Today's Stories -- MA Governor Shakes Up Parole Board In Wake Of Cop-Killing -- Mexican Drug Death Toll Up 60 Percent In 2010; Turmoil Cited -- Student Scrutiny Expanded After VA Tech, But Has It Worked? -- Even In High-Drama Miami, Faceoff Of Chief, Mayor Is A Doozy -- VA Senator Renews Effort To Create Criminal Justice Commission -- Report: 1.7 Million American Kids Have An Incarcerated Parent -- Baltimore Mayor Vows Probe Of Fatal Police Shooting At Nightclub -- Dealmakers Behind FL's 'Taj Mahal' Courthouse: We're So Sorry -- Seven Years Later, Fired Parks Police Chief Is Returned To Position -- VA Ruling Limits Reconsideration By Judges In Deportation Cases -- After Ouster Of Justices, IA Judicial Speech Has A Partisan Tone -- Georgia Proposal Would Update Evidence Rules Dating To 1868 You may go to TheCrimeReport.org to search all archived CJN stories. Please e-mail Ted Gest at CJJ with concerns about the editorial content of our news items, to suggest news stories, or with general comments. |
MA Governor Shakes Up Parole Board In Wake Of Cop-Killing ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Gov. Deval Patrick overhauled the Massachusetts Parole Board Thursday, forcing the resignations of five members, as he released a review of the agency's missteps in freeing a felon who killed a Woburn, Mass., police officer last month, reports the Boston Globe. The review by the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security found numerous serious lapses in how the agency handled Domenic Cinelli's 2008 application for parole, including the failure of employees to inform the board that Cinelli, while using an alias, had assaulted a Chelsea police officer in 1985. The Parole Board did not make the appropriate notifications or apply the full legal standard when it voted 6-0 to release Cinelli, according to the eight-page critique, nor did parole officers provide the proper level of supervision when he was freed. The breakdown was particularly noticeable in the months leading to the fatal shooting of Woburn police Officer John Maguire. "After this review, I cannot say that the Parole Board or parole office did all they could to ensure public safety,'' Patrick said. He added, "The public has lost confidence in parole, and I have lost confidence in parole.'' |
Mexican Drug Death Toll Up 60 Percent In 2010; Turmoil Cited ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If the homicide count is an accurate measure of success, the ballyhooed war on drugs in Mexico is failing, reports the Christian Science Monitor. Four years after President Felipe Calderon took on Mexico's drug traffickers by deploying some 50,000 military and federal forces, Mexican authorities said this week that 15,273 people were killed in the drug war in 2010, up 60 percent from the year before. There were an estimated 9,600 drug slayings in 2009 and 5,400 in 2008. The four-year total of 34,612 includes 30,913 execution-style killings, 3,153 deaths in gang shootouts, and 546 deaths involving attacks on authorities. By any definition, 'winning' the war appears far off. One reason for the startling attacks over the past year in Mexico is the progress that President Calderón has made in the war against drug trafficking organizations. These DTOs have seen high-profile losses - in terms of leadership and "product" - that have created much turmoil among the groups that control wide areas of Mexico. A global security group, which published an analysis of the drug war in December, called the cartel landscape "fluid and volatile" and said that as long as it remains in flux, violence is likely to continue. |
Student Scrutiny Expanded After VA Tech, But Has It Worked? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A growing majority of colleges nationwide are keeping tabs on students through "threat assessment teams" charged with identifying dangerous students, prompting debate over how much power the schools should have as they try to flag disturbing behavior, reports USA Today. Virginia and Illinois now legally require such teams, and 80% of colleges nationwide have started them since the 2007 massacre at Virginia Tech that left 32 people dead. At Pima Community College in Arizona, a Behavior Assessment Committee identified alleged gunman Jared Loughner as a person of concern months before a weekend massacre that killed six and injured 13 others, and the school suspended him. Questions are now being raised about the appropriateness and effectiveness of the teams. In the wake of the Arizona shooting, some experts are questioning whether the school could have done more to help Loughner, or to alert authorities beyond campus borders. "There's a dangerous person put out in the community," says Stetson University College of Law professor Peter Lake. Since April 2007, news reports show that at least 67 people have been killed and 69 others injured in attacks by U.S. college students. Threat assessment teams, also given softer names such as "behavioral intervention" or "student of concern" committees, spread quickly after the Virginia Tech tragedy, where various officials each noticed red flags but didn't connect the dots in time to stop Seung Hui Cho from going on a rampage. The number of schools with threat assessment teams increased from roughly 20 before Virginia Tech to about 1,600 today. |
Even In High-Drama Miami, Faceoff Of Chief, Mayor Is A Doozy ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Miami is known for political high drama, but the latest contretemps there are particularly strange, even by south Florida standards, says the New York Times. Miami's mayor, Tomas Regalado, has accused the city's Police Department of conducting surveillance on him. After spotting a suspicious car outside his home, he declared that he felt "very threatened." The police chief, Miguel Exposito, has accused the mayor of improperly trying to disrupt a covert investigation into illegal gambling. The mayor, he said, has "gone beyond the legal bounds" of his office. Both officials deny wrongdoing, but as their sparring intensifies, it seems likely to threaten their ability to work together. The two men "cannot possibly co-exist anymore," said Richard P. Dunn, a city commissioner who represents Northern Miami. "It's just embarrassing." The police chief has even asked the FBI to look into the mayor's actions. The mayor has said the police chief has been stoking the controversy in a bid to save his own job. John Timoney, Miami's last police chief and a deputy police commissioner in New York City during the Giuliani administration, said, "Nobody that I know, and I know lots of people, has ever seen or experienced anything like this." |
VA Senator Renews Effort To Create Criminal Justice Commission ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ U.S. Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) on Friday renewed his efforts to create a commission to study the nation's criminal justice problems. Webb spoke at a program on "Undoing the Effects of Mass Incarceration" at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. Webb's proposal was approved by the House of Representatives and the Senate Judiciary Committee in the last session of Congress. Supporters worked out an agreement to include it in a federal appropriations bill that failed to pass the Senate. The measure has the support of many criminal justice organizations, including the International Association of Chiefs of Police, which has supported the idea for many years. Friday's symposium looked at the costs and consequences of U.S. policies that have led to mass incarceration. "Research has shown that the U.S. incarceration system is among the most costly and least effective in the world," said Faye Taxman, a George Mason professor and director of the school's Center for Advancing Correctional Excellence. "Our center and department are committed to engaging the community in evidence-based policy solutions and embracing practices that have less adverse consequences and result in more effective punishments and treatment of criminals at a reduced cost to taxpayers." Webb has worked closely with George Mason in developing his commission proposal. |
Report: 1.7 Million American Kids Have An Incarcerated Parent ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ More than 1.7 million American children have an incarcerated parent, says California Watch, citing a new report by Justice Strategies, a nonprofit research group. As the United States' prison population has surged, so too have the number of incarcerated mothers and fathers. "In particular, the number of incarcerated women, who are most likely to have been the primary caretakers of children prior to their incarceration, has skyrocketed by more than 400 percent since 1986," the report states. Justice Strategies' overarching recommendation is simply to incarcerate fewer convicted felons. The consequences for children of inmates in our current system are legion: financial instability, compromised educational success, social stigma, and increased risk of drug abuse and criminal activity. These impacts are not felt equally across racial groups, the report states. The estimated risk of parental imprisonment for white children by the age of 14 is one in 25, while for black children it is one in four by the same age. |
Baltimore Mayor Vows Probe Of Fatal Police Shooting At Nightclub ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Baltimore's mayor promised an independent review of the "friendly fire" shooting that claimed the life of a plainclothes city police officer as commanders ordered those who dress in civilian clothes to wear uniforms or jackets identifying them as law enforcement, reports the city's Sun. Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said she is "very concerned by initial facts that indicate only police weapons were discharged" during the early Sunday melee outside the Select Lounge. The shooting left a police officer and an unarmed civilian dead and four people wounded. The review of the shooting will not supplant the investigation now under way by Baltimore homicide detectives or any action that city prosecutors might take, a police spokesman said. But it will serve as a check on the criminal inquiry and offer an independent critique of the Police Department's policies and practices. Police supervisors said discussions on new rules governing plainclothes officers could include whether they should wear distinctive colors that change by the day or week, to make them quickly identifiable to fellow officers but not to the people they are trying to arrest, or use code words. Police in New York City use what is called the "color of the day" to mark plainclothes officers, typically consisting of bandanas or headbands. |
Dealmakers Behind FL's 'Taj Mahal' Courthouse: We're So Sorry ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ There were apologies all around Wednesday as members of a Florida Senate budget committee heard from those involved in building the posh "Taj Mahal" courthouse for the 1st District Court of Appeal, reports the St. Petersburg Times. Two of the court's judges apologized if they went beyond what legislators wanted when they built the $50 million courthouse. Legislators apologized for giving the court so much money in the first place. The Department of Management Services apologized for not supervising the project properly. The apologists included Judges Paul M. Hawkes and Brad Thomas, who have been identified as key players in the backroom deals that pushed the state funding through. Supreme Court Chief Justice Charles T. Canady said the state's highest court is coming up with rules and remedies to keep it from happening again. Canady noted that he referred an audit of the project to the Judicial Qualifications Commission and changed the leadership at the court, ordering Hawkes to resign as chief judge. Hawkes remains on the court. Canady will require future projects to be under the direct supervision of the state court administrator and is drafting rules that would prohibit judges from lobbying for any substantive changes in the law or budget priorities without approval from the Supreme Court. He is also planning to relocate 50 employees from rental quarters into the new courthouse. |
Seven Years Later, Fired Parks Police Chief Is Returned To Position ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Teresa Chambers, the former U.S. Park Police chief who was removed in 2003 for voicing concerns about staffing shortages, could be back on the job next month after federal officials ordered her reinstatement, citing a lack of proper evidence, reports the Washington Post. Chambers was suspended and later fired after telling the paper in December 2003 that traffic accidents had increased along the Baltimore-Washington Parkway because two, instead of the recommended four, officers were on patrol. The police agency also lacked enough officers to protect national park land, Chambers said at the time, adding that unarmed guards protected some national monuments. Citing weak evidence against her, the Merit Systems Protection Board ordered the Park Police Tuesday to reinstate Chambers within 20 days. She is also entitled to retroactive pay dating back to July 2004 and reimbursement for legal fees. The decision caps almost eight years of legal efforts by Chambers, who currently serves as chief of police in Riverdale, Md. She said she was stunned by the decision. |
VA Ruling Limits Reconsideration By Judges In Deportation Cases ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Judges in Virginia may not use an obscure writ to reopen the cases of immigrants who say they weren't told that a criminal conviction could lead to their deportation, the Virginia Supreme Court ruled Thursday, according to the Washington Post. The high court's ruling came in an Alexandria case in which a Circuit Court judge revisited a 12-year-old case involving a permanent legal resident from Liberia. The defendant had pleaded guilty to embezzling $15,000 and was sentenced to one year in jail. Even immigrants with legal status, or "green cards," are subject to deportation for crimes involving sentences of a year or more, and when the man applied for citizenship years later, he was ordered deported. The man, Emmanuel Morris, said his attorney told him in 1997 that his plea would not affect his permanent residency. Revisiting the case in 2009, Alexandria Circuit Court Judge Donald M. Haddock reduced Morris's sentence to 364 days, making him ineligible for deportation. Similarly, a Norfolk Circuit Court judge in 2009 retroactively reduced permanent resident Wellyn Chan's 2005 sentence for misdemeanor assault from a year to 360 days. But Virginia's rules on post-trial relief are strict: a 21-day period to file post-trial motions, and up to two years to file a habeas corpus motion, which may be filed only by a defendant in custody. The ruling took that into account. |
After Ouster Of Justices, IA Judicial Speech Has A Partisan Tone ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ State of the Judiciary speeches in Iowa aren't often marked by standing ovations or expressions of stark disapproval. But in the first such speech since Iowa justices were ousted over a gay marriage ruling, Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Cady said that attacks on judges based on divisive rulings pose a threat to the check-and-balance system that guarantees individual rights and constitutional freedom. Cady repeated arguments that judges serve the law, not political constituents. He promised a new push for openness, given the publicity generated by the court's 2009 decision to allow same-sex marriage and the high-profile campaign that helped remove three of his colleagues. He said of the gay marriage ruling, "Our court has, many times in the past, decided cases involving civil rights that were quite controversial at the time. Yet, over time, those cases have become a celebrated part of our proud and rich Iowa history of equality for all." The line drew a standing ovation from the public gallery and roughly half of the chamber. Many Republican legislators and all of the judges in the room stayed seated and did not clap. The speech came two months after voters ousted Chief Justice Marsha Ternus and Justices David Baker and Michael Streit in a retention vote. The removal was the first since Iowa adopted a commission-based judge selection system in 1962. Cady, now the most senior member of the court, replaced Ternus as chief justice. |
Georgia Proposal Would Update Evidence Rules Dating To 1868 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A proposal in the Georgia legislature would modernize the state code and put Georgia on par with 42 other states by adopting federal rules of evidence, reports the Atlanta Journal and Constitution. The current code dates to 1868. The proposal caps more than 20 years of lawmakers and the State Bar of Georgia trying to update the code. It is a repeat of a bill approved by the state House last year, which did not get a floor vote in the state Senate. "Under this, someone can show a document from a computer and say it was done on a computer," said state Rep. Wendell Willard, the Sandy Springs Republican who is sponsoring House Bill 24. That can be done today, of course. But it means both sides in any trial have to argue before a judge about anything not handwritten, since court rulings and not code dictate what can get into evidence. The lack of uniformity from the antiquated code can lead to the occasional weird, or even bad, outcome at trial. Among the strange possibilities: A witness could submit a notarized written report of their experience and not have to show up in court. Current codes were written before depositions were common and travel easy. |
This project is set up to let users post and discuss articles that are involved with Criminal Justice. Everyone is free to post their ideas or opinions.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Articles for 15 January 2011
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment