Officer's Skills in Smelling Unburned Marijuana Questioned

How many of us have had a case where an officer claims to smell a controlled substance of one form or another? As reported by Fourth Amendment.com, the Indiana Court of Appeals upheld the granting of a motion to suppress based upon an officer's claim that he smelled unburned marijuana in State v. Holley 2008 Ind. App. LEXIS 2597 (December 23, 2008). An excerpt from the opinion:

Thus, probable cause had to be determined through the qualifications of Officer Boles. 

Officer Boles testified that he had attended one seminar where he was shown what raw 

marijuana looked like. There was no evidence that Officer Boles had any formal training regarding the detection of raw marijuana by odor or in distinguishing it from other substances. While there was evidence that he had encountered marijuana during the course of his duties, there was no evidence that he was qualified to know its odor or able to distinguish its odor from that of other substances.

If you find yourself investigating a case with a search based upon the olfactory senses of an officer, it is worth investigating whether that person has the proper training and whether the nose really knows...

New Sentencing Commission Reports

Two reports released by the Sentencing Commission this week: "Overview of Federal Criminal Cases, Fiscal Year 2007" and, "Changing Face of Federal Criminal Sentencing: Seventeen Years of Growth in the Federal Sentencing Caseload" (both available here). The first is a broad based reference on the types of federal criminal cases and the corresponding sentences; the second is a demographic make-up of federal offenders from 1991 through 2007 following trends and sentences over the last seventeen years. Both have valuable information for the federal practitioner.

Marketplace Wants To Hear From You

Marketplace wants to hear from you

by Gideon

Marketplace, a program of American Public Media (the second largest producer of public radio programming in the country, presumably behind NPR, and producer of A Prairie Home Companion) wants to hear from legal professionals about how the economy is impacting them. From the e-mail I received earlier today:

How is the financial crisis affecting the legal profession?

Corporate law firms have proven adept at navigating financial downturns in the past, but this time things appear to be different. Two venerable San Francisco law firms have collapsed, firms around the country are shedding associates and lateral partners are now available at bargain salaries.

Has the financial crisis changed the way you work?

Big firms aren’t the only ones feeling the pinch. Legal aid services and public defenders around the country are preparing for budget cutbacks – right at a time when their services are needed most.

As part of our ongoing coverage of the financial crisis, Marketplace wants to know how the financial crisis has affected your practice.

Looks like all you have to do is go here and submit some information (as much as you like). Given the growing financial crisis in the country and the impact on legal services, it is important that the fight for money gets some coverage. Whether you respond or not, it is something worth discussing and passing along.

Tainted Government

How did the Food and Drug Administration let melamine into the U.S. food supply?

It's been more than a year and a half since the Chinese melamine story first landed in the U.S. press, but the ripple effects continue to spread. Three months ago, the contaminant showed up in baby formula. (The earlier scare was limited to pet food.) In the last couple of weeks, we've learned that China is now investigating more than two dozen cases of animal feed contaminated with melamine, and its health officials have identified 17 other illegal food additives that demand scrutiny—including boric acid and Sudan Red dye. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has now resorted to random spot checks of hot dogs, chicken nuggets, frozen pizzas, and other foods processed with milk powder, and scientific organizations are discussing better ways to detect melamine in the global food supply. From the looks of it, this sprawling scandal will be with us for some time.

Full article here at Slate.com

ISP List

This site and ISP list is for law enforcement use and contains a variety of ISPs and similar information services, specifically, contacts at the legal departments for law enforcement service of subpoena, court orders, and search warrants.

The following database is updated when changes are received. Updates, corrections, and additions are always welcome — please send them to ISPlist@search.org in the same format as the entries are made. Please note that all the updates come from law enforcement officers and investigators working in this field. If you find any inaccuracies, please contact the list maintainer at mailto:ISPlist@search.org to make the updates.

Site located here.

Tri-City Real Estate Developer Accused of Fraud

From the Tri City Herald:

A real estate developer is accused of bilking at least eight Tri-City residents, along with people in Western Washington and Arizona, out of more than $500,000 during fraudulent property dealings.

Armen Lucius B. Weishaar of Richland is charged in Benton County Superior Court with six counts of first-degree theft, though prosecutors said Thursday that he could face federal charges after this case is resolved.

Weishaar took large sums of money from the people, promising to invest it in real estate, but never completed the transactions or returned the cash, said Deputy Prosecutor Scott Johnson. Weishaar reportedly received more than $380,000 total from Tri-Citians in the "pretty sophisticated" fraud, Johnson said.

Full story here.

Iowa Counties Vary In Enforcing Sex Offender Law

From KCCI:

A quirk in state law allows registered sex offenders to live near Iowa schools or child-care centers opened within the past six years.

Although Iowa has a law banning sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of such centers, the restriction applies only to those that have operated continuously before July 1, 2002.

County attorneys take different approaches to the law, with some treating all schools and child-care centers alike and others such as Polk County that abide by the letter of the law.

Full story here.

Webb Sets His Sights On Prison Reform

From the Washington Post

Somewhere along the meandering career path that led James Webb to the U.S. Senate, he found himself in the frigid interior of a Japanese prison.

A journalist at the time, he was working on an article about Ed Arnett, an American who had spent two years in Fuchu Prison for possession of marijuana. In a January 1984 Parade magazine piece, Webb described the harsh conditions imposed on Arnett, who had frostbite and sometimes labored in solitary confinement making paper bags.

"But, surprisingly, Arnett, home in Omaha, Neb., says he prefers Japan's legal system to ours," Webb wrote. "Why? 'Because it's fair,' he said."

This spring, Webb (D-Va.) plans to introduce legislation on a long-standing passion of his: reforming the U.S. prison system. Jails teem with young black men who later struggle to rejoin society, he says. Drug addicts and the mentally ill take up cells that would be better used for violent criminals. And politicians have failed to address this costly problem for fear of being labeled "soft on crime."

Full article here.

Nevada, Iowa Police Records

Records requests can be sent to:

Nevada Police Department
1209 6th Street
PO Box 530
Nevada Iowa 50201-0530

Non-Emergency Phone: 515-382-4593
Police 24-Houre Service: 515-382-4305

Australia OKs Facebook for Serving Lien Notice

(AP) You've been "superpoked" — and served. A court in Australia has approved the use of Facebook, a popular social networking Web site, to notify a couple that they lost their home after defaulting on a loan.

The Australian Capital Territory Supreme Court last Friday approved lawyer Mark McCormack's application to use Facebook to serve the legally binding documents after several failed attempts to contact the couple at the house and by e-mail.

Australian courts have given permission in the past for people to be served via e-mail and text messages when it was not possible to serve them in person.

McCormack, a lawyer for the lender, MKM Capital, said that by the time he got the documents approved by the court late Tuesday for transmission, Facebook profiles for the couple had disappeared from public view.

The page was apparently either closed or secured for privacy, following publicity about the court order.

"It's somewhat novel, however we do see it as a valid method of bringing the matter to the attention of the defendant," McCormack said.
Despite the setback, McCormack said the Facebook attempt would help his client's case that all reasonable steps had been taken to serve the couple. A court is expected to settle the matter as early as next week.

Facebook has become a wildly popular online hangout, attracting more than 140 million users worldwide since it launched in 2004. Facebook friends can "poke" or "superpoke" each other — terms for giving someone a playful nudge.

In a statement, Facebook praised the ruling. "We're pleased to see the Australian court validate Facebook as a reliable, secure and private medium for communication. The ruling is also an interesting indication of the increasing role that Facebook is playing in people's lives," it said. The company said it believed this was the first time it has been used to serve a foreclosure notice.

The documents were sent last Friday after weeks of failed attempts to contact borrowers Gordon Poyser and Carmel Corbo at their Canberra home and by e-mail.

The Associated Press found Poyser, a retired 62-year-old, on Tuesday at home at the contested address.

He declined to comment on the record, citing the couple's stress at the prospect of losing their home of seven years only a week before Christmas. But he said he had privacy restrictions imposed on his Facebook page Tuesday only because of the media attention it had attracted.
"Because (otherwise) I'd get every man and his dog having a look," Poyser told The AP at his front door.

Lawyer and computer forensic expert Seamus Byrne said he was aware of only one similar case in Australia. A Queensland state District Court judge ruled in April against documents being served by Facebook because the option of contacting a person via a post office box had not yet been exhausted.

In the latest ruling, Master David Harper insisted that the documents be attached to a private e-mail sent via Facebook that could not be seen by others visiting the pages.
McCormack said he and a colleague found the woman's Facebook page using personal details that she had given the lender including her birth date and e-mail address. The man was listed on her page as a friend. Prior to Tuesday, neither had imposed security options that deny strangers access to their pages.

McCormack said he did not bother searching for the couple through any other social networking sites.

"It's one of those occasions where you feel most at home with what you know and I myself have a Facebook account," McCormack said.

Bureau of Justice Statistics Prison Statistics

Summary findings
On December 31, 2007 —
– 2,293,157 prisoners were held in federal or state prisons or in local jails – an increase of 1.5% from yearend 2006, less than the average annual growth of 2.6% from 2000-2006.– 1,532,817 sentenced prisoners were under state or federal jurisdiction.

– there were an estimated 506 sentenced prisoners per 100,000 U.S. residents – up from 501 at yearend 2006.

– the number of women under the jurisdiction of state or federal prison authorities increased 1.7% from yearend 2006, reaching 114,420, and the number of men rose 1.8%, totaling 1,483,896.

Full report here.

Crime Scene Photography

Article on the FBI's Requirements for crime scene photos. Important to consider when looking at crime scene photos to determine if protocol was followed, when examining photos for behavioral and forensic evidence, or when considering taking photos in a defense investigation.

Criminal Investigation Resources

Here is an interesting article on Criminal Law Resources for the criminal investigator. The article contains links to much handy information including a list of associations, trainings, and articles on diverse topics. It is a nice collection of resources.

Case In Baltimore? Check Out the Crime Lab

Negligence in the Baltimore Police Department’s crime lab tainted DNA analysis in an unknown number of criminal cases for seven years and raises serious questions about other forensic work in the lab, the Innocence Project said today in a formal allegation that the state is legally required to investigate.

If you have had or currently have, a case in Baltimore it is worth checking out. Full Story here.

Excellent List: 10 Things I Didn't Learn In Law School

From Gideon

Look, law school taught me a fair bit. I won’t lie. It taught me that even grown-ups can get drunk and get in fights at local bars. It taught me that my fellow lawyer isn’t much smarter than me and will one day become really famous. It taught me that you can fake your way through almost anything.

But here are ten things it didn’t teach me:

1.Nobody ever uses the phrase “black letter law“. Seriously. Lawyers who do use the phrase “black letter law” are usually laughed at by cliques of other lawyers. This is an invention of professors, I’m sure, meant to intimidate and harass poor first year students. Black letter law? Is that some Rules of Court book?
2. That you will forever be haunted by names of cases, but not remember a damn thing about the case itself. Who here can tell me about Helicopteros or International Shoe or Pennoyer or Dudley and Stephens? (Okay, that last one is really cool - it’s about cannibalism). Wasn’t there a Vana White case?
3. How to pick a jury.
4. There is no box. Law school professors keep telling you to think outside the box. What they don’t tell you is that there is no box.
5. That law review leads to document review. If you want to do real work, take a clinic or something.
6. Your clients will hate you. They will think they are smarter than you. They will try to tell you what to do.
7. How to deal with #6 above.
8. Most judges haven’t practiced in a while, so forgive them if they make stuff up as they go along.
9. Caselaw and precedent may or may not mean much until you get to an appellate court. And even then…
10. Finally, no matter how long you practice or what you do, there will always be more to learn and ways to better yourself.

What have you not learned from law school?

Bored At Work? Take This Quiz

A slightly entertaining way to test your criminal investigator skills is this Criminal Justice Quiz. The quiz is actually an intro to a website for Everest College, but you can listen to different gun shots and match the gun type to the sound and match crime victim scenes. An entertaining way to while away a few minutes in the cubicle.

EcoFont

Concerned about all that ink you are printing? Try Ecofont-we consider paper when we print..but what about all those ink cartridges? The concept is simple-how much ink can be removed and maintain readability? If this concept appeals to you, you can download the Ecofont and install it in your font book.

Snowbound

Victory in Patriot Act case

Earlier this week, when some of us were snowed in, the ACLU announced a victory in one of their cases challenging the Patriot Act: the Second Circuit sided with the ACLU and struck down parts of the Patriot Act that allow the FBI to prevent national security letter (NSL) recipients from speaking out about secret record demands that strictly curtail judicial review of government-imposed gags. The FBI has used national security letters to compel internet service providers, banks, libraries and other service providers to turn over private information about their subscribers and customers. The NSL statute allows the FBI to forbid or “gag” anyone who receives an NSL from telling anyone about the record demand.

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals found:

Yesterday, the appeals court found that this scheme violated the First Amendment. The appeals court held that it is the government that must go to court and justify silencing NSL recipients. The appeals court also invalidated parts of the statute that narrowly limited judicial review of the gag orders.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif The court emphasized the importance of independent judicial review of executive branch gag orders, stating: “The fiat of a governmental official, though senior in rank and doubtless honorable in the execution of official duties, cannot displace the judicial obligation to enforce constitutional requirements. ‘Under no circumstances should the Judiciary become the handmaiden of the Executive.’” The appeals court also ruled that the government must now justify the gag on the John Doe NSL recipient in the case, a gag that has been in place for more than four years.

For full article, click .

New Life for Habeas

For those investigators blessed (or cursed) with doing habeas work, here is some hope for new life on retroactivity based upon the US Supreme Court's ruling in Danforth v. Minnesota. The standard for retroactivity analysis has been Teague v. Lane; however, Danforth explicitly permits state courts to fashion their own rules governing the retroactive application of new federal constitutional rules in postconviction proceedings, and leaves open the question whether lower federal courts are bound by Teague in postconviction review of federal criminal convictions. This is a long way of saying that habeas proceedings might be a bit more wide open if the lower federal courts can widen the lens of retroactive application of a new rule. This could be particularly important with the upcoming ruling of Arizona v. Gant-the case involving whether the police may search a car incident to arrest after the occupant is already out of the car.

For more analysis courtesy of Professor Berman, click here.

A Spy in Your Own Car

Here is an interesting new twist on car technology-the little black box that is in your car may be transmitting and saving data about you. Newer cars are coming equipped with electronic data recorders that capture information about speed, steering, and brake use before a crash. Additionally, newer cars are coming with GPS and hands-free phones that store our caller information. These features are designed with our safety in mind; however an unfortunate by-product is that it allows the collection and storage of private information sometimes without the owner's knowledge or consent.

On the one hand, this information could be valuable if you are an investigator working on a case involving a car accident, whether it be criminal or civil. On the other hand, it does create certain privacy concerns.

For more information, see here.

One in Every Thirty-One Adults Incarcerated or on Paper

This interesting statistic just in from the Bureau of Justice Statistics. The release contains links to a more thorough report. The release indicates that more than 7.3 million people were imprisoned or on probation or parole at the end of 2007-that is approximately 3.2 percent of the United States population. Of that 7.3 million, about 70 percent were on probation/parole and 30 percent were imprisoned. Hmmm...either there are alot of bad people out there or we might be over- incarcerating?

Speaking of Human Rights-Video

As we close International Human Rights Day, this video is a five minute tutorial on everything wrong with Guantanamo.

New Job Opportunity-Informant?

From the Innocence Project

False testimony from jailhouse snitches is a leading cause of wrongful convictions, involved in 15% of the 225 DNA exonerations cases to date. When someone receives an incentive to testify against a defendant – whether that incentive is money or a reduced sentence – the witness will often lie for his or her own benefit.

Some police departments across the country have taken steps to corroborate any snitch testimony they use in investigations. California lawmakers have passed bills two years in a row requiring that snitch testimony be corroborated for it to be used at trial, but Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has vetoed the bills both times.

And, as we reported previously, the Albuquerque Police Department ran a newspaper ad recently seeking paid informants. USA Today has an article today on the controversy over Albuquerque’s program and changes that other police departments are making to avoid false testimony from snitches misleading criminal investigations and causing wrongful convictions.

"Make some extra cash! Drug use OK. Criminal record? Not a problem." The ad in the Weekly Alibi prompted 93 calls during its two-week run before it was taken down last week, police spokesman John Walsh said…

The ad is drawing criticism from legal analysts who say it could lead to inaccurate information when some agencies are re-evaluating how they deal with paid informants…

"In an economy when jobs are scarce, this is just asking people to make up information for money," said Ellen Yaroshefsky, a legal ethics professor at New York's Benjamin Cardozo School of Law. "This is extremely dangerous."

Read the full story here. (USA Today, 12/09/08)

From a Brooklyn Defense Lawyer

A press release of sorts from Five Borough Defense:

From an attorney in Brooklyn:
December 10th, 2008 · No Comments · Public Defender Work

I happened to be in the courtroom today when three Brooklyn officers were arraigned on an indictment for sodomizing an arrestee in a Brooklyn subway station in October. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/10/nyregion/10officers.html?_r=1&hp

The District Attorney’s theory of the case is that Kern sodomized after kern and Morales pursued Mineo for smoking a marijuana cigarette. Morales and Cruz, as far as I can tell, are being charged with falsifying records and official misconduct for writing an intentionally invalid summons and for failing to get medical assistance for Mineo who was allegedly clearly bleeding and asking for assistance. The District Attorney requested $50k bail for Kern, who is charged with first degree sexual abuse and assault 1 and faces 25 years in prison. The judge set $15k bail. The other two defendants were released on their own recognizance. The District Attorney’s office requested $10k bail on each, I think.

Thoughts:
1. Marijuana is not decriminalized in New York. It’s just not, and it really should be legalized. A CHASE, a PURSUIT, and sexual abuse at the hands of the police for what? A joint?

2. An assault, if committed on an officer, goes from a misdemeanor to a felony. An assault BY an officer on a civilian? No bump up. No enhanced charge or sentence if it is an officer of the law committing the crime.

3. Kern was not handcuffed by the court officers when he was brought to the pens after bail was set for his Class B felonies. He got to stroll back there without being handcuffed - unlike Mineo, the alleged victim, who was handcuffed while he was being brutalized while awaiting his SUMMONS.

The PBA press quotes always enrage me. I often wish that defense attorneys or citizens who are victims of police misconduct could pack the courtroom as much as police officers do. Alas, often us defense attorneys are too busy scuttling about trying to actually cover our cases. I do wonder, though, whether criminal defense attorneys should be putting out press statements on this issue. Why aren’t defender agencies making any statements about this?

As indigent defense attorneys, our fight is generally against the abuse of power and resources of the government, and the socio-economic imbalance of the government versus the indigent. But what about when it’s the government punishing its own actors? Do we as indigent defense attorneys still care about due process and fairness so much in these particular cases, when these defendants are the ones abusing our clients? It’s hard to decide whether it’s appropriate for indigent defense attorneys to be making general public statements about a case when we fight every day for a case to get a fair trial in front of an impartial body - should we be trying to influence the public’s opinion of these defendants or police officers, when in fact we try to avoid the same ‘trial-by-public’ for our own defendants?

Secretly, I think public defenders probably feel on the inside that we hope the system is just as horrid and unfair to these three defendants as it is for our own. Publicly though, I do wish some defender agency would say something like:

We, agency of defense attorneys, are law enforcement as well. Our job every day is to make sure that everyone else is following the law; and when other parties are not following the law, it’s our job to make sure that the consequences are what the law demands for such breaches. As we like to remind all citizens, the Constitution is not a technicality, and neither are our jobs. In the matter of this alleged victim and these three accused officers, we hope that justice moves as it should - that it move carefully and in compliance with the laws of our State and Country, We fight so hard for these protections to be afforded to every criminal defendant, not just the ones who can pay for such legal protections with money or power.

However, as defense attorneys, we are in a unique position to observe police misconduct that is never charged, or brought to the press, or vindicated. Daily, we watch the police trample the rights of indigent clients without any deference to the laws that these police defendants will no doubt invoke now that they are the accused. But had they had their homes and pockets searched without warrants or cause, or had they had their cars or homes seized, or had they had to spend so much as ONE HOUR in jail, only then would they know what every other defendant knows about this system - that it’s broken.

As defense attorneys, we wish these three defendants a fair and impartial trial. We do not wish for anyone to be wrongfully charged or convicted. If in fact criminal liability is proven, if these allegations are found to be true beyond a reasonable doubt, we hope that the criminal system will take into consideration how egregious this breach is. We hope the court will take into consideration the horror of knowing that citizens are being subjected to institutionalized tyranny such as this, and that such police tyranny will not be tolerated by a civilized society. And if in fact these three defendants are exonerated, we hope it is because that is what the law requires, and not because of who these defendants are.

What do other defense attorneys think? Should we take a position on pending criminal cases such as this?

You can answer this defense lawyer by clicking here.

After a long week (and its only Wednesday) Gitmo Update

Anthony Romero, ACLU's executive director, reported today from Gitmo. His post, reposted here, is worth a read at the close of International Human Rights Day. Mr. Romero's insider view of the detainees at Guantanamo Bay is a reminder that we still have a ways to go.

Posted by Anthony D. Romero, ACLU at 6:04 pm
Close Guantanamo, Torture & Abuse
An Insider’s View of Gitmo This Week

I just stepped off an airplane from Gitmo last night and thought it would be a good time to offer an insider’s take on what really happened down there this week. Unlike the many stories that have been in the press, what follows is a view from the defense table that provides a fuller perspective on the proceedings than what’s been reported.

As you might know, the ACLU has, along with the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL), created the John Adams Project, through which we have sponsored expert civilian counsel to team up with the military defense lawyers representing the 9/11 defendants. It’s part of our ongoing struggle to bring a modicum of fairness to these sham prosecutions and to get Guantánamo shut down for once and for all.

As I write this today our struggle to shut Gitmo and shutter the military commissions is far from over and is anything but a fait accompli.

You probably read in the papers that on Monday, all five defendants expressed an interest in entering guilty pleas in the 9/11 case.This wasn’t unexpected news to anyone, as they essentially expressed that viewpoint from the very first hearing in June of this year.

What did change was that the defendants have been meeting as a group since the last hearing. They have recently asked to have all pending law and evidentiary motions withdrawn and that they be allowed to proceed to enter guilty pleas and be sentenced to death. All five men submitted a handwritten motion to the military judge on November 4, 2008 (Election Day) stating that this is how they would like to proceed.

However, like so much in this made-up system, the process for how this might happen is not clear.

First, the defendants have to formally enter guilty pleas, which they did not do for reasons I will explain below.

Second, the military judge has to accept the pleas, but only after an extensive round of questioning and a review of the evidence that supports the entry of those pleas. In normal courts, this process is known as “allocution” and even in these fundamentally flawed commissions, it is hard to imagine any judge accepting guilty pleas in capital cases without undertaking this second stage with rigor and care.

Third, a panel of 12 jurors (most likely military officers) would have to be convened, and they would have to render a unanimous decision in order for the death sentence to be applied.

None of this happened this week. Why?

First, two of the five defendants do not represent themselves.They were not allowed to represent themselves, as there were questions about their intentions and their competency to knowingly and voluntarily waive their right to counsel. One of them, Ramzi bin al Shibh, had been placed on psychiatric medication against his will. The issue of competency is also being raised in the case of Mustafa Ahmed al Hawsawi. These two defendants are still represented by JAG lawyers and by civilian counsel from the John Adams Project. In fact, Jeff Robinson from our John Adams Project did an outstanding cross-examination of Brig. General Thomas Hartmann on the unlawful command influence motion that did not garner any press attention. Legal and evidentiary motions on behalf of bin al Shibh and al Hawsawi have NOT been withdrawn and we expect continued back and forth with the government until issues of their competence have been resolved. Only then could Judge Henley allow them to represent themselves and move to the next stage of entering pleas.

Second, three of the five defendants who do represent themselves (although we are still stand-by counsel for all three) changed their mind from the morning to the afternoon on Monday as to whether they wished to formally enter guilty pleas this week. Ironically, there is a conflict between the rules and the discussion section of the Military Commissions Act that leaves it unclear as to whether the death penalty could attach in an instance where guilty pleas are entered. In other words, if they plead guilty it is not clear they could be executed (”martyred” in their minds). When Mr. Mohammed learned this at lunch, he did a turn-around and said that he was not willing to enter pleas that day until he gained clarity from Judge Henley on this issue.

Third, after the defendants understood that if the pro se defendants proceeded separately without resolution of the other two who are still represented by counsel, the five cases would not continue to proceed together. The idea that moving ahead on Monday on three pleas would essentially leave their other two “brothers” (as Khalid Sheikh Mohammed put it) behind made them reconsider their decision, much to the consternation of the prosecutor and the military judge.

While these events have the potential to impact the nature of the John Adams Project’s involvement, we are not giving up. As I explained, two of the five defendants are still directly represented by the JAG and John Adams lawyers. Although Khalid Sheikh Mohammed did fire his JAG lawyer, Captain Prescott Prince, by the afternoon he had welcomed ACLU lawyer David Nevin back to the counsel’s table, was conferring with him, and was receiving input from him in open court. As in many capital cases, lawyers often encounter an on-again/off-again dynamic with clients — even more so with those who have been tortured and waterboarded.

This is far from over. Guilty pleas have not been entered or accepted, and sentencing is a ways off. What we have done by providing expert civilian defense counsel is ensure that the worst case scenario (entering of pleas, acceptance of pleas, and sentencing in a system void of due process) did not happen in the remaining days of the Bush administration. Without the ACLU and NACDL’s involvement, I can immodestly speculate that those events almost certainly would have happened this week.

What happens next?Well, who can ever say about Gitmo? The judge has set up a briefing schedule on the above issues that requires the last response motion from us on January 4, 2009. It seems like a long-shot that he would set up a hearing to hear the pleas, accept them and sentence the defendants before Inauguration Day, but no one can say with certainty. What is most likely is that this is all dropped in the lap of a new administration. Putting the pressure on the Obama administration to shut down Gitmo and the military commissions right away as he promised is our top priority, since the further this process goes, the harder it may be to stop it entirely. Monday’s Washington Post piece does a good job of exploring this conundrum for the Obama team. Notice the “no comment” from the transition team.

Finally, what was most difficult for all of us at Guantánamo was hearing the 9/11 family members who were down there say that they were proud of America and the way in which the defendants were being afforded justice.They are earnest, well-intentioned people who suffered a great loss, and I can only imagine the mix of emotions that they were feeling as they were sitting in the courtroom alongside of us.But the fact is that their grievous loss and hope for justice does not fix the fact that this commission process is NOT the best example of American justice, as it is a system that allows hearsay, coerced confessions and evidence gleaned from torture and waterboarding.

There are other 9/11 family members who share our views, 24 of whom issued a statement to that effect today, and some whose individual statements are on our website. Nothing changes the basic fact that this system changed the rules of tried-and-true systems of justice (whether civilian or military), and while the military commissions may look, smell and feel like a real court of law, they are not. No court of law would allow individuals who were tortured with the express approval of top government officials to be put to death when their mental health status is still in question.

That’s why we’re sticking with this case, and that’s why we ask for your support.

One Possible Explanation why your Creepy Neighbor said, "You've Got a Pretty Mouth."

Inspector General: "Public can not rely on sex offender registries"

The FBI is responding to a report filed by the Department of Justice's Office of the Inspector General (OIG) that states the FBI's National Sex Offender Registry (NSOR) and state registries are inaccurate and incomplete. The report states neither law enforcement officials nor the public can rely on the registries for identifying registered sex offenders.

The report specifically points out that states across the country have not entered records on roughly 22 percent of their individual sex offenders and have not identified those who did not maintain their registration in the NSOR. The OIG says that they also found states do not enter sex offender information such as Social Security Numbers, driver's license numbers and Vehicle Identification Numbers.

Full story here.

Celebrating International Human Rights Day

Sixty years ago today the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was signed. We still have a long way to go to make human rights a reality for everyone worldwide.

On this significant anniversary, people will be gathering together in hundreds of places all over the globe, to light a candle, fire or flame as part of a mass demonstration. On Human Rights Day, stand up for human rights and show your solidarity with people all over the world who are committed to making human rights a reality for everyone. For more information click here.

Odessa Police Expect X-Mas Bud; Get X-Mas Trees Instead

KopBusters, a group from Austin, Texas rented a house in Odessa Texas and, for the past six months, have been growing small Christmas trees under grow lights similar to those used for growing marijuana. Police claimed that they could "smell" marijuana and may have also used a confidential informant who claimed to witness the marijuana.

The trap was set and less than 24 hours later, the Odessa narcotics unit raided the house only to find KopBuster’s attorney waiting under a system of complex gadgetry and spy cameras that streamed online to the KopBuster’s secret mobile office nearby. For more complete coverage see here and here.

The raw footage of the police bust...

United States Attorney's Manual

Whenever you find yourself dealing with the United States Attorney's Office, it is nice to see where they are coming from. Luckily, in our transparent government, we can get the manual. The United States Attorney Manual has also sorts of interesting information including policies on electronic surveillance, pleas, crimes by topic, and a host of other information. Click here for the Manuals.

Description of the National Crime Information Center in Context

"The National Crime Information Center (NCIC) uses computer and telecommunication technology for collecting, storing, retrieving, transmitting, and disseminating criminal justice information. NCIC interfaces with and complements many other criminal justice information systems at the Federal, State, and local levels. Thus, NCIC maybe viewed as one member of a family of systems."

Full Document can be found here at Princeton.edu.

Computer and Internet Protocol Address Verifier (CIPAV)

The Computer and Internet Protocol Address Verifier (CIPAV) is a data-gathering tool that FBI uses to track and gather location data on suspects under electronic surveillance. The software operates on the target computer and is unknown to the operator that the software has been installed and is monitoring and reporting on computer activities.

CIPAV captures location-related information, such as: IP address, MAC address, open ports, running programs, operating system and installed application registration and version information, default web browser, and last visited URL.

Once that initial inventory is conducted, the CIPAV slips into the background and silently monitors all outbound communication, logging every IP address to which the computer connects, and time and date stamping each.

Wired Magazine has an article about CIPAV that discusses this topic in greater detail:

"FBI agents trying to track the source of e-mailed bomb threats against a Washington high school last month sent the suspect a secret surveillance program designed to surreptitiously monitor him and report back to a government server, according to an FBI affidavit obtained by Wired News.

The court filing offers the first public glimpse into the bureau's long-suspected spyware capability, in which the FBI adopts techniques more common to online criminals.

The software was sent to the owner of an anonymous MySpace profile linked to bomb threats against Timberline High School near Seattle. The code led the FBI to 15-year-old Josh Glazebrook, a student at the school, who on Monday pleaded guilty to making bomb threats, identity theft and felony harassment.

In an affidavit seeking a search warrant to use the software, filed last month in U.S. District Court in the Western District of Washington, FBI agent Norman Sanders describes the software as a "computer and internet protocol address verifier," or CIPAV."

Full article here.

Facebook Aims to Extend Its Reach Across the Web

From the New York Times:

Facebook, the Internet’s largest social network, wants to let you take your friends with you as you travel the Web. But having been burned by privacy concerns in the last year, it plans to keep close tabs on those outings.

Facebook Connect, as the company’s new feature is called, allows its members to log onto other Web sites using their Facebook identification and see their friends’ activities on those sites. Like Beacon, the controversial advertising program that Facebook introduced and then withdrew last year after it raised a hullabaloo over privacy, Connect also gives members the opportunity to broadcast their actions on those sites to their friends on Facebook.

In the next few weeks, a number of prominent Web sites will weave this service into their pages, including those of the Discovery Channel and The San Francisco Chronicle, the social news site Digg, the genealogy network Geni and the online video hub Hulu.

Full Story Here.