Big DNA Backlog at FBI: A report by the Justice Department's Inspector General found that the FBI has 3,200 backlogged DNA samples waiting for analysis. A story by CBS News reports that the backlog could have major consequences for law enforcement and counterterrorism investigations. According the report it would take two years to clear the backlog, even if no new cases were added.
ICE Can't Afford to Track Illegals: A story by Jerry Seper of the Washington Times reports that, according to Assistant Secretary John Morton, who heads U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the agency only has the resources to remove about 4% of the nation's currently estimated illegal alien population. New guidelines outlined in a recent memo by Morton note that the lack of resources will require the agency to focus on apprehension and removal of aliens who "pose a threat to national security and/or public safety, such as criminals and terrorists." One unidentified ICE official said that the agency would only be pursuing high-profile drug and terrorism cases that involved the seizure of assets, and no longer would process illegal immigrants otherwise detained. Responding to Morton's guidelines, House Judiciary Committee member Ted Poe (R) Texas, said "The message to those not yet in the United States is that they will get a free pass once they gain entry."
Death Sentences Affirmed For Murderers Caught During Traffic Stop: The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the California Supreme Court recently upheld in a 6-1 vote the death sentences of Richard Letner and Christopher Tobin. The two murderers were initially stopped by police in 1988, a stop the trial court found supported by "reasonable suspicion." Among other things, they were going 40 mph on the highway. Police let the men go after a brief search of the car revealed nothing suspicious, but the next day, a further search of the car linked Letner and Tobin to the murder of a 59-year-old woman, whom the men robbed, beat, and stabbed to death. The two unsuccessfully appealed to the California Supreme Court that their convictions should be overturned based on the illegality of the traffic stop. Two of the justices agreed that the stop was illegal, but found that almost all of the incriminating evidence came from independent sources. The other four justices in the majority rejected this argument, finding the circumstances were suspicious enough to permit the stop. Justice Kennard dissented. Letner's and Tobin's attorneys claim they will seek SCOTUS review.
ICE Can't Afford to Track Illegals: A story by Jerry Seper of the Washington Times reports that, according to Assistant Secretary John Morton, who heads U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the agency only has the resources to remove about 4% of the nation's currently estimated illegal alien population. New guidelines outlined in a recent memo by Morton note that the lack of resources will require the agency to focus on apprehension and removal of aliens who "pose a threat to national security and/or public safety, such as criminals and terrorists." One unidentified ICE official said that the agency would only be pursuing high-profile drug and terrorism cases that involved the seizure of assets, and no longer would process illegal immigrants otherwise detained. Responding to Morton's guidelines, House Judiciary Committee member Ted Poe (R) Texas, said "The message to those not yet in the United States is that they will get a free pass once they gain entry."
Death Sentences Affirmed For Murderers Caught During Traffic Stop: The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the California Supreme Court recently upheld in a 6-1 vote the death sentences of Richard Letner and Christopher Tobin. The two murderers were initially stopped by police in 1988, a stop the trial court found supported by "reasonable suspicion." Among other things, they were going 40 mph on the highway. Police let the men go after a brief search of the car revealed nothing suspicious, but the next day, a further search of the car linked Letner and Tobin to the murder of a 59-year-old woman, whom the men robbed, beat, and stabbed to death. The two unsuccessfully appealed to the California Supreme Court that their convictions should be overturned based on the illegality of the traffic stop. Two of the justices agreed that the stop was illegal, but found that almost all of the incriminating evidence came from independent sources. The other four justices in the majority rejected this argument, finding the circumstances were suspicious enough to permit the stop. Justice Kennard dissented. Letner's and Tobin's attorneys claim they will seek SCOTUS review.
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