MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'criminal justice'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 02:17:32 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4714725&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FJEepNZs3JeA%2F By David RittgersThe Wall Street Journal law blog has a piece up on how the budget crisis is impacting public defenders: Funding constraints have prompted states and counties to lay off public defenders, hold the line on salaries, and reduce the amount defenders can spend case investigators and staff training, the WSJ reports. Public defenders maintain that they should be insulated from budget cuts for two reasons, the first being that they were sorely underfunded before the recession came along.  Secondly, they point to the fact that states have a duty, enshrined in Gideon v. Wainwright, to provide indigent criminal defendants with the right to counsel. Stephen J. Schulhofer and David Friedman recently published a Cato Policy Analysis, Reforming Indigent Defense that proposes a free mark... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4714725 Thu, 14 Apr 2011 16:29:23 +0100 4714725 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4532190&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fr9Nm4-WAS3U%2F By David RittgersYou are probably familiar with the story of Brian Aitken, the responsible gun owner wrongly convicted of violating New Jersey’s draconian gun laws. Governor Chris Christie commuted Aitken’s sentence, and his appeal is still pending. As Radley Balko often says, libertarianism happens to people. It happened to Brian Aitken: Aitken never thought of himself as a libertarian, but two years in the clutches of the state system has changed him completely. Before the arrest, the young, apolitical entrepreneur was on his way to a successful career in digital marketing. “I never considered myself a person who is really interested in politics,” Aitken says. “But after all this happened I am definitely a hardcore libertarian now.” Read the whole thing. Libertarianism Happen... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4532190 Mon, 28 Feb 2011 21:15:25 +0100 4532190 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4482826&cid=t_104567_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F02%2F15%2Fpunishment-a-cultural-phenomenon%2F We are a culture that believes in punishment. Not just for the criminal or the misbehaving child, but in almost every interaction we have, from our intimate partners to our global enemies and friends. We don’t just see punishment as a deterrent. We think punishment works to change another’s behavior. Just look around. Take a closer look at how you approach a difficult conversation. We all do it. We use punishment all of the time. We don’t even think about it. Punishment is a completely ineffective way to change anyone’s behavior. Punishment simply breeds punishment-avoidance — and what we resist persists. In spite of ongoing and frequent evidence to the contrary, Americans rely on punishment to effect positive change in all areas of our lives. From our child-rearing prac... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4482826 Tue, 15 Feb 2011 18:31:57 +0100 4482826 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4460005&cid=t_104567_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F02%2F10%2Fcan-you-fake-feeling-remorse%2F An offender in the criminal justice system often seeks to portray themselves as feeling remorse, especially when it comes time for sentencing in front of a judge, or parole hearings and the like. It may be easier to relate to someone who feels genuinely sorry for their crime. And it may be easier to show some mercy to a person who appears to be displaying genuine remorse. Deception is also a good part of any skilled criminal’s behavioral toolkit, because dumb, honest criminals don’t usually last long. So how can you detect whether someone is feeling genuine remorse, versus deceptive remorse in order to gain some favor with another person? Canadian researchers from the University of British Columbia and the Memorial University of Newfoundland set to find out. In the first inve... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4460005 Thu, 10 Feb 2011 23:07:29 +0100 4460005 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4459939&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F15JGehVfEHQ%2F By David RittgersThe American criminal justice system has long been flawed. This probably isn’t news to you. What is news is the emergence of a broad chorus of organizations and leaders from across the political spectrum speaking out in support of serious reform. A few examples: The Smart on Crime Coalition released its recommendations (and in pdf) for the 112th Congress, providing ways that the federal government can help fix the criminal justice system. Congress creates, on average, a new criminal offense every week. The urge to overcriminalize just about everything needs to be replaced with serious thought about how broadly Congress writes laws so that the drive to lock up a few bad actors does not make felons of a large portion of the citizenry. The Smart on Crime report also points ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4459939 Thu, 10 Feb 2011 22:00:12 +0100 4459939 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4450274&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fm2DAkL47z-w%2F By David RittgersThe Federalist Society has a podcast up, Miranda & Terror Suspects, debating whether terrorism suspects should be given Miranda warnings. University of Utah law professors Paul Cassell and Amos Guiora debate the issue, and Richard D. Klingler of Sidley Austin LLP moderates. Cassell provides a slideshow to go with the audio file. Listening to the podcast, I’m struck at how so many of the concerns cited by Cassell are already dealt with by existing case law. The Quarles case created a “public safety” exception to Miranda that allows officers to ask questions without giving Miranda warnings when there is an ongoing threat to public safety. In Quarles, a revolver hidden in a supermarket was enough to create the exception. As I wrote at Townhall.com in August, the “... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4450274 Tue, 08 Feb 2011 20:46:13 +0100 4450274 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4277818&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FCn2VmIrRHiY%2F By David RittgersNew Jersey Governor Chris Christie has commuted the seven-year sentence of Brian Aitken, the man wrongfully convicted on firearms charges under that state’s draconian gun laws. Good. While a full pardon seems more appropriate – the judge in this case should have given the jury instructions on the “moving exception” that protected Aitken – this is at least recognition of an injustice and relief for one man and his family. The New Jersey state judicial system’s webpage describes the grand jury’s function as “a screening mechanism to protect citizens from unfounded charges.” That didn’t happen in this case. For more on this phenomenon, read this Cato Policy Analysis, “A Grand Façade: How the Grand Jury Was Captured by the Government.” For more Cato wo... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4277818 Tue, 21 Dec 2010 16:29:49 +0100 4277818 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4225224&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F02wUUY9gpag%2F By David RittgersBrian Aitken, a finance student at NYU and economic scholar at the Foundation of Economic Education, ran afoul of New Jersey’s draconian gun laws when he was arrested while transporting two handguns unloaded and locked in the trunk of his car. After separating from his wife in 2008, Aitken moved from Colorado to his native home of New Jersey the end of that year, to be closer to his son. Shortly thereafter, in January 2009, Aitken – according to one account – “became distraught, muttered something to his mother, and left his parents’ home in Mount Laurel, NJ,” after his ex-wife canceled a visit with their son. At that point, his mother, who is a trained social worker, called the police out of concern. That’s when things went downhill for Aitken. After the pol... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4225224 Thu, 02 Dec 2010 20:38:05 +0100 4225224 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4183284&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FaYRbtb2N_LI%2F By David RittgersYou’ve probably heard that a jury found Al Qaeda bomber Ahmed Ghailani guilty on only one out of 286 charges associated with the 1998 embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania. A predictable debate followed. Glenn Greenwald cited the outcome as proof that the system works, while Liz Cheney, Debra Burlingame and Bill Kristol described the trial as a reckless experiment. Thomas Joscelyn called the trial a miscarriage of justice. The most insightful commentary I’ve seen is over at Lawfare. Benjamin Wittes and Robert Chesney summed things up pretty well: “Trial in federal court didn’t work out the way the Obama administration wanted, but it wasn’t a disaster–and we can’t honestly say it worked out worse than the military commission alternative would likely have done... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4183284 Thu, 18 Nov 2010 22:51:29 +0100 4183284 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3753799&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FY_7YaQqUknY%2F By David RittgersPornography producer John Stagliano is on trial in Washington, D.C., accused of interstate trafficking of obscenity. Reason has been producing workmanlike coverage of the trial. Setting aside the constitutionally difficult prospect of defining obscenity, the trial is replete with procedural anomalies that call into question the basic fairness of the proceedings. District Court Judge Richard Leon ruled that Stagliano cannot use expert witnesses, and shut the press out of the jury selection process (which, after a full week, has yet to finish). Things don’t bode well for a free and open trial: The courtroom monitors that will display the crucial evidence are all arranged to be out of the sightlines of press and interested citizens, viewable only by jurors and lawyers. ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3753799 Wed, 14 Jul 2010 15:37:23 +0100 3753799 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3577386&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fmvnx1vOBDkY%2F This report is indicative of a broad effort developing across the political spectrum to fix a federal criminal code that has become disconnected from traditional notions of punishing blameworthy conduct. Northwestern Law’s Searle Center on Law, Regulation and Economic Growth held its 2009 Judicial Symposium on Criminalization of Corporate Conduct. The Heritage Foundation is hosting an event highlighting the findings of Without Intent on Monday, May 24 that can also be viewed online. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3577386 Tue, 18 May 2010 18:34:19 +0100 3577386 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3519443&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fz1w3UqPpt48%2F By Gene HealyThat’s what my colleague Tim Lynch’s 2009 volume In the Name of Justice is, according to a glowing review in the new edition of the Loyola Law Review. Tim’s  probably too modest to link it himself, so I’ll do that here. In the review, Professor Laurie L. Levenson of Loyola Law School writes: I have been teaching criminal law for more than twenty years and the one question I predictably get from my students every year is, “Why do we have to read so much?” Sometimes they add, “Isn’t there one book—one article—that explains all of criminal law?” Ordinarily, I just smile and assign them more reading. However, the recent book, In the Name of Justice reminded me that there is such a work. This book raises nearly every import... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3519443 Thu, 29 Apr 2010 21:10:59 +0100 3519443 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3322345&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F0UC1gBFocaw%2F By Julian SanchezI’ve been meaning to follow up on Gene Healy’s post from last week on the interrogation and prosecution of terror suspects.  I share Gene’s bemusement at the howls emanating from Republicans who have abruptly decided that George Bush’s longstanding policy of dealing with terrorism cases through the criminal justice system is unacceptable with a Democrat in the White House.  But I also think it’s worth stressing that the arguments being offered — both in the specific case of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab and more generally — aren’t very persuasive even if we suppose that they’re not politically motivated. Two caveats.  First, folks on both sides would do well to take initial reports about the degree of cooperation terror ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3322345 Mon, 01 Mar 2010 19:45:01 +0100 3322345 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3075483&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FMTDefxxybWI%2F By Julian SanchezA modest proposal: Suppose that we decide to streamline our inefficient criminal justice system by treating people under suspicion of involvement with violent crime—whether or not they’ve been arrested, charged, or even informed of this suspicion—as equivalent to convicted felons.  Suppose, then, that we permit them to be stripped of certain constitutionally protected rights at the discretion of the executive branch. Outrageous?  Some depraved brainchild of the Bush administration’s Office of Legal Counsel?  Actually, it’s the editorial position of The New York Times: Under federal law, people who pose a heightened risk of violence cannot buy or own firearms, including convicted felons, domestic abusers, the seriously mentally ill and several other... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3075483 Wed, 09 Dec 2009 17:40:43 +0100 3075483 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3023096&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FRyfkIWvzAf4%2F The New York Times has a good article about how lawyers on both the right and left are working together to try and roll back state power in the criminal justice system. Here is an excerpt: “It’s a remarkable phenomenon,” said Norman L. Reimer, executive director of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. “The left and the right have bent to the point where they are now in agreement on many issues. In the area of criminal justice, the whole idea of less government, less intrusion, less regulation has taken hold.” There’s plenty to be concerned about — overcriminalization, federalization of crime, and the militarization of police tactics.  I told the reporter that Cato has been uniquely positioned on this subject — that is, we remind our friends on... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3023096 Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:09:42 +0100 3023096 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2734244&cid=t_104567_140_f&fid=34849&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftrouble.pwblogs.com%2F2009%2F08%2F25%2Fliveblogging-primetime-outsiders%2F All the below is about this show. Madigan: They didn’t flatter you with that lighting. David Oaks: You’re looking so handsome! I had no idea. Your eyebrows are very sexy. (I’m completely sincere.) “But critics worry …” That’s journalism-speak for “We don’t have any specific sources who say this, but we’ll generalize it so we have reason to [...] (Source: The Trouble With Spikol) The Trouble With Spikol blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2734244 Wed, 26 Aug 2009 03:08:27 +0100 2734244 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2719950&cid=t_104567_140_f&fid=34849&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftrouble.pwblogs.com%2F2009%2F08%2F20%2Fcho-docs-released%2F As we know now, the man who committed mass murder at Virginia Tech, Seung-Hui Cho, was subject to psychological and psychiatric intervention several times while on campus. Some of what disturbed professors were plays like Richard McBeef, a takeoff on Macbeth that took things a little too far. On Wednesday, the university finally released the [...] (Source: The Trouble With Spikol) The Trouble With Spikol blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2719950 Fri, 21 Aug 2009 02:44:13 +0100 2719950 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2890920&cid=t_104567_140_f&fid=34849&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPWBlogs-Trouble%2F%7E3%2FeuJix1qaZQo%2F Friends, it’s been a long, long week (plus change) without you. I was feeling the bite quite keenly, but my mutable work situation — my departure from PW as a full-timer — meant a delay in tending to this blog. Now I’m back, and I have to say, it’s like a nice cold brewski on a really hot day. (Unless you’re in recovery from alcoholism, in which case substitute a cranberry spritzer or whatev.) I feel pretty good. Sleeping late(r) (since working at alt weeklies doesn’t exactly make you rise with the dawn) is nice, though I’ve been a little anxious. So there’s been a fair amount of Ativan consumption that will have my pharmacist givin’ me the fish eye next month. Aside from the fact that Bob Novak is dead (about which I feel nothing... The Trouble With Spikol blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2890920 Tue, 18 Aug 2009 17:37:39 +0100 2890920 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4060675&cid=t_104567_109_f&fid=34859&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.davemsw.com%2Farchives%2F2009%2F08%2Fharsh_punishment_backfires_psychologists_offer_way.php We spend billions on imprisoning the largest proportion of our population than any other nation. Too many of those imprisoned are petty drug offenders. In prison, they some learn how to be more effective criminals and then are turned loose to re-offend. Too many are very young. Petty drug offenders often need CD treatment, not prison. Many are simply supporting the habit that keeps them from a more productive life. However, petty criminals can become hardened career criminals just from the experience of prison. These are facts that have been known for many years. The only thing that keeps us from acting on this knowledge is an uneducated electorate. At the recent APA convention, another expert repeats the message. Image by Rennett Stowe via FlickrScience Daily "The current design of ... Ψ Dare To Dream... blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4060675 Mon, 10 Aug 2009 17:43:09 +0100 4060675 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2630351&cid=t_104567_140_f&fid=34849&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftrouble.pwblogs.com%2F2009%2F07%2F22%2Fva-tech-mental-health-records%2F Coming soon to a headline near you: The mental health records of Virginia Tech Seung-Hui Cho, who killed 32 people before turning the gun on himself. (That number still stuns me.) Apparently, a worker at the counseling center had taken the records home — I’m guessing to protect someone. And for whatever reason, they’ve just [...] (Source: The Trouble With Spikol) The Trouble With Spikol blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2630351 Wed, 22 Jul 2009 14:45:14 +0100 2630351 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2615381&cid=t_104567_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2009%2F07%2F18%2Fimprisoning-people-with-mental-illness%2F People with mental illness are increasingly ending up being imprisoned, rather than in the mental health care system where many of them belong. With the down economy, states and counties — who are primarily responsible for the health of the indigent — cut social services first. And with most public psychiatric hospitals long-since closed, people who have a mental disorder end up being warehoused not in hospitals, but in prisons. Yes, we succeeded in closing down the state mental hospitals. But we moved the population not to outpatient facilities, but to our prisons. Now, finally, people are realizing the short-sightedness of locking people with mental illness up, as the spiraling prison costs of doing so become a burden to cash-strapped local governments. In Philadelphia, a ne... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2615381 Sat, 18 Jul 2009 17:11:30 +0100 2615381 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2602210&cid=t_104567_140_f&fid=34849&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftrouble.pwblogs.com%2F2009%2F07%2F14%2Fthis-didnt-have-to-happen%2F A woman gets picked up for shoplifting in Edison, NJ, and taken to jail. She’s 30. Things are not looking good. She’s from Somerset, NJ–not exactly a den of iniquity. Who knows what’s going on in her life? The end of this story should not be that she dies, in a jail, of suicide. This [...] (Source: The Trouble With Spikol) The Trouble With Spikol blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2602210 Tue, 14 Jul 2009 13:10:41 +0100 2602210 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2598463&cid=t_104567_140_f&fid=34849&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftrouble.pwblogs.com%2F2009%2F07%2F13%2Frip-mumford-morganfurther-explanation-of-mental-health-court%2F The Philadelphia Daily News had a good editorial on Friday about “sequential interception,” which is the approach taken both by the new mental health court and by the Crisis Intervention Teams that work within the police department. From that editorial: Unfortunately for Mumford Morgan, this unit was not called when police shot and killed him last [...] (Source: The Trouble With Spikol) The Trouble With Spikol blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2598463 Mon, 13 Jul 2009 14:53:18 +0100 2598463 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2588423&cid=t_104567_140_f&fid=34849&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftrouble.pwblogs.com%2F2009%2F07%2F09%2Fmental-health-court-round-three%2F Okay, below I issued a response to a general assertion about probation and parole. But to get Philly-specific, this idea is far from scary for offenders. In fact, it’s already in use, in a sense. From the Inky article: One reason the Mental Health Court concept was supported by such diverse parties as prosecutor Abraham and [...] (Source: The Trouble With Spikol) The Trouble With Spikol blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2588423 Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:21:05 +0100 2588423 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2588424&cid=t_104567_140_f&fid=34849&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftrouble.pwblogs.com%2F2009%2F07%2F09%2Fmental-health-court-round-two%2F Yesterday I linked to a story in the Philly Inquirer about the establishment of a Mental Health Court here in Philly. A reader left this comment: Well that settles it, not moving back to Philly. MH Courts are just another form of forced drugging. Why not use parole and probation which are set up to do [...] (Source: The Trouble With Spikol) The Trouble With Spikol blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2588424 Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:03:18 +0100 2588424 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2584377&cid=t_104567_140_f&fid=34849&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftrouble.pwblogs.com%2F2009%2F07%2F08%2Fphilly-gets-a-mental-health-court-sweeney-calls-me-out%2F Damn — I can’t believe I got scooped by Philebrity on a mental health issue. Snap! But the truth is, this is a good thing. Yes, we will find a way to f. it up, but it’s a start. Tomorrow we’ll talk more about it. But it’s unquestionably a positive development. Philadelphia opens Mental Health Court (Source: The Trouble With Spikol) The Trouble With Spikol blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2584377 Wed, 08 Jul 2009 21:19:19 +0100 2584377 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2571180&cid=t_104567_140_f&fid=34849&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftrouble.pwblogs.com%2F2009%2F07%2F02%2Fsuperb-advice%2F Thanks to advocate Fran Hazam for forwarding Dr. Lloyd I. Sederer’s article “Can You Trust Your Psychiatrist” from HuffPost. Citing influence from Big Pharma — and basically explaining the way the influence filters down to you — Sederer breaks down what you need to do to ensure the best care: First, be an informed consumer. Just [...] (Source: The Trouble With Spikol) The Trouble With Spikol blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2571180 Thu, 02 Jul 2009 15:55:39 +0100 2571180 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2553219&cid=t_104567_140_f&fid=34849&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftrouble.pwblogs.com%2F2009%2F06%2F29%2Fzoloft-made-me-do-it-try-to-kill-myself-and-murder-my-girlfriend%2F Despite the glib title of this ongoing TTWS feature (Blank Made Me Do It), there are some cases that are quite serious and upsetting. The one of Randall Robbins II is that kind of case, if only because it brings up–for the umpteenth time–this issue of those black-box warnings on antidepressants. From the L.A. Times: Randall [...] (Source: The Trouble With Spikol) The Trouble With Spikol blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2553219 Mon, 29 Jun 2009 15:16:01 +0100 2553219 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2464421&cid=t_104567_140_f&fid=34849&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftrouble.pwblogs.com%2F2009%2F06%2F08%2Fpolice-brutality-warning-graphic-content%2F Officer seen striking mentally disabled man on video is placed on desk duty (Source: The Trouble With Spikol) The Trouble With Spikol blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2464421 Mon, 08 Jun 2009 16:06:50 +0100 2464421 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2453166&cid=t_104567_140_f&fid=34849&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftrouble.pwblogs.com%2F2009%2F06%2F05%2Fmental-illness-not-ideology-made-me-do-it-kill-the-abortion-doctor%2F Though I’m a died-in-the-wool liberal — and much of the time, radical — I’ve found it hard to believe that Wichita’s Dr. George Tiller was murdered because some right-wing ideologue had been driven into a pro-life frenzy by the likes of Bill O’Reilly. Much as I believe the right is responsible for many ills in [...] (Source: The Trouble With Spikol) The Trouble With Spikol blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2453166 Fri, 05 Jun 2009 15:26:51 +0100 2453166 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2406120&cid=t_104567_140_f&fid=34849&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftrouble.pwblogs.com%2F2009%2F05%2F14%2Fits-all-about-sports-today%2F Ex-Yankee Jim Leyritz threatened to commit suicide and voluntarily admitted himself—so says FOX Sports. The background: Leyritz is free on bail while awaiting trial on DUI manslaughter charges for the late 2007 death of a restaurant waitress Fredia Ann Veitch in a two-car crash that occurred after the former Yankee was celebrating his 44th birthday. Leyritz [...] (Source: The Trouble With Spikol) The Trouble With Spikol blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2406120 Thu, 14 May 2009 20:49:00 +0100 2406120 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2406123&cid=t_104567_140_f&fid=34849&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftrouble.pwblogs.com%2F2009%2F05%2F13%2Fpower-corrupts-absofuckinglutely%2F Employees at a state school in Corpus Christi, Texas, forced mentally disabled residents to spar in late-night fight clubs, telling them if they didn’t, they’d be beaten or forced to go to prison. Below is a news report. WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT. This is the sickest thing I’ve seen in a long time. As someone on ABC [...] (Source: The Trouble With Spikol) The Trouble With Spikol blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2406123 Wed, 13 May 2009 15:09:50 +0100 2406123 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2387216&cid=t_104567_140_f&fid=34849&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftrouble.pwblogs.com%2F2009%2F05%2F04%2Fupdate-on-rebecca-riley%2F Rebecca Riley’s doctor now the target of a grand jury (Source: The Trouble With Spikol) The Trouble With Spikol blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2387216 Mon, 04 May 2009 15:33:19 +0100 2387216 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2376796&cid=t_104567_140_f&fid=34849&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftrouble.pwblogs.com%2F2009%2F04%2F27%2Fi-feel-sorry-for-basically-everybody-but-not-this-guy%2F Philip Markoff Put On Suicide Watch: ABC News Unless he’s innocent. But I don’t think he is. (Source: The Trouble With Spikol) The Trouble With Spikol blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2376796 Mon, 27 Apr 2009 23:39:05 +0100 2376796 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2358876&cid=t_104567_140_f&fid=34849&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftrouble.pwblogs.com%2F2009%2F04%2F22%2Fabuse-of-mentally-ill-man%2F I often look on my iPhone at the AP’s Mobile News, which as a section called “Wacky.” Much of the time the stories are about a wild pig who bit a woman’s leg in her backyard, or a moose who made love to a lawn ornament. But yesterday I saw one that blew me away. [...] (Source: The Trouble With Spikol) The Trouble With Spikol blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2358876 Wed, 22 Apr 2009 18:33:15 +0100 2358876 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2349669&cid=t_104567_140_f&fid=34849&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftrouble.pwblogs.com%2F2009%2F04%2F17%2Fgood-morning-america-et-al-mental-illness-made-her-do-it%2F Melissa Huckaby is charged with murdering and raping Sandra Cantu, a little girl in her care. In an interview with Good Morning America, her ex-husband is asked, insistently, about his ex-wife’s mental health. Check out the video of the interview here. I know it’s valid to ask about her mental state, but the way it’s done [...] (Source: The Trouble With Spikol) The Trouble With Spikol blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2349669 Fri, 17 Apr 2009 18:55:23 +0100 2349669 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2326837&cid=t_104567_140_f&fid=34849&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftrouble.pwblogs.com%2F2009%2F04%2F09%2Fanimal-hoarder-speaks%2F You often see news stories about the poor wittle kitties who are kept in horrible conditions by some crazy person, but rarely are those people actually given the dignity of an interview. The public cares more about the cats than they do about the human being, who is, BTW, also living in those horrific conditions. Hoarders [...] (Source: The Trouble With Spikol) The Trouble With Spikol blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2326837 Thu, 09 Apr 2009 16:51:41 +0100 2326837 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2232460&cid=t_104567_140_f&fid=34849&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftrouble.pwblogs.com%2F2009%2F03%2F02%2Fwhat-if-someone-said-yes-we-fucked-up%2F Harris jury awards $3M in death involving excessive force They’re going to appeal. Unbelieveable. (Source: The Trouble With Spikol) The Trouble With Spikol blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2232460 Mon, 02 Mar 2009 22:18:22 +0100 2232460 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1764470&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F382432711%2F Joseph Shepard sat in local jails for almost two years on drug related charges.  According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, he’s a man the system forgot–ignored by prosecutors, judges, and his own attorney. (Via How Appealing). In North Carolina, the Courts have ruled that the busier the state gets, the more we need to forget about the constitutional rule requiring speedy trials.  And the drug war makes the courthouse a very busy place indeed. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1764470 Wed, 03 Sep 2008 15:24:58 +0100 1764470 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1760410&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F381531376%2F Glenn Greenwald has a good roundup of militarized police actions in St Paul. Radley Balko looks at police actions in Denver.  For related Cato work on this disturbing trend, go here and here.  We’ll be hosting a forum on no-knock police raids here at Cato next week. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1760410 Tue, 02 Sep 2008 17:03:18 +0100 1760410 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1739701&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F377259274%2F The New York Times reports that the Justice Dept. is rolling back its bullying tactic of penalizing companies that reimburse their employees’ legal fees during investigations and trials.  This move is mostly show–to make the feds seem reasonable and open to suggestions.  But it is really just a reaction to the department’s defeat in today’s KPMG case (pdf) and a lame attempt to stave off legislation that would be more meaningful and permanent. Attorney Richard Janis details these issues in this new Cato report. For still more background, go here, here, and here. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1739701 Thu, 28 Aug 2008 15:54:58 +0100 1739701 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1705151&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F364003831%2F Stephen Colbert on the Gary Ross case. Thanks Colbert.  Interestingly, bad-ass Michael Levine spoke at my Drug War conference several years back.  Levine acknowledges that we waste billions on drug interdiction and other follies, but he can’t bring himself to join other cops that are for calling off this war.  For additional Cato research, go here. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1705151 Wed, 13 Aug 2008 15:57:10 +0100 1705151 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1692525&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F358483140%2F Things are getting worse for Prince George’s County, Md. police officials after last week’s botched no-knock raid (previously chronicled on C@L here).  Not only did the police not have a warrant to conduct a no-knock raid, but it now appears they were well-aware that a drug ring was delivering large shipments of marijuana to innocent addressees’ homes in the D.C. suburbs. The packages would then be intercepted by other members of the ring, all without the addressees’ knowledge or involvement. Nonetheless, the cops executed their guns-ablazin’ raid on the home of Berwyn Heights mayor Cheye Calvo and his wife Trinity Tomsic, where the cops shot the couple’s black Labs and detained Calvo and his mother-in-law in handcuffs for hours. The cops have n... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1692525 Thu, 07 Aug 2008 15:09:16 +0100 1692525 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1689357&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F357589333%2F Federal prosecutors are patting themselves on the back for branding Charles Lynch (no relation) as a criminal that must be locked up for five years.  Charles Lynch ran a medical marijuana dispensary in California.  Reason’s Nick Gillespie has the outrageous details here. For related Cato work, go here and here. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1689357 Wed, 06 Aug 2008 17:13:49 +0100 1689357 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1689361&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F357500751%2F How do I command the scales from the eyes of the drug warriors? Former Catoite Radley Balko continues his coverage of the war on drugs at Reason. He posted yesterday on the Hit and Run blog about the killing of Tarika Wilson by raiding police officers. When one of them shot a dog, another thought it was hostile gunfire and fired blindly into the room where Wilson and her baby cowered. Now she’s dead. [This case] shows how layer upon layer of flawed arguments can allow something as unjustifiable as the shooting death of an unarmed woman and the near-killing of her infant son to be dismissed as mere collateral damage. The initial argument is that we need to prohibit drugs to protect people from the harm they cause. That’s followed by the argument that we need to use aggressive, p... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1689361 Wed, 06 Aug 2008 15:24:57 +0100 1689361 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1672054&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F351606731%2F Steve Chapman takes a look at the problem of ‘voluntary’ roadside searches.  Excerpt: If I approach as you pull into a parking space and ask if you’d mind my rummaging through your car, the chances are at least 90 percent that you’d decline. But if a police officer stops you with the same request, the chances are higher than 90 percent that you’d agree. Something about that badge makes citizens eager to be helpful. Or maybe not. In civics class and 4th of July speeches, we are told that American democracy rests on the consent of the governed. But interactions with the police serve as a useful reminder that government rests less on voluntary cooperation than on fear and force. A nation is free to the extent it prevents the rulers from bullying and coercing th... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1672054 Thu, 31 Jul 2008 14:41:02 +0100 1672054 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1664948&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F349520377%2F Faithful readers of this blog may recall my three-part series (here, here, and here) about the hassle of re-registering a car in the wonderful Commonwealth of Virginia. As you can imagine, that was a libertarian-reaffirming experience. But just in case you were wondering whether the effect was wearing off and I was about to be co-opted by the forces of statism, you can put your mind at ease. I recently had the pleasure of being called for jury duty by Fairfax County. I have to confess that the jury summons did not cause immediate anguish. I had never served on a jury, or even been part of a jury-selection process, so I was a tad bit curious (I did receive a summons at my work address many years ago from the D.C. government, but since I lived in Virginia - and had never lived in DC - I toss... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1664948 Tue, 29 Jul 2008 14:59:27 +0100 1664948 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1655886&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F345922160%2F This weekend the FBI will celebrate its 100th anniversary. As you might expect, the Bureau is trumpeting its record, i.e., the FBI has protected America from gangsters, Nazis, Communists,  mobsters, terrorists, and so forth.  The image has always been super-competent, super-honest agents who hunt down the evil-doers. But what about the actual record of the FBI? Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) has long taken a skeptical view of the FBI and I think his remarks from a 1997 oversight hearing are on the mark: [M]y father’s occupation was farming in Iowa. And in the ’40s and ’50s, when I was growing up, he taught me to respect the FBI. I came to Washington with a great deal of respect for the FBI. I know that my criticism of senior management, in the last year probably, doe... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1655886 Fri, 25 Jul 2008 18:22:41 +0100 1655886 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1652808&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F345215035%2F Here’s a good article by Declan McCullagh on New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo’s outrageous vendetta against Usenet. The article is good not only because yours truly is quoted. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1652808 Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:33:26 +0100 1652808 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1597142&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F329996979%2F Tonight PBS is airing a documentary about Esequiel Hernandez. Hernandez was a high school student who was shot and killed by U.S. Marines on the Mexican border in 1997. The soldiers were on an anti-drug mission. After the killing, all military personnel were removed from the border, but President Bush ordered troops back to the border shortly after 9/11. For a 3 minute clip/preview, go here. For more about the role of the military in the homeland, go here. For more about the militarization of police tactics, go here. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1597142 Tue, 08 Jul 2008 17:29:32 +0100 1597142 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1594146&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F329042925%2F Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is looking into an officer’s chokehold.  The choke was not used against a violent individual.  It was used against a young man who was already in handcuffs.  Suspicion of marijuana possession.  The young man quickly faints. Video clip here.  For more on the drug war, go here.  For more about doublespeak, go here. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1594146 Mon, 07 Jul 2008 17:20:21 +0100 1594146 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1575796&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F326107183%2F Local incident here in the DC suburb of Prince George’s County:  The police are trying to solve a murder, but they can’t get useful information from certain key witnesses–even though those witnesses are themselves law enforcement officers.  It sounds quite odd until you hear the additional details.  The murder victim was suspected of killing a police officer in the line of duty.  Seems like police vigilantism.  Marc Fisher has a good column about the death of Ron White here.  And the Washington Post has an editorial here. This incident provides me with a rare opportunity to criticize the Supreme Court for carrying a provision of the Bill of Rights too far.  To briefly digress, never accept the blithe assertion that “sometimes the courts mistakenly expand... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1575796 Thu, 03 Jul 2008 20:58:05 +0100 1575796 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1561584&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F324015938%2F Bush Administration appointees involved with issues such as the Iraq war and coercive interrogation of suspected terrorists probably don’t spend much time thinking about international tax policy, but they may rue the day that the Justice Department decided to persecute Swiss banks and Swiss bankers for obeying Swiss law and protecting the financial privacy of customers. What’s the connection? By going after Swiss banks and Swiss bankers in hopes of finding a few Americans who might be hiding money from the IRS, the Justice Department is embracing the notion that governments should not be constrained by national boundaries and national laws. Richard Rahn already has an excellent piece explaining why this is an absurd policy, but let’s consider some of the broader implications. What if... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1561584 Tue, 01 Jul 2008 12:37:28 +0100 1561584 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1552306&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F321576071%2F It’s not one of the big cases decided by the Supreme Court this term, but Indiana v. Edwards  shows how these justices are all over the map — from a libertarian legal perspective.  The issue was whether a person can choose to represent himself in court in a criminal case.  This corner of the law was in pretty good shape — the rule that courts followed was this: If the defendant knowingly and voluntarily waives the right to counsel, he can proceed to defend himself (so long as he is orderly and follows the judge’s rules as all attorneys must do).  Some liberals object and say he’ll just screw up and the trial will not be fair.  The response has been that the trial judge should warn the defendant about such risks at the outset, but it’s his cas... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1552306 Fri, 27 Jun 2008 20:19:41 +0100 1552306 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1552308&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F321530317%2F To echo Tim Lynch’s previous post . . . Bob Levy, Alan Gura, Dick Heller, and the other original plaintiffs in District of Columbia v. Heller are to be commended for securing a landmark Supreme Court ruling affirming that the Second Amendment protects the right of law abiding individuals to keep and bear arms.  It’s silly and sad that we needed such a ruling, and we should not forget the uncertainty and the threats to liberty that were made possible by so much constitutional revisionism over the past 40 years. Levy and Gura deserve special recognition for their foresight and courage in pursuing this ruling despite considerable resistance.  That resistance came from a lot of people, with a lot of knowledge about the Second Amendment and the Supreme Court, a lot of influenc... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1552308 Fri, 27 Jun 2008 18:57:42 +0100 1552308 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1538531&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F318380107%2F Jonathan Turley: What citizens need to understand is that it is meaningless how many rights are contained in a Constitution, if the government can deny you access to the courts to vindicate those rights. Richard Epstein: Boumediene v. Bush is not a license to allow hardened terrorists to go free. It is a rejection of the alarmist view that our fragile geopolitical position requires abandoning our commitment to preventing Star Chamber proceedings that result in arbitrary incarceration. Robyn Blumner: Upholding the Constitution doesn’t make us less safe, only more careful with the lives of other people. Affording timely due process to those we suspect is an honorable endeavor engendering goodwill and worldwide respect, and serving, ultimately, as great a protective shield against attac... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1538531 Mon, 23 Jun 2008 21:10:03 +0100 1538531 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1532138&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F316481209%2F Today many newspapers ran a front-page photograph of ex–Bear Stearns fund managers walking in handcuffs. It’s called a “perp walk.” Instead of arresting people quietly, the police parade them in handcuffs before the media. The walk refers to when the whole spectacle is orchestrated in advance (i.e. “Are the TV cameras out there?  Okay, let’s park the van 3 blocks away and walk slowly over to the courthouse.”) Federal Appellate Judge David Sentelle, who was a former prosecutor himself, had a terrific article condemning this pernicious practice.  Here’s an excerpt: Why does the prosecutor subject the accused to that walk of shame in handcuffs before the media?  It still appears to me to be no more nor less than an attempt improperly to sway... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1532138 Fri, 20 Jun 2008 21:17:20 +0100 1532138 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1527346&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F314903497%2F John Yoo published this article in the Wall Street Journal yesterday about the Supreme Court’s Boumediene ruling. He makes too many claims for me to respond to here in a blog post, but let me address a handful. 1. Yoo: “Under the writ of habeas corpus, Americans (and aliens on our territory) can challenge the legality of their detentions before a federal judge.” This is an astonishing statement coming from a former Department of Justice official like John Yoo. I say that because Americans were locked up in military brigs as “enemy combatants.” And their attorneys did file habeas corpus petitions in federal court. The Bush administration responded to those petitions by urging the federal courts to immediately throw them out of court! At one point in the litigat... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1527346 Wed, 18 Jun 2008 21:04:27 +0100 1527346 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1527355&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F313820527%2F Today George Will slams John McCain for his “extravagant condemnation” of last weeks ruling concerning habeas corpus and Guantanamo. Here’s an excerpt: The day after the Supreme Court ruled that detainees imprisoned at Guantanamo are entitled to seek habeas corpus hearings, John McCain called it “one of the worst decisions in the history of this country.” Well…. The purpose of a writ of habeas corpus is to cause a government to release a prisoner or show through due process why the prisoner should be held. Of Guantanamo’s approximately 270 detainees, many certainly are dangerous “enemy combatants.” Some probably are not. None will be released by the court’s decision, which does not even guarantee a right to a hearing. Rather, it g... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1527355 Tue, 17 Jun 2008 13:48:55 +0100 1527355 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1512493&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F310376102%2F The LA Times yesterday revealed that Chief Judge Alex Kozinski of the Ninth Circuit, one of the highest-profile jurists this side of the Supreme Court, has stored various sorts of pornography (to put it mildly) on a publicly accessible website featuring sexually explicit photos and videos.  (The site is now down.)  Kozinski conceded in the LAT interview that some of the material was inappropriate, but defended other sexually explicit content as “funny.”  The story came out because — from the department of “you can’t make this up” — Kozinski was slated to preside over the obscenity trial of a filmmaker whose movies featured, among other things, bestiality and defecation. Kozinski, who is a staunch defender of the First Amendment and general... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1512493 Thu, 12 Jun 2008 12:35:30 +0100 1512493 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1509634&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F309598278%2F I recently finished reading Michael Sheehan’s new book Crush the Cell: How to Defeat Terrorism Without Terrorizing Ourselves. It jibes with much of what I think about terrorism and terrorism counterstrategy, but there’s more than that to recommend it. Sheehan has extensive, on-the-ground experience in counterterrorism operations and policy in the federal government, in the military, at the UN, and in New York City, where he did the work that he is obviously the most proud of. The book overflows with recollections and opinions from someone who has been working on fighting terrorism for many years. This focus almost guarantees differences of opinion with someone like me, whose focus is limited government and protection of liberty, but the differences are profitable to explore. Fo... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1509634 Wed, 11 Jun 2008 12:32:34 +0100 1509634 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1502959&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F308119014%2F The Washington Legal Foundation has just published a Special Report: Federal Erosion of Business Civil Liberties (pdf).  Looks like a comprehensive analysis of the ongoing trend at the federal level to criminalize ordinary business activity.  Check out this admission from the SEC’s Paul Atkins: “What is astonishing is that the attorney-client privilege, one of the foundational rights on which rests Anglo-American legal culture … should now be under siege.  The two federal agencies that have been most vigorous in seeking waiver of the attorney-client privilege have been the Department of Justice and — unfortunately, I must say — the Securities and Exchange Commission.”  Well, admitting the problem is the first step toward addressing the problem.  Bu... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1502959 Mon, 09 Jun 2008 16:05:57 +0100 1502959 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1501525&cid=t_104567_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F06%2F07%2Fsituationist-named-a-top-blog%2F The Criminal Justice Degrees Guide named The Situationist one of the 100 top Criminal Justice Blogs. It described our blog this way: “This smart social psychology blog uncovers research projects and findings, group behavior, child psychology, law and more.” For those interested in criminal justice, the list of top blogs is very much worth perusing. (Source: The Situationist) The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1501525 Sun, 08 Jun 2008 03:09:57 +0100 1501525 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1500580&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F306278236%2F Peter Swire of the Center for American Progress has a paper out called “No Cop on the Beat: Underenforcement in E-Commerce and Cybercrime.” He identifies how local law enforcement lacks the ability and incentive to address various wrongs done on the Internet because of their complexity and their multi-jurisdictional nature. Swire has identified a real problem. Just like everyone else, law enforcement struggles to keep up in the changing online environment. And it’s true that local law enforcement lacks incentive to expend efforts going after a distant cybercrime ring for the benefit of one local complainant and thousands of strangers. (He calls this a “commons problem” and I understand how he means it to illustrate that law enforcement personnel and organizati... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1500580 Fri, 06 Jun 2008 18:14:34 +0100 1500580 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1500583&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F306052730%2F . . . then why do we see stories like this? And this? (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1500583 Fri, 06 Jun 2008 11:51:07 +0100 1500583 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1489182&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F303978198%2F Illegal raids.  Illegal arrests.  Perjury.  Theft.   Conspiracy to murder witnesses? Video clip here. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1489182 Tue, 03 Jun 2008 20:00:30 +0100 1489182 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1489184&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F303220263%2F Interesting voting pattern in a Supreme Court ruling today.  Instead of the usual conservative & liberal voting blocs, we find Scalia, Thomas, Ginsburg, Souter, and Stevens in the majority–while Breyer, Kennedy, Alito and Roberts dissent. The case is called United States v. Santos and the issue was how to interpret the term “proceeds” in the federal money laundering statute.  The case was easy and should have been unanimous.  When a term in a criminal law is unclear, the defendant should get the benefit of the doubt, not the rule-making, rule-enforcing state.  That’s a legal doctrine called the “rule of lenity.”  Unfortunately, the Supremes do not apply that rule consistently.  Happily, the Court reached the correct outcome today.  Here&#82... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1489184 Mon, 02 Jun 2008 20:32:59 +0100 1489184 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1481074&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F301423401%2F Yesterday, the Supreme Court of Texas ruled that Child Protective Services (CPS) abused its discretion by seizing 468 children from the Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints ranch in Eldorado. Eugene Volokh has a roundup of the legal analysis. I wrote about this case a few days ago at NRO, but space limitations kept me from going into more detail about how the women and children were treated while in state custody. For those who have not followed this matter closely, the children were seized by CPS but the mothers were ”permitted” to remain with their children on the condition that they comply with all CPS rules and commands.  CPS invited some mental health workers to the various shelters to help care for the hundreds of children. The mental health workers were d... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1481074 Fri, 30 May 2008 18:30:14 +0100 1481074 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1475621&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F300041770%2F The Washington Post reports that a local police officer has been convicted of shooting and killing an unarmed furniture deliveryman.  The judge handed down a sentence of 45 years imprisonment.  But get this: His disability benefits and police pension are not affected by his convictions, county spokesman John Erzen said. So taxpayers must keep paying this guy’s pension?  Good grief.  Are there any circumstances in which a government employee’s pension can be canceled? (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1475621 Wed, 28 May 2008 18:55:16 +0100 1475621 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1472853&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F299217158%2F Professor James Duane has posted a terrific lecture about the Fifth Amendment’s safeguard concerning self-incrimination and the risk of “waiving” that right by speaking to the police. If you want to divulge your Social Security number and other personal information to a stranger who telephones your home, that’s your choice.  You can choose to ignore common sense and risk identity theft.  Dealing with the police raises similar risks, as Prof. Duane shows.  It’s one thing for you to initiate the encounter, such as by calling the police about your stolen car.  But when the police initiate the encounter, it’s a minefield.   Watch out.  The Supreme Court should make it as plain as possible that people have the right to remain silent.  Unfortuna... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1472853 Tue, 27 May 2008 16:56:22 +0100 1472853 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1466336&cid=t_104567_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F05%2F23%2Fthe-situation-of-capital-punishment-abstract%2F This article presents the results of an empirical study of intentional homicide cases in Missouri. The authors created a database of 1046 cases; it includes substantially all of the homicide cases prosecuted in Missouri over a five year period that were initially charged as murder or voluntary manslaughter and that yielded criminal convictions. The authors selected 247 cases from the larger database for more detailed analysis. We analyzed geographic and racial disparities in the rates at which: prosecutors charge first-degree murder versus lesser charges; prosecutors seek the death penalty, not lesser punishments; defendants are convicted of first-degree murder versus lesser crimes; and defendants are sentenced to death, not lesser punishments. The Missouri statute gives prosecutors very b... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1466336 Fri, 23 May 2008 23:12:31 +0100 1466336 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1464442&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F296662436%2F Yesterday a Texas appeals court finally put a stop to the high-handed seizure of 400+ children in Eldorado.  The Court said there was simply no evidence that the boys or the very young kids–infants and toddlers–were in such immediate danger so as to justify their transfer into foster care pending the outcome of on-going legal proceedings. Eugene Volokh notes that criminal charges remain a possibility.  Yes, let the investigation continue.  But let’s keep the presumption of innocence in tact and await some clear evidence. Related podcast here.  Related article here. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1464442 Fri, 23 May 2008 16:04:30 +0100 1464442 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1461429&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F295273394%2F . . . that D.C. police have to carry around increasingly more-powerful firearms while walking the beat. June 30 can’t come soon enough. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1461429 Wed, 21 May 2008 19:13:19 +0100 1461429 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1459061&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F294494536%2F DC Police Chief rehires bad apples and gives them semiautomatic rifles. The bad apples will now help to investigate and arrest any resident who keeps a gun in his/her home for purposes of self-defense.  Great. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1459061 Tue, 20 May 2008 19:14:19 +0100 1459061 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1437260&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F288862947%2F “Testilying” is a term that police officers use to describe false testimony they give in court so that an otherwise illegal search or arrest can be justified.  It’s hard to tell how common the practice is, but it’s much more common than most people want to believe. This New York Times report is telling.  First, we don’t know how many illegal searches and arrests take place because, as Federal Judge John Martin observes, “We don’t have statistics for all the people who are hassled, no gun is found, and they never get into the system.”  These are low-visibility state offenses that we might call state misdemeanors.  They happen all over but more often in the poorer neighborhoods.  Who would go to the trouble of consulting a lawyer for an ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1437260 Mon, 12 May 2008 18:10:25 +0100 1437260 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1433032&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F287036164%2F Drew Carey and our friends at Reason have produced a great 25 minute documentary about the Corey Maye case. For additional background on the Maye case, go here. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1433032 Fri, 09 May 2008 18:56:57 +0100 1433032 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1433034&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F287019986%2F A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about a legal permanent resident who was arrested because he shared a common name with a suspected illegal immigrant. It illustrated how the E-Verify program would foul things for legal workers, a prominent subject of this paper. Here’s another story of legal permanent resident mistreatment. This illustrates how overblown terror fears can cloud officials’ judgments and foul things for . . . well, everyone. It seems that a woman in Florida asked her relatives in Monterrey, Mexico to ship her the birth certificates of two relatives who want to apply for their Mexican passports at the consulate in South Miami. At the behest of U.S. Customs and Border Security, the envelope is being held by the United Parcel Service in Louisville, Kentucky until sh... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1433034 Fri, 09 May 2008 18:43:25 +0100 1433034 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1429494&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F286120223%2F A TV News helicopter filmed Philadelphia police officers as they repeatedly kick three suspects as they lay on the ground.  Go here to see the video clip. Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey says 5 officers have been taken off street duty because of their actions.   Why are those 5 not under arrest for battery? Philadelphia authorities reportedly hope to identify the other police officers involved in the incident.  Hope?!    If the Commissioner can’t or won’t issue an order to come forward or face dismissal by the close of business, there are deeper problems with the police department. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1429494 Thu, 08 May 2008 14:14:15 +0100 1429494 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1416680&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F282098126%2F Faced with the prospect of years in prison, Deborah Jeane Palfrey, known as the “D.C. Madam,” committed suicide on Thursday. Her pursuers and prosecutors should be ashamed of themselves. Running a house of prostitution is not a distinction most of us would wish for our daughters. But it’s a vice, not a crime. That’s a crucial distinction in a free society. So far as we know, she never murdered, raped, assaulted, robbed, or defrauded anyone. Like any broker, she brought together willing buyers and willing sellers. And for doing so, she was convicted–not actually of prostitution but of “racketeering” and money laundering — and faced up to 55 years in prison, though prosecutors estimated that her sentence would likely be “only” four to s... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1416680 Fri, 02 May 2008 12:51:32 +0100 1416680 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1396597&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F276895176%2F Good column on the seizure of 400+ children from the FLDS ranch in Texas. (HT: Volokh). As I said in this Cato podcast,  I think it is telling that no young adult or child has been found saying “Thank you so much for rescuing me!  It is nice to be in a place where I am not beaten up!”  The absence of proof is now considered evidence of massive “cult” brainwashing.  If a child says “I love my parents and want to go home,” it means he has been brainwashed by the “cult.”  And if a child says “I like my foster parents a lot.  They give me candy and the video games are awesome,” it means the child’s actual parents are unfit. State authorities talk a lot about rape and forced marriages, but 300 children are ages 4... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1396597 Thu, 24 Apr 2008 13:03:48 +0100 1396597 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1396599&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F276879410%2F Much as I hate to rain on my colleague Juan Carlos Hidalgo’s understandable happiness at the decriminalization of personal consumption/possession of small amounts of drugs, this doesn’t exactly represent a ray of hope in Argentina’s otherwise gloomy policy mix.  Not because I believe in the War on Drugs – I can’t imagine anybody at Cato does – but because it was a court that reached this decision instead of a policymaking body. Imagine the outcry if the U.S. Supreme Court simply decreed a policy it didn’t like to be unconstitutional – I know, with Justices Stevens and Kennedy at the apogee of their powers, it’s not a far stretch.  Better yet, recall the poison the Court injected into our legal and political systems when it short... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1396599 Thu, 24 Apr 2008 12:28:31 +0100 1396599 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1382778&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F273124501%2F Good editorial in the Wall Street Journal yesterday regarding the dismissal of Joseph P. Brandon.  The piece notes how federal prosecutors are able to pressure CEOs like Warren Buffet to throw certain executives overboard in order to avoid a dubious federal indictment. Cato adjunct scholar John Hasnas is quoted in the piece, noting that companies will do almost anything to avoid the accusation that they are being “uncooperative.” Hasnas is the author of the Cato book Trapped, which shows how the government is increasingly coercing business executives to take unethical actions — such as discharging employees who have done nothing wrong. More here. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1382778 Fri, 18 Apr 2008 19:59:26 +0100 1382778 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1356589&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F265910300%2F Unable to post bail for a robbery charge, a nineteen year-old man spends his days and nights in the city jail awaiting his trial.  Then his mentally deranged cell mate beats him up and rapes him.  Prison guards rescue the man after dithering for two hours.   Some people believe that prisons are supposed to be hell-holes.  That will help to discourage bad people from commiting crimes in the first place.  Wrong.  Some people need to be incarcerated, but they don’t deserve to be brutalized.  More here and here. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1356589 Mon, 07 Apr 2008 21:11:17 +0100 1356589 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1354349&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F265851937%2F Federal prosecutor wants a federal judge to order citizens to stop talking to the media about a case.  In extraordinary circumstances, a judge can order the attorneys in a particular case to stop talking to the media … but a censorship order to other people?!  Even if the judge promptly rejects this request, we should all be troubled that this was even attempted.  This prosecutor should be shown the door right away. More here, here, and here.    (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1354349 Mon, 07 Apr 2008 19:51:10 +0100 1354349 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1332962&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F259679151%2F David Simon has done it again. First, he created the best show on television, The Wire.  Then, he and his co-writers wrote a passionate critique of the drug war in Time magazine, urging jurors to vote their conscience in certain cases. That article has, in turn, sparked a debate over at the Defending People blog. A Texas prosecutor started the debate with an anonymous post against jury nullification. The prosecutor went so far as to say that anyone advocating jury nullification could be prosecuted in Texas. David Simon just cheerfully joined the fracas.  Previous coverage here. Cato co-published the most comprehensive book on this subject, Jury Nullification: The Evolution of a Doctrine by Clay Conrad. For shorter works, go here, here, and here. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1332962 Fri, 28 Mar 2008 15:39:31 +0100 1332962 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1329353&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F258449824%2F Yesterday, in addition to announcing its decision in the Medellin case (which I blogged about here), the Supreme Court heard argument in two cases relating to the War on Terror.  First, in Munaf v. Geren, two U.S. citizens (also citizens of Jordan and Iraq, respectively) held captive in Iraq by U.S. forces — as part of Multi-National Force-Iraq, which may but should be a key determinant – challenged their detention and potential transfer to Iraqi authorities for what they fear will be torture as part of criminal prosecution in Iraqi courts.  This seems to be an easier case than Boumediene, a case argued in December wherein Guantanamo detainees challenge their containment and the military commissions by which they are to be tried.  (My colleague Tim Lynch blogged abou... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1329353 Wed, 26 Mar 2008 17:33:04 +0100 1329353 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1322481&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F256797028%2F I just came across this letter I wrote to the editor of the Washington Post.  Sadly, the editor declined to publish it.  Since the Supreme Court just heard oral arguments about the D.C. gun ban and the meaning of the Second Amendment in District of Columbia v. Heller, it remains relevant: On January 5, we learned that District officials filed a brief with the Supreme Court [”Gun Law Prevents Harm, D.C. Argues,” Jan. 5] defending the city’s gun ban on the grounds that: the Second Amendment does not protect an individual right to keep and bear arms; the ban “does not deprive the people of reasonable means to defend themselves;” and “less restrictive approaches would not be adequate.” Fifteen pages later, Colbert I. King [”Outfoxed In the Dist... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1322481 Mon, 24 Mar 2008 02:45:19 +0100 1322481 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1319732&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F255511268%2F A California woman was shot to death as she pleaded with emergency dispatchers to come and help her. Her death will not make the network news programs this evening, but this is the latest reminder that we must take responsibility for our own safety and not rely on the police.  Bill Masters, a libertarian and sheriff of a Colorado county tells the residents of his county, “It is your responsibility to protect yourself and your family from criminals. If you rely on the government for protection, you are going to be at least disappointed and at worst injured or killed.”  Gun control puts honest citizens in the position of having to choose between protecting their lives or respecting the law. What kind of government would do such a thing?  More on gun control here and here. ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1319732 Fri, 21 Mar 2008 12:50:16 +0100 1319732 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1297787&cid=t_104567_109_f&fid=34949&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbehavioralhealth.typepad.com%2Fmarkhams_behavioral_healt%2F2008%2F03%2Fhomeschooling-a.html The Acton Institute reported today, March 12, 2008, that the Appellate court in California has ruled against homeschooling in that state ignoring research that shows that not only is homeschooling as good as public schooling but actually gets better outcomes. Here is a brief snippet of the article on the Acton web site:Declaring that “parents do not have a constitutional right to home school their children,” the Second District Court of Appeal for the state of California recently issued a ruling that effectively bans families from homeschooling their children and threatens parents with criminal penalties for daring to do so. According to the Home School Legal Defense Association (HDSLA) this court decision has made “almost all forms of homeschooling in California” a violation of st... Markham's Behavioral Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1297787 Wed, 12 Mar 2008 17:16:27 +0100 1297787 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1298112&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F250217817%2F A site for community review of police officers called RateMyCop.com gets the benefit of the “Streisand effect” today. For a period of time, it was shut down by its web registrar, GoDaddy.com, most likely because of law enforcement complaints about being subject to public oversight. (The “Streisand effect” is the phenomenon where an attempt to censor or remove information from the Internet backfires, causing it to be more widely publicized. The term refers to a 2003 incident in which Barbra Streisand sued a photographer and Web site in an attempt to have an aerial photo of her house removed from a publicly available collection of 12,000 California coastline photographs. The lawsuit made the photo very popular.) (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1298112 Wed, 12 Mar 2008 16:07:26 +0100 1298112 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1295016&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F249676898%2F In 2002-2005 I documented in some detail what today’s Wall Street Journal editorial referred to as Eliot Spitzer’s “consistent excesses as Attorney General.” A January 2003 piece on “Spitzer’s Shakedown” revealed the fatuous nature of his inquisition against Wall Street. In 2004, there was Spitzer’s ridiculous “Mutual Fund Fee Fantasy.” In 2005, in “Trial by Press Release,” I unraveled Spitzer’s flimsy case against the insurance brokerage arm of Marsh & McClellan. Shortly after one of these articles appeared I received a phone call at home from an investigative reporter with one of the largest New York newspapers. He prodded me for quite a while to find out if I had been influenced or bribed by one of the companies Spitzer had attacked. Did I know anyone at, ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1295016 Tue, 11 Mar 2008 18:53:00 +0100 1295016 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1283774&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F246858521%2F IMHO, the best show on television is HBO’s The Wire.  Now the writers and producers are taking their passion to the pages of Time Magazine, where they rail against the injustices of the drug war and call for jury nullification. (HT: Radley Balko’s Agitator). Cato co-published the most comprehensive book on jury nullification in 1999. For additional background, go here, here, and here. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1283774 Thu, 06 Mar 2008 16:59:16 +0100 1283774 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1268822&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F243501031%2F A new report, One in 100, from the Pew Charitable Trusts is drawing attention to the remarkable growth in the U.S. prison population. The Washington Post reports: “With more than 2.3 million people behind bars, the United States leads the world in both the number and percentage of residents it incarcerates, leaving far-more-populous China a distant second.” I do not think our prison population should be some function of the overall adult population in the United States. But, still, when the freest country in the world is locking up more people than a much more populace totalitarian state, policymakers ought to pause and ask themselves this question: Do so many Americans really need to be kept behind iron bars? I addressed that question in a Washington Post article a fe... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1268822 Fri, 29 Feb 2008 19:29:31 +0100 1268822 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1265479&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F242948661%2F Federal agents investigate, arrest, and prosecute local law enforcement agents on a fairly regular basis.  Unfortunately, state and local police rarely investigate, arrest, and prosecute federal agents.  I suspect the locals are just intimidated by the FBI, Secret Service, IRS, etc.  When something suspicious or questionable happens, the feds tell the locals something to the effect of “Back off.  We’ll handle this ourselves-internally.”  So Arizona officials deserve some credit for pressing ahead and treating Border Patrol Agent Nicholas Corbett like any other suspect.  According to the local prosecutor, Corbett’s story does not hold up and sufficient evidence points toward his guilt.  If that is indeed the situation, this case should be simple: Prosecute. ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1265479 Thu, 28 Feb 2008 21:30:54 +0100 1265479 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1248152&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F238811399%2F Tuesday the Supreme Court declined to review the ACLU’s challenge to the Terrorist Surveillance Program (TSP), the NSA’s post-9/11 foreign intelligence-gathering initiative whose critics labeled “domestic spying.” This case shows the interplay of the foundational legal doctrine of “standing” with one of the privileges courts recognize as being more important than allowing full discovery of information during the litigation process – and it also shows the proper relationship between the political and judicial branches in our constitutional system. To maintain a legal claim a plaintiff must show that he was injured in a unique and concrete way. Here, a motley crew of plaintiffs – who also included the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), journalist Ch... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1248152 Thu, 21 Feb 2008 13:36:59 +0100 1248152 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1225929&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F233908795%2F Via Hit and Run, the article from the February 7 Rolling Stone that Ben Friedman blogged about recently is now online. “The Fear Factory” discusses multiple cases where the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Forces have brought cases against defendants who “posed little if any demonstrable threat to anyone or anything.” Crucially, the story illustrates how information about the JTTFs’ activities are shrouded behind claims of secrecy. This is no way to do law enforcement - or to secure a free country. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1225929 Tue, 12 Feb 2008 19:14:50 +0100 1225929 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1221281&cid=t_104567_109_f&fid=34949&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbehavioralhealth.typepad.com%2Fmarkhams_behavioral_healt%2F2008%2F02%2Fno-country-for.html A lot of people seem to like No County for Old Men, a movie directed by the Coen brothers, based on a novel by Cormac McCarthy, released in November, 2007, and it has been winning a lot of awards but, while entertaining if you like violent movies, I am not sure of its social worth. It is the story about a Viet Nam vet Llewelyn Moss who, while hunting, stumbles upon a drug deal gone bad where several men and dogs are killed and he makes off with 2 million dollars to be hunted down by a psychopathic killer Anton Chigurh. The wise old sheriff Ed Tom Bell played by Tommy Lee Jones has had enough of the carnage and killing over drugs and decides after seeing the slaughter that he is too old to be in this law enforcement game any more and decides to retire. This could have been a great movie ... Markham's Behavioral Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1221281 Sun, 10 Feb 2008 21:17:46 +0100 1221281 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1201568&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F229100670%2F Disturbing video clip here of government agents employing forced nudity against a prisoner. (more…) (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1201568 Mon, 04 Feb 2008 20:06:54 +0100 1201568 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1198233&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F228431831%2F The New York Times has a fascinating article explaining how bail bondsmen are a uniquely American, quasi-private element of the criminal justice system: …posting bail for people accused of crimes in exchange for a fee…is all but unknown in the rest of the world. In England, Canada and other countries, agreeing to pay a defendant’s bond in exchange for money is a crime akin to witness tampering or bribing a juror — a form of obstruction of justice. …Other countries almost universally reject and condemn Mr. Spath’s trade, in which defendants who are presumed innocent but cannot make bail on their own pay an outsider a nonrefundable fee for their freedom. “It’s a very American invention,” John Goldkamp, a professor of criminal justice at Temple University, said o... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1198233 Sun, 03 Feb 2008 16:24:00 +0100 1198233 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1189012&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F226093568%2F I share Tim Lee’s disagreements with our colleague Roger Pilon’s WSJ op-ed. Roger received far less gentle treatment elsewhere. I’m impressed, as usual, with Tim’s depth on the FISA law and the FISA debate. This stir reminds me of a broader problem that pervades debates on anti-terror policies. Many perfectly intelligent public policy experts still lack a sound understanding of terrorism as a strategy. This degrades their ability to conceive of counter-strategic responses, causing them to promote ideas that would not help and that would even hurt our efforts to control terrorism. In early January, I presented at a conference held by the International School on Disarmament and Research on Conflicts, the Italian branch of the 1995 Nobel-Prize-winning Pugwash Group. Th... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1189012 Wed, 30 Jan 2008 20:28:07 +0100 1189012 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1188612&cid=t_104567_109_f&fid=34949&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbehavioralhealth.typepad.com%2Fmarkhams_behavioral_healt%2F2008%2F01%2Fbrain-imaging-a.html Justice Talking Radio program released an excellent program on 01/14/08 entitled "Neurolaw, The New Frontier" in which various experts discuss the latest brain imaging techniques and how it is being used and could be used in the future.Some lawyers are using brain scans showing defects to argue that their clients aren’t responsible for criminal behavior. In recent years, this neuroscientific evidence has been increasingly used in our courtrooms. But some scientists argue that the imaging is still new and unreliable, while others question whether juries should be ruling on what counts as a "defective" brain. As neurolaw grows in influence, it could potentially revolutionize our notions of guilt and punishment as criminals say "my brain made me do it." Might w... Markham's Behavioral Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1188612 Wed, 30 Jan 2008 20:16:42 +0100 1188612 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1186295&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F225250479%2F Atilla Yayla, the courageous leader of the Association for Liberal Thinking in Turkey, who has spoken at the Cato Institute and taken part in Cato conferences and programs, has been found guilty of allegedly insulting the founder of the modern Turkish state, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. The 15 month prison sentence was suspended. Background from my previous blog posts here and here. The New York Times ran a piece on Friday on the likely direction for freedom of speech in Turkey, “Turkey to Alter Speech Law,” which focuses on Atilla’s case. Atilla is a brave man and a friend of the liberty of everyone. Please write to the Turkish Ambassador in your country, respectfully (please) requesting that proceedings be undertaken to void the sentence. Here is the info for the Turkish Embassy in the U... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1186295 Tue, 29 Jan 2008 13:56:17 +0100 1186295 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1184806&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F224814848%2F Government agents are rarely prosecuted when they violate the wiretapping laws.  Instead, the government uses those laws against the people!  Massachusetts police, for example, arrested a law student who used his cell phone to record a drug arrest.  It is bad enough when a cop loses his temper and makes a false arrest.  It is much worse when prosecutors calmly decide to press forward with the case and set a legal precedent. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1184806 Mon, 28 Jan 2008 21:38:26 +0100 1184806 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1174914&cid=t_104567_109_f&fid=34949&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbehavioralhealth.typepad.com%2Fmarkhams_behavioral_healt%2F2008%2F01%2Fsupreme-court-t.html The LA Times reported on January 19, 2008 that the Supreme Court may hear a case in which cigarette companies and drug companies argue that they cannot be sued in state court because the Feds already approved their consumer warnings. I am reminded in reading this about the joke: "What's the three biggest lies ever told?" "I'll still love you in the morning. The check is in the mail. I'm from the government and I'm here to help you."The Supreme Court signaled Friday that it may be ready to shield drug companies and cigarette makers from lawsuits from consumers who say they were not fully warned of the dangers of the product. The justices voted to hear a pair of appeals from industry lawyers that, if upheld, would erect a new barrier to lawsuits. Related -Supreme Court ... Markham's Behavioral Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1174914 Thu, 24 Jan 2008 13:24:22 +0100 1174914 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1173645&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F221732284%2F Here’s the language of 18 U.S.C. § 1913 (”Lobbying with appropriated moneys”): No part of the money appropriated by any enactment of Congress shall, in the absence of express authorization by Congress, be used directly or indirectly to pay for any personal service, advertisement, telegram, telephone, letter, printed or written matter, or other device, intended or designed to influence in any manner a Member of Congress, a jurisdiction, or an official of any government, to favor, adopt, or oppose, by vote or otherwise, any legislation, law, ratification, policy, or appropriation, whether before or after the introduction of any bill, measure, or resolution proposing such legislation, law, ratification, policy, or appropriation; but this shall not prevent officers or employ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1173645 Wed, 23 Jan 2008 16:38:15 +0100 1173645 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1170533&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F221202663%2F Jose Padilla received a 17-year prison sentence today.  Padilla’s criminal trial and sentence were fairly straightforward.  It was Padilla’s imprisonment in a military brig between 2002 and 2005 that raised profoundly important questions concerning the power of the presidency.  Can the president lock up any person in the world and then deny that person access to family, defense counsel, and civilian court review?  And what about the use of “harsh conditions” and “environmental stresses”?  Can such techniques be employed against anyone once the president gives an order?  Those legal questions remain unsettled even today.  By abruptly moving Padilla from the military brig and into the ordinary criminal justice system, the Bush administration was ab... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1170533 Tue, 22 Jan 2008 20:50:13 +0100 1170533 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1163218&cid=t_104567_109_f&fid=34949&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbehavioralhealth.typepad.com%2Fmarkhams_behavioral_healt%2F2008%2F01%2Fyouth-are-sente.html As I get older I am amazed at the distorted view that most Americans have of themselves and their country. Our constitution says that we should not engage in cruel and inhumane punishment and yet California sentences kids to life in prison without parole. California's State Senate is predicted to pass a law this month outlawing this practice. To read a report from Human Rights Watch on this topic click on the link below. Link: "When I Die, They'll Send Me Home": Youth sentenced to Life without Parole in California. (Source: Markham's Behavioral Health) Markham's Behavioral Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1163218 Sun, 20 Jan 2008 14:43:53 +0100 1163218 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1162562&cid=t_104567_109_f&fid=34949&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbehavioralhealth.typepad.com%2Fmarkhams_behavioral_healt%2F2008%2F01%2Fwitness-against.html What kind of a nation have we become under the Republican Bush Administration? A nation that violates the Geneva Conventions by engaging in torture, extraordinary rendition, eliminating the right of Habeas Corpus, and engaging in the unconstitutional activity of surveillance on its citizens suspending their rights to privacy. It appears that Osama bin Laden is winning as the United States suspends the civil liberties of its citizens and decreases their freedoms, engages in behavior alienating other countries around the world, and increasingly becoming a Christian Nationalist Fascist State. Fortunately, some brave citizens are standing up for freedom even as they are being branded traitors and criminals by the current administration. On January 11, 2008 there was a demonstration in Washin... Markham's Behavioral Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1162562 Sat, 19 Jan 2008 13:16:22 +0100 1162562 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1161019&cid=t_104567_109_f&fid=34949&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbehavioralhealth.typepad.com%2Fmarkhams_behavioral_healt%2F2008%2F01%2F60th-anniversar.html While President Bush and his administration disingenuously tell the American people that the terrorists hate Americans for their freedoms, very few Americans know about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which was agreed to and promulgated by the United Nations General Assembly on December 10, 1948. This year is the 60th anniversary celebration of this declaration. There are many web sites devoted to the Declaration and a good place to start is the article on Wikipedia. It seems hypocritical for the Bush administration to be talking about freedom when this administration has engaged in war crimes perpetrating a pre-emptive and immoral war on false pretenses, engaged in torture against the principles of the Geneva Convention, thrown out Habeas Corpus, engaged in illegal surveillan... Markham's Behavioral Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1161019 Fri, 18 Jan 2008 14:16:00 +0100 1161019 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1137438&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F213240520%2F Yesterday the Supreme Court heard argument in Baze v. Rees, otherwise known as the “lethal injection case.”  Contrary to popular perception—and the wishes of certain activist groups—Baze considers neither the constitutionality of lethal injection as a method of execution nor the validity of the death penalty itself.  Instead, the issue is whether the particular three-chemical formula used by most states that employ lethal injection causes undue pain and suffering such that the method violates the Eighth Amendment’s proscription of “cruel and unusual punishment.”  The Court’s decision—likely to be 5-4 with Justice Kennedy the swing vote as always—may turn on what weight the justices place on the availability of other “ drug cocktails” that purportedly acco... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1137438 Tue, 08 Jan 2008 15:15:32 +0100 1137438 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1122149&cid=t_104567_109_f&fid=34949&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbehavioralhealth.typepad.com%2Fmarkhams_behavioral_healt%2F2007%2F12%2Fthe-innocent-ma.html The Innocent Man by John Grisham, his first non-fiction book, is an important book which tells the story of the perversity of the criminal justice system when prosecutors are narcissistic despots, cops are corrupt, judges are officious functionaries, and juries are prejudiced mobs who care nothing for facts, evidence, and the truth. Ron Williamson, a mentally ill ex professional baseball player, is framed for a murder he did not commit and was a couple of weeks from being executed before some diligent indigent defense attorneys finally got a decent judge to review the error riddled original trial and put a stay on the execution. Barry Sheck's Innocence Project finally did DNA testing which found that Williamson and the other man framed, Dennis Fritz, could not have committed the crime. I... Markham's Behavioral Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1122149 Sun, 30 Dec 2007 22:06:01 +0100 1122149 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1101450&cid=t_104567_109_f&fid=34949&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbehavioralhealth.typepad.com%2Fmarkhams_behavioral_healt%2F2007%2F12%2Fit-takes-the-su.html Back on April 2, 2007 the Associated Press report on the Supreme Court's ruling that the EPA does have the authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions was broadcast on CNN.The Supreme Court rebuked the Bush administration Monday for its inaction on global warming in a decision that could encourage faster action in Congress on climate change and lead to more fuel-efficient cars as early as next year. The court, in a 5-4 ruling in its first case on climate change, declared that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are air pollutants under the Clean Air Act. The Environmental Protection Agency has the authority to regulate those emissions from new cars and trucks under the landmark environment law, and the "laundry list" of reasons it has given for declining to do so are... Markham's Behavioral Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1101450 Tue, 18 Dec 2007 13:09:48 +0100 1101450 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1100124&cid=t_104567_109_f&fid=34949&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbehavioralhealth.typepad.com%2Fmarkhams_behavioral_healt%2F2007%2F12%2Fnj-bans-death-p.html Gandhi said, "An eye for an eye makes us both blind." The state killing people to teach them that killing other people is wrong never made any sense to me. Finally, the great people from the state of New Jersey are leading the way of sanity and reason in the United States abolishing the death penalty. Yahoo News reported on 12/17/07 an article distributed by the Associated Press. Here's what it says in part.Gov. Jon S. Corzine signed into law Monday a measure that abolishes the death penalty, making New Jersey the first state in more than four decades to reject capital punishment. The bill, approved last week by the state's Assembly and Senate, replaces the death sentence with life in prison without parole. "This is a day of progress for us and for the millions of people ... Markham's Behavioral Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1100124 Mon, 17 Dec 2007 18:58:21 +0100 1100124 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1097668&cid=t_104567_109_f&fid=34949&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbehavioralhealth.typepad.com%2Fmarkhams_behavioral_healt%2F2007%2F12%2Famish-grace-the.html Amish Grace: How Forgiveness Transcends Tragedy by Donald B. Kraybill, Steven M. Nolt, and David L. Weaver-Zercher is a wonderful book, well written, informative, and inspiring. Amish Grace describes the events following the tragedy at Nickel Mines, PA on October 2, 2006, when Charles Carl Roberts IV went into an Amish school and took 10 little girls hostage and eventually killing 5 and wounding another 5 and then killing himself. The Amish, true to their beliefs, forgave Roberts and his family and invited Roberts widow and family to the funerals of their children and many of the Amish also attended the funeral of Roberts. These acts of forgiveness, while true to the teachings of Jesus, are rarely seen in our society hell bent on vengeance and retribution. Many questions arose in resist... Markham's Behavioral Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1097668 Sun, 16 Dec 2007 16:36:21 +0100 1097668 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1096376&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F200344959%2F The Chicago Tribune shines a light on the Chicago Police Department and how it handles police shootings:   Law enforcement officials at all levels, from the detectives who investigate cases to the superintendent, as well as the state’s attorney’s office, have failed to properly police the police. Promises to improve the system also haven’t touched another fundamental flaw: the hasty meetings, known as roundtables, led by police commanders in the charged hours after a Chicago officer shoots a civilian. Witnesses are not sworn. The discussions are not recorded. When the sessions conclude, officials nearly always decide the officer was justified in pulling the trigger. And if evidence eventually contradicts the officers’ versions of events, the Tribune found that cas... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1096376 Fri, 14 Dec 2007 15:59:19 +0100 1096376 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1090758&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F199341421%2F The U.S. Sentencing Commission is going to give thousands of drug offenders an opportunity to reduce their sentences.   Yesterday’s move is in reaction to the disparate manner in which federal law handles persons dealing in powder cocaine vis-a-vis persons dealing in crack cocaine.  This is modest step in the right direction.  The drug war represents a gross misallocation of limited resources (police, courts, jails) and it should be ended immediately. For Cato work on the drug war, go here.  For Cato work on federal sentencing, go here.  For more information on yesterday’s development, go to Families Against Mandatory Minimums.  (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1090758 Wed, 12 Dec 2007 19:00:34 +0100 1090758 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1081532&cid=t_104567_109_f&fid=34949&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbehavioralhealth.typepad.com%2Fmarkhams_behavioral_healt%2F2007%2F12%2Fcorporate-subve.html It seems unpatriotic to say this but corporations being treated as persons is undemocratic. Corporations are not people and they should not have the same rights as a person. There are values in a democratic society more important than money and corporations only value the bottom line - money. To learn more about this issue click on the link below which will take you to the Reclaim democracy web site. The biggest issue in this upcoming national election is not gay marriage, or abortion as the conservatives would like to distract people to, but rather corporate crime and corporate subversion of our democracy by buying our representives and subverting our democratic processes. Link: Reclaim Democracy! Revoke Corporate Corruption of American Democracy. (Source: Markham's Behavioral Health) Markham's Behavioral Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1081532 Sun, 09 Dec 2007 00:24:50 +0100 1081532 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1060256&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F192529261%2F Paul Helmke, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, has a column on HuffingtonPost and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution arguing that the Supreme Court should uphold the D.C. gun ban and reject the idea that when the Constitution says “the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed,” it means that people have the right to keep and bear arms. His basic argument, summed up in the title, is that “The will of the people must not be overruled.” He pounds away at that theme: Last March, the District of Columbia saw judicial activism replace the will of the people…. More than 30 years ago, the elected representatives on the D.C. City Council decided to enact a system of strict gun laws to help protect public safety. The people ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1060256 Thu, 29 Nov 2007 19:15:28 +0100 1060256 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1060258&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F192487859%2F Rep. Henry Hyde died this morning. He was one of the “elder statesmen” in the GOP and, as this article says, was known around the capital for his courtly manners. Hyde and Cato found common ground in the mid-1990s as the government was seizing property left and right under the guise of civil forfeiture laws. Cato published his book, Forfeiting Our Property Rights: Is Your Property Safe from Seizure? Here’s a brief excerpt from that book: I think it evident that an individual’s free nature indicates clearly that we are self-providers, that we naturally want to support ourselves and our families. But when an individual is robbed of his or her property, of the right to ownership of material goods, that individual then becomes subject to the will, caprice, and power ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1060258 Thu, 29 Nov 2007 17:38:18 +0100 1060258 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1033213&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F185935589%2F I have four acquaintances raising grandchildren as if they were their own. Some charities will pay a woman’s medical costs if covering such expenses will help her decide to carry the baby to term. From a libertarian perspective, individuals or charities paying a woman beyond her medical expenses should also be a viable solution. Remuneration would be for the woman’s time and physical effort (labor), not a “purchase price” for the child. The arrangement could stipulate, as surrogate motherhood contracts usually do, that payment is contingent on her putting the child up for adoption. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1033213 Fri, 16 Nov 2007 19:10:23 +0100 1033213 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=998913&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F178410074%2F Three views on medical marijuana.  For Drew Carey, click here.  (recommended) For Mitt Romney, click here. For Rudy Giuliani, click here. More here.  I should also note that after California voters approved a medical marijuana referendum in 1996, Bill Clinton and Janet Reno vowed to enforce the federal law.  They stepped up the DEA raids and Bush continued the policy. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=998913 Thu, 01 Nov 2007 21:12:42 +0100 998913 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=995269&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F177745944%2F Barry Cooper was a narcotics cop in Texas who made countless arrests. But when he started busting the relatives and friends of politicians, he found himself in trouble with the law. Disgusted with this turn of events, Cooper came up with an idea to get even with the authorities. He created a DVD called Never Get Busted Again. The DVD reveals dozens of ways to avoid detection and arrest by narcotics officers. The DVD is causing a stir in law enforcement circles, but Cooper is unbowed. He has plans for another DVD called Never Get Raided Again. Interestingly, Cooper admits that he feels quite guilty about raids that he was personally involved in: “I used to break into houses at three o’clock in the morning with 10 other men, after throwing a flash grenade through the window,&#822... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=995269 Wed, 31 Oct 2007 15:02:34 +0100 995269 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=992201&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F177270111%2F How many federal police agencies can you name? The list is getting longer. CIA, FBI, NSA, ATF, DEA, INS, TSA, Secret Service, Customs, Border Patrol, U.S. Marshals Service, to name a few. But there are many more. IRS agents are armed. So are EPA agents. Agents with the Bureau of Land Management are not only armed, they have a SWAT team. Now agents with the Office of the Inspector General are getting into the police business, as Ryan Scott found out when his dog was shot and killed by an unnamed investigator. Expect more stories like this. The number of federal criminal laws has been steadily expanding (pdf). To enforce those laws, Congress hires more agents. The agents, in turn, conduct more raids. To process the cases, Congress hires more prosecutors. And then, of course, Congress builds... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=992201 Tue, 30 Oct 2007 17:07:44 +0100 992201 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=979619&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F174893693%2F Police force pregnant woman to the pavement at gunpoint.  When they realize there will be no arrest because the woman is innocent, one officer is overheard saying that he’ll prepare a report to “cover their asses.”  Listening to the audiotape, one gets the impression that this is not the first time the officer has filed a CYA report.  The truth is that police misconduct and deception are much more common than most people realize.  Something to keep in mind when you encounter the ‘ol “well, if haven’t done anything wrong, you don’t have anything to worry about.”  Also something to keep in mind if you are called for jury service.  Be skeptical.  Look for strong evidence.  Be fair. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=979619 Thu, 25 Oct 2007 14:57:57 +0100 979619 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=976685&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F174435903%2F Here is an disturbing excerpt from a speech that Giuliani delivered in 1994: What we don’t see is that freedom is not a concept in which people can do anything they want, be anything they can be. Freedom is about authority. Freedom is about the willingness of every single human being to cede to lawful authority a great deal of discretion about what you do. This statement is consistent with the Giuliani record. (For more, read this.) Giuliani and Hillary share an authoritarian worldview.  And since they’re the frontrunners in their respective parties, that means freedom is in jeopardy.” For more talk about how freedom means state power, go here. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=976685 Wed, 24 Oct 2007 18:22:07 +0100 976685 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=956397&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F170698975%2F The Washington Post has a story today about the government’s data collection activities. Unfortunately, the article repeatedly says the FBI is “requesting” information from the phone companies. That’s misleading. The FBI is using subpoenas and national security letters. Thus, federal agents are demanding information from the businesspeople. A refusal to comply means fines and jail. This is an area of law and policy that needs much more attention. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=956397 Tue, 16 Oct 2007 15:33:56 +0100 956397 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=935475&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F167089740%2F Several years ago there was a scandal in West Virginia when people discovered that one of the state’s medical examiners, Fred Zane, did sloppy work and just made things up as he was giving so-called “expert testimony” in criminal trials. Radley Balko seems to have uncovered a similar scandal in Mississippi.  For more about Radley Balko’s investigative reporting from Mississippi, read this.  (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=935475 Mon, 08 Oct 2007 19:57:35 +0100 935475 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=928183&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F165239081%2F Today’s NYT reports on reckless pre-dawn raids by immigration officials in New York. Excerpt: “These were like dragnets being cast over entire houses,” said Nadia Marin-Molina, director of the Workplace Project, an immigrant advocacy organization in Hempstead that has gathered many of the complaints. The complaints echo a federal lawsuit filed last month in Manhattan contending that immigration agents unlawfully force their way into the homes of Latino families in violation of the Fourth Amendment’s protection from unreasonable searches. “We have been inundated with calls,” said Cesar Perales, director of the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund, which filed the lawsuit. “People are terrified by these indiscriminate raids.” It is a familiar tale of agents burst... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=928183 Thu, 04 Oct 2007 14:42:35 +0100 928183 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=925604&cid=t_104567_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F163771664%2F Discussion-Page.htm?InfoNo=024006 The Post says the private organization in question is the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, or PIRE, in Calverton, MD. Their Web site seems to be down but can be viewed here: http://web.archive.org/web/20050826173038/www.pire.org/ The thoroughly-misnamed PIRE is a major DC government contractor (and in fact its offices are within walking distance of the Beltway). It specializes in funneling over $35 million of taxpayer money a year into its own coffers through law enforcement contracts of dubious utility, mostly dealing with drugs and alcohol, from sources including the U.S. Department of Justice. 100 percent of its budget appears to come from government contracts or grants. Although PIRE pretends to be a “nonprofit” organization &... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=925604 Mon, 01 Oct 2007 16:06:23 +0100 925604 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=908574&cid=t_104567_109_f&fid=34949&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbehavioralhealth.typepad.com%2Fmarkhams_behavioral_healt%2F2007%2F09%2Fmore-than-1-in-.html The Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Statistics made note of a distressing phenomenon in its press release last June, 27, 2007. They noted that 1/3 of all prison and jail inmates in the United States are African American which far outstrips the degree of their representation in the general population. More than one in 10 (11%)  African Americans between the ages of 25 - 34 are incarcerated in the United States. What a waste of human energy and talent. What does this say about our society which finally ended slavery, and then ended segregation, and now incarcerates so many of its African American citizens? There is something significantly wrong. Obviously for significant numbers of Americans we are not the land of the free and the home of the brave. Link: Bureau of Justice ... Markham's Behavioral Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=908574 Thu, 27 Sep 2007 18:42:16 +0100 908574 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=906074&cid=t_104567_109_f&fid=34949&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbehavioralhealth.typepad.com%2Fmarkhams_behavioral_healt%2F2007%2F09%2Fanother-possibl.html Could another innocent man be executed in Alabama tomorrow? Here is a blurb from the Innocence Project's web site.Unless Alabama Gov. Bob Riley or courts intervene, Thomas Arthur will be executed tomorrow despite his claims of innocence and the possibility of DNA testing in his case. Less than two months ago, Darrell Grayson was executed after Riley refused to step in and allow DNA testing that could have proven Grayson’s guilt or innocence. The Innocence Project advocated for DNA testing in the courts and through the political system in both cases. But over the last few days, Riley has refused to even learn more about how DNA testing could prove Arthur’s innocence. “As we told the governor’s senior advisers, 42 states in the country now allow post-conviction DNA testing. In 42 st... Markham's Behavioral Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=906074 Wed, 26 Sep 2007 17:23:30 +0100 906074 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=811081&cid=t_104567_109_f&fid=34949&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbehavioralhealth.typepad.com%2Fmarkhams_behavioral_healt%2F2007%2F08%2Fpain-medicine-u.html The Associated Press reported on August 20, 2007 that pain medicine use has nearly doubled between 1997 and 2005. The use of OxyContin manufactured by Purdue Pharma has jumped six fold between 1997 and 2005. Pharma executives were recently pled guilty to lying to patients, physicians, and federal regulators about the addictive nature of the drug. While the use of opiate pain killers has a legitimate place in the treatment of pain, they also have been increasingly abused and people have become addicted such as Rush Limbaugh and Bret Favre. At the substance abuse agency where I work we are seeing a big increase in prescription pain medicine abuse and addiction. OxyContin gained notoriety in the Appalachian states of West Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennesee where it was called "hillbilly ... Markham's Behavioral Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=811081 Mon, 20 Aug 2007 20:39:25 +0100 811081 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=556954&cid=t_104567_109_f&fid=34949&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbehavioralhealth.typepad.com%2Fmarkhams_behavioral_healt%2F2007%2F04%2Fdrunk_driving_h.html I am preparing a talk I am to give next Thursday, April 26, 2007 dealing with the ripple effects of DWI on communities in conjunction with National Crime Victim's Rights Week. It has been 14 years since Brigd and Ryan were killed on March 10, 1993. Brigid was 5 and Ryan was 8. If they were alive today, Brigid would be 20 and Ryan would be 22. Not a day goes by that I don't think about them. I thought I would post some of the data which I am reviewing for my talk. There will be several articles on my blog over the next few days. 17,000 Americans are killed very year in DWIs in the United States. Since the World Trade Center tragedy in which 2,973 people were killed, 85,833 have been killed in DWI crashes which is 29 times the number killed in the World Trade Center. We are entering prom... Markham's Behavioral Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=556954 Fri, 20 Apr 2007 16:10:07 +0100 556954 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=485782&cid=t_104567_109_f&fid=34949&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbehavioralhealth.typepad.com%2Fmarkhams_behavioral_healt%2F2007%2F03%2Fbankruptcy_unde.html NPR Religion program had an interesting program on March 11, 2007 describing the bankruptcy underway in the Catholic diocese of San Diego. There have been so many pedophile law suit settlements that they have bankrupted another Catholic diocese. This news has me wondering where the Catholic dioceses get their money to begin with? It is from their parishioners of course. And that has me wondering why parishioners would be financially supporting an institution which harbors, enables, and abets sex abusers and then hypocritically purports to teach people about morality? The God which the Catholic church claims to represent must have one heck of a sense of humor. Either you laugh or cry. Is this an example of bad faith described in the post below? To listen to the show click on the link be... Markham's Behavioral Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=485782 Tue, 20 Mar 2007 19:12:18 +0100 485782