommendation, the St. Petersburg Times reported Friday.

by Last Night in Little Rock

CNN reports today that a Kentucky trial judge upheld lethal injection as a form of execution, as long as the state does not use the jugular vein if another vein is not available.

While upholding lethal injection, the judge said the state should not be allowed to administer the fatal drugs through an intravenous catheter stuck into the prisoner's jugular vein, in the neck, if no suitable veins can be found in the arms or legs.

He said it was unconstitutionally cruel and should be removed from the process. Officials said they had already removed that step as an option.

Unless somebody has witnessed an execution, one cannot say that even lethal injection is completely painless. I've watched two clients die, and the experience never leaves you. They gasp for air and their face turns gray as life slips away. 'They' say it is peaceful, but it isn't. Why anybody would volunteer to witness an execution is beyond me. I did it because I was obligated to as counsel and among the last friend the clients seemingly had.

(by Last Night in Little Rock)

The New York Times reports this morning that 56 Senators were not around the last time a Supreme Court nominee came before them. Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) now leads the Senate Judicary Committee which has only 8 of 18 members with prior experience. Specter had a re-election fight on his hands after the Clarence Thomas confirmation hearing where he was less than kind to Anita Hill's allegations.

We can expect that Specter has mellowed, and he isn't running for re-election. Should we feel safer that a moderate is in charge of the Committee? Staff is combing the historical records to see how to deal with the nomination process, from the FBI background check to their internal security in keeping their own papers private.

With the potential retirement of Chief Justice Rehnquist today, the game of musical chairs begins. Does O'Connor's replacement come up first, or will it be Rehnquist, presumably replaced by Scalia, and then Scalia's replacement....?

Say Hello to a new TalkLeft guest blogger, Last Night in Little Rock. Like TChris, he is a criminal defense lawyer of the highest caliber, whose politics match those of TalkLeft.

Last Night in Little Rock is known in real life as John Wesley Hall. John is the author of two seminal texts, Search and Seizure (3d ed.) and Professional Responsibility in Criminal Defense Practice. Each book has a website with daily updates of court decisions: FourthAmendment.com and LawofCriminalDefense.com. He is also the author of Trial Handbook for Arkansas Lawyers, now in its 6th edition.

Josh Marshall posits that the retirement of Chief Justice Rehnquist bodes well for Dems:

Perhaps another way to put this is that I think it would be much easier for President Bush to push through one hard-right nominee now and another next spring or next summer than it will be for him to push twice at once.

Personally, I think we're going to get two staunch conservatives either way. I think the best we can hope for is that the Dems will will mount a filibuster as to the most objectionable. In other words, one will be horrible and one not as bad. But I think both will be hard right.

It's just another reason why Kerry not winning the election was a disaster for the next generation. The freedoms and rights we have known in this country will not be there for our children. As a parent, I find that truly sad.

Say Hello to the National Journal's Hotline Blogmeter...previously available only by subsription. It's a great daily roundup of blog coverage. It also carries interviews with bloggers. Mine is here (scroll down.)

John Wesley Hall writes on TalkLeft as "Last Night in Little Rock."

A criminal defense lawyer from Little Rock, Arkansas, he has tried hundreds of jury trials, and argued hundreds of appeals, including two before the U.S. Supreme Court. The second of those cases was Wilson v. Arkansas, holding that the Fourth Amendment at common law required police to knock-and-announce before entry.

He is the author of three legal treatises:

• Search and Seizure (3d ed. 2000), which is supplemented daily at Fourth Amendment.com.
  
• Professional Responsibility in Criminal Defense Practice (3d ed. 2005), which includes this virtual appendix and supplement and
• Trial Handbook for Arkansas Lawyers (4th ed. 2004-05)

John is an active member of the Special Court for Sierre Leone, where he is representing a defendant charged with war crimes.

He is President of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and listed in Best Lawyers in America for criminal defense. He is actively involved in promoting ethics and professionalism for the criminal defense bar.

E-mail John Wesley Hall.