Off to bumpy start, says the LA Times: Many of the ex-criminals are not showing up for counseling appointments, some care centers are not being paid and county bureaucrats are scrambling to correct foul-ups that have caused delays. … In the six months since, about a quarter of the probationers have been arrested for allegedly committing new crimes, which is…
Month: April 2012
Australian foreign minister call for drug decriminalization
From the Telegraph: Bob Carr, Australia’s foreign minister, whose brother died after a heroin overdose, has urged the decriminalisation of low-level drug use, after a report concluded the war on the scourge was lost. His comments were at odds with Julia Gillard, the Australian prime minister, who said tough policing was the answer while the government’s chief law officer expressed…
Motorcycle Cop: 1922
Courtesy of Shorpy. [This one is for you, Smokey]
Now that’s a playground!
I was looking on google earth and couldn’t help but notice a plane sitting in the middle of a playground in the Bushwick homes. “Cool,” I thought, “Must be fun for the kiddies. I like how it’s painting all kind of trippy colors. I gotta check it out, esse.” Then I went to street view and, of course, it wasn’t…
Gathering a City Jury
Baltimore City tries to increase jury attendance. Currently only 27 percent of those summonsed actually show up. In one more rural counties in Maryland, the show-up rate 99%. Because, you know, it’s a duty and you’re not supposed to have a choice. From the Sun: Technically, the law allows for a fine of up to $1,000 and 60 days in…
The Gray Lady Shines
Nobody said it was perfect, but New York Times is a damn good newspaper. (I hear the conservatives’ wincing response already. But, dear reader, how can you complain about the Timesif you don’t read the Times? Stop believing whatever AM blowhards say.) First the Timeshas a nice intereactive mapabout the scene of the Trayvon killing. Second, there’s a great fair…
Seven die in California shooting
The BBC reports. And my response is once again to re-post a cartoon: But relax! Your paranoid political fantasies notwithstanding, no one’s going to take your guns away! … Barring some seismic realignment in this country, the gun control debate is all but settled–and your side won. The occasional horrific civilian massacre is just the price the rest of us…
Spread those cheeks
The Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of strip searches for minor offenses. This isn’t a big surprise. The Court has always granted a lot of discretion to jails and prisons to run their own affairs, with regard to safety, broadly defined: Maintaining safety and order at detention centers requires the expertise of correctional officials, who must have substantial discretion to…