Back in 1997, then-Senator John Ashcroft had a different view of government surveillance. How do we make him rediscover his inner child?

[Senator Ashcroft takes issue with administration views on the Internet
and the use of encryption technology.]

The Clinton administration would like the Federal government to have the capability to read any international or domestic computer communications. The FBI wants access to decode, digest, and discuss financial transactions, personal e-mail, and proprietary information sent abroad -- all in the name of national security. To accomplish this, President Clinton would like government agencies to have the keys for decoding all exported U.S. software and Internet communications.

This proposed policy raises obvious concerns about Americans' privacy, in addition to tampering with the competitive advantage that our U.S. software companies currently enjoy in the field of encryption technology. Not only would Big Brother be looming over the shoulders of international cyber-surfers, but the administration threatens to render our state-of-the-art computer software engineers obsolete and unemployed.

There is a concern that the Internet could be used to commit crimes and that advanced encryption could disguise such activity. However, we do not provide the government with phone jacks outside our homes for unlimited wiretaps. Why, then, should we grant government the Orwellian capability to listen at will and in real time to our communications across the Web?

The National Institute of Justice, the research arm of the Department of Justice, has just released Technical Working Group for Eyewitness Evidence: Training Teams, a Trainer's Manual for Law Enforcement. This manual is the followup to the the 1999 NIJ Research Report, Eyewitness Evidence: A Guide for Law Enforcement. Both are available free to download.

It has been known for several years that faulty eyewitness evidence is the major cause of wrongful convictions. In most cases, the eyewitnesses are mistaken, not lying. Faulty eyewitness identification procedures used by police have been a large part of the problem. The procedures in these guides, if used by law enforcement, will go a long way towards reducing such errors.

We are proud to have been a member of the panel that produced the 1999 Guide and look forward to seeing its prinicples put into action in police departments around the country, through the new Training Manual.

We'd also like to see police departments go further and adopt sequential lineups and double-blind testing procedures, which are mentioned in the 1999 manual but not given the same endorsement as the other procedures.

In case you're wondering how Ashcroft and the DEA intend to prove that the pipe you sell is for marijuana use and not tobacco, defense lawyer Nicholas Hentoff has this report:

They have agents who will testify that any smoking device with a "one hit" or very shallow bowl depth constitutes paraphernalia since this design is inconsistent with Tobacco use. The presence of a carburetor also constitutes proof of paraphernalia since no one uses a carburetor to blast tobacco smoke into their lungs.

They also will call a tobacco shop owner as an expert on these points as well as tobacco trade show operators who will testify that they exclude smoking devices from their trade shows based on bowl depth and presence of carbs. Rolling papers with wires in them also constitute paraphernalia per DEA experts.

We'll be altercating over at MSNBC's Altercation Wednesday, filling in for the moving Eric Alterman. Don't forget to stop by. Charles Pierce fills in today--taking on John Ashcroft and his fervor for the death penalty, among other topics. Charles is a tough act to follow, but we'll give it our best. As he points out, altercating is a far better job than moving Eric's boxes.

Ohio bites the bullet and will pay Jimmy Spunk Williams $750k for the ten years he was wrongfully imprisoned:

The state will pay its largest wrongful conviction award ever to a man freed from prison after 10 years when a woman recanted testimony identifying him as the man who raped her when she was 12 years old. Jimmy "Spunk" Williams, 32, agreed Monday to a $750,000 settlement. The state also will pay about $84,600 in fees to two attorneys.

If only there was some way Mr. Williams could click his heels three times and go back to 1990 and get his ten years back too.

Update: California Governor Gray Davis today signed into law a bill to pay Rick Walker $400,000. Walker spent 12 years in jail for a murder he didn't commit.

Just in from AntiPolygraph.Org:

New Mexico is the only state in the United States where polygraph evidence has been routinely admitted in criminal cases. The New Mexico Supreme Court recently directed District Judge Richard J. Knowles to enter findings of fact and conclusions of law regarding polygraph testing. His report, (New Mexico Supreme Court No. 27,915) may be downloaded here.

After reviewing a large body of documentary evidence and hearing testimony from experts, Judge Knowles concluded that "[t]he results of polygraph testing are not sufficiently reliable for admissibility in courts in New Mexico."

No surprise here, but it's official: The 9th Circuit has reinstated the California recall election. Head over to How Appealing for all the details.

You can read the full decision here.

Update: The ACLU says it won't appeal. The recall will go forward October 7.

Neal Pollack is his usual funny self describing the President's interview on Fox News the other night. [link via Atrios.] He begins:

President Bush is too busy to talk to his dad more than once every two weeks. He's also too busy to read newspapers or watch TV, and gets all his information from trusted advisors. The White House has a putting green that he likes. The French need to understand that "our goals and ambitions are noble. We believe in peace. We strongly believe in freedom. Where we see suffering we will help."

And buy Neal's new book:

Never Mind the Pollacks : A Rock and Roll Novel
by Neal Pollack

A group of passengers has sued Jet Blue Airways in court in Utah for disclosing passenger data.

The suit, filed Monday, follows JetBlue's acknowledgment last week that, in violation of its own privacy policy, it had given information from about 5 million passenger records to Torch Concepts of Huntsville, Ala. Torch produced a study, "Homeland Security: Airline Passenger Risk Assessment," that was purported to help the government improve military base security. The class-action lawsuit, filed in Utah's 3rd District Court, alleges fraudulent misrepresentation, breach of contract and invasion of privacy.

Meanwhile, EPIC has filed a complaint against the company alleging deceptive trade practices with the FTC.

We've never flown Jet Blue but everyone we know who has says it's the best of the low cost airlines. The company has apologized for the data release, and stated that it provided "name, address and phone number, along with flight information, but absolutely no payment or credit card information."

The lawyer for the plaintiffs in the Utah suit has said,

"We got the sense that Mr. Neeleman wanted to make this right, so we commented in our lawsuit that we wanted to pursue the matter, but not in a way that would damage the financial viability of the company. It's a good company," McConkie said.

Then why seek compensatory damages? Why not seek a permanent injunction preventing them from doing it again? Between compensatory damages and legal fees to defend the lawsuits, Jet Blue will suffer.....which usually means airfares will rise, and that hurts the consumer. Bad move.

900 immigrants are boarding buses for a national Freedom Ride to raise the country's awareness on problems facing immigrants in the U.S.

Taking a page from the civil rights movement of the 1960s, the Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride kicked off Saturday in 10 cities throughout the country, with 18 buses making planned stops in more than 100 communities.

Participants plan to hold rallies calling for improved workplace protections and recognition of immigrants' civil rights, regardless of their legal status. Buses are leaving from Seattle; Portland, Ore.; San Francisco; Los Angeles; Las Vegas; Houston; Minneapolis; Chicago; Miami; and Boston.

Destinations include Washington, D.C., for meetings with members of Congress on Oct. 1, and New York, where organizers hope to draw 100,000 supporters to an Oct. 4 rally.

More bad news for the leadership of the Air Force: a new report says they knew of the sexual assault problems at the Academy and failed to respond:

An investigative panel's report, released this afternoon, says that Air Force leaders at the Pentagon and the Air Force Academy knew about sexual assault problems at the school for years, but failed to respond. The independent commission, led by former U.S. Rep. Tillie Fowler, documented numerous failures by senior Air Force leaders. “The failure of the academy and Air Force Headquarters to respond aggressively and in a timely and committed way to eliminate causes of serious problems was a failure of leadership,’’ the commission’s report said. “Those responsible should be held accountable.’’

The full report is available here. Journalist Dave Cullen at Conclusive Evidence has been on this story since the beginning. Head over and see what he has to say about the new report.

In case you had any doubts that the Administration has not been truthful about its intentions vis a vis the Patriot Act, read this article in today's Washington Post that informs us that Bush is resorting to the Patriot Act in a 16-year-old deportation case . Here's a snippet:

The Bush administration has decided to pursue a 16-year-old effort to deport two Palestinian activists who as students distributed magazines and raised funds for a group the government now considers a terrorist organization, despite several court rulings that the deportations are unconstitutional because the men were not involved in terrorist activity.