A justice of the New Zealand High Court has granted Kim Dotcom $60,000. a month to live on while awaiting the outcome of the U.S. extradition request.

In a decision released today, the court said a $20,000 monthly living allowance would come from the interest paid on the $10 million Dotcom has invested in NZ government bonds. The remaining $40,000 will be paid in monthly installments from a $301,000 bank account he has had returned to him.

One of his two 2011 Mercedes was also ordered returned. (He had a 2011 Mercedes-Benz G55 AMG, with the license plate "POLICE” and a 2011 Mercedes-Benz ML63.)

No ruling yet on whether the procedurally defective restraining order will result in him getting all seized property back.

I'll be offline this afternoon, here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

The Supreme Court today ruled defendants have the right to effective assistance of counsel during plea bargain negotiations.

The cases are Lafler v. Cooper, No. 10-209, and Missouri v. Frye, No. 10-444.

In Lafler, the court said where a defendant rejects a plea offer on the advice of counsel and proceeds to trial, in order to show counsel was ineffective,

[H]e must show that but for the ineffective advice, there is a reasonable probability that the plea offer would have been presented to the court, that the court would have accepted its terms, and that the conviction or sentence, or both, under the offer’s terms would have been less severe than under the actual judgment and sentence imposed.

K-i-s-s-i-n-g. Football makes no sense to me. The Denver Broncos have signed a $96 million 5 year contract with Peyton Manning. Our local news reports it's the Biggest Contract Ever in NFL history. Manning didn't play last season due to multiple surgeries for neck injuries. Everyone seems to think he'll be able to play but no one seems to know for sure. Here's Manning today on the state of his neck:

“Could I play this Sunday? Yeah, I could,” Manning said. “I don’t know if I’d play as well as I’d like, but I could.”

His neck is apparently enough of a concern that his new contract has a neck injury waiver. But he's guaranteed $18 million for this season, meaning even if he re-injures his neck the first week, or his old neck injuries resurface, causing him to sit out the remainder of the season, he's guaranteed $18 million. Who wouldn't take that deal?

So what do the Broncos say about the possibility Manning's injuries will prevent him from being the Greatest Player Ever? [More...]

The Australian Foreign Ministry has issued a warning to Australians: Stay away from Bali.

Indonesia's counter-terrorism unit killed five suspected terrorists in a shoot-out on Bali last weekend. According to Indonesian authorities, the men were planning terror attacks, and a bar patronized by Australians was on the list.

Why now? Alleged Jemaah Islamiyah bombmaker Umar Patek, is on trial now in Indonesia for the 2002 Bali bombings and facing a possible death sentence. [More...]

CNN reports Illinois Republicans have chosen Mitt Romney. CBS reports the same. Santorum is now far behind in delegates.

Welcome, Spring.

Brooke Mueller, Charlie Sheen's ex-wife, got a deferred judgment deal yesterday to felony possession of less than 4 grams of cocaine in Aspen. She'll be on supervised probation for three years.

[Judge Gail] Nichols asked her what would happen if she runs afoul of the law again during her deferred sentence.

“Ohhh, I’m in big trouble,” Mueller said.

Anyone see Michelle Obama on Letterman last night? [More...]

DOJ and the FBI will investigate the killing of Trayvon Martin.

I hope this results in a restriction on members of neighborhood watch groups playing cop. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes:

Mr. Zimmerman is not a cop. He had no legal right to question a law-abiding citizen based on his suspicions. Unless the legal standard now is that black youth have to show fearful deference to random strangers who stop them on streets they have a legal right to be, then Mr. Zimmerman's actions weren't justified.

I don't think that statement should be restricted to youth or persons of a specific race. It should be apply to everyone. Vigilante justice is no justice at all. Leave policing to police. [More...]

The Colorado House has passed a bill limiting the authority of prosecutors to charge juveniles as adults. The bill is here. It limits the offenses for which a juvenile can be subject to direct filing as an adult to class 1 felonies, class 2 felonies, crime of violence felonies for prior violent juvenile offenders, and violent sex offenses. It also allows judicial oversight.

If, after a preliminary hearing, the district court does not find probable cause for a direct-file-eligible offense, the court shall remand the
case to the juvenile court. The bill also provides for a reverse-transfer hearing for juveniles who fall within a specified class, which juveniles may petition the adult criminal court to transfer the case back to juvenile
court after the preliminary hearing.

Another reason not to like neighborhood watch groups. Vigiliante justice is no justice at all. Leave policing to the police.

Dancing With the Stars starts again, and it appears the show has learned a lesson and not repeated casting mistakes of seasons past like Nancy Grace and Bristol Palin. Maybe it can get back to being about dancing.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Staff Sergeant Robert Bales was $1 million in debt and has no memory of the killings. He and his wife had just listed their home for $50k less than they paid. He was on his fourth deployment.

How could his superiors not notice something askew? Was he evaluated or taking medication for depression? Taking the wrong combo of meds? He was recently passed over for promotion -- surely his record contains some concerns.

His background does not match the rosy description portrayed by those he grew up with: [More...]

Fun fact - when Peyton Manning played for the University of Tennessee, the Florida Gators beat his team 4 straight times.

Go Gators!

Open Thread.

3-5 ATS yesterday. Today will be better. The picks (bracket winners in bold):

Georgetown -4½ over NC State; Michigan State -7 over St Louis; North Carolina -8½ over Creighton; Norfolk State +14 over Florida; South Florida -3 over Ohio; Kansas -8 over Purdue; Xavier -4 over Lehigh; Florida State -2½ over Cincinnati.

Open Thread.