21 March 2012

March 21, 2012 Today's Stories

S.F. Mayor Suspends Sheriff Over Domestic Violence Incident ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee is suspending Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi from his post, the first step toward removing him from office permanently for official misconduct, reports the San Francisco Chronicle. "He has chosen not to resign and now I must act," Lee said, saying the sheriff's actions "fell below the standard of decency and good faith" needed for public officials. Mirkarimi pleaded guilty last week to a misdemeanor charge of false imprisonment for an incident involving his wife on New Year's Eve. Lee named Vicki Hennessy to serve as interim sheriff. Hennessy last ran the Department of Emergency Management after a career in the Sheriff's Department, where she retired as chief deputy. Lee told Mirkarimi Monday that he had 24 hours to resign voluntarily, but the embattled sheriff, who was elected in November and sworn in Jan. 8, refused the request and will fight the official misconduct charge. Mirkarimi was sentenced Monday to three years probation, a year's worth of domestic violence intervention classes and other penalties for pleading guilty to the false imprisonment charge. San Francisco Chronicle

"Stand Your Ground" Authors: FL Crime Watcher Should be Arrested ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The authors of Florida's controversial Stand Your Ground law say the killer of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin probably should be arrested and doesn't deserve immunity under the statute, reports the Miami herald. The comments from the Republican lawmakers came the same day state Sen. Oscar Braynon urged the Florida Conference of Black State Legislators to call for the law to be repealed, amended, or subject to legislative hearings. The legislators who crafted the legislation in 2005 - former Sen. Durell Peaden and current state Rep. Dennis Baxley - said the law doesn't need to be changed. They believe it has been misapplied in the shooting death of Trayvon by a crime-watch captain, George Zimmerman. "They got the goods on him. They need to prosecute whoever shot the kid," said Peaden, a Republican who sponsored the deadly force law in 2005. "He has no protection under my law." Peaden and Baxley say their law is a self-defense act. It says law-abiding people have no duty to retreat from an attacker and can meet "force with force." Nowhere does it say that a person has a right to confront another. Miami Herald

FL Prosecutor: "Stand Your Ground" Impact Has Been "Devastating" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The New York Times weighs in on Florida's stand your ground law, which is at issue in the controversial shooting of Trayvon Martin by a neighborhood watch participant. Florida prosecutors say the number of defendants who claim self-defense - even when it should not apply - has jumped noticeably since the law was passed in 2005. Sometimes, it was clearly self-defense. Other cases have left prosecutors scratching their heads. The law also prevents a person shooting in self-defense from being sued. "Self-defense is now used more widely than it was under the old law," said William Eddins, Pensacola's state attorney and president of the Florida Prosecuting Attorneys Association. "It is a very broad law in terms of the availability of the defendant to try to take advantage of this law. It has created more litigation for the state in cases involving violence and in murder cases, in particular." The state attorney in Tallahassee, Willie Meggs, who fought the law when it was proposed, said: "The consequences of the law have been devastating around the state. It's almost insane what we are having to deal with." It is increasingly used by gang members fighting gang members, drug dealers battling drug dealers and people involved in road rage encounters. Confrontations at a bar are also common: someone looks at someone the wrong way or bothers someone's girlfriend. Under the old law, a person being threatened with a gun or a knife had a duty to try to get away from the situation, if possible. Now that person has a right to grab a gun (or knife, or ice pick, as happened in one case) and use it, without an attempt to retreat. New York Times

No High Court Consensus On Juvenile Life Without Parole Terms ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Arguments over the constitutionality of a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole for juveniles provoked strong comments but no clear consensus yesterday at the Supreme Court, reports the National Law Journal. The court heard arguments in Miller v. Alabama and Jackson v. Hobbs, in which defendants who were 14 when they committed murder were sentenced, in effect, to die in prison without any chance of release during their lifetimes. The cases presented identical issues but were argued separately, possibly because in one case, defendant Kuntrell Jackson did not kill the victim, a video store clerk, but was an accomplice convicted of felony capital murder in Arkansas. Bryan Stevenson of the Montgomery, Al.-based Equal Justice Initiative, argued for both defendants, telling the justices that juveniles have proved "deficits" in judgment and maturity that make life without parole an unconstitutional sentence. Justice Anthony Kennedy, a possible swing vote, seemed interested in simply declaring that such a sentence can never be mandatory for juveniles. "If you take that off the table, then you leave us with nothing but saying the sentence is never permitted or that it's always permitted," Kennedy said. Several justices offered other line-drawing solutions, but Justice Antonin Scalia suggested that any line-limiting sentences short of the death penalty would just invite the next wave of appeals. National Law Journal

Court GPS Ruling Makes It Harder for FBI to Track Terror Suspects ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Earlier this year, the Supreme Court said police overstepped their authority by planting a GPS tracker on the car of a suspected drug dealer without getting a search warrant. NPR says the ruling set off alarm bells inside the FBI, where officials are trying to figure out whether they need to change the way they do business. Before the January ruling, the FBI had about 3,000 GPS tracking devices in the field. Government lawyers scrambled to get search warrants for weeks before the decision, working to convince judges they had probable cause to believe crimes were taking place. After the ruling, agents had to turn off 250 devices that they couldn't turn back on. FBI director Robert Mueller told a congressional committee this month that the case "will inhibit our ability to use this in a number of surveillances where it has been tremendously beneficial." Mueller said. "We have a number of people in the United States whom we could not indict, there is not probable cause to indict them or to arrest them who present a threat of terrorism. The FBI would have deployed electronic trackers to monitor those people. Now, teams of six or eight agents have to watch them, taxing the agency's resources. NPR

Should Jail Be Required For Repeat Domestic Violence Offenders? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam is seeking mandatory minimum jail sentences for repeat domestic violence offenders. Experts worry that mandatory jail time without treatment isn't enough, reports The Tennessean. "In many other states, batterers programs are mandated for varying lengths at least for the first offense," said Ed Gondolf, retired research director for the Mid-Atlantic Addiction Research and Training Institute and sociology professor emeritus at Indiana University of Pennsylvania "Putting people in jail, in and of itself, is not a cure-all. It sounds like it's a simplistic answer to a harder problem and one that appeals to the public - the law and order toughness - but isn't necessarily practical in the long run." State officials counter that it is an important step toward making repeat offenders accountable for actions that sometimes don't earn any significant punishment. "This bill focuses on repeat offenders who have not changed their behavior despite previous interventions, including arrest, counseling, probation and court injunctions," said Bill Gibbons, head of the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security. "Battering is a crime. We believe the best way to deter future violence is to increase perpetrator accountability." One victim, Ashlee McGrann said that, based on her experiences, the state should require both. The Tennessean

Expert Cites "Fixable Solutions" to Racially-Biased Criminal Justice Outcomes ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Many criminal-justice decision-making processes with racially-biased results can be remedied by "on-the-ground fixable solutions," contends American University law Prof. Cynthia Jones, who directs an American Bar Association Racial Justice Improvement Project. Jones spoke yesterday to the International Community Corrections Association in Washington, D.C., about the federally funded project, which is working in four places: Delaware, Duluth, Mn., New York City, and New Orleans. Jones contends that some decision-making is not intentionally biased but has that result. As an example, she cited a Duluth policy that ended up jailing many Native Americans not because of their ethnicity but because they lived so far away that they were judged a high risk not to return if released. Better risk-assessment tools could reduce that problem and similar ones elsewhere, she said. In Delaware, a high revocation rate for people on probation and parole was having a disproportionate impact on African-Americans, she said. New Orleans has other problems, including a sheriff reluctant to reduce the jail population because paid he is paid according to the number of prisoners. In New York City, the project is focusing on problems experienced by non-U.S. citizens in qualifying for drug treatment.

"Synthetic Pot"--It's Not Pot, Effects Called Unpredictable, Dangerous ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Synthetic pot," sold in corner stores as herbal incense or potpourri, is becoming a dangerous scourge in the city, says the New York Daily News. Dozens of people looking for a quick high are winding up in emergency rooms with alarming symptoms ranging from hallucinations and seizures to panic attacks and violent behavior. The problem is growing so fast that a major medical journal issued a warning last week about about the substance, often referred to as K2 or Spice. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is pushing for a nationwide ban that would make it illegal to hawk the condom-sized packets, which sell for $15 to $75 at stores and online. "People have the mind-set that this is 'just pot ,' but it's not," said Dr. Lewis Nelson, a medical toxicologist at New York University Langone and Bellevue hospitals and director of training at the city's poison control center. "Synthetic marijuana is really a misnomer. It's really quite different, and the effects are much more unpredictable. "It's dangerous, and there is no quality control in what you are getting." The Daily News found it for sale in smoke shops and delis from the Village to the Rockaways. New York Daily News

Death Penalty Repeal Question: What About Those Already on Death Row? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Connecticut legislators are again debating whether to repeal the state's death penalty, as they have for the past seven years, reports Stateline.org. Opponents say the punishment is too costly, too arbitrary, and racially biased; supporters insist it deters crime. With memories of a brutal 2007 home invasion murder in Cheshire, Ct., still fresh in the minds of many in the state, lawmakers are reluctant to pass any bill that would effectively commute the sentences of the Cheshire killers. Deciding what to do with current death row inmates is an issue that will confront a growing number of states as they consider repealing their death penalties. Of the four states that have made this move in the last five years, New Mexico was the only one to leave inmates subject to execution after prospective repeal was enacted. Connecticut lawmakers are looking to New Mexico for a precedent on how to proceed with executions after a state has repealed its death penalty. Stateline.org

Baltimore Police Cancel Walinsky Training Praised by Commissioner ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Baltimore Police Department has decided not to renew a training contract with a the Center for Research on Institutions and Social Policy, a New York-based nonprofit, reports the Baltimore Sun. The $236,200 contract paid the nonprofit and its founder, Adam Walinsky. The Sun said that over two years, the center reported spending 40 percent of its funds on entertainment, travel, and meals. Walinsky, who developed the now-defunct national Police Corps program, is a close adviser to Police Commissioner Frederick Bealefeld. Officials said the "Diamond" training program is unique, paid for out of cash seized in investigations, and has helped drive down police-involved shootings and complaints against officers. Baltimore Sun

Denver's White Shakes Up Internal Affairs to Boost Public Confidence ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Denver Police Chief Robert White will replace the head of the Internal Affairs Bureau and the division's staff in an attempt to heal police relations with the public and improve investigations into police misconduct, the Denver Post reports. Manager of Safety Alex Martinez, who oversees Denver's Sheriff, Fire and Police departments, named retired Judge John Jess Vigil, 59, to a new position: deputy manager of police discipline. Before he left as Denver's independent monitor in December, Richard Rosenthal questioned the ability of police to investigate cases of officer misconduct. Rosenthal, who monitored internal investigations, frequently recommended discipline in excessive-force cases that was tougher than officers had been subject to before he arrived in 2005. White said questions raised by Rosenthal played a part in his decision to shake up internal affairs. White said there is a perception among some people that internal affairs sides with cops. The public won't cooperate with police if residents don't believe internal affairs is capable of unbiased investigations, White said. He appointed Division Chief Mary Beth Klee, 53, a 29-year veteran of the department, to head the Internal Affairs Bureau. Denver Post

Phoenix Police Mishandled Hundreds of Cases Involving Kids: Audit ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Poor case management and improperly conducted interviews are too common in a Phoenix Police Department unit that investigates crimes against children including abuse and sexual assault, says an internal audit reported by the Arizona Republic. Investigators re-examined 969 cases assigned to the Family Investigations Bureau during a one-year period. It determined that case-management policies were not followed in more than 400 of the cases. Detectives did not properly document or follow up on interviews with victims, suspects, and witnesses in 279 cases, including some in which investigators relied on state Child Protective Services employees to conduct the interviews. Evidence was not properly handled in 98. In those, detectives failed to collect, process or follow up on evidence adequately, including information collected in medical exams. Acting Phoenix Police Chief Joe Yahner said dealing with the problems "has been and continues to be the Number 1 issue of the Phoenix Police Department." Arizona Republic