Releasing Criminals: "Lawmakers from California to Kentucky are trying to save money with a drastic and potentially dangerous budget-cutting proposal: releasing tens of thousands of convicts from prison, including drug addicts, thieves and even violent criminals," reports Ray Henry for AP. "'To open the prison door and release prisoners back into communities is merely placing a state burden onto local governments and will ultimately jeopardize safety in communities,' said Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer, who could see 1,800 inmates released in his area."

The Jefferson Warrant: The Los Angeles Times has this editorial regarding the case of the search warrant for Congressman Jefferson's office, previously noted here and here. "The U.S. Supreme Court this week missed an opportunity to make it clear that members of Congress suspected of a crime must answer to the law just as any ordinary citizen must."

Domestic Violence: The WaPo has this editorial on the case of Mark Castillo, who is charged with drowning his three young children. Among the problems, "A court-ordered psychological evaluation had concluded that the 'risk of harm Mr. Castillo poses to his children is low,' while noting that he loved and cared for his children."

Covert DNA Sampling: Amy Harmon has this story in the NYT on legal challenges to police gathering DNA from discarded items such as cigarette butts.

The Presidential Candidates' positions on crime and law enforcement are discussed in this article from Harvard's Nieman Watchdog by researcher Nonna Gorilovskaya. While the piece draws most its information from the decidedly pro-defendant Sentencing Project it does identify the change of positions on the death penalty by Senator Obama and Senator McCain's opposition to the a 1994 House measure called the "Racial Justice Act", which would have allowed defendants to litigate the false issue of "race-of-victim bias" in capital cases. The smoke and mirrors on this issue are explained here.