Johnny Ray Conner became the 400th person executed since the death penalty was reinstated in 1982. Conner was convicted of shooting a convenience store owner in 1998.
For the story, click here
Associated Press is reporting that the House is refusing access to Mark Foley computer as congressional work product. This is part of the debate over the Jefferson raid that I testified on in the House Judiciary Committee. For the testimony, click here. The House is saying that it is up to Foley to release the papers, which I think is only partially true. There are other options and the House could release the computer records under some circumstances. It is a crime in Florida to engage in sexually explicit communications or solicit sex with a minor. One possibility is for the House to use a congressionally approved filter team — something Foley could agree to.
For the story, click here
Today, the Daily Mail revealed images of Iran’s continued corporal punishment laws for consensual sex. The pictures are a stark reminder of the cruelty and sadism of these religious based laws. It is a useful and cautionary story to read for those who support the use of the law to enforce morality tenets of a religion. What is most disturbing is the hundreds of people vying to watch the disgusting display of primitivism.
For the story, click here
New York is now considering the latest expansion of criminal law with vaguely worded laws. Council member Vallone wants to arrest people who are “observed repeatedly positioning himself to view another person’s “intimate parts” that otherwise would not be visible to the public.” This was triggered by a man who was viewed at one of Vallone’s stops as looking up the dresses of women by standing beneath stairs. Of course, rather than write a law that seems on its face void for vagueness, New York could cover such stairs from below to avoid both intentional and inadvertent viewings.
For the story, click here
A recluse has been charged with shooting two girls who came on his property on a dare. His house is viewed by the community as something of a haunted house, leading the girls to dare each other to go close to the dwelling. They did not get far before running away. However, one of the occupants fired a rifle at them. Thinking that the shots were fire crackers, the girls circled and were shot from the house.
Many states have “Make My Day” laws that had led to such shootings, including a terrible case in Baton Rouge where a Japanese student was shot and killed through a front door when he became confused about the address. The common law did not allow the use of lethal force to protect property. It could only be used to defend oneself and had to be a level of force that was roughly equivalent with the threat.
In this case, the man insists that he was just trying to scare the girls. For the story, click here
My Way ran a story on a pit bull attack of a woman in her own home. The animals came in through a pet door and also killed another neighborhood dog. Under the common law, there is no strict liability for domestic animals unless they have a known dangerous or violent nature. This has sometimes been referred to as the “one-free-bite rule.” Sometimes pit bulls have been classified as such, particularly in states with cities banning the animals
One of the oldest torts is the mishandling of corpse. FOX reported the judgment against a photographer accused of posing corpses with fruit and other objects. It is a classic tort in a modern setting.
CNN is reporting that American officials are rethinking whether democracy can work in Iraq. What is more interesting if the failure to try a true Madisonian approach in that country. As in Afghanistan, officials yielded to traditional notions of government rather than advocate the system that has lead to the most successful and stable democracy in history. The problem in Iraq is that we attempted to create the appearance of a democratic system without the necessary static elements.
<a href=”“>For the CNN story, see this link.
Prosecutors are considering charging a man 40 years after he shoot an officer who died at 64. Continue reading “Criminal charge 40 years delayed for cop shooting”
Published May 2002
This month, U.S. officials are still at wit’s end trying to figure out what to do with Citizen Hamdi. Yasser Esam Hamdi is the twenty-two-year-old who arrived at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba with the one item that no “battlefield detainee” should leave home without: a U.S. birth certificate. This has led to Hamdi’s transfer to Norfolk, Virginia, and what seems chronic indecision within the Bush Administration in how to handle his case. Despite the fact that Hamdi was only in Baton Rouge, Louisiana for a brief time, it was long enough to be born and to claim to be a “dual citizen.” Continue reading “Yasser Hamdi, Dual Citizenship, and the Future of National Identity”
Published May 2002
Constitutional scholars and weatherman share an unstated fascination with the worst conditions; the freak storms that join together to release fantastic energy and fireworks. A fight is brewing in Washington this week that may produce such a perfect constitutional storm. All three branches of government are now colliding over the question of who controls access to presidential papers. The outcome of this fight, however, may also redefine aspects of executive privilege as well as core principles of open government.
Continue reading “Bush, Presidential Records Act, and History”
Published pril 26, 2002 /
In a hearing this week, the public heard for the first time from Zacarias Moussaoui, the so-called “20th hijacker” on trial in Virginia. If Moussaoui was indeed trained to seek suicidal expression, he was in rare form in Virginia where he is attempting the closest legal equivalent. Continue reading “Zacarias Moussaoui and the 20th Hyjacker”
Yesterday, the CIA released part of its own internal review of the performance of the CIA leading up to the 9-11 attacks. The report concluded with an impressive degree of understatement that “the agency and its officers did not discharge their responsibilities in a satisfactory manner … and did not always work effectively and cooperatively.”
What is most maddening about this report is not only the failure to release it earlier (despite the obvious lack of national security dangers in release of a redacted report) but the fact that Tenet has yet to return the obscene Medal of Freedom given to him by President Bush. Congress should pass a resolution demanding that the medal be returned or stating the view of the house that Tenet’s performance did not warrant such an honor. More importantly, it is incumbent upon Republicans and conservatives to take the lead in such an effort. Tenet did not cause 9-11 but he failed in taking necessary steps to try to avoid it. When combined with this dismal performance leading to the Iraq war, the medal remains a shining example of America’s continued celebration of failure over the war on terror.
USA TODAY
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has continued his campaign to survive at any cost in the face of allegations ranging from false statement to violations of federal surveillance law. Despite persistent calls for Gonzales’ removal or impeachment, his allies dismiss the possibility he committed crimes while emphasizing that he is tough on crime. It is a defense that leaves many lawyers chuckling. The fact is that Gonzales is the best thing to come along for criminal defendants since Ernesto Miranda. Continue reading “Alberto Gonzales: Tough on Crime? Hardly.”
Published April 12, 2002
One of the most interesting facts about George Orwell, author of 1984 and Animal Farm, is that he was not George Orwell. The man who created a society of total transparency and observation chose to conceal his own name, Eric Blair. Authors like Blair, Mary Ann Evans (George Eliot) and Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) adopted nom-de-plums for a variety of reasons ranging from persecution to prejudice to privacy. Continue reading “Anonymity and the Constitutional Right to be Nameless”