This just in via e-mail:

The United States Supreme Court will review the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals' December 16, 2003 ruling in Ashcroft v. Raich. The case, is scheduled before the high court on November 29, 2004 at 10:00 am. It will set a national precedent by weighing whether or not patients have the legal right to treat their illnesses by medicating with cannabis when recommended by their doctors.

You can download the major pleadings here or here. TalkLeft coverage is here and here.

Houston Police Chief Harold Hurtt and State Sen. Rodney Ellis are calling for a moratorium on executions in Harris County, Texas due to the uncertainty of lab evidence used to obtain convictions...and the number of exonerations. Any final decision is up to the courts.

"I think we now have clearly reached a point where we have to stop carrying out executions until this mess in our crime lab is cleaned up," Ellis, D-Houston, said during a news conference.

Update: Both spaces now filled until October 9 and 10, respectively.

TalkLeft's two premium ad spots will be opening up tomorrow and Sunday. One is on the top left, under our logo. The other is on the top right of the site. Each spot is limited to one ad at a time. Our readership has grown significantly since the political conventions this summer, and we invite advertisers to take advantage of the space during these last few weeks before the election.

You can place your ad here for Premium ad space on the left.
Here for the Premium space on the right.

Cheers today for Virginia Governor Mark Warner who has restored the right to vote to hundreds of Virginians in time for the November election.

Hundreds of ex-convicts will get a chance to vote in the upcoming presidential election, thanks to Gov. Mark R. Warner, who has restored civil rights to more people than anyone else in Virginia’s modern history. Warner, a Democrat, set himself apart from all previous governors this year by restoring civil rights to 1,885 ex-convicts. Warner set the historic mark this summer as people convicted years ago of felonies in Virginia rushed to reclaim their rights in time to vote in the November elections.

If you still need your right restored, go to the state's Web site or call (804) 786-2441.

“Virginia had what may have been the most restrictive restoration-of-rights process of any state in the nation,” Warner said. “I do not believe ex-offenders should face unnecessary hurdles when they are making a positive, good-faith effort to return to productive citizenship.”

Virginia had been one of seven states (Florida is another) that bars former convicts from voting for life:

Is the conservative right undermining morality and therefore contributing to the crimes committed by "bad apples" at Abu Ghraib and the corporate fraud crowd? The American Constitution Society blog says one progressive think tank so posits:

Right-wing commentators have insisted that in both cases the problem was caused by a few misguided and troubled individuals. No need for any further scrutiny; the only issue is to punish the bad guys. But this resort to the “bad apple” theory is actually the leading edge of “the new right-wing permissiveness”. Conservatives have long blamed the permissiveness of liberals for many of our society’s most intractable problems–crime, delinquency, and drug use. But the Right now has embraced a more insidious form of permissiveness that is creating an “anything goes” moral culture. The elements of this new permissiveness are the bad apple theory and the idea that reliance on a “higher authority” eliminates the need for moral judgments. Together these undermine a culture of moral responsibility.

Blog commenters, take note. The mainstream media is reading not just what bloggers write, but their readers' comments. From an Associated Press article 9/27/04 (available at Lexis.com)about the ACLU's attempt to get out the former felon vote in Idaho.

The civil rights organization wants former inmates living in Idaho to know that their right to vote was reinstated when they got out of prison and finished parole and probation. A person convicted of a misdemeanor doesn't ever lose their right to vote. "A lot of people seem to be misinformed," Durand said. "They think that if they're convicted, they can never vote again, or have to petition the governor or petition the courts."

The AP quotes a commenter on TalkLeft:

"I live in Idaho and am a voting ex-felon," one former inmate said in an e-mail to TalkLeft, an Internet site on the politics of crime. "I was under the impression I could not vote until 2003, even though I had finished my sentence around 1997-1998." The ex-inmate, who did not sign his or her name, said being able to vote gives a sense of being in the community again. "It can produce a connectedness where none existed before and a belief that the system can change," the e-mail said.

A big step,I think. It's also a reminder that the Internet has no eraser, so remember that your comments may last forever. Here's the post with the quoted comment.

[Note: The online version of the article omits mention of TalkLeft and the reader's comment.]

If you missed watching the debate on a split screen, you missed the reaction of President Bush to John Kerry - you can now watch his smirks and other unbecoming facial expressions on your computer screen, courtesy of the Democratic National Committee

The Boston Globe:

Kerry's Turnaround, Boston Globe:

FOR SIX months since the effective end of the primary season, President Bush has been portrayed as better able to control the debate by staying on message while John Kerry sends mixed messages. Last night at the first televised presidential debate, that equation was turned on its head.

San Francisco Chronicle: Kerry Won by a comfortable margin

New York Post:

Check out this picture of Bush and Kerry at Fox News.com. Does anyone else remember them being almost the same height? Hint: Kerry is 6'4" and Bush is 5'11. [hat tip to TL reader Paul]

Update: Forget the pundits. You be the pundit. What did you think? I thought Kerry Ace'd it. I thought Bush was a mess. His final scripted closing showed just how off he was during the actual debate. Bottom line: Kerry soared, Bush flailed around.

Update: John King on Aaron Brown: Bush's campaign is admitting he lost tonight--he's not a good debater. One aide told him the best thing about the debate is being able to check the box that it's over. Of course, his aides also said debating skills are not as important as Bush's message.

Candy Crowley on Aaron Brown: Aaron asked, "Where between 1 and 10, with 1 being totally depressed and 10 being off-the-charts giddy, is Kerry's campaign tonight?" Answer: between 8 and 9.

Update: The split-screen is a big topic. Even the Fox pundits are saying Bush's demeanor was poor--one called him sour-looking. CNN pundits said the same. On CNN, they also praised Kerry's demeanor and said his supporters will be happy tonight and he was as Presidential-looking as Bush.

Markos of Daily Kos sums up, with thoughts similar to those I've expressed in various posts tonight:

Larry King just announced the results of the first post-debate poll by CNN/USA/Gallup Today:

Kerry won - 53
Bush won - 37

10% were undecided. The poll was not of all Americans, but of 650+ who watched the debate.

Update: As to whom they had a more favorable opinion of after the debate than before:

46 had a more favorable of Kerry afterwards,

16 has a less favorable impression.

Only 21 had a more favorable impression of Bush afterwards; 17 had a less favorable impression.

Atrios has more poll results, all winners for Kerry

The transcript is up. What was the best and worst of the candidate's responses?

Here's one mentioned by TL reader Observer on another thread:

One minor moment, widely overlooked, that may sway lots more voters (mostly women) than people realize: BUSH: I'd like to put them [my daughters] on a leash.
KERRY: I've learned that doesn't work.

Update: Andrew Sullivan [via Kevin Drum]

No president who has presided over Abu Ghraib should ever say he wants to put anyone on a leash. That's all.

Oliver Willis has this video clip up of Bush's "I know Osama Bin Laden attacked us."