27 April 2012

April 27, 2012 Today's Stories

Senate Approves Domestic Violence Act, But Battle Looms in House ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Senate voted 68-31 Thursday to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act and expand its reach to American Indians and homosexuals, after Republicans opted out of an expected partisan brawl, reports the New York Times. But a political fight still looms when the House takes up a version of the legislation next month that lacks the hot-button issues added in the Senate. Fifteen Republicans voted for the measure, which extended landmark 1994 legislation to give courts and law enforcement new tools to combat domestic violence. Amid partisan brawls over abortion and contraception, some Democrats saw the Violence Against Women Act as the next battle in what they framed as a Republican "war on women." But Senate Republicans did not rise to the bait. Republican senators like John Cornyn of Texas made clear their concerns, but even before amendments to address those concerns were voted on, many of the same senators who had expressed reservations signaled that they would vote for the bill, regardless of whether it was changed. No Republicans spoke out against it before the final tally. New York Times

Attorney Says Zimmerman Raked in $204,000 in Donations Via Website ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ George Zimmerman's attorney revealed Thursday on CNN that the accused murdered had received about $204,000 from supporters before he shut down the website on which he solicited donations. Lawyer Mark O'Mara said he would discuss the money at a court hearing today in Florida. The hearing was originally scheduled to discuss issues about the unsealing of Zimmerman's criminal file, but the donations could overshadow that issue. Zimmerman, 28, is charged with second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of unarmed Trayvon Martin, 17. Zimmerman was released Monday after his family posted 10 percent of $150,000 bail. O'Mara had said earlier that he believed Zimmerman had no money. "I think he's indigent for costs," he said, adding that Zimmerman's relatives had few assets. "They tried to portray themselves as indigent that they did not have any money," said Martin family attorney Benjamin Crump. "We think the court should revoke his bond immediately, and he should be held accountable for misleading the court." CNN

Report: FL Trooper Miscommunication Cited in 11-Fatality Pileups on I-75 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Missteps and miscommunication by Florida Highway Patrol supervisors occurred in the early hours of Jan. 29 when troopers closed and then prematurely reopened Interstate 75 moments before a string of deadly wrecks, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement concluded Thursday. The Gainesville Sun said the 38-page report details failures to follow policies, differences of opinion between FHP troopers and command staff and other problems that morning, when smoke and fog reduced visibility to nothing on I-75 near Gainesville. About 20 vehicles were involved in six separate crashes on both sides of I-75 that killed 11 people and hospitalized 22 others. No one from FHP has been disciplined for their actions that night. A spokeswoman for the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, which includes the Highway Patrol, said it's too early to consider disciplinary action. That disturbed at least one survivor of the crashes. "This is taking it so lightly it's ridiculous," Bernie DeWit said. DeWit, 58, of Grand Rapids, Mich., suffered a broken back in the wrecks, while his wife, Margie, 56, has not yet awakened from the coma she has been in since the accident. Gainesville Sun

ATF: 68,000 Guns Used in Mexican Crimes Were Traced Back to U.S. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mexican authorities have recovered 68,000 guns in the past five years that have been traced back to the United States, reports the Washington Post, underscoring complaints from Mexico that the U.S. is responsible for arming its drug cartels More than 47,000 people in Mexico have been killed in six years of violence between warring cartels. The ATF, in releasing data covering 2007 through 2011, said many of the guns seized in Mexico and submitted to the ATF for tracing were recovered at the scene of cartel shootings while others were seized in raids on illegal arms caches. All the recovered weapons were suspected of being used in crimes in Mexico. At a North American summit in Washington on April 2, Mexican President Felipe Calderon said the U.S. government has not done enough to stop the flow of assault weapons and other guns. Calderon credited President Obama with trying to reduce the gun traffic, but he said that Obama faces political resistance. There is Republican opposition in Congress and broad opposition from Republicans and gun-rights advocates elsewhere to a new assault weapons ban or other curbs on gun sales. Washington Post

Michigan Legislators Propose Deep Cuts to Gov. Snyder's Prison Budget ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Michigan legislators are recommending significant criminal justice cuts in what had been a standpat spending plan put forward by Gov. Rick Snyder, reports the Detroit Free Press. Snyder and Budget Director John Nixon proposed a 3 percent bump in the general fund to $9 billion, signaling a shift to reinvestment after years of austerity. But House and Senate lawmakers -- spooked by a reported dip in anticipated state revenues -- have identified more than $100 million in additional savings. The House version of the Department of Corrections budget recommends closing the Michigan Reformatory in Ionia and shifting its 1,300 inmates to a private prison, at an estimated net savings of $7.1 million. The House version also recommends closure of three juvenile justice facilities and the transfer of their 90 residents to private facilities for a net savings of $4.3 million. The Senate version of the Corrections budget recommends elimination of 580 supervisors, secretaries, librarians and other support staff to save an estimated $58.8 million. Detroit Free Press

Judge: FL Gov.'s Drug-Testing Plan for State Employees Is 'Unreasonable' ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A Miami federal judge Thursday slammed Florida Gov. Rick Scott's order requiring random drug testing for tens of thousands of state government employees as unconstitutional because his policy failed to specify any "public interests" to justify the invasion of privacy, reports the Tampa Bay Times. Scott said he was disappointed and vowed to appeal the ruling, saying he believes that "drug testing state employees is a common sense means of ensuring a safe, efficient and productive workforce." But the governor would face a formidable challenge on appeal in the higher courts. U.S. District Judge Ursula Ungaro declared that Scott's executive order to conduct random drug tests of 85,000 state employees amounted to an "unreasonable" search under the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution. Her decision was based on U.S. Supreme Court precedents that have cited the Fourth Amendment ban on unreasonable searches, concluding that governments cannot require job applicants to take drug tests absent a "special need," such as safety. Ungaro found that Scott's order was so broadly worded that it failed to meet any drug-testing searches deemed "reasonable" by the U.S. Supreme Court because of "surpassing safety interests," such as mandatory urine tests of railroad workers. Tampa Bay Times

Florida Court Rejects Sentencing Appeals by 25 Condemned Killers ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday rejected appeals by 25 men on Death Row who claimed that their lawyers were ineffective in investigating their backgrounds before sentencing, reports the Miami Herald. The rulings were no surprise in the legal community after justices in December issued an opinion rejecting an appeal by a Pinellas County triple murderer who sought to have his death penalty sentence tossed out for the same reason. Combined, the Miami-Dade men have spent 131 years on Death Row awaiting execution. In Florida, juries in death penalty cases preside over a guilt phase and a separate penalty phase, in which lawyers present evidence about their client's past and argue why the defendant should not be executed. The men had appealed their convictions after the U.S. Supreme Court in 2010 tossed out the death sentence for George Porter, 80, who was sentenced to execution for the 1986 fatal shootings of his ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend. The court ruled that Porter's defense attorney should have investigated his background to prove "mitigating evidence" why the man should be spared. Miami Herald

House Recommends $12 Million to Help Improve Gun Background Checks ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The U.S. House is looking to spend $12 million to improve the national system for conducting background checks for gun purchases, reports the Washington Post. The House version of the annual spending bill for the Department of Justice includes an additional $7 million to help states provide better data, including mental health records, to the National Instant Background Check System. The full appropriations committee approved the $51 billion bill Thursday. The House is expected to take up the measure next month. Last week, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell sent letters to every governor in the nation asking for support in improving background checks for gun purchases. He asked the governors to provide information to the NICS, which is required to be used by federal firearms licensees to determine whether a potential buyer is eligible to purchase a gun or explosive. In the past decade, more than 100 million checks have been made, leading to more than 700,000 denials. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, co-chairman of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, praised the funding recommendation. Washington Post

More Cuts Scheduled for Oregon Courts; Lines Will Grow Longer ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ With more cuts scheduled for Oregon courts, even longer lines at courthouses seem inevitable, reports the Oregonian. By May 1, court administrators expect to eliminate the equivalent of 95 full-time positions statewide, and that means fewer employees at the counter to accept payments for tickets, to answer questions, to pull files from archives, to enter warrants into the computer system and to staff courtrooms that hear criminal and civil cases. The cutbacks bring the total number of positions cut since 2009 to 296, a 17 percent decrease. Some of the eliminated jobs were vacant already and left open because administrators predicted future budget woes, but the others are now held by dozens of employees who will get laid off. There is the chance that lawmakers will add back some of the jobs in coming weeks or years. The Judicial Department is applying for a $1.1 million emergency infusion from the Legislature this spring in hopes of softening the blow. Oregonian

Online Bullying, Pervasive to Kids, Is Hidden From Parents, Schools ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nearly 4,700 cases of online bullying, harassment and intimidation were reported by Maryland schools last academic year, creating a vexing problem for parents and schools to police, reports the Baltimore Sun. The harassment and intimidation is pervasive, inescapable to a generation tied to the Internet. Yet most of it happens out of view of parents. Unlike traditional schoolyard teasing, cyber-bullying can take place 24 hours a day, and often happens off school grounds, making it difficult for school officials to track. And because discipline is left to local school officials, it varies across Maryland and is considered too subjective to some parents and teachers. The consequences of cyber-bullying resounded in Maryland after the Easter Sunday suicide of 15-year-old Grace McComas. Her parents said the high school sophomore took her life after months of being victimized online. "This incident underscores the 21st-century bully, equipped with a cell phone and a Facebook account, is a constant source of torment for our kids," said New Jersey state Sen. Barbara Buono, lead sponsor on anti-bullying legislation there. The state's law, considered to be the most progressive in the country, requires all schools to have an in-house anti-bullying specialist. Baltimore Sun

AZ Governor Overhauls Clemency Board; Longtime Chairman Is Bounced ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Gov. Jan Brewer has overhauled Arizona's five-member board that often is the last chance for death-row inmates to seek mercy, reports the Associated Press. The outgoing members have a reputation among prosecutors, defense attorneys and anti-death-penalty advocates for being fair and open-minded, especially its now-former chairman and executive director, Duane Belcher. He had been on the board since 1992 after first being appointed by then-Gov. Fife Symington, a Republican. He was reappointed in 2003 by then-Gov. Janet Napolitano, a Democrat. Although Belcher reapplied to the board after his term expired, Belcher said the board's nominating committee declined to interview him. "I was told that they were going in a different direction and that I'm not included in that," he said. He was replaced by Jesse Hernandez, utreach and government affairs director for Republican Rep. David Schweikert and founder of the Arizona Latino Republican Association. The other two outgoing board members are Marilyn Wilkens and Ellen Kirschbaum, both appointed to the board in 2010 by Brewer. They are replaced by Brian Livingston, executive director of the Arizona Police Association and a former longtime Phoenix police officer, and Melvin Thomas, former warden of a private Arizona prison that houses inmates convicted of drunken driving. Associated Press

After 'Occupy' Criticism, Oakland Police Reform Crowd Protocols ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Stung by criticism over his officers' actions during Occupy Oakland protests and other demonstrations, Oakland Police Chief Howard Jordan is ordering "major reforms" in how police deal with large crowds, reports the San Francisco Chronicle. Smaller groups of officers will go into crowds to weed out problem protesters, and officers will make every effort to ensure that demonstrators hear dispersal orders and are given a chance to leave, Jordan said. All officers are undergoing training on how to handle large crowds, he said. The police initiatives will balance protesters' First Amendment right of peaceful assembly with officers' responsibility to enforce the law and protect citizens and property, Jordan said. Occupy and its sympathizers have criticized police for the city's response to the group's protests since October. Protesters have accused officers of using batons and firing beanbag bullets and tear gas without justification and have pointed out that other large-scale protests across the country have not generated a similar response. Protesters also accused police of making unlawful mass arrests without ordering people to disperse. San Francisco Chronicle