23 Jan 2012

January 23, 2012 Today's Stories

GPS Monitoring of Vehicles Requires Search Warrants: Supreme Court ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Federal agents' installations of Global-Positioning-System (GPS) tracking devices on criminal suspects' vehicles are searches under the Constitution's Fourth Amendment, the Supreme Court ruled today in an opinion by Justice Antonin Scalia. The ruling, a defeat for the U.S. Justice Department, means that law enforcement authorities must get search warrants from courts to attach GPS devices in investigations. The decision upheld a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., that overturned the conviction of a nightclub owner in a drug trafficking case. A trial judge had ruled that data from the device could be used in court because the suspect had no expectation of privacy when the vehicle was on public streets. The court was unanimous in reaching its result, but Justice Samuel Alito wrote for four Justices that he was agreeing with the result only because the GPS surveillance was so long in this case, 28 days. Given that the state of the law on GPS tracking is so uncertain, Alito said, courts must ask "whether the use of GPS tracking in a particular case involved a degree of intrusion that a reasonable person would not have anticipated." In the Washington, D.C., case at issue, he said, the GPS monitoring was long enough that it constituted a search. U.S. Supreme Court

"Shake-and-Bake" Meth Sends Cooks to Burn Units At $130,000 Cost ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A crude new method of making methamphetamine poses a risk even to people who never get anywhere near the drug, reports the Associated Press. It is filling hospitals with thousands of uninsured burn patients requiring millions of dollars in advanced treatment. The trend is so costly that it's contributing to the closure of burn units. "Shake-and-bake" meth is produced by combining raw, unstable ingredients in a 2-liter soda bottle. If the cook makes the slightest error, such as removing the cap too soon or accidentally perforating the plastic, the concoction can explode, searing flesh and causing permanent disfigurement, blindness or even death. An AP survey of hospitals in the most active meth states showed that up to a third of patients in some burn units were hurt while making meth, and most were uninsured. The average treatment costs $6,000 per day. The average meth patient's hospital stay costs $130,000 - 60 percent more than other burn patients, says a study by burn center doctors in Kalamazoo, Mi. Associated Press/San Francisco Chronicle

Meth "Super Labs" Believed Driving Crime In Central California ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When a Fresno, Ca., woman, 23, fatally shot her two toddlers and a cousin, critically wounded her husband then turned the gun on herself last week, the Associated Press reports, investigators immediately suspected methamphetamine abuse. It turned out the mother had videotaped herself smoking meth hours before the shooting. Associated Press/Sacramento Bee

Denver Officials Pledge Fix To Suspect-Misidentification Woes ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Denver officials, facing criticism for hundreds of mistaken-identity arrests, tell the Denver Post they have hit on a way to reduce the number of people wrongly jailed: make sure they have the right suspect before the person is booked. "The big paradigm shift is that we have been booking first and then identifying," said Dave Edinger, the city's chief performance officer. "We want to identify first and then book them. How that plays out, I don't know, but that's what we're challenging folks to come up with." Edinger said city officials are studying the problem of mistaken-identity arrests and will probably make recommendations by the end of January. One possible solution involves moving the Denver Police Department's identification bureau over to the Denver Sheriff Department, Police Chief Robert White said. "The Police Department does some things and the Sheriff's Department does some things," White said. "If the entire booking process were under one agency as opposed to being blenderized, it would make it more efficient in terms of getting people in and and out of jail, and it would do a more effective and efficient job in terms of identification." Denver Post

St. Louis Keeps Misidentifying, Jailing Wrong Suspects ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Cedric Wright spent 60 days in custody in St. Louis while protesting that he was arrested on a warrant for a Corey Leonard. Dwayne A. Jackson's spent almost a month behind bars mistakenly identified as a man with the same name. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch easily found four cases of mistaken identification - three involving incarceration. Those familiar with the court process suggest there are more. It happens "too often," said Mary Fox, head of the St. Louis public defender's office. "It's not like it happens daily. But if you're the person sitting in jail, that's one too many," she said. Judge John Garvey, who ordered both Jackson's and Wright's release, called it "very frustrating" and said, "I just don't understand how this keeps on happening." Presiding Judge Steven Ohmer estimated that only a "handful" of defendants are erroneously arrested or charged each year out of more than 2,000 cases. "It's not a huge problem," he said. "But it seems like whenever you get one, it's a mess." St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Human Trafficking Called Second-Fastest Growing Crime, Behind Drugs ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Authorities say human trafficking has become the second-biggest and second-fastest-growing criminal industry in the world, behind drug trafficking, says the Detroit Free Press. In recent years, the number of cases has skyrocketed -- from 300 in 2008 to 2,515 in 2010. Those are only the ones known. Too often, officials say, victims stay silent out of fear. President Obama declared January National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. Of the 2,515 cases in 2010, more than 1,000 involved children. The United Nations estimates it's a $32-billion industry, with half of the money coming from industrialized countries. Michigan cases have included children sold for sex at truck stops; servants held in captivity and forced to clean for free, and women forced into the sex industry, forfeiting their earnings. Many victims are afraid to speak out and stay in hiding. "The victims usually fear that they have nowhere to turn to, so it's a largely underreported crime," said U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade. Detroit Free Press

Court Orders Juror Questionnaires In Chandra Levy Trial Released ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In a case closely watched by media organizations, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals ruled that the Constitution compels a judge to make the juror questionnaires in the Chandra Levy murder trial public, McClatchy Newspapers report. "The values underlying the First Amendment right of access - for example, the public trial as a check on the fair functioning of the criminal justice system - are served even after the verdict is in," said Judge Kathryn Oberly. The public will learn more about the 12 jurors and four alternates who sat through the 10-day trial of Ingmar Guandique in the fall of 2010. Levy, 24, was killed in 2001. She also had been involved in a sexual relationship with then-Congressman Gary Condit, which drew a spotlight to her disappearance as well as to the trial. The Washington Post challenged Judge Gerald Fisher's decision not to release the questionnaires, which asked potential jurors 55 questions, including their attitudes toward illegal immigrants and gang tattoos. McClatchy Newspapers

NYPD's Kelly Spells Out When Officers Should Take Crime Reports ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A New York Police Department memo telling rank-and-file cops to make filing criminal reports easier is just the start of preventing crime stat fudging, critics tell the New York Daily News. "It does seem like common sense," said Noel Leader, a retired police sergeant and co-founder of 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement. "You really shouldn't have to encourage officers to do this." Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly spelled out steps cops should take when someone wants to report a crime. The missive tells cops to take reports even if the victim can't identify the suspect or provide a stolen goods' receipt. It also specifies that a report should be taken when victims refuse to speak with detectives or view photos - and even if they don't want to prosecute. Leader said often supervisors don't want cops to take reports when a victim hasn't seen the face of a perpetrator because it is unlikely the crime will get solved. New York Daily News

Feds Dismissing Some Deportation Cases As Low-Priority ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Federal officials tried to deport Angelica Terrazas of Arizona for two years, then offered to dismiss the case last fall because it was considered low-priority, reports the Arizona Republic. The severe backlog of cases in Phoenix meant that her deportation case dragged on for 27 months. She was among the first illegal immigrants with deportation cases in Phoenix to benefit from a controversial deportation policy change by President Obama's administration. The policy essentially closes some low-priority cases to clear space for cases involving criminals. The policy has outraged Republicans in Congress as well as Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer. They have characterized the policy as "backdoor amnesty" and blasted the president for allowing illegal immigrants to remain in the country, where some may compete for jobs at a time when millions are out of work. Arizona Republic

S.F. Mayor May Ask Sheriff To Take Leave In Domestic Abuse Case ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee may ask Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi to take a leave of absence while fighting misdemeanor charges stemming from an alleged domestic violence incident with his wife, reports the San Francisco Chronicle. "The sheriff has got to serve the people of San Francisco. I think the question for him now is whether he can do that with this distraction that's going on, (these) very serious charges," Lee said. Mirkarimi and his wife, Eliana Lopez, deny any abuse occurred, and he has refused to step down. Prosecutors contend the couple's 2-year-old son was present when Mirkarimi allegedly violently grabbed his wife during an argument on New Year's Eve, bruising her arm. A judge has ordered Mirkarimi to stay away from his home, his wife and his child until the case is resolved. San Francisco Chronicle

Many New York City Kids Died In Homes With History of Abuse ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ New York City's public advocate issued a report on dozens of children who have died in the last few years in families with a history of neglect or abuse, says the New York Times. In more than half the cases, the families had been the subject of at least three complaints, and in some instances, there had been more than 10. "That says we are missing an opportunity to intervene as early as possible," says public advocate Bill deBlasio. In one case, a medically fragile 3-year-old was entrusted to her grandmother, who had been reported 13 times for complaints. In another, a 5-year-old boy whose family had been reported five times was beaten to death by his mother. The public advocate's analysis presents a sobering view of the city's performance in protecting abused, neglected and at-risk children. In 2011, the child welfare agency investigated complaints involving 88,191 children. Almost 4,000 were removed from their homes. DeBlasio's report commemorated the sixth anniversary of the death of Nixzmary Brown, a 7-year-old girl whose brutal beating by her stepfather, which came after city workers missed several warning signs of abuse, prompted the city to overhaul the child welfare system. New York Times

ACLU Seeks Injunction Against L.A. County Over Jail Violence ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California has filed a federal action-suit against the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department seeking to force changes to clean up troubled jails, reports Witness LA. The suit charges that Sheriff Lee Baca and various other officials all knew about "a longstanding, widespread pattern of violence by deputies against inmates in the county jails" but allowed the abuse to continue. The 77-page complaint details many alleged incidents of inmates being slugged, tased, kicked, head-bashed, slammed, and in one case scalp-carved by deputies, with several incidents occurring in front of witnesses, while the inmate was handcuffed, or both. Many of the beatings reportedly resulted in multi-day hospital stays and permanent injuries. The ACLU's Peter Eliasberg and Margaret Winter of the ACLU National Prison Project expect the lawsuit to result in a federal injunction that will force the sheriff's department into "real accountability." Witness LA