9/11 Judgment Affirmed: The Fourth Circuit today upheld the conviction and sentence of the "20th hijacker," Zacarias Moussaoui. AP story here. Opinion here.
Fighting Crime With Technology and Strategy: Baltimore Sun writer Justin Fenton reports that London may influence the use of the closed-circuit television cameras (CCTV) in Baltimore. Baltimore put up a CCTV system five years ago, and the city claims success, but some believe that the way the city implements the system is ineffective. London officials have advised the city that it could improve the CCTV. Rob McAlister, the Westminster city coordination manager, says that "It's not the CCTV that makes the crime go. Without an overall plan, what you end up with is very expensive recording equipment." In Baltimore the cameras were put in areas with high crime rates. This pushed crime to different areas where cameras are not located. City officials admit that they are not using the cameras to their full potential and are looking to places like London, Jerusalem, and Chicago to see how that full potential can be reached.
Virginia Likely to Change Death Penalty: Associated Press writer Dena Potter reports that there could be changes in Virginia's death penalty laws with the change of administration. A similar article was on our News Scan Dec 11.
Improving the Handling of Runaway Cases: New York Times writer Ian Urbina reports that state and federal lawmakers are examining the way runaway cases are handled and how improvements can be made. In recent months, at least 10 states have proposed or passed bills that focus on runaways and the way their cases are treated. Federal law requires police to enter a missing persons report into the National Crime Information Center with in two hours of receiving them. But this is not always done. NY Representative Carolyn Maloney and NJ Representative Christopher H. Smith are proposing a law that will require law enforcement comply with the law and enter a runaways into the system during the allotted time frame. Maloney is outraged by the failures of the reporting system and says, "It's absolutely inappropriate that many runaway children are missing not only from their homes, but also from the very database meant to help law enforcement officers find them."
Justice Scalia's Dislike of the Word Choate: New York Times writer Ben Zimmer reports on Justice Anthony Scalia's dislike of the word choate. Scalia has twice scolded lawyers for using the word. The first time was in December 1992 during oral arguments for I.R.S. v. McDermott, saying "You know that there is no such word as choate." The second time occurred last November when Randolph Barnhouse used the word during his oral argument. Again, Justice Scalia reminded the Court of his dislike of the word by stating "there is no such adjective. I know we have used it, but there is no such adjective as choate." The misuse of the word choate came about because people mistakenly believed that the "in-" of inchoate was a negative prefix. The word is still a fixture in property law and found in many dictionaries.
Fighting Gangs with Injunctions: San Francisco Chronicle writer Demian Bulwa reports that Oakland plans to tame street gangs with civil gang injunctions. With 116 killings in 2008, Oakland has the state's highest per capita homicide rates. Deputy City Attorney Rocio Fierro says that gang injunctions are a way for cities to hold criminals accountable. California has been using gang injunctions since the 1980s. In 1997, the Supreme Court upheld their use. Opponents of gang injunctions say that they are unfair and ineffective. Proponents believe that injunctions will help gang plagued areas. Community leader Bob Jackson, says, "They're not so notorious and bad when they're by themselves. I would rather try something like that rather than continue the way we're going right now."
Fighting Crime With Technology and Strategy: Baltimore Sun writer Justin Fenton reports that London may influence the use of the closed-circuit television cameras (CCTV) in Baltimore. Baltimore put up a CCTV system five years ago, and the city claims success, but some believe that the way the city implements the system is ineffective. London officials have advised the city that it could improve the CCTV. Rob McAlister, the Westminster city coordination manager, says that "It's not the CCTV that makes the crime go. Without an overall plan, what you end up with is very expensive recording equipment." In Baltimore the cameras were put in areas with high crime rates. This pushed crime to different areas where cameras are not located. City officials admit that they are not using the cameras to their full potential and are looking to places like London, Jerusalem, and Chicago to see how that full potential can be reached.
Virginia Likely to Change Death Penalty: Associated Press writer Dena Potter reports that there could be changes in Virginia's death penalty laws with the change of administration. A similar article was on our News Scan Dec 11.
Improving the Handling of Runaway Cases: New York Times writer Ian Urbina reports that state and federal lawmakers are examining the way runaway cases are handled and how improvements can be made. In recent months, at least 10 states have proposed or passed bills that focus on runaways and the way their cases are treated. Federal law requires police to enter a missing persons report into the National Crime Information Center with in two hours of receiving them. But this is not always done. NY Representative Carolyn Maloney and NJ Representative Christopher H. Smith are proposing a law that will require law enforcement comply with the law and enter a runaways into the system during the allotted time frame. Maloney is outraged by the failures of the reporting system and says, "It's absolutely inappropriate that many runaway children are missing not only from their homes, but also from the very database meant to help law enforcement officers find them."
Justice Scalia's Dislike of the Word Choate: New York Times writer Ben Zimmer reports on Justice Anthony Scalia's dislike of the word choate. Scalia has twice scolded lawyers for using the word. The first time was in December 1992 during oral arguments for I.R.S. v. McDermott, saying "You know that there is no such word as choate." The second time occurred last November when Randolph Barnhouse used the word during his oral argument. Again, Justice Scalia reminded the Court of his dislike of the word by stating "there is no such adjective. I know we have used it, but there is no such adjective as choate." The misuse of the word choate came about because people mistakenly believed that the "in-" of inchoate was a negative prefix. The word is still a fixture in property law and found in many dictionaries.
Fighting Gangs with Injunctions: San Francisco Chronicle writer Demian Bulwa reports that Oakland plans to tame street gangs with civil gang injunctions. With 116 killings in 2008, Oakland has the state's highest per capita homicide rates. Deputy City Attorney Rocio Fierro says that gang injunctions are a way for cities to hold criminals accountable. California has been using gang injunctions since the 1980s. In 1997, the Supreme Court upheld their use. Opponents of gang injunctions say that they are unfair and ineffective. Proponents believe that injunctions will help gang plagued areas. Community leader Bob Jackson, says, "They're not so notorious and bad when they're by themselves. I would rather try something like that rather than continue the way we're going right now."
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