Atrios has Fred Hiatt at #2, securing Tom Friedman the top spot for sure. It brought to mind my own retrospective (in 2006!!!) of Hiatt wankery. Here's my favorite part of it and particularly telling in the age of the Radical Roberts Court:

The media joins forces to request the unsealing of all records in the George Zimmerman case. The motion is here. My view: Keep it sealed. The time to release it is after the case ends, whether by pre-trial dismissal or verdict. The public can then decide if they believe the judge or jury's actions were justified. There's no need for them to "play along" as the case progresses. The media's motion makes the best case for keeping it sealed. It says:

"Defendant's confession has already been disseminated in various news articles."

Zimmerman has not confessed to any crime. He hasn't publicly said anything yet. No statement signed by Zimmerman or police recording of any of his statements has been released. A police report and statements by his lawyers and family that he acknowledged shooting Martin is not a confession of wrong-doing or confession to a crime. By all reports, he is denying he committed a crime.

Since the media cannot be trusted to report fairly, the motion should be denied. Update below, with a change in my position: [More...]

Jose Godinez-Samperio, 25, came to the U.S. on a tourist visa with his parents when he was 9. He stayed in the U.S. (a civil infraction, not a crime), was an Eagle Scout, the valedictorian of his high school and graduated from the Florida State University law school. He fully disclosed his status on every application. Florida's Rules of the Supreme Court Relating to Admissions to the Bar do not require proof of citizenship or immigration status. But now there's an issue as to whether he, as an undocumented immigrant, can be admitted to the Bar, and the Florida Supreme Court will decide.

Many Amicus Briefs have been filed on Jose's behalf. The Dream Bar Association's brief is really good, as is the brief by three former ABA Presidents, including two who are friends of mine, Martha Barnett and Reece Smith. Jose also has the support of his Congresswoman,Kathy Castor, of Tampa: [More...]

The Taliban is resurging in Afghanistan. Hundreds of prisoners are freed in a militant raid in Pakistan, for which the Pakistani Taliban take credit.

Pakistan's Taliban said they carried out the attack, but the claim has not been verified.

"We attacked the Bannu prison and got our special members freed," Ehsanullah Ehsan, a Taliban spokesman, told Agence France-Presse.

On TV tonight: New episodes of Nurse Jackie, The Killing, Harry's Law and the Good Wife.

Who thinks Mark O'Mara will file a motion to recuse the judge in the George Zimmerman case tomorrow? He said Friday he thought he'd decide by Monday. According to the 18th Judicial District's Criminal Operations Manual, available on its website, there are only three other judges in the division. Judge Marlene M. Alva (Administrative Judge); Judge Donna L. McIntosh and Judge Debra S. Nelson.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Great choice by Atrios. The recounting of all of Sully's wanking is virtually impossible, but I do think Atrios should have mentioned Sully's championing of the Stupidest Man Alive, Donald Luskin over Paul Krugman as well as running his own entry for Stupidest Man Alive.

But these a re quibbles. All efforts to remind folks who and what Andrew Sullivan is and was are welcome. Yea Atrios!

Speaking for me only

Obama weighs in on HookerGate, in which some secret service agents may have retained the services of prostitutes in Colombia, before Obama arrived.

I hope it doesn't get buried that Obama also ramped up the war on drugs while there:

He announced an increase to more than $130 million of funds dedicated to bolstering security and going after narco-traffickers and "gangs" in the region.

Here are his comments from the summit addressing drug legalization. Not surprisingly, his view is "Just say no" to legalization:

"I personally, and my administration's position is, that legalization is not the answer." He reiterated that position while talking at the summit itself, saying "the United States will not be going in this direction."

I'm still trying to figure out why the state's attorney in Florida would charge George Zimmerman with second degree murder in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, and approve the filing of such an empty affidavit for an arrest warrant, that with all its other faults, fails to even refer to, let alone establish, the elements of the charged crime.

Where is their evidence that Zimmerman's act of shooting Trayvon demonstrated a depraved mind and was an act "done from ill will, hatred, spite, or an evil intent," indicative of an indifference to human life, as required for a second degree murder conviction? What is their theory?

Here's my theory: Every Affidavit Tells a Story. When examining an affidavit, the choice of words, the sequence of events and the facts omitted are all key to something. The story may not be the truth, but it represents the state's version of what it believes to be the truth. Affidavits are intended to tell the story in such a way that the reader will conclude it is both accurate and makes sense. They can also be a road map showing how the state intends to prove its case.

After reading the affidavit for George Zimmerman's arrest at least 10 times, each time more perplexed than I was here by the lack of probable cause for a second degree murder charge and its other shortcomings, I decided to focus instead on the state's story. (If this isn't it, then I'm out of guesses and there is just no excuse for the heavy-handed charging.) [More...]

Radley Balko examines The Unchecked Charging Power of the Prosecutor with reference to, among others, the George Zimmerman case.

If Angela Corey is a Minister of Justice, why is she prosecuting this 12 year old as an adult for murder?

Cristian Fernandez was charged as an adult at age 12 for murder 1, which carries a life sentence. He is the youngest person ever charged as an adult for murder in Jacksonville. If convicted, he will be the youngest person convicted of adult murder in America. [More...]

Circuit Court Judge Jessica Recksiedler, who has been assigned the case of George Zimmerman, held a quick status conference by telephone with the lawyers today to disclose her husband's law partner will be commenting on the case for CNN. The video of the hearing is here. (new link, old one removed by network.)

The judge hearing the George Zimmerman case today announced that her husband works for the law firm of Mark NeJame, who's been hired to act as a CNN analyst for this case.

Circuit Judge Jessica Recksiedler said she had an ethical obligation to disclose that and allow Zimmerman's attorney or the special prosecutor to ask her to step down.

(Added:) The news didn't get it quite right. He doesn't just "work for" the analyst's firm, he's a partner in the firm. The judge used the words "works with" not "works for."

Mark O'Mara says the issue "concerns him" and he may ask for another judge next week. A bond hearing has been set for April 20, one week from today. [More....]

Atrios makes the much expected choice of Joe Klein as one of the Wankers of The Decade. He recounts many, but not nearly all of Klein's wankerific moments. I wrote a lot about him back in the day, when he seemed more important. Here's one example, a post I wrote in 2005, Diagnosing Joe Klein, when Klein sided with Republicans on the Terri Schiavo issue:

A federal court in Virginia today will hear arguments on what to do with the data on the MegaUpload servers.

Jury selection is underway in the John Edwards trial. The witness list was released late yesterday. Not surprisingly, it includes Rielle Hunter and Andrew Young. The Judge told prospective jurors:

"This is not a case about whether Mr. Edwards was a good husband or politician," U.S. District Judge Catherine Eagles told the jury pool. "It's about whether he violated campaign finance laws."

....“You can watch 'Law & Order’ and 'CSI’ 24 hours a day,” she said. “I know this will shock you, but they make stuff up.”

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

How do Florida's Stand Your Ground and self-defense laws fit into the George Zimmerman-Trayvon Martin case and what's the difference between them?

Read this account in the Miami Herald by Scott Hiassen and David Ovalle of the Quentin Wyche case, which is still ongoing. It involves two FIU football players. One, Kendall Berry, is dead. The other, Quentin Wyche, has been charged with second degree murder as a result of stabbing Berry to death. Wyche raised "Stand Your Ground" as a bar to prosecution, which required the judge to hold a factual hearing. The judge said he couldn't decide between the competing evidence presented by the state and defense, so he denied the motion. It will go to a jury trial where Wyche can still raise both stand your ground and self defense.

The Judge is Miami Circuit Court Judge Milton Hirsch, whom I know and respect. He was a long time criminal defense lawyer before becoming a judge. I asked Scott Hiassen for a copy of the opinion and he graciously emailed it to me. I have uploaded it here.

While the facts are different than those involved in the George Zimmerman - Trayvon Martin shooting, after reading a dozen or so Florida court opinions on Stand Your Ground and self-defense, I think Judge Hirsch explains them and the court procedures most clearly (minus his Shakespeare and historical references, sorry Judge Hirsch.) [More...]