AP Reports:

The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that the Constitution forbids the execution of killers who were under 18 when they committed their crimes, ending a practice used in 19 states.

The 5-4 decision throws out the death sentences of about 70 juvenile murderers and bars states from seeking to execute minors for future crimes.The executions, the court said, were unconstitutionally cruel.

No. 03-633, Roper v. Simmons, affirmed 5-4, in an opinion written by Justice Kennedy. Justice Stevens filed a concurrence, joined by Justice Ginsburg. Justice O'Connor dissented. Justice Scalia dissented, joined by the Chief Justice and Justice Thomas.[Via Scotus Blog]

This one is a must read, and its by a guy who never even met Hunter, Fred Reed, author of Nekkid in Austin: Drop Your Inner Child Down a Well. (I'm not making that up.)

For those of you who missed that decade (or even the next one), the last paragraph should still bring it home for you:

Then it was over. Everybody went into I-banking or something equally odious. We gave up drugs as boring.

You can see why he ate his gun. Everything he hated has returned. Nixon is back in the White House, Rumsnamara risen from the dead, bombs falling on other peoples’ suburbs. The Pentagon is lying again and democracy stalks yet another helpless country. This time the young are already dead and there will be no joyous anarchy. The press, housebroken, pees where it is told. But he gave it a hell of a try.

The bio on Fred Reed's book page reads:

Fred Reed is a Marine combat veteran, police reporter, amateur biochemist, former long-haul hitchhiker, and part-time sociopath living in Arlington, Virginia, across the Potomac River from the Yankee Capital.

Well done, Fred. [hat tip to "fat city" Don, who's gone fishing.]

Chicago Federal Judge Joan Humphrey Lefkow returned home after work and found two bodies in her home.

Lefkow presided over a trademark case against Matt Hale, a white supremacist later convicted of trying to have the judge killed. Hale remains behind bars.

In 2003, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the denial of a law license for Hale. More details about Hale's attempt to have the Judge killed are here.

Hale was the leader of the former World Church of the Creator (now known as the Creativity Movement).

Update: The bodies have been identified as the Judge's husband and mother. The article says the Judge ruled in favor of Hale in the trademark case, but was reversed by the 7th Circuit. He is set to be sentenced for conspiracy to kill Judge Lefkow in April.

The New Mexico state house voted today to abolish the death penalty in favor of life without parole. It now goes to the state senate.

What will Gov. Bill Richardson do if this bill reaches his desk? It's a political hot potato. Richardson has been in favor of the death penalty in the past. But if he vetoes the bill, it could have a negative effect on his chances for a 2008 Democratic nomination for President.

The last time the N.M. state senate voted on a bill to end the death penalty, it defeated the bill by only one vote.

Legislators who believe the death penalty is a deterrent are misinformed.

Both sides presented opening arguments today. I'll be doing a live chat for the Washington Post on the openings and case tomorrow at noon, ET. You can submit questions here.

The prosecution's side is in every news story. Very few that I've seen outline the defense. Here's one:

After the nearly three-hour opening by the prosecutor, defence lawyer Thomas Mesereau went on the attack, saying the mother of the accuser fraudulently claimed to many people that she was destitute and that her son needed money for chemotherapy. In truth, he said, the boy’s father was a member of a union that covered his medical bills.

A federal court today granted Jose Padilla's petition for writ of habeas corpus and ruled that the Bush Administration cannot continue to hold Jose Padilla as an enemy combatant unless it charges him with a crime. If it does not charge him, it must release him. The opinion is here.

The court finds that the president has no power, neither express nor implied, neither constitutional nor statutory, to hold petitioner as an enemy combatant," Floyd wrote in a 23-page opinion that was a stern rebuke to the government. He gave the administration 45 days to take action.

Former World Com chief Bernie Ebbers took the witness stand today in his fraud trial. He said he didn't know about the fraud and would have put an end to it if he had known.

Either Ebbers or Scott Sullivan is a liar. Sullivan got a sweet deal for testifying against Ebbers. No other witness confirms Sullivan's account. But Ebbers is testifying for his life.

Who will the jury believe? Let's see how Mr. Ebbers holds up on cross-examination tomorrow.

Update: The prosecution began cross-examining Ebbers this afternoon.

Crooks and Liars has the video up of Chris Rock's opening monolgue at the Oscars. Transcript here. Read the parts about Bush, they were good.

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case of a proseuctor who was demoted after recommending dismissal of a case because he believed a deputy sheriff had lied on a search warrant affidavit.

At issue is the scope of the First Amendment, which protects government workers from discharge if their conduct involves a "public concern" rather than personal, job-related issues such as salary. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Ceballos' speech was constitutionally protected and the district attorney's office didn't have immunity from Ceballos' lawsuit.

This is an astonishing figure. The AP reports that more than 500,000 veterans will be homeless this year. That's 1/3 of all homeless men in America.

The VA says about half the nation's homeless veterans have some form of mental illness, and nearly 70 percent struggle with alcohol and drugs.

The VA's statement on homeless vets is here. The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans is here and reports this is a crisis in the making.

Opening arguments are today in the Michael Jackson trial. Some articles with recaps of the issues and central participants:

• Ready for Court Showdown
• Credibuility Crux of Jackson Case

Update: Testimony will begin Tuesday. The first witness will be Martin Bashir, maker of the British documentary, which will be allowed in evidence.

Original Post
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Jackson Accuser: I Knew More Than He Did

Smoking gun has uncovered another interview between Michael Jackson's young accuser and detectives:

Aurora police officers tasered a man who stole a salad at a Chucky Cheese children's restaurant tonight. A witness said the man was stuck in between two tables and offered to pay for the salad. Another witness said police were just looking for trouble. Parents present at the restaurant are really angry.

This is the same police department that failed to respond to e-mail requests and voicemails from prosecutors to sign off on an arrest warrant for Denver's alleged Capitol Hill rapist last week, now charged with 80 felonies.