Thursday, November 19, 2015

Former prosecutors seek federal probe of O.C. justice system over use of jailhouse informants

Here is link to a letter authored by Erwin Chemerinsky and signed by various defense organizations (including NACDL) and prosecutors calling for a federal investigation into alleged systemic misuse of informants and Brady violations in Orange County, California.



The content is exceptionally disturbing.  There is substantial evidence of collusion between prosecutors and police officers to both illegal obtain evidence and hide exculpatory evidence.  There is an allegation that a special computer has been kept to detail movement of paid jailhouse informants who were positioned to obtain incriminating evidence and either paid or given reductions if they succeeded (and that data shows that this practice has been occurring for 30 years).

Wednesday, November 11, 2015

Wisconsin: No Federal Charges for Ex-Officer in Man’s Death

There is still no justice for Dontre Hamilton.  It's been 18 months since Dontre Hamilton was murdered.  The officer was fired for the illegal patdown of Dontre, but the state chose not to charge the officer with the murder that followed, and now the feds have made the same decision.  So now we will bring our case in civil court and let the people bring the justice.

The New York Times article on the decision of the DOJ to do nothing is here:  http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/11/us/wisconsin-no-federal-charges-for-ex-officer-in-mans-death.html?ref=todayspaper&_r=0

Ex-House Speaker Dennis Hastert Prosecuted For Being A VICTIM Of Extortion -- I'm No Fan Of Hastert, Or This Prosecution

I am no fan of Hastert, but he just got prosecuted for being a victim of extortion.

I appreciate when hypocrisy is exposed.  Hastert's public stances on morality are apparently in direct conflict with his behavior.  I believe in the Frank Rule of outing closeted politicians who use their power to hurt members of the LGBT community (and understand it’s dangerous to conflate Hastert's sexual orientation with the alleged crime of child molestation).  At first, I was quite pleased that a politician who had loudly condemned Clinton's misconduct was being outed for much worse misconduct. 

But Hastert was the victim of extortion.  He withdrew his own money to pay those extorting him.  He did so in small amounts so no one would know.  When asked why by FBI agents, he apparently didn’t reveal that he was being extorted (which is understandable).  So he gets charged for not being truthful to the FBI agents.  And for how he withdrew his own money -- under a statute enacted to stop drug dealers and money launderers, that was never intended to criminalize victims of extortion.

I can’t see the DOJ prosecuting anyone else for this.  If it went to trial, he could have won, but the reason he was being extorted -- alleged acts of child molestation -- would have dominated the public discourse, even though they aren’t relevant to the charged offense.  To avoid that public dialogue, over irrelevant facts, he had to plea.  That’s not justice.  That’s blackmail.


I am no fan of Hastert.  But I am no fan of this injustice either.

KPCC Southern California Public Radio Covers Ian Wallach's case of officers shooting an unarmed mentally ill man

Wednesday, November 11, 2015.  KPCC Southern California Public Radio Covers Ian Wallach's case of officers shooting an unarmed mentally ill man.  The article, captioned "Officer Involved: A Cry For Help" details several instances of officer shootings of the mentally ill and the need for change, and can be read here:  http://projects.scpr.org/officer-involved/stories/a-call-for-help/

Prosecution Dismisses Drug-Sales Case Mid Trial. Compton Courthouse.

Tuesday, November 10, 2015.  Prosecution Dismisses Drug-Sales Case Mid Trial.  Compton Courthouse.  The client had 16 years of exposure at 80%, and the offer prior to trial was 2 years at 50%.  Four days into the trial, the last witness was a LAPD Police Officer who acknowledged making several false representations in the arrest report and the search warrant affidavit.  The Prosecution admirably chose to dismiss the case mid-trial based on the lack of the officer's credibility.

Tuesday, October 6, 2015

USA To Release 6000 Inmates In The Next Four Weeks Under New Sentencing Guidelines

The USA is to release 6000 inmates in the next four weeks under new sentencing guidelines.  According to the NY Times, “The release is scheduled to occur from Oct. 30 to Nov. 2, and will be one of the largest one-time discharges of inmates from federal prisons in American history, said the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they did not want to be identified discussing matters that had not been publicly announced by the Justice Department.”  The full article is here:  http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/07/us/us-to-release-6000-inmates-under-new-sentencing-guidelines.html?emc=edit_au_20151006&nl=afternoonupdate&nlid=52103541



Monday, September 28, 2015

New York City Bar Association Releases Report on Mass Incarceration

It is a very compelling read  -- and was created under the guidance of Hon. Jed Rakoff – whose pragmatist jurisprudence commonly identifies the greatest threats and impediments to our system of justice.  


Here is the introduction:

The United States has the highest rate of incarceration in the world. Our country has only 5% of the world’s population, yet we incarcerate 25% of the world’s prisoners. In real numbers, that statistic translates into 2.3 million people behind bars. There are currently five times as many people incarcerated now than there were in 1970.

While no one doubts that incarceration is generally appropriate to protect society from those who commit violent offenses, it has, unfortunately, become the default remedy for a host of non-violent offenses in instances where other more effective remedies are available. While the adverse effects of this approach have been felt by many, our country’s massive and reflexive use of incarceration as the solution to all criminal problems has had a disproportionate (and devastating) impact on African-American and Latino young men. African-Americans and Latinos collectively account for 30% of our population, but they represent 60% of our current inmates. The raw numbers are striking: approximately one in every 35 African-American men, and one in 88 Latino men is presently serving time behind bars (in contrast to one in 214 white men).3 We believe that the United States is at a critical juncture in the debate about mass incarceration. This Report, on behalf of the New York City Bar Association, is intended to highlight this historic opportunity and to urge federal and state leaders to make the reduction of mass incarceration a top priority. Specifically, as explained in greater detail below, we recommend that: Studies have also shown that our current levels of incarceration are shockingly expensive, costing taxpayers billions and billions of dollars each year. Over-incarceration has other extraordinarily damaging effects, including contributing to the poverty rate and long-term unemployment, and stigmatizing those who have served time in prison in numerous ways. 

We believe that the United States is at a critical juncture in the debate about mass incarceration. This Report, on behalf of the New York City Bar Association, is intended to highlight this historic opportunity and to urge federal and state leaders to make the reduction of mass incarceration a top priority. Specifically, as explained in greater detail below, we recommend that: 

• Congress and State legislatures repeal mandatory minimum sentencing provisions or, at least, reduce substantially the length of the terms these provisions mandate and the range of offenses to which they apply; 

• Congress and State legislatures reduce substantially the sentences recommended by sentencing guidelines and similar laws for non-violent offenses;

• Congress and State legislatures expand significantly the alternatives to prison available to judges imposing sentences, including drug programs, mental health programs and job training programs and, in cases of incarceration, expand significantly the availability of rehabilitative services, including access to higher education, vocational training and substance abuse and mental health services, during and following incarceration so that individuals can successfully reenter society and avoid recidivism;

• Congress and State legislatures eliminate or reduce substantially financial conditions of pretrial release. Incarceration at the pretrial stage, even for a few days, has terrible downstream repercussions for individuals, disrupting lives and leading to a higher likelihood of further incarceration, for longer periods and also higher rates of rearrest; 

• Congress and State legislatures provide opportunities for individuals with misdemeanor and non-violent felony convictions to seal those records to prevent employer discrimination; and 

• the New York State Legislature should enact legislation to raise the age of juvenile jurisdiction from 16 to 18 years old. 

With the enactment of these changes, our country’s political leaders, sentencing judges, and law-enforcement authorities can take a long and desperately needed step toward reducing the dire consequences of mass incarceration. **