22 March 2012

March 22, 2012   Today's Stories

Court Says Defendants Have Right to Effective Lawyers In Plea Deals ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Criminal defendants have a constitutional right to effective lawyers during plea negotiations, the Supreme Court said yesterday in two 5-to-4 rulings that the New York Times says vastly expanded judges' supervision of the criminal justice system. What formerly was unregulated deal making now is subject to constraints when bad legal advice leads defendants to reject favorable plea offers. "Criminal justice today is for the most part a system of pleas, not a system of trials," Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote for the majority. "The right to adequate assistance of counsel cannot be defined or enforced without taking account of the central role plea bargaining takes in securing convictions and determining sentences." Kennedy, who often joins the court's conservative wing in ideologically divided cases, yesterday was in agreement with the court's four more liberal members. That alignment arises in cases that seem to offend his sense of fair play. The rulings' impact is difficult to predict. Justice Antonin Scalia said in dissent that, "the court leaves all of this to be worked out in further litigation, which you can be sure there will be plenty of." New York Times

FL Commissioners Vote No Confidence In Chief After Teen's Shooting ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sanford, Fl., city commissioners have voted "no confidence" in police Chief Bill Lee Jr., who has been lambasted for his department's handling of the fatal shooting of Miami teenager Trayvon Martin, reports the Orlando Sentinel. Commissioner Mark McCarty made the motion that could lead to the ouster of the chief, who has been on the job just 10 months. "I take no pleasure in a public flogging of our police chief," McCarty said before a packed council chambers. "But he really should turn in his resignation." The vote was 3-2. "A rush to judgment is wrong," said commissioner Patty Mahany, who called the vote a "knee-jerk reaction." Lee, 52, was hired in May after criticism surrounding the beating of a homeless black man by the son of a Sanford lieutenant. City Manager Norton Bonaparte Jr. called the vote "a strong statement" but said he wants to wait for investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Brevard-Seminole State Attorney's Office to be completed before he acts. Trayvon's killing on Feb. 26 has prompted national outrage. Today, Trayvon's parents, Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin, attended a "Million Hoodie March" in New York City. Orlando Sentinel

TX Man Jailed for Killing Parents Planned Columbine-Style School Attack ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A Waller, Tx., man accused of fatally gunning down his parents and older brother was also planning a Columbine-style massacre at a local high school, reports the Houston Chronicle. Trey Eric Sesler told investigators he and at least one other former Waller High School student were planning such a shooting at the high school. Authorities charged Sesler, 22, with capital murder yesterday in the deaths of his mother, father and brother. Law enforcement found their bodies the day before at the family home, led there by concerned relatives. Sesler appeared to have an obsession with the Colorado tragedy, where two seniors went on a shooting spree, killing 12 classmates and one teacher before taking their own lives in 1999. His friends seemed to entertain Sesler's idea, but whether they would follow through was unclear. Investigators are taking Sesler's claims about the plot seriously. He seemed to have an interest in guns and, according to police, used recreational drugs and had recently been asking where he could get body armor. Sesler was captured Tuesday night after a daylong manhunt. He is in the Waller County Jail on a $3 million bail. Houston Chronicle

CA Counties Spending Too Much State Money to Build Jails: ACLU ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ California risks repeating past mistakes as it doles out hundreds of millions of dollars to help county jails house inmates who once would have ended up in state prisons, charges the American Civil Liberties Union. An ACLU report quoted by the Los Angeles Times cites a recurring concern of advocates: Rather than pursuing cheaper ways of protecting public safety, the state is shifting the problem of prison overcrowding to the local level. "Left unchecked, these counties will build larger jail systems that will cost more tax dollars than they do now and hold more people than they do now," the ACLU said. California is trying to reduce its state prison population to 110,000 inmates by mid-2013 to comply with a U.S. Supreme Court ruling. Low-level offenders now remain in jails instead of being sent to state prisons, and the state has promised more money to help local governments cope. The 25 counties receiving the most "realignment" funding plan to use $45.1 million to pay for roughly 7,000 new jail beds and more than 700 new staff members. Counties need to be innovative with the money, said Emily Harris of Californians United for a Responsible Budget, which opposes heavy prison spending. "If realignment just becomes a massive jail expansion plan, we are continuing the 30 years of failed corrections policy," she said. Los Angeles Times

DOJ Calls Sex Misconduct At GEO Youth Unit In MS Among Nation's Worst ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The U.S. Justice Department says juveniles were subjected to sexual misconduct and other abuses at a privately run Mississippi prison, reports the Associated Press. The federal findings come three weeks after plans were announced to move youth to another facility. The Justice Department said sexual misconduct at Walnut Grove Youth Correctional Facility in central Mississippi "was among the worst that we have seen in any facility anywhere in the nation." Walnut Grove - which also houses adults - is run by GEO Group of Boca Raton, Fl., the nation's second largest private prison company. The Southern Poverty Law Center, the American Civil Liberties Union and Jackson attorney Robert McDuff sued the state over conditions at the facility in 2010. "The Department of Justice's groundbreaking investigation into the GEO-Group operated Walnut Grove Youth Correctional Facility confirms what Mississippi's communities have known for over a decade: the combination of a profit hungry private prison, and a bad law that allows too many teenagers to enter the adult justice system has created a public safety crisis in Mississippi," said Sheila Bedi of the Southern Poverty Law Center. Associated Press/ABC News

Denver Cosmetologist Charged In Fraud to Avoid Jury Duty ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ On June 28 in Denver, juror No. 4361 was a wreck, says the Denver Post. Her hair hung askew in curlers. Her shoes and reindeer socks mismatched. Heavy makeup was smeared on her face. Denver District Court Judge Anne Mansfield dismissed the woman, who explained in disjointed speech, "I broke out of domestic violence in the military. And I have a lot of repercussions. One is post-traumatic stress disorder." Now Juror No. 4361 - published author and cosmetologist Susan Cole - faces felony charges after allegedly bragging on a radio program that she fabricated the elaborate ruse to duck jury duty. Now Cole 57, is charged with perjury and attempting to influence a public servant, both felonies. "Her makeup looked like something you would wear during a theater performance," said court reporter Kelli Wessels. "When the judge asked the entire panel if anyone had a mental illness, (Cole) stated she had difficulties getting ready in the morning, which was apparent to me by the way she was dressed." Cole told Mansfield she had lived on the streets, got confused in the mornings and didn't "want to emotionally go through this," according to court transcripts. On Oct. 17, Mansfield was listening to callers describe avoiding jury duty on a radio program and heard a familiar tale. A woman identifying herself as "Char from Denver" related how she'd shown up to court disheveled in an attempt to appear mentally ill. "Char went on to describe how she shared this experience with clients at her hair styling business, and that they all found the story amusing." Denver Post

Chicago Buying 11,000 Police Helmet Shields for NATO Conference ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Chicago is buying more than 8,500 face shields for police helmets in preparation for the May NATO conference, the Chicago Tribune reports. The shields will fit over police helmets and provide added protection against rocks or fluids, said police spokeswoman Melissa Stratton. While the shields are expected in time for the May 20-21 NATO conference, Stratton said "essentially this is about protecting our officers" at all times. The $757,657 purchase was made through a contract Safeware Inc. has with U.S. Communities, a government purchasing cooperative. The city used a federal Homeland Security grant to cover the cost,.The deal for 8,513 shields follows an earlier $193,000 contract with another company to provide the city with 3,057 shields. Chicago Tribune

OH Defenders, Prosecutors Agree: Trial Transcript Costs Are Too High ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Two people rarely on the same side: Ohio Public Defender Tim Young and John Murphy, head of the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association are up in arms about the high cost of trial transcripts, reports the Columbus Dispatch. Young said his office recently paid $15,500 for a transcript and copies for one case. "It's one of the most-ridiculous things in state law," Murphy said. He said it costs prosecutors hundreds of thousands of dollars every year. Young urged state legislators to change requirements for paying court reporters for transcripts. He estimated it could save one-third of his agency's $1.3 million annual bill. The average cost for state, county, and other entities is $2 per transcript page and $1 per page for each copy - "for pushing a button," Young said. "I don't think taxpayers should have to pay that much." In the case that Young cited, which included five defendants, his office paid $1,111 each for five copies, plus $2,222 for the original transcript, and needed two full sets. A commercial copying firm would have charged about $94 apiece at a bulk rate of 8.5 cents per page. Susan Horak of the Ohio Court Reporters Association is fighting the proposed cost change, saying, "our rates are very much in line with the rest of the country. We're not out of whack." Columbus Dispatch

Philly To Pay $1.8 Million to Family of Man Killed by Stray Police Bullet ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Philadelphia has agreed to pay $1.8 million to the family of a man killed when a police officer, chasing an armed suspect, fired into a home during a 2008 New Year's party. the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. The officer's bullets hit three people attending the party, including Abebe Isaac, a hospital maintenance worker and father of three young children. Isaac, 33, died a week later. "We're hoping this will in some way help his children," said Alan Yatvin, an attorney for the Isaac family. "They're young, and they have their whole lives in front of them without their dad." The District Attorney's office in 2010 cleared officer George Marko of criminal charges for firing into the home, saying his actions were justified. In addition to Isaac, another man at the party was seriously wounded and a 9-year-old boy was grazed in the back. The shooting prompted lawsuits from 27 people who were at the party. Philadelphia Inquirer

U.S. Removes Afghan Suspect Info From Its Websites ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Besides waiting nearly a week before identifying the staff sergeant suspected of killing 16 Afghan villagers, the U.S. military scrubbed its websites of references to Robert Bales' combat service, McClatchy Newspapers report. Given the myriad ways information remains accessible on the Internet, despite the best efforts to remove it, the material about Bales was still there and available, in cached versions of Web pages. Within minutes of the Pentagon leaking his name Friday evening, news organizations and others found and published his pictures, an account of a battle that depicts Bales and other soldiers in a glowing light and excerpts from his wife's blog. The military said its intention in removing the material wasn't to lessen the Army's embarrassment over the attack but to protect the privacy of Bales' family. Another likely concern was that criminal charges against Bales are expected soon, and the case could last a long time. He's at the Army's maximum-security prison at Fort Leavenworth, Ks. "The military actually does a very good job of protecting defendants' rights," said Allan Millett, a military historian at the University of New Orleans and a retired colonel in the Marine Corps Reserve. "I suspect it was simply a matter of not prejudicing either public opinion or anyone who might be involved in the case. I'm sure they're leaning over backward." Seattle Times

Austin Police Stops, Searches Down; Racial Profiling Denied ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The number of people stopped by Austin police after traffic violations was down significantly in 2011 compared with previous years, says a report on racial profiling quoted by the Austin American-Statesman. Black and white residents were stopped at a rate higher than their representation in the population, while Hispanic residents were stopped less. The number of instances where officers found contraband items such as weapons, drugs, or stolen items is up from previous years, which the department says is an indicator that racial profiling is not taking place. "I don't have any concerns that our officers are racially profiling," Assistant Police Chief Sean Mannix said. "Generally, an officer doesn't know who they've stopped until they're up to the window asking for their driver's license." The report said the drop in traffic stops is because officers shifted their focus from citywide traffic to the major highways. Police Chief Art Acevedo instructed officers to be more diligent in determining when to conduct searches. Acevedo "asked officers to be aware of whether or not they could articulate the facts that would justify the search," the report said. "We believe the directive to pause and critically assess the circumstances present prior to initiating a search also contributed to the reduction in the overall number of searches." Austin American-Statesman

U.S. Bans USA Today Story on Sex Offenders From Prison Holding Them ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The federal prison complex at Butner, N.C., banned Monday's edition of USA Today because of concerns about the newspaper's investigation of sex offenders the government has sought to detain there, the newspaper reports. Bureau of Prisons spokeswoman Traci Billingsley said the warden made the decision "because an article contained highly sensitive, detailed information regarding specific inmates housed at that facility. To ensure the continued safe operation of the facility, the publication was not provided, and the inmates at the facility were advised of it." A story in Monday's edition of the newspaper raised questions about the government's handling of a system meant to detain sex offenders indefinitely. It said that the U.S. Justice Department had held dozens of men for years without a trial before they were released because they did not meet the strict legal criteria for detention. Despite six years of effort, the government has persuaded federal courts to commit just 15 of the 136 men prison officials had sought to detain as "sexually dangerous" predators. Federal rules say that a warden can reject a publication "only if it is determined detrimental to the security, good order or discipline of the institution or if it might facilitate criminal activity." The rules say prison officials should consider, among other factors, whether the publication would show inmates how to make weapons or alcohol, whether it is written in code and whether it includes sexually explicit material. USA Today