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by: Sduclos • November 20, 2012 • no comments

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'''1<sup>st</sup> Circuit Rules States Cannot Harbor Inmates from Federal Death-Eligible Charges'''
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===What Should NY Do About the Central Park Jogger Case?===
In 2011, Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee became the first governor to refuse to surrender a state inmate, Jason Pleau, to federal custody. Under federal law, Pleau would be death-eligible for a fatal robbery whereas RI does not have the death penalty. Gov Chafee argues his decision was valid under the Interstate Agreement on Detainers Act. The 1st Circuit ruled 3-2 against RI over a strong dissent. [http://www.boston.com/news/local/rhode_island/articles/2012/05/07/federal_appeals_court_rules_against_ri_inmate/ AP Laura Crimaldi's report provides more details. ]
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'''Wells Fargo Employee Loses Job After Company Pulls 40-Year-Old Shoplifting Convictions'''
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"For nine years, New York City has fought a civil rights suit[http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/09/nyregion/3-of-5-in-jogger-case-sue-city-charging-a-wide-conspiracy.html  ] by five men whose convictions in the 1989 rape of the woman known as the Central Park jogger were [http://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/20/nyregion/convictions-and-charges-voided-in-89-central-park-jogger-attack.html overturned]. Officials have even tried to subpoena information from Ken Burns, whose [http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Trailer-Ken-Burns-Documentary-Central-Park-Five-Arrives-33719.html documentary] about the case opens Friday. The district attorney said DNA evidence and a review of the investigation showed that the confessions of the defendants, who were teenagers at the time, were false and that another man was the lone attacker. Police say that they did nothing wrong and that they still believe the five men were involved in the attack.
In 1972, Yolanda Quesada, 18 at the time, shoplifted...twice. 40 year later, Wells Fargo rescreened Quesada and other employees and terminated her based on what Wells Fargo calls, "federal law that generally prohibits us from hiring or continuing the employment of any person who we know has a criminal record involving dishonesty or breach of trust." Read [http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/will-your-employer-dig-up-your-arrest-40-years-ago-0059578-150316185.html Jim Stingl's Opinion] in Milwaukie Journal Sentinel.
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'''8 Years of Solitary Confinement'''
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Should the city acknowledge mistakes in the case and settle this lawsuit?"
Ernesto Lira, originally convicted for PCS, was sent to solitary confinement for eight years based on unreliable evidence that he was a gang member. Lira was forced to spend 23 hours a day in a windowless 7.6 by 11.6-foot cell for eight years. Although he has been released, he now suffers from depression, avoids crowds, and covers his windows with blankets in order to sleep. California may end up changing its policy of mass segregation of gang members, but until then it's just one among many states that follow the same model. For more, see [http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/31/us/battles-to-change-prison-policy-of-solitary-confinement.html?_r=1 the NYT report].
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'''GJ Finds No Wrongdoing for Tactical Officers Who Shot Portlander'''
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The New York Times posted several opinions from various commentators from former mayors to ministers and law professors.
Washington County's tactical unit shot Adalberto Flores-Haro three times last March. Mr. Flores-Haro had stepped out of his house holding a handgun while the officers executed a search warrant down the street (and for some reason also happened to be trolling through Flores-Haro's backyard). The DA also said there was a possibility of charges against Flores-Haro. For more, read the [http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2012/05/grand_jury_finds_no_wrongdoing.html%09 Oregonian report].
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{{wl-publish: 2012-05-13 16:40:39 -0700 | sduclos }}
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- Room for Debate, "[http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2012/11/19/justice-and-the-central-park-jogger-case/?ref=opinion Justice and the Central Park Jogger Case]," NYT, Nov. 19, 2012.''' '''
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===Lawsuit Filed Against PPB For Failing to Provide Sign Language Interpreters===
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"A deaf Portland man who reported he was the victim of a domestic assault said police and 9-1-1 operators failed to respond with a sign language interpreter, hampering the police inquiry and putting him at risk.
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Philip Wolfe, 39, is suing the city of Portland in federal court, alleging the city violated the Americans With Disabilities Act, which prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in state and local government services.
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Wolfe's allegations highlight a gaping hole in Portland Police Bureau policy: Twenty-two years after the ADA was enacted, the bureau lacks any protocol on how to respond to people who are hearing impaired.
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Wolfe is seeking a court order requiring the city to adopt uniform policies for police and emergency dispatchers to ensure sign language interpreters are supplied when a deaf crime victim or witness makes a report, requests assistance or is interviewed by police.
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'During Plaintiff's contact with the police, he was overwhelmed, disoriented and hurt,' his attorney Daniel Snyder wrote in the suit. 'Plaintiff was unable to understand the police officers clearly.' "
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- Maxine Bernstein, "[http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2012/11/portland_police_and_9-1-1_fail.html Lack of Portland Police, 9-1-1 Policies for Interpreters Discriminates Against People Who Are Deaf, Lawsuit Alleges]," The Oregonian, nov 16, 2012.
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==='''Portland Police Car Rolls Over Man Stopped for Jaywalking'''===
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"A police car accidentally rolled over a man stopped for jaywalking in downtown Portland Monday night, according to Portland Police.
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A police press release said that Jimmy Miles Duffey, 31, ran from officers when they tried to stop him for jaywalking near Southwest 12th Avenue at Columbia Street. They pursued Duffey and eventually caught him at Southwest Park Avenue at Main Street.
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While taking Duffey into custody, officers had him lie on the ground, police said. When more police arrived on the scene, an officer got out of a police car but left it in gear. The vehicle ran over Duffey where they lay on the ground, police said."
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- Courtney Sherwood, "[http://www.opb.org/news/article/police-car-rolls-over-man-stopped-for-jaywalking/ Police Car Rolls Over Man Stopped for Jaywalking]," OPB News, Nov. 20, 2012.
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===State Judicial Elections Increasingly Funded by Special Interest PACs===
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"This year's round of state judicial elections broke previous records for the amounts spent on judicial campaigns around the country. The dominant role played by special-interest money - including money from super PACs financed by undisclosed donors - has severely weakened the principle of fair and impartial courts. ***
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This year's experience should at least hasten state efforts to revise rules for judicial recusal to take campaign contributions into account. Mandatory disclosure of all donations to a judicial race is also essential. Litigants cannot know when they should request that a judge step aside if they cannot tell whether their case involves a party that supported the judge's campaign."
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- Editorial, "[http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/19/opinion/judicial-elections-unhinged.html?ref=todayspaper&_r=0 Judical Elections, Unhinged]," NYT, Nov. 18, 2012''' '''
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{{wl-publish: 2012-11-20 12:45:12 -0800 | sduclos }}

Latest revision as of 19:12, December 21, 2012

Contents

What Should NY Do About the Central Park Jogger Case? [edit]

"For nine years, New York City has fought a civil rights suit[1] by five men whose convictions in the 1989 rape of the woman known as the Central Park jogger were overturned. Officials have even tried to subpoena information from Ken Burns, whose documentary about the case opens Friday. The district attorney said DNA evidence and a review of the investigation showed that the confessions of the defendants, who were teenagers at the time, were false and that another man was the lone attacker. Police say that they did nothing wrong and that they still believe the five men were involved in the attack.

Should the city acknowledge mistakes in the case and settle this lawsuit?"

The New York Times posted several opinions from various commentators from former mayors to ministers and law professors.

- Room for Debate, "Justice and the Central Park Jogger Case," NYT, Nov. 19, 2012.

Lawsuit Filed Against PPB For Failing to Provide Sign Language Interpreters [edit]

"A deaf Portland man who reported he was the victim of a domestic assault said police and 9-1-1 operators failed to respond with a sign language interpreter, hampering the police inquiry and putting him at risk.

Philip Wolfe, 39, is suing the city of Portland in federal court, alleging the city violated the Americans With Disabilities Act, which prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in state and local government services.

Wolfe's allegations highlight a gaping hole in Portland Police Bureau policy: Twenty-two years after the ADA was enacted, the bureau lacks any protocol on how to respond to people who are hearing impaired.

Wolfe is seeking a court order requiring the city to adopt uniform policies for police and emergency dispatchers to ensure sign language interpreters are supplied when a deaf crime victim or witness makes a report, requests assistance or is interviewed by police.

'During Plaintiff's contact with the police, he was overwhelmed, disoriented and hurt,' his attorney Daniel Snyder wrote in the suit. 'Plaintiff was unable to understand the police officers clearly.' "

- Maxine Bernstein, "Lack of Portland Police, 9-1-1 Policies for Interpreters Discriminates Against People Who Are Deaf, Lawsuit Alleges," The Oregonian, nov 16, 2012.

Portland Police Car Rolls Over Man Stopped for Jaywalking [edit]

"A police car accidentally rolled over a man stopped for jaywalking in downtown Portland Monday night, according to Portland Police.

A police press release said that Jimmy Miles Duffey, 31, ran from officers when they tried to stop him for jaywalking near Southwest 12th Avenue at Columbia Street. They pursued Duffey and eventually caught him at Southwest Park Avenue at Main Street.

While taking Duffey into custody, officers had him lie on the ground, police said. When more police arrived on the scene, an officer got out of a police car but left it in gear. The vehicle ran over Duffey where they lay on the ground, police said."

- Courtney Sherwood, "Police Car Rolls Over Man Stopped for Jaywalking," OPB News, Nov. 20, 2012.

State Judicial Elections Increasingly Funded by Special Interest PACs [edit]

"This year's round of state judicial elections broke previous records for the amounts spent on judicial campaigns around the country. The dominant role played by special-interest money - including money from super PACs financed by undisclosed donors - has severely weakened the principle of fair and impartial courts. ***

This year's experience should at least hasten state efforts to revise rules for judicial recusal to take campaign contributions into account. Mandatory disclosure of all donations to a judicial race is also essential. Litigants cannot know when they should request that a judge step aside if they cannot tell whether their case involves a party that supported the judge's campaign."

- Editorial, "Judical Elections, Unhinged," NYT, Nov. 18, 2012