Nighttime cable news viewers can let out a great sigh of relief tonight. Larry King has signed a contract with CNN for four more years. Four more years before Nancy Grace replaces him.

by TChris

The president should be embarrassed by his administration's efforts to disguise political propaganda as news. Instead, he's proud, and he doesn't intend to change the practice.

President Bush says that one of the Justice Department lawyers has produced a legal opinion that supports his view (are you surprised?): the law permits the administration to package information as a news story, complete with fake journalists, ready to be aired on local news broadcasts. People who don't work for the president disagree.

David Walker, the comptroller general who heads the GAO, said he disagreed with Bush's stance and was "disappointed by the administration's actions."

"This is not just a legal issue, it's also an ethical matter," Walker said. "The taxpayers have a right to know when the government is trying to influence them with their own money."

by TChris

It all came down to this:

"They couldn't put the gun in his hand," jury foreman Thomas Nicholson told reporters outside court.

And this:

The police "convicted Mr. Blake on the night of the murder, and then they conducted an incompetent investigation," defense attorney M. Gerald Schwartzbach said.

And so a jury that took seriously its oath to follow the law found reason to doubt that Robert Blake killed his wife, acquitting him of murder and of soliciting murder after nine days of deliberation. Kudos to the defense team for exposing the gaps in the prosecution's evidence.

Today's New York Times reports on a man convicted in a case in which the prosecutor was sitting on a mountain of exculpatory evidence. When the defendant dug up the information, the Bronx DA told him it had been exempt from disclosure during his trial because of a novel legal doctrine they cooked up on the spot. This new principle, called "law enforcement exemption" by the Bronx DA, sounds a little like Bernie Ebbers' defense: It was being handled by another part of the office and I didn't know about it.

The DA got 9 different state judges to buy into it before a federal judge started asking embarrassing questions which led to the defendant's release. Applause for Legal Aid lawyer Mitchell Briskey for his determination and ultimate success in this case. [Hat tip to Terry Kindlon]

The Chicago Tribune today in an editorial supports a pending bill changing the burden of proof in death penalty cases to beyond all doubt from beyond a reasonable doubt.

The Illinois House is considering legislation that would establish a higher burden of proof in capital case sentencing. Judges and jurors in criminal trials would still apply the time-tested standard of guilt "beyond a reasonable doubt." But the standard to impose a death sentence would be even higher. Under the legislation, the court would tell jurors that they may impose a death sentence "if the jury unanimously determines that the evidence leaves no doubt respecting the defendant's guilt." If jurors had any residual, or lingering, doubts, they would impose a sentence of life in prison.

Given the deeply troubling experience in Illinois, it should be easy for supporters and opponents of capital punishment to agree on this: When the state is going to impose the ultimate, irreversible punishment, there should be no doubt that the person paying for the crime is the one who committed it.

And in Texas, S.B. 60 has passed it's first house vote. It would add a third option for juries in death cases - life without the possibility of parole.

by TChris

According to the AP, at least 108 people have died while held in U.S. custody in Iraq or Afghanistan.

Most deaths were violent and some 25% are being investigated as possible abuse by US personnel, the agency said.

At least 26 deaths have been investigated as homicides, a figure that calls into question the government's contention that only a few rogue soldiers are to blame for prisoner abuse.

The American Civil Liberties Union said it was "unacceptable" that no-one at the highest levels of government had been held accountable for the abuses.

Names of the dead and causes of death are reported here.

I'll be doing an online chat about the Scott Peterson death sentence today for the Washington Post at 3:00 p.m. ET, one hour from now. You can submit your questions now and follow along here.

by TChris

Scott Peterson has been sentenced to death.

Judge Alfred A. Delucchi denied a defense request for a new trial before upholding the jury's recommendation that he be sentenced to death, calling the slayings of Laci and her fetus "cruel, uncaring, heartless and callous."

TalkLeft's coverage of the case is collected here.

by TChris

Honolulu is apparently such a crime-free city that undercover police officers have time to get lap dances. Mary Ann Keawe was arrested for prostitution (defined as an exchange of money for sexual contact, even through clothing) 20 days after she performed a lap dance on an undercover cop.

The Hawaii Supreme Court ruled that the delay resulted in an illegal arrest, because the police had ample time to obtain an arrest warrant. The ruling doesn't help Keawe, because the court held that her remedy wasn't dismissal of the charge, but suppression of any evidence obtained as a result of the arrest. Since the evidence (the officer's account of what he saw and felt during the dance) was gathered before the arrest, there was nothing to suppress.

"I find that disturbing, that there is no remedy (for the illegal arrest)," said Earle Partington, who filed a brief on the case with the Supreme Court on behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union.

Even more disturbing is the waste of resources that Honolulu devoted to the arrest and prosecution of lap dancers. Keawe's attorney estimates that at least 200 similar prosecutions have been on hold, awaiting the decision in Keawe's case.

by TChris

Seven defendants are asking the public to come to their trial in Brooklyn next week. Here's their side of the story:

In November of 2003, police arrived at a house party of community folks, mostly people of color, who are organizers and educators against the prison-industrial complex. Without provocation, police beat and seriously injured several of us, then arrested eight people of color. The arrestees have had criminal charges heaped on them. Seven are going to trial next week.

The "Brooklyn 7" believe that community support will help assure a fair trial. March 21 is the start date of the 2-week trial. It should be interesting.

You would think Ken Lay's lawyers would be shaking in their Texas boots after yesterday's conviction of Worldcom's Bernard Ebbers. Not so. Lay may have been more hands-off and less involved in the financial aspects of Enron than Ebbers was at WorldCom. His lawyer, Mike Ramsey, says another big difference will be the cooperating co-conspirators: Andrew Fastow is not Scott Sullivan.

"At Enron we had a trusted employee who was stealing and hiding his theft from the people above him," Ramsey said of ex-CFO Andrew Fastow. "But Sullivan at WorldCom appears to be just a cheat, and not a cheat and a thief."

As many credibility problems that Sullivan had, I think Fastow may have even more. He kept denying his and Ken Lay's involvement until the very end--when his wife was either going to have to go to trial or take a deal. The Government said no deal for Lea Fastow unless Andrew pleaded guilty and took a ten year hit. That' not only purchasing Fastow's testimony, it's practically extorting it. How credible is a man going to be whose testimony was obtained by threatening the mother of their two young children with a long prison sentence....or a five month sentence, to be served after he goes in so the children don't spend any time without at least one parent?

This may not last long, so I better publish it while I can. Technorati's Top 100 Blogs list tonight:

95. TalkLeft: The Politics of Crime 2,483 links from 1,923 sources
96. Blogs for Bush 3,282 links from 1,921 sources

[Note, the number of sources determines placement.]