by TChris

The federal government has charged 14 people with playing a role in a smuggling operation that resulted in the deaths of 19 illegal immigrants after they succumbed to heat in the back of a tractor-trailer. But prosecutors are only seeking the death penalty against one defendant, Tyrone Williams, who happens to be an African American. His lawyer is asking why.

"In this case, the discriminatory effect and discriminatory intent cry for justice," [Craig] Washington wrote in a motion submitted Thursday. "Moreover, every other similarly situated individual in the history of the death penalty as it relates to (immigrant) smuggling has been treated differently. Justice demands justice."

Washington told the court that, since 1994, 68 people have been charged with immigrant smuggling that resulted in death, but the government has pursued a death sentence only against his client.

To her credit, the judge would also like an explanation for the government's insistence on death. She may not be ready to accept the claim that Williams was the only defendant who had the ability to prevent the deaths from occurring.

During a hearing Friday, U.S. District Judge Vanessa Gilmore asked Assistant U.S. Attorney Tony Roberts to provide her a letter from U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft explaining his office's refusal to "disclose why you sought the death penalty on this guy, the only black guy, and not on the others." Gilmore said she would hold Roberts in contempt if she didn't get the letter Friday.

by TChris

In a victory for death penalty opponents, the Kansas Supreme Court today (by a 4-3 vote) declared the state's death penalty unconstitutional.

The Kansas law as written requires jurors to vote for death if the “aggravating factors” offered by prosecutors and the “mitigating factors” offered by the defense balance each other out, the justices said. In essence the fact that a tie goes to the state renders the law unconstitutional, the court said.

The court declined to rewrite the statute in order to save it, concluding that it is the legislature's job to decide whether the statute should be amended to restore the death penalty. The court's decision is here.

by TChris

Strippers in San Antonio will now be required to wear an "identification badge" while working. Requiring strip club employees to wear such badges will, according to the city council, "increase safety." Of course, displaying the real names of strippers will actually jeopardize their safety by exposing them to stalkers, but common sense often has little to do with legislation -- and the stated purpose often has little to do with the true purpose, which in this case is probably a desire to drive the clubs out of business.

Update: This story says the badges display the dancer's stage name. But dancers have to apply for the permits, which may make it possible for patrons to identify a dancer's true identity by inspecting the application. In any event, the story makes clear that the law has nothing to do with "safety" and everything to do with the city's distaste for a lawful business.

by TChris

As Iraq continues to turn into Vietnam II, will we be seeing more stories like this?

A soldier who allegedly had a relative shoot him so he wouldn't have to return to Iraq could face military discipline. Army Spc. Marquise J. Roberts, of Hinesville, Ga., suffered a minor wound Tuesday to his left leg from a .22-caliber pistol, police said. He was treated at a hospital, then arrested after he and a relative allegedly admitted making up a story about the shooting.

by TChris

Christian conservatives who believe that tax dollars should be used to subsidize religious education have been frustrated by state constitutions that prohibit state financial support of religious institutions. In Florida, they've seized upon a plan to tear down the wall between church and state: a citizen initiative to repeal the constitutional barrier.

"So if the constitution stands in the way of their radical agenda, don't change the radical agenda — change the constitution," said Howard Simon, head of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida.

Supporters of the plan would need to gather the signatures of 600,000 Florida voters to place the question on the 2006 ballot.

by TChris

Students at Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley, California are determined not to let a few bigots define the identity of their school. They took a stand against intolerance by attending a candlelight rally in support of a student who has been the target of vandalism to her home, car, and student locker.

School officials made the community aware of the events after vandals painted the words "Die Fag" in 2 1/2 foot letters on the wall of the school's Keyser Hall. Police say they have not yet identified any suspects.

Students have distributed 600 lavender ribbons to members of the community, who wear them to show their opposition to hatred.

"It's been the best thing. Really diverse groups of students are wearing them on their backpacks, their shoes and their shirts. We see them everywhere," [the junior class president] said.

by TChris

Abu Ali, a 23-year-old American citizen, has been held in Saudi Arabia for 18 months on suspicion of terrorist activities. No charges have been filed.

Federal courts are generally powerless to force the release of a prisoner held by a foreign sovereign, but Ali persuaded U.S. District Judge John Bates to ask whether the United States played a role in Ali's detention.

[Judge Bates] ordered the Justice Department to produce documents establishing what role, if any, U.S. officials played in the arrest of Ahmed Abu Ali of Falls Church, Va. He was taken into custody in June 2003 in Medina, Saudi Arabia, while taking a final exam at his university.

Ali has been interrogated repeatedly by the FBI, suggesting that the United States may have de facto control over Ali's custody. Predictably, the Justice Department argued that Ali is beyond the jurisdiction of an American court, but Judge Bates isn't ready to buy that argument. The Department didn't refute the allegation that the United States controls Ali's continuing imprisonment. Recognizing that American involvement is plausible, Judge Bates concluded that the constitutional issues at stake deserved further investigation.

"There is no principle more sacred to the jurisprudence of our country or more essential to the liberty of its citizens," he wrote, "than the right to be free from arbitrary and indefinite detention at the whim of the executive. ... The court concludes that a citizen cannot be so easily separated from his constitutional rights[.]"

by TChris

The highest court in Great Britain, echoing (and perhaps amplifying) a decision of the United States Supreme Court (covered here by TalkLeft), "ruled today that the British government cannot indefinitely detain foreigners suspected of terrorism without charging or trying them, and called the process a violation of European human rights laws." The decision revolves around the detention of nine Muslim men in Belmarsh Prison in London, some of whom have been held without trial for three years.

In its powerfully worded decision, the court said that the government's "draconian" measures unjustly discriminate against foreigners since they do not apply to British citizens and constitute a lopsided response to the threat of a terrorist attack.

Lord Leonard Hoffman wrote that the case "calls into question the very existence of an ancient liberty of which this country has until now been very proud: freedom from arbitrary arrest and detention."

He went on to say that the government's actions posed a greater threat to the nation than terrorism. "The real threat to the life of the nation, in the sense of a people living in accordance with its traditional laws and political values, comes not from terrorism but from laws such as these," Lord Hoffman wrote.

The detention law, which appears to be aimed only at Muslims, was due to expire in 2006.

by TChris

Another person who police officers shot with a Taser gun is dead, although it isn't clear whether the Taser caused his death.

Paramedics had stopped to tend to [Kevin Downing] because they found his van blocking traffic in the middle of the road. They called police after he became unruly. Downing was still belligerent when police arrived, so a female officer used her stun gun to subdue him. "The Taser didn't work on him, so they had to physically subdue him," [police spokesman Carlos] Negron said. Downing was handcuffed and taken to the hospital, where he died.

TalkLeft's coverage of the controversy surrounding Taser use is collected here.

by TChris

Judges who impose sentences should be dispassionate and impartial. Sentences are imposed by judges, rather than victims, because a judge who has no personal stake in the outcome is presumed to be motivated by reason, not by a personal desire for vengeance.

According to a Colorado appellate court, Judge Edward Colt crossed the line when he reflected on the crime's impact on his own life while sentencing Terry Lynn Barton to 12 years in prison for starting a wildfire in 2002.

[The court held that Judge Colt] had the "appearance of prejudice" when he spoke of spending a night in a hotel to escape the smoke and fire, helping dispense food to residents displaced by the blaze, and helping a court clerk and personal friend evacuate her home during the fire.

The appellate court said that a term of two to six years would have been appropriate. It ordered a new sentencing hearing before a different judge.

by TChris

Judges who feel a need use their judicial office to promote the Ten Commandments should take a refresher course in constitutional law, focusing particularly on the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. It doesn't matter that Judge Ashley McKathan of Alabama has received nothing but supportive calls and messages since he wore a robe in his courtroom with the Ten Commandments embroidered on his chest. The Bill of Rights does not give way to popular opinion; it protects everyone from the government's endorsement of religion. Judges, of all people, should understand that simple concept.

While Judge McKathan is pleased at the attention he's received, others who enter his court aren't as happy.

"I objected to the robe because the news media attracted by it has been a distraction in this case," [Attorney Riley] Powell said Wednesday. "Even though the judge warned them not to read papers or listen to the news media, this morning at least half had seen the news and read accounts of the issue -- it was on Rick and Bubba's radio show this morning and on 'Paul Harvey.' Some had even been called by the media."

Jurors are supposed to base their decisions on the law as explained in jury instructions, not on their own interpretations of the Ten Commandments. But when the Commandments are displayed on the judge's chest, will the jury understand the difference?

Let's hope that creative lawyers obtain a reversal of every conviction before Judge McKathan on the ground that improper jury instructions were written on the judge's robe. Maybe that will teach the judge to honor the Constitution he swore to uphold.

by TChris

William Kristol recently noticed that Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld hasn't done his job all that well, leading him to conclude that American soldiers "deserve a better defense secretary than the one we have." Other Republicans are starting to sing the same tune.

Senator Susan Collins, a member of the Armed Services Committee, commented yesterday that her peers are voicing "increasing concerns about the secretary's leadership of the war, the repeated failures to predict the strengths of the insurgency, the lack of essential safety equipment for our troops, the reluctance to expand the number of troops."

The sharp comments by Ms. Collins, together with other recent statements Senator John McCain of Arizona, Senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska and Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf, who led American forces in the Persian Gulf war in 1991 and, after his retirement, twice campaigned for President Bush, suggested that the ground might well be shifting a bit under Mr. Rumsfeld.

Will the ground shift sufficiently to swallow him up?