by TChris

Under the federal sentencing guidelines, a defendant's sentence is enhanced if the defendant used a "special skill" to commit the crime. Lawyers and accountants, for instance, might use special skills to steal from clients. (Please, no lawyer jokes.)

Federal prosecutors in California convinced a judge that sharp eyesight is a special skill. Jing Bing Liang was sentenced for casino racketeering, based in part on his ability, with the help of others, to see cards as they were being dealt.

In arguing to increase Liang's sentence, federal prosecutors said the San Francisco gambler had "extraordinary eyesight," and that he had become specially adept at peaking at cards.

The creativity of the argument would be admirable if not for the months it added to Liang's sentence. The Ninth Circuit was less impressed than the district judge, and Liang will be resentenced as if he had normal eyesight.

by TChris

A police officer sees a car with a license plate that is registered to a different car. Before the officer can stop the driver to write a ticket, the driver parks the car. The officer parks and the driver walks toward the officer. The officer points out the license plate problem, and the driver says someone just gave him the car. The driver, not a man of brilliance, agrees to be searched, and the officer finds drugs. Can the officer search the car?

The Supreme Court heard arguments in the case today. Useful background on Thornton v. United States is here.

Martha Stewart's lawyers filed a motion for a new trial today. The chief ground is that a juror lied about a prior assault arrest.

Stewart lawyer Robert Morvillo said in papers filed in federal court that he would have sought to strike juror Chappell Hartridge had he known about his past. "These facts, in and of themselves, establish that Ms. Stewart is entitled to a new trial," Morvillo wrote. The papers also accused Hartridge of seeking money for post-trial interviews. On the day of the guilty verdict, the juror said publicly that he believed the decision was "a victory for the little guys."

Stewart's lawyers said Hartridge was arrested in 1997 after a woman with whom he was living filed an assault complaint. They said Hartridge spent several days in jail before the woman withdrew her complaint because she could not miss work to attend court. In a juror questionnaire, Hartridge claimed he had never been in court other than for a minor traffic violation, the defense lawyers said. The defense also said that Hartridge lied on his jury questionnaire by omitting that he has been sued at least three times. It said he also lied by not disclosing that he was once accused of stealing from a Little League group.

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The International Court of Justice in the Hague is the U.N.'s highest court, often referred to as the World Court. It issued a historic decision today in the case of 52 Mexican nationals on death row in the U.S. who alleged they hadn't been provided with their right to consular assistance pursuant to the Vienna Convention. The Court ruled that the United States violated the rights of 51 of the prisoners and ordered their cases be reviewed.

The text of the judgment is here (pdf.).

Major Kudos to Sandra Babcock, who did amazing work to get the Mexican government to file the case --after which she prepared it, argued it and won it!

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by TChris

A new survey by the Council on Excellence in Government points to the difficulty that Americans have reconciling their concerns about terrorism with their concerns about privacy.

• "nearly 60 percent of adults in the survey said government should have access to personal information that companies collect about consumers if there is any chance it will help prevent terrorism," but ...

• "72 percent of adults have only some or very little trust in government to use personal information properly," while ...

• only 16 percent "endorsed creation of a national identification card."

The survey also shows that Americans have become less worried about terrorist attacks (at least in their own neighborhoods) after 9/11, but most believe that the United States will be targeted in another major attack, at home or abroad, in the next few months. However, "84 percent of Americans don't change their daily routine when the nation's color-coded threat level rises."

by TChris

As jury deliberations in the Tyco trial enter their tenth day (previously discussed here), the public's focus has been less on the outcome than on the conduct of juror number four. Juror four appears to be holding out for a particular verdict, although one note that the jury gave to the judge suggests that the other jurors "do not all have the same views of guilt or innocence." Some courtroom observers believe that juror four flashed an "OK" sign at the defense a few days ago, while others didn't see it. Now the juror can't brush her hair without someone interpreting her curled fingers as another "OK."

The defense continues to move for a mistrial on the theory that the jury has hung. On Tuesday, the defense added that juror four has been subjected to "venomous and just outrageous statements" in online chat rooms. If juror four knew about the online comments, she might feel coerced to change her vote, but there is no indication that she knows her failure to join with the majority has provoked such animosity, so the judge is still waiting to see whether a verdict will be rendered.

The animosity is misplaced. No matter how overwhelming the evidence may appear, it is up to each individual juror to decide whether the prosecution proved guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Jurors should listen to each other respectfully and should consider the views of other jurors, but the parties are entitled to the best individual judgment that each juror can provide. If juror four hasn't been persuaded to change her vote after listening to the other jurors, she should apply the law to the facts as she sees them. That's what her oath as a juror requires her to do.

Being a juror isn't easy, and no juror deserves to be attacked simply because members of the public disagree with her view of the evidence. If the jury hangs and another six month trial ensues, that's the way the system works. Attacking a juror for doing what she thinks is right can only discourage other members of the community from serving on juries in the future -- or from bringing their independent judgment to the juries upon which they serve.

by TChris

All it takes is an election year to persuade John Ashcroft's Justice Department to support the Constitution. The Justice Department is siding with sixth grade student Nashala Hearn, who has twice been suspended by the Muskogee, Oklahoma School District for wearing a hijab -- a scarf that covers the head -- to school, in violation of a dress code that prohibits head coverings.

The district says it is merely enforcing its dress code equally. The Justice Department agrees with Hearn that the right to practice a religion without governmental interference trumps the district's dress code. Hearn justly complains that Christian students are allowed to wear crosses while Muslim students aren't allowed to wear the hijab.

The district created the dress code to control "gang" behavior. Nobody argues that Hearn belongs to a gang. The policy isn't narrowly tailored to address the perceived harm, and its application to Hearn plainly violates her right to religious expression. The Justice Department got this one right.

Bump and update: We posted this a day early. Via Skippy, we learn that Julia of Sisyphus Shrugged has posted the full schedule and station details for Air America. The New York Times reports on today's launch here. The fun starts at noon, ET.
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original post 3/30 12:06 am

Liberal talk radio station Air America hits the airwaves Wednesday. If you aren't in one of their starting cities, you can tune in on the internet here. The cities are: New York (WLIB 1190), Chicago (WNTD 950), Los Angeles (KBLA 1580) and San Francisco (to be announced).

Janeane Garofalo will be on for 3 hours every weeknight. Other prime talkjocks include Al Franken (whose show will be called "The O'Franken Factor") and Lizz Winstead (The Daily Show) and rapper Chuck D, who will have a weekend morning show. Bobby Kennedy will have also have a weekend show.

Update: Atrios will be making an appearance on Wednesday's opener.

[Edited to correct date to Wednesday.]

The Department of Homeland Security is expanding a controversial new policy that began in Hartford, CT to Denver and Atlanta: Those ordered deported will be jailed immediately and no longer allowed time to put their affairs in order:

Immigration-law experts said the program violates constitutional rights and called for less costly alternatives. "Jailing and the restraint of physical movement is the greatest power that government can wield over the individual in our society. Unfortunately, with this policy, the Department of Homeland Security has eschewed case-by-case consideration in favor of a blanket detention policy that violates basic due-process principles," said Marshall Fitz, associate director of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, an advocacy group.

Where are we going to put them?

It will add hundreds of new immigrants to a rapidly growing noncitizen prison population. The number of detained immigrants has increased from a daily average of 7,444 in 1994 to 21,500 last year, according to federal statistics....Federal immigration officials have been lobbying to expand the prison system that holds them.

There are better alternatives:

Immigrant-rights advocates say there are cheaper alternatives that respect civil liberties. Many call for releasing and monitoring deportable immigrants using ankle bracelets, which can cost as little as $4 a day compared with $85 per day in immigration detention centers. Immigration officials say they are trying such measures in a handful of cities but cited no specifics.

From the AP:

In one of the bloodiest days in weeks for the U.S. military, five troops died when a bomb exploded under their military vehicle west of Baghdad on Wednesday. At least four foreign nationals, including one American, were killed in a separate attack and some of the bodies were burned, beaten and hanged from a bridge. The explosive device that killed the American troops blew up when their vehicle ran over it, U.S. Army Col. Jill Morgenthaler said in Baghdad. The attack happened in Anbar province, which encompasses Fallujah, Ramadi and other towns where anti-U.S. insurgents are active.

In the second incident, the Iraqis dragged the bloody bodies through the streets:

It was reminiscent of the 1993 scene in Somalia, when a mob dragged the corpse of a U.S. soldier through the streets of Mogadishu, eventually leading to the American withdrawal from the African nation.

The European Court on Human Rights has overturned a ban on prisoner voting that dates back to 1870. The case was brought by a prisoner serving a life sentence. As a result of the ruling, 70,000 British prisoners will have their voting rights restored:

The law, brought in not long after transportation to the colonies was abolished and later enshrined in the Representation of the People Act of 1983, denies 70,000 sentenced prisoners the right to vote in parliamentary and local elections. Seven judges at the Strasbourg court ruled the ban breached article three of protocol one to the European convention on human rights, which guarantees "free elections ... under conditions which will ensure the free expression of the opinion of the people in the choice of the legislature".

Eighteen of the countries which have ratified the European convention give prisoners full voting rights, while 13 ban all prisoners from voting. The rest, including Britain, allow some categories to vote. In Britain those remanded in custody who have not yet been sentenced and those imprisoned for contempt of court or failure to pay fines can take part in elections.