Category: Courts

Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Free Speech, International, Justice, Media, Military, Politics, Society, Supreme Court

What Happened to Michael Hastings?

Submitted By: Mike Spindell, Guest Blogger

Michael_Hastings_election_night_2012As erudite and informed as I pretend to be, the fact is that there is much that is important that I either miss, or fail to see any significance in. The death of investigative reporter Michael Hastings showed me that because my first reaction to the news flash was “who is Michael Hastings?” Reading further into the story I discovered that he was the reporter who brought down General William McChrystal and that he was considered to be one of America’s premier investigative journalists. As I read that original story, the thought occurred to me that possibly Hastings’s death in an auto “accident” was not simply a case of reckless driving, but I initially dismissed that as merely the operation of my cynical mindset.  Nevertheless, the thought nagged at the back of my consciousness and then I saw a story on http://whowhatwhy.com/ , my favorite investigative website, run by the renowned Russ Baker. The stories title: “The Michael Hastings Wreck-Video Evidence Offers a few Clues”     http://whowhatwhy.com/2013/07/14/the-michael-hastings-wreck-video-evidence-offers-a-few-clues/

For my own benefit and perhaps yours, I’ve done a little research into who Michael Hastings was and what he did that deserves attention. I explore the possibility that his death was no accident. I admit that I have no proof beyond speculation. Hopefully I can give you enough information to make your own judgments. In a world where American Presidents openly arrogate to themselves the right to kill people deemed enemies of the United States, all things suddenly become possible. When the basic right of habeas corpus can be denied to American citizens, based upon unproven allegations of their being threats to this country, isn’t it possible for those with the power to detain and to eliminate individuals, to make decisions as to someone’s existence doing harm to this country? Finally, doesn’t this unconstitutional expansion of powers give individuals with government connections the leeway to take revenge on those who expose them? While I’m not privy to knowledge of the actions of those in power and can claim no inside information, I certainly can speculate based on the experience of my lifetime. This then is my speculation about the death and life of Michael Hastings in the context of current life in these United States. Continue reading “What Happened to Michael Hastings?” →

Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Justice, Lawyering, Science, Society

American Juries: Seekers of Truth or Mere Consensus? Part I

By Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger

rodney_matthews_alice in wonderland_the knave on trial

”Write that down,” the King said to the jury, and the jury eagerly wrote down all three dates on their slates, and then added them up, and reduced the answer to shillings and pence.”

~Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

Few institutions of the English speaking peoples are held in the same esteem as juries in criminal cases. A full three quarters of those polled in the U.S. would want their case decided by a jury rather than a judge. Three in five Australians believe their jury system is working well. In the UK, juries enjoy support from 72% of the population and the same percentage rate the right to trial by jury as one of the most important in society. Compare that to the U.S. Congress’ approval rating of 15% or the President’s rating of 43% and you can see that in America we love juries.

And why shouldn’t we? After all, it was Jefferson who reminded none other than that firebrand of the Revolution, Thomas Payne, in 1789, that “trial by jury [is] the only anchor ever yet imagined by man, by which a government can be held to the principles of its constitution.” Jefferson words surely were on the mind of Justice Byron “Whizzer” White when he wrote, “The purpose of a jury is to guard against the exercise of arbitrary power — to make available the commonsense judgment of the community as a hedge against the overzealous or mistaken prosecutor and in preference to the professional or perhaps overconditioned or biased response of a judge.”

But do modern juries live up to the billing? Are they the bulwarks of democracy seeking only truth or sad victims of a process designed to produce groupthink results due to systemic flaws? Are they staunch individuals committed to their position and determined to fight to the last man to prove it, or are they susceptible to influences both in and out of the deliberation room which have little or nothing to do with evidence and logic. In essence, are they seekers of truth or merely consensus?

Continue reading “American Juries: Seekers of Truth or Mere Consensus? Part I” →

Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Free Speech, International, Media, Politics, Uncategorized

Carter: The United States Has No Functioning Democracy

carterWe have been discussing the collapse of the American civil liberties movement and the attacks on the free press and privacy under the Obama Administration. As discussed in prior columns, we continue to refer to the United States as the “land of the free” despite a comprehensive reduction of civil liberties and due process in this country. The Snowden affair has put that record in sharp relief as the White House and Congress has joined together in barring the prosecution of perjury by high ranking officials and pursuing Snowden with close to unhinged rage. As previously discussed, our governing class has created a new American Animal farm. Long ago, American politicians adopted a type of dismissive paternalism toward the public as shepherds to so many sheep. Then one sheep goes and spooks the flock. The response has been bipartisan rage that has included demands to cut off aid to entire nations if they grant sanctuary to this whistleblower and even boycott the Olympics. The shepherds want Snowden made into mutton for stampeding the flock and no measure appears too extreme. Now Jimmy Carter has entered the fray and said what many citizens are saying in denouncing our duopoly. Carter told Spiegel “America has no functioning democracy.” Of course, you have to live in Germany to read such views.

Continue reading “Carter: The United States Has No Functioning Democracy” →

Bizarre, Courts, Criminal law, Lawyering, Politics, Society

Angela Corey Fires Whistleblower Who Revealed The Withholding Of Evidence From Zimmerman Defense

AngelaCorey12425930As I mentioned in today’s column, the prosecution team of Angela Corey in the Zimmerman case have been accused of repeated prosecutorial abuse in the withholding of evidence from the defense. Circuit Judge Debra Nelson seemed intent on the most recent charge of withholding text messages to want to avoid the issue, but she earlier held a sanctions hearing with the testimony of the man who brought the violation to the attention of the defense: IT director Ben Kruidbos. Corey has been widely criticized for over-charging the case by experts, including an article out today, and her team was widely criticized for putting on a weak case for prosecution. Now, before Nelson has ruled on her office’s withholding of evidence, Corey has fired Kruidbos. His termination before a ruling on the alleged prosecutorial abuse only strengthens his claims as a whistleblower and throws the ethics of Corey and her office in great question.

Continue reading “Angela Corey Fires Whistleblower Who Revealed The Withholding Of Evidence From Zimmerman Defense” →

Constitutional Law, Courts, Lawyering, Politics, Society

Texas Judge Under Fire After Disclosure That She Texted Prosecutor During Trial With Suggested Examination Questions

rawImageElizabeth Coker, 258th Judicial District Judge in Texas, appears to want to be both judge and prosecutor at trial, but clearly not the defendant. Coker has admitted to sending text messages to a prosecutor to suggest examination questions during a trial. What is astonishing is that the prosecutor Kaycee L. Jones, was later made herself a judge despite the misconduct. The case reflects what defense attorneys have often complained is the close relationship of judges and prosecutors as well as the overwhelming preference for making prosecutors judges across the country.

Continue reading “Texas Judge Under Fire After Disclosure That She Texted Prosecutor During Trial With Suggested Examination Questions” →

Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Courts, Society, Torts

The Irresistible Woman Meets The Incorrigible Court: Iowa Supreme Court Issues New Opinion Upholding Firing In “Irresistible Attraction” Case

121223010629-nr-lemon-dental-assistant-fired-00001202-story-topRemember the case of the Iowa Supreme Court upholding the firing of a dental assistant because she was too attractive for her boss to resist? The Iowa Supreme Court ruled in December that a dentist did not commit gender discrimination in firing an attractive female employee, Melissa Nelson, at the request of a jealous wife. After a national outcry, the Court surprised many by suddenly vacating its earlier decision and taking back the case. Many hoped the court would discard its prior opinion. Think again. The Court has issued a new opinion with the same conclusion and ramping up its prior holding.

Continue reading “The Irresistible Woman Meets The Incorrigible Court: Iowa Supreme Court Issues New Opinion Upholding Firing In “Irresistible Attraction” Case” →

Courts, Criminal law, Politics, Society

Law and Legend: How The Zimmerman Case Was Lost By The Prosecution

zimmermantrayon-martin-picture1Below is today’s column on the Zimmerman trial, which is a close follow-up to the web column from the night of the acquittal.  As expected, it appears that we have lost a few regulars upset with my opinion of the case.  I am always sorry to lose people on our blog.  However, this has never been an echo-chamber blog that maintains a party line or ideological view.  While we remain fervently pro-free speech and civil liberties at this blog, we often disagree about the outcome of trials or the merits of cases or policies.  We try to maintain a site where civil but passionate disagreements and debate can occur.  As an academic and a legal commentator and columnist, I have always tried to be fair and call these cases as I see them regardless of how unpopular those views may be.  At the same time, I have enjoyed reading the opposing views of others on this blog who often make fast and lethal work of my opinions.  I realize that the killing of Trayvon Martin is loaded with social and racial meaning.  Yet, this site is dedicated to tolerance and diversity of views in discussing the legal and policy issues of our times.  I hope that those who stated that they would leave the site will return and rejoin our discussion. This is  a blog that values differing opinions and free thought. This is a chorus not a solo performance and it is the variety of voices and views that makes this blog so unique.

Here is today’s print column:

Continue reading “Law and Legend: How The Zimmerman Case Was Lost By The Prosecution” →

Constitutional Law, Courts, Religion, Supreme Court

Same-sex Marriage and the New Dominionist Manifesto

By Mike Appleton, Guest Blogger

“So let us be blunt about it: we must use the doctrine of religious liberty to gain independence for Christian schools until we train up a generation of people who know that there is no religious neutrality, no neutral law, no neutral education, and no neutral civil government.  Then they will get busy in constructing a Bible-based social, political and religious order which finally denies the religious liberty of the enemies of God.”

-Gary North, “The Intellectual Schizophrenia of the New Christian Right,” (Christianity and Civilization: The Failure of the American Baptist Culture, Number 1, Spring, 1982)

In Loving v. Virginia, 388 U.S 1 (1967), the Supreme Court held that Virginia’s prohibition of interracial marriage violated the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. “The freedom to marry,” wrote Chief Justice Warren, “has long been recognized as one of the vital personal rights essential to the orderly pursuit of happiness by free men.” 366 U.S. at 12.  Many people were hoping that the Court would formally accord that status to same-sex marriage last month.  But it did not happen.  Edith Windsor will receive hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax refunds from the federal government, but the Court did not find it necessary to address the issue of same-sex marriage as a constitutional right, and elected not to do so. United States v. Windsor, No. 12-307 (June 26, 2013).

While that central constitutional issue remains unresolved, opponents of same-sex marriage are on the move.  The Freedom Federation, a coalition of civil and religious right-wing organizations ranging from Americans for Prosperity to Wallbuilders, has issued a pre-emptive strike in the form of a signed letter declaring that “the Supreme Court has no authority to redefine marriage… .”  The letter, which can be found on the Freedom Federation website, asserts that should the Court grant legal recognition to same-sex marriage, it “will be acting beyond its proper constitutional role,” and concludes with the vaguely ominous warning that “this is the line we must draw and one we cannot and will not cross.” Continue reading “Same-sex Marriage and the New Dominionist Manifesto” →

Columns, Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Justice, Lawyering, Media, Politics, Society

SEPARATING LAW AND LEGEND IN THE ZIMMERMAN VERDICT

zimmermantrayon-martin-picture1Below is a slightly expanded version of today’s column in USA Today on the Zimmerman verdict. As I wrote before the case was sent to the jury, I saw no alternative to acquittal even on manslaughter and expected the jury to render a full acquittal. I respect the conflicting views of many on this blog on the case and how it was charged and handled. We will now have to wait to see if the Justice Department will re-try Zimmerman as a civil rights matter. I have serious reservations about such an effort, but that can be for a later discussion. For now, a few observations on the verdict can serve to as a foundation for our own discussion.

Continue reading “SEPARATING LAW AND LEGEND IN THE ZIMMERMAN VERDICT” →

Constitutional Law, Courts, Supreme Court

What Aren’t They Collecting?

-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger

HooverOur thoughts, but they’re working on that. The right to privacy, or from Justice Brandeis’s overly broad understanding: “the right to be left alone,” is fundamental to a civilized society. We each choose the amount of information about ourselves we want to disseminate to other members of our society. Each of us has different levels of comfort about when and which information is disseminated and to whom. Some information that we would share with our best friends, we would not want divulged to a complete stranger.  In most situations, the information most of us would share with a complete stranger would max out with our first name. Yet, without our knowledge or consent, because we live in a technological society, our personal information is being vacuumed up by  strangers who exercise the power of the state.

Continue reading “What Aren’t They Collecting?” →

Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Free Speech, International, Justice, Lawyering, Media, Military, Politics, Society, Supreme Court

Who Do You Trust, US or Your Lying Eyes?

Submitted By: Mike Spindell, Guest Blogger

OSSInsigniaAs I write this I’ve just read a story in the New York Times about the U.S. threatening countries in South America to not grant asylum to Edward Snowden. In typical “Times” fashion these countries are characterized as “leftist” mavericks against the assumed U.S. hegemony in that vast continent. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/12/world/americas/us-is-pressing-latin-americans-to-reject-snowden.html?pagewanted=2&_r=0&hp . The attitude of the story is that these countries by resisting our government’s pressure are acting in a petulant manner. This is typical of the mindset of many supposed journalists today who are unable to put in context the history behind the actions of certain players on the world stage. What it highlights for me is that there seems to be unprecedented pressure by our government to capture and punish Mr. Snowden for his “crimes”. With my admittedly jaundiced view of much of the history of my country in my lifetime, the attempt to take Snowden down for his “crimes” makes sense if you put into the context of American history with respect to foreign relations and how foreign relations has impacted the growing unconstitutional treatment of United States citizens at home and abroad. Since this is a huge topic deserving of many tomes and therefore doesn’t lend itself to the guest blog format, my piece will present my own impressionistic view of the interaction between foreign policy and the growth of the American Police State since World War II, which can be expanded, abetted or contradicted by you the reader.

For all practical purposes the Second World War began with the almost total loss of the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor. While it was known that President Franklin Delano Roosevelt had actively been trying to aid Great Britain in its struggle against the Axis Powers in Europe, the American Congress was skeptical of foreign involvement and there was a large “isolationist” strain in the American people. The devastation of Pearl Harbor shocked the nation into realizing that it had to focus upon the rest of the world and awakened within the country a strong thirst for revenge. I say this not disparagingly since were I alive at the time, I would have been one with this national outrage and blood-lust.  The problem with arousing such a strong emotional call for action in any society is that in the frenzy to act, societal norms are often breached in the name of expediency. In the case of our country World War II planted the seeds of the Corporate/Military/Intelligence Complex (CMIC) that is reaching full flower today. What follows is my personal overview of this development since that embattled time and why this government has such a great need to crush Edward Snowden for his deeds. Continue reading “Who Do You Trust, US or Your Lying Eyes?” →

Bizarre, Courts, Criminal law, Politics, Society

Ladies Don’t Wear Jumpsuits: North Carolina Judge Sentences Woman To Essay On “How A Lady Should Behave”

220px-High-Change-in-Bond-Street-GillrayJudge Brenda Branch in Halifax County, N.C., was not satisfied with simply sentencing Tonie Marie King, 21, for drunk and disorderly. So Branch sentenced her to write an essay entitled “How a Lady Should Behave in Public.” As with most shaming or novel sentences, Branch was instantly a national celebrity receiving praise from people for caring enough to fashion her own brand of justice. I am not one of them. As many of you know, I have long been a critic of such sentencing where judges seem to merge law and entertainment to the thrill of citizens. Judges are not appointed or elected to instruct women on being ladies like some Miss Manners issuing advice from a criminal docket.

Continue reading “Ladies Don’t Wear Jumpsuits: North Carolina Judge Sentences Woman To Essay On “How A Lady Should Behave”” →

Bizarre, Courts, Criminal law, Lawyering, Society

St. Louis Judge Refuses To Watch Video Showing Officer Sucker Punching Teenager and Then Clears Him . . . Police Union Calls For His Rehiring

burkeIt is often difficult to get actual charges against a police officer, but former St. Louis Officer Rory Bruce, 35, was an exception. After all, it was a police video that clearly showed him verbally abusing a teenager and then sucker punching him while handcuffed. One would think it would be an easy conviction, even without the testimony of the 16-year-old boy. That is if the judge watched the video. She did not. Judge Teresa Counts Burke showed no reason to actually watch the video before ruling and now the police union is demanding that the department rehire Bruce.

Continue reading “St. Louis Judge Refuses To Watch Video Showing Officer Sucker Punching Teenager and Then Clears Him . . . Police Union Calls For His Rehiring” →

Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Justice, Politics

Fast Tracking the Death Penalty

Submitted by Mike Appleton, Guest Blogger

“What did you learn in school today, dear little boy of mine?

I learned that policemen are my friends

I learned that justice never ends

I learned that murderers die for their crimes 

Even if we make a mistake sometimes

And that’s what I learned in school today

That’s what I learned in school.”

–Tom Paxton, “What Did You Learn in School Today?”

When Rick Scott was in the hospital business, his company specialized in billing Medicare for services that were not performed.  Now he is governor of a state that specializes in sending people to death row for crimes they did not commit.

Florida conservatives love the death penalty.  Since it was reactivated in 1979, 75 people have been executed.  In the past two years, Florida has sentenced more persons to death than any other state.  And Gov. Scott is setting records of his own, executing eight prisoners to date, the highest rate of any Florida governor in the past thirty years. But despite this carnage, the current death row population still exceeds 400 people, larger than the entire population of many small towns. This is at least partially due to the fact that Florida is one of only two death penalty states that do not require a unanimous jury recommendation of death.  Alabama requires a 10-2 vote. Florida is decidedly more majoritarian; a 7-5 favorable vote is sufficient.

Florida also leads the nation in another grim statistic. Since executions have resumed, 24 death row inmates have been exonerated, far more than in any other state.  This means that for every three persons executed over the past thirty years, one additional death row inmate has been found innocent and released.  One would think that given this statistic, combined with Florida’s history of botched executions and chronic underfunding of agencies charged with defending those on death row, the legislature would be looking at ways to improve the system.  And one would be wrong.  On June 14, 2013, Gov. Scott signed the Timely Justice Act, a bill that is intended to hasten executions. Continue reading “Fast Tracking the Death Penalty” →

Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Justice, Lawyering, Politics, Society, Supreme Court, Uncategorized

The Supreme Court Versus the Common Man

220px-Antonin_Scalia,_SCOTUS_photo_portrait

Respectfully submitted by Lawrence E. Rafferty (rafflaw)-Guest Blogger

A recent United State Supreme Court decision has made it almost impossible for small businesses and individuals to bring class action lawsuits against large corporations who may be in violation of antitrust laws. Not only did the case fly under the mass media radar, it also may allow corporations to use contractual language to insulate them from many other federal laws.  I am talking about the American Express v. Italian Colors case that was decided by a 5-3 margin.  What the Supreme Court majority did here was to allow American Express to force its small business customers to sign a contract that included language that precluded those same customers from having any viable access to judicial review of American Express’ business practices. Continue reading “The Supreme Court Versus the Common Man” →