25 Jan 2012

Jan. 25, 2012 Today's Stories

Four CT 'Bullies With Badges' Charged for Treatment of Latinos ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A small group of East Haven, Conn., police officers who worked together on the evening shift were arrested Tuesday following a long federal investigation and charged with terrorizing Latinos in their town. Federal authorities called them "bullies with badges," and the indictment against them alleges a long list of crimes ranging from excessive force to obstructing justice, reports the Hartford Courant. The four were "allegedly formed a cancerous cadre that routinely deprived East Haven residents of their civil rights," said Janice K. Fedarcyk, assistant director-in-charge of the New York office of the FBI. The investigation was prompted by a video recording of an encounter between some of the officers arrested Tuesday and the Rev. James Manship, pastor of St. Rose of Lima Church in New Haven. The federal probe found a pattern of discrimination by police, particularly against Latino residents. Connecticut's U.S. Attorney, David B. Fein, said more arrests and additional charges could be forthcoming. Hartford Courant

New Firearms Law Prompts Some OH Businesses to Turn Away Gun-Toters ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A no-guns movement by some Ohio businesses has prompted conflict over a new state law that allows customers to carry firearms into restaurants and bars, as long as they don't consume alcohol. The Columbus Dispatch says some business owners feel that they're losing their right to a weapon-free zone. Some are posting signs to turn away gun-toters with messages such as, "Do Not Patronize if Armed." Columbus alone has 300 establishments with the signs, according to the Ohioans for Concealed Carry data. In the suburbs, 29 businesses in Dublin, 20 in Westerville, 17 in Hilliard and 11 in Worthington ban firearms. Jake's Restaurant in Mount Vernon put up its sign in the fall, a few weeks after the law took effect in August. It reads: "All weapons including concealed firearms are prohibited on these premises." "We felt the need to say, 'Hey, we still don't see the need to bring weapons in,' " said Amy Baldner, general manager. Some gun owners are offended by the signs, and they are letting owners know. "We've had some very angry people, and they actually leave," said Baldner. Columbus Dispatch

Judicial Civil War Displays Unseemly Side of California Courts ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As the legislature reconvened this month, California's judges resumed their civil war over money and power, reports the Sacramento Bee. It pits Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye and the State Judicial Council, along with one faction of trial and appellate judges, against a rebellious faction, organized as the Alliance of California Judges, over how to allocate pain as the courts adjust to reduced financing. An early political test for the combatants is Assembly Bill 1208, a rebel-sponsored bill that faces a deadline this week for approval. The measure, which would strengthen the authority of local judges, has been stalled for months as both sides ramped up their lobbying. For a profession that places high value on decorum and what's called "judicial demeanor," the public and private politicking has gotten downright nasty at times, with the contending factions exchanging accusations of bad conduct. The rebel alliance has produced a 20-page white paper that lays out in detail what it regards as misappropriation of operational funds for the courts that leaves them unable to cope with criminal and civil business. Sacramento Bee

CA Counties Amend Bail Policies to Key on Risk, Not Finances ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Some California counties are changing long-held policies about who must remain in jail while awaiting trial, allowing judges to free criminal defendants based not on whether they can afford bail but whether they're a risk to public safety, reports the San Francisco Chronicle. Public policy experts say the shift is overdue, given the crowded conditions at many county jails and a new law that is filling them with convicts who in the past would have served time in state prisons. Most prisoners in California county jails are pretrial detainees being held because they can't meet the financial conditions set by the court, said Tim Murray of the nonprofit Pretrial Justice Institute. So instead of basing a person's release solely on their ability to pay a bail amount, some counties are allowing law enforcement authorities - often probation officers - to conduct pretrial risk assessments. The tests gauge a person's likelihood of committing another crime if they are released and are increasingly being used as a tool to help judges decide whether a person should stay in jail while awaiting trial. Some counties use the assessments as an alternative to bail, while others use the tests to help decide the bail amount. San Francisco Chronicle

In Reversal, NYPD's Kelly Admits Role in Anti-Muslim Documentary ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In a reversal of earlier comments, New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly acknowledged that he cooperated with the makers of "The Third Jihad," a controversial film that was shown to more than 1,400 NYPD officers in 2010. A spokesman had said Kelly's appearance in the film was from recycled interviews, but he said Tuesday the commissioner had sat for an interview-a decision he now describes as a mistake. The film says the goal of "much of Muslim leadership here in America" is to "infiltrate and dominate" the United States. Kelly amended his earlier comments when the film's producer, Raphael Shore, provided details about a 90-minute interview with the commissioner at Police Headquarters on March 19, 2007. Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Tuesday that whoever showed the film to city police officers during training "exercised some terrible judgment." New York Times

Stats Reveal High Rate of Homicide Among DC's Juvenile Wards ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ More than 50 youths in the custody of Washington, D.C.'s juvenile justice agency either have been killed or found guilty of killing someone else over the past five years, and most of them had been categorized in advance as posing a substantial risk of reoffending, reports the Washington Times. Hundreds of other youths with similar risk factors remain on city streets, according to figures from the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services, because the agency says it lacks secure facilities to hold them and because officials think confining them jeopardizes their chances for rehabilitation. Statistics provided by the agency in response to a Freedom of Information Act request show that 19 "wards" - juveniles who commit crimes and are placed in the agency's custody - have been convicted in homicide cases since 2007. An additional 34 wards were victims of homicides over the same period. City officials said separate statistics show that 39 youths have faced homicide charges with dispositions that are pending or include convictions, acquittals, dismissals or guilty pleas since 2009. Washington Times

AZ Lawmakers' Agenda Includes Many Bills Aimed to Protect Children ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Arizona lawmakers get their first look today at a raft of bills aimed at improving the state's Child Protective Services after a gubernatorial task force was formed in the wake of several high-profile child deaths last summer, reports the Arizona Republic. Two committees will hear the bills, which include proposals to develop a special committee to oversee CPS reforms and look into privatizing the agency, provide grandparents a stipend for raising their grandchildren, and require group homes to provide teens with life-skills training. The bills are among dozens of reforms to Arizona's child-welfare system planned in the coming months. But it remains to be seen whether the efforts -- which focus on what happens after CPS receives a report -- will reduce CPS caseloads, slow the steady rise in the number of foster children or improve the safety of children. Rep. Terri Proud, R-Tucson, said the Department of Economic Security, which oversees CPS, is the only state agency without an oversight committee. Under House Bill 2249, a 13-member committee would look for ways to improve CPS and investigate privatization efforts in other states. Arizona Republic

Legislative Proposals in NH, TN Set Sights on 'Activist Judges' ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Frustrated by "activist judges," lawmakers in New Hampshire and Tennessee have proposed bills that would end the judicial branch's ability to rule on the constitutionality of legislation, reports Stateline. Mae Beavers, a Republican state senator in Tennessee, was the lead sponsored of a proposal to limit the judiciary, saying it had "overstepped their bounds." But she withdrew the bill this week under criticism from members of both parties, including the Republican Senate speaker Ron Ramsey, according to the Tennessean. Meanwhile in New Hampshire, a feud between the state judiciary and House Republicans reached a peak last October. The state Supreme Court had issued an advisory opinion that the legislature did not have the power to force the attorney general to join a multi-state lawsuit against the federal health care overhaul. The House then overwhelmingly passed a resolution repudiating the court's opinion. A new bill would amend the state Constitution so that "the supreme court shall determine the constitutionality of judicial acts and the legislature shall determine the constitutionality of legislative acts." Stateline

Battle Over Judgeships Brings Virginia Senate to a Standstill ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A partisan battle over judicial appointments left the Virginia Senate at a standstill Tuesday, with members prevented by procedural rules from voting on any legislation or even conducting committee meetings until the matter was resolved, reports the Washington Post. The House of Delegates and Senate eventually found a way out of the impasse, at least for the next few days, by postponing the matter until Thursday. But Senate Minority Leader Richard L. Saslaw (D-Fairfax) indicated that Democrats would continue to flex whatever muscle they had left after this month's GOP takeover by opposing all new judicial nominations. The heated showdown - coming just weeks into the session and over two judicial nominees not considered the least bit controversial - raised concerns that it will be a rocky session for Richmond's evenly split upper chamber. "This is a residual consequence of bruised political egos," said Senate Majority Leader Thomas K. Norment (R-James City), suggesting that Democrats were using "political extortion" to get back at Republicans after they declined to share power in the 20-20 chamber. Washington Post

Civil Liberties Group Urges Caution in Call to Expand DNA Testing in NY ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A number of sheriffs and district attorneys have joined New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in supporting a legislative proposal to expand the state's DNA databank, reports the Albany Times Union. ing the state DNA databank. If the Legislature passes the measure, New York would be the first state to take DNA samples from everyone convicted of a misdemeanor or felony. But Robert Perry of the New York Civil Liberties Union said the potential for error and fraud is great, given the problems that already exist with the databank. "There have been a number of developments that should give policy makers pause, including familial searching based on a partial matches; unauthorized use of DNA by local labs and rogue databanks that maintain samples from people who have not been charged with a crime," Perry said. Albany Times Union

Blogger Says Syracuse Newspaper Dropped Ball in Probe of Coach ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The sexual abuse allegations against former Syracuse University basketball coach Bernie Fine raise the question of when--if ever-it is appropriate for the media to share evidence with prosecutors, legal journalist and former prosecutor Robin L. Barton writes in a blog for The Crime Report. The Syracuse Post-Standard had detailed information about the allegations dating to nearly a decade ago. But in the spring of 2003 after a six-month investigation, the paper declined to publish a story on the accusations. It also didn't bring any of the evidence it had gathered to the attention of the authorities. Barton writes, "As a journalist, I agree that the media isn't and can't be seen as an investigative arm of the police. But as a former prosecutor, I find it troubling that a media outlet would sit on evidence of possible sexual abuse of a young boy by a man in a position that gives him access to other young boys. And personally, if I'd had the information the Post-Standard had and didn't bring it to either Syracuse or the police and another child was sexually abused, I wouldn't have been able to live with myself." The Crime Report

Police Say Illinois Experienced Surge in Gun Ownership in 2011 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The number of people licensed to own guns in Illinois jumped by more than 78,500 last year, possibly fueled by a belief the state was poised to legalize the concealed carry of weapons, reports the Northwest Indiana Times. The Illinois State Police says nearly 1.4 million people had Firearm Owner Identification Cards as of Jan. 1, compared with just over 1.3 million the year before. Police got 321,437 applications in 2011, up from 287,552 in 2010. The 6.1 percent increase in FOID cards comes as Illinois continues to be a focal point among gun rights advocates as the lone state in the nation that does not allow people to carry concealed weapons in public. The FOID card does not allow people to carry guns in public. Rather, in order to possess or purchase firearms or ammunition, residents of the state of Illinois are required to have the card. Northwest Indiana Times