This is amazing. After nine months. And the death in jail of the handyman who was arrested on a violation because he was a suspect in the case--but obviously not the one who kidnapped her:

SALT LAKE CITY (March 12) - Elizabeth Smart, the 15-year-old girl who vanished from her bedroom nearly eight months ago, was found alive Wednesday during a traffic stop in suburban Salt Lake City, police said.

''Miracles do exist,'' said the girl's uncle, Tom Smart.

The girl was found in the car of a drifter who was pulled over in a traffic stop Wednesday afternoon, Sandy police spokeswoman Michelle Burnette said.

The district attorney dropped all charges against Police Chief Earl Sanders and his top aide Tuesday, saying he couldn't prove they helped orchestrate a cover-up of a street brawl involving off-duty officers.

District Attorney Terence Hallinan said that ''in the interest of justice,'' after reviewing 1,300 pages of evidence, he was dropping obstruction of justice charges against Sanders and Assistant Chief Alex Fagan Sr. Hallinan said he would still prosecute other top officers in the case that has rocked the department and the city,

San Francisco District Attorney Terence Hallinan is reportedly close to a decision to dismiss charges brought against the command chain of the SFPD:

District Attorney Terence Hallinan, in an interview Sunday, explained why, in the final analysis, he might drop the felony obstruction of justice charges against San Francisco's top police brass.

"As I said in my closing statement (to the grand jury), the problem is not whether there was obstruction of justice -- the problem is can I show an agreement (to conspire to obstruct)," said Hallinan.

In other words, the trick is proving beyond a reasonable doubt that the brass conspired in a coverup of that alleged Nov. 20 street assault by three off-duty officers. "I don't have to have a smoking gun, but I have to have circumstantial evidence that's credible," Hallinan said. But "if I don't feel I can get a conviction," Hallinan added, "I can't bring charges ethically or legally."

A decent prosecutor, in our view.

While the Washington Post is reporting that the Air Force is backing Air Force Academy officials , the New York Times is reporting that the Air Force is warning senior officials at the Air Force Academy that they could be held accountable "for complaints by female cadets that they faced indifference or retaliation when they reported rapes and sexual assaults."

Both of these accounts are at odds with the statements of Air Force Secretary James G. Roche last week. Roche "laid full responsibility for charges of sexual misconduct on a "fringe element" of cadets."

Sounds like a classic case of "he said/he said" to us. We hope someone is paying attention to the "she-saids."

Leaks abound from the grand jury transcripts in the San Francisco Police Indictments. Unfortunately, DA Terence Hallinan can't legally comment on what is being leaked. So he's in for a press beating now, but we won't be surprised if he strikes the last blow. [link via UnlearnedHand]

You can access the Indictments of the San Francisco Police Chief Earl Sanders and nine other officers here. All ten were in court today and entered pleas of "not guilty." Sanders is on medical leave with pay. The others are suspended without pay. Trial for the Chief and six commanding officers is set for April 18.

Count 5 charges the Chief and six commanding officers with conspiracy to obstruct justice between November 20, 2002. and February 23, 2003. The overt acts alleged in furtherance of the conspiracy ([paraphrased] are these:

Assitant Chief David Robison Robinson allegedly "rejected investigators' requests to interview key officers involved in the initial investigation and to obtain Police Department cell phone numbers and "administrative messages" sent among the department's command staff."

Chief Sanders and Assistant Chief Alex Fagan, Sr. allegedly "removed Lt. Joe Dutto from his post as supervisor of the investigation in January. Dutto complained afterward that his bosses were putting obstacles in his path and that his transfer to the vice squad was punishment for probing too deeply into the Union Street incident."

Deputy Chief Greg Suhr, head of field operations, and David Robinson allegedly "blocked inspectors from conducting in-person interviews with certain officers, instead requiring that the investigators submit written questions."

Capt. Greg Corrales, supervisor for two of the off-duty cops at the Mission District police station and the highest-ranking officer on scene in the early hours of the probe, "allegedly "promoted misinformation" describing the Union Street incident as "mutual combat" and about the "sobriety status" of Fagan Jr., Tonsing and Lee. "

Lt. Ed Cota and patrol Sgt. John Syme who also took part in the early investigation, allegedly "promoted misinformation" describing the Union Street incident as "mutual combat" and about the "sobriety status" of Fagan Jr., Tonsing and Lee," and allegedly "failed to conduct proper police duties." Those included not allowing Santoro and Snyder to formally identify their alleged assailants at the scene, the grand jury said."

"The indictments also detailed actions of Cota and Syme, the lieutenant and sergeant on duty that morning, alleging that they delayed the alcohol testing of the accused officers for several hours. The supervisors allegedly allowed the three police to leave the scene without being brought before the two victims for possible identification. They did not retrieve their clothing, shoes or seize their pickup truck, and the urine test for alcohol was delayed for more than four hours.

Another two counts charge the three off-duty officers with felony battery and felony assault with great bodily injury charges as to Jade Santaro, one of the men they allegedly assaulted. The remaining two counts charge the three with

"felony assault and misdemeanor battery on Santoro's friend Adam Snyder, 23, a bartender who was just coming off shift at the Blue Light saloon and who has said two of the officers attacked him after he refused to hand over a take-home bag of fajitas."

The three waived their right to a speedy trial and no trial date has yet been set for them.

Defense attorneys called the Indictment "weak," "pathetic" and "ridiculous." A spokesman for DA Terence Hallinan later retorted: ''To criticize the indictment is like judging a book by its table of contents."

The San Francisco Chronicle weighs in on the police indictments and department scandal, dishing out some heavy criticism to Mayor Willie Brown.

In May, 2002, the Chronicle ran an extensive series on problems with the SFPD, notably that they came in dead last in solving crime, which you can access here.

Chronicle writer Kelly St. John reports today that things have not improved in the SFPD since the May, 2002 report came out.

The indictments of San Francisco Police Chief Earl Sanders and his top administrators last week are the latest scandal to hit a Police Department that was found by The Chronicle last year to rank dead last among major U.S. cities in solving violent crime.

In May 2002, a seven-month Chronicle investigation found the poorly managed agency solved only 28 percent of violent crimes between 1996 and 2000. It was the lowest clearance rate among the nation's 20 largest cities.

During the same period, San Francisco police solved just half of all homicides and fewer than one third of the rapes reported. They did not even investigate nearly 7 in 10 robberies and assaults.

The Chronicle's analysis also found, among other things, that the department did not make solving crimes a high priority, did not select investigators based upon merit and did not always provide them with such basic tools as cell phones, two-way radios and the like. "It's a wake-up call," former Police Chief Fred Lau said at the time the series was published.

This police department is in serious need of an overhaul. As to the prosecution of the indicted police, DA Terence Halinan (whom we strongly support) has selected Assistant Prosecutor Albert Murray to prosecute the case. A profile of Murray is here.

The Indictments should be available sometime today, and we will post the link to them.

The San Francisco police scandal resulting in the Indictment of the police chief and 9 other officers has pitted San Francisco DA Terence Hallinan against San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown. Brown came out in support of Police Chief Earl Sanders after the Indictments were disclosed. He asked the Police Commission to allow Sanders to stay on the job while the case proceeded throught the courts. Now, Brown may be backing away from Sanders.

Regardless of where Brown ends up, we are firm in our support of DA Hallinan. Here's an article about Hallinan we found in the Feb. 20, 1996 Washington Post. It's no longer on line so we're reprinting it in full below. (You also can access it on Lexis.)

The Judge in the case of accused juvenile sniper suspect John Lee Malvo has denied a motion by the defense seeking to declare the Va. death penalty unconstitutional . At a court hearing Monday, the judge also banned cameras from the courtroom. A motion to suppress Malvo's reported confession will be heard at a later date.

Earl Sanders, Chief of the San Francisco Police Department took paid medicial leave Monday as a result of the recent Indictment against him and six of his top command officers being charged with obstruction of justice in the alleged coverup of beatings committed by three off-duty police officers, one of whom is the son of the Assistant Chief of Police. The other indicted six top ranking officers stepped down without pay.

Terence Hallinan, the San Francisco DA at whose instance the officers were brought before the grand jury and indicted, has promised to keep prosecuting the case.

San Francisco Police Chief Earl Sanders, indicted along with nine other cops by a California grand jury this past Thursday, is fighting back big time through his lawyer, Phil Ryan. Ryan is threatening to seek DA Terrence Hallinan's removal from the case. He's asked for, and already received, assurances from California Attorney General Bill Lockyer that Lockyer's office will review the case to see if Hallinan abused his discretion in bringing the case to the grand jury. Sanders asked for the review in a letter to Lockyer in which he

accused District Attorney Terence Hallinan of making "public and false charges of felonious conduct by my command staff." Sanders also accused Hallinan of illegally releasing police investigatory material and making "unethical and false public comments" about the police command staff, [and charged] "Hallinan's abuse of the Grand Jury (sic) threatens to destroy the department's chain of command, compromise long-standing and proven criminal investigative procedures and practices thereby fatally undermining police credibility."

Defense attorney Ryan isn't mincing words with the press.

"We would like the attorney general to take this case over because of the ethics of the district attorney," Ryan said. "We also think the San Francisco Police Department's ability to keep out streets safe and our prisons filled with bad people will be destroyed unless the state intervenes." But Ryan said there are disadvantages of having [Hallinan] taken off the case. "From a strategic point of view, I'd rather have District Attorney Hallinan because I'll kick his (expletive)." (emphasis supplied).

The Indictment charges Sanders and six other ranking officers, with conspiracy to obstruct justice in the investigation of an alleged beating by three off-duty officers, one of whom is the son of the assistant chief of police, Alex Fagan. The off-duty officers are charged with assault.

If we understand the alleged facts correctly, one night after the bars closed, a bartender who had just gotten off work and his friend were walking down the street when the three off-duty police officers tried to steal some steak fajitas being carried by the bartender. The three cops gave the two men a gratuitous beating, which Alex, Jr.'s father (the assistant chief,) Chief Sanders and other command officers then tried to cover up.

The first big fight is before the Police Commimssion, which has to decide whether Chief Sanders can keep his job during the pendency of the case or should be suspended. Mayor Willie Brown has asked that Sanders be allowed to stay. Others believe Sanders should go.

Hallinan's move is unprecedented in modern times. The last time a DA indicted the command structure of a police department was 100 years ago. So is Hallinan out for publicity, off his rocker or settling an old score? Or is he a fearless and principled prosecutor who refuses to accept criminal behavior from cops on the force?

Hallinan has been at odds with the San Francisco P.D. for decades--mostly over his liberal leanings.

Hallinan has always conceded that his liberal leanings have put him at odds with the prevailing culture of law enforcement. It started, he has said, with his father, attorney Vincent Hallinan, who got on the department's bad side by successfully defending a long list of leftist leaders arrested in the 1940s and '50s. "The cops didn't like the Hallinans," he said during his 1999 re-election campaign. "We were radicals. We challenged the system.

"A lot of police officers have never warmed up to me because we don't come from the same background," he added. "I'm an activist. I have experienced the negative side of law enforcement. I don't automatically assume the police are always right."

The police see it differently. Hallinan, they say, just doesn't like cops.....[and] is soft on small-time drug dealers and users. They also complain that Hallinan prefers to prosecute cases that advance his political agenda, such domestic violence, and is more interested in reforming criminals than putting them behind bars.

Let's add one more fact into the equation: The Assistant Chief's son, Alex Fagan, Jr., (one of those charged with the beating) has a history of using force on duty.

Rookie police Officer Alex Fagan Jr., son of San Francisco's No. 2 cop, used force in at least 16 violent encounters with suspects in a 13-month period, sending six of them to the hospital, The Chronicle has learned.

Arrest reports, court filings, hospital records and interviews of suspects, their attorneys and witnesses portray a problem-prone cop who had given many warning signs that he was quick to acts of anger and violence.

One man told police that Fagan Jr. kicked him in the head. Another was hospitalized with broken ribs and a punctured lung after encountering Fagan. A woman said that while she was handcuffed he dropped her face-first on the pavement.

We're siding with Hallinan right now. Both Fagans need to get off the force and stay off unless they are cleared of criminal wrongdoing. The San Francisco Chronicle said in this editorial a few weeks ago,

...The search for the truth has been slowed by evasion and stalling. Officers have been uncooperative, key evidence at the scene went uncollected, and crucial records and reports have been delayed or withheld. The chief inspector was pulled off the case after seeking internal data and asking uncomfortable questions....This disturbing scenario mocks the notion of police self-discipline and erodes public goodwill.

We smell the "blue wall of silence" among the police command--shades of the Abner Louima case. This case is ugly and is going to get uglier. Stay tuned.

[full coverage of the San Francisco Police Investigation and Indictments can be found here. Unusual bio of Terrence Hallinan is here.]

John Lee Malvo, the juvenile accused in the Virginia sniper case will have his pre-trial motions heard Monday.

There are 13 motions at issue, including one seeking to have Virginia's death penalty statute ruled unconstitutionally vague, a request to keep gruesome crime scene photos away from the jury and a request for five investigators to assist in locating evidence on behalf of Mr. Malvo.