A federal judge in Chicago has dealt the Justice Department a stinging blow in yet another case it had promoted as one involving terrorist activities.

In a sharp blow to the government, a judge refused Thursday to add as much as a dozen years to the sentence of an Islamic charity director linked to Osama bin Laden, saying his racketeering offense was not a crime of terrorism.

Enaam Arnaout, 41, would have been sentenced to 20 years under federal guidelines calling for tougher prison terms for those convicted of terrorism offenses.

Judge Suzanne B. Conlon ruled, however, that the terrorism guideline does not apply in Arnaout's case. He was not convicted of a terrorism offense, she said, "Nor does the record reflect that he attempted, participated in, or conspired to commit any act of terrorism."

Defense attorney Joseph Duffy said the decision "pretty much vindicates what the defense has claimed from the inception, and that is that neither he nor his charity had anything to do with terrorism."

The House Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security, chaired by Rep. Howard Coble (R-NC) will be holding a hearing Thursday at 10:00 a.m. at 2141 Rayburn Building, on "Advancing Justice Through Forensic DNA Technology and Competent Counsel Standards in Capital Cases." From the Press Release:

DNA technology is increasingly vital to ensuring accuracy and fairness in the criminal justice system. DNA can be used to identify criminals with incredible accuracy when biological evidence exists, and DNA can be used to clear suspects and exonerate persons mistakenly accused or convicted of crimes. Members of Congress have introduced legislation to ensure that wrongfully-convicted people have an opportunity to establish their innocence through DNA testing. This legislation also establishes standards to ensure competent legal counsel in capital cases. In March, the Bush administration unveiled a $1.16 billion initiative to reduce the DNA case backlog over the next five years.

Background:

• In many instances, public crime labs are overwhelmed by backlogs of unanalyzed DNA samples.

• In numerous recent cases, post-conviction DNA testing that has exonerated an innocent person has also helped identify the actual criminal.

• More research is needed to develop faster methods for analyzing DNA evidence.

• Professionals working in the criminal justice system need additional training and assistance in order to ensure the optimal use of DNA evidence to solve crimes and assist victims.

• The criminal justice system needs the resources to provide DNA testing in appropriate circumstances for individuals who assert that they have been wrongly accused.

We hope this means the Innocence Protection Act is closer to passing Congress.

President Bush is considering nominating conservative California Supreme Court Justice Janice Rogers Brown to a seat on the very powerful D.C. Court of Appeals.

The DC Court of Appeals is often regarded as a stepping stone to the U.S. Supreme Court. Bush may be grooming Rogers Brown for such an appointment. Here is why this is not a good thing.

In a Letter to the Editor of the New York Times, former New York Governor Mario Cuomo writes:

July 16, 2003
Death Penalty: Worth the Risk?

To the Editor:

Trapped in the System," by Bob Herbert (column, July 14), tells the harrowing story of the innocent Louisiana death row inmate Ryan Matthews and is a chilling reminder of the fallibility of America's criminal justice system, but New Yorkers should not delude themselves that innocent people sit on death row only in the Deep South.

Just last month, the Innocence Project at the Cardozo School of Law, along with a coalition of volunteer attorneys from the tristate area, helped free three Nassau County men wrongfully convicted of the 1984 rape-murder of a Long Island teenage girl, after two rounds of DNA testing proved that a still unidentified man was the real assailant. These three men had spent 18 years in our state's prison system for a crime they did not commit.

If New York had the death penalty in the 1980's, John Kogut, Dennis Halstead and John Restivo would most likely have been executed years before DNA evidence in their case proved their innocence. In light of the ever-growing number of exonerations of the wrongfully convicted, New Yorkers should once again ask themselves if the death penalty is worth the enormous risk it poses of executing the innocent.

We're off to Durango, Colorado early this morning to view physical evidence in one of our cases, so we won't be posting, or appearing on any cable tv shows. It's an 8 hour drive, or a very bumpy 1 hour flight, and we've trepidatiously chosen the flight. We say trepidatiously, because 99% of the time we have no fear of flying but this flight is different.

The last time we flew to Durango was for a court appearance 22 years ago --we remember because we were 7 months pregnant. We were so freaked out by the flight (air pockets due to the summer heat make these tiny planes swerve and drop mercilessly, so they later told us) that we rented a car one-way for the drive back. Aside from the cost, the driving was not a problem--we would have driven for 3 days to avoid a repeat of that flight. We have no problem flying to Aspen, Grand Junction or Casper (Wyoming) --or even taking a puddle jumper to Kalispell, Montana, but Durango is scary.

Wednesday may be the day the Eagle County DA decides whether to charge Kobe Bryant with sexual assault or some other crime or no crime at all, so we recommend you check news updates frequently. We'll be back here late Wednesday night or Thursday, as soon as we've recovered from our most harrowing adventure.

Update: We're back, safe and sound, thanks for the comments. The plane ride was fine... but someday when this case is over, we'll tell the story of the conditions under which we were forced to view the physical evidence. It's one for the books, for sure. Suffice it to say, too many law enforcement agents in rural counties think they can operate under their own rules--and that they make the rules. At least we're in federal court on this case, where hopefully the Judge won't view it that way.

The Seattle Times writes this profile of criminal defense lawyer Jeffery Robinson , who has made his name protecting the rights of high-profile suspects.

Many of us defense lawyers are "true believers." Perhaps reading this article, you will see why, to us, what we do is neither a job, nor just a profession, but a calling. Kudos to Jeffrey for having his home-town paper acknowledge his beliefs and his accomplishments.

The New York Times reports that since the end of the combat in Iraq, incidents of rape and kidnapping have increased. Here's more from A Rational Animal.

A panel of the Senate Appropriations Committee has proposed killing all funding for the T.I.A., the Defense Department's Terror Information Awareness Program. The program is the brainchild of John Poindexter.

Earlier this year, the Senate passed an amendment by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) prohibiting funding of the TIA, but allowing research, until Sept. 30, 2003.
The Senate panel now proposes extending that ban for another year, and banning funding for all purposes. The measure provides:

No funds appropriated or otherwise made available to the Department of Defense ... or to any other department, agency or element of the federal government, may be obligated or expended on research and development on the Terrorism Information Awareness program."

If this provision passes the Senate, it will proceed to a House-Senate Conference Committee.

Our view: Let's kill this privacy-intrusive data-mining program once and for all. The Government has enough information about us already, and there is no showing that the program will enhance our safety.

Hallelujah....the number of people being sentenced to death in the U.S. is declining. Read the comments by an Oregon prosecutor who seem to support the drop, thinking that the death penalty should be reserved for the worst of the worst.

"The point we're coming to in America is that we are going to keep refining and refining and refining those who are eligible for the death penalty," said Josh Marquis, the prosecutor for Clatsop County in Astoria, Oregon. "It should really be reserved for people like (Oklahoma City bomber) Timothy McVeigh," added Marquis, a death penalty proponent who chairs the Capital Litigation Committee of the National District Attorneys Association.

Given growing support for what Marquis called "true life" -- laws that provide no parole options, even Texas -- which has executed more in the modern era than any other state -- has begun to move toward a life-with-no-parole option, he said.

While we don't agree that Timothy McVeigh should have been executed, we welcome the shift in thinking. It's a start.

Instapundit is wary of homeland security and new anti-terror legislation. Check out his Tech Central Station column, Defense - Terror War? What Terror War?.

It's Not Just Terrorists Who Take Advantage: Someone will propose new "Antiterrorism" legislation. It will be full of things off of bureaucrats' wish lists. They will be things that wouldn't have prevented these attacks even if they had been in place yesterday. Many of them will be civil-liberties disasters. Some of them will actually promote the kind of ill-feeling that breeds terrorism. That's what happened in 1996. Let's not let it happen again.

It's nice to have Glenn on our side on this one.

Say hello to What Really Happened , Civil Liberties Watch and Op-Ed News. All will be on our blogroll shortly.

Also, TomPaine.com has added a blog to its feature article site. Other must-reads for us: Behind the Homefront by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and Patriot Watch, dedicated to news related to the Patriot Act and similar legislation that threatens our civil liberties.

Are you interested in receiving a grant to conduct objective marijuana-related research?

The grants program administered by the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) is seeking proposals for up to $60,000 for objective, publishable, scientifically rigorous research on marijuana and marijuana policy. The next grant application deadline is September 1. Details here.