Mexican Drug Kingpin Francisco Javier Arellano Felix, allegedly responsible for murders in both Mexico and the United States, has accepted a plea bargain which will result in a life sentence rather than the death penalty according to this Los Angeles Times story by Tony Perry.

Wiretapping: Former CIA intelligence analyst Bruce Berkowitz has this piece in today's Wall Street Journal regarding the continuing political battle over the wiretapping of the overseas telephone conversations of suspected terrorists.

The Mukasey Nomination is endorsed in this Wall Street Journal editorial. Key quote, "Earth to Washington: You finally have the right man for the right job at the right time. Try not to screw this one up."

Internet Access to Plea Bargains in federal cases will be curtailed if the federal judiciary grants a request made recently by the Justice Department. Since 2004, federal courts have allowed public Internet access to all nonsealed plea agreements in electronic case files. An article in LAW.COM by Marcia Coyle of The National Law Journal, reports that Justice wants the change to protect defendants who receive plea deals in exchange for co-operating with police, often identifying other criminals. The story includes Kent Scheidegger's take on the proposed restriction.

Academic Hypocrisy is the focus of today's Dan Walters column in the Sacramento Bee. He notes that academia went nuclear when professor Erwin Chemerinsky was denied the Dean's post at the U.C. Irvine law school, allegedly for his ultra-liberal views. The clamor got so loud that Irvine's chancellor recanted and gave Chemerinsky the job back. But when an invitation to have former Harvard Dean Lawrence Summers address a UC Board of Regents Dinner was pulled last Friday, due to his politically incorrect views, it was because of pressure from the same crusaders of academic freedom. For anybody who pays even the slightest attention, this type of hypocrisy is hardly news.