Operation TIPS (Terrorist Information and Prevention System) is a new Bush Administration proposal that will be bundled into its volunteer Citizen Corps. The White House has announced plans to begin a pilot project in some cities in August.

Specifically, the initiative will recruit one million volunteers in 10 cities across the country and encourage them to report suspicious activity that might be terrorism-related. According to the White House, it will try to make volunteers of letter carriers, cable tv installers and gas, electric and utility workers who because their work allows them inside people's homes, are well suited to recognize the unusual.

In a press release issued yesterday, the ACLU minced no words about the intrusive nature of the program, calling it a plan to turn the workers into "a contingent of organized government informants" and "government-sanctioned peeping toms,î and attacking it as an "end run around the Constitution."

We agree with the ACLU--this is a proposal that essentially will encourage searches of our residences without a warrant or even probable cause. It will cost the Government (and us, the taxpayers) a lot of money to follow what likely will be mostly useless tips. And it may fuel vigilantism and racial profiling.

The Washington Post expressed great concern about the plan in an editorial on Sunday. It's view:

"Americans should not be subjecting themselves to law enforcement scrutiny merely by having cable lines installed, mail delivered or meters read. Police cannot routinely enter people's houses without either permission or a warrant. They should not be using utility workers to conduct surveillance they could not lawfully conduct themselves.î

JAMES J. BROSNAHAN
GEORGE C. HARRIS
TONY WEST
RAJ CHATTERJEE

For Immediate Release Media Contact:
Kerry Efigenio 415-268-7210

Government Dismisses All Terrorism Charges Against John Lindh, Including Conspiracy to Kill Americans Charge, In Exchange For Plea Agreement to Two Counts

Alexandria, Virginia * July 15, 2002 *

Lawyers for John Lindh announced today that the government has agreed to drop all terrorism charges against Mr. Lindh, including the most serious -- conspiracy to kill Americans -- in exchange for a guilty plea to two counts: supplying services to the Taliban, a regulatory violation set forth at 31 C.F.R. ßß 545.204 & 545.206(a); and carrying a rifle and two grenades while supplying services to the Taliban, in violation of 18 U.S.C. ß 844(h)(2).

The government is dismissing the al Qaeda and Harakat al-Mujahideen terrorist counts. James J. Brosnahan, lead defense counsel, said, " The plea agreement makes clear Mr. Lindh never bore nor currently bears allegiance to al Qaeda, Harakat al-Mujahideen, or any other terrorist organization. In addition, Mr. Lindh bears no allegiance to the Taliban. " The government also agrees not to pursue Mr. Lindh as an unlawful enemy combatant.

The plea agreement provides that the government will move to dismiss Counts 1 through 8, and Count 10 of the Indictment, including the alleged involvement or overt act relating to the death of Johnny Micheal Spann.

Each of the two counts carries a maximum penalty of ten years ' imprisonment, to run consecutively. The parties stipulated to the applicable guidelines and calculations as set forth in the plea agreement and mandated by the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines. Conviction after trial on the offenses charged in the Indictment could have resulted in life imprisonment for Mr. Lindh, who turned 21 years old earlier this year.

All claims of mistreatment of Mr. Lindh have been withdrawn, and his continued cooperation is an indication of his lack of hostility towards our armed services.

Mr. Lindh wishes to thank those who have supported him, especially his family. John has stated his intention to devote himself to study.

Here are the Lindh plea documents. They can be viewed and downloaded in .pdf format (Thanks to Neal Sonnett, Esq., Miami, for the info.)

The Lindh Plea Agreement

The Statement of Facts

The Information

For an interesting and not-yet heard twist on the Lindh plea, check out Daily Kos.

John Walker Lindh pleaded guilty today. Two charges, ten years maximum each. Consecutive sentences.

According to Pete Williams on MSNBC and CNN, Lindh has agreed to a 20 year sentence.

Eight counts were dismissed. He pleaded to supplying services to the Taliban, and carrying an explosive (a grenade) in commission of a felony. The Prosecutor said in a press conference after court that this means that he has pleaded guilty to being a foot soldier in the Taliban army and to carrying an explosive.

For those who want to compute the likely starting point for the sentence, check out the 2001 Sentencing U.S. Sentencing Guideline Manual which establish sentencing guidelines for these offenses. If he is agreeing to a twenty year sentence, then the guideline computations must equal or exceed ten years per count. A person can't be sentenced to more than the statutory maxium (here, ten years per count, consecutive, for a total maximum sentence of 20 years.)

The prosecutor said in his press conference after the plea that the parties stipulated to a 20 year sentence. He also said that the Government will forego trying to treat Lindh as an enemy combatant unless he again engages in terrorist activity after his release from prison.

Lindh will serve 85% of whatever sentence he gets. There is no in the federal system, but good time credits amount to 54 days a year off after the first year.

We think the first place to look for the plea agreement online is Findlaw. We can't really tell you what it means until we read it, so for now, you have the media and proseuction's take. The news networks shifted to covering the President in Alabama so the defense as of this writing has not yet spoken, and we turned off the tv. We have enjoyed covering this event live on this weblog, and will be providing more updates later, here and on CNN's TalkBack Live at 3 pm Eastern.

Update: Defense press conference--chief defense lawyer said the plea cleared him on any involvement in the murder of CIA Agent Spann, and that he pleaded guilty to being foot soldier in the Taliban. Lindh's dad said Lindh loves the United States and never once said anything against it. His mother, sister and brother were also on hand providing support.

There haven't been too many feel-good stories in the news lately, but this morning we found one.

Phillip Morris LaPier is an ex-felon who is running for the governorship of Maine. His platform: to make Maine a mecca for ex-prisoners. The organization behind him is Felons United.

The principal purpose of Felons United "is to abolish branding/labeling our people and violating their constitutional rights as citizens of Maine and the United States of America."

They stress that " Every person is born free and equal under our government and our laws, and they remain equal members of the society throughout their lives. Prison inmates are equal to all other prison inmates. Citizens not in prison are equal to all other citizens not in prison."

Well said. They have a noble plan to achieve this, some of the highlights of which include their intent to:

ï Assist disabled and needy persons who have been branded/labeled "Felon"; assist their dependents, widows, widowers and the orphans of deceased persons who were branded "Felon".

ï Initiate programs and provide literature to educate those who have been branded/labeled "Felon" and the general public, on the plight, rights and needs of fellow citizens who are branded "Felon".

ï Insure that the graves of those deceased people who were branded "Felon" are properly cared for and that those people branded "Felon" who die in the future receive a proper burial, in a place of their choosing.

ï Bring lawsuits against government entities and private enterprises that discriminate against members who have been branded "Felon", including individual employees of those agencies and private businesses.

ï Oppose the present "drug war" against our citizens.

Their slogans? "Equal Rights Means Good Neighbors" and "Move to Maine - today - bring a friend."

They even have a web store selling Felons United products.

We wish them well.

On a related topic, CLASP (Center for Law and Social Policy) has a report out, Every Door Closed: Barriers Facing Parents With Criminal Records.

"Last year, approximately 400,000 mothers and fathers finished serving prison or jail sentences. As these parents struggle to make a fresh start, they will encounter many legal barriers that will make it very difficult for them to successfully care for their children, find work, get safe housing, go to school, access public benefits, or even, for immigrants, stay in the same country as their children. This groundbreaking new report, a joint publication of CLASP and Community Legal Services, Inc., of Philadelphia, documents the legal challenges these families face, illustrated by compelling stories of ex-offenders who are frustrated in their attempts to rebuild their lives and families."

Held Over from Sunday's posts...

A motions hearing in the John Walker Lindh case begins Monday before federal Judge Thomas Ellis, II. At issue is the admission of Lindh's statements to the military and to a CNN reporter. Lindh says the statements were coerced and in violation of his constitutional rights. He was neither mirandized nor provided counsel. He was not told his family had retained a lawyer for him. He says he was tortured, abused and in pain, such that he could not voluntarily give consent to being questioned.

As to the CNN reporter, Lindh claims he was working with the Government's blessing inside the prison camp and government agents were present during the interview, thus Miranda rights apply.

Lindh is charged with conspiring to kill Americans abroad and providing material support to the Taliban and Al Qaeda. His statements form the core of the government's case against him.

According to the Chronicle article, Peter Keane, dean of Golden Gate University School of Law, believes Lindh shouldn't be prosecuted at all. He thinks the Judge ultimately will admit the statements which is tantamount to giving in to the lynch mob mentality at the expense of upholding the Constitution.

We think the law is clear. If you are interrogated by police agents you are entitled to be Mirandized. If you aren't, the remedy is that nothing you say, and nothing derived from what you say may be introduced by the Government at trial.

That means you have the right to have a lawyer present, and if you can't afford one, one will be provided. The Government's lame excuse is there was no lawyer available where Lindh was being held. We say they had a duty to move him to where one was available before questioning him. Or wait until the lawyer his family hired for him arrived.

Clearly the Govenrment chose to keep Lindh on foreign shores to obtain information from him that a defense lawyer would not have allowed him to give. Not to mention his treatment was cruel and abusive. He was kept nude and blindfolded in a metal shipping container with a bullet injury in his leg. For more on the facts of the case from Lindh's point of view, check out Free John Walker.

The Government made a choice to interrogate Lindh in violation of his constitutional rights. It did so at its peril, and the legal remedy is suppression of his statements.

Another thing that really is unfair about this case is the "manufactured venue." We say unfair, because unfortunately it is not illegal. The law allows the Government to try someone arrested abroad in the place where the the person first re-enters the country. The Government flew Lindh back to the U.S. and they purposely flew him to Washington, so they could try him in ultra-conservative Virginia, increasing their chances of a speedy conviction.

What is so startling to us is the Government's refusal to acknowledge that they have zero evidence that Lindh intended to kill Americans. Even the Indictment against him, Paragraph 14 of Count 1 in particular, points out that when Lindh was given the choice to fight against Americans or fight against the Northern Alliance in Afganistan, he chose the latter. Read it for yourselves.

Lindh was on a religious quest, albeit a misguided one, and ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time. He did nothing that we know of to cause or further the attacks of September 11. He went to the prison camp to surrender. He was kept, like the other prisoners, in sub-human conditions. There is no evidence that we know of to say he participated in the prison uprising. Even the Government had enough sense not to charge him with the murder of CIA agent Spann.

He was helping the Taliban fight the Northern Alliance. He trained in the camps for that purpose, not to fight Americans.

He shouldn't even have to prove this. Or anything. He remains cloaked with the presumption of innocence. The only burden belongs to the Government, to prove him guilty of the specific charged offenses, not some other conduct, beyond a reasonable doubt--with legally competent evidence.

His statements, in our view, are not legally competent evidence. But, the way Judge Ellis has responded so far, we doubt he will see it that way.

Trying to look on the bright side, at least he has a great lawyer who is devoted to his case and a true fighter. We wish that were enough.

A Pakistani court today sentenced Sheik Omar to death for the murder of Daniel Pearl. His three accomplices were likewise found guilty but sentenced to life.

This doesn't make us glad. State-sanctioned killing just breeds more violence. And it doesn't bring Daniel Pearl back.

We really like William Raspberry's column in today's Washington Post named "Choking on a Ham Sandwich."

Seems Mr. Raspberry just finished a stint of grand jury service. He had good intentions of not helping the prosecution get away with indicting poor minority kids on one-sided evidence. He had a hard time sticking to it. But then he thought about Donovan Jackson, and what would have happened to him before a grand jury had there been no video...We won't spoil it, go read it.

That's the title of a Washington Post editorial today on the Innocence Protection Act.

A compromise bill has been introduced, settling differences between Senator Patrick Leahy, the bill's original sponsor, and Senators Diane Feinstein and Arlen Specter. Senator Leahy's statement on the compromise bill.

The Post points out that the compromise version provides lesser protections than the original bill, which in its view was superior, but that Congress should pass it all the same. Passage in the Senate is by no means certain, even with the compromise version. And a roadblock may lie ahead in the House, notwithstanding that the bill has 240 co-sponsors--why? According to the Post, James Sensenbrenner (R-WI), Judiciary Committee Chairman, has doubts.

As the Post says, "The bill should pass. Events of the past few years have proven that the American death penalty poses grave and unacceptable risks to innocent people. We oppose the death penalty, but if it is to exist, those risks should be made as small as possible."

So get on the horn, write a letter or fax to your congresspeople today. More information is available at The Justice Project and The Innocence Project.

Talk about a story with legs. The L.A. police beating of teen Donovan Jackson and the arrest of videotaper Mitchell Crooks is it this week.

Saturday, as the mayor of Inglewood pleaded for calm, Congresswoman Maxine Waters took to the streets and television cameras in LA to raise money for Crooks' legal defense in Placer, California, the town he was flown to after his arrest, grand jury appearance, alleged roughing up by investigators for the D.A.'s office, L.A. jailing and extradition. What a week he had!

Waters is making sure Crooks gets his due as a hero. Her comments, as reported in the LA Times:

"We will go to Placer .... We will stand with him. We will help to pay his lawyers. We will support his bail. We will do whatever is necessary to say to citizens, when you come forward, when you are willing to stand up, when you see abuse by the police department or anybody else, we are gonna honor you."

"We don't care what he's been accused of ....Those are minor offenses, we have learned, and we are going to help him out."

The community is already planning a celebration for Crooks when he gets out of jail. According to Ms. Waters,

"We are going to ask the mayor to block off a whole block. And we are going to invite the entire community. We are going to have the biggest welcome party you have ever seen."

We are glad that Crooks will not be forgotten by the Inglewood community. But what we really want to see is the mayor come through on his call for the installation of videocameras in patrol cars.

Videotaping is clearly the most recommended remedy to police misconduct.

Videotaping leads to real improvements in police interrogation practices that protect the rights of suspects. Officers now know that everything they do in the interrogation room could be viewed one day in a courtroom.

Videotaping interrogations and arrests is good for the police too. It protects them against baseless claims of coercing a confession or violating a suspect's constitutional rights. Frivolous claims by suspects will diminish once they know that judges and jurors can see the interview and decide for themselves whether detectives intimidated the suspect.

Police and prosecutors have little to fear from a requirement to videotape all interrogations and traffic stops. It's a win-win situation. Videotaping can protect the innocent, help convict the guilty and uphold the public's faith in our criminal justice system.

Wish we thought that one up. That's how James M. Capozzola, Editor of The Rittenhouse Review , one of our favorite blogs (with an incredible news links bar) describes Scoobie Davis' telephone interview with Ann Coulter. In the interview, set up by Scoobie with Ms. Coulter's publicity person, he pretends to be a radio talk show host and fan until the end when he reveals himself. It's a very, very funny conversation that we hope you take the time to read.

Hussein al-Attas, the man who once gave Zacarias Moussaoui a ride, has been held in solitary confinement since his arrest 10 months ago which occurred while he was worshipping at a mosque. No charges have been filed against the 24 year old, who according to Deborah Hastings in her AP article today, remains in good spirits.

According to Hastings, Al-Attas is being "held by the Justice Department in downtown Manhattan as a material witness in connection with the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11. His attorneys, silenced by a federal gag order, defend their client during closed hearings and in legal motions filed under seal. "

Al-Attas can receive no visitors, save his attorneys. His only other contact is with a spanish speaking prisoner on the other side of his cell wall. They speak through an air-conditioning duct. Al-Attas has requested a Spanish-Arabic dictionary so he can better communicate with him.

The Government won't say how many people it is holding as material witnesses. What happens after Al-Attas testifies at Moussaoui's trial? Most likely, he gets deported back to Saudi Arabia.

The article has much more on Al-Attas and his connection to Moussaoui.