05 March 2012

March 5, 2012   Today's Stories

Fears of Obama Again Get the Blame for Gun-Buying Surge ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Enthusiasts are stocking up on guns and ammunition, and some in the industry are wondering whether sales are spiking as they did after Barack Obama won the presidency in 2008, reports the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram. That rush created a nationwide shortage. "Look who the Republicans are trying to put against Obama," said DeWayne Irwin of the Cheapter Than Dirt gun store. "It's the Keystone Kops and people are getting scared. People are terrified he's going to get re-elected and then he won't care about getting votes next time. He'll just pass whatever legislation he wants." Others link the uptick in sales at gun stores to anything from the arrival of tax refunds to a spending spree by fans of the National Geographic Channel's Doomsday Preppers show, which chronicles people preparing for the end of the world. Last year, the FBI got 16.3 million inquiries from people running background checks on potential gun buyers. That's up from 12.7 million in 2008 and 11.4 million in 2007. "I'm constantly getting questions from people in the gun community about this [issue]," said Alan Korwin, author of nine gun law books and operator of gunlaws.com. "People are concerned that if Obama wins, as a lame duck, he will go after firearms in a way we have never seen before." U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has said the Obama administration "has consistently favored the reinstitution of the assault weapons ban. It is something that we think was useful in the past with regard to the reduction that we've seen in crime and certainly would have a positive impact on our relationship and the crime situation in Mexico." Ft. Worth Star-Telegram

Federal Judges' Sentences Varying Widely Again: Study ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A new study shows that federal judges are issuing widely disparate sentences for similar crimes 30 years after Congress tried to create fairer results, the Associated Press reports. Sentencing data from the past five years analyzed by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse show that sentences for the same types of crimes vary significantly between judges in the same courthouse. The party of the president who picked a judge is not a good predictor of whether a judge will be tough or lenient. Judges who meted out the harshest average sentences after trials for drugs, weapons, and white-collar charges were split evenly between the two parties, based on which president appointed them. In the 10 court districts with the most drug case sentences after trial, Republican-appointed judges assigned stiffer average sentences in five districts, but Democratic appointees gave longer penalties in the other five. Judges no longer are bound by sentencing guidelines. After the Supreme Court made the guidelines optional, many observers expected that judges still would use them out of habit and tradition, and because they can shield the judges from too much disparity. "Perhaps that view has worn off now and they are back to fashioning sentences that are more individualistic," said Russell Wheeler, the former deputy director of the Federal Judicial Center who teaches law at American University. Associated Press/Memphis Commercial Appeal

Miami Police Slash Specialized Units Even As Layoffs are Averted ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Miami-Dade police have avoided mass layoffs but budget woes still are sparking resounding changes within the county's largest law enforcement agency, reports the Miami Herald. Disbanded last month: the department's longtime Cargo Theft and Auto Theft task forces. Dozens of officers have been transferred to districts at the airport and seaport, which operate on budgets paid for by the transportation hubs. Specialized units that focus on homeland security, agricultural patrol, and community policing also have been slashed. With no new hiring on the horizon, and some 100 or more officers retiring over the next two years, Miami-Dade police is expected to look radically different in the near future. Police Director Jim Loftus laments the loss of the cargo and auto theft task forces, which coordinated larger complex investigations with fellow law enforcement agencies. "It comes down to weighing what is most important. I've got to prioritize the max strength we can afford on the road," Loftus said. "Homicides, robberies, rapes - all of those crimes against persons take priority over everything else." The changes come a month after Miami-Dade police narrowly avoided losing more than 100 officers to layoffs, which would have been the first such cuts in history. Miami Herald

Rise in Youth Heroin Addiction Seen in Detroit Suburbs ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Addictions to opiate-based painkillers such as OxyContin and Vicodin are fueling a growing heroin problem in the Detroit suburbs, reports the Detroit Free Press. Authorities in Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties said they have seen increases of up to 50 percent in the number of people seeking treatment for heroin addiction. "We're constantly amazed at how young the users are getting," said Detective Sgt. Deron Myers of the Chesterfield Township Police Department. "Years ago, you'd never fathom a 15-, 16-, 17-year-old using heroin. It was considered an inner-city [ ] drug." The new heroin addicts likely started off using prescription drugs. When the prescription drugs ran out, they turned to the street, where the drugs cost $80 a pill. Heroin, on the other hand, is cheap -- as little as $5 a pop. "That's what's driven the epidemic over the last two years," said Rick Isaacson of the Drug Enforcement Administration. "It's almost as if you're not becoming a heroin addict, per se, you're becoming an opiate addict." Health agencies say that they have seen in increase in heroin addiction in their treatment facilities, and opiate painkillers such as Vicodin and OxyContin are increasingly at the root of the addiction. Detroit Free Press

Oregon Prison Security Program Helps Cut Inmate Misconduct ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Oregon has 840 inmates in an unusual Security Threat Management program that zeroes in on any inmate judged to be a safety threat at the state's six biggest prisons, The Oregonian reports. It uses carrots and sticks: Improved behavior can lead to better jobs, better housing, and transfers to minimum-security prisons; misconduct can bring anything from confiscation of fashionable sneakers to a 120-day ban from the recreation yard. The program aims to tame violence, extortion, and illegal trading in Oregon prisons. Last year, the department logged 2,302 assaults on inmates and staff, an average of six a day. Officials also want to reform more inmates so they're released into society with plans for a productive life instead of more crime. Driving down the recidivism rate is crucial to curbing soaring prison costs. Some experts are aghast at Oregon's decision to stop tracking what they consider critical information: membership in prison gangs. Analysis by The Oregonian found an inconclusive trend for assaults but a decline in inmate misconduct. Prison lieutenants at five prisons, plus counselors, inmates and union leaders, believe the program is reforming inmates and making prisons safer. The Oregonian

McCarthy Vows No Muslim Surveillance in Chicago ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy promised his department will never conduct blanket surveillance of Muslims like the New York Police Department did in Newark, N.J., when he was chief there, the Associated Press reports. McCarthy addressed the Council on American-Islamic Relations-Chicago, a civil rights organization. He said police would follow leads in criminal cases, but the department "does not and will not conduct blanket surveillance and profiling of any community in the city of Chicago." McCarthy and Mayor Rahm Emanuel have tried to reassure Chicago-area Muslims since the Associated Press reported the New York police spying in Newark. AP said that in 2007, the secretive New York Demographics Unit fanned out across Newark, photographing mosques and eavesdropping on Muslim businesses. AP said that the department was conducting similar surveillance in New York, building databases showing where Muslims live, shop, and pray. Chicago Tribune

Dallas County Jail: Largest Mental Health Clinic in N. Texas ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Dallas County Jail is the largest mental health clinic in North Texas and second largest in the state, says the Denton, Tx., Record-Chronicle. Patients must don a striped jumpsuit and stand before a judge. The jail's psychiatric unit treats more than 1,400 patients a day, nearly a quarter of the jail's total population. After serving their time, these patients will be discharged with nothing more than three days' worth of medication in their pocket, and no money to make a phone call or to catch the bus. Nationwide, 64 percent of jail inmates suffer from mental illness, says a 2006 U.S. Department of Justice report. Many subsist undiagnosed - their illness "self-medicated" or otherwise disguised by illegal drug use - and get caught in a costly revolving door of imprisonment without ever receiving appropriate services. "We've traded hospitals for jails," said Matt Roberts, president of Mental Health America of Greater Dallas. "If you don't provide enough money to keep people well, the police get called and they end up in jail." Denton (TX) Record-Chronicle

Seattle High Schoolers to Run Peer "Restorative Justice" Traffic Court ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Seattle Municipal Court Judge Karen Donohue knows there's nothing scarier for parents than handing over a set of car keys to a teenage driver, says the Seattle Times. When young people make a mistake behind the wheel, it's often their parents who end up paying tickets and dealing with increased car-insurance rates. Changing that dynamic is behind the launch of the city's first youth traffic court, which will begin hearing cases later this month involving drivers under 18. The court will be staffed by 22 high school students who will get community service credit and have been trained by law students to act as judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, bailiffs, court clerks, and jurors. Instead of handing out fines, the court will tailor sanctions based on the philosophy of restorative justice, says Margaret Fisher, court co-director with Donohue and Municipal Court Magistrate Lisa Leone. A teen may be ordered to write an essay for the school paper, or perhaps do yard work for someone whose vehicle was damaged. Seattle Times

Not Many Customers for Jeffrey Dahmer Tour in Milwaukee ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A half dozen customers paid $30 for a Jeffrey Dahmer Tour on Saturday in Milwaukee. There were as many reporters as paying customers, says the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. There were a dozen peaceful protesters, including Janie Hagen who came "to speak for my brother," Richard Guerrero, one of the killer's 17 victims. The tour guide, Nicholas Vollmann, told the group, "We're here today to learn from history. Unfortunately we can't bury our heads in the sand." Dahmer was arrested in 1991, convicted the following year and murdered in prison by a fellow inmate in 1994. Much of the tour's "history" centered on Dahmer's life and the lives he took, from the tortured animals to the dismembered human bodies. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

NC Prosecutor Ousted: "Stunning Inability to Get Facts Straight" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tracey Cline was a prosecutor who would not back down from anyone. She acted with fierce conviction when she believed she was right. She was aggressive, and often framed her pursuit of justice as advocacy for crime victims, reports the Raleigh News & Observer. It also shows the reasons she was permanently removed from her job as Durham chief prosecutor Friday: a stunning inability to get facts straight and an unwillingness to change course when confronted with reasons to do so. Cline, 48, is out of office because of her words and actions against Durham's senior judge - lengthy filings filled with vitriolic language, unsubstantiated allegations of corruption, tales of a conspiracy with The News & Observer and other accusations of misconduct that have been obliterated by three judges. Cline stands by it all, telling Superior Court Judge Robert H. Hobgood last week that "what I recorded in those motions was absolutely true." The flawed behavior that cost Cline her job wasn't new. It has been displayed in a range of criminal cases she handled over the years, according to an examination of court documents, transcripts, interviews and news reports. Raleigh News & Observer

Post Ombudsman: Lanier Didn't Use Trickery on Murder Clearances ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Reviewing the Feb. 19 Washington Post story on homicide clearance rates in Washington, D.C., the newspaper's ombudsman, Patrick Pexton, concludes that, "in its language and tone, it seemed to tell a story more of gotcha than of scandal. I don't think D.C. Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier used trickery in her reporting of statistics to mislead the public about the solving of homicide cases." A "hopping mad" Lanier met with the Post to discuss the story, which prompted an editor's clarification. Pexton says the story would have worked better if it had explained the "pitfalls" in the FBI-sanctioned procedure for reporting homicide clearance rates. He says the capital's police department should be clear in its annual reports about the "rolling rate" of reporting clearances--including previous year's closures in a current year's total--so that no one can suggest any manipulation. Journalists should include an explanation in stories on the subject, he says. Washington Post

Illinois Judge Strikes Down Law Against Audio Recordings of Police ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A Chicago judge has ruled the state's controversial eavesdropping law unconstitutional, the Chicago Tribune reports. The law makes it a felony offense to make audio recordings of police officers without their consent even when they're performing their public duties. Judge Stanley Sacks found the eavesdropping law unconstitutional because it potentially criminalizes "wholly innocent conduct." The decision was in the case of Christopher Drew, an artist who was arrested in 2009 for selling art on a without a permit. Drew was charged with a felony violation of the eavesdropping law after he used an audio recorder in his pocket to capture his conversations with police during his arrest. Chicago Tribune