Law Professor Glenn Reynolds' new Tech Central Station column is up on the dangers of the Patriot Act:

.... the Justice Department's unwillingness to release information on how it is implementing the Patriot Act is deeply troubling. Sure, there are some tactical secrets that shouldn't be released. But it's been a year and a half since the Patriot Act was passed, and information on how the rather sweeping power that it granted has been used isn't being released. As Representative James Sensenbrenner recently complained, this sort of close-to-the-vest attitude makes it rather hard to trust them.

Reynolds adds a lot of historical perspective to the column. This is becoming a recurrent theme for him and we look forward to reading more at Instapundit and his MSNBC blog.

Bump and Update: The suit's been filed.

Posted April 21:

The city and county of Santa Cruz, California will file suit Wednesday over medical marijuana. The lawsuit will be filed against Attorney General John Ashcroft, Acting DEA Administrator John Brown and Drug Czar John Walters. It will seek a preliminary injunction to allow a raided marijuana club to reopen and resume providing marijuana to the medically ill.

It is legal in California for medically ill people to use marijuana. It is illegal under federal law. Last year the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the federal ban on medical marijuana.

``It is pretty clear that the people in the state of California support the use of medical marijuana,'' said Mardi Wormhoudt, a Santa Cruz County Supervisor. ``It is disturbing when the people in the state have overwhelmingly expressed their support at the ballot the federal government feels no right to uphold that.''

Earlier this month, three U.S. Congressman, Sam Farr (D-CA), Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), and Barney Frank (D-MA), introduced the "Truth in Trials Act", to allow marijuna defendants, both users and providers to introduce evidence at trial that their actions were for medicinal purposes and in accordance with state law.

A hearing on information leaks in the D.C. sniper case will be held tomorrow. Lawyers for defendant John Muhammed have subpoenaed "four Washington Post reporters, two FBI agents and three police officers to appear at the hearing." The Judge issued a gag order against police last December, specifically prohibiting disclosure of the type of information published in the Post.

"We don't intend to ask the reporters to reveal their sources," co-counsel Jonathan Shapiro said. Defense attorneys want the reporters to "verify what they reported is accurate," he said. The Washington Post has moved to quash the subpoenas.

The Case for Scott Peterson: Why a murder conviction is not a slam dunk

CNN reports that Peterson's legal team is now in place. Three public defenders have been assigned to his case.

Via Atrios, a Fox News Television Engineer faces smuggling charges for bringing back loot from Iraq:

A television news engineer faces smuggling charges after attempting to bring into the United States 12 stolen Iraqi paintings, monetary bonds and other items, federal officials said Wednesday.

A criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va., charges that Benjamin James Johnson, 27, tried to bring the paintings into this country last Thursday. They were contained in a large cardboard box that was examined by Customs agents at Dulles International Airport outside Washington.

An affidavit filed with the criminal complaint says that Johnson, who accompanied U.S. troops in Baghdad, gathered up the paintings at a palace that belonged to Uday Hussein, one of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's sons. The paintings depict Saddam and Uday.

Johnson, who initially told Customs officials he was given the paintings by Iraqi citizens, said he had planned to keep them "for decoration" and to provide one to his employer, the affidavit says. It is U.S. policy that all such items belong to the Iraqi people.

Roger Ailes has news of the arrest of a Boston Herald reporter for bringing back a painting. (permalink not working, scroll down)

The U.S. Supreme Court today issued a ruling favorable to habeas petitioners. The case is Massaro v. U.S. The text of the opinion is here.

An ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claim may be brought in a collateral proceeding under §2255, whether or not the petitioner could have raised the claim on direct appeal. Requiring a criminal defendant to bring ineffective-assistance claims on direct appeal does not promote the procedural default rule’s objectives: conserving judicial resources and respecting the law’s important interest in the finality of judgments. Applying that rule to ineffective-assistance claims would create a risk that defendants would feel compelled to raise the issue before there has been an opportunity fully to develop the claim’s factual predicate, and would raise the issue for the first time in a forum not best suited to assess those facts, even if the record contains some indication of deficiencies in counsel’s performance. A §2255 motion is preferable to direct appeal for deciding an ineffective- assistance claim.

The Court specifically held it was not limiting ineffective claims to habeas petitions as the issue was not before it--in cases where the ineffectiveness can be determined solely from the record, defendants can still raise it on direct appeal. Sounds like a win-win to us.

Via Oliver at The Liquid List, CNN reports that Bush may not make Alabama's ballot .

Unless Alabama's election law is changed, there could be one notable candidate missing from the state's 2004 presidential election ballot -- President Bush.

....The problem is that the Republican National Convention is being held later than usual to avoid conflict with the Olympics, and the GOP won't choose a candidate until September 2 -- two days after Alabama's August 31 deadline to certify presidential contenders.

Republicans are asking the Democrat-controlled Legislature to change the law and extend the deadline until September 5.

That bill is on the work agenda in the House for Thursday, but some Republicans say they are concerned the bill has been placed behind several contentious issues and may not come up for consideration.

Now wouldn't that be sweet!

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has stayed the texecution of Charles Ladd, set for later today, so his lawyers can raise the issue of mental retardation. Ladd would have been the 14th texecution this year.

From Kelly Kramer at Democratic Power:

George W. Bush Resume Past work experience:

Ran for congress and lost.

Produced a Hollywood slasher B movie.

Bought an oil company, but couldn't find any oil in Texas, company - went bankrupt shortly after I sold all my stock.

Bought the Texas Rangers baseball team in a sweetheart deal that took land using tax-payer money. Biggest move: Traded Sammy Sosa to the Chicago Cubs.

With fathers help (and his name) was elected Governor of Texas. Accomplishments-

Changed pollution laws for power and oil companies and made Texas the most polluted state in the Union.

Replaced Los Angeles with Houston as the most smog ridden city in America.

A University of Illinois professor and his students have studied the identity of Deep Throat of Watergate fame for eight semesters and say they have positively identified him-- they say he is Fred Fielding, chief counsel to President Nixon during Watergate.

Everything that we have, we show there's a document," Gaines said. Unlike many previous speculations on the source's identity, "it's not interpretation, it's not guesswork," he said.

Fielding fits all the personal characteristics of "Deep Throat," as described by Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, through their newspaper stories, their book "All the President's Men" and the movie of the same title.

Fielding did not respond Tuesday to a request for comment by United Press International.

....Fielding was the chief counsel to President Ronald Reagan for five years, served as a member of the Bush-Cheney transition team, and currently is a member of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks.

We'll be interested to hear Woodward and Bernstein's response.

Carla Spartos reports on the new Anti-Rave Act Party Patrol in the Village Voice.

Guaranteed to spoil your summer concert-going experience and passed without congressional hearings, the bill, officially known as the Illicit Drug Anti-Proliferation Act of 2003, which is expected to be signed into law by Bush within weeks, is

equipped with a loosely worded law making venue owners and concert promoters responsible for their patrons' partying ways, overzealous prosecutors could target mainstream event organizers with stiff fines, jail sentences (up to 20 years), and property seizures.

Who to thank for the bill? Democratic Senator Joe Biden, who is also responsible for the 80's Crack House Statute, and the Office of National Drug Control Policy. While the Government claims the law is not about "incidental drug use," we have our doubts. And here's a truism if ever there was one, from NYC promoter Matt E. Silver:

The bottom line is if the federal government wants to get you, they will."

Another of Ashcroft's terror cases bites the dust. Omar Shishani, held in Detroit for nine months on terror charges related to his possession of $12 million in counterfeit checks, pleaded guilty to counterfeit security charges Tuesday while all terror-related charges were dropped.

"He is not a terrorist," said Shishani's attorney, Corbett O'Meara. "It is symptomatic of our nation's hysteria that he was ever branded a terrorist. This was garden-variety financial fraud." ....A federal law enforcement source said an exhaustive investigation turned up no evidence of ties between Shishani and terrorism.

Shishani faces up to five years in jail for conspiracy and possession of counterfeit securities.