Criminal Justice And Human Rights Law Blog

Military leaders’ wrongheaded victim-blaming, Pentagon brass must stop blaming victims for sexual assault.

2013-05-12T19:09:00.001-04:00

Military leaders’ wrongheaded victim-blaming

In Plain Sight - Poverty In America NBC News

2013-05-12T17:01:00.001-04:00

For Raymond Chaney, taking out a payday loan was like hiring a taxi to drive across the country. He ended up broke — and stranded.

The 66-year-old veteran from Boise lives off of Social Security benefits, but borrowed from an Internet payday lender last November after his car broke down and didn’t have the $400 for repairs. When the 14-day loan came due, he couldn’t pay, so he renewed it several times.

Within months, the cash flow nightmare spun out of control. Chaney ended up taking out multiple loans from multiple sites, trying to to stave off bank overdraft fees and pay his rent. By February, payday lenders — who had direct access to his checking account as part of the loan terms — took every cent of his Social Security payment, and he was kicked out of his apartment. He had borrowed nearly $3,000 and owed $12,000.

“I’m not dumb, but I did a dumb thing,” said Chaney, who is now homeless, living in a rescue mission in Boise.

In Plain Sight

Melissa Harris-Perry: Simple imagery could shake up Senate gun control debate

2013-05-12T14:14:00.001-04:00

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Melissa Harris-Perry: Simple imagery could shake up Senate gun control debate: ""

(Via.)

Melissa Harris-Perry: Fight for voting rights continues in North Carolina

2013-05-12T14:03:00.001-04:00

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Melissa Harris-Perry: Fight for voting rights continues in North Carolina: ""

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Melissa Harris-Perry: Dear Sec. Hagel, we need a leader against sex assault in the military

2013-05-12T12:56:00.001-04:00

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Melissa Harris-Perry: Dear Sec. Hagel, we need a leader against sex assault in the military: ""

(Via.)

Ginsburg says Roe gave abortion opponents target

2013-05-12T01:19:00.001-04:00

CHICAGO (AP) — One of the most liberal members of the U.S. Supreme Court, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg could be expected to give a rousing defense of Roe v. Wade in reflecting on the landmark vote 40 years after it established a nationwide right to abortion.

Instead, Ginsburg told an audience Saturday at the University of Chicago Law School that while she supports a woman's right to choose, she feels the ruling by her predecessors on the court was too sweeping and gave abortion opponents a symbol to target. Ever since, she said, the momentum has been on the other side, with anger over Roe fueling a state-by-state campaign that has placed more restrictions on abortion.

"That was my concern, that the court had given opponents of access to abortion a target to aim at relentlessly," she told a crowd of students. "... My criticism of Roe is that it seemed to have stopped the momentum that was on the side of change."

The ruling is also a disappointment to a degree, Ginsburg said, because it was not argued in weighty terms of advancing women's rights. Rather, the Roe opinion, written by Justice Harry Blackmun, centered on the right to privacy and asserted that it extended to a woman's decision on whether to end a pregnancy.

Four decades later, abortion is one of the most polarizing issues in American life, and anti-abortion activists have pushed legislation at the state level in an effort to scale back the 1973 decision.

Ginsburg says Roe gave abortion opponents target

UK's New Defamation Law May Accelerate The Death Of Anonymous User-Generated Content Internationally

2013-05-12T00:48:00.001-04:00

Historically, United Kingdom defamation law has been victim-favorable. In an effort to modernize its defamation law, the UK Parliament recently enacted the Defamation Act 2013 (royal assent was given on April 25). The act generally makes it harder for plaintiffs to win defamation lawsuits, but I’ll focus on the effects of Section 5 of the act, entitled “Operators of websites.”

UK's New Defamation Law May Accelerate The Death Of Anonymous User-Generated Content Internationally

How prison keeps many Americans locked into poverty — MSNBC

2013-05-11T17:14:00.001-04:00

President Obama mentioned the word “poverty” four times in his State of the Union address this February—more times than he had mentioned the worldwide issue in all of his other State of the Union addresses combined. In his speech, Obama offered five solutions that if implemented, would help move millions of families currently living in poverty in the United States toward economic stability. Each of these solutions has implications that may be invisible to policy and opinion makers, but they highlight the intersection of criminal justice and rising rates of poverty—which is among the collateral consequences of criminal conviction, particularly among people of color.

The president first suggested that one solution to poverty is to create good jobs. People need jobs that pay decent wages, offer long-term security and health benefits, and provide a path to upward mobility. Who could be against that?

However, it becomes more complex when we consider the Pew Center’s 2008 finding that nearly one in 100 adults in the U.S. is behind bars and the National Employment Law Project’s estimation that nearly 65 million U.S. residents have a criminal record on file. This leaves them vulnerable to employment discrimination based solely on a conviction, no matter how long ago it occurred. What makes a lot more sense is a national ban on previous convictions inquiries until after an applicant has been deemed otherwise qualified.

How prison keeps many Americans locked into poverty — MSNBC

Apple deluged by police demands to decrypt iPhones

2013-05-10T22:20:00.001-04:00

ATF says no law enforcement agency could unlock a defendant's iPhone, but Apple can "bypass the security software" if it chooses. Apple has created a police waiting list because of high demand.

Apple deluged by police demands to decrypt iPhones

NYC lawmakers consider allowing non-citizen immigrants to vote — MSNBC

2013-05-10T19:22:00.001-04:00

Big Apple lawmakers are taking a big step in allowing non-citizen immigrants the right to vote in municipal elections.

The New York City Council held its first hearing Thursday on the measure, which would extend voting rights to anyone, regardless of citizenship, who has been living in the city for at least six months. The only other stipulation would be that they meet standard voting

NYC lawmakers consider allowing non-citizen immigrants to vote — MSNBC

Hispanic Caucus rips Heritage immigration study as ‘ugly racism' - The Hill's Blog Briefing Room

2013-05-09T21:22:00.001-04:00

The Heritage Foundation came under fire Wednesday from Hispanic lawmakers after reports that the author of a controversial immigration study previously wrote a dissertation warning of the lower intellectual capacity of immigrants.
Rep. Rubén Hinojosa (D-Texas), the chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, called the group’s study “ugly racism and xenophobia dressed up in economic hyperbole” after learning of the dissertation

Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/298485-chc-chairman-rips-heritage-immigration-report-as-racism-and-xenophobia#ixzz2SqfimlQJ
Follow us: @thehill on Twitter | TheHill on Facebook

Hispanic Caucus rips Heritage immigration study as ‘ugly racism' - The Hill's Blog Briefing Room

State pays civil rights group for trying to overcharge for records

2013-05-09T20:03:00.001-04:00

The Georgia Department of Corrections has agreed to hand over 1,000 pages of documents the Southern Center for Human Rights filed a lawsuit to obtain, and to pay the civil rights group’s legal fees. The center had sued to force the department to provide records about inmate deaths and broken locks at a northwest Georgia prison.

DOC had first said the cost of producing records would be $250,000 paid in advance: $80,000 for records concerning the deaths of two inmates, $90,000 for records about broken locks on cell doors at Hays State Prison and $80,000 for reports on security audits. Corrections said the cost was so high because it would take over 31,000 business hours to fulfill the requests, the equivalent of 15 years of work for a person working eight hours per day, 50 weeks per year — for every employee to search their records and emails for the information SCHR wanted.

State pays civil rights group for trying to overcharge for...

The Last Word: Takei and Ferguson rewrite marriage equality opposition

2013-05-09T09:53:00.001-04:00

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The Last Word: Takei and Ferguson rewrite marriage equality opposition: ""

(Via.)

2013-05-08T23:26:00.001-04:00

Co-Author of New Immigration Study Says Latinos not as Intelligent

The Heritage Foundation, a think tank where very little legitimate research occurs.

Melissa Harris-Perry: Continuing the fight against rapes on campus

2013-05-05T20:46:00.001-04:00

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Melissa Harris-Perry: Continuing the fight against rapes on campus: ""

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Melissa Harris-Perry: The letter that stopped Harris-Perry in her tracks

2013-05-05T20:27:00.001-04:00

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Melissa Harris-Perry: The letter that stopped Harris-Perry in her tracks: ""

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Melissa Harris-Perry: The shocking police practice of ‘dumping’ the homeless

2013-05-05T20:11:00.001-04:00

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Melissa Harris-Perry: The shocking police practice of ‘dumping’ the homeless: ""

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Morehouse, Spelman alums reflect on sometimes tense history

2013-05-05T11:00:00.001-04:00

Spelman College grad Lori Robinson was stunned when she returned to Atlanta on a magazine assignment to cover a brewing controversy after a woman from her alma mater accused four Morehouse men of sexually assaulting her.

It was 1996 and Robinson was in a packed court hearing when the judge asked those supporting the acuser to stand up. A few did. Then the judge asked for those with the accused men to stand. Nearly the entire gallery stood.

“I sat there wondering, ‘Where are the supporters of the accuser? Do they not believe her? Do they not want black men being condemned?” Robinson recalled.

Ted Lackland, attorney for one of the accused Morehouse College students, remembers the hearing quite differently. He said then-Spelman president Johnnetta Cole walked in with the accuser, sat with her and then testified in the bond hearing.

Morehouse, Spelman alums reflect on sometimes tense history

Mayor Bloomberg on Stop-and-Frisk

2013-05-04T23:17:00.001-04:00

Mayor Michael Bloomberg trotted out shopworn, discreditedarguments this week while defending the constitutionally suspect police program under which hundreds of thousands of innocent New Yorkers have been detained and questioned on the streets every year. His speech, at 1 Police Plaza, castigated civil rights lawyers who oppose what they say is the practice of stopping people based on race instead of reasonable suspicion; Democratic mayoral candidates who want to rein in the stop-and-frisk program; and the City Council, which is considering a perfectly reasonable bill that would create the position of Police Department inspector general, with broad powers to review department policies.

Mayor Bloomberg on Stop-and-Frisk

How Barbaric Is Forced Feeding? « The Dish

2013-05-02T23:03:00.001-04:00

During my training, I placed countless feeding tubes (and larger hoses to pump stomachs). Without question, it is the most painful procedure doctors routinely inflict on conscious patients. The nose—as anyone knows who ever has received a stinger from an errant baseball—has countless pain fibers. Some patients may scream and gasp as the tube is introduced; the tear ducts well up and overflow; the urge to sneeze or cough or vomit is often uncontrollable. A paper cup of water with a bent straw is placed before the frantic and miserable patient and all present implore him to Sip! Sip! in hopes of facilitating tube passage past the glottis and into the esophagus and stomach.

How Barbaric Is Forced Feeding? « The Dish

This gun advertisement makes a good argument for gun control. Pause the video at .22. The woman is pointing the gun at her son.

2013-05-02T19:13:00.003-04:00

China Accused of Denying Care to Chen Guangcheng’s Nephew - NYTimes.com

2013-05-02T10:18:00.001-04:00

China Accused of Denying Care to Chen Guangcheng’s Nephew - NYTimes.com: "BEIJING — Human rights advocates have accused the authorities in eastern China of denying urgent medical care to the jailed nephew of the blind dissident Chen Guangcheng, a move they say is aimed at punishing Mr. Chen for his continued antigovernment activism abroad after his daring escape to the United States Embassy in Beijing last year. "

(Via.)

Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s Bush v. Gore regrets: She shouldn’t have retired. - Slate Magazine

2013-05-02T10:10:00.001-04:00

Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s Bush v. Gore regrets: She shouldn’t have retired. - Slate Magazine: "ustice Sandra Day O’Connor should never have retired from the Supreme Court. She is an 83-year-old with plenty of energy, which she expends hearing lower-court cases, giving speeches, and making me want to tear my hair out by talking like the sensible moderate-liberal she refused to be consistently on the court. Why didn’t O’Connor voice these views when she had power? I’m prompted to my hair tearing by O’Connor’s statement to the Chicago Tribune Editorial Board that, oh, maybe it wasn’t such a hot idea for the Supreme Court to have decided the 2000 presidential election by taking Bush v. Gore and issuing the ruling that ended the Florida recount. Here are her musings, as the Tribune reported: ‘ ‘It took the case and decided it at a time when it was still a big election issue,’ O’Connor said last Friday. ‘Maybe the court should have said, ‘We’re not going to take it, goodbye.’ ’ The case, she said, ‘stirred up the public’ and ‘gave the court a less-than-perfect reputation.’ ‘Obviously the court did reach a decision and thought it had to reach a decision,’ she said. ‘It turned out the election authorities in Florida hadn’t done a real good job there and kind of messed it up. And probably the Supreme Court added to the problem at the end of the day.’ ’ What is with that weird disembodied ‘it’? That word allows O’Connor to distance herself from a decision she was very much a part of. Replace every ‘it’ with ‘we.’ Or even with ‘I,’ since O’Connor could have swung the 5-4 ruling in the opposite direction by switching sides."

(Via.)

Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s Bush v. Gore regrets: She shouldn’t have retired. - Slate Magazine

2013-05-02T10:08:00.001-04:00

Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s Bush v. Gore regrets: She shouldn’t have retired. - Slate Magazine: "Justice Sandra Day O’Connor should never have retired from the Supreme Court. She is an 83-year-old with plenty of energy, which she expends hearing lower-court cases, giving speeches, and making me want to tear my hair out by talking like the sensible moderate-liberal she refused to be consistently on the court. Why didn’t O’Connor voice these views when she had power? I’m prompted to my hair tearing by O’Connor’s statement to the Chicago Tribune Editorial Board that, oh, maybe it wasn’t such a hot idea for the Supreme Court to have decided the 2000 presidential election by taking Bush v. Gore and issuing the ruling that ended the Florida recount. Here are her musings, as the Tribune reported: ‘ ‘It took the case and decided it at a time when it was still a big election issue,’ O’Connor said last Friday. ‘Maybe the court should have said, ‘We’re not going to take it, goodbye.’ ’ The case, she said, ‘stirred up the public’ and ‘gave the court a less-than-perfect reputation.’ ‘Obviously the court did reach a decision and thought it had to reach a decision,’ she said. ‘It turned out the election authorities in Florida hadn’t done a real good job there and kind of messed it up. And probably the Supreme Court added to the problem at the end of the day.’ ’ What is with that weird disembodied ‘it’? That word allows O’Connor to distance herself from a decision she was very much a part of. Replace every ‘it’ with ‘we.’ Or even with ‘I,’ since O’Connor could have swung the 5-4 ruling in the opposite direction by switching sides. "

(Via.)

ACLU Statement on President's Guantánamo Comments

2013-04-30T22:47:00.001-04:00

NEW YORK – At a press briefing today, President Obama restated his belief that the prison at Guantánamo should be closed. Anthony D. Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, responded to the president's comments by detailing immediate actions the president could take.

"We welcome the president's continuing commitment to closing Guantánamo and putting an end to the indefinite detention regime there," Romero said. "There are two things the president should do. One is to appoint a senior point person so that the administration's Guantánamo closure policy is directed by the White House and not by Pentagon bureaucrats. The president can also order the secretary of defense to start certifying for transfer detainees who have been cleared, which is more than half the Guantánamo population."

"There's more to be done, but these are the two essential first steps the president can take now to break the Guantánamo logjam," Romero said. "We couldn't agree more with President Obama's statement that the 'idea that we would still maintain forever a group of individuals who have not been tried – that is contrary to who we are, it is contrary to our interests, and it needs to stop.'"

ACLU Statement on President's Guantánamo Comments