When judges are forced to raise money and campaign for office like politicians, it should be no surprise that they often act like politicians, reported the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
It’s a troubling affair, and it’s one that has prompted reformers to remind Pennsylvania that there’s another way of doing business — jurists selected by merit, rather than popular election.
There is a lot of money on the line in judicial elections. And soon, it could be a lot more money, threatening the impartiality and above-politics image that judges are supposed to maintain. In a post-Citizens United world, political action groups, unions, and individuals have more freedom to contribute to campaigns. More than ever before, that money will be steered toward state-level judicial elections, as donors realize they can get more bang for their buck by electing a justice for 10 years than a lawmaker for two, or a governor for four.
It wasn’t always this way in Pennsylvania. The state started out using direct election, but by 1790, Pennsylvania judges were appointed by the governor for life-long terms. In 1838, rules were amended to require state senate appointments of gubernatorial elections. In 1913, the state moved to a non-partisan election process, and, in 1968, the current system of political elections followed by retention votes was put in place by way of the state’s constitutional convention.
Changing Pennsylvania’s judicial selection method would mean changing the constitution.
There are several methods for selecting appellate judges and state Supreme Court justices: non-partisan election (meaning the judge’s party affiliation does not appear on the general election ballot), independent committee nomination, appointment by the governor, election by the state legislature, and a fully partisan election.
The last of these is the method Pennsylvania uses, at least for the judge’s initial campaign — prospective justices (like the rest of our appellate judges, common pleas judges and magisterial judges) raise money and run in contested elections.
“It’s a lot cheaper to buy a state court than a state legislature. There are fewer seats and longer terms,” said Bert Brandenburg, executive director of Justice at Stake. “Courts are not supposed to be up for auction. [But] this continuous explosion in special interest and political money [is] trapping judges in a system they did not sign up for, having to go out and become professional fund-raisers,” and then face those same donors in court.
That may be true, but the best judges are able to ignore the pressure to respond to donors, said Arthur Hellman, a professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. “Once they’re there, they are supposed to put their politics aside,” he said.
He reiterated the fact that there’s no perfect system for selecting judges.
“When something like this happens, a high-visibility scandal, it inevitably raises questions about how these justices are selected,” Mr. Hellman said. “But every system produces an occasional bad judge.”
The federal selection system, for example — appointment by the president, approval by the U.S. Senate, with vetting by the Department of Justice and the Senate Judiciary Committee — is a multi-layered, non-elective system. But it’s also the system that produced U.S. District Court judges Samuel B. Kent (a George H.W. Bush nominee) and G. Thomas Porteous, Jr. (a Bill Clinton appointment), both of whom were impeached in the last five years.
“People use this phrase, ‘merit selection,’” as if it’s an apolitical process, Mr. Hellman said. “It’s really a different [type of] political process.”
To read more Click Here
Friday, October 31, 2014
Thursday, October 30, 2014
National Journal Op-Ed: Actually, the Founders Rejected the Death Penalty
John Bessler, The National Law Journal
The debate over the Constitution's meaning, pitting originalists against living constitutionalists, has raged for decades. And nowhere has that debate played out more dramatically than in the context of America's death penalty, with the U.S. Supreme Court hearing frantic, last-minute death-row appeals every term, as it will in this one.
The conventional wisdom is that America's founders were gung-ho about capital punishment. But that is a myth. Although early U.S. laws authorized executions, the founders greatly admired a now little-known Italian writer, Cesare Beccaria, who fervently opposed capital punishment. They also were fascinated by the penitentiary system's potential to eliminate cruel punishments.
In 1769, George Washington bought a copy of Beccaria's book, "On Crimes and Punishments," first published in Italian 250 years ago and translated into English in 1767. In the midst of the Revolutionary War, Washington told Congress that executions were too frequent.In 1770, during the Boston Massacre trial, John Adams quoted Beccaria's treatise in defending British soldiers accused of murder.
"I am for the prisoners at the bar," Adams said, "and shall apologize for it only in the words of the Marquis Beccaria: 'If I can but be the instrument of preserving one life, his blessing and tears of transport, shall be a sufficient consolation to me, for the contempt of all mankind."
Thomas Jefferson — our third president — read Beccaria's treatise in Italian. "The 'Lex talionis,' " he wrote, "will be revolting to the humanized feelings of modern times." Jefferson later emphasized: "Beccaria and other writers on crimes and punishments had satisfied the reasonable world of the unrightfulness and inefficacy of the punishment of crimes by death."
In Virginia, James Madison — the father of the Constitution — advocated for Jefferson's bill to curtail capital crimes. Madison told one correspondent: "I should not regret a fair and full trial of the entire abolition of capital punishments by any State willing to make it."
It is true, as Justice Antonin Scalia is fond of noting, that the Constitution contains the words "capital," "life" and "life or limb." But no modern American judge ever orders offenders' limbs to be lopped off, and those words in the Bill of Rights were designed to protect individual rights when the death penalty was a mandatory penalty.
Juries, however, now impose discretionary sentences, with executions arbitrarily meted out based on geography or race, which itself runs afoul of the Fourteenth Amendment's equal-protection principle. Death sentences and executions have dwindled while life-without-parole sentences have skyrocketed. In the United States, roughly 50,000 inmates are serving life-without-parole sentences, compared to 3,054 death row inmates. The 39 executions in 2013 were clustered in just nine states.
In short, executions — long considered cruel by men like Declaration of Independence signer Dr. Benjamin Rush, who, in 1787, called death "an improper punishment for any crime" — have gone from being cruel and usual to being cruel and unusual. Meanwhile, nonlethal corporal punishments, like ear cropping, have long been abandoned and would be considered cruel and unusual by any modern-day judge. Even Scalia has described himself as a "faint-hearted originalist" because he rejects a return to founding-era punishments like branding and public flogging.
Early Americans like George Washington, Benjamin Franklin and James Wilson sought to reduce the frequency of executions. And William Bradford — one of Madison's closest friends — specifically invoked Beccaria's name in seeking to curtail executions, with Washington later appointing Bradford as the nation's second attorney general.
"The name of Beccaria," Bradford wrote in 1786, "has become familiar in Pennsylvania, his authority has become great, and his principles have spread among all classes of persons and impressed themselves deeply in the hearts of our citizens."
In adopting an evolving-standards-of-decency test, the Supreme Court has squarely rejected an originalist approach. But its case law remains highly unprincipled. The Eighth Amendment is said to protect prisoners from harm, but executions do exactly the opposite. And while the Eighth Amendment's touchstone is said to be "human dignity," there is nothing dignified about executions, as the recent series of botched executions in Arizona, Ohio and Oklahoma illustrates.
Death-qualified juries, in which jurors who oppose the death penalty are stricken during voir dire, are troublesome, too. Public support for executions is declining, yet death penalty opponents are systematically excluded from jury service. By allowing "death-qualified" juries, the court perversely skews the outcome of the verdicts — and thus the data — it considers.
No matter what interpretive theory one embraces, one thing is clear: the Founding Fathers were deeply ambivalent about capital punishment. Indeed, they embraced the principle of Montesquieu and Beccaria that any punishment that goes beyond what is "absolutely necessary" is "tyrannical."
In an era of maximum-security prisons and life-without-parole sentences, the death penalty can no longer be considered necessary. It should, therefore, go the way of the whipping post and the pillory.
Link to Column: http://www.nationallawjournal.com/id=1202674529812/OpEd-Actually-the-Founders-Rejected-the-Death-Penalty#ixzz3HLvEfMb1
The debate over the Constitution's meaning, pitting originalists against living constitutionalists, has raged for decades. And nowhere has that debate played out more dramatically than in the context of America's death penalty, with the U.S. Supreme Court hearing frantic, last-minute death-row appeals every term, as it will in this one.
The conventional wisdom is that America's founders were gung-ho about capital punishment. But that is a myth. Although early U.S. laws authorized executions, the founders greatly admired a now little-known Italian writer, Cesare Beccaria, who fervently opposed capital punishment. They also were fascinated by the penitentiary system's potential to eliminate cruel punishments.
In 1769, George Washington bought a copy of Beccaria's book, "On Crimes and Punishments," first published in Italian 250 years ago and translated into English in 1767. In the midst of the Revolutionary War, Washington told Congress that executions were too frequent.In 1770, during the Boston Massacre trial, John Adams quoted Beccaria's treatise in defending British soldiers accused of murder.
"I am for the prisoners at the bar," Adams said, "and shall apologize for it only in the words of the Marquis Beccaria: 'If I can but be the instrument of preserving one life, his blessing and tears of transport, shall be a sufficient consolation to me, for the contempt of all mankind."
Thomas Jefferson — our third president — read Beccaria's treatise in Italian. "The 'Lex talionis,' " he wrote, "will be revolting to the humanized feelings of modern times." Jefferson later emphasized: "Beccaria and other writers on crimes and punishments had satisfied the reasonable world of the unrightfulness and inefficacy of the punishment of crimes by death."
In Virginia, James Madison — the father of the Constitution — advocated for Jefferson's bill to curtail capital crimes. Madison told one correspondent: "I should not regret a fair and full trial of the entire abolition of capital punishments by any State willing to make it."
It is true, as Justice Antonin Scalia is fond of noting, that the Constitution contains the words "capital," "life" and "life or limb." But no modern American judge ever orders offenders' limbs to be lopped off, and those words in the Bill of Rights were designed to protect individual rights when the death penalty was a mandatory penalty.
Juries, however, now impose discretionary sentences, with executions arbitrarily meted out based on geography or race, which itself runs afoul of the Fourteenth Amendment's equal-protection principle. Death sentences and executions have dwindled while life-without-parole sentences have skyrocketed. In the United States, roughly 50,000 inmates are serving life-without-parole sentences, compared to 3,054 death row inmates. The 39 executions in 2013 were clustered in just nine states.
In short, executions — long considered cruel by men like Declaration of Independence signer Dr. Benjamin Rush, who, in 1787, called death "an improper punishment for any crime" — have gone from being cruel and usual to being cruel and unusual. Meanwhile, nonlethal corporal punishments, like ear cropping, have long been abandoned and would be considered cruel and unusual by any modern-day judge. Even Scalia has described himself as a "faint-hearted originalist" because he rejects a return to founding-era punishments like branding and public flogging.
Early Americans like George Washington, Benjamin Franklin and James Wilson sought to reduce the frequency of executions. And William Bradford — one of Madison's closest friends — specifically invoked Beccaria's name in seeking to curtail executions, with Washington later appointing Bradford as the nation's second attorney general.
"The name of Beccaria," Bradford wrote in 1786, "has become familiar in Pennsylvania, his authority has become great, and his principles have spread among all classes of persons and impressed themselves deeply in the hearts of our citizens."
In adopting an evolving-standards-of-decency test, the Supreme Court has squarely rejected an originalist approach. But its case law remains highly unprincipled. The Eighth Amendment is said to protect prisoners from harm, but executions do exactly the opposite. And while the Eighth Amendment's touchstone is said to be "human dignity," there is nothing dignified about executions, as the recent series of botched executions in Arizona, Ohio and Oklahoma illustrates.
Death-qualified juries, in which jurors who oppose the death penalty are stricken during voir dire, are troublesome, too. Public support for executions is declining, yet death penalty opponents are systematically excluded from jury service. By allowing "death-qualified" juries, the court perversely skews the outcome of the verdicts — and thus the data — it considers.
No matter what interpretive theory one embraces, one thing is clear: the Founding Fathers were deeply ambivalent about capital punishment. Indeed, they embraced the principle of Montesquieu and Beccaria that any punishment that goes beyond what is "absolutely necessary" is "tyrannical."
In an era of maximum-security prisons and life-without-parole sentences, the death penalty can no longer be considered necessary. It should, therefore, go the way of the whipping post and the pillory.
Link to Column: http://www.nationallawjournal.com/id=1202674529812/OpEd-Actually-the-Founders-Rejected-the-Death-Penalty#ixzz3HLvEfMb1
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Law enforcement partnership calls for background checks on all gun purchases
The National Law Enforcement Partnership to Prevent Gun Violence is calling for background checks on all gun purchases, including private and gun-show sales, reported the Orlando Sentinel.
The partnership is comprised of nine national law-enforcement groups, including the International Association of Chiefs of Police, which is holding its annual conference at the convention center on International Drive.
According to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, gunfire has been the leading cause of death for officers killed in the line of duty in the U.S. this year. So far, 41 officers have been gunned down this year, up 64 percent from last year, according to the data.
The National Law Enforcement Partnership to Prevent Gun Violence has previously called for expanded background checks, as well as other firearm reforms.
The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, which went into effect in 1994, requires federally licensed firearm dealers to conduct background checks. However, in Florida, sales between private citizens, including some at gun shows or initiated online, do not require background checks.
To read more Click Here
The partnership is comprised of nine national law-enforcement groups, including the International Association of Chiefs of Police, which is holding its annual conference at the convention center on International Drive.
According to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, gunfire has been the leading cause of death for officers killed in the line of duty in the U.S. this year. So far, 41 officers have been gunned down this year, up 64 percent from last year, according to the data.
The National Law Enforcement Partnership to Prevent Gun Violence has previously called for expanded background checks, as well as other firearm reforms.
The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, which went into effect in 1994, requires federally licensed firearm dealers to conduct background checks. However, in Florida, sales between private citizens, including some at gun shows or initiated online, do not require background checks.
To read more Click Here
Monday, October 27, 2014
Mexican crime rates fall, terror continues
Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto touted to bankers in New York City recently that criminal violence had fallen sharply in Mexico, reported the Christian Science Monitor. Murders have fallen 29 percent since 2012, he said, and Mexican states bordering the United States have seen an average 40 percent fall in violent crimes.
“These results allow us to see that we are on the correct path . . . the path to diminishing levels of violence,” Peña Nieto said.
However, drug gangs continue to terrorize the country. Recently, commandos cornered a blue Chevrolet Suburban of national legislator Gabriel Gomez Michel. The next morning, the vehicle turned up in a neighboring state with two charred bodies inside. Authorities said DNA tests confirmed that Mr. Gomez and his aide, Heriberto Nunez Ramos, were the two victims.
To read more Click Here
“These results allow us to see that we are on the correct path . . . the path to diminishing levels of violence,” Peña Nieto said.
However, drug gangs continue to terrorize the country. Recently, commandos cornered a blue Chevrolet Suburban of national legislator Gabriel Gomez Michel. The next morning, the vehicle turned up in a neighboring state with two charred bodies inside. Authorities said DNA tests confirmed that Mr. Gomez and his aide, Heriberto Nunez Ramos, were the two victims.
To read more Click Here
Saturday, October 25, 2014
Police departments are stuggling to keep pace with expenditures
Public expenditures on policing have more than quadrupled between 1982 and 2006, reported Governing Magazine. But with city budget shortfalls opening up across the country, police departments and their chiefs, once used to ever-growing budgets, were now facing a new reality of cutbacks, layoffs and even outright mergers and consolidations of entire police departments with others.
With federal subsidies disappearing (federal support for criminal justice assistance grant programs shrank by 43 percent between 2011 and 2013), thanks to a frugal Congress, police had few options.
As always, funding continues to be an issue. In May, the major law enforcement agencies sent a letter to the House and Senate Homeland Security Committee asking that the National Preparedness Grant Program reconsider a series of proposed changes that would reduce funding for terrorism prevention. A 2013 survey by the Institute of Justice found that 78 percent of law enforcement agencies had their grant funding cut since 2010 and 43 percent reported cuts of between 11 and 25 percent.
New technologies might ease some of the financial burdens in the long run, but take an initial investment. Police department should proceed with cause and be prudent in there technology choices.
New technologies must be benchmarked, with metrics that forecast just what their impact will be on operations before they are fully implemented. Second, police departments need to set policies, especially around tools that gather data about individuals, such as video, to ensure that the civil liberties and privacy of law-abiding citizens is not compromised.
To read more Click Here
With federal subsidies disappearing (federal support for criminal justice assistance grant programs shrank by 43 percent between 2011 and 2013), thanks to a frugal Congress, police had few options.
As always, funding continues to be an issue. In May, the major law enforcement agencies sent a letter to the House and Senate Homeland Security Committee asking that the National Preparedness Grant Program reconsider a series of proposed changes that would reduce funding for terrorism prevention. A 2013 survey by the Institute of Justice found that 78 percent of law enforcement agencies had their grant funding cut since 2010 and 43 percent reported cuts of between 11 and 25 percent.
New technologies might ease some of the financial burdens in the long run, but take an initial investment. Police department should proceed with cause and be prudent in there technology choices.
New technologies must be benchmarked, with metrics that forecast just what their impact will be on operations before they are fully implemented. Second, police departments need to set policies, especially around tools that gather data about individuals, such as video, to ensure that the civil liberties and privacy of law-abiding citizens is not compromised.
To read more Click Here
Friday, October 24, 2014
Crime rates rise in the summer
Seasonal swings in crime occur also vary for different types of crimes, reported Governing Magazine. Cities often experience far more property crimes during the summer, likely attributable -- at least in part -- to the fact that the primary perpetrators aren’t in school. Pittsburgh police receive more reports of nuisance-type crimes, such as car break-ins and graffiti, during the summer months, according to Sonya Toler, a city police spokeswoman.
Murder counts climb in the summer months as well. Police agencies reviewed saw monthly murders increase an average of 15 percent from June through August, with larger variations occurring in places like Cleveland and Rochester, N.Y.
In Erie, Pa., totals for the seven major crime types rose by an average of 35 percent during the summer months -- one of the highest increases nationally. The city’s harsh winters likely help push down crime totals, and police there also see more activity from visitors during the summer months.
A few of the law enforcement agencies that registered the steepest fluctuations in crime serve summer tourist destinations. Take Virginia Beach, Va., for example, where crime increased an average of nearly 23 percent. A few million people visit the city’s oceanfront each year, and agency statistics indicate about 30 percent of those arrested annually are from outside the Hampton Roads metro area.
To read more Click Here
Murder counts climb in the summer months as well. Police agencies reviewed saw monthly murders increase an average of 15 percent from June through August, with larger variations occurring in places like Cleveland and Rochester, N.Y.
In Erie, Pa., totals for the seven major crime types rose by an average of 35 percent during the summer months -- one of the highest increases nationally. The city’s harsh winters likely help push down crime totals, and police there also see more activity from visitors during the summer months.
A few of the law enforcement agencies that registered the steepest fluctuations in crime serve summer tourist destinations. Take Virginia Beach, Va., for example, where crime increased an average of nearly 23 percent. A few million people visit the city’s oceanfront each year, and agency statistics indicate about 30 percent of those arrested annually are from outside the Hampton Roads metro area.
To read more Click Here
Thursday, October 23, 2014
New study: The Unpredictability of Murder
A new study published in the journal Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice examined data from the longitudinal "Pathways to Desistance" study, which followed 1,354 youths charged with serious crimes in order to predict the likelihood to commit murder, reported The Crime Report.
Of the sample of 1,354 youths, 18 had been charged with homicide. Researchers analyzed eight demographic characteristics and 35 risk factors associated with youth violence, to see whether any distinguished the homicide group.
“Among the predictors, age, intelligence quotient (IQ), exposure to violence, perceptions of community disorder, and prevalence of gun carrying are significantly different across the two groups,” researchers wrote.
But “only lower IQ and a greater exposure to violence were significant.”
More importantly, researches concluded, the presence of a high number of risk factors in a youth’s background increased the likelihood that he or she might be charged with homicide.
Researchers conclude that juvenile justice practitioners should be “mindful” of the many risk factors associated with violence.
“Youth who display many or perhaps all of these risks certainly warrant additional services and oversight on the part of staff, as they might be the youth who are most likely to perpetrate a homicide,” researchers write.
Read the full study Click Here
Of the sample of 1,354 youths, 18 had been charged with homicide. Researchers analyzed eight demographic characteristics and 35 risk factors associated with youth violence, to see whether any distinguished the homicide group.
“Among the predictors, age, intelligence quotient (IQ), exposure to violence, perceptions of community disorder, and prevalence of gun carrying are significantly different across the two groups,” researchers wrote.
But “only lower IQ and a greater exposure to violence were significant.”
More importantly, researches concluded, the presence of a high number of risk factors in a youth’s background increased the likelihood that he or she might be charged with homicide.
Researchers conclude that juvenile justice practitioners should be “mindful” of the many risk factors associated with violence.
“Youth who display many or perhaps all of these risks certainly warrant additional services and oversight on the part of staff, as they might be the youth who are most likely to perpetrate a homicide,” researchers write.
Read the full study Click Here
Wednesday, October 22, 2014
Reforms in Alabama's prison system don't ease overcrowding
The number of prison sentences in Alabama has dropped 24 percent over three years and has fallen more sharply since new sentencing guidelines took effect Oct. 1, 2013. From that day through June 2014, felony sentences to prison dropped 16 percent from the same period the previous year, to 5,253.
Other arrest and conviction trends are down.
There were about 10,000 fewer felony arrests in Alabama in 2013 than in 2009, a 21 percent drop.
Felony convictions for drug possession dropped by 33 percent from 2009 to 2013.
Judges are handing down shorter sentences under the guidelines, which were intended to send fewer nonviolent offenders to prison and save room for the worst and most dangerous.
The guidelines apply to many drug and property crimes but not violent offenses or burglary.
For felony convictions covered under the guidelines, the average sentence dropped from 96 months in fiscal year 2011 to 74 months in fiscal year 2014.
But the downward trends have not relieved the packed conditions inside prison walls.
Alabama has about 26,000 inmates in prisons designed for just more than 13,000. Prisons remain at almost twice their capacity because of a slower parole rate, a high rate of return for those released and other factors.
To read more Click Here
Other arrest and conviction trends are down.
There were about 10,000 fewer felony arrests in Alabama in 2013 than in 2009, a 21 percent drop.
Felony convictions for drug possession dropped by 33 percent from 2009 to 2013.
Judges are handing down shorter sentences under the guidelines, which were intended to send fewer nonviolent offenders to prison and save room for the worst and most dangerous.
The guidelines apply to many drug and property crimes but not violent offenses or burglary.
For felony convictions covered under the guidelines, the average sentence dropped from 96 months in fiscal year 2011 to 74 months in fiscal year 2014.
But the downward trends have not relieved the packed conditions inside prison walls.
Alabama has about 26,000 inmates in prisons designed for just more than 13,000. Prisons remain at almost twice their capacity because of a slower parole rate, a high rate of return for those released and other factors.
To read more Click Here
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
PA Supreme Court suspends justice
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court suspended Justice Seamus McCaffery, who last week publicly apologized for exchanging hundreds of sexually explicit emails with state attorney general staffers, reports the Lehigh Valley Morning Call. The court said it was suspending McCaffery with pay to "protect and preserve the integrity" of the state's judicial system and called on the independent Judicial Conduct Board to complete an investigation in 30 days.
McCaffery, of Philadelphia, has called the email scandal a "cooked-up controversy" that is part of a "vindictive pattern of attacks" on him by Chief Justice Ron Castille. In his opinion Monday, Castille suggested that McCaffery displays "pathological symptoms [that] describe a sociopath" who blames others for his "transgressions." The Morning Call on Oct. 2 disclosed McCaffery's role in an email porn scandal that has gripped Pennsylvania. Castille described the 234 sexually explicit emails he reviewed as "highly demeaning portrayals of … women, elderly persons and uniformed school girls."
To read more Click Here
McCaffery, of Philadelphia, has called the email scandal a "cooked-up controversy" that is part of a "vindictive pattern of attacks" on him by Chief Justice Ron Castille. In his opinion Monday, Castille suggested that McCaffery displays "pathological symptoms [that] describe a sociopath" who blames others for his "transgressions." The Morning Call on Oct. 2 disclosed McCaffery's role in an email porn scandal that has gripped Pennsylvania. Castille described the 234 sexually explicit emails he reviewed as "highly demeaning portrayals of … women, elderly persons and uniformed school girls."
To read more Click Here
Monday, October 20, 2014
Florida man sentenced to life after 'Stand your Ground' defense
Michael Dunn was sentenced to life in prison without parole for the fatal shooting of Jordan Davis, after an argument over loud music. The judge cited Florida's stand your ground law in the sentencing, saying it has been misunderstood, reported The Christian Science Monitor.
The shooting fueled an ongoing debate over a new breed of self-defense laws, adopted in nearly half of all US states, which make it easier for armed individuals to kill in self-defense in public places.
To read more Click Here
The shooting fueled an ongoing debate over a new breed of self-defense laws, adopted in nearly half of all US states, which make it easier for armed individuals to kill in self-defense in public places.
Florida was the first state to make that change in 2005, and the killing of Trayvon Martin in 2012 was the most famous test of that law. The unarmed teenager was shot and killed after being pursued in the dark by a neighborhood watch captain named George Zimmerman. In that case, the judge instructed the jury that, under the law, someone who reasonably believes their life is at stake doesn’t have to retreat from a situation before retaliating with deadly force.
Judge Healey cited Florida’s stand your ground law in his sentencing Friday, saying the measure has been misunderstood and suggesting that Dunn’s actions “exemplifies that our society seems to have lost its way. … We should remember that there’s nothing wrong with retreating and deescalating the situation.”To read more Click Here
Sunday, October 19, 2014
California voters to address prison overcrowding
California’s justice system has been dealing with a prison-overcrowding crisis that has embroiled it in a long court fight, reported FoxNews.
Voters this fall, however, could approve big -- and some say "dangerous" -- changes to the state’s sentencing system, aimed in part at easing the overcrowding. On the state ballot is a proposal that would dramatically change how the state treats certain “nonserious, nonviolent” drug and property crimes, by downgrading them from felonies to misdemeanors.
The measure, known as Prop 47, also would allow those currently serving time for such offenses to apply for a reduced sentence, as long as they have no prior convictions for more serious crimes like murder, attempted murder or sexual offenses.
The proposition would reduce penalties for an array of crimes that can be prosecuted as either felonies or misdemeanors in California. This includes everything from drug possession to check fraud to petty theft to forgery. Prop 47 would, generally, treat all these as misdemeanors, in turn reducing average jail sentences. According to a state estimate, there are approximately 40,000 people convicted each year in California who would be affected by the measure.
“[Prop 47] allows the criminal justice system to focus in on more serious crimes,” Hughes said.
According to an analysis by the California Budget Project, state and local governments would save hundreds of millions of dollars every year. The measure dictates the savings be split among three different areas, with 65 percent going to mental health and drug treatment programs, 25 percent going to K-12 school programs and 10 percent going to victim services.
To read more Click Here
Voters this fall, however, could approve big -- and some say "dangerous" -- changes to the state’s sentencing system, aimed in part at easing the overcrowding. On the state ballot is a proposal that would dramatically change how the state treats certain “nonserious, nonviolent” drug and property crimes, by downgrading them from felonies to misdemeanors.
The measure, known as Prop 47, also would allow those currently serving time for such offenses to apply for a reduced sentence, as long as they have no prior convictions for more serious crimes like murder, attempted murder or sexual offenses.
The proposition would reduce penalties for an array of crimes that can be prosecuted as either felonies or misdemeanors in California. This includes everything from drug possession to check fraud to petty theft to forgery. Prop 47 would, generally, treat all these as misdemeanors, in turn reducing average jail sentences. According to a state estimate, there are approximately 40,000 people convicted each year in California who would be affected by the measure.
“[Prop 47] allows the criminal justice system to focus in on more serious crimes,” Hughes said.
According to an analysis by the California Budget Project, state and local governments would save hundreds of millions of dollars every year. The measure dictates the savings be split among three different areas, with 65 percent going to mental health and drug treatment programs, 25 percent going to K-12 school programs and 10 percent going to victim services.
To read more Click Here
Saturday, October 18, 2014
Minnesota sex offenders run for office to gain rights
Minnesota sex offenders fed up with political gridlock over controversial institutional treatment, are bringing their plight to light by running for elected office, reported the Minneapolis Star.
For the last three months, a group of sex offenders has quietly run a voter-registration drive up and down the hallways of the prisonlike treatment center in Moose Lake, where about 460 convicted rapists, pedophiles and other offenders are locked away indefinitely behind razor wire.
Some 155 are now registered to vote — amounting to nearly 20 percent of all voters registered in Moose Lake.
Their goal is to elect sex offenders to as many as eight city and county offices, where they can push for more freedoms and reintegration into the community. Among their demands, the offenders want the right to leave the facility without shackles and handcuffs; and for the city of Moose Lake to allow for halfway houses for offenders who progress in treatment for their sexual disorders.
To read more Click Here
For the last three months, a group of sex offenders has quietly run a voter-registration drive up and down the hallways of the prisonlike treatment center in Moose Lake, where about 460 convicted rapists, pedophiles and other offenders are locked away indefinitely behind razor wire.
Some 155 are now registered to vote — amounting to nearly 20 percent of all voters registered in Moose Lake.
Their goal is to elect sex offenders to as many as eight city and county offices, where they can push for more freedoms and reintegration into the community. Among their demands, the offenders want the right to leave the facility without shackles and handcuffs; and for the city of Moose Lake to allow for halfway houses for offenders who progress in treatment for their sexual disorders.
To read more Click Here
Friday, October 17, 2014
GateHouse: Asset forfeitures bolster local crime fighting efforts
Matthew T. Mangino
GateHouse Media
October 17, 2014
The U.S. Department of Justice has made it possible for local law enforcement agencies to fund some of their policing practices through collaborative civil asset forfeitures. The process known as Equitable Sharing drives revenue to local crime fighting agencies, but not without consequences.
The Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984 was a component of the Reagan-era war on drugs. The intent of the act was to tap into the illicit profits of drug kingpins. The loss of profits would make the drug trade less alluring and bolster enforcement practices by permitting forfeiture-related revenue to be used to pay informants, purchase equipment, pay investigators and finance complex law enforcement investigations.
The new law also allowed local law enforcement to get in on the action. Pursuant to the act, local law enforcement agencies were entitled to receive a portion of the net proceeds of forfeitures sought collaboratively with federal authorities — up to 80 percent of the seized assets.
In difficult economic times there is an incentive to fund local police departments with money other than from the pocket of taxpayers.
The problem is that not all the forfeited funds were coming from convicted drug dealers or from anyone convicted of a crime. The Washington Post analyzed the spending reports of thousands of DOJ asset forfeitures totaling $2.5 billion and found 81 percent came from cash and property seizures in cases in which no indictment was filed.
The easy money led to an aggressive form of policing known as “highway interdiction.” A vehicle is stopped for a traffic violation, is searched and cash is seized. Owners must prove that their money or property was acquired legally in order to get it back. According to Reason Magazine, “your property is guilty until you prove it innocent.”
Here is how a person not charged with a crime can lose a large sum of cash: A police officer stops a vehicle for a minor traffic violation and then searches the vehicle based either on the “consent” of the occupants or if the K-9 unit shows up and provides a “dog alert.” A dog alert is when a trained K-9 becomes agitated while sniffing around a stopped vehicle for the scent of drugs. If the dog “hits” on a vehicle there is enough probable cause to search the vehicle.
How reliable are dog alerts?
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last year that as long as a drug-sniffing dog is well-trained his performance on the job really doesn’t matter.
Justice Elena Kagan wrote that it was enough that a dog’s “satisfactory performance” in a certification or training program provided sufficient reason for an officer to trust its alert, even though errors “may abound” when dogs get put to the test in the field.
“Law enforcement units have their own strong incentive to use effective training and certification programs,” Kagan wrote.
The incentive for some police departments may be different than Kagan envisioned. Since 2001, there have been about 62,000 cash seizures on highways and elsewhere without search warrants or indictments and processed through the Equitable Sharing program, according to The Post.
The potential abuses of asset forfeiture have long been recognized. In 2000, Illinois Congressman Henry Hyde, fought for the passage of the Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act — with the intent of making it more difficult for the federal government to seize property without evidence of wrongdoing.
This past July, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul introduced the Fifth Amendment Integrity Restoration (FAIR) Act. The bill changes the burden of proof in federal forfeiture cases making it more difficult for the government to prove the basis for the forfeiture of assets in court.
The FAIR Act would also abolish the Equitable Sharing Program. The act would make it less likely that police and prosecutors would confiscate the assets of individuals guilty of nothing more than driving around with cash in their car.
Matthew T. Mangino is of counsel with Luxenberg, Garbett, Kelly & George P.C. His book “The Executioner’s Toll, 2010” was recently released by McFarland Publishing. You can reach him at www.mattmangino.com and follow him on Twitter at @MatthewTMangino.
Visit the Column
GateHouse Media
October 17, 2014
The U.S. Department of Justice has made it possible for local law enforcement agencies to fund some of their policing practices through collaborative civil asset forfeitures. The process known as Equitable Sharing drives revenue to local crime fighting agencies, but not without consequences.
The Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984 was a component of the Reagan-era war on drugs. The intent of the act was to tap into the illicit profits of drug kingpins. The loss of profits would make the drug trade less alluring and bolster enforcement practices by permitting forfeiture-related revenue to be used to pay informants, purchase equipment, pay investigators and finance complex law enforcement investigations.
The new law also allowed local law enforcement to get in on the action. Pursuant to the act, local law enforcement agencies were entitled to receive a portion of the net proceeds of forfeitures sought collaboratively with federal authorities — up to 80 percent of the seized assets.
In difficult economic times there is an incentive to fund local police departments with money other than from the pocket of taxpayers.
The problem is that not all the forfeited funds were coming from convicted drug dealers or from anyone convicted of a crime. The Washington Post analyzed the spending reports of thousands of DOJ asset forfeitures totaling $2.5 billion and found 81 percent came from cash and property seizures in cases in which no indictment was filed.
The easy money led to an aggressive form of policing known as “highway interdiction.” A vehicle is stopped for a traffic violation, is searched and cash is seized. Owners must prove that their money or property was acquired legally in order to get it back. According to Reason Magazine, “your property is guilty until you prove it innocent.”
Here is how a person not charged with a crime can lose a large sum of cash: A police officer stops a vehicle for a minor traffic violation and then searches the vehicle based either on the “consent” of the occupants or if the K-9 unit shows up and provides a “dog alert.” A dog alert is when a trained K-9 becomes agitated while sniffing around a stopped vehicle for the scent of drugs. If the dog “hits” on a vehicle there is enough probable cause to search the vehicle.
How reliable are dog alerts?
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last year that as long as a drug-sniffing dog is well-trained his performance on the job really doesn’t matter.
Justice Elena Kagan wrote that it was enough that a dog’s “satisfactory performance” in a certification or training program provided sufficient reason for an officer to trust its alert, even though errors “may abound” when dogs get put to the test in the field.
“Law enforcement units have their own strong incentive to use effective training and certification programs,” Kagan wrote.
The incentive for some police departments may be different than Kagan envisioned. Since 2001, there have been about 62,000 cash seizures on highways and elsewhere without search warrants or indictments and processed through the Equitable Sharing program, according to The Post.
The potential abuses of asset forfeiture have long been recognized. In 2000, Illinois Congressman Henry Hyde, fought for the passage of the Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act — with the intent of making it more difficult for the federal government to seize property without evidence of wrongdoing.
This past July, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul introduced the Fifth Amendment Integrity Restoration (FAIR) Act. The bill changes the burden of proof in federal forfeiture cases making it more difficult for the government to prove the basis for the forfeiture of assets in court.
The FAIR Act would also abolish the Equitable Sharing Program. The act would make it less likely that police and prosecutors would confiscate the assets of individuals guilty of nothing more than driving around with cash in their car.
Matthew T. Mangino is of counsel with Luxenberg, Garbett, Kelly & George P.C. His book “The Executioner’s Toll, 2010” was recently released by McFarland Publishing. You can reach him at www.mattmangino.com and follow him on Twitter at @MatthewTMangino.
Visit the Column
Thursday, October 16, 2014
Overdoses from prescription painkillers down
New federal data show deaths from prescription painkillers have decreased for the first time since 1999, while heroin deaths have surged, suggesting some addicts may have turned to illicit drugs as new federal and state restrictions made prescription narcotics harder to get, reported USA Today.
Abuse of prescription opioids, such as the powerful painkiller OxyContin, fueled a surge in overdose deaths, which quadrupled from 4,030 deaths in 1999 to 16,917 deaths in 2011. The numbers are based on mortality data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In 2012, the latest year available, deaths from prescription painkillers dropped 5% to 16,007, according to CDC data made public by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. Deaths from all categories of prescription drugs dropped 3%, the data shows.
To read more Click Here
Abuse of prescription opioids, such as the powerful painkiller OxyContin, fueled a surge in overdose deaths, which quadrupled from 4,030 deaths in 1999 to 16,917 deaths in 2011. The numbers are based on mortality data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In 2012, the latest year available, deaths from prescription painkillers dropped 5% to 16,007, according to CDC data made public by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. Deaths from all categories of prescription drugs dropped 3%, the data shows.
To read more Click Here
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
Black male teenagers more likely to be shot than white
Black male teenagers are 21 times more likely to be shot and killed by police than are white males, says a study by ProPublica reported by the Christian Science Monitor. Between 2010 and 2012, there were 1,217 deadly police shootings reported to the FBI. Black males between the ages of 15 and 19 were killed at a rate of 31.17 per million; for white male teenagers, the rate dropped to 1.47 deaths per million.
According to The Crime Report, ProPublica looked at more than 12,000 incidents of police homicide reported between 1980 to 2012. In 77 percent of cases where the cause of incidents were “undetermined,” the person shot was black. Between 2005 and 2009, 62 percent of cases reported "officer under attack" as the cause. The study comes with an important asterisk. ProPublica notes that the federal data, which are self-reported by police departments, are “terribly incomplete.”
To read more Click Here
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
Manhunt for Pennsylvania cop killer costing $1.4 million a week
The manhunt to find suspect Eric Frein is costing law enforcement agencies about $1.4 million per week as hundreds of officers from three states have flocked to the Poconos to form a net around the man accused of gunning down two Pennsylvania state troopers, reported The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
The round-the-clock manhunt involving as many as 1,000 officers each day is now in its fifth week, as costs escalate and police leave their home jurisdictions to capture Frein.
With no guarantee that the search will end soon, it raises the questions of how long the Pennsylvania State police, FBI, ATF and local officers from Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey can keep up the pressure.
The answers to those questions, according to retired state police Troop M Cmdr. Ted Kohuth, are “as long as it takes” and “whatever cost is necessary.”
“It is true that the costs of this are great,” said Cmdr. Kohuth, who retired as commander in 2003 before spending eight years as a police chief. “But the costs of failing to do it are much greater. It would set a dangerous precedent. You do not let a killer who assassinated a law enforcement officer run free.”
The total cost of all that labor tallies nearly $1.4 million per week, not including the many local officers and state officers from New Jersey and New York who have joined the search.
To read more Click Here
The round-the-clock manhunt involving as many as 1,000 officers each day is now in its fifth week, as costs escalate and police leave their home jurisdictions to capture Frein.
With no guarantee that the search will end soon, it raises the questions of how long the Pennsylvania State police, FBI, ATF and local officers from Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey can keep up the pressure.
The answers to those questions, according to retired state police Troop M Cmdr. Ted Kohuth, are “as long as it takes” and “whatever cost is necessary.”
“It is true that the costs of this are great,” said Cmdr. Kohuth, who retired as commander in 2003 before spending eight years as a police chief. “But the costs of failing to do it are much greater. It would set a dangerous precedent. You do not let a killer who assassinated a law enforcement officer run free.”
The total cost of all that labor tallies nearly $1.4 million per week, not including the many local officers and state officers from New Jersey and New York who have joined the search.
To read more Click Here
Monday, October 13, 2014
81% of DOJ asset seizures come with no indictment
The Justice Department’s Equitable Sharing Program, an initiative that allows local and state police to keep up to 80 percent of the assets they seize. The Washington Post obtained 43,000 of the reports dating from 2008 through a Freedom of Information Act request.
Brad Cates, a former director of asset forfeiture programs at the Justice Department, said the spending identified by The Post suggests police are using Equitable Sharing as “a free floating slush fund.” Cates, who oversaw the program while at Justice from 1985 to 1989, said it has enabled police to sidestep the traditional budget process, in which elected leaders create law enforcement spending priorities.
“All of this is fundamentally at odds with the U.S. Constitution,” said Cates, who recently co-wrote an article calling for the program’s abolition on The Post’s editorial page. “All of this is at odds with the rights that Americans have.”
Of the nearly $2.5 billion in spending reported in the forms, 81 percent came from cash and property seizures in which no indictment was filed, according to an analysis by The Post. Owners must prove that their money or property was acquired legally in order to get it back.
A local or state police agency can seize cash or property under federal law through the Equitable Sharing Program when a federal agency such as the Drug Enforcement Administration or Immigration and Customs Enforcement agrees to adopt the seizure under federal law. Federal agencies generally are allowed to keep 20 percent or more of the seizure after an adoption.
Officials at Justice and the Department of Homeland Security encouraged a technique known as highway interdiction to help in the fight against drugs and terror.
There have been 61,998 cash seizures on highways and elsewhere since 9/11 without search warrants or indictments and processed through the Equitable Sharing Program, according to an analysis of Justice data obtained by The Post.
To read more Click Here
Brad Cates, a former director of asset forfeiture programs at the Justice Department, said the spending identified by The Post suggests police are using Equitable Sharing as “a free floating slush fund.” Cates, who oversaw the program while at Justice from 1985 to 1989, said it has enabled police to sidestep the traditional budget process, in which elected leaders create law enforcement spending priorities.
“All of this is fundamentally at odds with the U.S. Constitution,” said Cates, who recently co-wrote an article calling for the program’s abolition on The Post’s editorial page. “All of this is at odds with the rights that Americans have.”
Of the nearly $2.5 billion in spending reported in the forms, 81 percent came from cash and property seizures in which no indictment was filed, according to an analysis by The Post. Owners must prove that their money or property was acquired legally in order to get it back.
A local or state police agency can seize cash or property under federal law through the Equitable Sharing Program when a federal agency such as the Drug Enforcement Administration or Immigration and Customs Enforcement agrees to adopt the seizure under federal law. Federal agencies generally are allowed to keep 20 percent or more of the seizure after an adoption.
Officials at Justice and the Department of Homeland Security encouraged a technique known as highway interdiction to help in the fight against drugs and terror.
There have been 61,998 cash seizures on highways and elsewhere since 9/11 without search warrants or indictments and processed through the Equitable Sharing Program, according to an analysis of Justice data obtained by The Post.
To read more Click Here
Sunday, October 12, 2014
Convicted cop-killer gives commencement speech from PA prison
Recently convicted cop-killer Mumia Abu-Jamal delivered the commencement address to about two dozen students at Goddard College, a progressive liberal arts school in Vermont. Abu-Jamal spoke via telephone from a State Correctional Institution, reported the Pennsylvania Independent.
Abu-Jamal’s path to a life sentence in a Pennsylvania prison began during the early morning hours of Dec. 9, 1981, when his brother was stopped by Philadelphia Police Officer Daniel Faulkner. The traffic stop turned violent when Abu-Jamal approached from across the street, shot Faulkner in the back and then unloaded four more bullets into his wounded victim, one into his head.
Faulkner managed to shoot Abu-Jamal, leaving him slumped at the crime scene. A jury convicted him, and he was sentenced to die, but he was spared from death row when an appeals court found the jury was improperly instructed.
The college’s decision troubled Pennsylvania Corrections Secretary John Wetzel, but even he admitted inmates have a constitutional right to access phones.
“While we do not support or endorse this specific type of activity, we cannot prohibit it from happening,” he said in a statement issued before the commencement speech.
Legislation sponsored by state Rep. Mike Vereb, R-Montgomery, could prevent something like Abu-Jamal’s speech from happening again. The legislation would allow the victim of a crime or prosecutors acting on the victim’s behalf to file a civil action to stop conduct from an offender that causes severe mental anguish. A judge would have the power to grant injunctive relief.
“We hope to never use this law,” Vereb said. “We hope that the actual people that sit in prison recognize that they themselves are there to heal, not tear the scabs off the wounds of our victims some 30 years later.”
To read more Click Here
Abu-Jamal’s path to a life sentence in a Pennsylvania prison began during the early morning hours of Dec. 9, 1981, when his brother was stopped by Philadelphia Police Officer Daniel Faulkner. The traffic stop turned violent when Abu-Jamal approached from across the street, shot Faulkner in the back and then unloaded four more bullets into his wounded victim, one into his head.
Faulkner managed to shoot Abu-Jamal, leaving him slumped at the crime scene. A jury convicted him, and he was sentenced to die, but he was spared from death row when an appeals court found the jury was improperly instructed.
The college’s decision troubled Pennsylvania Corrections Secretary John Wetzel, but even he admitted inmates have a constitutional right to access phones.
“While we do not support or endorse this specific type of activity, we cannot prohibit it from happening,” he said in a statement issued before the commencement speech.
Legislation sponsored by state Rep. Mike Vereb, R-Montgomery, could prevent something like Abu-Jamal’s speech from happening again. The legislation would allow the victim of a crime or prosecutors acting on the victim’s behalf to file a civil action to stop conduct from an offender that causes severe mental anguish. A judge would have the power to grant injunctive relief.
“We hope to never use this law,” Vereb said. “We hope that the actual people that sit in prison recognize that they themselves are there to heal, not tear the scabs off the wounds of our victims some 30 years later.”
To read more Click Here
Saturday, October 11, 2014
GateHouse: Trials, pleas and the burden of proof: A search for justice
Matthew T. Mangino
GateHouse Media
October 10, 2014
The search for justice in America’s criminal courtrooms can be a tortured journey. Everyone accused of a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty — guilty “beyond a reasonable doubt.” Those fundamental rights are well known, but are they well understood?
America’s criminal justice system is an adversarial process. The prosecutor is pitted against the defendant. The trial is a “fight.” The most flamboyant presentation; the ability to cast the opposition in an unflattering light can often have more impact than the underlying facts.
The system is contentious and competitive. Those who practice the art of trial advocacy believe the best way to get at the truth is to have each side advocate as strenuously as possible, in a partisan battle, to convince the trier of fact that their side should prevail.
Much of what we know and perceive about the adversarial system in America was shaped by the fictional lawyer Perry Mason. Michael Asimow, professor emeritus at UCLA Law School described Perry Mason as “the greatest lawyer role model who ever lived.”
Perry Mason’s character originated in eighty-two best-selling novels written by author Erle Stanley Gardner. Mason was portrayed on television by actor Raymond Burr. He starred in 271 hour-long shows from 1957 to 1966. For decades the episodes continued to influence people in syndication.
Through tireless investigation and cunning cross-examination Mason righted wrongs and vindicated the falsely accused.
In the real world, cross-examination is not a cure-all. Even though the Sixth Amendment guarantees the accused the fundamental right to be represented by counsel before an impartial jury — the system is not foolproof and has never claimed to be. Beyond a reasonable doubt is not the absence of all doubt and a finding of not guilty is not a claim to innocence. The system can convict the innocent and set the guilty free.
In an adversarial system, judges focus on issues of law and procedure and act as a referee in the contest between the prosecution and defense. Juries decide the facts. Those laws and facts can often be convoluted.
The law has become more complex and trials more protracted. It was little more than 50 years ago when the U.S. Supreme Court finally decided that individuals accused of a felony were entitled to legal counsel. Today, merely having a lawyer in a capital case is not enough. Lawyers without specialized training are off-limits in matters of life and death.
The complexity of trials and the time an effort that must be committed to trying a case have all but eliminated trials as a reasonable and accessible way to resolve disputes.
In 97 percent of federal criminal cases and 94 percent of state criminal cases there is no trial at all, case are resolved by plea bargain.
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote in a pair of cases in 2012, “In today’s criminal justice system the negotiation of a plea bargain, rather than the unfolding of a trial, is almost always the critical point for a defendant.”
Justice Kennedy wrote that plea bargaining “is not some adjunct to the criminal justice system; it is the criminal justice system.”
The adversarial process has been replaced by the negotiation process. The burden of proof — beyond a reasonable doubt — has been replaced by a “reasonable” agreement. Is there another process that can bring us closer to the truth?
In the absence of trial we should look to an independent inquisitorial model where a magistrate can question witnesses, order searches, review evidence and provide a level of due process to the accused. The magistrate would seek to reach the correct verdict by reviewing all the evidence favorable and unfavorable to the accused.
The model would provide a finding of guilt or not guilty — in place of an admission of guilt — and could begin the process of reintroducing “beyond a reasonable doubt” into the criminal justice system.
Matthew T. Mangino is of counsel with Luxenberg, Garbett, Kelly & George P.C. His book “The Executioner’s Toll, 2010” was recently released by McFarland Publishing. You can reach him at www.mattmangino.com and follow him on Twitter at @MatthewTMangino.
Visit the Column
GateHouse Media
October 10, 2014
The search for justice in America’s criminal courtrooms can be a tortured journey. Everyone accused of a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty — guilty “beyond a reasonable doubt.” Those fundamental rights are well known, but are they well understood?
America’s criminal justice system is an adversarial process. The prosecutor is pitted against the defendant. The trial is a “fight.” The most flamboyant presentation; the ability to cast the opposition in an unflattering light can often have more impact than the underlying facts.
The system is contentious and competitive. Those who practice the art of trial advocacy believe the best way to get at the truth is to have each side advocate as strenuously as possible, in a partisan battle, to convince the trier of fact that their side should prevail.
Much of what we know and perceive about the adversarial system in America was shaped by the fictional lawyer Perry Mason. Michael Asimow, professor emeritus at UCLA Law School described Perry Mason as “the greatest lawyer role model who ever lived.”
Perry Mason’s character originated in eighty-two best-selling novels written by author Erle Stanley Gardner. Mason was portrayed on television by actor Raymond Burr. He starred in 271 hour-long shows from 1957 to 1966. For decades the episodes continued to influence people in syndication.
Through tireless investigation and cunning cross-examination Mason righted wrongs and vindicated the falsely accused.
In the real world, cross-examination is not a cure-all. Even though the Sixth Amendment guarantees the accused the fundamental right to be represented by counsel before an impartial jury — the system is not foolproof and has never claimed to be. Beyond a reasonable doubt is not the absence of all doubt and a finding of not guilty is not a claim to innocence. The system can convict the innocent and set the guilty free.
In an adversarial system, judges focus on issues of law and procedure and act as a referee in the contest between the prosecution and defense. Juries decide the facts. Those laws and facts can often be convoluted.
The law has become more complex and trials more protracted. It was little more than 50 years ago when the U.S. Supreme Court finally decided that individuals accused of a felony were entitled to legal counsel. Today, merely having a lawyer in a capital case is not enough. Lawyers without specialized training are off-limits in matters of life and death.
The complexity of trials and the time an effort that must be committed to trying a case have all but eliminated trials as a reasonable and accessible way to resolve disputes.
In 97 percent of federal criminal cases and 94 percent of state criminal cases there is no trial at all, case are resolved by plea bargain.
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote in a pair of cases in 2012, “In today’s criminal justice system the negotiation of a plea bargain, rather than the unfolding of a trial, is almost always the critical point for a defendant.”
Justice Kennedy wrote that plea bargaining “is not some adjunct to the criminal justice system; it is the criminal justice system.”
The adversarial process has been replaced by the negotiation process. The burden of proof — beyond a reasonable doubt — has been replaced by a “reasonable” agreement. Is there another process that can bring us closer to the truth?
In the absence of trial we should look to an independent inquisitorial model where a magistrate can question witnesses, order searches, review evidence and provide a level of due process to the accused. The magistrate would seek to reach the correct verdict by reviewing all the evidence favorable and unfavorable to the accused.
The model would provide a finding of guilt or not guilty — in place of an admission of guilt — and could begin the process of reintroducing “beyond a reasonable doubt” into the criminal justice system.
Matthew T. Mangino is of counsel with Luxenberg, Garbett, Kelly & George P.C. His book “The Executioner’s Toll, 2010” was recently released by McFarland Publishing. You can reach him at www.mattmangino.com and follow him on Twitter at @MatthewTMangino.
Visit the Column
Friday, October 10, 2014
The Cautionary Instruction: Texas takes action to stem the flow of the school-to-prison pipeline
Matthew T. Mangino
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette/Ipso Facto
October 10, 2014
As more and more school districts add police officers or armed security guards to their list of employees the number of students who are arrested as a form of discipline soars.
The most striking impact of school police officers so far, critics say, has been a surge in arrests or misdemeanor charges for essentially nonviolent behavior — including scuffles, truancy and cursing at teachers — that sends children into the criminal courts. The phenomenon has been referred to as the school-to-prison pipeline.
“There is no evidence that placing officers in the schools improves safety,” Denise C. Gottfredson, a criminologist at the University of Maryland told the New York Times. “And it increases the number of minor behavior problems that are referred to the police, pushing kids into the criminal system.”
Melodee Hanes, of the U.S. Justice Department’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, describes the school-to-prison pipeline as “the pervasive use of court referrals as a means of disciplining kids in school."
More than 2 million students each year are suspended or expelled from school across the United States. Federal data, though limited, show that more than 240,000 students were referred to law enforcement.
The school-to-prison pipeline is being fueled by “zero-tolerance” policies that accelerate the involvement of the criminal justice system in routine school disciplinary practices. “Too often, so-called zero-tolerance policies, however well-intentioned they might be, make students feel unwelcome in their own schools; they disrupt the learning process,” U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said. “And they can have significant and lasting negative effects on the long-term well-being of our young people, increasing their likelihood of future contact with the juvenile and criminal justice systems.”
In 2013, Texas took action to stem the flow of the school-to-prison pipeline. The laws, known as Senate Bills 393 and 1114, barred police officers from writing tickets for misdemeanors that occur on school grounds, though traffic violations are exempt from the ban. Officers also cannot issue citations for school offenses such as causing disruptions in class or on a school bus.
Working as intended, the laws have fueled a larger-than-anticipated 83 percent decline in the number of Texas schoolchildren prosecuted in adult court for infractions such as disrupting a classroom, court figures show.
Almost 90,000 juvenile cases were kept out of adult court by the new laws, which were written to encourage schools to handle most behavior problems internally instead of relying on police or the courts. “We were expecting a drop. I don’t think we were expecting that significant a drop in the first year,” said David Slayton, director of the Texas Office of Court Administration.
(Image: wildpixel/Thinkstock)
Matthew T. Mangino is of counsel with Luxenberg, Garbett, Kelly & George, P.C. He is the former district attorney of Lawrence County and just completed a six year term on the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole. His weekly column on crime and punishment is syndicated by GateHouse New Service. You can read his musings on the criminal justice system at www.mattmangino.com and follow Matt on Twitter @MatthewTMangino. His new book The Executioner’s Toll, 2010: The Crimes, Arrests, Trials, Appeals, Last Meals, Final Words and Executions of 46 Persons in the United States is now available from McFarland & Company publishers.
Visit Ipso Facto
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette/Ipso Facto
October 10, 2014
As more and more school districts add police officers or armed security guards to their list of employees the number of students who are arrested as a form of discipline soars.
The most striking impact of school police officers so far, critics say, has been a surge in arrests or misdemeanor charges for essentially nonviolent behavior — including scuffles, truancy and cursing at teachers — that sends children into the criminal courts. The phenomenon has been referred to as the school-to-prison pipeline.
“There is no evidence that placing officers in the schools improves safety,” Denise C. Gottfredson, a criminologist at the University of Maryland told the New York Times. “And it increases the number of minor behavior problems that are referred to the police, pushing kids into the criminal system.”
Melodee Hanes, of the U.S. Justice Department’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, describes the school-to-prison pipeline as “the pervasive use of court referrals as a means of disciplining kids in school."
More than 2 million students each year are suspended or expelled from school across the United States. Federal data, though limited, show that more than 240,000 students were referred to law enforcement.
The school-to-prison pipeline is being fueled by “zero-tolerance” policies that accelerate the involvement of the criminal justice system in routine school disciplinary practices. “Too often, so-called zero-tolerance policies, however well-intentioned they might be, make students feel unwelcome in their own schools; they disrupt the learning process,” U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said. “And they can have significant and lasting negative effects on the long-term well-being of our young people, increasing their likelihood of future contact with the juvenile and criminal justice systems.”
In 2013, Texas took action to stem the flow of the school-to-prison pipeline. The laws, known as Senate Bills 393 and 1114, barred police officers from writing tickets for misdemeanors that occur on school grounds, though traffic violations are exempt from the ban. Officers also cannot issue citations for school offenses such as causing disruptions in class or on a school bus.
Working as intended, the laws have fueled a larger-than-anticipated 83 percent decline in the number of Texas schoolchildren prosecuted in adult court for infractions such as disrupting a classroom, court figures show.
Almost 90,000 juvenile cases were kept out of adult court by the new laws, which were written to encourage schools to handle most behavior problems internally instead of relying on police or the courts. “We were expecting a drop. I don’t think we were expecting that significant a drop in the first year,” said David Slayton, director of the Texas Office of Court Administration.
(Image: wildpixel/Thinkstock)
Matthew T. Mangino is of counsel with Luxenberg, Garbett, Kelly & George, P.C. He is the former district attorney of Lawrence County and just completed a six year term on the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole. His weekly column on crime and punishment is syndicated by GateHouse New Service. You can read his musings on the criminal justice system at www.mattmangino.com and follow Matt on Twitter @MatthewTMangino. His new book The Executioner’s Toll, 2010: The Crimes, Arrests, Trials, Appeals, Last Meals, Final Words and Executions of 46 Persons in the United States is now available from McFarland & Company publishers.
Visit Ipso Facto
Thursday, October 9, 2014
Local Pennsylvania police departments want radar
Local police departments are lobbying the Pennsylvania General Assembly to permit the use of radar by local authorities to investigate and detect speeding, according to Newsworks.org. Local police can only use VASCAR to time motorist speeding.
Upper Darby Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood said those methods are inferior and that radar is necessary to crack down on speeding drivers.
"It's unconscionable that people drive the way they do," he said. "As a result of that careless, reckless, speeding driving, hundreds, if not thousands, of people are maimed and killed on our highways throughout the entire state."
A bill has been introduced in the state Senate that would expand the use of radar guns, but it has not been voted out of committee. Lawmakers in the House have proposed similar legislation.
Erik Arneson, a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, R-Delaware, said some caucus members have concerns about the legislation.
"Historically, those [concerns] have been of the nature that they don't want this to be a way to simply raise revenue, that the focus needs to be on public safety," he said.
Arneson added that fewer and fewer legislators have those worries as time passes. Still, he said, it would be an uphill battle to pass the bill with only a few more days left this session.
Chitwood said the idea that the legislation would encourage local officers to write tickets simply to raise revenue for municipalities is "absolutely ludicrous." Police officers from Haverford, Aldan and Clifton Heights, as well as Republican state representative candidate Jamie Santora, attended a press conference Monday with Chitwood to rally for the expanded use of radar guns.
To read more CLICK HERE
Upper Darby Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood said those methods are inferior and that radar is necessary to crack down on speeding drivers.
"It's unconscionable that people drive the way they do," he said. "As a result of that careless, reckless, speeding driving, hundreds, if not thousands, of people are maimed and killed on our highways throughout the entire state."
A bill has been introduced in the state Senate that would expand the use of radar guns, but it has not been voted out of committee. Lawmakers in the House have proposed similar legislation.
Erik Arneson, a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, R-Delaware, said some caucus members have concerns about the legislation.
"Historically, those [concerns] have been of the nature that they don't want this to be a way to simply raise revenue, that the focus needs to be on public safety," he said.
Arneson added that fewer and fewer legislators have those worries as time passes. Still, he said, it would be an uphill battle to pass the bill with only a few more days left this session.
Chitwood said the idea that the legislation would encourage local officers to write tickets simply to raise revenue for municipalities is "absolutely ludicrous." Police officers from Haverford, Aldan and Clifton Heights, as well as Republican state representative candidate Jamie Santora, attended a press conference Monday with Chitwood to rally for the expanded use of radar guns.
To read more CLICK HERE
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
Baltimore unveils plan to combat police misconduct
A report about police misconduct, "Preventing Harm" recommends that Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts increase staff in the internal affairs division, which handles allegations of misconduct, and study the body camera issue. Batts also wants to negotiate with the police union to get wider authority to quickly punish rogue cops, reported the Baltimore Sun.
Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said the 41-page report outlines their plans. The report was released as the U.S. Department of Justice prepares for a months-long review of brutality allegations.
Batts and other police leaders have been "reforming the internal discipline process so that bad actors are punished and bad cops are fired," the report says. "The best way to prevent abuse is to train on its use, circumscribe it with rules, and enforce the rules. When bad actors have impunity, the good cops become demoralized and the bad ones are emboldened."
The report cites a six-month Sun investigation showing that residents have suffered battered faces and broken bones during arrests. The city has paid $5.7 million in court judgments and settlements in 102 civil suits since 2011, The Sun found, and nearly all of the people involved in the incidents leading to those lawsuits were cleared of criminal charges.
The investigation also showed that some officers have been sued multiple times over allegations of brutality, and that the city did not track those lawsuits in a comprehensive way until this year.
Batts said public trust is vital to keep the city safe and that the department is moving in the right direction. Many agency policies were outdated or needed major changes, he said.
To reads more Click Here
Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said the 41-page report outlines their plans. The report was released as the U.S. Department of Justice prepares for a months-long review of brutality allegations.
Batts and other police leaders have been "reforming the internal discipline process so that bad actors are punished and bad cops are fired," the report says. "The best way to prevent abuse is to train on its use, circumscribe it with rules, and enforce the rules. When bad actors have impunity, the good cops become demoralized and the bad ones are emboldened."
The report cites a six-month Sun investigation showing that residents have suffered battered faces and broken bones during arrests. The city has paid $5.7 million in court judgments and settlements in 102 civil suits since 2011, The Sun found, and nearly all of the people involved in the incidents leading to those lawsuits were cleared of criminal charges.
The investigation also showed that some officers have been sued multiple times over allegations of brutality, and that the city did not track those lawsuits in a comprehensive way until this year.
Batts said public trust is vital to keep the city safe and that the department is moving in the right direction. Many agency policies were outdated or needed major changes, he said.
To reads more Click Here
Tuesday, October 7, 2014
PLW: Advising Clients of the Collateral Consequences of Conviction
Matthew T. Mangino
The Pennsylvania Law Weekly
October 7, 2014
Several years ago, the American Bar Association identified more than 38,000 penalties, called collateral consequences, that can impact an offender convicted of a crime long after that offender has completed his or her sentence.
Collateral consequences are the additional civil penalties tied to a criminal conviction that can have a lifetime impact on an offender. These consequences include barriers to housing, education, employment, disenfranchisement and ineligibility for public benefits.
Collateral consequences are distinct from direct consequences of convictions in that they are not formally part of punishment or sentencing, and are triggered outside the jurisdiction of the criminal courts, according to the National Employment Law Project.
The collateral consequences of crime are add-ons to punishment meted out by legislative action following a criminal conviction.
It is not as though direct punishment imposed on convicted criminals is inadequate. At the end of 2013, the United States held an estimated 1.57 million people in state and federal prisons, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Incarceration is not the only place in which supervision of offenders has increased. According to professor Tracy Sohoni in "The Effect of Collateral Consequence Laws on State Rates of Returns to Prison," "probation and parole have also seen large increases in numbers, with 800,000 people currently on parole and an additional 4 million individuals on probation. This has culminated in a situation in which 1 in 33 Americans is currently under some form of correctional supervision."
According to the NELP, an estimated 65 million Americans have a criminal record. Every sentence, unless it is death or life without parole, will have a beginning and an end. Collateral penalties have the capacity to go on forever.
Traditionally, counsel in a criminal case cannot be deemed ineffective for failing to advise a defendant regarding the collateral consequences of a plea or conviction, although some would argue that justice dictates that a defendant be fully advised of the ramifications of a conviction.
According to attorney Margaret Colgate Love in "Collateral Consequences after Padilla v. Kentucky: From Punishment to Regulation," for many years, courts drew a bright line between "the 'direct' consequences of conviction, which a criminal defendant had a right to know about before entering a guilty plea, and 'collateral' consequences that were considered constitutionally irrelevant to that decision, no matter how important they might be to the defendant."
Then the U.S. Supreme Court decided Padilla v. Kentucky, 559 U.S. 356 (2010). The high court ruled that a criminal defense attorney must advise a noncitizen client about the deportation risks of a guilty plea. The case extended the Supreme Court's prior decisions on criminal defendants' Sixth Amendment right to counsel to immigration matters.
Then in the summer of 2012 the court decided Missouri v. Frye, 132 S.Ct. 1399 (2012), and Lafler v. Cooper, 132 S.Ct. 1376 (2012). These decisions provided that criminal defendants are entitled to effective and competent representation during plea negotiations. Would that extend to advising clients of the collateral consequences of a conviction?
In Pennsylvania, the answer appears to be no. In December 2012, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court decided Commonwealth v. Abraham, 58 A.3d 42 (2012). Joseph Abraham, a retired teacher, unknowingly forfeited his pension as a collateral consequence of pleading guilty to a misdemeanor. He was not advised by his counsel of the consequences and apparently the prosecutor and judge were not aware of the plea's impact. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled, "Not getting money as a consequence of breaching an employment contract cannot be equated with being forced to leave the country [a reference to Padilla]. ... We cannot conclude forfeiture of an employment benefit is so enmeshed in the criminal process that it cannot be subjected to a direct versus collateral consequences analysis."
Pennsylvania law is replete with high-impact collateral consequences for criminal convictions. For example, 4 Pa. Code 7.173 provides, "As soon as practicable after an employee has been formally charged with criminal conduct related to his employment with the commonwealth or which constitutes a felony, the employee shall be suspended without pay. If the charge results in conviction in a court of law, the employee shall be terminated."
Society indirectly suffers the unintended consequences of collateral sanctions. The unemployment rate of formerly incarcerated offenders one year after release is estimated to be near 60 percent, and there is an increasing reluctance among employers to hire people with criminal histories. Offenders successfully returning home from prison often identify employment as the most important factor that helped them stay crime-free.
A former offender "may be ineligible for many federally funded health and welfare benefits, food stamps, public housing and federal educational assistance," according to the ABA. Collateral consequences may prohibit military service, possession of a firearm or a federal security clearance.
A little more than a decade ago, access to information about collateral consequences across states was very limited. In 2003, the ABA urged jurisdictions to identify and codify collateral sanctions. A few years later the Uniform Law Commission made similar recommendations.
The Court Security Improvement Act of 2007, Section 510, directed the National Institute of Justice to collect and analyze the collateral consequences for each U.S. jurisdiction, resulting in the National Inventory of the Collateral Consequences of Conviction, which has a website at www.abacollateralconsequences.org. The website makes it possible for criminal and civil lawyers to determine which collateral consequences are triggered by particular categories of offense and to help offenders facing sentencing understand the potential impact of collateral civil penalties imposed by law.
Daryl Atkinson, a staff attorney with the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, spent 40 months in prison in the late 1990s.
Atkinson told Legal affiliate the National Law Journal that the website "is literally lifting the veil on these invisible punishments. When I think about my personal experiences ... 40 months of incarceration was a blip on the radar screen of life. When I'm released, I face this web of invisible punishments that I knew nothing about."
Pennsylvania practitioners can use the website as a first step in advising clients facing criminal prosecution about the potential impact of collateral civil penalties that could affect various aspects of an offender's life, not least of which include licensure, employment, entitlements and residency.
Matthew T. Mangino is of counsel with Luxenberg, Garbett, Kelly & George. His book, "The Executioner's Toll, 2010," was recently released by McFarland & Co. You can reach him at www.mattmangino.com and follow him on Twitter @MatthewTMangino.
Visit the PLW
The Pennsylvania Law Weekly
October 7, 2014
Several years ago, the American Bar Association identified more than 38,000 penalties, called collateral consequences, that can impact an offender convicted of a crime long after that offender has completed his or her sentence.
Collateral consequences are the additional civil penalties tied to a criminal conviction that can have a lifetime impact on an offender. These consequences include barriers to housing, education, employment, disenfranchisement and ineligibility for public benefits.
Collateral consequences are distinct from direct consequences of convictions in that they are not formally part of punishment or sentencing, and are triggered outside the jurisdiction of the criminal courts, according to the National Employment Law Project.
The collateral consequences of crime are add-ons to punishment meted out by legislative action following a criminal conviction.
It is not as though direct punishment imposed on convicted criminals is inadequate. At the end of 2013, the United States held an estimated 1.57 million people in state and federal prisons, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Incarceration is not the only place in which supervision of offenders has increased. According to professor Tracy Sohoni in "The Effect of Collateral Consequence Laws on State Rates of Returns to Prison," "probation and parole have also seen large increases in numbers, with 800,000 people currently on parole and an additional 4 million individuals on probation. This has culminated in a situation in which 1 in 33 Americans is currently under some form of correctional supervision."
According to the NELP, an estimated 65 million Americans have a criminal record. Every sentence, unless it is death or life without parole, will have a beginning and an end. Collateral penalties have the capacity to go on forever.
Traditionally, counsel in a criminal case cannot be deemed ineffective for failing to advise a defendant regarding the collateral consequences of a plea or conviction, although some would argue that justice dictates that a defendant be fully advised of the ramifications of a conviction.
According to attorney Margaret Colgate Love in "Collateral Consequences after Padilla v. Kentucky: From Punishment to Regulation," for many years, courts drew a bright line between "the 'direct' consequences of conviction, which a criminal defendant had a right to know about before entering a guilty plea, and 'collateral' consequences that were considered constitutionally irrelevant to that decision, no matter how important they might be to the defendant."
Then the U.S. Supreme Court decided Padilla v. Kentucky, 559 U.S. 356 (2010). The high court ruled that a criminal defense attorney must advise a noncitizen client about the deportation risks of a guilty plea. The case extended the Supreme Court's prior decisions on criminal defendants' Sixth Amendment right to counsel to immigration matters.
Then in the summer of 2012 the court decided Missouri v. Frye, 132 S.Ct. 1399 (2012), and Lafler v. Cooper, 132 S.Ct. 1376 (2012). These decisions provided that criminal defendants are entitled to effective and competent representation during plea negotiations. Would that extend to advising clients of the collateral consequences of a conviction?
In Pennsylvania, the answer appears to be no. In December 2012, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court decided Commonwealth v. Abraham, 58 A.3d 42 (2012). Joseph Abraham, a retired teacher, unknowingly forfeited his pension as a collateral consequence of pleading guilty to a misdemeanor. He was not advised by his counsel of the consequences and apparently the prosecutor and judge were not aware of the plea's impact. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled, "Not getting money as a consequence of breaching an employment contract cannot be equated with being forced to leave the country [a reference to Padilla]. ... We cannot conclude forfeiture of an employment benefit is so enmeshed in the criminal process that it cannot be subjected to a direct versus collateral consequences analysis."
Pennsylvania law is replete with high-impact collateral consequences for criminal convictions. For example, 4 Pa. Code 7.173 provides, "As soon as practicable after an employee has been formally charged with criminal conduct related to his employment with the commonwealth or which constitutes a felony, the employee shall be suspended without pay. If the charge results in conviction in a court of law, the employee shall be terminated."
Society indirectly suffers the unintended consequences of collateral sanctions. The unemployment rate of formerly incarcerated offenders one year after release is estimated to be near 60 percent, and there is an increasing reluctance among employers to hire people with criminal histories. Offenders successfully returning home from prison often identify employment as the most important factor that helped them stay crime-free.
A former offender "may be ineligible for many federally funded health and welfare benefits, food stamps, public housing and federal educational assistance," according to the ABA. Collateral consequences may prohibit military service, possession of a firearm or a federal security clearance.
A little more than a decade ago, access to information about collateral consequences across states was very limited. In 2003, the ABA urged jurisdictions to identify and codify collateral sanctions. A few years later the Uniform Law Commission made similar recommendations.
The Court Security Improvement Act of 2007, Section 510, directed the National Institute of Justice to collect and analyze the collateral consequences for each U.S. jurisdiction, resulting in the National Inventory of the Collateral Consequences of Conviction, which has a website at www.abacollateralconsequences.org. The website makes it possible for criminal and civil lawyers to determine which collateral consequences are triggered by particular categories of offense and to help offenders facing sentencing understand the potential impact of collateral civil penalties imposed by law.
Daryl Atkinson, a staff attorney with the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, spent 40 months in prison in the late 1990s.
Atkinson told Legal affiliate the National Law Journal that the website "is literally lifting the veil on these invisible punishments. When I think about my personal experiences ... 40 months of incarceration was a blip on the radar screen of life. When I'm released, I face this web of invisible punishments that I knew nothing about."
Pennsylvania practitioners can use the website as a first step in advising clients facing criminal prosecution about the potential impact of collateral civil penalties that could affect various aspects of an offender's life, not least of which include licensure, employment, entitlements and residency.
Matthew T. Mangino is of counsel with Luxenberg, Garbett, Kelly & George. His book, "The Executioner's Toll, 2010," was recently released by McFarland & Co. You can reach him at www.mattmangino.com and follow him on Twitter @MatthewTMangino.
Visit the PLW
Monday, October 6, 2014
GateHouse: Rape kit backlog creates problems
Matthew T. Mangino
GateHouse Media
October 3, 2014
There are more than 400,000 untested rape kits sitting on the shelves of evidence rooms and crime labs across the country.
A rape kit is literally a small box utilized by hospitals and emergency health care providers to secure evidence from the victim of a sexual assault. The kit typically includes microscope slides and plastic bags for storing evidence such as clothing fibers, hair, saliva, semen, or other bodily fluids. The analysis of a single rape kit can cost as much as $1,500.
The scope of the rape kit backlog is not clear, according to Time.com. Although there are 400,000 untested rape kits, there are not 400,000 missed rape prosecutions. Only an estimated 50 to 60 percent of rape kits contain biological material that does not belong to the victim, according to a National Institute of Justice report.
Women’s organizations and sexual assault advocates have voiced concern over testing of rape kits without permission or knowledge of the people who sought treatment. They suggest that unauthorized testing could prevent future rape victims from seeking medical treatment.
There is a difference between reporting an attack and choosing to press charges, according to the Rape, Assault, Incest National Network. A victim may choose not to immediately press charges following a report to police.
There are reasons a patient may not want to become involved in the criminal justice system including a relationship with the perpetrator; fear of not being believed; past experience with law enforcement; fear of the reaction of family and friends or fear of retaliation by the perpetrator, Cricket Rerko, a sexual assault nurse examiner with the Ohio Alliance to End Sexual Violence, told the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
There is no prohibition against reporting a sexual assault months or even years after it occurs. However, advocates urge victims to contact the police as soon as possible allowing for preservation of evidence crucial to a successful prosecution.
The reality is that between 64 and 96 percent of rapes are never reported to the police and only a small minority of reported cases ever result in a successful prosecution. According to a 2002 study by David Lisak and Paul M. Miller in the Violence and Victims Journal, the vast majority of rapists are never brought to justice.
In Tennessee, a backlog of 12,000 untested rape kits was revealed by a new state law requiring all state police departments to inventory and report their rape kit backlogs to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. The Washington Post reported that some of the untested kits are nearly 30 years old.
California Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner wrote in a recent op-ed that her legislation, Assembly Bill 1517, was introduced to encourage universal testing of rape kits. Her legislation provides that law enforcement send rape kits to labs within 20 days of receiving them and for labs to process the kits and upload DNA profile information into a national database within 120 days.
California has not yet acted on the legislation.
In Ohio, Attorney General Mike DeWine made rape kit testing a major campaign issue during the 2010 attorney general’s race.
Making good on his campaign promise, DeWine offered free DNA testing to law enforcement agencies with untested rape kits in which a crime was believed to have been committed. According to WKYC-TV, a total of 141 law enforcement agencies have submitted untested rape kits.
As of the first of July, eight thousand and one kits had been submitted from around the state of Ohio, and 4,108 have been tested. The testing has resulted in 1,474 matches with records in the national DNA database — 35 percent of all kits tested.
Policymakers are trying to find a delicate balance. How do authorities vigorously pursue predators without trampling on the rights of victims to deal with the horrific trauma of rape on their own terms?
Matthew T. Mangino is of counsel with Luxenberg, Garbett, Kelly & George P.C. His book “The Executioner’s Toll, 2010” was recently released by McFarland Publishing. You can reach him at www.mattmangino.com and follow him on Twitter at @MatthewTMangino.
Visit the Column
GateHouse Media
October 3, 2014
There are more than 400,000 untested rape kits sitting on the shelves of evidence rooms and crime labs across the country.
A rape kit is literally a small box utilized by hospitals and emergency health care providers to secure evidence from the victim of a sexual assault. The kit typically includes microscope slides and plastic bags for storing evidence such as clothing fibers, hair, saliva, semen, or other bodily fluids. The analysis of a single rape kit can cost as much as $1,500.
The scope of the rape kit backlog is not clear, according to Time.com. Although there are 400,000 untested rape kits, there are not 400,000 missed rape prosecutions. Only an estimated 50 to 60 percent of rape kits contain biological material that does not belong to the victim, according to a National Institute of Justice report.
Women’s organizations and sexual assault advocates have voiced concern over testing of rape kits without permission or knowledge of the people who sought treatment. They suggest that unauthorized testing could prevent future rape victims from seeking medical treatment.
There is a difference between reporting an attack and choosing to press charges, according to the Rape, Assault, Incest National Network. A victim may choose not to immediately press charges following a report to police.
There are reasons a patient may not want to become involved in the criminal justice system including a relationship with the perpetrator; fear of not being believed; past experience with law enforcement; fear of the reaction of family and friends or fear of retaliation by the perpetrator, Cricket Rerko, a sexual assault nurse examiner with the Ohio Alliance to End Sexual Violence, told the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
There is no prohibition against reporting a sexual assault months or even years after it occurs. However, advocates urge victims to contact the police as soon as possible allowing for preservation of evidence crucial to a successful prosecution.
The reality is that between 64 and 96 percent of rapes are never reported to the police and only a small minority of reported cases ever result in a successful prosecution. According to a 2002 study by David Lisak and Paul M. Miller in the Violence and Victims Journal, the vast majority of rapists are never brought to justice.
In Tennessee, a backlog of 12,000 untested rape kits was revealed by a new state law requiring all state police departments to inventory and report their rape kit backlogs to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. The Washington Post reported that some of the untested kits are nearly 30 years old.
California Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner wrote in a recent op-ed that her legislation, Assembly Bill 1517, was introduced to encourage universal testing of rape kits. Her legislation provides that law enforcement send rape kits to labs within 20 days of receiving them and for labs to process the kits and upload DNA profile information into a national database within 120 days.
California has not yet acted on the legislation.
In Ohio, Attorney General Mike DeWine made rape kit testing a major campaign issue during the 2010 attorney general’s race.
Making good on his campaign promise, DeWine offered free DNA testing to law enforcement agencies with untested rape kits in which a crime was believed to have been committed. According to WKYC-TV, a total of 141 law enforcement agencies have submitted untested rape kits.
As of the first of July, eight thousand and one kits had been submitted from around the state of Ohio, and 4,108 have been tested. The testing has resulted in 1,474 matches with records in the national DNA database — 35 percent of all kits tested.
Policymakers are trying to find a delicate balance. How do authorities vigorously pursue predators without trampling on the rights of victims to deal with the horrific trauma of rape on their own terms?
Matthew T. Mangino is of counsel with Luxenberg, Garbett, Kelly & George P.C. His book “The Executioner’s Toll, 2010” was recently released by McFarland Publishing. You can reach him at www.mattmangino.com and follow him on Twitter at @MatthewTMangino.
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Sunday, October 5, 2014
The Vindicator: Untested rape kits become campaign issue in AG race
Matthew T. Mangino
The Youngstown Vindicator
October 5, 2014
Untested rape kits have become an issue in the Ohio attorney general’s race this fall. A rape kit is literally a small box utilized by hospitals and emergency health care providers to secure evidence from the victim of a sexual assault.
A rape kit typically includes microscope slides and plastic bags for storing evidence such as clothing fibers, hair, saliva, semen, or other bodily fluids. The Blade of Toledo reported that analyzing the contents of a rape kit can cost as much as $1,500.
Attorney General Mike DeWine made rape kit testing a major campaign issue during the 2010 attorney general’s race.
In December 2011, De-Wine offered free DNA testing to law-enforcement agencies with untested rape kits in cases where a crime was believed to have been committed. A total of 141 law enforcement agencies have submitted untested rape kits, according to WKYC-TV.
Some of the untested rape kits have been sitting in storage for years. The evidence was collected from patients who allowed medical staff to examine their bodies, though they refused to report the matter to police.
National DNA base
DeWine wrote in a Washington Post op-ed this summer, that as of the first of July, 8,001 kits had been submitted from around Ohio, and 4,108 have been tested. This has resulted in 1,474 matches with records in the national DNA database — 35 percent of all kits tested.
Women’s organizations and advocates for victims of sexual assault have voiced concern over testing of rape kits without permission or knowledge of the people who sought treatment. They suggest that unauthorized testing could prevent future rape victims from seeking medical treatment.
There is a difference between reporting an attack and choosing to press charges, according to the Rape, Assault, Incest National Network. A victim may choose not to immediately press charges following a report to police.
The reasons a patient may not want to become involved in the criminal justice system include a relationship with the perpetrator; fear of not being believed; past experience with law enforcement; concern over the reaction of family and friends or fear of retaliation by the perpetrator, Cricket Rerko, a sexual assault nurse examiner with the Ohio Alliance to End Sexual Violence, told The Plain Dealer of Cleveland.
There is no prohibition against reporting a sexual assault months or even years after it occurs. However, advocates urge victims to contact the police as soon as possible allowing for preservation of evidence crucial to a successful prosecution.
The concern for some women who submitted to a rape kit and refused to report the matter to the police is that a prosecutor can move forward with charges based solely on the evidence presented and not the cooperation of the victim.
‘Anonymous kit’
Sondra Miller, president of the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center told the Plain Dealer, “Offering an option to submit an anonymous kit gives power and control back to the survivor and allows them to decide on their own time who finds out and when.”
DeWine’s office has often pointed to the progress made in processing rape kits and seeking John Doe indictments. The John Doe indictments ensure that the 20-year statute of limitations for rape does not expire before the unknown John Doe’s can be identified.
DeWine’s opponent in this fall’s election, David Pepper, has raised the rape kit issue in his campaign against DeWine. Pepper has denounced the backlog and has proposed involving local crime labs to speed up the analysis of rape kits and some political observers have suggested that the issue is fair game and a legitimate question for voters.
Matthew T. Mangino is of counsel with Luxenberg, Garbett, Kelly & George P.C. His book “The Executioner’s Toll, 2010” was recently released by McFarland Publishing. You can reach him at www.mattmangino.com and follow him on Twitter @MatthewTMangino)
Visit The Vindicator
The Youngstown Vindicator
October 5, 2014
Untested rape kits have become an issue in the Ohio attorney general’s race this fall. A rape kit is literally a small box utilized by hospitals and emergency health care providers to secure evidence from the victim of a sexual assault.
A rape kit typically includes microscope slides and plastic bags for storing evidence such as clothing fibers, hair, saliva, semen, or other bodily fluids. The Blade of Toledo reported that analyzing the contents of a rape kit can cost as much as $1,500.
Attorney General Mike DeWine made rape kit testing a major campaign issue during the 2010 attorney general’s race.
In December 2011, De-Wine offered free DNA testing to law-enforcement agencies with untested rape kits in cases where a crime was believed to have been committed. A total of 141 law enforcement agencies have submitted untested rape kits, according to WKYC-TV.
Some of the untested rape kits have been sitting in storage for years. The evidence was collected from patients who allowed medical staff to examine their bodies, though they refused to report the matter to police.
National DNA base
DeWine wrote in a Washington Post op-ed this summer, that as of the first of July, 8,001 kits had been submitted from around Ohio, and 4,108 have been tested. This has resulted in 1,474 matches with records in the national DNA database — 35 percent of all kits tested.
Women’s organizations and advocates for victims of sexual assault have voiced concern over testing of rape kits without permission or knowledge of the people who sought treatment. They suggest that unauthorized testing could prevent future rape victims from seeking medical treatment.
There is a difference between reporting an attack and choosing to press charges, according to the Rape, Assault, Incest National Network. A victim may choose not to immediately press charges following a report to police.
The reasons a patient may not want to become involved in the criminal justice system include a relationship with the perpetrator; fear of not being believed; past experience with law enforcement; concern over the reaction of family and friends or fear of retaliation by the perpetrator, Cricket Rerko, a sexual assault nurse examiner with the Ohio Alliance to End Sexual Violence, told The Plain Dealer of Cleveland.
There is no prohibition against reporting a sexual assault months or even years after it occurs. However, advocates urge victims to contact the police as soon as possible allowing for preservation of evidence crucial to a successful prosecution.
The concern for some women who submitted to a rape kit and refused to report the matter to the police is that a prosecutor can move forward with charges based solely on the evidence presented and not the cooperation of the victim.
‘Anonymous kit’
Sondra Miller, president of the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center told the Plain Dealer, “Offering an option to submit an anonymous kit gives power and control back to the survivor and allows them to decide on their own time who finds out and when.”
DeWine’s office has often pointed to the progress made in processing rape kits and seeking John Doe indictments. The John Doe indictments ensure that the 20-year statute of limitations for rape does not expire before the unknown John Doe’s can be identified.
DeWine’s opponent in this fall’s election, David Pepper, has raised the rape kit issue in his campaign against DeWine. Pepper has denounced the backlog and has proposed involving local crime labs to speed up the analysis of rape kits and some political observers have suggested that the issue is fair game and a legitimate question for voters.
Matthew T. Mangino is of counsel with Luxenberg, Garbett, Kelly & George P.C. His book “The Executioner’s Toll, 2010” was recently released by McFarland Publishing. You can reach him at www.mattmangino.com and follow him on Twitter @MatthewTMangino)
Visit The Vindicator
Saturday, October 4, 2014
Pennsylvania authorizes the use of Narcan, overdose antidote
Gov. Tom Corbett has signed a bill that’s designed to reduce fatalities from heroin overdoses, partly by making an antidote more available to police and the public.
The drug known as naloxone reverses the effects of heroin and opioids like OxyContin. Police, friends and relatives of addicts will have wider access to the antidote, whose brand name is Narcan.
At least 17 other states have similar laws. Pennsylvania's statute will take effect in 60 days.
Corbett signed the legislation during a ceremony at the University of Pittsburgh in Johnstown.
The bill also offers immunity from criminal prosecution to those who help overdose victims.
The drug known as naloxone reverses the effects of heroin and opioids like OxyContin. Police, friends and relatives of addicts will have wider access to the antidote, whose brand name is Narcan.
At least 17 other states have similar laws. Pennsylvania's statute will take effect in 60 days.
Corbett signed the legislation during a ceremony at the University of Pittsburgh in Johnstown.
The bill also offers immunity from criminal prosecution to those who help overdose victims.
Corbett says that as a prosecutor he watched heroin and similar drugs ruin people’s lives. He says the new law will save lives and ensure that people who help an overdose victim are not punished for doing so.
A legislative study found deadly drug overdoses soared in Pennsylvania between 1990 and 2011. Experts say that’s largely due to the abuse of legal painkillers by users who switch to heroin as a cheaper alternative.
A legislative study found deadly drug overdoses soared in Pennsylvania between 1990 and 2011. Experts say that’s largely due to the abuse of legal painkillers by users who switch to heroin as a cheaper alternative.
Friday, October 3, 2014
Mangino discusses rape case backlog on WYTV-TV
CLICK HERE to watch the interview on WYTV-TV in Youngstown, Ohio.
BOARDMAN, Ohio (WYTV) – In Ohio and other states, old rape kits are being tested.
Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine is one of those that is testing old rape kits to try and solve some old cases. DeWine made the backlog part of his 2010 campaign and his opponent, David Pepper, has brought the issue to the forefront in this year’s campaign.
Nationwide, there are more than 400,000 untested rape kits. In Ohio, more than 4,000 have been tested and there have been a number of arrests and John Doe indictments.
But there are victim advocate groups that have some concerns.
WYTV 33 News legal analyst Matt Mangino said there are several reasons that victim advocate groups are opposed to this “cold testing.” He said one of those is that they want victims to deal with these issues on their own terms.
He said some victims may be afraid to come forward to get treatment if they feel they will get caught up in the legal system.
BOARDMAN, Ohio (WYTV) – In Ohio and other states, old rape kits are being tested.
Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine is one of those that is testing old rape kits to try and solve some old cases. DeWine made the backlog part of his 2010 campaign and his opponent, David Pepper, has brought the issue to the forefront in this year’s campaign.
Nationwide, there are more than 400,000 untested rape kits. In Ohio, more than 4,000 have been tested and there have been a number of arrests and John Doe indictments.
But there are victim advocate groups that have some concerns.
WYTV 33 News legal analyst Matt Mangino said there are several reasons that victim advocate groups are opposed to this “cold testing.” He said one of those is that they want victims to deal with these issues on their own terms.
He said some victims may be afraid to come forward to get treatment if they feel they will get caught up in the legal system.
The Cautionary Instruction: Judicial ethics and discipline questions make headlines
Matthew T. Mangino
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette/Ipso Facto
October 3, 2014
The American Judicature Society, a powerful advocate for judicial reform, ethics and research, is shutting its doors after 101 years in existence.
The society was founded in 1913 as part of the progressive movement, in response to demands for legal reform. The Society has long pushed for merit selection of judges and has also championed ethical conduct for judges and discipline for that skirt their oath.
The demise of the American Judicature Society doesn’t mean that ethics enforcement will be relaxed. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court recently issued a ruling determining the high court has the power to suspend judges.
Chief Justice Ronald D. Castille wrote in the court's opinion, "The Supreme Court has the supervisory power, an aspect of its authority at King's Bench, to order the interim suspension without pay of sitting jurists."
The Judicial Conduct Board had argued that 1993 amendments to the state constitution creating the board stripped from the Supreme Court its ability to discipline judges.
"Acting within their respective authorities and jurisdictions, both the Supreme Court and the Court of Judicial Discipline have authority to issue orders of interim suspension and to impose sanctions upon jurists. To the extent that any such orders ultimately or necessarily conflict, the order of the Supreme Court is 'supreme' and controlling," Castille wrote.
Not every judge accused of an ethics violation is removed from the bench. The Judicial Conduct Board filed ethics charges against Erie Judge Stephanie Domitrovich in July. The complaint states that Domitrovich was critical, impatient and disrespectful in the courtroom. She is charged with six counts of judicial misconduct.
The Judicial Conduct Board asked the court to suspend Domitrovich with or without pay while the disciplinary proceedings proceeded. The Court of Judicial Discipline has determined not to suspend Domitrovich. An ethics trial has not yet been scheduled.
All judges are vulnerable when it comes to ethics complaints. A conservative legal firm is accusing Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg of violating the Judicial Code of Conduct.
At the heart of the claim are recent comments made by Ginsburg about impending gay marriage battles that could come before the Sixth District Court of Appeals, which governs Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee.
Ginsburg told an audience at the University of Minnesota Law School recently that “there will be some urgency” if the appeals court backs bans on gay marriage, forcing the Supreme Court to act more promptly.
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Matthew T. Mangino is of counsel with Luxenberg, Garbett, Kelly & George, P.C. He is the former district attorney of Lawrence County and just completed a six year term on the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole. His weekly column on crime and punishment is syndicated by GateHouse New Service. You can read his musings on the criminal justice system at www.mattmangino.com and follow Matt on Twitter @MatthewTMangino. His new book The Executioner’s Toll, 2010: The Crimes, Arrests, Trials, Appeals, Last Meals, Final Words and Executions of 46 Persons in the United States is now available from McFarland & Company publishers.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette/Ipso Facto
October 3, 2014
The American Judicature Society, a powerful advocate for judicial reform, ethics and research, is shutting its doors after 101 years in existence.
The society was founded in 1913 as part of the progressive movement, in response to demands for legal reform. The Society has long pushed for merit selection of judges and has also championed ethical conduct for judges and discipline for that skirt their oath.
The demise of the American Judicature Society doesn’t mean that ethics enforcement will be relaxed. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court recently issued a ruling determining the high court has the power to suspend judges.
Chief Justice Ronald D. Castille wrote in the court's opinion, "The Supreme Court has the supervisory power, an aspect of its authority at King's Bench, to order the interim suspension without pay of sitting jurists."
The Judicial Conduct Board had argued that 1993 amendments to the state constitution creating the board stripped from the Supreme Court its ability to discipline judges.
"Acting within their respective authorities and jurisdictions, both the Supreme Court and the Court of Judicial Discipline have authority to issue orders of interim suspension and to impose sanctions upon jurists. To the extent that any such orders ultimately or necessarily conflict, the order of the Supreme Court is 'supreme' and controlling," Castille wrote.
Not every judge accused of an ethics violation is removed from the bench. The Judicial Conduct Board filed ethics charges against Erie Judge Stephanie Domitrovich in July. The complaint states that Domitrovich was critical, impatient and disrespectful in the courtroom. She is charged with six counts of judicial misconduct.
The Judicial Conduct Board asked the court to suspend Domitrovich with or without pay while the disciplinary proceedings proceeded. The Court of Judicial Discipline has determined not to suspend Domitrovich. An ethics trial has not yet been scheduled.
All judges are vulnerable when it comes to ethics complaints. A conservative legal firm is accusing Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg of violating the Judicial Code of Conduct.
At the heart of the claim are recent comments made by Ginsburg about impending gay marriage battles that could come before the Sixth District Court of Appeals, which governs Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee.
Ginsburg told an audience at the University of Minnesota Law School recently that “there will be some urgency” if the appeals court backs bans on gay marriage, forcing the Supreme Court to act more promptly.
Visit Ipso Facto
Matthew T. Mangino is of counsel with Luxenberg, Garbett, Kelly & George, P.C. He is the former district attorney of Lawrence County and just completed a six year term on the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole. His weekly column on crime and punishment is syndicated by GateHouse New Service. You can read his musings on the criminal justice system at www.mattmangino.com and follow Matt on Twitter @MatthewTMangino. His new book The Executioner’s Toll, 2010: The Crimes, Arrests, Trials, Appeals, Last Meals, Final Words and Executions of 46 Persons in the United States is now available from McFarland & Company publishers.
Thursday, October 2, 2014
PA Supreme Court has authority to suspend judges
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court issued a ruling determining the high court has the power to suspend judges, reported The Legal Intelligencer.
The court's opinion is in response to a petition filed by Magisterial District Judge Bruno in 2013 after his indictment in the Philadelphia Traffic Court scandal, and is part of the larger debate on whether the high court's authority supersedes that of the Court of Judicial Discipline (CJD) to impose sanctions on judges.
Chief Justice Ronald D. Castille wrote in the court's opinion, "The Supreme Court has the supervisory power, an aspect of its authority at King's Bench, to order the interim suspension without pay of sitting jurists."
According to Castille, Bruno and the Judicial Conduct Board had argued that 1993 amendments to the state constitution creating the board and the CJD stripped from the Supreme Court its ability to discipline judges; however, the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts contended that the high court retained the ultimate disciplinary power.
"The Supreme Court has exclusive jurisdiction at King's Bench to resolve the instant dispute, which implicates supervisory actions of the court relating to personnel of the Unified Judicial System," Castille added. "Acting within their respective authorities and jurisdictions, both the Supreme Court and the CJD have authority to issue orders of interim suspension and to impose sanctions upon jurists. To the extent that any such orders ultimately or necessarily conflict, the order of the Supreme Court is 'supreme' and controlling."
To read more Click Here:
The court's opinion is in response to a petition filed by Magisterial District Judge Bruno in 2013 after his indictment in the Philadelphia Traffic Court scandal, and is part of the larger debate on whether the high court's authority supersedes that of the Court of Judicial Discipline (CJD) to impose sanctions on judges.
Chief Justice Ronald D. Castille wrote in the court's opinion, "The Supreme Court has the supervisory power, an aspect of its authority at King's Bench, to order the interim suspension without pay of sitting jurists."
According to Castille, Bruno and the Judicial Conduct Board had argued that 1993 amendments to the state constitution creating the board and the CJD stripped from the Supreme Court its ability to discipline judges; however, the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts contended that the high court retained the ultimate disciplinary power.
"The Supreme Court has exclusive jurisdiction at King's Bench to resolve the instant dispute, which implicates supervisory actions of the court relating to personnel of the Unified Judicial System," Castille added. "Acting within their respective authorities and jurisdictions, both the Supreme Court and the CJD have authority to issue orders of interim suspension and to impose sanctions upon jurists. To the extent that any such orders ultimately or necessarily conflict, the order of the Supreme Court is 'supreme' and controlling."
To read more Click Here:
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
Prosecutor wants more money to clean up rape kit backlog
The prosecutor in Ohio's largest county says he needs extra personnel to more quickly clear a backlog of rape cases awaiting DNA testing at the state lab, reported the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy McGinty told the county council that the eight additional investigators and one victim advocate he needs will cost taxpayers about $600,000 a year.
McGinty says that with the extra people, the task force will be able to clear the backlog by February 2017 — rather than the projected completion date of September 2018.
The Northeast Ohio Media Group reports that 12 task force investigators now are working 1,000 open rape cases. More are coming in every week as the state lab works through the 4,000 untested rape kits submitted by Cleveland police and suburban departments.
To read more Click Here
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