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From the Los Angeles Times

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Supreme Court rejects damages for innocent man who spent 14 years on death row

In a 5-4 ruling, justices overturn a jury verdict awarding $14 million to John Thompson, who had sued then-New Orleans Dist. Atty. Harry Connick Sr. because prosecutors hid a blood test that would have proved his innocence in a murder case.

by David G. Savage, Washington Bureau

March 30, 2011

Reporting from Washington

A bitterly divided Supreme Court on Tuesday tossed out a jury verdict won by a New Orleans man who spent 14 years on death row and came within weeks of execution because prosecutors had hidden a blood test and other evidence that would have proven his innocence.

The 5-4 decision delivered by Justice Clarence Thomas shielded the New Orleans district attorney's office from being held liable for the mistakes of its prosecutors. The evidence of their misconduct did not prove "deliberate indifference" on the part of then-Dist. Atty. Harry Connick Sr., Thomas said.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg emphasized her disapproval by reading her dissent in the courtroom, saying the court was shielding a city and its prosecutors from "flagrant" misconduct that nearly cost an innocent man his life.

"John Thompson spent 14 years isolated on death row before the truth came to light," she said. He was innocent of the crimes that sent him to prison and prosecutors had "dishonored" their obligation to present the true facts to the jury, she said.

In the past, the high court has absolved trial prosecutors from any and all liability for the cases they bring to court. The key issue in the case of Connick vs. John Thompson was whether the district attorney could be held liable for a pattern of wrongdoing in his office and for his failure to see to it that his prosecutors followed the law.

In 1999, when all his appeals had failed on his conviction for the murder of a hotel executive, Thompson was scheduled to be put to death. But a private investigator hired by his lawyer found a blood test in the police lab that showed the man wanted for a related carjacking had type B blood, while Thompson's was type O.

Thompson had been charged with and convicted of an attempted carjacking near the Superdome as a prelude to charging him with the unsolved murder of a hotel executive.

The newly revealed blood test spared Thompson's life, and a judge ordered a new trial on the murder charge that had sent him to death row. His new defense lawyers found other evidence that had been hidden, including eyewitnesses reports. Bystanders reported seeing a man who was 6 feet tall with close-cropped hair running away holding a gun. Thompson was 5 feet 8 and had a bushy Afro.

With the new eyewitness reports and other evidence that pointed to another man as the killer, Thompson was quickly acquitted of all the charges in a second trial. He won $14 million in damages in a civil suit against the district attorney.

In rejecting the judgment, Justice Thomas described the case as a "single incident" in which mistakes were made. He said Thompson did not prove a pattern of similar violations that would justify holding the city's government liable for the wrongdoing. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justices Antonin Scalia, Anthony M. Kennedy and Samuel A. Alito Jr. joined to form the majority.

However, Thompson's lawyers showed that at least four prosecutors knew about the hidden blood test. They also showed evidence of other, similar cases in New Orleans in which key evidence was concealed from defense lawyers.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-court-prosecutors-20110330,0,5276381,print.story

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L.A. County supervisors OK funding to renovate housing at Downtown Women's Center

Rejecting arguments that it is poor policy to keep homeless people on skid row, Los Angeles County supervisors have approved funding to renovate housing units at the Downtown Women's Center.

The vote Tuesday came after Supervisor Gloria Molina, whose district includes downtown's skid row, made an impassioned appeal to her colleagues to reject the project. She asserted that it does homeless women no good to continue living on skid row, an area of downtown Los Angeles marked by immense poverty, drug dealing and crime.

“This is not safe housing for these women,” Molina said. “If we want to truly help these women, the best policy is to get them out of skid row.... Any time you have an overconcentration of this, you are getting a ghetto.”

But other supervisors sided with advocates for the Downtown Women's Center Residence Project. Officials with the center said their housing has provided a safe haven for homeless women.

In December, Lisa Watson, chief executive of the Downtown Women's Center, told The Times that the best way to help to the homeless is to go to where they are living. "You have a community of people for whom this is their home," she said. "This is where they'll spend the rest of their life."

The supervisors' action enabled the women's project to receive $1.35 million to help fund a $2.6-million rehabilitation of an old, vacated structure that had 45 housing units. That structure was emptied in December as women moved into a new 71-unit facility in a former shoe factory on South San Pedro Street.

The other four supervisors, however, did agree to Molina's request that the county Community Development Commission develop a policy to distribute housing for homeless people across the county, rather than concentrating them in skid row.

The $1.35 million in funds allocated Tuesday came from increased property tax revenues generated as a result of redevelopment in the city of Industry.

Industry is required by state law to distribute a portion of its enhanced property tax revenues to affordable housing projects. But because the city has no land zoned for residential use, the city gives that money to Los Angeles County for affordable housing projects.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/

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Miranda rights for schoolchildren

Children questioned by police in school, though not in formal custody but without doubt in a coercive setting, should be given the Miranda warning.

March 29, 2011

When a police officer says "You have the right to remain silent," the "you" is usually an adult. But what if a child suspected of wrongdoing is interrogated? That question is at the heart of a case argued before the Supreme Court last week. The issues are complex, but the bottom line is clear: Children being questioned in what they experience as a coercive environment must be read their rights.

The case involves a 13-year-old North Carolina boy who was suspected by police in two break-ins. A police department investigator questioned the boy in a school conference room, but he wasn't read his rights — not because he was a juvenile but because no suspect, regardless of age, is entitled to Miranda rights until he's in custody.

By adult standards, the boy wasn't in custody: He wasn't under arrest, the door was unlocked and at one point the police investigator told him he could leave. But common sense suggests that a 13-year-old taken to an office and faced with not only the police but also school officials, as happened in this case, won't feel free to leave or to refuse to answer their questions. And, as often with adults, a coercive environment in this case produced a confession. The boy was then adjudicated delinquent by the juvenile justice system.

The boy's lawyer asked the Supreme Court to rule that the definition of "custody" ought to change depending on the age of the suspect. A judge considering whether to admit a confession by a juvenile would examine the situation in which it was made and whether a reasonable person of the same age would feel confined and therefore pressured to answer questions.

Several justices were skeptical. Justice Antonin Scalia asked if the definition of custody should also be adjusted for the mentally handicapped and whether there should be different standards for children of different ages. Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. asked about situations in which a child's age was unclear. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. questioned whether age is a guide to immaturity. "Some 15-year-olds," he said, "know a lot more than some 17-year-olds."

The court may someday be asked to change the rules for the interrogation of mentally disabled suspects, but it need not reach that issue in this case. As for differences in age and appearance, a clear rule — say, one that covers suspects 15 and under — would resolve most of the ambiguities.

As the American Civil Liberties Union points out in a friend-of-the-court brief, police are an increasing presence in schools, a setting where attendance is mandatory and behavior is closely regulated. For some children accused of wrongdoing, school is like a police station. Miranda warnings should be given in both places when police are questioning children.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/opinionla/la-ed-miranda-20110329,0,4714188,print.story

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From the New York Times

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Virginia Tech Faces a Fine for Its Delays After Shooting

The Department of Education fined Virginia Tech $55,000 on Tuesday for waiting too long to notify students after the 2007 campus shooting that left 33 people dead.

More than two hours passed after the shooting began before the university sent a notification to the entire campus, the department said. The fine was the maximum amount allowed for violating a federal law that requires timely notification after campus crimes.

Virginia Tech said it planned to appeal the fine. “We believe that Virginia Tech administrators acted appropriately in their response to the tragic events,” it said in a statement. “The department's own compliance guidelines had illustrated 48 hours as an acceptable timely notification time frame.”

On April 16, 2007, Seung-Hui Cho, a senior at the university, killed 32 people and wounded dozens of others before committing suicide. The shooting began at 7:15 a.m., but Virginia Tech did not release a notification until 9:26 a.m. And, according to a letter the Education Department wrote Tuesday to the school, that notification was insufficient because it did not say that the gunman was still at large or that a murder had been committed.

After the notification, Mr. Cho shot 47 more victims. By 9:50 a.m., the university issued a more severe warning by e-mail, phone and loudspeaker.

The slow response may have resulted in more victims, the department said. “Had an appropriate timely warning been sent earlier to the campus community, more individuals could have acted on the information and made decisions about their own safety,” the letter said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/30/education/30virginia.html?ref=us&pagewanted=print

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From Google News

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Three arrested in unusual death of Kearns woman

(Video on site)

Fox13Now.com

March 29, 2011

KEARNS, Utah -- Police have arrested three people in connection to an unusual abuse and death of a disabled woman in Kearns.

Authorities say Christina Harms, 22, was found dead in the closet of her family home at 4978 South and 5415 West Friday. They say the body was bruised and evidence such as plastic zip ties and bandages allegedly show the victim was tortured.

"They found a closet in the family room and in that closet there was an alarm on the door and a metal bar hanging in the closet to where they found evidence of the victim being hung crucifixion-style in this closet," said Unified Police Lt. Justin Hoyal.

Police arrested Harms' primary caretaker 27-year-old Cassandra Shepard for domestic violence murder and domestic violence obstructing justice. She was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail. Shepard's mother Sherrie Lynn Beckering, 50, and stepfather Dale Beckering, 53, were booked into the Salt Lake County Jail on the charge of domestic violence of a vulnerable adult. Police say the Beckerings took care of the victim for a good part of last year and were aware of the crime.

Police are now awaiting the results of an autopsy to confirm Harms' official cause of death. A motive in the case has not yet been determined. Police also say the suspects do not have criminal backgrounds.

"The case is still early and we're looking into all the motives and the reason for this, but this is obviously a very sad and tragic situation that took place in this residence," said Hoyal.

Several neighbors were shocked to hear about the murder.

"It disgusts me that someone would actually do that to a human being," said neighbor Michael Sly.

Another neighbor Patricia Vigil said the family moved into the home about two or three months ago and said she thinks no one really knew who they were.

Authorities have confirmed children were in the home at the time of the crime. The victim had a 2-year-old daughter and Shepard has two children ages 5 and 9. All of the children are now in state custody. Police do not think the children are victims of abuse.

http://www.fox13now.com/news/kstu-three-arrested-for-murder-abuse-of-woman-in-kearns-20110328,0,7405313,print.story

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The day that changed presidential security forever

(Video on site)

Washington (CNN) -- "If we had been a split second slower, he could have been hit in the head."

It has been 30 years since the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan. But for retired Secret Service agent Ray Shaddick, the memories of that gray, rainy day in Washington remain clear.

It was 2:27 p.m., March 30, 1981. The 70-year-old president, barely two months into his term, exits the Washington Hilton after delivering a speech to leaders of the AFL-CIO. He walks out a side door to the hotel -- a door used more than 100 times by presidents in the previous decade.

Waiting roughly 15 feet away stands a disturbed John Hinckley Jr., holding a .22-caliber revolver. The president waves to the crowd as he approaches the open door of his armored limousine.

In less than two seconds, Hinckley fires off six shots. Press secretary James Brady is hit. Secret Service agent Timothy McCarthy and D.C. police officer Thomas Delahanty are also wounded. One bullet hits the limo's armored glass; another ricochets off the car.

Lead agent Jerry Parr grabs the president's shoulders and pushes him down into the limo. At the same time, Shaddick shoves the president in the small of his back and slams the door shut. The motorcade bolts from the scene.

"I thought we got him out of there unscathed," Shaddick recalls.

Halfway to the White House, Parr sees bright, frothy blood on a handkerchief pressed to the president's lips and announces a change of plans. They're headed to George Washington University Hospital. Shaddick, the shift leader riding in the follow-up car, doesn't ask for details because the radio's not encrypted.

When they arrive at the hospital, Shaddick opens the door to the limo. The president gets out and says he's OK, but he's gone pale. "You could see the ashen color to his face," Shaddick recalls. "He was not all right."

Reagan walks on his own power through the emergency room doorway before collapsing. He says his rib hurts and complains that it's tough to breathe. A medical team quickly discovers that the bullet that ricocheted off the car struck the president below the left armpit.

It looked like someone "took a paring knife and jabbed him," Shaddick says.

Reagan maintains his composure, famously telling his wife that he "forgot to duck" and asking the attending doctors if they're Republicans.

In surgery, it takes an hour to reach the bullet and pull it from his chest, where it's lodged about an inch from his heart.

Reagan loses more than 2½ quarts of blood. Doctors say he would have been within minutes of going into shock and dying had they not been able to replace the lost blood so quickly after the shooting.

Three decades later, what has been learned from Hinckley's assassination attempt?

All of the normal Secret Service procedures were followed that day, Shaddick recalls. But Hinckley exploited a weak point in presidential protection: the fact that, at the time, it was still easy to get close to the president at certain points.

Since the attempt on Reagan's life, magnetometers have been a more regular feature at presidential outings. People can no longer get so close without being thoroughly scanned.

And while security perimeters have been pushed farther out, tents are now frequently used to shield presidential entrances and exits, according to journalist Del Quentin Wilber, author of "Rawhide Down," a newly published book about the attempted assassination.

Wilber also notes the regular, rigorous training that members of the presidential security detail undergo at the Secret Service facility in Beltsville, Maryland. Agents now train for roughly two out of every eight weeks.

Enhanced training actually started in the late 1970s, but its importance was hammered home by Hinckley's attack. "They don't want to risk agents thinking," Wilber says. "They just have to act."

"You wonder how the hell you respond that fast," Shaddick says. The training makes it "almost instinctive."

If Parr and Shaddick had been even a second slower reacting to the attack, Reagan's skull probably would have been struck, Wilber says.

In contrast, look at footage of Arthur Bremer's attempted assassination of Alabama Gov. George Wallace in 1972, he says. Agents assigned to the governor -- a presidential candidate at the time -- were much slower to respond, leaving the initial responsibility of trying shield him to others.

Secure communications also became a more standard component of presidential and vice presidential life after the Reagan assassination attempt.

Then-Vice President George H.W. Bush was en route to Texas when Hinckley struck. Bush immediately headed back to Washington, but the lack of a secure phone line between his plane and the White House contributed a brief sense of confusion within the administration. The result was Secretary of State Alexander Haig's infamous declaration that he was "in control ... pending the return of the vice president."

Under the law, then-House Speaker Tip O'Neill, not Haig, followed Bush in the chain of succession.

Test your knowledge of the shooting

Shaddick says that more extensive information-gathering on potential presidential assailants has become possible in recent years, partly because of the rise of the internet. None of the assailants of presidents or presidential candidates since 1960 -- Hinckley, Bremer, Lee Harvey Oswald, Sirhan Sirhan, Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme and Sara Jane Moore -- were on a Secret Service watch list at the time they attacked, according to Congressional Quarterly.

In Hinckley's case, he had been arrested for trying to bring a gun on an airplane in 1980.

How close is Hinckley to freedom?

Since Andrew Jackson survived a misfiring pistol in 1835, guns have been the No. 1 threat to U.S. presidents. Abraham Lincoln, James Garfield, William McKinley and John F. Kennedy all died at the hands of assassins with firearms. Theodore Roosevelt survived a chest shot from a .38-caliber revolver in 1912 when the bullet first struck a glasses case and manuscript in his front suit pocket.

Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman and Gerald Ford also survived would-be assassins with firearms.

Nine U.S. presidents attacked since 1865

But the range of threats to the commander in chief has expanded dramatically in recent years. Certain high-impact explosives now "can take a city block out," Shaddick says. You've got to be "vigilant as hell" to constantly be on guard against potential attacks.

And still, mistakes happen. In 2009, Tareq and Michaele Salahi managed to slip into the White House, shaking hands with President Obama during his first state dinner. In 2005, a live grenade was thrown within 100 feet of a podium holding George W. Bush during a presidential visit to the former Soviet republic of Georgia.

"All a man needs is a willingness to trade his life for mine," Lyndon Johnson once said.

Thirty years after the attempt on Reagan's life, that sentiment presents a greater challenge than ever for the men and women charged with protecting the president.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/03/30/hinckley.presidential.protection/

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Maryland Senator Calls For National 'Blue Alert' System

March 29, 2011 - Both Maryland and Virginia issue what's known as "Blue Alerts" after police officers are seriously injured or killed by suspects.

"It's been very successful. The information gets out quickly. But as you know, the suspect could cross state lines, so it's important that we establish this nationally," he says.

Blue Alerts first started in Maryland last year, following the shooting death of state trooper Wesley Brown. He was killed while working off-duty as a security guard at a restaurant in Prince George's County in June.

Police say the suspect in the case had been escorted from the restaurant by Brown after a dispute over a bill, only to return a short time later and shoot the trooper in the back. Some of Brown's family members joined Cardin at Monday's announcement.

http://wamu.org/news/11/03/29/maryland_senator_calls_for_national_blue_alert_system.php

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McLean Virginia District Using New Crime-Fighting Scanner

by Bobbi Bowman

"The readers scan for stolen vehicles, stolen license plates, and AMBER alerts," said Officer Tawny Wright of the police public information office. "On an average patrol shift (11.5 hours), the devices might scan around 7000 license plates, far more than any officer could view and run manually, which increases the likelihood of detecting a vehicle or person potentially involved in criminal activity," she said in an e-mail.

County police now have 26 of the cameras, three at each of the county's eight district stations, including McLean, and one in the Criminal Investigations Bureau. Each device costs $23,000. All but three were purchased through a federal grant, Officer Wright said.

The police started installing the cameras in December 2010 and is still in the process of putting them in the designated cars, she said. "But to give you an idea of how well they work, the license plate readers can accurately scan as many plates as we can pass by even at interstate speeds, regardless of weather or light conditions and we've had minimal, if any, issues with the devices."

Since mid-January, the devices have registered four returns or "hits," and at least one arrest," she said.

Fairfax County has become the latest police department to get the new crime fighting equipment. The camera is linked to a computer that is linked to the Virginia Crime Information Network and to the National Crime Information Center.The cameras scan license plates looking for stolen cars, stolen plates, plates wanted in connection to an outstanding warrant or in connection to a police lookout.

The camera is linked to a computer that is linked to the Virginia Crime Information Network and to the National Crime Information Center, McAllister said. The cameras scan license plates looking for stolen cars, stolen plates, plates wanted in connection to an outstanding warrant or in connection to a police lookout.

"It's a neat tool for our officers," said Lt. Mike McAllister, the former deputy commander of the McLean Police District. Lt. McAllister has a new assignment in the central command center.

http://mclean.patch.com/articles/update-more-on-new-police-license-scanning-cameras

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