The Supreme Court, in an opinion by Justice Ginsburg, has ruled that Hank Skinner, a Texas inmate, can sue under the federal civil rights act , for refusal to grant his request for DNA testing. The case is Skinner v. Switzer, and the opinion is here. The dissenting justices were Thomas, Scalia and Kennedy.

Texas enacted a law in 2001 allowing post-conviction DNA testing in certain circumstances. Skinner's request was refused by prosecutors who said he should have asked earlier.

Skinner sued under the Civil Rights Act (Section 1983) alleging Texas's statute violated his due process rights. The TX appeals court said his only remedy was a habeas petition. Today, the Supreme Court disagreed, stressing their ruling was narrow and would not open any floodgates (or as Justice Ginsburg put it, even cause any rainfall.) [More...]

Atrios asks:

I wonder what Andrea Mitchell is sacrificing for the new austerity.

Here's the thing, the time to ask Andrea Mitchell and Alan Greenspan and rich people like them to sacrifice was when President Obama was striking The Deal. Everyone wants to pretend that what is happening now on the "New Austerity" has nothing to do with the The Deal that was struck in December. It has everything to do with it. When Ezra Klein was giving The Deal a standing ovation back in December, me and a few others were saying that it was a terrible mistake because the "New Austerity" was coming. If Obama has simply said No to The Deal, he could be negotiating tax rates right now, not just budget cuts. The Deal was a terrible mistake and anyone who was honest when thinking about it knew this.

Speaking for me only

March Madness is nearly upon us. Gators SEC Champs! Could be fun.

Open Thread.

Regular readers are familiar with my writings on the Madman Theory of Political Bargaining. Today, E.J. Dionne discusses the GOP's use of it in the budget negotiations:

Richard Nixon espoused what he called "the madman theory." It's a negotiating approach that induces the other side to believe you are capable of dangerously irrational actions and leads it to back down to avoid the wreckage your rage might let loose. House Republicans are pursuing their own madman theory in budget negotiations, with a clever twist: Speaker John Boehner is casting himself as the reasonable man fully prepared to reach a deal to avoid a government shutdown. [. . .] Thus are negotiators for President Obama and Senate Democrats forced to deal not only with Republican leaders in the room but also with a menacing specter outside its confines. As "responsible" public officials, Democrats are asked to make additional concessions just to keep the bomb-throwers at bay.

There is less "madman" to this approach for the GOP than in the past. The reason is simple - the GOP has rolled the Dems for most of the past two years (some would say past 2 decades.) In any event, the only way to defeat the madman bargainer is to stand up to him. In this case, that means being willing to suffer a government shutdown. Are the Dems ready for that? We'll see.

Speaking for me only

There's so much on TV tonight, I don't know what to watch first. Probably Shameless on Showtime. Then Desperate Housewives, Brothers and Sisters, and the season premiere of Celebrity Apprentice. There's also a new Chopped and a new Iron Chef.

Here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

Jack Camp, the former federal judge in the Northern District of Georgia, who pleaded guilty to three charges resulting from illegal drug use (involving guns and his stripper girlfriend whom he knew had a prior drug conviction) will be sentenced on March 11. The AP reports the Government is seeking a 15 day sentence.

Under federal law, use of a controlled substance is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in prison. But if the offender has a prior drug conviction, the crime becomes a felony and is punishable by a minimum of 15 days and maximum of 2 years. The feds filed a recidivist notice, alleging that Camp should be sentenced as a prior offender because he aided and abetted his girlfriend whom he knew had a prior conviction.

Camp pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting the possession of Roxycodone and marijuana by a prior offender; possession of controlled substances and conversion of government property (a computer he has since returned.) In the plea agreement, Camp acknowledged that the first charge carries a minimum 15 day sentence, but reserved the right to argue for a lesser sentence. [More...]

The Mexican Government is requesting information about Project Gunrunner, also called "Fast and Furious", which began in Phoenix. Agents were directed to allow guns to be brought into Mexico. (You can read the English translation of its press release here.) The theory was that they could then determine where they ended up and bust the cartels. Many agents objected.

But the Mexican Government was never told about this. How many of these guns ended up killing people? ATF Agent and whistleblower John Dodson says what he was asked to do is "beyond belief."

ATF has ordered a complete review of the program. You can read one indictment that details how many guns got through to alleged cartel members here.

Christian Longo is one of 35 men on death row in Oregon. He and about half of the others want to donate their organs after they are executed, to help save the lives of others who need organ transplants. There's no law preventing it, but prisons across the country won't accept their requests. Here is his op-ed in today's New York Times.

Christian is not seeking a sentence reduction or special treatment. He's abandoned his appeals.

I spend 22 hours a day locked in a 6 foot by 8 foot box on Oregon’s death row. There is no way to atone for my crimes, but I believe that a profound benefit to society can come from my circumstances. I have asked to end my remaining appeals, and then donate my organs after my execution to those who need them. But my request has been rejected by the prison authorities.

He has started an organization called GAVE, Gifts of
Anatomical Value from Everyone.

Via the New York Times, meet the new face of psychiatry. There's no more talk therapy, no more couches, no more 45 minute sessions where your shrink listens to your problems.

Insurance companies stopped paying for it. Instead, you book a 15 minute appointment and get....pills. The Times article profiles one doctor who switched from Sigmund Freud psychotherapy to pill prescriber, Dr. Donald Levin of Chicago. His interview is honest...to a point, and sad. He makes no excuses. It's all about money.

I miss the mystery and intrigue of psychotherapy,” he said. “Now I feel like a good Volkswagen mechanic.”

[More...]

Chief Warrant Officer Denise Barnes, the commander at the Military brig at Quantico says Bradley Manning will continue to be stripped of his underwear at bedtime because he is on a prevention of injury watch (which is different than a suicide watch.)

He is given two blankets. What can he do with a pair of underpants that he can't do with a blanket? And what prompted this? According to Manning's lawyer, David E. Coombs, on his blog today, events went like this. Manning was told his petition to be moved out of maximum custody had been denied due to the prevention of injury watch. Manning, who has been a model detainee, asked what he could do to change it. He was told there was nothing he could do, because of the perception he was a risk of self-harm:

PFC Manning then remarked that the POI restrictions were "absurd" and sarcastically stated that if he wanted to harm himself, he could conceivably do so with the elastic waistband of his underwear or with his flip-flops.

[More...]

I'm so glad it's the weekend.

In the news: NPR has a new report on "Guantanamo North: Inside Secretive U.S. Prisons" focusing on CMU's (Communications Management Units.) The surveillance and restrictions are over the top.

Guards and cameras watch the CMU inmates' every move. Every word they speak is picked up by a counterterrorism team that eavesdrops from West Virginia. Prison officials budgeted more than $14 million for the snooping operation last year, according to appropriations documents and congressional testimony.

The Center for Constitutional Rights has been representing the inmates in a civil lawsuit. They say:

"6 percent of the national prison population is Muslim, and somewhere in the neighborhood of between 66 and 72 percent of prisoners at the CMUs are Muslim."

Of the 100 inmates NPR was able to identify who have been housed at the units in Terre Haute and Marion, IL, it says 2/3 are American citizens. (John Walker Lindh is at the unit in Terre Haute.) BOP says there are 81 inmates in CMU's.

Here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

The Government has obtained a 49 count superseding Indictment against Jared Loughner, accused of attempting to kill Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. He's now also charged with killing Chief Judge John Roll, whom the Indictment says was a federal employee engaged in the performance of his duties. He's also charged with causing the death of the young girl. The Superseding Indictment is available here.

At the end of the Indictment there's a special findings section, that reads like a list of aggravating factors for the death penalty.

I assume from this that the feds intend to seek the death penalty (although they haven't yet filed a notice of intent to seek the death penalty) and that Loughner will not face prosecution in state court for the murders.

If Loughner is only going to be prosecuted in federal court, I think his lawyers are breathing a little easier today. [More...]