One of Atrios' readers has emailed him the transcript of what Justice Clarence Thomas said at a swearing in ceremony in Alabama. (Background to controversy here.)

PARKER: Just moments before I placed my hand on the Holy Scripture, Justice Thomas soberly addressed me and those in attendance. He admonished us to remember that the worth of a justice should be evaluated by one thing, and by one thing alone: whether or not he is faithful to uphold his oath _ an oath which as Justice Thomas pointed out is not to the people; it's not to the state; it's not even to the Constitution, which is one to be supported, but is an oath which is to God Himself.

Atrios lets Thomas off the hook... technically.

Via Mark Godsey at Crim Prof Blog: The Supreme Court will hear oral argument today in two cases, including one which will determine whether a death penalty jury must be advised that if it rejects death, the defendant will receive life without parole.

Rompilla v. Beard, 04-5462, questions presented: (1) Does Simmons v. South Carolina, 512 U.S. 154 (1994) require a life-without-parole jury instruction where the only alternative to a death sentence under state law is life without the possibility of parole? (2) Has a defendant received unconsitutionally ineffective assistance of counsel at a capital sentencing hearing where counsel does not review the defendant's prior conviction record which would provide mitigating evidence regarding the defendant's traumatic childhood and mental health impairments? More details here.

Maryland and New York are the only two states that require ballistic fingerprinting on handguns. A Maryland state police report recomemends repealing the law:

A law requiring Maryland State Police to collect ballistics information from each handgun sold in the state has not aided a single criminal investigation and should be repealed, a state police report has concluded.

About $2.5 million has been spent on the program so far. Col. Thomas E. Hutchins, the state police superintendent, said he would prefer spending the money on proven crime-fighting techniques.

Robert Kennedy, Jr, environmental activist and lawyer, may run for Attorney General of New York against his soon-to-be ex-brother-in-law Andrew Cuomo.

Andrew Cuomo had a short-lived fling with running for Governor in 2002. We support Cuomo for Attorney General. He supports repeal of the Rockefeller drug laws. Cuomo opposes the death penalty and asked New York lawmakers to end it in 2001. Now that the state Supreme Court has declared the law unconsitutional, Cuomo says:

A new Washington Post-ABC News poll shows that Bush enters his second term without a mandate and amidst continued division:

President Bush will begin his second term in office without a clear mandate to lead the nation, with disapproval of his policies in Iraq and with the public both hopeful and dubious about his leadership, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll.

Martha Stewart indeed is becoming a prisoner's rights advocate. Welcome, Martha.

Following the Supreme Court's decision in Booker last week, Martha sent an e-mail to Wall St. Journal reporter Laurie Cohen. (subscription only.) The gist: Martha thinks the decision will result in many inmates becoming severely depressed. So many had high hopes for Booker...thinking if the guidelines were thrown out, they would get shorter sentences. Particularly in federal camps like Alderson, where Martha is, most of the prisoners are first time, non-violent offenders. Some are serving long sentences, due to the guidelines.

President Bush told NBC News tonight he won't rule out military action against Iran.

President Bush said on Monday he would not rule out military action against Iran if that country was not more forthcoming about its suspected nuclear weapons program.

"I hope we can solve it diplomatically, but I will never take any option off the table," Bush said in an interview with NBC News when asked if he would rule out the potential for military action against Iran "if it continues to stonewall the international community about the existence of its nuclear weapons program."

We don't even have enough soldiers to finish the job in Iraq. Who will he find to go to Iran? Still think there won't be a draft? It's time to take the blinders off.

Update: Seymour Hersh's New Yorker article is available online.

How much would it take to get you to spend 30 days in jail? There's an offer out of $20,000.00. For real. It's from the producers of a new documentary series called "30 Days" that will air on FX (cable network). Here's the details I received from the producers:

If you are a male prosecutor or former prosecutor between the ages of 30-50 who is interested in participating in a documentary about prison life by living in a jail for 30 days, please email a short description of yourself and of your prosecutorial career. Please include what your current occupation is and whether or not you feel you could leave your job for 30 days (with compensation).

We are currently casting for FX series "30 DAYS", a documentary-style, unscripted series from award-winning filmmaker Morgan Spurlock. Thedocumentary-style show adapts for TV the concept of Spurlock's critically-acclaimed "Super Size Me".

From the press release:

by TChris

The Archbishop of Mosul was kidnapped in Iraq today.

Archbishop Basile Georges Casmoussa, 66, was believed to be the highest-ranking Catholic prelate to be abducted in Iraq, where the local church has been the target of a bombing campaign which has rattled the tiny Christian minority.

Please take a few minutes today and re-acquaint yourselves with the words of Martin Luther King.

My favorite: "An eye for an eye leaves everybody blind."

Update: Kevin Drum has an excellent post on the biblical meaning of the phrase and how it relates to proportional punishment, not revenge.

CrimProf blog has a roundup of the court cases MLK was involved in, and a link to this letter that he wrote from the Birmingham jail.

Our commemorative post on Martin Luther King, Jr. from last year is worth reading again for the links.

And yes, Gandhi said it first, as we pointed out here, when writing about Kathy Boudin receiving parole.

Alberto Gonzales could be confirmed as Attorney General this week. Sen. Arlen Specter has said it might occur before the inauguration. Sen. Edward Kennedy said Sunday he may vote against him.

He had conversations with the Justice Department; he couldn't remember those," Kennedy said. "He couldn't remember many different kinds of facts. . . . This nominee is the principal architect, it appears, for the development of the changes in the Geneva Convention, and torture. And he has an opportunity in response to these questions to explain it. I don't think he did."

The Washington Post is less than thrilled with Gonzales. Don't miss David Corn's article about Gonzales and his confirmation hearing in LA Weekly.

There's also an article about Judge Michael Chertoff, soon to be chief of Homeland Security, and his days in New Jersey.

This is a scandal more journalists should be covering. It involves the Riggs Bank, money laundering charges, a $25 million fine imposed by Congress, and suspicious cash withdrawals by Pinochet. There's also the bank's relationships with Saudi ambassador Prince Bandar, and Federico Obiang, of Equatorial Guinea. And the bank's relationship with the C.I.A.

The Public Accountability Initiative, which researches fraudulent relationships between business and government, has been covering the story. It advises: