An Attorney is Not Ineffective Because He Has "Nothing to Lose": At Blog of the Legal Times, Tony Mauro has a post reporting on today's Supreme Court activity. As noted in Kent's post, the Court decided Knowles v. Mirzayance, rejecting the Ninth Circuit's holding that, in Mirzayance's case, competent counsel would have pursued the insanity defense because counsel had nothing to lose. Justice Thomas' majority opinion stated: "This Court has never established anything akin to the Court of Appeals' 'nothing to lose' standard for evaluating Strickland claims." Mauro also reports on today's oral arguments in Citizens United v. FEC, a case asking whether the 90-minute anti-Hillary Clinton movie released during
the 2008 presidential campaign should be regulated under the
McCain-Feingold campaign finance law.
Al-Marri Pleads Not Guilty: New York Times reporter John Schwartz writes that accused Al Qaeda sleeper agent Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri pleaded "not guilty" on Monday to charges that he provided aid to terrorists. Al-Marri, one of the first enemy combatants to be tried in a civilian legal system, has been in custody for almost six years. While he was initially arrested financial fraud and other charges, the government believes he is a sleeper agent pledged to come to the United States as part of a broader attack plan to follow Sept. 11. The Supreme Court agreed to hear his case in December 2008, but in February President Obama ordered Mr. Marri's transfer from the military back to the Justice Department. He is being tried in Peoria, Illinois where he was indicted on two counts related to providing material support and resources to a terrorist organization. (Hattip to Howard Bashman at How Appealing for the link.)
"Does the criminal justice system have anything to do with public health?" wonders Joel Jacobson at Judging Crimes. In a Monday post, Jacobson discusses a possible relationship between CQ Press's release of Crime State Rankings 2009. While CQ Press's rankings remain controversial, Jacobson sees similarities between the most dangerous states and the unhealthiest states. He also sees some similarities in the number of heart disease and stroke death rates in an area. The relationship between the three is interesting - especially considering Jacobson's promise to further discuss studies describing what violence does to people .
Al-Marri Pleads Not Guilty: New York Times reporter John Schwartz writes that accused Al Qaeda sleeper agent Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri pleaded "not guilty" on Monday to charges that he provided aid to terrorists. Al-Marri, one of the first enemy combatants to be tried in a civilian legal system, has been in custody for almost six years. While he was initially arrested financial fraud and other charges, the government believes he is a sleeper agent pledged to come to the United States as part of a broader attack plan to follow Sept. 11. The Supreme Court agreed to hear his case in December 2008, but in February President Obama ordered Mr. Marri's transfer from the military back to the Justice Department. He is being tried in Peoria, Illinois where he was indicted on two counts related to providing material support and resources to a terrorist organization. (Hattip to Howard Bashman at How Appealing for the link.)
"Does the criminal justice system have anything to do with public health?" wonders Joel Jacobson at Judging Crimes. In a Monday post, Jacobson discusses a possible relationship between CQ Press's release of Crime State Rankings 2009. While CQ Press's rankings remain controversial, Jacobson sees similarities between the most dangerous states and the unhealthiest states. He also sees some similarities in the number of heart disease and stroke death rates in an area. The relationship between the three is interesting - especially considering Jacobson's promise to further discuss studies describing what violence does to people .
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