Supreme Court : If the number of amicus briefs indicates the importance of a case before the nation's highest court, then Morse v. Frederick makes the top ten in the current term. A story by the Student Press Law Center reports that 23 amicus briefs have been filed in support and opposition to a high school student's challenge to the 10-day suspension he received for holding up a sign reading "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" as the 2002 Olympic torch relay passed his high school. Oral argument is set for March 19.
DC Gun Ban Struck Down: The federal Court of Appeals for the DC circuit has struck down the district's 30-year-old law banning handguns on Second Amendment grounds. According to a Bloomberg News story by Caryu O'Reilly, this is the first time that any federal circuit has done this. The Washington DC law is the most restrictive handgun ban in the nation. The Court's opinion is here.
Death Penalty: A bill to abolish New Mexico's death penalty died in committee yesterday as reported by Diana M. Alba in the Las Cruces Sun News. The hearing was packed with witnesses on both sides including a former District Attorney who now opposes the DP who said, "There is simply no evidence the existence of a death penalty has a deterrent effect". Some of that non-existent evidence of deterrence is available here.
A Police Executive Research Forum's study found that within the past two years, crime has risen significantly nationwide. The study found that factors such as methamphetamine use in the Midwest and West, gangs, poverty, recently released prisoners, and most importantly, access to guns and use of them in aggravated assaults are why the crime rate has increased according to Kate Zernike of the New York Times. The article also repored that "71% of the cities had an increase in homicide, 80%...in robberies, and 67%...in aggravated assaults with guns. The reason for the increases in gun use is because, "arguments that 20 years ago would have led to fists fights, police chiefs say, now lead to guns."
L.A. Police and their ongoing battle with gangs was told in a narrative piece by Daniel B. Wood of the Christian Science Monitor. The story follows a ride-along done with Police Commissioner Anthony Pacheco (non-law enforcement) and seasoned veteran of the most notorious streets of L.A., Sergeant Sean Colomey. Pacheco's ride-along with Sergeant Colomey was to gain a better understanding and perspective of how effective police presence is in gang areas.
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