Say WHAT?!?: The Justice Department and FBI have formally acknowledged that nearly every examiner in an elite FBI forensic unit gave flawed testimony in almost all trials in which they offered evidence against criminal defendants over more than a two-decade period before 2000. It doesn’t mean that everyone convicted on the basis of hair evidence was actually innocent, although several … Read More
Twenty Years Ago Today
Carried out by Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols, the Oklahoma City bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building killed 168 people and injured more than 680 others. The blast destroyed or damaged 324 buildings within a 16-block radius, destroyed or burned 86 cars, and shattered glass in 258 nearby buildings, causing at least an estimated $652 million worth of damage. The bombers were tried and convicted in 1997. … Read More
Trouble Brewing In Them Thar Hills
There is a dispute regarding property rights to gold mine in Oregon between the owners and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). If only we had a mechanism to resolve land disputes in this country. Oh yes. The court system. But the allure of an armed conflict with federal agents has still proved irresistible to self-styled militia members who have flocked … Read More
Bad Interview
Here’s a tip from one lawyer to all other lawyers out there: Don’t let your accused client go on television unless you (and your client) really know what you are doing. And that sounds vague to you, then you don’t know what you are doing. Look, 95 times out of 100, you are not going to turn public sentiment in … Read More
Guns and God and Pennsylvania
“You go into some of these small towns in Pennsylvania… they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.” – Barack Obama, April 6, 2008 Seven years later….
“Cake Is Speech”: The New Dumbest Thing Ever Said
Yes, cake is speech. That’s what Indiana Baptist pastor Tim Overton told NPR’s Steve Inskeep yesterday morning, defending his state’s controversial “religious freedom” law. No, it’s not some fringe theory: It’s shaping up as a core tenet of one “compromise” approach to religious freedom laws that’s under consideration, in the wake of the backlash to the Indiana law, which Overton fervently supported … Read More
The Indiana Fix
The proposed new bill working its way through the Indiana state legislature today seems to negate the worst things about the RFRA law: It doesn’t undue Hobby Lobby or other grievances. The changes would not establish sexual orientation and gender identity as a protected class under the state’s civil right’s laws. That will have to come another day. All this does is … Read More
Arkansas Governor Wisely Seeks To Avoid Same Headache That Indiana Has
Moments ago, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said that he does not plan to sign the version of the religious freedom bill that currently sits on his desk and called on the state legislature to make changes before sending it back to him. Hutchinson, who called the issue “divisive” and cited his own son as an example of someone urging him … Read More
Bigots Get It
At yesterday’s press conference, Indiana Governor Mike Pence spent a great deal of time blaming the media for its representation that Indiana’s RFRA law allows businesses to discriminate against gay people. “Not true”, Pence said. Well, it is true if you read the actual law, and apparently, even the bigots think so: WALKERTON, Ind. -A small-town pizza shop is saying they … Read More
The Indiana “Religious Freedom” Law Isn’t Like Past Laws
Last, week, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence stirred up controversy when he signed a “religious freedom” bill into law. The law has businesses and civil rights groups up in arms and threatening — or in some cases pledging — to boycott the state. Critics assert the law could be used by individuals and businesses to discriminate on the basis of religion — … Read More
Indiana Governor Plans To Sign Pro-Discrimination Bill Into Law
Sometime today, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence is to sign into law a religious objections bill that would allow discrimination against gay people. [UPDATE: 10:45 am EST – Bill signed] The signing would make Indiana the first state to enact such a change this year among about a dozen where such proposals have been introduced. The measure would prohibit state and local … Read More
Suicide Or Lynching?
The last person who saw Otis Byrd before he disappeared was a friend who dropped him off on March 2 at a casino in Vicksburg, Miss. Byrd, 54, enjoyed going to casinos every so often before he went missing, a family member toldlocal television station KMBC. He reportedly attended church regularly and held down various jobs, including work on an … Read More
Attacking The Rape Kit Backlog
A couple years ago, two Texas Republicans — Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) in the Senate and by Rep. Ted Poe (R-Texas) in the House — introduced a common sense bill called The Sexual Assault Forensic Evidence Registry Act, also known as the SAFER Act of 2012. It would have reallocated $117 million to help make a dent in the nationwide backlog … Read More
Good Briefs: Amicus Filings in the Supreme Court Marriage Equality Case
Last Friday was the deadline to submit amicus briefs to the Supreme Court in support of marriage equality. Over 60 different briefs were filed by various “friends of the court,” including coalitions, organizations, scholars, and individuals. Contained within them are a variety of arguments in favor of recognizing same-sex couples’ right to marry, ranging from the more legal and technical … Read More
Senate Republicans Overstepping Their Authority
Can you imagine if this was 2006 and the Democrats did this to Bush? A group of 47 Republican senators has written an open letter to Iran’s leaders warning them that any nuclear deal they sign with President Barack Obama’s administration won’t last after Obama leaves office. Organized by freshman Senator Tom Cotton and signed by the chamber’s entire party … Read More