by TChris

Dick Durbin apologized (unnecessarily) for selecting words that were subject to deliberate misinterpretation by the extreme right. No apology has followed Karl Rove's sleazy attack on liberals. Instead, the hard core right (including the White House) has rallied around Rove, insisting that his slanderous lies are connected to reality.

"That's not slander, that's the truth," House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, Texas Republican, told the College Republican National Committee's biennial convention in Arlington yesterday.

"Karl Rove is right," announced the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the chief campaign arm of Senate Republicans, in a fundraising e-mail message yesterday.

The right wing motto: lie or deny, but never apologize.

by TChris

As TalkLeft reported here, a federal judge ordered a new trial for Randy Steidl after concluding that his lawyer's poor representation, combined with new evidence, compelled the conclusion that Steidl was probably innocent of the double murder with which he was charged. Steidl was freed after Illinois decided not to bring him to trial again.

Steidl's co-defendant hasn't been so fortunate.

Herbert Whitlock’s hopes for a second chance were crushed Thursday afternoon when the much anticipated decision by Edgar County Circuit Judge H. Dean Andrews denied the 59-year-old a new trial.

The validity of Whitlock's conviction is called into question by the same unreliable testimony and prosecutorial misconduct that eventually led to Steidl's freedom. Whitlock's lawyers say that "as in Mr. Steidl’s case, it is going to take the federal courts to make the right decision to let an innocent man out of jail."

Former Illinois State Police Lt. Michale Callahan, who believes both Steidl and Whitlock are innocent, is disappointed with the state court's decision.

by TChris

Was former Harvard student Alexander Pring-Wilson using reasonable force to defend himself from an attack, or was he the aggressor? A jury found Pring-Wilson guilty of voluntary manslaughter, but Superior Court Judge Regina Quinlan tossed the conviction yesterday in light of a recent state supreme court ruling permitting the defense to introduce evidence of a victim's history of violence if it supports a self-defense claim.

Unless the prosecution prevails in an appeal of the ruling, Pring-Wilson will have a second chance to persuade a jury that his use of deadly force was justified to repel an attack. Bail will be set for Pring-Wilson on Monday.

by TChris

Right wing efforts to amend the Constitution to prohibit flag burning (TalkLeft background here) aren't playing well in the press. Condemnations of the House vote to suppress symbolic criticism of the government include:

• The Daily Telegram in Adrian, Michigan. ("To be sure, flag burning is an ignorant and vile exercise in free speech. But we allow a lot of ignorant and vile things to be said and done - that's one of the twisted beauties of our nation.")

• The Oregonian ("That burning you smell isn't an American flag, it's the Bill of Rights going up in political smoke.")

• The Ledger in Lakeland, Florida ("Proposing to eviscerate the First Amendment to criminalize a rare symbolic act of flag disrespect is more than just a trivialization of public policy. It is the ultimate desecration of the very constitutional foundation that really has kept this nation free for more than two centuries.")

by TChris

The law, like politics, is about competing values. Defendants accused of sexual assault would often like to know what their accusers said to others about the allegations, because accusers sometimes make inconsistent statements that call their credibility into question. Mental health providers, including sexual assault counselors, want to keep those statements private for fear that the possibility of disclosure would discourage victims from seeking counseling or from giving a candid account of the sexual abuse.

The tension between those competing values -- which has caused some jurisdictions to shield statements made to counselors from disclosure -- is evident in the court martial prosecution of Lt. Joseph Harding, who is accused of sexually assaulting Jessica Brakey at the Air Force Academy. Harding's lawyers contend that they need to see the notes maintained by Brakey's counselor to assure that Harding receives a fair trial. Brakey's counselor, however, refuses to turn over her notes.

Military judge Col. David Brash sided with the defense, postponing Harding's trial indefinitely. Whether Brakey actually made statements to her counselor that would help the defense is unknown, but the judge viewed Brakey's credibility as the key issue in the case, strengthening the argument that the notes should be disclosed.

Schapelle Corby has fired her old legal team and assembled a new one.

The coordinator of Schapelle Corby's new legal team, Walter Tonetto, says he is concerned that much of the Corby trial was played out in the media.

Corby yesterday sacked her Indonesian legal team, including the recently hired Jakarta-based lawyer Hotman Paris Hutapea. Her decision came after Perth QC Mark Trowell accused her Indonesian defence team of suggesting the appeal judges could be bribed into overturning her 20-year-sentence.

Ties between the Corby family and the Gold Coast businessman Ron Bakir have also been cut. Dr Tonetto says he will be meeting with Australian officials soon to discuss the Corby case.

More on the new team is here.

Too much sun? Check out Dembloggers for the video of remarks Tom DeLay made about Karl Rove's statement. It's pretty funny.

With very little fanfare Friday, the Justice Department statues were returned to their former glory.

Spirit of Justice, with her one breast exposed and her arms raised, and the bare-chested male Majesty of Law basked in the late afternoon light of Justice's ceremonial Great Hall.

Via Huffington Post:

Vice President Dick Cheney was taken to the cardiac unit of the Vail Valley Medical Center Friday. Contrary to Associated Press reports that he went to see orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Steadman, for a knee injury, Vice President Cheney passed through the orthopedic center directly to the cardiac unit to see Dr. Jack Eck and his team. The Vice President checked into the hospital under the name of Dr. Hoffman.

Arianna is also in Vail and has more details. This AP article just mentions Cheney going to get his old knee injury checked.

Update here.

Media Matters has the transcript of author Ed Klein's appearance on Al Franken's Air America radio show today, during which he disscussed his book, The Truth About Hillary. MM says:

Hosts Al Franken and Katherine Lanpher, and guest Joe Conason confronted author Edward Klein on the many factual errors, distortions, and misleading claims in his attack book on Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY), The Truth About Hillary (Sentinel, 2005). On the June 24 edition of the Al Franken Show on Air America Radio, Klein acknowledged his falsehood in portraying the chronology of the reporting of Clinton's Jewish step-grandfather and her controversial meeting with Suha Arafat, first noted by Media Matters for America. He also admitted that he had never seen Clinton's chief of staff Melanne Verveer (whose name he misspelled in the book), although he described her appearance as "mannish-looking." But he refused to retract other false claims when confronted by Franken, Conason and Lanpher.

Tom Cruise had a "passionate" interview on the Today Show with Matt Lauer this morning. You can watch the video here (it starts at 7 min. 45 seconds.)

So what is it with Tom Cruise and drugs? First, in an interview with der Spiegel weeks ago, he claimed to be personally curing drug addicts through Scientology. Now he rants against anti-depressants and psychiatry - saying the first are just a mask and the second is a pseudo-science - and he's an expert in these areas.

Tom Cruise is actually doing us all a favor. He's doing more to drive people from Scientology than all the proselytizing against it ever could.

So who are you going to believe? The vast medical conspiracy or Tom Cruise and Scientology? I'll choose the former if I'm sick. Sorry, Tom.

Update: Roger Friedman has a good take on the Lauer-Cruise Today Show interview.

Six American soldiers killed today by a suicide bomber.

Bush refuses to set a timetable to leave Iraq

Most Americans oppose a return to the draft.

It's time to put the pressure on Republicans and Congress.

The Republican leadership is biting their fingernails off over this. This Congress has been negligent with regard to its duty on Iraq. We didn't ask the right questions before the war. Now, no one is being held accountable. [U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern]