27 Oct 2011

Deep Budget Cuts Are Testing the U.S. Criminal Justice System ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Deep budget cuts to courts, public defenders, district attorney's, and attorney general offices are testing the U.S. criminal justice system, reports the Associated Press. In the most extreme cases, public defenders question whether their clients get a fair shake. Prosecutors are forced to ignore misdemeanor violations to pursue more serious crimes. Judges delay trials to cope with layoffs and strained staffing levels. In some cases, those charged with violent crimes, even murder, are set free because caseloads are too heavy to ensure they get a speedy trial. Exact figures on the extent of the cuts are hard to come by, but the American Bar Association says most states cut court funding 10 percent to 15 percent in the past three years. At least 26 states delayed filling open judgeships, while courts in 14 states were forced to lay off staff. The National District Attorneys Association estimates that hundreds of millions of dollars in criminal justice funding and scores of positions have been cut amid the economic downturn, hampering the ability of authorities to investigate and prosecute cases. "It's extremely frustrating. Frankly, the people that do these jobs have a lot of passion. They don't do these jobs for the money. They are in America's courtrooms every day to protect victims and do justice," said the district attorneys' Scott Burns. "And they're rewarded with terminations, furloughs and cuts in pay." Associated Press/MSNBC

Despite "Occupy" Arrests in Atlanta, Oakland, No Crackdown in NYC ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ After police crackdowns against Occupy Wall Street in Georgia and California, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg touted his commitment to freedom of speech and defended his handling of the protesters, the Wall Street Journal reports. "Every city has to deal with the realities of how many people, where they are, what their tolerance is for freedom of speech," Bloomberg said. In Atlanta, police in riot gear moved into a small city park after midnight and arrested more than 50 protesters. In Oakland, police used tear gas and arrested more than 80 people. Since the protest at Zuccotti Park in New York City began last month, the mayor has tried to balance the demonstrators' rights and the local community's growing discontent with the noise, sanitation problems, and other fallout from the 24-hour encampment in a public plaza. The park, located a few blocks from Wall Street, is owned by Brookfield Properties under an agreement with the city that specifies it must be open to the public at all times. Wall Street Journal

California Could Move Hundreds of Inmates Out of Solitary ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hundreds of California prisoners locked in stark segregation units could be transferred to regular prison cells under new policies being developed by state corrections officials, reports California Watch. The transfers could include inmates who have been held for decades at Pelican Bay State Prison's windowless Security Housing Unit, which was the center of two recent hunger strikes that drew participation from thousands of inmates. Officials from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation are planning to review the files of every prisoner now housed in the state's four Security Housing Units. They will retroactively apply new criteria determining who is placed in the facilities and for how long, according to an Oct. 13 memo from corrections Undersecretary Scott Kernan, who retired last week. "Those who no longer meet the criteria would be released from the SHU (Security Housing Unit)," states the memo, which also was signed by representatives of four advocacy groups and distributed to inmates. some 79 percent of the inmates being held in the special units are classified as prison gang associates rather than full-fledged members. Kernan said a new policy was needed to move some of those inmates out of Security Housing Units to make room for other prisoners who pose a greater security threat. Former corrections officials say the transfer could extend to hundreds of prisoners if the department uses a criteria that focuses largely on an inmate's behavior. California Watch

Three WA Corrections Officers Fired After Colleague Was Strangled ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Three Washington state prison officers have been fired and four others, including two lieutenants, have been disciplined for mistakes made before and after a corrections officer was killed at the Monroe Reformatory in January, reports the Seattle Times. Two of the fired officers lied to police and Department of Corrections investigators, and a third was terminated for being away from his post outside the prison chapel, where officer Jayme Biendl worked alone. Biendl, 34, the "officer of the year" in 2008, was not found by fellow officers for nearly two hours after being strangled Jan. 29 with an amplifier cord. She was the first officer killed in a state prison in 32 years. Although Byron Scherf, a lifer, was found outside the chapel with blood on his collar, officers did not search the chapel. Scherf later confessed to the slaying and is awaiting trial. The corrections department withholds names of employees in news releases about disciplinary matters, but the Seattle Times has filed a public-disclosure request seeking their identities. Seattle Times

How San Diego Cops Succeeded in Lowering Border Auto Theft Rate ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Alarmed at its ranking as San Diego's hot spot for auto thefts, officers at the city's southern division developed a strategy to crackdown on the thieves, targeting every facet of the crime. Five years later, says the San Diego Union-Tribune, the multipronged approach seems to have worked, with a 65 percent decrease in auto thefts in San Diego's border neighborhoods - from 2,233 thefts in fiscal 2007 to 771 thefts in fiscal 2011. "No one wants to live in a city where every time you park your car, you wonder if it will be there when you get back," said Mayor Jerry Sanders. The No. 1 reason for stealing cars was for the parts, said Capt. Miguel Rosario. They found thieves were also using the swiped vehicles in cross-border smuggling operations, were selling them locally and abroad, and using them as free transportation while committing other crimes. Insurance fraud also accounted for a high number of the thefts, a problem largely solved when officers started taking all stolen vehicle reports in person, rather than over the phone. The two-person unit then identified the known car thieves in the area, became familiar with their tactics, and monitored them during regular probation and parole searches. "They want to point the finger away from them, so they gave us crucial information as to mode of operations and other suspects involved," Rosario said. "As you can imagine, that helped us tremendously." San Diego Union-Tribune

Minnesota Grants Parole to Inmate Who Killed Police Officer ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In a decision without recent precedent, the Minnesota Department of Corrections has approved parole for a prisoner convicted of murdering a police officer, reports the Minnneapolis Star Tribune. Timothy Eling, 63, was told his life sentence for the 1982 killing of Oakdale police officer Richard Walton has ended after 29 years. Eling killed Walton during a gun battle inside the pharmacy of a hospital. Walton, a father of five children, was off duty and moonlighting as a security guard when, responding to a burglary call, he stepped out from an elevator and was shot in the head. Eling must still serve roughly four more years in prison on a separate 1996 sentence for drug smuggling while imprisoned. He was diagnosed with myeloma several years ago, and he said in an interview he might die before being freed. The extraordinary parole decision follows months of review at the department's highest levels and reflects the belief of Corrections Commissioner Tom Roy that some violent criminals have the capacity to redeem themselves through their actions in prison. The decision triggered an immediate and critical reaction from the 8,500-member Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association. "If I were to poll the membership, there'd be overwhelming sentiment [for] having capital punishment for cop killers,'' said executive director Dennis Flaherty. Minneapolis Star Tribune

Denver Chief: Report Public Official DUI Arrests to Supervisors ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Denver Police Chief Gerald Whitman is proposing new rules for drunken-driving stops by his officers, requiring them to call a supervisor anytime they pull over a fellow cop, other criminal justice employee, or any public official, the Denver Post reports. Whitman made the move after Independent Monitor Richard Rosenthal suggested Denver police don't arrest their fellow officers for drunken driving. Mayor Michael Hancock is in the process of picking a new chief, and a new manager of safety, Justice Alex Martinez, is expected to take office next month. Police spokesman Matt Murray said Whitman drew up the draft directive so a new chief and manager could weigh in. "Why should we be the only ones accountable for this standard?" Murray asked, questioning whether Rosenthal had facts to back up his assertion that Denver police had protected their own from DUI arrests. "We are not tolerant of DUI. We are pretty committed in that area. No public officials, in fact nobody, should be driving drunk. We believe there is a standard and everybody should meet it." Since 2005, Denver police have arrested five fellow officers who were found to be drunk after a collision. For about every three of the city's residents arrested for DUI, there is one resident arrested for a collision in which they were found to be intoxicated. Denver Post

Money Falls On OK Highway, Those Who Picked It Up Could be Charged ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ You are driving down the highway when suddenly $20 bills start falling from the sky. What do you do? Dozens of motorists along Interstate 40 in Oklahoma City on Monday decided to stop and grab as much as they could. Now they could face criminal charges, reports The Oklahoman. No one has come forward to claim the money, a good portion of which is in the hands of police. Dozens of cars were pulled over and people picking up handfuls of cash that were blowing across the road. One witness picked up a little over $400. "Several people were talking about how they were going to get new shoes or pay their electric bills," she said. "I said, 'This money needs to be turned in.' They just ignored me." State law requires those who find money or property to attempt to locate the owner. Those who don't could be charged with larceny. If they found more than $500 and didn't report it, they could be found guilty of grand larceny, a felony. The Oklahoman

Utah Prosecutor Sues Newspaper Over Racial Remarks Story ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A Salt Lake County prosecutor sued the Salt Lake Tribune, saying the newspaper newspaper defamed her in coverage of the 2010 election race between Lohra Miller and current DA Sim Gill. Michaela Andruzzi alleges the newspaper ran a libelous story so that Sim Gill, a Democrat, would become the new Salt Lake County District Attorney." She asserted that the article caused her to be demoted and that "her prospects for future job enhancements have been curtailed." The Tribune reported that at a mandatory staff meeting with Andruzzi present, attorneys in her department made disparaging remarks about Gill, including a comment that, "No white soccer mom south of 21st South will vote for someone with brown skin and the name of Simarjit." The Tribune reported that the racial remark was made by a deputy attorney during a meeting of Miller's domestic-violence unit, which Andruzzi headed at the time. The Tribune said that during the meeting, Andruzzi reportedly told staffers their jobs could be in jeopardy or they could be reassigned to lesser cases if Gill won and carried out his pledge to dismantle so-called "boutique" prosecution teams,like the domestic-violence unit. Salt Lake Tribune

Philadelphia DA Will Pay $255K To Witness Jailed After Trial Delay ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Philadelphia District Attorney's Office agreed to pay $255,000 to a witness in a murder trial who said a prosecutor had her jailed to make sure she would testify, then left her there for weeks after the case was postponed, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer. As Nicole Schneyder sat behind bars for 54 days in 2005, the man she called her father died. Schneyder was escorted in handcuffs to his viewing but wasn't allowed to attend the funeral. Schneyder prosecutor Gina Maisto Smith, claiming Smith violated her rights because the prosecutor refused to ask a judge to free her even after the trial was pushed back nearly four months. The settlement came after an appeals court ruled that Smith couldn't claim the immunity that shields prosecutors from being sued for job-related conduct - and that Schneyder's suit could proceed to trial. The judges called Smith's alleged conduct "outrageous" and unconstitutional. "Whether to keep Schneyder in jail should have been the court's decision, and Smith knew it," the three-judge panel wrote Philadelphia Inquirer

Google Rejects Law Enforcement Bids to Remove Negative Material ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Google has been asked by a U.S. law enforcement agency to remove several videos exposing police brutality from the video sharing service YouTube, the company said in an online transparency report quoted by the RT website. A request filed by a different agency asked Google to remove videos allegedly defaming law enforcement officials. The two requests were among 92 submissions for content removal by various authorities in the U.S, between January and June 2011. Both were rejected by Google along with 27 per cent of the submissions. The IT giant said the number of requests for content removal it receives from governmental agencies has risen, and so has the number of requests to disclose the private data of Google users. Heading the list of countries requesting the disclosure of personal data is the United States, where 5,950 submissions targeting 11,057 user accounts have been filed. Google fully or partially complied with 93 per cent of those requests. Second on the list is India, with 1,732 requests over a six-month period RT

Justice History: 1 Million U.S. Prison Populatiion Mark Hit 17 Years Ago ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Seventeen years ago today, Oct. 27, 1994, the U.S. Justice Department announced that the nation prison population had topped 1 million for the first time, notes the Washington Examiner. That number more than doubled by 2009 to about 2.3 million adults in federal and state prisons and county jails, says the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics. Another 5 million people were on probation or parole. There were another 87,000 juvenile in juvenile detention. Of the 2.3 million adults behind bars, more than 2 million were male. About 785,000 were white, 905,000 were black and 475,000 were Hispanic. The U.S. has less than 5 percent of the world's population, but it has almost a quarter of the prisoners. Washington Examiner