The Supreme Court Friday let stand a decision by the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals allowing members of a New Mexico church to drink a hallucinogenic tea as part of its Christmas service.

The legal battle began after federal agents seized 30 gallons of the tea in a 1999 raid on the Santa Fe home of the church's U.S. president, Jeffrey Bronfman. Bronfman sued the government for the right to use the tea and the church won a preliminary injunction, which was upheld by 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver.

The Bush administration then took the case to the Supreme Court.

"They're delighted," attorney Nancy Hollander said of the church members she represented. "They're so thrilled that they can celebrate Christmas for the first time since 1998."

The state of New Jersey has the purest heroin in the nation according to a new report by the DEA. Runners up: Philadelphia, New York, Baltimore and San Francisco. Agents speculate the reason is because New Jersey is a first stop for traffickers.

The Newark DEA has made the drug its top priority, devoting half its manpower to root out heroin dealers. Heroin seizures have increased 600 percent in the past five years, Pasterchick said.

The newest Jeb Bush appellate judicial pick favors rock and roll executions:

Brad Thomas, Gov. Jeb Bush's long-time public safety policy coordinator, is leaving to take a judgeship on the 1st District Court of Appeal in Tallahassee. He was named Thursday to the appellate court to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Anne Booth.

Thomas' previous attempts to secure a circuit and county court judgeship were unsuccessful. Thomas, who has advised Bush on the death penalty, crime policy and other issues, caused a stir in 2000 when he urged a more streamlined system of appeals for death row inmates, telling the St. Petersburg Times, "Bring in the witnesses, put them on a gurney, and let's rock and roll." He later apologized for the comment.

[hat tip Rochelle R., Tampa.]

Afghan President Karzai says Osama is nearby and will be caught. The U.S. and Pakistan say the trail is cold. How can both be true?

Just because you haven't flown lately, or worked at an airport or on a cruise ship, don't think you are home free. The U.S. has contracted with WorldCheck, a private, overseas company to compile a financial watch list--a list of people who, in the company's judgement, are likely to commit financial crimes. The assessment is based on an assortment of public records and data.

"There's a real risk in a situation like this because there's really no accountability," said Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, an advocacy group based in Washington devoted to privacy issues. "People can find themselves on a watch list incorrectly, and the consequences can be very serious."

Mr. Rotenberg likened the trial program at the department to a Pentagon operation disclosed last year in which JetBlue airlines agreed to turn over data on millions of its passengers to a private contractor doing antiterrorism work for the military. In both cases, Mr. Rotenberg said, government officials effectively "outsourced" the job to private firms "in order to develop profiles on people and circumvent U.S. privacy laws."

Aliakbar and Shala Afshari worked at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. They have been in the U.S. for 18 years, working and raising a family. On May 5, they were fired suddenly--being told only that they had The failed a secret background check.

What does that mean?

They have been told they were fired for national security reasons that remain secret. When their lawyer requested the documents used to justify the action, he was told none existed. When he asked for copies of the agency's policies relating to the background checks, he received a generic personnel handbook.

Finally, they sued.

U.S. Staff Sgt. Jeremy Horne has pleaded guilty to unpremeditated murder of a 16 year old Iraqi. Horne and another soldier came upon the wounded teen in a burning vehicle and Horne either ordered the teen shot or shot him himself to put him out of his misery. Horne received a three year sentence, a demotion to private, loss of wages and a dishonorable discharge.

The charges relate to the Aug. 18 killing of a 16-year-old Iraqi male found in a burning truck with severe abdominal wounds sustained during clashes in Baghdad's Sadr City, an impoverished neighborhood that was the scene of fierce fighting between U.S. forces and Shiite rebels loyal to anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. A criminal investigator had said during an earlier hearing that the soldiers decided to kill him to "put him out of his misery."

Staff Sgt. Cardenas J. Alban, 29, of Inglewood, Calif., is also charged in the death. His case is pending.

Human rights groups have condemned the illegal killings of Iraqis either civilians or wounded fighters by the U.S. military, saying such acts amount to violations of international humanitarian rights and should be dealt with as war crimes. Critics also say poor understanding by young U.S. troops of the rules of military engagement leads to the killing of civilians.

"It doesn't help you win the hearts and minds of the public if you put a bullet in their hearts and another in the minds," said Mark Garlasco, senior military analyst for Human Rights Watch.

The teen was 16-year-old Qassim Hassan, who was working with relatives collecting rubbish. More details here.

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case of Jose Medellin, a Mexican national on death row in Texas whose case was heard by the World Court (International Court of Justice in the Hague) last year. Medellin was denied the right to speak with the Mexican consulate after his arrest. The case has important international implications.

The question is whether the federal government can permit Texas to execute a Mexican whose rights under a binding international treaty were violated when he was tried and sentenced to death without Mexican officials being notified.

On March 31, the International Court of Justice ordered the United States to undertake "an effective review" of the convictions and sentences of the inmate, José Ernesto Medellín, and 50 other Mexicans under death sentences in nine states. The court, usually known as the World Court, ruled that all 51 had been deprived of their right under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations to meet with Mexican government representatives.

Mexico was not notified that Mr. Medellin had been sentenced to death until three years after he arrived on death row. Mexico then sued in the World Court. The World Court did not reverse the conviction, but ordered the U.S. to review each case individually.

Yesterday it was airline passengers. Tomorrow, it will be airport and cruise ship employees.

The change, included in the intelligence bill passed by Congress this week, means hundreds of thousands of additional names will be compared with those on two lists - one for people suspected of terrorism, the other for people the government says require additional scrutiny for some other reason.

What other reason?

If you're going to be in New York City Monday evening, head on over to Washington Square Park for a candlelight vigil.

Diverse groups will join in a candlelight vigil on Monday, Dec. 13, at the Fountain Plaza in Washington Square Park in New York City at 6:30 pm EST.Slavery survivor Simon Deng will be a keynote speaker at the event.

The first genocide of the 21st century continues in Sudan, and despite the death toll of 70,000 and counting, the international community and the UN have largely refused to come to the aid of the 2 million Sudanese who have been forced into the desert, and the thousands more who have been raped and enslaved. The United Nations still refuses to acknowledge that these events constitute genocide. This candlelight vigil is sponsored by the Columbia Coalition for Sudan, NYU Law Students for Human Rights, Judson Memorial Church, the Massaleit Community in Exile, Brooklyn Parents for Peace, the Church of St. Francis Xavier, the United Methodist Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns, the Darfur Rehabilitation Project, Jews Against Genocide, the New York Board of Rabbis, the students of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, and the American Anti-Slavery Group.

Bernie Kerik withdraws his name from consideration as Homeland Security Chief--word is it has something to do with his position as a director of the stun gun Taser company--from which he has made $6.2 million. He says it's for "personal reasons."

Update: Text of Kerik statement is here. Article claiming decision based on a nannygate problem is here. I'm not buying the nanny story. It could be a combination of things. I ran a Lexis search for "Bernard Kerik" & lawsuit in the news database of articles more than two years old. Have a field day.

Bump and Update: The Judge is on the bench. There will be no verdict today. The jury will be sequestered at their hotel for the weekend and come back Monday.

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Bump and Update: It's 3:15 California time and people are entering the Courtroom. It may just be that the judge is dismissing them for the day and they will go back to their hotel....he may be asking the jurors how long they want to deliberate today...there may be a verdict..... for those of you not by a tv who are interested, I'll keep updating as events occur....

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TalkLeft is on verdict watch today in the Scott Peterson case. Audio of the verdict will be broadcast live on the cable news networks. I'll be doing a live chat for the Washington Post around the time of the verdict, and either praising or condemning the jury's verdict I'll be commenting on the case and deliberations tonight on Hannity and Colmes.

I'm leaving comments open for now, but please keep in mind that this is a defense site, and there will be low to zero tolerance for pro-death views. TalkLeft is a personal site intended to advocate my point of view - not to present both sides.

If you want to rant for death, go over to the Court TV message boards. If you have questions or comments about the trial process, feel free to leave them here.