30 Jan 2012

January 30, 2012 Today's Stories

Occupy Protesters Vandalize Oakland City Hall; 400 Arrested ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Almost 400 people were arrested during a series of Occupy Oakland marches and protest actions Saturday that included a group breaking into and vandalizing City Hall, reports the Oakland Tribune. Mayor Jean Quan called the City Hall invasion "the crowning of the constant other vandalism we've had outside." Demonstrators broke an interior window, upended and damaged historic architecture models believed to be more than 100 years old, destroyed glass casings, stole and burned two American flags, and broke into fire sprinkler and elevator control rooms. Saturday marked the single largest number of arrests in one day since Occupy Oakland began in October, a culmination of what both sides agreed is an increasingly tense standoff between protesters and police. Saturday's clashes inspired solidarity marches yesterday by Occupy groups across the U.S., including those in New York City, Philadelphia, Denver, and Los Angeles. Oakland Tribune

High Court Case Raises Issues About Cellphone Tracking By Cops ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The two men who pointed a gun at the owner of a Denver-area convenience store and emptied the cash register Dec. 28 took the victim's iPhone. The next day, cops had one of the suspects in custody after AT&T sent investigators updates every 15 minutes showing the device's location in an apartment, says the Denver Post. As cellphone tracking becomes a more effective and relied-upon step in building criminal cases, the practice has pitted law enforcement against privacy advocates worried about turning the cellphone against its owner. At the heart of the debate is how police and prosecutors obtain information on a cell user's whereabouts. Should they be required to show fact-based probable cause, the standard that must be met to obtain a search warrant or meet some lower standard? The U.S. Supreme Court last week jolted the legal community when five of nine justices indicated that using cellphones to track people's movements in real time without a search warrant could violate Fourth Amendment protections against unlawful search and seizure. Denver Post

Private GPS Use Rising; Is It "Electronic Stalking"? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tens of thousands of Americans are using Global Positioning System devices to track vehicles, which the Supreme Court said last week is a Fourth Amendment search issue for law enforcement, the New York Times reports. The easy tool for recording a person's every move is a powerful one that, when misused, amounts to "electronic stalking," private investigator John Nazarian of Los Angeles tells the newspaper. "That, to the victim, is just as terrifying as seeing your face in the window at night before they go to bed," he said. GPS trackers are increasingly being cited in cases of criminal stalking and civil violations of privacy. One use - by as many as 30,000 parents, one seller estimates - is to monitor the driving habits of teenagers; some devices send a text message when the car goes over a certain speed. California and Texas, unlike most states, ban many uses of GPS trackers without consent, with exceptions for law enforcement and car owners. Many private investigators follow the same rules to minimize the risks of civil litigation - that a tracked person could sue for violation of privacy. New York Times

How U.S. Crime Suspects Flee Abroad And Aren't Brought Back ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Jorge Montiel fled to his Mexican hometown after he was alleged to have raped and murdered a Georgia housewife in 2010. Federal agents tried to bring the international fugitive to justice, but something stood in the way: the cost, says the Chicago Tribune. When the U.S. Justice Department called Forsyth County, Ga., prosecutors to explain the complex U.S. extradition process and to say the county would have to pay for translation and other fees, "the decision was made by Forsyth County to discontinue that effort," said the FBI. Montiel became just another of the thousands of criminal suspects living with impunity in foreign countries even when federal authorities have identified their precise locations. After the Tribune exposed law enforcement failures that allowed more than 100 dangerous suspects to flee northern Illinois and remain free abroad, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder vowed that the Justice Department would redouble efforts to return alleged murderers, rapists, and other violent fugitives to Illinois - and secured the pledge of his Mexican counterpart to make it happen. The flawed enforcement efforts are not unique to Chicago. The Tribune assembled the only public accounting of a fugitive apprehension program that government officials cloak in secrecy. Chicago Tribune

Prison Closings Could Kill Small Towns Like Boydton, Virginia ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As Boydton, Va., prepared for its 200th anniversary in February, it was blindsided by news the the state planned to close its Mecklenburg prison there, which houses about 730 inmates. The Washington Post says Boydton will lose 20 percent of its budget - revenue that comes from providing sewer services to the prison - and 300 jobs. Officials may have to lay off most of the town's workers, including its only police officer; triple some water rates; and cut back on trash pickups. More than $1.5 million in grants are in jeopardy. If the town does not get help from the state, it could go bankrupt and be dissolved. Boydton's bicentennial could turn into its wake. The story of Boydton is playing out in small towns across Virginia and around the nation. Many depressed rural communities welcomed prisons as sources of jobs and revenue. Budget woes and moves to jail fewer nonviolent offenders are leading states to mothball dozens of correctional facilities - an unexpected blow for communities already suffering from the recession. At least 13 states closed prisons in 2010. Washington Post

Critic: CDC Sexual Violence Survey Exaggerated the Problem ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Christina Hoff Sommers of the American Enterprise Institute is questioning the new U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, which estimated that more than 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men have experienced rape, physical violence and/or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetime." Sommers, writing in the Washington Post, notes that the CDC data "are wildly at odds with official crime statistics," sand accuses the agency of "defining sexual violence in impossibly elastic ways and then letting the surveyors, rather than subjects, determine what counted as an assault." An example offered by Sommers: Participants were asked if they had ever had sex because someone pressured them by "telling you lies, making promises about the future they knew were untrue?" All affirmative answers were counted as "sexual violence." Washington Post

WI To Study Eliminating Preliminary Hearings; Defense Wary ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A new effort to streamline criminal prosecutions in Wisconsin takes aim at hearings once considered critical, but which some argue have morphed into costly, time-consuming tools for the defense: the preliminary examination, reports the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. A Senate bill would allow all forms of hearsay at preliminary hearings and has rekindled talk of eliminating them - something the state's Judicial Council supports. Defense lawyers expressed concerns that the move could be the start of erosion of due process rights in the name of saving money. Preliminary hearings are not trials. They are statutory creations, not required by the state or federal constitutions. Most defendants either waive their right to the preliminary examination, or a judge finds sufficient probable cause to bind the defendant over for trial. Defense lawyers often use the hearings to get an early feeling for testimony from state witnesses, almost like taking a deposition. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

After Violence, Memphis To Create Fed-State-Local Antigang Force ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ After a string of violent crimes by teen and adult gang members, Memphis is gearing up to mount its largest war on gangs, reports the Memphis Commercial Appeal. For the first time, local, state and federal law enforcement and prosecutors are teaming to create a multijurisdictional gang task force. "We want to roll this out as soon as possible, but we want to be successful the first time," said U.S. Attorney Ed Stanton. "Egos have been checked at the door. We all want something that is going to be meaningful, effective and efficient." Federal agents with the FBI, U.S. Marshals Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, have agreed to participate. Members of Memphis Police Department's Gang Unit say they're anxious for reinforcements. "With us just having a 12-man unit, we're spread thin," said unit supervisor Lt. Anthony Carter. Memphis Commercial Appeal

Chairman Issa Raises Questions on DEA Money-Laundering Probes ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, is raising questions about how the Drug Enforcement Administration conducts its undercover money-laundering investigations and whether those operations cross the line between fighting and facilitating crime, reports the New York Times. Issa, writing to Attorney General Eric Holder, accused the Justice Department of dragging its feet in responding to his request more than a month ago for a briefing on the operations, which allow DEA agents to pose as money launderers and smugglers to infiltrate drug-trafficking organizations. Issa said he was concerned about whether there was sufficient oversight of the operations. He said an inquiry by his office had revealed evidence of potential impropriety, including the arrests of two American pilots who were held in a Panamanian jail for seven months. New York Times

Bal. Police: New Training, Discipline Heads Will Restore Confidence ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Baltimore police officials say their new heads of training and internal discipline - hires from outside the department - will help restore public trust in an agency marred by corruption and a "friendly-fire" incident in which an officer was killed, reports the Baltimore Sun. The additions of a former federal drug agent and a veteran police commander from Montgomery County, Md., prove his department is serious about improving, said Police Commissioner Frederick Bealefeld. "We know we have in some areas, in some communities, and with some officers, an estranged, broken relationship," Bealefeld said. "I'm relying on these two." Bealefeld said Grayling Williams, the new head of the Internal Investigation Division, which handles complaints of abuse, excessive force, and other improprieties on the 3,100-member force, will put a public face on efforts to regain credibility. The hires, made with input from a state police training commission and an advisory board of citizens who help investigate officer misconduct, came incidents last year that threatened confidence in the department Baltimore Sun

Son of NYPD Commissioner Kelly Accused of Rape ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly was on the defensive two days after reports surfaced that a paralegal accused his son Greg, 43, of rape, reports the New York Daily News. The woman, 30, asserted that at the end of a boozy date on Oct. 8, she led Kelly, a Fox TV newsman, to her Wall Street-area law office, where she was raped while in a drunken stupor. She told investigators she got pregnant and had an abortion. The Manhattan District Attorney's office, which has seen two headline grabbing rape cases fall apart recently, will make sure they have the goods on Kelly before they charge him in the case, experts said. Defense attorney Joseph Tacopina said the fact that the woman waited three months to report the alleged rape is bound to give prosecutors pause. The woman's claim she was drunk - and that Greg Kelly took advantage of her - will make prosecutors even more reluctant to press the case, he said. New York Daily News