by TChris

Animal cruelty is repellent, but it doesn't excuse human cruelty -- particularly when it's inflicted in the name of the law.

A Texas woman convicted of neglecting her two horses will get only bread and water for the first three days of a 30-day jail sentence, a judge said on Tuesday.

Apparently a fan of westerns, County Court at Law Judge Mike Peters of Houston thought an Old West-style punishment was fitting for a crime against horses. Why not just let the defendant and the horse shoot it out at the corral?

by TChris

Fawaz Mohammed Damra is scheduled to go to trial in Akron next week on charges of obtaining U.S. citizenship by providing false information. Federal authorities claim that Damra failed to reveal his connections with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad when he applied for citizenship. But thanks to the wrongdoing of federal agents who searched his house, the government won't be able to use all of the evidence that it intended to introduce against Damra.

FBI agents searched the home after the Palestinian-born imam was arrested there. Agents seized a computer, copies of sermons and political speeches, the manifesto of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and stacks of financial records.

Damra's wife, Nasreen, was instructed to go to the basement during the arrest, apparently because she was upset, and the "uninvited lingering on the premises" by the agents after the arrest meant the search was unreasonable and therefore illegal, [U.S. District Court Judge James] Gwin ruled. "The agents' plan all along was apparently to prevent Nasreen Damra from knowing whether she had the right to ask them to leave," the judge said in a 16-page ruling.

The prosecution had intended to use the illegally obtained manifesto as evidence at Damra's trial, no doubt hoping to inflame jury prejudice by associating Damra with those views.

Why is the Department of Homeland Security resisting asylum for mentally challenged teenager Malik Jarno of Guinea, West Africa? Jarno has been in custody in the U.S. for three years. Jarno's lawyer, Chris Nugent of Holland and Knight (a huge law firm that does a large amount of pro bono work) recently went to Guinea and obtained several affidavits.

Four people remembered Jarno's father as the imam and also an opposition leader who had been arrested, tortured and killed in 1998, Nugent said. Several witnesses wrote that, because of his family's political views and because the government would say he shamed the nation's image abroad, Jarno would be imprisoned if he returned to Guinea.

In addition, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees submitted a letter directly related to the Jarno case after meeting with the heads of UNICEF, the World Health Organization and other agencies. They concurred that no protection exists for mentally challenged children in Guinea, Rosaline Idowu, the deputy representative of operations, wrote May 27.

Jarno's hearing date is July 9. More background on Malik is available here.

by TChris

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority has adopted "a permanent policy of randomly inspecting passenger bags and packages on subway and commuter trains." The policy takes effect next month. The MBTA is the first transit agency to implement a policy of random searches of bags and briefcases.

The policy was made public only weeks after the MBTA announced a controversial decision to begin requesting identification from T passengers police perceive as acting "suspiciously."

The MBTA says it will have dogs sniff the packages when trained dogs are present (they only have four), but will require passengers to open their containers when a dog isn't available.

Civil libertarians are concerned that no procedures are in place to assure that the searches are truly random.

Pamela Pratt, 46, a hospital supervisor from Randolph, said , "We all know who will be stopped -- black people like me or my brothers."

The MBTA's chief is in the process of finalizing the policy. He says he doesn't want to abridge anyone's rights, "but in this era, we need the highest degree of security." As do our civil liberties.

Nat Hentoff's new column in the Village Voice is Hoaxing the Supreme Court --it's on the Government's attempt to sway the high court with information recently released about Jose Padilla, while Padilla and his lawyers remain gagged. Hentoff does not believe James Comey. He thinks Comey is trying to influence Justice O'Connor:

I do not believe Mr. Comey. I believe this last-minute Hail Mary plea was in fact aimed at the most powerful woman in the country. During Supreme Court oral arguments in the Padilla and Hamdi cases, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor seemed likely, as often happens, to be the fifth and deciding vote, and of all the justices, she was the most conflicted as to how to rule. Will the government strategy backfire because the sudden fusillade against Padilla was so transparently an attempt to manipulate the Supreme Court?

Tom Daschle is facing the fight of his career this November. Jerome at MyDD has all the details. We're proud to host an ad for him on TalkLeft, and hope you will go over to his website to learn about him and his campaign, and contribute. We need to take back Congress. We need Tom Daschle. If Daschle loses, we lose the Senate. It's that simple.

by TChris

Charges against Philadelphia rapper "Filthy Rich," a/k/a Richard Rayordo Harris, will be dropped after a judge suppressed key evidence that the prosecution neglected to provide to the defense. The judge also suppressed statements made by Harris and pre-trial witness identifications. The prosecutor blamed a heavy workload for his failure to turn over evidence that included transcripts of conversations that the police recorded using wiretaps in its investigation of an alleged cocaine distribution ring.

Harris was facing a drug kingpin count that carried a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years. Harris' lawyer, William Riddle, argued that the prosecutor wasn't playing around with the charges but seemed to be playing around with discovery.

It isn't the first time the state's attorney's office has failed to provide evidence to defendants on time. In April, [State's Attorney] Eastridge dropped a rape case after a clerical error caused his office to miss a 45-day deadline to turn over DNA evidence. Eastridge also blamed that mistake on his office's high caseload.

by TChris

Christopher Lame of Des Moines believed he didn't get one of the tacos he ordered at a Taco Bell drive-through. He entered the business to complain, but the woman working at the drive-through told him they were closing. Lame responded by pelting her in the face with a chalupa. He's now charged with assault, having avoided the greater charge of assault with a deadly chalupa.

A fascinating analysis by Manuel Garcia, a Cuban-Puerto Rican American who grew up on the Upper West side of New York, on who are really the true Americans. We recommend reading it in its entirety. Here's some quotes:

I pledge allegiance to the flag
Of the altered states in America
And to the republic-of-dreams for which it stands,
One nation under the gods, the goddesses,
The spirits of the ancestors,
And the great unknowable void,
With liberty to imagine justice
For all.

Are you an American?" I've been asked since I can remember and to this day. I'm never sure, let's just say I'm trying. Being born here is not enough. I know, I was, and still most Americans think I'm a foreigner. I was born in the upper West Side -- Spanish Harlem -- in the time of Machito. I have a black moustache (well, had) and a permanent tan "to die for" -- if your skin is plucked-chicken white and you can afford the "color." I've been taken for every kind of Latino (I'm Cuban-Puerto Rican), for Egyptian, Persian, Turkish, and even black.

When you understand what it means to be a real American, then you can see that most Cubans are real Americans, where most Floridians are not; that most Mexicans are real Americans while most Californians are not; and that many immigrants will never be real Americans, though probably most always were. If this essay makes no sense to you, then you are sober in your delusions, for I am drunk in my insights. Insight knows itself to be particular, whereas delusion imagines itself to be general. This separates Carlos Castañeda from John Ashcroft. If you don't like my icons, then pick your own, just make sure they are real, like Crazy Horse and Noam Chomsky, instead of fakes like George Armstrong Custer and Henry Kissinger. If this rant makes any sense to you, then you are capable of seeing that the America that will survive into the 22nd century, in peace and security, is as remote from the America of George W. Bush as that of Mark Twain was from J. P. Morgan's, or Kurt Vonnegut's is from Richard Nixon's.

Mr. Garcia is as much of an American as we are and you are. Don't you feel shame that he is treated differently? We do.

Markos at Daily Kos hits the nail on the head:

I am quite amused at Republican attempts to brand Bush the "new Reagan". It's clear Bush has been unable to stand on his own as a leader, hence the efforts to transfer some of that Reagan glow to the failed Bush presidency. But really, I'm not sure why they insist on making Bush/Reagan comparisons. However you look at it, Bush looks so much smaller in relation to Reagan. And it really helps drive home the growing concensus that Bush is, indeed, the worst president ever. In comparison, Bush makes Reagan look positively god-like.

Jury selection is beginning in the case of five Palestinean brothers accused of aiding Hamas by supplying keyboards and modems.

Defense attorneys have said the case, introduced with much fanfare by U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft in December 2002, was being pursued by overzealous Justice Department officials targeting Muslim men with ties to the Middle East. Prosecutors are preparing two trials. In the first, they will bring charges of conspiracy, export violations and money laundering for sending computer parts to Syria and Libya. In the second, they plan to allege that the brothers -- Bayan Elashi, Ghassan Elashi, Basman Elashi, Hazim Elashi and Ihsan Elashyi -- sent money to Hamas or to senior Hamas leader Musa Abu Marzook. Marzook is married to Nadia Marzook, who is a cousin of the brothers. No date has been set for the second trial.

....Defense lawyers have said that export violations are typically classified as regulatory crimes for which violators pay civil fines. They have said some large U.S. companies only paid fines -- and faced no criminal action -- for illegally shipping equipment to Libya and Syria. U.S. attorneys have also said the brothers are linked to a Muslim charity called the Holy Land Foundation, which had an office across the street from their computer company in suburban Dallas.

About three months after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, the U.S. government shut down the Holy Land Foundation, saying it was being used to send money to terrorists. President Bush said the charity sent money to Hamas which used it "to support schools and indoctrinate children to grow up into suicide bombers." No criminal charges have been filed against the Holy Land Foundation.

James Ujaama was charged and convicted for building websites and providing laptops. These five brothers sent money to charity. Because the charity is Hamas, they knowingly aided or supplied material support to terrorists? How about catching Osama bin Laden instead of the little fish who supported middle eastern charities?

We're not easily impressed but Billmon at Whiskey Bar is overwhelming in his torture coverage. Not only with the news, but with his insightful analysis and sourcing. Between him and the Wall Street Journal (subscription only, skip the opinion pieces), you get it all.

Tuesday is the day. Here are some sites with live feeds of the transit of Venus. You will never see this again in your lifetime, so be sure to watch. [link via What Really Happened.]

by TChris

Some winners of the "Surprising English" award, as determined by the English Speaking Union of Japan:

The Nonsense Award went to "High Touch Town Roppongi," a slogan attached to the overpass at Roppongi Crossing in Tokyo.

The You Should Know Better Award went to the slogan "Our city is fruity," promoting the Hanagasa Festival in Yamagata.

The Hilariously Funny Award went to a notice found at a department store entrance in Kanagawa Prefecture: "When a visitor has injustice, I will notify the police irrespective of quantity."

Eric Alterman of Altercation expresses his views of former President Ronald Reagan . He links to this Nation article that he wrote in 2000. He also provides a lot of external source material on Reagan, if you're wanting to know more about him. We point this out mostly for the younger TL readers, and our international ones, who don't know much about him. We believe he was far more complicated and controversial as President than the mainstream media has portrayed to date. Once again, may he rest in peace. And please, go here and donate to The Alzheimer's Association. Even a few dollars will be helpful.

The Wall Street Journal reports that it has reviewed a classified draft of a Pentagon report from 2003 in which the authors conclude that President Bush is not bound by laws prohibiting torture and that the Justice Department cannot prosecute U.S. soldiers or agents who engage in torture at his direction. If you don't have access to the Journal, you can read this Reuters account of the report.

One of the authors of the draft report is William Haynes, now awaiting confirmation as a federal judge.

According to Bush administration officials, the report was compiled by a working group appointed by the Defense Department's general counsel, William J. Haynes II. Air Force General Counsel Mary Walker headed the group, which comprised top civilian and uniformed lawyers from each military branch and consulted with the Justice Department, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Defense Intelligence Agency and other intelligence agencies. It isn't known if President Bush has ever seen the report.

Robert Dreyfuss at TomPaine.com has more.

....here’s how the Pentagon’s shysters split the torture hairs: "The infliction of pain or suffering, whether it is physical or mental, is insufficient to amount to torture,’ the report advises. Such suffering must be ‘severe,’ the lawyers advise, and they rely on a dictionary definition to suggest that it ‘must be of such a high level of intensity that the pain is difficult for the subject to endure.’

The report goes on to say that Congress has no business trying to regulate whether U.S. soldiers or other officials torture prisoners, since that would violate the commander-in-chief’s constitutional power to wage war. “Sometimes the greater good for society will be accompanied by violating the literal language of the criminal law,” says the report.

Intel Dump also covers the WSJ report.

Some quotes from the WSJ article:

Terry Nichols's defense begins its presentation in the death penalty phase of his trial. Here's an interesting factoid: There are no more alternate jurors.

That's right. No more. So if one juror gets sick, Terry Nichols jury can't finish deliberations. Mistrial as to the sentencing. The matter goes to the judge, and under Oklahoma law, he has to impose a life sentence. Question: What's to prevent one juror, who wanted to make sure Nichols' got a life sentence, from just calling in sick?

All those millions spent prosecuting a man already serving a life sentence would be down the drain. For those of us opposed to the death penalty, we can't think of a more fitting ending.

Some legal eagles have suggested that the Judge could convene a second jury and retry the sentencing. We disagree. But even if it were legally possible, we don't see it. This judge has had enough. He's not going through this again.

Update: A commenter thought we were advocating that a juror pretend to be sick. We were not. That would be a fraud upon the court. Our comment about a fitting ending related to the possibility that a juror might really get sick and be prevented from deliberating.

by TChris

Freedom of speech means freedom to protest -- except in Westwood, Massachusetts, where Joseph Previtera Jr. was arrested for engaging in an act of "street theater." Previtera stood on a milk crate outside a Military Recruiting Center wearing a hood and shawl, with wires dangling from his outstretched hands -- copying a photo released in the Abu Ghraib prison scandal. He was hoping to give potential recruits a different perspective on war than they were likely to receive from the recruiter.

The police responded by arresting Previtera for disturbing the peace, making a false bomb threat and possession of a hoax device. But Previtera said nothing about a bomb; in fact, silence was part of his protest, making it difficult to understand how the peace was disturbed by anyone other than the police, who brought in the bomb squad and taped off the area around Previtera before taking him into custody.

The wires constituted the "hoax device," and the "threat," according to the police, was implied, not stated: although the wires weren't attached to anything, a complete idiot may have been able to imagine that they had something to do with a bomb. Previtera isn't a violent man, but the police who arrested him for exercising his right to protest did violence to the First Amendment.

It's semi-official. Once the U.S. turns power over to the Iraqi interim Government on June 30, the death penalty will be restored:

Justice Minister Malik Dohan al-Hassan today said: "The death penalty is suspended in Iraq, but with the return of sovereignty, nothing obliges us to maintain this suspension. "We want to reinstitute it for very specific cases." The death penalty was suspended in Iraq by then US Central Command chief General Tommy Franks in April last year, as the US-led coalition invaded the country and toppled Saddam's regime.

Saddam likely will not be happy to hear it. Especially because if Saddam were tried in an international court, there would be no death penalty. Here's an outline of the charges that are expected to be lodged against Saddam. Here are some excellent reasons why Saddam should be brought before an international tribunal.

We've increased our contributions options on the left side of TalkLeft. We've reinstated our Amazon "Wish List." We're really hoping to be able to get a MAC notebook and big screen monitor to be used for blogging. Too many people tell us that for graphics and ease of use, Apple is the way to go. So if you really like TalkLeft, and MACS, and would like to see us switch, feel free to buy us one. Otherwise, we're still in need of a flat screen lcd monitior for our Windows' computers. There's one of those on the wish list as well. And a couple of books we'd like to read. No need to buy us anything, only if you want to.

Then, if you do, go here. You can even buy us something we didn't ask for. TL appreciates all gifts.

Skippy has the details of the celestial event which will allow us mortals to observe the planet Venus on Tuesday.

In a rare show, the elegant white planet will pass directly between the Earth and sun tonight and tomorrow morning, a phenomenon last observed in 1882.

More details here.

Only visible in the Eastern U.S., the rest of us can watch on the internet. Why would we? Back in the late '60's, early '70's, while attending college in Ann Arbor, one of our many jobs to help pay our tuition was that of professional astrologer. Venus was a very special planet to us. Venus occupies the 7th house of love and marriage. She also rules justice - libra- and the law. We've always been very respectful of the planet.

Florida state senator Mandy Dawson is asking again for a constitutional amendment to restore voting rights to Florida's felons who have completed their sentences:

With state and national Democratic leaders concerned about a new purge of felons from voter rolls, state Sen. Mandy Dawson wants the party to support a constitutional amendment that would restore felons' rights -- including the right to vote -- once they have completed their prison sentences.

The issue is clouded by race because of the disproportionate number of blacks in the state who have felony records and are unable to cast ballots. Democrats are concerned that blacks, long loyal voters for their candidates, will refrain from voting this year, fearing a repeat of the 2000 presidential election. Thousands of eligible voters were turned away from polls that year because they had mistakenly been purged from the voting lists as felons. Many of them, in fact, had no criminal records.

This is the fifth year Sen. Dawson has sought such an amendment. It's not likely to happen this year. Jeb Bush opposes it. But it should. Here are the numbers.

by TChris

Conservatives who were obsessed with the Superbowl appearance of Janet Jackson's nipple are losing steam in their effort to stiffen indecency rules for broadcasters.

A Senate bill to increase fines for broadcasting indecency includes a provision that would "roll back, at least temporarily, rules passed by the [FCC] last year that would permit media conglomerates to own newspapers in markets where they already own radio and television stations." The administration and some of its Republican supporters want to help media conglomerates get bigger, and are looking for a way to uncouple the bill's indecency and ownership provisions.

Senators also face "the peril of investing too much political capital in a divisive issue, which has pitted some social conservatives and child-advocacy groups against big broadcasters and civil rights advocates."

Moreover, in recent weeks, the issue of the war in Iraq - particularly the prisoner abuse scandal - has moved to the forefront of the national political agenda in a way that was not the case on Super Bowl Sunday, when the exposing of Janet Jackson's right breast during the halftime show caused such a stir. Politicians who push too hard on the decency issue may risk appearing to have their priorities out of whack.

Having out-of-whack priorities has never bothered the right wing, but Janet's nipple does seem trifling when compared to the 800-plus American soldiers who have died in Iraq.

Funeral events for former President Ronald Reagan (all times EDT).

We wonder how much of it will be carried live by the cable news networks, and how much will be replayed in the evenings. We might like to watch the funeral procession and ceremony on Wednesday evening, but we plan to spend the remainder of the time covering other news.

MONDAY
1 p.m.: Reagan family motorcade and hearse leave Santa Monica funeral home en route to Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley.
2 p.m.: Reagan family private ceremony at library.
3 p.m.: Reagan lies in repose at the library's main lobby for public closed casket visitation which continues through the night. Buses will transfer visitors from Moorpark College in nearby Moorpark.

TUESDAY
9 p.m.: Lying in repose at library ends.

WEDNESDAY
11:30 a.m.: Reagan family motorcade departs presidential library en route to naval base in Point Mogu.
12:30 p.m.: Aircraft departs for Andrews Air Force Base, near Washington, D.C.
5 p.m.: Aircraft arrives at Andrews.
6 p.m.: Formal funeral procession to U.S. Capitol, with casket transfer onto horse-drawn caisson at 1600 Constitution Ave., near the White House and the Washington Monument.
7 p.m.: State funeral ceremony in Capitol Rotunda.
8:30 p.m.: Lying in state begins in Capitol Rotunda.

THURSDAY
Lying in state in Capitol Rotunda.

FRIDAY
10:45 a.m.: Motorcade leaves Capitol.
11:30 a.m.: National funeral service at Washington National Cathedral.
1:45 p.m.: Motorcade leaves cathedral.
2:45 p.m.: Aircraft departs Andrews.
7:45 p.m.: Aircraft arrives at naval vase at Point Mogu, Calif.
9 p.m.: Motorcade arrives at presidential library.
915 p.m.: Private internment service at presidential library.
10:30 p.m.: Internment service ends.

Update: The federal government will close all offices on Friday in honor of President Regan. We begin our annual retreat for the Officers of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) Friday in D.C. Closed or open, there will still be plenty of people to tell us what it was like in DC during the week, and we'll be sure to share their observations with you.

by TChris

"There is no better way for a political party to establish the legitimacy of its political point of view than to declare that Jesus is one of its members." Steve Duin quotes Tony Campolo to explain why Jesus joined the Republican Party in the late 1980's.

Duin notes that the Bush campaign is striving to turn churches into campaign field offices and suggests that the churches should try to cut a better deal in exchange for their support.

Why not insist on universal health care and cheaper drug prices for the elderly so middle-class Republicans can focus on immediate family needs? Why not order the administration to replace John Ashcroft at the Justice Department with Eliot Spitzer so the White House can train its guns on white-collar criminals rather than septuagenarians seeking autonomy at their own end times?

Instead, they give up their time and votes in trade for unenforceable laws banning abortion procedures and meaningless squawking about threats to the sanctity of heterosexual marriage. With Jesus on their side, you'd think they could do better.

by TChris

Florida is up to its old tricks, trying to assure that potential voters in Democratic counties are disenfranchised, lest they vote for someone other than the Governor's brother.

Florida Secretary of State Glenda Hood has now told county supervisors that 47,000 more names are likely to be purged from the voter rolls this year, and election watchdogs fear that Florida is poised to repeat the mistakes of 2000 on a much larger scale.

Hood claims that procedures are in place to assure that voters aren't mistakenly removed from the rolls, as they were in 2000, but "the state is using the same flawed database that misidentified so many voters in 2000 and has done little to improve its accuracy."

Hood staunchly denies that politics is at play, but her critics point out that almost a third of those listed reside in the heavily Democratic South Florida counties of Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach. Polls show that Democratic contender John Kerry and President Bush are running neck and neck in the state, where the President's brother Jeb is Governor.

Yesterday we noted with sympathy the passing of former President Ronald Reagan. As his deification by the media and the right continues today, we thought we'd point out three of his less-than-endearing legacies:

• Mandatory minimum drug sentences in 1986. This was the first time Congress passed mandatory minimum sentences since the Boggs Act in 1951.

• Federal sentencing guidelines: Under this new method of sentencing which went into effect in 1987, prison time is determined mostly by the weight of the drugs involved in the offense. Parole was abolished and prisoners must serve 85% of their sentence. Except in rare situations, judges can no longer factor in the character of the defendant, the effect of incarceration on his or her dependents, and in large part, the nature and circumstances of the crime. The only way to receive a more lenient sentence is to act as an informant against others and hope that the prosecutor is willing to deal. The guidelines in effect stripped Article III of their sentencing discretion and turned it over to prosecutors.

• The Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988: This law established a federal death penalty for "drug kingpins." President Reagan called it a new sword and shield in the escalating battle against drugs, and signed the bill in his wife's honor: