The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments today in Bullcoming v. New Mexico. The issue: Can the state introduce a lab test through an analyst other than the one who performed the test?

How is that not a violation of the Sixth Amendment's Confrontation Clause? When the case first started, the New Mexico court ruled the lab report wasn't testimonial evidence, but Melendez-Diaz took care of that. And since courts in the country are now divided, the Supreme Court has taken the case. [More...]

Until tonight, I managed to avoid the Charlie Sheen Unmagical Mystery Tour, where every network is giving him prominent air time. I caught about 15 minutes of 20/20, just enough to wonder what world he's living in. He's straight now he says, and there's no drugs in the house he's living in with his "two goddesses", a p*rn star and model.

He pooh-poohed all the negative reports on his behavior, and blamed his New York hotel brouhaha on, of all things, Ambien, which he called "the devil's aspirin." He's not into pills he said, and Ambien wasn't part of his "normal blend." He chain-smoked through the interview.

As to the speculation he's bi-polar: "And then what? What's the cure? Medicine? Make me like them? Not gonna happen."

He's obviously intelligent. And oddly entertaining to watch -- in very small doses. But despite what he believes, he's really not that interesting. Or sexy. Or charismatic. As this writer says, "Finally: Charlie Sheen is bats--t crazy. And Charlie Sheen is perfectly sane." [More...]

American Idol has the 12 semifinalist guys tonight. James Durbin rocked the house. I also really like Brett Loewenstern. I said last weeks the guys are much more interesting than the women contestants this year, and I think that's going to hold true for the season. You can vote online this year, but apparently you need a Facebook account. here's how. And here are the numbers if you want to text or phone in your vote.

One of mys least favorites: Paul McDonald who pretty much mimicked Rod Stewart in his version of Maggie May. Jennifer liked his smile but I thought it looked fake. Much better in the oldie re-do department, Brett Loewenstern, who made Light My Fire much more his own. Seems like Jacob Lutz and James Durbin will be in the top all season. Something about Casey Abrams rubs me the wrong way, I think it's his personality. And I don't like his screeching. Physically, he is completely unsexy, no matter what Jennifer says. He kind of looks like Seth Rogan, who may be funny, but sexy he isn't. But he's obviously going far this season. Five men and women will survive this week, the judges will then add their wildcard picks and the final 13 will be set.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

The D.E.A. exercised its emergency rule making authority today and banned five chemicals used in smokable herbal products it calls fake marijuana. Included are the chemicals in Spice, K-2, Blaze and Red X Dawn.

Except as authorized by law, this action makes possessing and selling these chemicals or the products that contain them illegal in the United States. This emergency action was necessary to prevent an imminent threat to public health and safety.

The ban will be in effect for a year. The DEA says:

They are designated as Schedule I substances, the most restrictive category under the Controlled Substances Act. Schedule I substances are reserved for those substances with a high potential for abuse, no accepted medical use for treatment in the United States and a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug under medical supervision.

The text of the rule, as appears in the Federal Register, is here. [More...]

Former U.S. Senator Chris Dodd gets a new gig: President of the Motion Picture Association of America.

Another big day for ICE: It announced 678 drug and cartel arrests in Project Southern Tempest, which lasted from December, 2010 through February, 2011.

Christine Aguilera did not have a good night. Her boyfriend was arrested for DUI and she spent the night in custody, because police thought she was too drunk to be released. She won't face any criminal charges, but her record will show the arrest for "public intoxication."

Ohio is now second to Texas for executions. Three more were scheduled today, bringing Ohio's total this year (and it's only March) to ten. [More...]

The Supreme Court ruled against AT&T in a privacy rights case today, holding that since it is a corporation and not a person, it does not have a right to privacy. The case involved a Freedom of Information request seeking documents pertaining to an FCC investigation of AT&T and possible overbilling.

AdamB at Daily Kos provides analysis of the decision. You can read the opinion here.

Lyle Denniston at Scotus Blog has more in "A Word Game Over Privacy."

Opening arguments begin today in the trial of James Arthur Ray, owner of the Sedona, AZ sweat lodge where three people died in 2009. Ray is charged with three counts of manslaughter. The prosecution alleges he was criminally reckless. Among other things:

Prosecutors maintain that Ray psychologically pressured participants to remain in the lodge even when they weren't feeling well, contributing to their deaths.

The defense claims the deaths were an accident.

"We do not seek to minimize the tragedy of the sweat lodge deaths," said a December 2009 letter to prosecutors from defense attorney Luis Li. "But these deaths were not the result of criminal conduct. Mr. Ray and his team relied on Angel Valley to provide a safe environment, warned people of the risks, did not force people to participate, did not prevent them from leaving, and did everything they could to prepare for any problems and to assist when problems arose."

The Indictment is here. Each count carries a possible penalty of four to ten years in prison. Background from the article: [More..]

One more open thread for the day as I'm off to dinner and then just have to watch Bachelor Brad in South Africa. Big changes today in the spoiler department, but I won't put them here.

Whatever's on your mind, here's a place to discuss it.

If you don't have time to watch presidential daily news briefings, new White House Press Secretary Jay Carney has an active twitter feed.

Here's Obama's fact sheet on the health care law and empowering states.

Carney writes: "Looking forward to using twitter often, to answer questions and let people know what the WH is doing." He also says the U.S. is focused on sanctions with Libya but not taking any options off the table.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

In a split decision today, the Supreme Court has ruled a dying man's identification of his killer is admissible evidence and does not violate the Sixth Amendment's Confrontation Clause. The opinion (available here) was written by Justice Sotomayor.

Covington’s identification and description of the shooter and the location of the shooting were not testimonial statements because they had a “primary purpose . . . to enable police assistance to meet an on-going emergency.”

Justices Ginsberg and Scalia were among the dissenters. Scalia's dissent is particularly harsh. He points out that the statement was not taken for safety in an emergency situation, but for investigation of a crime:

"Today's tale...is so transparently false that professing to believe it demeans this institution,"

[More...]

After the dismal snoozefest of theAcademy Awards, who comes along to provide the funniest skit of the night? Of all people, Jimmy Kimmel. His mock infomercial "Hottie Bodies Humpilates" is laugh out loud funny. If you missed it (and the bevy of sexy actresses who play along, including Scarlett Johansson, Emily Blunt, Sofia Vergara, Eva Longoria, Minka Kelly and Jessica Biel -- joined at the end by Lindsay Lohan), catch it on his website tomorrow or ABC. The teasers don't do it justice.

The Oscars are on. Can James Franco and Anne Hathaway pull it off? I don't know if the show is time-delayed, I'm assuming it isn't.

Here's a live thread for your reactions. My red carpet thread is here. Sporadic updates below: