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.

Howard Dean blasted racial profiling Monday in a speech to the National Council of La Raza and the NAACP in Miami, and in particular, Attorney General Ashcroft's recent memo on the subject :

"Condemning racial profiling is not enough," said Dean. "Racial profiling is a serious civil rights issue, and the administration should do more than circulate a memo saying "don't do it" to federal enforcement agencies he oversees, like the FBI and DEA.

"As President, I will direct my Attorney General to use regulatory authority under existing anti-discrimination laws"--the 1964 Civil Rights Act--to define racial profiling as discrimination, and to withhold federal funds from departments that violate those regulations."

We have been remiss in not writing before about Jesselyn Radack. Ms. Radack was a Government Ethics Advisor at the Department of Justice during the John Walker Lindh case. She disagreed with the Government's tactics, revealed misconduct by DOJ officials in the questioning of John Walker Lindh and told her bosses about evidence that should have been turned over to the defense to assist in trial preparation, but was not.

Since then she's lost two jobs -- pushed out of her Justice post and then fired from the firm that had taken her in -- and now finds herself unemployed and in limbo. Her personal challenges are daunting: under criminal investigation, ailing from multiple sclerosis, and expecting a third child in January. But far from singing the victim's song, Radack appears composed and stalwart...

....Her story grows more ominous as new details emerge about how far the government will go in pursuit of one of its own.

Read the story, and this petition written by Ms. Radack that calls on the U.S. Government not to trample civil rights and liberties in responding to terrorism.

The Reporter's Committee for Freedom of the Press reports here, and Sen. Ted Kennedy wrote a letter to Ashcroft requesting answers to why she was forced out of her job. Kennedy elaborated on Ms. Radeck in his comments to the Judicary Committee concerning the confirmation of Justice Department official Michael Chertoff to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals:

Scriverner's Error reports that the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld the denial of a law license to White Supremacist Matthew Hale. The Court found:

Matthew Hale is a public advocate of white supremacy and the leader of an organization (formerly called the World Church of the Creator [note 1]) dedicated to racism and anti-Semitism. He comes before us today because he seeks to be admitted to practice law in the state of Illinois. The Illinois State Bar [sic] requires applicants not only to demonstrate proficiency in the law on a written bar examination, but also to pass a character and fitness exam. Hale succeeded in satisfying the first of these hurdles, but not the second. His defeat came at the hands of the Committee on Character and Fitness (Committee) appointed by the Illinois Supreme Court, which found him unfit to practice law.

The voices of members of the military opposed to the War in Iraq is growing stronger. TomPaine.com presents the story of a young marine who described his opposition to the war in an interview with Pacifica News Service the night before he left for Iraq, where he was killed.

In his interview with Pacifica, John expressed outrage that a legitimate public debate on the war had not occurred. Many alternatives to combat were available, he explained, such as using money being spent for war to finance a grassroots Iraqi democracy movement that would rival the Baath regime, or promoting democracy throughout the Middle East to show people alternative forms of government.

....He accused the administration of not talking honestly with the American public about potential consequences of a U.S. war on Iraq, such as the potential for urban combat, the psyche of the Iraqi people, the impact on the United Nations and the fate of the Middle East.

....But even as he expressed doubts about the Bush administration’s decision, he spoke eloquently about his patriotism, and looked to the highest ideals of the country for inspiration:

"I believe in the United States. I believe in the Constitution. I think it's perhaps one of the greatest documents ever written. I believe in the idea that we the people are sovereign and we determine our own destiny. We have a democracy and the Bill of Rights and freedom of expression, freedom of speech, freedom of religion and due process. Until the world is such a place that we can really live without the military, individual Americans have to step up and they have to serve."

There's lot's more, we recommend the entire article

Here's more on the controversial issue of whether civilian criminal defense lawyers should refuse to participate in the Administration's planned military tribunals because the rules hamstring the defense, preventing lawyers from zealously and effectively representing those on trial. Both sides of the debate are presented. For background on the rules, go here. Our prior post on the hesitancy of defense lawyers to get involved is here.

The Nevada Supreme Court today overturned the convictions of Sandy Murphy, a topless dancer and Rick Tabish, a trucking contractor,for the murder of Ted Binion, a Las Vegas casino exec who came from a long line of prominent casino owners.

The appeals court said the trial judge improperly allowed a kidnapping and extortion charge against Tabish pertaining to a different victim to be tried with the murder charges, and improperly allowed prejudicial testimony from one of Binion's estate attorneys at trial without proper limiting instructions.

This was a very high profile trial in Nevada, televised on Court TV. It had a lot of lurid details, you can read all about it here.

Jurors found the pair staged Binion's death to look like a drug overdose. After an unsuccessful bid for a new trial citing wrongdoing by jurors, counsel, and a jailhouse snitch, Murphy and Tabish were sentenced to 22- and 25-years to life, respectively.

The 19 year old woman who alleged that she was sexually assaulted by Kobe Bryant asked her friends to appear on the morning news shows to say she is distraught and wants the media to let her alone. The friend said "She didn't know what was going to happen to her."

We were in court today on one of our cases in Eagle County where charges are being considered by the district attorney. There was virtually no media, only one SUV outside the courthouse with three people set up under an umbrella of sorts, and a local publisher. But the air was tense and you could feel things weren't normal.

The rumors were flying, and we heard several different scenarios from local lawyers and others who had information from people they believed to be "reliable sources." While the rumors all differed, none of them thought Kobe Bryant ultimately would be charged.

So while we have no inside information of our own, based upon what we heard today, we think it is a distinct possibility that the 19 year old may withdraw her charge, making it easier for the DA not to file charges. There seemed to be a consensus at the courthouse among those we spoke with that whatever happened did not involve a sexual assault, that it would boil down to "he said-she said," and that there are problems with the she-said version.

We're going to quit now while we are ahead as we don't want to judge the case solely on rumor. We just hope it's going to be amicably worked out by all the parties involved. This is a lose-lose case for everyone.

Despite being told by the trial court judge to allow Zacarias Moussaoui to question Al Qaeda member Ramzi Binalshibh , and despite the fact that the Fourth Circuit has twice now refused to overturn that order, the Government has announced it will not comply.

The Government cites national security concerns.

Chief Judge William Wilkins, who was against rehearing the case, said the appeals court could not just rule in favor of the government because it asserts national security interests.

"Siding with the government in all cases where national security concerns are asserted would entail surrender of the independence of the judicial branch and abandonment of our sworn commitment to uphold the rule of law," he wrote.

Trial Judge Leonie Brinkema now must decide whether to dismiss the case against Moussaoui, or impose some other sanction. If the case is dismissed, Moussaoui's case will likely be transferred to a military tribunal. Moussaoui has more rights in a federal criminal trial than he will in a tribunal.