A Colorado woman i faces punishment for refusing Iraq duty to avoid losing custody of children.

Simone Holcomb and her husband of three years, Vaughn Holcomb, also a soldier, were both sent to Iraq early this year. The children's paternal grandmother came from Ohio to look after them.

Then an ex-wife came along and sued for custoday. The Holcombs came home on emergency leave....

A judge in a custodial hearing mandated that one of the parents must stay home to look after the children in order for Vaughn to retain full custody of the two. ....Vaughn, 40, went back to Iraq. Simone, 30, stayed - without the Army's permission. Now she faces dismissal and even jail time.

"I was told by the Army ... to get on a plane," Simone said Saturday night. "I even told them it was unlawful and they said 'I don't care, get on a plane.' It's against the law for me to abandon my children. I can no sooner walk out on my children than I can rob a bank just because the Army told me to."

Simone is being treated as an AWOL.

The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) met in New Orleans this weekend. One of the issues under consideration was the lack of adequate counsel provided to indigent defendants in Louisiana and other southern states. Hearings were held on Friday in conjunction with the ABA on the state of Gideon vs. Wainwright, the 40 year old Supreme Court decision guaranteeing the right of counsel to the indigent.

The bar association took testimony about the state of indigent defense in the South. "A Hearing on the Right to Counsel" marked the 40th anniversary of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that guarantees the right to an attorney.

....Poor criminal defendants in Louisiana and other Southern states are routinely denied their constitutional right to an attorney, leaving them languishing in jail without having been charged and more often than not forced into plea bargains, defense lawyers said Friday at a national conference in New Orleans.

The main culprits are a lack of financing and a judicial system that tolerates delays, the lawyers said. And it's the cases that fall under the public's radar -- the lower-level courts that handle traffic violations and misdemeanors -- where the poor's right to appointed attorneys remains ignored. "We have assembly line justice," said lawyer Stephen Bright, director of the Southern Center for Human Rights in Atlanta. "And it's a pretty shoddy assembly line in most places."

Here's just one of the incredible horror stories:

[Lawyer Thomas] Lorenzi told the story of a man in Calcasieu who was jailed in December 2001 and left there until this past July, when he was finally assigned an attorney. Originally arrested in connection with a burglary, the man was released a week ago. He was never formally charged with any crime. "Nobody seems to know what happened," Lorenzi said.

You can read more stories in the the Calcasieu Parish study is available online here.

The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) met in New Orleans this weekend. One of the issues under consideration was the lack of adequate counsel provided to indigent defendants in Louisiana and other southern states. Hearings were held on Friday in conjunction with the ABA on the state of Gideon vs. Wainwright, the 40 year old Supreme Court decision guaranteeing the right of counsel to the indigent.

The bar association took testimony about the state of indigent defense in the South. "A Hearing on the Right to Counsel" marked the 40th anniversary of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that guarantees the right to an attorney.

....Poor criminal defendants in Louisiana and other Southern states are routinely denied their constitutional right to an attorney, leaving them languishing in jail without having been charged and more often than not forced into plea bargains, defense lawyers said Friday at a national conference in New Orleans.

The main culprits are a lack of financing and a judicial system that tolerates delays, the lawyers said. And it's the cases that fall under the public's radar -- the lower-level courts that handle traffic violations and misdemeanors -- where the poor's right to appointed attorneys remains ignored. "We have assembly line justice," said lawyer Stephen Bright, director of the Southern Center for Human Rights in Atlanta. "And it's a pretty shoddy assembly line in most places."

Here's just one of the incredible horror stories:

[Lawyer Thomas] Lorenzi told the story of a man in Calcasieu who was jailed in December 2001 and left there until this past July, when he was finally assigned an attorney. Originally arrested in connection with a burglary, the man was released a week ago. He was never formally charged with any crime. "Nobody seems to know what happened," Lorenzi said.

You can read more stories in the the Calcasieu Parish study is available online here.

The Chicago Tribune continues its excellent series on wrongful convictions. Today's article features Aaron Patterson, age 39, one of 17 wrongfully convicted inmates freed from Death Row in Illinois. He is not in a forgiving frame of mind.

Since his release from Death Row 10 months ago, his goals have been at once simple and far-fetched, concrete and quixotic. He is going to run for political office someday and "shake the system up from the inside." He is going to save those he left behind the walls, and bail out others who need his help.

He is going to close crack houses and use his influence among gang members to turn street corner drug dealers into productive citizens. He is going to give them jobs cutting grass and shoveling snow. He is going to bend his old world to his new vision.

His first months of freedom have been a mighty struggle, as rage and reason battle it out for his soul. The same qualities that kept him alive on the streets and in prison--his refusal to back down, his reflexive resistance to authority--now get in the way as he tries to write a new chapter in his life.

Months after his release from prison, someone asks him how he had survived. "Anger. Anger. Anger," he replies.

Photos are here. Here is a chart of the 17 wrongfully convicted inmates in Illinois.

The Chicago Tribune continues its excellent series on wrongful convictions. Today's article features Aaron Patterson, age 39, one of 17 wrongfully convicted inmates freed from Death Row in Illinois. He is not in a forgiving frame of mind.

Since his release from Death Row 10 months ago, his goals have been at once simple and far-fetched, concrete and quixotic. He is going to run for political office someday and "shake the system up from the inside." He is going to save those he left behind the walls, and bail out others who need his help.

He is going to close crack houses and use his influence among gang members to turn street corner drug dealers into productive citizens. He is going to give them jobs cutting grass and shoveling snow. He is going to bend his old world to his new vision.

His first months of freedom have been a mighty struggle, as rage and reason battle it out for his soul. The same qualities that kept him alive on the streets and in prison--his refusal to back down, his reflexive resistance to authority--now get in the way as he tries to write a new chapter in his life.

Months after his release from prison, someone asks him how he had survived. "Anger. Anger. Anger," he replies.

Photos are here. Here is a chart of the 17 wrongfully convicted inmates in Illinois.

Sami Al-Arian, the Tampa professor charged with raising funds for terrorists, has a new lawyer--former NACDL President Bill Moffitt of Washington, D.C. Moffitt's first official attack is on the Al-Arian's pre-trial confinement conditions:

William B. Moffitt said the U.S. Justice Department's insistence that Sami Al-Arian be held under strict confinement at a federal prison northeast of Tampa is violating Al-Arian's right to assist in his own defense. A hearing will be held Nov. 7 in U.S. District Court in Tampa on the matter.

Moffitt said Al-Arian, who faces a 50-count indictment that he used an academic think tank and a charity at the University of South Florida as fronts for financing the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, is being treated as though he has already been convicted of a crime. Al-Arian is housed in the same unit as inmates who have assaulted corrections officers or other prisoners and are considered too dangerous to be held elsewhere.

Moffitt is right. The Government should be made to justify its actions by spelling out its "security concerns." It shouldn't be able to simply invoke the term as a mantra to avoid scrutiny of questionable and disparate actions. Moffitt is a terrific lawyer. We're confident Al-Arian will receive a vigorous defense.

Sami Al-Arian, the Tampa professor charged with raising funds for terrorists, has a new lawyer--former NACDL President Bill Moffitt of Washington, D.C. Moffitt's first official attack is on the Al-Arian's pre-trial confinement conditions:

William B. Moffitt said the U.S. Justice Department's insistence that Sami Al-Arian be held under strict confinement at a federal prison northeast of Tampa is violating Al-Arian's right to assist in his own defense. A hearing will be held Nov. 7 in U.S. District Court in Tampa on the matter.

Moffitt said Al-Arian, who faces a 50-count indictment that he used an academic think tank and a charity at the University of South Florida as fronts for financing the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, is being treated as though he has already been convicted of a crime. Al-Arian is housed in the same unit as inmates who have assaulted corrections officers or other prisoners and are considered too dangerous to be held elsewhere.

Moffitt is right. The Government should be made to justify its actions by spelling out its "security concerns." It shouldn't be able to simply invoke the term as a mantra to avoid scrutiny of questionable and disparate actions. Moffitt is a terrific lawyer. We're confident Al-Arian will receive a vigorous defense.

Maryland Governor Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. issued ten pardons Friday, including one to Michael Austin, released from prison last year after being wrongfully imprisoned on a murder charge for 27 years. How do we compensate someone for that?

Ehrlich will have plenty of say about how much money, if any, Austin receives. "Let me give you a general answer, and the answer is yes," Ehrlich said yesterday about the matter. "Then, of course, your question is how much. What's a year worth? What's six months worth? What is 27 years worth?"

In the case of Gernonimo Pratt, also wrongly imprisoned for 27 years, the city of Los Angeles and the Justice Department split a $4 million payment to Pratt. Maryland has paid far less in the past:

In 1984 the board authorized a $250,000 payment to Leslie A. Vass, released after serving 10 years for a robbery that prosecutors said he didn't commit. Ten years later, Kirk N. Bloodsworth got $300,000 after serving nine years before his exoneration by DNA evidence. Earlier this year, Bernard Webster got $900,000 after serving 20 years for a rape he didn't commit. The same annual rate in Austin's case would yield about $1.2 million.

Ehrlich, a Republican, is a welcome breath of fresh air on the issue of pardons and parole.

Maryland Governor Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. issued ten pardons Friday, including one to Michael Austin, released from prison last year after being wrongfully imprisoned on a murder charge for 27 years. How do we compensate someone for that?

Ehrlich will have plenty of say about how much money, if any, Austin receives. "Let me give you a general answer, and the answer is yes," Ehrlich said yesterday about the matter. "Then, of course, your question is how much. What's a year worth? What's six months worth? What is 27 years worth?"

In the case of Gernonimo Pratt, also wrongly imprisoned for 27 years, the city of Los Angeles and the Justice Department split a $4 million payment to Pratt. Maryland has paid far less in the past:

In 1984 the board authorized a $250,000 payment to Leslie A. Vass, released after serving 10 years for a robbery that prosecutors said he didn't commit. Ten years later, Kirk N. Bloodsworth got $300,000 after serving nine years before his exoneration by DNA evidence. Earlier this year, Bernard Webster got $900,000 after serving 20 years for a rape he didn't commit. The same annual rate in Austin's case would yield about $1.2 million.

Ehrlich, a Republican, is a welcome breath of fresh air on the issue of pardons and parole.

In our experience, there are two cities that stand head and shoulders above the rest on Halloween: New Orleans and Maui. Here in New Orleans, the festivities are underway. At night, the streets of the French Quarter are closed to traffic. The costumes are plentiful and outlandish. Police patrol on horseback. Crowds swell the second story balconies of almost every establishment and residence, throwing beads and candy down to those below. Street musicians are everywhere, playing terrific blues and jazz.

We've got a NACDL Budget Committee meeting and a Legislative Affairs meeting left this afternoon before we shut down to enjoy the festivities, and indulge in some more oysters on the half-shell, seafood gumbo, and our very favorite, beignets.

A happy Halloween to all.

In our experience, there are two cities that stand head and shoulders above the rest on Halloween: New Orleans and Maui. Here in New Orleans, the festivities are underway. At night, the streets of the French Quarter are closed to traffic. The costumes are plentiful and outlandish. Police patrol on horseback. Crowds swell the second story balconies of almost every establishment and residence, throwing beads and candy down to those below. Street musicians are everywhere, playing terrific blues and jazz.

We've got a NACDL Budget Committee meeting and a Legislative Affairs meeting left this afternoon before we shut down to enjoy the festivities, and indulge in some more oysters on the half-shell, seafood gumbo, and our very favorite, beignets.

A happy Halloween to all.

Good news in Arizona today. The state Supreme Court threw out a mandatory sentence saying it was too severe:

Taking a slap at legislatively imposed mandatory sentences, the Arizona Supreme Court struck down a 52-year prison term a judge was forced to impose on a 20-year-old man for having sex with two teen girls. The justices pointed out that if the man had committed second-degree murder instead of consensual sex with underage girls, he would have gotten the same prison term.

They also said Arizona's penalties for the man's sex offenses were the harshest in the nation. Thursday's ruling does not mean the man is set free, but that he is entitled to be resentenced - this time without regard to the mandatory minimum.

The ruling also spells out that judges must have the discretion to depart from mandatory minimums as circumstances warrant.