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From the Los Angeles Times

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Texas court postpones execution pending DNA appeal

Skinner's attorneys have requested testing of evidence that was not tested before his trial in 1995, including blood from the murder weapon, blood from a jacket left in Busby's home, rape kit results taken from Busby, scrapings from under Busby's fingernails, and hairs she was clutching when she died. Skinner says he requested the testing before trial, but that his original lawyer ignored him.

Prosecutors have argued against the new tests, saying courts have already ruled against Skinner and that he is stalling.

Last week, Texas Judge Steven R. Emmert was the latest to deny Skinner's request, without explaining why.

In the wake of that ruling, Skinner's supporters gathered more than 120,000 signatures on an online petition urging Gov. Rick Perry to stay the execution to allow for the DNA testing, and on Monday, Skinner's lawyers again appealed to Perry to stay the execution. Skinner also has an appeal pending in federal court.

On Monday, Skinner's lead attorney, Rob Owen, sent a statement to The Times noting that the court ruling "has ensured that Mr. Skinner's request for DNA testing will receive the thorough and serious consideration it deserves."

"We are grateful for the court's action," Owen said, "and look forward to the opportunity to make Mr. Skinner's case for DNA testing in that forum."

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/nationnow/

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The right of citizens to videotape police

Actions against citizen videographers go against not just the Constitution but good public policy. Without a videotape, Rodney King would have been just another guy with a prior record claiming abuse.

by Jonathan Turley

November 8, 2011

Twenty years ago, as Rodney King was beaten by Los Angeles police officers, a private citizen in a nearby apartment turned on his video camera. Largely because of that tape, four officers were criminally charged. In July, a homeless schizophrenic man died after a police beating in Fullerton. Audio from a cellphone video caught Kelly Thomas' cries for his father and helped force an investigation that resulted in a first-degree murder charge against one police officer.

The increasing availability of cellphones and video cameras has fundamentally changed police abuse cases, creating vital evidence in cases that were once dismissed as matters of conflicting accounts between officers and citizens. With that change, however, has come a backlash from officers who, despite court rulings upholding the right of citizens to tape police in public, have been threatening or arresting people for the "crime" of recording them. In many states, prosecutors have fought to support such claims and put citizens in jail for videotaping officers, even in cases of police abuse.

In New York this year, Emily Good was arrested after videotaping the arrest of a man at a traffic stop in Rochester. Good was filming from her frontyard; an officer is heard saying to her, "I don't feel safe with you standing behind me, so I'm going to ask you to go into your house." When she continued to film, the officer said, "You seem very anti-police," and arrested her.

DOCUMENT: 1st Circuit Court decision: Citizens' right to record

In Illinois last month, Brad Williams filed a lawsuit against the Chicago Police Department because, he said, he was beaten by police in response to his filming an officer holding and dragging a man down the street from inside a moving squad car. Ironically, Chicago has rejected complaints about the installation of thousands of cameras in the city that film citizens in public for use in prosecutions.

In Maryland in July, Anthony Graber got a well-deserved speeding ticket, but his real mistake was posting footage from his motorcycle helmet-cam on YouTube. It showed an irate off-duty, out-of-uniform officer pulling him over with his gun drawn. Prosecutors obtained a grand jury indictment against Graber on felony wiretap charges, which carry a 16-year prison sentence.

In Boston in August, the U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals ruled unambiguously that the Constitution protects citizen videographers filming in public. In that case, attorney Simon Glik was walking past the Boston Common on Oct. 1, 2007, when he came upon three Boston officers arresting a man. Glik turned on his cellphone camera after hearing a witness say the police were being abusive. An officer told Glik to turn off his camera. When Glik refused, he was arrested for violation of the state wiretap statute, disturbing the peace and, for good measure, aiding in the escape of a prisoner.

The charges were dismissed after a public outcry, but in a later civil rights case, city attorneys fought to deny citizens the right to videotape police. The court rejected Boston's arguments and found that the police had denied Glik his 1st and 4th Amendment rights.

But other federal judges might not be so sure. Take Richard Posner, the intellectual leader of conservative judges and scholars who sits on the U.S. Court of Appeals in Chicago. Posner shocked many last month when he cut off an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union, which had filed suit to challenge an Illinois law preventing audio recording of police without their consent.

The ACLU lawyer had uttered just 14 words when Posner barked: "I'm not interested, really, in what you want to do with these recordings of peoples' encounters with the police." Posner then added his concerns about meddling citizens: "Once all this stuff can be recorded, there's going to be a lot more of this snooping around by reporters and bloggers.... I'm always suspicious when the civil liberties people start telling the police how to do their business."

Many judges may privately share Posner's view of such confrontations. And the near-total silence of politicians in dealing with the question of the public's right to record what they see and hear suggests that many legislators may also find these cases inconvenient.

Actions against citizen videographers run against not just the Constitution but good public policy. Yet, without a videotape, Rodney King would have been just another guy with a prior record claiming abuse, against the word of multiple officers.

The outcome once was all but inevitable: no tape, no case. As long as police abuse is out of sight, it can also be out of mind. If successful, the backlash against citizens recording police could guarantee that Rodney King is never repeated — the officers' trial, that is.

Jonathan Turley is a professor of public interest law at George Washington University.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-turley-video-20111108,0,399116,print.story

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Immigrant detainees deserve lawyers

The vast majority of detainees, including children and the mentally ill, are forced to represent themselves in immigration court. That could, and should, change soon.

November 8, 2011

In 2009, President Obama vowed to overhaul the nation's immigration detention system. Since then, his administration has taken some steps to deliver on that promise, such as providing detainees improved access to medical care and closing troubled facilities. But it has yet to provide the most meaningful fix: ensuring that indigent immigrants in detention have access to legal counsel.

Until now, federal courts have held that only criminal defendants are entitled to court-appointed counsel. An immigration case, even if it involves detention, is a civil matter. As a result, the vast majority of detainees, including children and the mentally ill, are forced to represent themselves in immigration court.

This month, however, a federal judge in Los Angeles could help bring some fairness to the system. U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee has been asked to decide whether to grant class-action status in a lawsuit brought on behalf of mentally disabled immigrant detainees who don't have the money to pay for legal representation. If Gee certifies the class under the Rehabilitation Act, which requires the government to accommodate people with disabilities, it could help hundreds, if not thousands, of people.

That would be a great start. But much more is needed to ensure that all detainees are afforded fair treatment under the law.

A 2011 study, headed by a federal judge, found that immigrants with lawyers are five times more likely to win their cases than those without. Put simply, an immigrant's access to an attorney can be as important as the facts in his or her case.

The only reasonable solution is to provide attorneys to those immigrant detainees who need them. It would cost, of course, but due process comes with a price. And in some cases, assigning lawyers to detainees could actually lead to savings. The government spends an average of $40,000 a year on each detainee. Providing lawyers could help screen those cases. If a detainee had no legal case or grounds for relief, his attorney could explain that to him, and he would probably agree to leave the country rather than remain in detention, sometimes for years.

More important, providing detainees with counsel could help prevent miscarriages of justice. Consider the case of Jose Antonio Franco, a mentally retarded man who faced deportation to Mexico after throwing a rock during a fight. A judge suspended his case rather than allow him to represent himself. As a result, Franco spent nearly five years in a Southern California detention center, without a hearing, because he had no attorney. He was released last year after lawyers with the American Civil Liberties Union and Public Counsel agreed to represent him.

As retired Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens noted in May, the need for legal representation for immigrants has grown so acute and the consequences so drastic that something must be done. Providing mentally disabled detainees court-appointed counsel is an important first step.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/opinionla/la-ed-counsel-20111108,0,1550081,print.story

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From Google News

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Canada

Award for 'exemplary leadership' in community policing

Exemplary leadership in community policing has resulted in local auxiliary constable Cindy von Kampen being presented with a big provincial award.

Von Kampen has led several crime prevention partnerships in Courtenay and has been the president of the Comox Valley Citizens on Patrol program since 2007.

She manages a group of 58 volunteers who put in more than 15,000 hours each year and is also responsible for overseeing the Speedwatch and Stolen Auto Recovery System programs.

She also makes herself available to speak on topics such as bullying and staying safe - issues that directly involve seniors, fraud, counterfeit currency and shoplifting.

On Friday, she was presented with the Kenneth M. Eckert Community Policing Award by B.C.'s Solicitor General and Minister for Public Safety, Shirley Bond, at a ceremony in Burnaby.

Bond, who presented a number of awards to individuals and groups across the province, said preventing crime "starts with all of us."

She added: "The dedication of the men, women and young people we're honouring today is all the proof we need of that.

"I hope-they inspire more British Columbians to consider how they can participate and do their part to make our communities safer."

Von Kampen told the Echo she was one of very many volunteers in the Valley, so to be singled out for an award had been a big surprise.

"I don't do it for awards," she said. "I do it because I love serving our community. But of course it is a real honour to accept it."

Comox Valley MLA Don McRae said he was proud to see von Kampen's contributions recognized.

"Her commitment to making the Comox Valley a safer place for all families is a valuable contribution and a great example for all of us."

In the annual awards, recipients are selected by the Provincial Safe Communities Working Group, which is made up of representatives form government, police and community organizations.

http://www.canada.com/Award+exemplary+leadership+community+policing/5672937/story.html

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