We hope you have noticed and clicked on the ad for the movie "SIX" on the right side of TalkLeft. It's a documentary by Dr. Helen Smith (who happens to be married to Instapundit and law prof. Glenn Reynolds.) It's a remarkable film that raises important issues society should be addressing with respect to violent juvenile crime. Dr. Smith points out:

"The bigger issue is-- ”we've got dangerous people out there in society, what do we do about it? We look at it and say--”these people just sort of did this and we don't know why. We do know why. We don't do anything about it. We don't deal with the mentally ill. If somebody's sick, we don't keep them in a hospital. The police don't deal with them. The schools don't deal with them.

"If the systems won't deal with them and the families are having problems themselves--"what do we do? We need to decide to deal with it as a society--”or we just say, no, it's not our job but we are going to allow this to happen. And we're not going to be surprised about it."

Check out the movie's website . We've watched the film and it is quite compelling. You can order a copy from the website.

In a first for Ohio, the city of Cleveland is considering a law that would take city contracts away from companies that discriminate against ex-offenders. The proposed law bars companies with city contracts to refuse work to an applicant solely because of a criminal record.

If the law passes, companies who fail to comply could have their contracts with the city terminated and other benefits, such as tax abatements or grants, discontinued. Companies could still ask about an applicant's criminal record and would not be penalized for failing to hire an applicant whose previous crime relates to a job.

Maureen Black, a deputy director with the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, said the proposed law would complement existing efforts to link ex-offenders with jobs and job training, and incentive programs for companies who hire ex-offenders.

We hope this passes, and spreads to other cities and states. It's a much needed reform that benefits all of us.

We first reported last week on a new report blasting the California Youth Authority for keeping kids in cages and ignoring mental health issues.

New reports to be released this week show how dire the situation is in California's youth prisons:

Reports to be released this week offer a chilling look into how the state handles incarcerated kids, depicting the California Youth Authority as operating violence-plagued institutions where some wards are kept in cages or forced to spend hours on their knees with their hands bound behind their backs.

Teens with mental health problems are made worse, not better, by a system that is failing in its mandate to rehabilitate kids who commit crimes, according to the reports by independent experts. The reports suggest the state is running a system that provides little help for young offenders who want to change their ways, prison watchdogs say.

"Instead of rehabilitating and treating kids, they're pushing them out the door in worse shape than when they came in,'' said Don Spector, director of the Prison Law Office. "It's like a factory for prisons.''

The LA Times reports "Inmates and staff are in danger, experts say, and medical care and counseling fall short." The LA Times Editorial, Junkyard for Young Lives, says:

Experts who studied the miserable lives of juvenile inmates in the charge of the California Youth Authority released reports this week showing a system in worse shape than most outsiders could have imagined. The state subjects its charges to the harshest punishments of any juvenile detention system nationwide, leaving teenagers confined in steel-mesh cages when guards aren't prying them from their cells with mace and tear gas.

There is a 90% recidivist rate among juveniles, the highest in the country. There is a failure to provide oversight and rehabilitation programs.

The Massachussetts Supreme Court yesterday ruled in favor of gay marriages:

The Massachusetts high court ruled Wednesday that only full, equal marriage rights for gay couples - rather than civil unions - would be constitutional, erasing any doubts that the nation's first same-sex marriages would take place in the state beginning in mid-May.

The court issued the opinion in response to a request from the state Senate about whether Vermont-style civil unions, which convey the state benefits of marriage - but not the title - would meet constitutional muster. The much-anticipated opinion sets the stage for next week's constitutional convention, where the Legislature will consider an amendment that would legally define marriage as a union between one man and one woman. Without the opinion, Senate President Robert Travaglini had said the vote would be delayed.

A big raspberry today to Ohio--the Legislature has passed, and the Governor is poised to sign, one of the most sweeping same-sex marriage ban bills in the nation:

The bill stipulates that same-sex marriages would be "against the strong public policy of the state." The bill also prohibits state employees from getting marital benefits spelled out in state law for their unmarried partners, whether homosexual or heterosexual.

Thirty-seven states have passed laws recognizing only marriages between men and women. Gay rights groups consider Ohio's legislation particularly restrictive because of the benefits ban.

Phil Spector has changed lawyers, leaving Robert Shapiro for Leslie Abramson :

Abramson, who became famous for her role in the murder trial of brothers Lyle and Erik Menendez, said she had been phasing out her defense practice with an eye toward retirement when she was contacted by Spector.

"I was about to hang it up when I got the call," she said. "No other defendant would get me to give up my freedom. No other defendant was someone I considered an idol, an icon and the definition of cool."

It's nice to see Leslie back on the scene. She's a dynamo and will do a great job for Spector. Marcia Morrissey, another great LA defense lawyer, will be working the case with her.

CNN reports that with 100% of the votes counted, Wesley Clark leads Edwards by less than 1200 votes. They haven't called him the winner yet though. Looks to us like both Clark and Edwards are still in the race. We think it will come down to Kerry and Edwards. Is Dean on his last gasp? Here's his strategy according to one reporter.

Here's why we're going to keep going and going and going and going and going just like the Energizer Bunny," Dean told supporters in Washington state, which votes Saturday. "We're going to pick up some delegates tonight and this is all about who gets the most delegates in Boston in July and it's going to be us."

Dean's White House bid hangs on a last-chance strategy: keep plugging along despite more impending losses while other underdog candidates spend themselves out of the race. Then engage front-runner John Kerry directly.

Praise for Joe Lieberman who did the right thing tonight and withdrew from the Democratic race for President:

Sen. Joe Lieberman, unable to inspire Democratic voters who embraced his 2000 vice presidential campaign, ended his presidential bid Tuesday night after a string of disappointing defeats. He said he believed his "mainstream voice" was the right message for his party, but acknowledged that voters disagreed.

"The judgment of the voters is now clear," Lieberman told about 150 longtime supporters who gathered in northern Virginia. "For me, it is now time to make a difficult but realistic decision. I have decided tonight to end my quest for the presidency of the United States of America. Am I disappointed? Naturally. But am I proud of what we stood for in this campaign? You bet I am."

A classy exit.

Douglas Faneuil, the star witness for the Government in the Martha Stewart trial, took the stand today and admitted he told a lie:

Former brokerage assistant Douglas Faneuil, the government's star witness in the Martha Stewart trial, testified Tuesday that he illegally relayed information about one client to another and then lied about it. "I did something illegal," Faneuil said shortly after taking the witness stand. "I told one client what another was doing and lied to cover it up."

Prosecutors have said Faneuil's boss, stockbroker Peter Bacanovic, told Faneuil to pass along a "secret" tip to Stewart on Dec. 27, 2001 - that ImClone Systems founder Sam Waksal was trying to get rid of his shares. Waksal later admitted using insider knowledge about a negative government report to illegally dump his own company stock.

His testimony contradicts Stewart and Bacanovic's claim that they had a pre-existing agreement to sell Stewart's ImClone stock when its price fell below $60 per share.

We'll be discussing the case at 6pm ET on the Dan Abrams show on MSNBC--as well as the latest developments in today's Kobe Bryant hearing.

The New Jersey Supreme Court overturned a death sentence today, ruling that the decision to seek death belongs to grand juries, not prosecutors:

The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that it is up to grand juries - and not county prosecutors - to decide whether the death penalty will be sought in a murder case.

The decision could affect the death sentences of 13 other N.J. death row inmates.

Since the state reinstated the death penalty in 1982, grand juries have determined whether enough evidence exists to charge a suspect with murder.

But the decision of whether to add a capital murder charge was left to prosecutors, and depended on whether there were aggravating circumstances, such as murder for hire, killing a police officer and multiple homicides.

New Jersey's high court ordered the change in procedure because recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings said that the aggravating factors are integral to the murder charge itself, not simply additional factors that determine a potential sentence.

Update: While the article says that public defenders are studying the decision to see if it might apply to others on death row, a lawyer writes in to say it most likely won't affect others:

The Supreme Court explicitly rejected that possibility in its decision. Here's the quote from page *55 of the opinion: "Our holding today applies only to those cases that have yet to reach the penalty-phase." So, defendants in upcoming trials can only be subjected to a capital trial upon an indictment complying with Fortin. Anyone who has already had a trial, even if they are still on direct appeal, are likely out of luck.

The Commission appointed by Mass. Governor Mitt Romney to look into the murder of Priest John Geoghan in his prison cell issued its report today. The report finds:

...failures in the inmate classification system, disciplinary procedures and internal investigative practices by the Department of Correction all contributed to the circumstances that led to Geoghan's slaying Aug. 23.

...Defrocked pedophile priest John Geoghan never should have been moved to the dangerous-inmate unit where he was strangled and beaten to death by another prisoner last year....

...A series of "overzealous and unwarranted" discipline reports by a handful of guards led to the frail, 68-year-old Geoghan being classified as one of the state's most dangerous prisoners, and landed him in a cell unit with murderer Joseph Druce, investigators found.

Voters in seven states pick presidential candidates today. Who will it be? Who, if anyone, is toast if he loses? Here's an open thread to discuss all aspects of the primaries. Our prediction: Kerry takes all but Oklahoma (Clark) and South Carolina (Edwards.)