The Predator's Execution Drone--cartoon video by Mark Fiore--worth the few seconds it takes to load.

Once again we see how federal sentencing decisions lie not in the hand of judges, where they belong, but to prosecutors under the federal sentencing guidelines. Prime example, in today's news: The U.S. Attorney in Boston is seeking much longer drug, gun sentences:

"The U.S. attorney in Boston has ordered federal prosecutors to seek longer prison terms for people convicted of drug and gun offenses. Under U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan's policy of requiring prosecutors to seek sentence enhancements, a convicted drug dealer's 10-year sentence could double if he has a prior drug conviction in state court. "

''This is a kind of sea change in the practice of this office,'' Sullivan said in Sunday's Boston Globe. ''I think it's important that we use the tools that allow for the most significant punishment.''

"The move bucks a national trend against lengthy sentences, which critics say too harshly punish indigent, non-violent defendants. According to the U.S. Sentencing Commission, the lengths of federal drug sentences have dropped more than 20 percent in the past decade. "

"Before Sullivan announced the change internally earlier this year, federal prosecutors in Massachusetts used their discretion when seeking sentencing enhancements that increase the mandatory minimum sentences for drug dealers with previous felony drug convictions. Now, prosecutors are required to use the enhancements in every applicable case."

We expect more of this coming from Ashcroft. As chief law enforcement officer of the courntry, and the Department of Justice, which oversees the U.S. Attorneys office, he can implement his poorly conceived, ill-advised plans however he wishes--particularly now that the Congress will be Republican and hardly apt to hold him in check.

Already in Colorado, according to our sources (and recent clients' charges) pot growing cases of under 100 plants are now being brought in federal court. The Assistant US Attorneys are not happy about having to prosecute these small cases, but we've been told (and not from an AUSA) that this is happening at Ashcroft's insistence.

Why does Ashcroft always go in reverse when the rest of the world is going forward? Our prediction: this is just the shape of things to come.

Al Gore will decide whether to run for president by the end of the year.

Interviewed by Barbara Walters last night, he said he wouldn't rule out any potential running mates including Lieberman or Hillary.

Liberal Oasis has much, more more on a potential Gore candidacy.

Happy Birthday to Avedon Carol's The Sideshow blog which is one year old. Avedon has a good post up today about Bush's concern about gays in the military outweighing his concern for making us safe from terrorism. She compares it to her own childhood, which makes it a very interesting read. She also links to Patrick Nielson's post on the subject which we highly recommend as well. Nathan Newman chimes in as well, as does Daily Kos.

Wrongfully convicted former Illinois death row inmate Rolando Cruz is seeking a full pardon. The family of the victim of the crime for which he was wrongfully convicted is objecting.

"In documents filed with the board, Birkett, the DuPage County state's attorney, says recent DNA testing shows more clearly than ever that Brian Dugan, not Cruz, raped Nicarico. Dugan, 46, has confessed to the crime and has said he committed it alone. Dugan has never been charged in the child's death but is serving a life term for unrelated murders."

Why is the family of the murdered little girl objecting? They cling to their belief that Cruz was somehow involved in the little girl's death.

"Cruz and two others who had been convicted of the crime sued DuPage County and settled for a total of $3.5 million. Seven prosecutors and police officers were charged with lying and making up evidence but were acquitted. "

"Stephen Pecoraro, a jailhouse informant who testified against Cruz, told the board that a detective bullied him into lying. "I thought he was guilty. Everybody told me he was. If he was guilty, he should die that's the way I feel,'' Pecoraro said. ''I tried my damnedest to get him the death penalty because I believed the police. They lied to me."

Cruz deserves his pardon. He spent 11 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit. DNA evidence proved it. The cops made up his confession.

The slain girl is no longer a victim of a crime committed by Cruz. Her family in not a victim of Cruz either. We hope and urge the Pardon board and Governor Ryan to pardon Cruz.

Great news from Mark Agrast, the chair of the ABA Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities and Counsel and Legislative Director to Rep. William D. Delahunt (D-MA):

As the House of Representatives completed its business for the year, Congressman Bill Delahunt and Congressman Ray LaHood announced that the Innocence Protection Act had reached a new milestone of 250 House cosponsors. Adding their support to the bill were:

Representative Bart Gordon of Tennessee
Representative Rob Andrews of New Jersey
Representative Adam Schiff of California
Representative Stephen F. Lynch of Massachusetts

The complete list of cosponsors appears below.

We are immensely grateful to our House and Senate cosponsors and to all those who have worked so hard to build support for the bill. While we did not cross the finish line during the session just ending, we look forward to working with you as we renew our efforts in January.

H.R. 912, INNOCENCE PROTECTION ACT OF 2001

COSPONSORS

Republicans (67) in roman, Democrats (182) in italics, Independents (1) in small caps.

Members who have died or left the House appear in brackets.

William D. Delahunt (MA)
Ray LaHood (IL)
Neil Abercrombie (HI)
Aníbal Acevedo-Vilá (PR)
Gary L. Ackerman (NY)
Thomas H. Allen (ME)
Rob Andrews (NJ)
Joe Baca (CA)
Spencer Bachus (AL)
Brian Baird (WA)
John Elias Baldacci (ME)
Tammy Baldwin (WI)
Thomas M. Barrett (WI)
Roscoe G. Bartlett (MD)
Charles F. Bass (NH)
Xavier Becerra (CA)
Shelley Berkley (NV)
Howard L. Berman (CA)
Rod R. Blagojevich (IL)
Earl Blumenauer (OR)
Sherwood L. Boehlert (NY)
John A. Boehner (OH)
David E. Bonior (MI)
Mary Bono (CA)
Robert A. Borski (PA)
Leonard L. Boswell (IA)
Rick Boucher (VA)
Allen Boyd (FL)
Robert A. Brady (PA)
Corrine Brown (FL)
Sherrod Brown (OH)
Dan Burton (IN)
Ken Calvert (CA)
Dave Camp (MI)
Lois Capps (CA)
Chris Cannon (UT)
Michael E. Capuano (MA)
Benjamin L. Cardin (MD)
Brad Carson (OK)
Julia Carson (IN)
Michael N. Castle (DE)
Donna M. Christensen (VI)
William Lacy Clay (MO)
Eva M. Clayton (NC)
James E. Clyburn (SC)
Howard Coble (NC)
John Conyers, Jr. (MI)
Jerry F. Costello (IL)
William J. Coyne (PA)
Philip M. Crane (IL)
Joseph Crowley (NY)
Elijah E. Cummings (MD)
Danny K. Davis (IL)
Susan A. Davis (CA)
Tom Davis (VA)
Peter A. DeFazio (OR)
Diana DeGette (CO)
Rosa L. DeLauro (CT)
Norman D. Dicks (WA)
Lloyd Doggett (TX)
Calvin M. Dooley (CA)
Michael F. Doyle (PA)
Jennifer Dunn (WA)

Vernon J. Ehlers (MI)
Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. (MD)
Jo Ann Emerson (MO)
Eliot L. Engel (NY)
Phil English (PA)
Anna G. Eshoo (CA)
Lane Evans (IL)
Eni FH Faleomavaega (AS)
Sam Farr (CA)
Chaka Fattah (PA)
Bob Filner (CA)
Mark Foley (FL)
Harold E. Ford, Jr. (TN)
Barney Frank (MA)
Martin Frost (TX)
Greg Ganske (IA)
Richard A. Gephardt (MO)
Wayne T. Gilchrest (MD)
Paul E. Gillmor (OH)
Benjamin A. Gilman (NY)
Charles A. Gonzalez (TX)
Bart Gordon (TN)
James C. Greenwood (PA)
Felix J. Grucci, Jr. (NY)
Luis V. Gutierrez (IL)
[Tony P. Hall (OH)]
Jane Harman (CA)
Melissa A. Hart (PA)
Alcee L. Hastings (FL)
Doc Hastings (WA)
Joel Hefley (CO)
Baron P. Hill (IN)
Earl F. Hilliard (AL)
Maurice D. Hinchey (NY)
Rubén Hinojosa (TX)
David L. Hobson (OH)
Joseph M. Hoeffel (PA)
Rush D. Holt (NJ)
Michael M. Honda (CA)
Darlene Hooley (OR)
Stephen Horn (CA)
Amo Houghton (NY)
Steny H. Hoyer (MD)
Jay Inslee (WA)
Steve Israel (NY)
Jesse L. Jackson, Jr. (IL)
Sheila Jackson Lee (TX)
William J. Jefferson (LA)
Eddie Bernice Johnson (TX)
Nancy L. Johnson (CT)
Timothy V. Johnson (IL)
Stephanie Tubbs Jones (OH)
Paul E. Kanjorski (PA)
Marcy Kaptur (OH)
Sue W. Kelly (NY)
Patrick J. Kennedy (RI)
Dale E. Kildee (MI)
Carolyn C. Kilpatrick (MI)
Ron Kind (WI)
Peter T. King (NY)
Gerald D. Kleczka (WI)
Jim Kolbe (AZ)

Dennis J. Kucinich (OH)
John J. LaFalce (NY)
Nick Lampson (TX)
James R. Langevin (RI)
Tom Lantos (CA)
Rick Larsen (WA)
John B. Larson (CT)
Steven C. LaTourette (OH)
James A. Leach (IA)
Barbara Lee (CA)
Sander M. Levin (MI)
John Lewis (GA)
William O. Lipinski (IL)
Zoe Lofgren (CA)
Nita M. Lowey (NY)
Bill Luther (MN)
Stephen F. Lynch (MA)
Carolyn B. Maloney (NY)
James H. Maloney (CT)
Edward J. Markey (MA)
Robert T. Matsui (CA)
Carolyn McCarthy (NY)
Karen McCarthy (MO)
Betty McCollum (MN)
Jim McDermott (WA)
James P. McGovern (MA)
John M. McHugh (NY)
Scott McInnis (CO)
Cynthia A. McKinney (GA)
Michael R. McNulty (NY)
Martin T. Meehan (MA)
Carrie P. Meek (FL)
Gregory W. Meeks (NY)
Juanita Millender-McDonald (CA)
George Miller (CA)
[Patsy T. Mink (HI)]
[John Joseph Moakley (MA)]
Dennis Moore (KS)
James P. Moran (VA)
Constance A. Morella (MD)
John P. Murtha (PA)
Sue Wilkins Myrick (NC)
Jerrold Nadler (NY)
Grace Napolitano (CA)
Richard E. Neal (MA)
George R. Nethercutt, Jr. (WA)
Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC)
James L. Oberstar (MN)
John W. Olver (MA)
Tom Osborne (NE)
Major R. Owens (NY)
Michael G. Oxley (OH)
Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ)
Bill Pascrell, Jr. (NJ)
Ed Pastor (AZ)
Donald M. Payne (NJ)
Nancy Pelosi (CA)
Collin C. Peterson (MN)
Thomas E. Petri (WI)
David D. Phelps (IL)
Todd Russell Platts (PA)
Earl Pomeroy (ND)
Rob Portman (OH)

David E. Price (NC)
Deborah Pryce (OH)
Jack Quinn (NY)
Nick J. Rahall (WV)
Jim Ramstad (MN)
Charles B. Rangel (NY)
Silvestre Reyes (TX)
Lynn N. Rivers (MI)
Ciro D. Rodriguez (TX)
Tim Roemer (IN)
Dana Rohrabacher (CA)
Steven R. Rothman (NJ)
Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA)
Bobby L. Rush (IL)
Martin Olav Sabo (MN)
Loretta Sanchez (CA)
Bernard Sanders (VT)
Max Sandlin (TX)
Tom Sawyer (OH)
[Joe Scarborough (FL)]
Janice D. Schakowsky (IL)
Adam B. Schiff (CA)
Robert C. Scott (VA)
José E. Serrano (NY)
Christopher Shays (CT)
Brad Sherman (CA)
Rob Simmons (CT)
Louise M. Slaughter (NY)
Adam Smith (WA)
Christopher H. Smith (NJ)
Hilda L. Solis (CA)
Mark E. Souder (IN)
John M. Spratt, Jr. (SC)
Fortney Pete Stark (CA)
Cliff Stearns (FL)
Ted Strickland (OH)
Bart Stupak (MI)
John E. Sweeney (NY)
Ellen O. Tauscher (CA)
Bennie G. Thompson (MS)
Mike Thompson (CA)
Karen L. Thurman (FL)
Patrick J. Tiberi (OH)
John F. Tierney (MA)
Patrick J. Toomey (PA)
Edolphus Towns (NY)
[James A. Traficant, Jr. (OH)]
Mark Udall (CO)
Tom Udall (NM)
Fred Upton (MI)
Nydia M. Velázquez (NY)
James T. Walsh (NY)
Maxine Waters (CA)
Diane E. Watson (CA)
Melvin L. Watt (NC)
Henry A. Waxman (CA)
Anthony D. Weiner (NY)
Curt Weldon (PA)
Robert Wexler (FL)
Frank R. Wolf (VA)
Lynn C. Woolsey (CA)
Albert R. Wynn (MD)
________________________________________________________________
Mark D. Agrast, Counsel and Legislative Director
The Honorable William D. Delahunt
United States House of Representatives
1317 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515
202.225.3111 (phone) 202.225.5658 (fax)
mark.agrast@mail.house.gov

The Judge in the sniper case refused to issue a gag order on the FBI and police today saying he needed more time to study the source of the leaks.

We disagree. He could and should have issued a gag order on all the parties. Why? See our prior post here.

We received this letter today in an email. The letter is written by concerned individuals in the legal community. If you agree with the letter and want to sign on as a signatory, e-mail Susan Serrano, at sserrano@lccr.com:

November 12, 2002

Dear Friend,

We are members of the legal teams that helped overturn the convictions of Fred Korematsu, Gordon Hirabayashi and Minoru Yasui in the mid-1980s for their refusal to obey the military orders aimed at Japanese Americans during World War II. Like all Americans, we mourn the loss of lives on 9/11 and remain concerned about the nation's security. But through the lens of the unique Japanese American historical perspective, we have become extremely alarmed at the Bush Administration's attempts, primarily through Attorney General John Ashcroft, to steamroll our civil rights and squelch any criticism or dissent.

We are concerned that the ugly precedent set by the Supreme Court's infamous decision in 1943 and 1944, which upheld Korematsu's, Hirabayashi's and Yasui's wartime convictions, are being revived by the Bush Administration to justify the mass internment of "suspected terrorists". By exploiting the tragedy of 9/11, Ashcroft, on behalf of this Administration, has pushed through legislation and issued orders that are seriously compromising our civil rights.

Here are some examples of Ashcroft's war on civil rights:

1. * He has secretly arrested and detained over 1000 people "suspected" of terrorism and has withheld their names from the public;

2. * He has proposed the creation of detention camps for U.S. citizens whom this Administration, without judicial review, secretly deems to be "enemy combatants";

3. * He has imprisoned U.S. citizens indefinitely in military brigs without bail, criminal charges, or access to attorneys, and has ordered people to be held in jail without charges, in violation of the Administration's own USA PATRIOT Act, which requires charges within 7 days of their arrest;

4. * He has breached the protective wall between criminal prosecutions and national security investigations, which was erected toprevent wiretap and surveillance abuse;

5. * He has authorized the monitoring of privileged communications between attorneys and federal
prisoners/detainees;

6. * He has ordered the continued detention of people in custody even after an immigration judge has found them eligible for release.

There are more examples, but it is clear to us that Ashcroft presents a clear and present danger to the Constitution, to civil rights and to anyone who chooses to dissent against the Administration's policies. We believe John Ashcroft is simply not fit for the position of Attorney General of the United States - he is a right wing extremist.

We believe it is now time to call for his removal as Attorney General.

Americans have been reluctant to stand up to Bush and Ashcroft because of the political authority conferred on them by the tragic events of 9/11. But silence now is the same silence which allowed Japanese Americans to go to prison with only a few isolated dissents. Ashcroft's policies and actions demonstrate that he is incapable of understanding or learning this lesson.

We would like to reach out to the larger American public with our concerns through the mass mailing of a letter similar to the above. If you agree with us, please signify your agreement via email response to this email so that we can use your name to support another letter to be sent to as many like-minded friends demanding Ashcroft's removal and offering specific ideas for breaking the silence and taking action. We will send you the final letter for your approval before we disseminate it.

If we receive an enthusiastic response we will coordinate an even larger public action calling for his removal. If we don't get such a response, we will try to publish that letter as an op-ed or open letter.

Signed: Fred Korematsu
Gordon Hirabayashi
Lorraine Bannai
Karen Kai
Dale Minami
Peggy Nagae
obert Rusky
Donald K. Tamaki
Eric Yamamoto
Gary Iwamoto
Rod Kawakami

Susan Kiyomi Serrano
Project Director
Equal Justice Society
131 Steuart Street, Suite 400
San Francisco, CA 94105
(415) 543-9444 ×233
(415) 543-0296 fax
sserrano@lccr.com

[Ms. Serrano asks us to note that this letter is not a project of the Equal Justice Society, but of an informal group of individuals very concerned about civil liberties under the Bush Administration.]

Democratic Senator Tom Daschle asks a vital question, one we have been asking ourselves for a long time: Is the administration's war against terror merely another version of The Emporer Has No Clothes? Daschle's comments today:

"We can't find bin Laden, we haven't made real progress" in finding key elements of al-Qaida. They continue to be as great a threat today as they were one and a half years ago. So by what measure can we claim to be successful so far?"

With the new Homeland Security Bill, once again we are going to limit our own civil liberties, but where is the evidence it will make us any safer?

The Houston Chronicle reports that Bush will resubmit Priscilla Owen for a judgeship on the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals when the new Republican-dominated Congress reconvenes in January.

"She faces criticism from numerous special interest groups who claim she is a conservative judicial activist, depicting her state Supreme Court rulings as pro-business and unfriendly to the environment and abortion rights."

"Her record shows her willingness to ignore the law in pursuit of an ultraconservative agenda. And that agenda gets in the way of her responsibilities as a jurist," said Ralph Neas, president of the liberal, Washington-based People for the American Way."

"In numerous dissents, Owen has taken positions that would have effectively rewritten the law or disregarded the expressed language of the law," he said."

And so it begins.

The full text of the Homeland Security Bill that passed Congress is available here, courtesy of the White House.

We will resume blogging later tonight. In the meantime, we hope you will browse our recent posts, comment on a few and read the excellent blogs on the right.