California's Budget Crisis Opens Prison Doors:  Randal C. Archibold of The New York Times reports on California's solution to reduce prison overcrowding in response to the state's budget crisis.  California has the highest recidivism rate in the country, an astonishing 70%, and the state has recently begun to make the most significant changes since the 1970s to reduce overcrowding.  There are 167,000 prisoners in California, but the state plans to reduce the number of inmates by next year by 6,500.  Those considered to be low level offenders will be granted early release from prison.  They will not be closely supervised by parole officers.  Many are concerned about the dangers of not more aggressively tracking the low-level offenders.  "We are concerned about victims these felons will leave in their wake before being rearrested for committing new crimes," said Paul M. Weber, the president of the Los Angeles police union.  Some prisoners may be released early for completing drug and education programs, or receive reduced sentences under new formulas for calculating time served in county jails before and after sentencing.  The Schwarzenegger administration has announced other ideas to reduce costs and avoid early release, including building prisons in Mexico for illegal immigrant offenders, having the University of California handle inmate health care, and turning over prisons to private contractors.

White House Will Be Ready to Choose Nominee for U.S. Supreme Court:  Tony Mauro wrote in The National Law Journal on Monday, that if Justice John Paul Stevens decides to retire before the end of the term, the White House appears ready to choose a nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court.  The short list of candidates includes Solicitor General Elena Kagan, appeals court Judges Diane Wood and Merrick Garland, and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.  So far there's been a minimum of lobbying and gossiping in Washington for possible nominees with Obama.  However, meetings will take place, well-connected people will make comments, and advice will be given.  "With this president, it is a profoundly personal decision," said Obama's former-White House counsel Gregory Craig.  

"Death Penalty Lawyer Admits Stealing $200,000 From Capital Appeals Project":  Gwen Filosa of The Times-Picayune reports that the former director of a nonprofit death penalty appeals agency, Jelpi Picou, admitted to stealing more than $200,000 from the office he was hired to run in 2004.  On February 26, Picou pleaded guilty as charged to five counts of theft and is hoping that Judge Robin Pittman will consider ordering restitution and probation.  Picou resigned last November before state officials were able to inspect the financial records he kept.  At least $100,000 in state money and other public funds were missing.  The Capital Appeals Project was formed in 2001 to handle direct appeals in cases for those who have been sentenced to death row.  Picou was one of the attorneys who helped successfully reverse a death penalty conviction for a child rapist in Kennedy v. Louisianna, last year.