Nat Hentoff, not a liberal by any stretch, but very good on civil liberties issues and great on bashing Ashcroft, has a new column today called Schumer v. Pickering--arguing that Pickering's record has been misconstrued by" lazy journalists."

Hentoff reviews the infamous cross-burning case--and points out some good sentencing decisions Pickering made on behalf of black offenders. A criminal defense lawyer we know and respect in Mississippi also sticks up for Pickering - big time.

We haven't changed our mind and we still oppose Pickering ( here's why), but today we thought we'd bring out the other side. Especially since we are far more opposed to Priscilla Owen and Miguel Estrada.

We hope that those who think we would oppose anyone Bush nominated will read our support of Edward C. Prado, currently a U.S. District Court Judge for the Western District of Texas, who was just nominated by Bush for a seat on the Fifth Circuit.

"After his arrest on pot charges in October, medical marijuana activist Steve McWilliams vowed to go to trial in federal court. He wanted the chance to argue he had a right to grow marijuana under California's Proposition 215, which allows ill people to grow pot. "

"McWilliams said yesterday he has given up that fight and will accept a plea agreement offered by prosecutors."

McWillians is going to plead to felony cultivation of 25 plants. He will admit that he grew the 25 plants growing in his front yard that the DEA uprooted.

"In my heart I wish we could go to court and say: 'Seat a jury. Let's have a fair trial,' " McWilliams said. "More than anything we wanted to tell a jury of our peers about our case. That simply can't happen now." If McWilliams, 48, had gone to trial and had been convicted of two felony charges, he would have faced five to 40 years in prison. "

Prosecutors will recommend no more than six months in prison. His lawyer says he may not serve any prison time. By our calculations under the Sentencing Guidelines, he could get no jail and 3 months of home detention. The good news is that the Government is allowing McWilliams to enter what is referred to as a "conditional guilty plea" whereby McWilliams retains the right to appeal the medical marijuana issue to the 9th Circuit.

Given the rulings in the Rosenthal case, this sounds like a win-win for McWilliams--except for the felony on his record --and having to stay on the straight and narrow while on probation.

Lisa English of Ruminate This asks, Where's the Coverage?. We want to know too. We'll try to follow up this weekend.

IsThatLegal? is all over Coblegate. Great coverage by Law Professor Eric Muller of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Today Mueller writes that Coble was quoted as saying that if he was proven wrong about his comments, he'd apologize. The proof is up -- Mueller says he's found the goods to force Coble's promised apology.

Texas has said it will ignore the injunction against executions issued Wednesday by the World Court.

The International Court of Justice at The Hague on Wednesday ordered the U.S. to stay the executions of three Mexicans and reserved the right to intervene in dozens of other cases.

Mexico brought the World Court case last month, arguing that 54 of its citizens on death row should get retrials. It accused U.S. police of violating an international treaty by failing to tell the men of their right to consular assistance after being arrested.

The World Court said it acted in three cases where the men were at risk of execution before the lengthy case is finished.

On Tuesday, Texas executed its 296th prisoner since 1982, when it's death penalty was reinstated. In response to news that the International Court of Justice at the Hague ordered the United States to stay the next three pending executions of Mexican nationals until they prove that the defendants were given access to consular assistance, as required by international law, Lawrence Goldman, president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, issued the following statement:

"We hope the United States will follow the order of the World Court to stay the pending executions of the Mexican nationals. Unfortunately, our past record indicates that we will not.

"It would be ironic for the United States to ignore the order of a World Tribunal at the same time we threaten war on another nation on the ground that it flouts the directives of a world body.

"The rule of international law should certainly be respected as much when it prevents death as when it arguably allows for war. We should consider following the lead of our neighbors in Mexico in their respect for both life and the law."

President Bush has nominated Edward C. Prado, a U.S. District Court Judge in the Western District of Texas, for a seat on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

We are pleased. Judge Prado opposes mandatory minimum sentences. In 1996, on behalf of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL), I invited Judge Prado to Washington, DC, to serve on a panel of experts opposing mandatory minimum sentences, as part of our then-annual Legislative Fly-in. The panel was entitled, Sentencing: The Miscarriage of Mandatory Minimums. Other members of the panel included U.S. District Court Judge Terry Hatter (C.D.C.A.) and Julie Stewart of Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM).

Judge Prado was appointed to the federal bench by President Reagan in 1984. Prior to that he had been both a prosecutor and a public defender and a state court judge.

Here are Judge Prado's remarks:

Kevin Drum, also known as CalPundit has a new photograph of himself up on his weblog. This one is the best yet. His eyes are open and he's smiling. Wearing jeans with a button down collared t-shirt. no socks (we hope) and mocassins. Direct look in his eye. Ready for fun or adventure, take your pick. The young, preppy law-school look is gone. If we had to guess his occupation, we'd say....private investigator, former cop. Decent guy who can deal with the low-down without sinking into it himself. He sure is tall though, we'd guess 6/4. The kind of guy you'd want around if you were walking around too late at night and were about to get mugged and needed a savior. Kevin, I think this photo is a keeper. You even look smart.

The New York Times sharply rebukes John Ashcroft today for his decision to seek the death penalty in a dozen cases, contrary to the recommendations of his local prosecutors.

Mr. Ashcroft's decisions appear to be driven by a desire to see the death penalty used more. His aggressive promotion of capital punishment is not only wrong, it is badly timed. Popular support for the death penalty is declining, due in large part to the growing number of cases in which DNA evidence is exonerating death row inmates.... Mr. Ashcroft also seems to have a regional agenda. The reversals in New York and Connecticut are nearly half of all cases nationwide in which he has overruled decisions not to seek the death penalty. Mr. Ashcroft's drive to increase the use of capital punishment here flies in the face of the administration's oft-repeated commitment to allowing states and localities more control over policy issues.

We've been covering this story for a week now, here is our latest post, which contains links to our earlier ones.

Terrance Kindlon is a criminal defense lawyer from Albany, N.Y., who as a Marine, received a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart for his service in Vietnam. Don't miss his op-ed piece in the Houston Chronicle opposing the War with Iraq--titled A Marine remembers the past and its lessons. It is poignant and personal, with a universal message.

Colorado's Republican Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell is not doing too well in the fund-raising department for another Senate run. He could decide not to run at all. If he runs, he likely will face some formidable Democratic opposition:

Among the most frequently mentioned are Rep. Mark Udall, Denver Mayor Wellington Webb and state Attorney General Ken Salazar. Some are even touting the name of former Sen. Gary Hart (D-Colo.), who is currently exploring a presidential run. Outgoing District Attorney Bill Ritter and bureaucrat Mike Miles are also reported to be interested in the race."

We're for Mark Udall, big-time. We also like Denver DA Bill Ritter, who got sidelined in the last election by newly enacted term limits. Why not Hart? If Gary Hart doesn't run for President, he should be Secretary of State.

Two jurors in the Ed Rosenthal trial were on Connie Chung tonight. They were mad. Connie asked one, "Who's the culprit?" The very articulate female juror replied, "The system, the federal government, the DEA." She added that Ed should get a new trial and that the jury should be presented with all of the evidence as well as their options. She said they thought they had no option but to consider only the Judge's instructions and evidence presented. We think she was talking about jury nullification--the principle that the jury has the right to vote not guilty if they disagree with the law.

The male juror, who served as foreman, said he was "angry beyond belief" when he found out that Ed had been licensed by the City of Oakland to grow the marijuana and that it was for medical use. He said he was "embarassed, humiliated" that his name appears at the bottom of the verdict form.

Another criticism of the Rosenthal case is at GlennReynolds.com:

Meanwhile, the Ashcroft Justice Department — which I thought was supposed to be protecting federalism, and chasing terrorists — needs to explain why it’s wasting time and tax dollars chasing people who are no threat to anyone, and who are doing things that are legal under their own state’s laws. I’m waiting. . . .

The San Francisco Chronicle on what you can do if you are upset about the verdict:

Contact your elected representatives in Sacramento and Washington and encourage them to reconcile this conflict in state and federal drug laws -- and in the meantime, to find a structured way for the desperately ill to obtain medical marijuana with a doctor's prescription.

Update: The transcript of the CNN interview is available here.

News coverage has frequently emphasized that if confirmed, Judicial nominee Miguel Estrada will be sitting on the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, the nation's "second most important court." What exactly does that mean? And why is it so troubling that Bush wants to pack the DC Circuit with conservative judges? Chris Mooney explains both in Circuit Breaker, in the new issue of American Prospect.