26 Jan 2012

Jan. 26, 2012 Today's Stories

Report: Texas Supreme Court Favors Corporations Over Consumers ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In the last 10 years, the majority of Texas Supreme Court decisions have favored corporate interests over consumers, and the panel of judges has repeatedly overstepped its authority by overturning jury verdicts and interpreting the law to benefit the rich, according to a scathing report set to be released today by consumer advocacy group Texas Watch and reported by the Texas Tribune. "The Texas Supreme Court has marched in lock-step to consistently and overwhelmingly reward corporate defendants and the government at the expense of Texas families," the report says. Texas Watch says in its study, which reviewed court decisions in more than 624 cases in the past 10 years, that the trend started when Gov. Rick Perry began appointing Supreme Court justices in 2000. The report argues that data from court rulings shows that Perry's appointees "corporatized the court." But the court, a former justice and conservative groups disagree with the report's conclusions, arguing that a statistical analysis doesn't provide enough context. The state's highest civil court ruled in favor of defendants - mostly corporations and government entities - in about 74 percent of the 624 consumer cases brought before the panel in the last decade, according to the report. Alex Winslow, executive director of Texas Watch, said the high court's nine justices, who are all Republicans, are too similar to one another. Many represented corporations in court before they became justices, and 85 percent of the time, they agreed with one another. Texas Tribune

WSJ Profiles Con Man Behind the Sting That Cost Google $500 Million ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Wall Street Journal tells the story of David Whitaker, a federal prisoner and convicted con artist, who during four months in 2009 was the lead actor in a government sting targeting Google Inc. that yielded one of the largest business forfeitures in U.S. history. Whitaker posed as an agent for online drug dealers in dozens of recorded phone calls and email exchanges with Google sales executives, spending $200,000 in government money for ads selling narcotics, steroids and other controlled substances. "There was a part of me that felt bad," Mr. Whitaker wrote in his account of the undercover operation viewed by The Wall Street Journal. "I had grown to like these people." But, he said, "I took ease in knowing they..knew it was wrong." The government built its criminal case against Google using money, aliases and fake companies-tactics often used against drug cartels and other crime syndicates. Google agreed to pay a $500 million forfeiture last summer in a settlement to avoid prosecution for aiding illegal online pharmaceutical sales. Google acknowledged in the settlement that it had improperly and knowingly assisted online pharmacy advertisers allegedly based in Canada. Wall Street Journal

Judge Wants Faster Commitment for Incompetent TX Prisoners ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Texas routinely violates the constitutional rights of mentally incompetent prisoners by forcing them to stay in jail for up to six months before moving them to psychiatric hospitals, a judge ruled this week. State District Judge Orlinda Naranjo ruled that the Department of State Health Services must start moving "forensic commitments" - people accused of crimes who have been ruled incompetent to stand trial because of mental illness - to state psychiatric hospitals within 21 days of receiving a judge's order, reports the Austin American-Statesman. Over the past two years , the average prisoner spent six months in jail waiting for a hospital bed, the ruling states. "Keeping incompetent pretrial criminal defendants confined in county jail for unreasonable periods of time violates the incompetent detainees' due process rights as guaranteed by the Texas Constitution," Naranjo wrote. The ruling stems from a 2007 lawsuit filed by Disability Rights Texas, a federally funded organization that advocates for people with disabilities, including mental illness. Austin American-Statesman

Study: Missouri Again Leads U.S. in Number of Black Homicide Victims ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ For the second year in a row, Missouri leads the nation in the rate of black homicide victims, according to an study by the Violence Policy Center reported by the Kansas City Star. It is the third time in the last five years that Missouri has topped the list. Missouri's rate of 34.72 homicides per 100,000 black residents in the study year of 2009 is almost double the national black homicide victim rate of 17.90. The national rate for whites is 2.92 homicides per 100,000 people. If there is any positive news in the report, it's that Missouri's nation-leading rate decreased from the year before when it led the country with 39.90 homicides per 100,000 black residents. Kansas ranked 12th nationally with a rate of 20.04 per 100,000 population. In St. Louis, blacks were victims in 125 of the 143 homicides in 2009. Of Kansas City's 110 homicides in 2009, there were 81 black victims. Kansas City Police Chief Darryl Forté said the factors contributing to violent crime are multifaceted and require a multifaceted effort to combat it. "It's not singularly a parent issue. It's not singularly a law enforcement issue. It's an issue for the entire community," he said. Kansas City Star

California Jails Target Recividism Under Realignment Program ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ California's "realignment" program to reduce overcrowding in state prisons has already brought changes to how county jails are dealing with inmates, reports Stateline. "Before realignment," says Chief Deputy Sheriff Kevin Zimmermann, "we'd incarcerate offenders, provide minimal education as required by the state, and then send them on their way. The focus is very different now because the focus of realignment is reducing recidivism..we only have so many beds, so it's in our best interest that they don't come back." Democratic Governor Jerry Brown's plan to sentence non-violent, non-sexual, and non-serious offenders to serve their sentences in county jails rather than in state prison was developed to comply with a U.S. Supreme Court order declaring overcrowded conditions in the state prisons unconstitutional, and it was put together quickly in the spring and summer of 2011 during the state's budgeting process, without much public debate or study. Each county had to be ready by October with a plan for how to handle its new influx of inmates. Stateline

Amid Rancor, Florida Legislators Fast-Track Prison Privatization ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As emotions run high, lawmakers are again fast-tracking privatization of South Florida prisons while the state rushes to shut down seven others, an economic and political one-two punch that is creating anger and anxiety statewide, reports the Miami Herald. The Senate Budget Committee voted 13-5 Wednesday to fast-track privatization of prisons in the southern tier of the state. Correctional officers who were not allowed to testify shouted "Shame, Shame!" as security personnel hovered near lawmakers. Republican lawmakers are determined to overcome a judge's rejection of last year's privatization plan and pass a plan that can survive legal scrutiny. The current proposal, which would amount to the largest expansion of prison privatization in the country, would replace the state with for-profit vendors at 30 prisons in 18 South Florida counties. Only the South Florida Reception Center in Miami-Dade County, a point of entry for inmates, would remain state-run. For-profit prison vendors would be required to run prisons at a cost of at least 7 percent less than what state-run prisons cost taxpayers. Opponents say the savings would be outweighed by the loss of jobs, economic dislocation and lack of accountability. Miami Herald

Vera Report: Prison Costs Are 14% More Than Budgets Reflect ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ State taxpayers pay, on average, 14 percent more on prisons than corrections department budgets reflect, according to a new report by the Vera Institute of Justice. The report, "The Price of Prisons: What Incarceration Costs Taxpayers," found that among the 40 states that responded to a survey, the total fiscal year 2010 taxpayer cost of prisons was $38.8 billion, $5.4 billion more than in state corrections budgets for that year. When all costs are considered, the annual average taxpayer cost in these states was $31,166 per inmate. Vera says the report marks the first time these costs have been quantified for prisons across the states. To calculate the total price of prisons, Vera developed a survey tool that tallied costs outside corrections budgets. The most common of these costs were fringe benefits, underfunded contributions for corrections employees' pension and retiree health care plans, inmate health care, capital projects, legal costs, and inmate education and training. The scale of the expenditures outside of corrections departments ranged from less than 1 percent of the total cost of Arizona's prison budget to as much as 34 percent in Connecticut. Vera Institute of Justice

GA Supreme Court Judge Urges Lawmakers to Reform Juvenile Justice ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The chief justice of Georgia's Supreme Court urged lawmakers to overhaul its juvenile justice system in the same way state leaders have proposed focusing more heavily on rehabilitating rather than jailing nonviolent adult offenders, reports the Associated Press. Chief Justice Carol Hunstein made the comments Wednesday in her annual State of the Judiciary address. She said that putting nonviolent youth offenders into juvenile jails increases the likelihood they will commit crimes in the future, wastes public money and exposes them to violence and abuse. State funding cuts have limited access to mental health and child welfare services along with group homes, Hunstein said. As a result, she said juvenile judges sometimes face the choice of sending young offenders to lock-up facilities or sending them home "to get nothing at all." She cited statistics from the Department of Juvenile Justice showing that in the past three years, nearly two-thirds of the roughly 10,000 incarcerated young people have substance abuse problems. More than one-third had mental health problems. "As with adults, we have learned that our get-tough tactics have failed to scare juvenile offenders straight," Hunstein said. Associated Press

More Than 100 Arrested in Big Gang 'Take-Down' in San Diego ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Authorities arrested more than 100 suspected gang members in San Diego Wednesday, reports the city's Union-Tribune. They face racketeering and other charges in a series of sweeping federal indictments. U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy called it the largest single take-down of gang members in memory. The early-morning arrests were made by members of local and federal law enforcement agencies. Fifteen members named in indictments or criminal complaints remain at large. Among those arrested are two high-ranking members of the Mexican Mafia, the prison-based gang that Duffy said controls street gang activities in huge chunks of the county. Also arrested were as many as eight "shot callers," or street gang leaders, who sell drugs and also collect "taxes" that are funneled to Mexican Mafia leaders. The arrests were the product of three separate investigations conducted in North County, East County and central San Diego, Duffy said. The probes lasted more than year and involved extensive wiretaps. The defendants are accused of crimes including drug sales, extortion, assaults and attempted murders. San Diego Union-Tribune

Trenton Mayor Gets Tepid Reaction to New Public Safety Plan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ One day after Trenton Mayor Tony Mack announced his comprehensive public safety plan, the city's police unions, crime watch group, and police commanders took issue with portions of the strategy as questions remained as to how the goals would be implemented and funded, reports the Times of Trenton. In a department reeling from layoffs and budget cuts, a plan to put all available officers to work for 48 hours, for example, would quickly drain the shrinking overtime budget, Capt. Fred Reister said. Mack said the "All Hands on Deck" initiative would allow officers to be recalled during spikes in crime. Trenton laid off one-third of its police officers last September, and since then has struggled to keep manpower levels on the street up. Yesterday, Mack stood by the plan, but added it was a work in progress. "If somebody can present something better, it can be changed," he said. "I think it's a great opportunity for us to solve a major issue in our city, and everyone I've spoken to today is excited about the comprehensive approach we're taking and excited about the positive outcome." Times of Trenton

As Mental Health Calls Rise, Minnesota Adds More Officer Training ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As mental health calls to police and social service groups increase, law enforcement agencies are investing in extra training to help officers untangle situations ranging from erratic behavior to drug overdoses to suicide attempts, reports the Minneapolis Star Tribune. The paper said some counties have seen mental health 911 calls, including suicides and attempts, increase by more than 25 percent in the past two years. There's no clear explanation for the increase, but theories include unemployment and financial stress, the struggles of returning military veterans and lack of access to mental health services. Jon Roesler, a state Health Department epidemiology supervisor, said greater access to powerful anti-depressants and painkillers may contribute to higher suicide rates and more drug overdose calls. Other sources said social changes may be a factor, including the isolation of technology, where families are communicating electronically rather than face to face. Minneapolis Star Tribune

Appeals Court Panel Hears Case of HIV-Positive Man Rejected as Cop ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A panel of federal judges appeared skeptical Wednesday of the Atlanta police department's decision to reject a job application from an HIV-infected man, reports the Atlanta Journal and Constitution. The 40-year-old man sued the city in 2010, claiming he was denied a police officer job solely because he has the virus. Atlanta attorneys argued there are other officers on the force with HIV, and said the police department does not have a blanket policy disqualifying candidates with the virus. Gay rights groups and police agencies are closely following the case closely. One of the three judges signaled the lawsuit would likely be sent back to a lower judge to reconsider."I don't see how we can avoid a remand in this case," Circuit Judge R. Lanier Anderson said. The judges will issue a ruling later. The man sued under the pseudonym Richard Roe and has requested anonymity because he believes his medical condition could prevent him from other job opportunities. He said in an interview he was a former criminal investigator with the city of Los Angeles who discovered he had HIV in 1997, but that it didn't hinder his ability to perform his duties. Atlanta Journal and Constitution