This New York Times story is interesting. And these facts (which were new to me) are unknown or ignored by conservative police officers, who have somehow decided that the DOJ hates cops. [hat tip to a reader]
Tag: courts
“Generating New Revenue Streams” by policing
Sometimes it’s important to remember how you got to Point B from Point A to where you are today. You don’t just stumble into a system like Ferguson’s where the city tries to get 30 percent of it’s total budget from fines, citations, and court fees. Ferguson isn’t unique. I just stumbled across this article from 2010, writen by a…
What about “fruit of the poisened tree”?
From NPR: The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday ruled that police officers don’t necessarily violate a person’s constitutional rights when they stop a car based on a mistaken understanding of the law. The court said the officer made a “reasonable mistake.” Hence it’s not an unreasonable search and seizure. The case involved drugs found after a traffic light for one…
The Courts
Did I mention I met Sgt. Plantinga last time I was in San Francisco? Good guy. He bought me lunch. Here’s the last (for now) from Plantinga’s 400 Things Cops Know: Street-Smart Lessons from a Veteran Patrolman: You won’t feel sorry for many defendants. You figure they probably committed a dozen crimes before they finally got caught for this one.…
Court Attire
Yet another from Plantinga’s 400 Things Cops Know: Street-Smart Lessons from a Veteran Patrolman. My friend Dan gave me aline about people showing up for court “in their best sweatpants.” That always stuck with me. Many defendants dress casually, even for felony trials. The collared shirt is a rarity. Most wear what they might don to watch Saturday morning cartoons,…
Would a Grand Jury Really Indict a Ham Sandwich?
My man Gene O’Donnell (former police officer and prosecutor and current colleague of mine at John Jay College of Criminal Justice) on WNYC’s Brian Lehrer Show. Well worth listening to. Unless, of course, you fully understand what a grand jury is and how it works… which you, like I, don’t. Also, if you click through that link, there’s a great…
“Can’t tase me, bro!”
There’s an excellent article by the Atlantic’s Conor Friedersdorf about the use of a taser for non-compliance. I’ve long argued that, without an actual threat, tasers should not be used for compliance. The taser is too easy, usually not necessary, and sometimes kills people. Now I’m all for people complying with lawful orders; you do not have the right to…
D.A. Rickman on Jonathan Ayers
I received the following email today from D.A. Brian Rickman in regards to this poston the 2009 killing of Rev. Jonathan Ayers (you can read all I’ve written about the horrible killing of Ayers). Professor Moskos, Someone sent me a link to the February article you posted regarding the Ayers case. There were a couple of things I wanted to…
“Woman Not Guilty of Chemical Warfare; Constitution Saved”
Nice article by Garrett Epps in The Atlantic about Bond v. United States, prosecutorial overreach, and rare victory for the 10th Amendment: There’s an established rule of construction called the avoidance doctrine: If there are two ways of reading a statute, and one way would cause a serious constitutional problem, a court should read it the other way. That’s what…
Rich folk don’t “fare well” behind bars
A du Pont family heir plead guilty to raping his 3-year-old daughter in 2008. From The Daily News: Superior Judge Jan Jurden sentenced Richards to eight years in prison, but suspended the time for probation that requires monthly visits with a case officer. “Defendant will not fare well in [a prison] setting,” Jurden wrote in her sentencing order. Well that’s…