Defender411

"Dr. Death" Agrees to Stop Evaluating Mentally Disabled Texas Death Row Prisoners

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/4/21/dr_death_agrees_to_stop_evaluating

Ohio - State law changes could be wild card in public defender decision

http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/2011/04/21/state-law-changes-could-be-wild-card-in-public-defender-decision/

National Public Radio - Bail Burden Keeps U.S. Jails Stuffed With Inmates

http://www.npr.org/2010/01/21/122725771/Bail-Burden-Keeps-U-S-Jails-Stuffed-With-Inmates

California - Invitation to Comment: Proposals to amend Cal. Rules of Court and Judicial Council forms

Judicial Council of California - Administrative Office of the Courts 

Comments sought on proposals:
 
New proposals to amend the California Rules of Court and Judicial Council forms have been posted to the California Courts web site, at http://www.courts.ca.gov/policyadmin-invitationstocomment.htm.
 
The attached list provides a summary of the proposals and contains direct links to each individual proposal. You are welcome to distribute this to other interested parties. The deadline for comments for most proposals is 5 p.m., Monday, June 20, 2011. Four proposals have an extended comment period through Thursday, June 30, 2011.
 
 
If you have any questions, please contact Camilla Kieliger, at camilla.kieliger@jud.ca.gov, or at 415-865-7681.
 
We greatly appreciate your time and dedication to the continued improvement of administration of justice in California.
 
Sincerely,
 
Camilla Kieliger
Court Services Analyst
Office of the General Counsel
Judicial Council of California - Administrative Office of the Courts
455 Golden Gate Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94102-3688
415-865-7681, Fax 415-865-4317, camilla.kieliger@jud.ca.gov
www.courtinfo.ca.gov

Florida bills on eyewitness ID change, advance

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/crime/florida-bills-on-eyewitness-id-change-advance-1392388.html

National Criminal Defense Bar Condemns Arrest of Human Rights Lawyer in Bahrain

http://www.nacdl.org/public.nsf/NewsReleases/2011mn11?OpenDocument

 

Calif. - Ventura County prosecutors say hundreds of DUI convictions could be dismissed due to faulty alcohol detection devices

VENTURA, Calif.—Ventura County prosecutors say hundreds of drunken driving convictions could be dismissed because of faulty readings on eight handheld alcohol detection devices purchased earlier this year.

http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_17891455?nclick_check=1

 

Your iPhone has a hidden feature: It tracks and records your location constantly

http://digitallife.today.com/_news/2011/04/20/6501660-your-iphone-is-secretly-tracking-you-all-the-time

Gadget gives cops quick access to cell phone data

http://redtape.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/04/20/6503253-gadget-gives-cops-quick-access-to-cell-phone-data

California - Chief Justice Names CCMS Oversight Committee to Oversee Case Management System

Chief Justice Appoints New Judicial CouncilInternal Committee to Oversee Case Management System 

San Francisco-Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye today announced the appointment of a new Judicial Council internal committee that will oversee the council's policies on the California Court Case Management System (CCMS).  It will also oversee the council's recently established CCMS governance and advisory committees.

 "The new committee will be responsible for ensuring that council policies are complied with and the project proceeds on schedule and within budget," said Chief Justice Cantil-Sakauye.  "This oversight committee and the new governance structure of CCMS will help ensure that the case management system will bring court technology into the 21st century and deliver great benefits to the justice community and the public." 

"This new internal committee will ensure that the Judicial Council is not only kept informed and up-to-date on the case management system, but that the deployment of CCMS is completed in a way that is consistent with the policies and priorities established by the council," said William C. Vickrey, Administrative Director of the Courts.  "This reflects the importance of CCMS and provides the council with the time and attention that this project merits for the next 5 to 10 years." 

The 10-member committee will seek reports and recommendations from the CCMS Executive Committee and the Administrative Director of the Courts and will ensure that reports to the council are clear, comprehensive, and provide relevant options so that the council can make effective final policies about CCMS.  The committee will advise the council on CCMS policy decisions and report on CCMS at Judicial Council business meetings, which are open to the public.  Like other internal council committees, the panel will be made up of Judicial Council members, as follows:  

Chair: Judge James E. Herman of the Superior Court of Santa Barbara County; 

Vice-chair: Assistant Presiding Judge Ira R. Kaufman of the Superior Court of Plumas County;

Associate Justice Harry E. Hull, Jr., of the Court of Appeal, Third Appellate District (Sacramento); 

Assistant Presiding Judge David S. Wesley of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County; Judge Stephen H. Baker of the Superior Court of Shasta County; 

Judge Teri L. Jackson of the Superior Court of San Francisco County; an advisory member of the council; 

Ms. Edith R. Matthai, an attorney who practices law in Los Angeles; Mr. James N. Penrod, an attorney who practices law in San Francisco; 

Mr. Michael M. Roddy, court executive officer of the Superior Court of San Diego County, an advisory member of the council;

Ms. Kim Turner, court executive officer of the Superior Court of Marin County, an advisory member of the council.  

The new committee will make its first report on CCMS at the next business meeting of the Judicial Council on Friday, April 29.  

CCMS is an integrated court and case management system designed to eventually support trial courts of all sizes on a statewide level.  Its development was triggered by the actions and business demands of superior courts that found themselves with failing or inadequate case management systems that needed replacement in order for courts to continue operations.  

Earlier this year, a new governance structure was established for CCMS.  That structure is overseen by the Judicial Council's CCMS Governance Executive Committee, chaired by Associate Justice Terence L. Bruiniers of the Court of Appeal, First Appellate District (San Francisco). -

#- 

The Judicial Council is the policymaking body of the California courts, the largest court system in the nation.  Under the leadership of the Chief Justice and in accordance with the California Constitution, the council is responsible for ensuring the consistent, independent, impartial, and accessible administration of justice.  The Administrative Office of the Courts carries out the official actions of the council and promotes leadership and excellence in court administration.   

California Counties Differ Radically on Handling of Juvenile Offenders

http://www.baycitizen.org/social-services/story/counties-differ-radically-handling/

Double Drain: Program Pays Cops Pensions While Still on the Force

http://www.sfweekly.com/2011-04-13/news/drop-program-san-franciscio-police-pension-program-joe-eskenazi/

Simpson Prosecutor Marcia Clark Takes On Fiction

http://www.npr.org/2011/04/19/135511735/simpson-prosecutor-marcia-clark-takes-on-fiction?ft=1&f=1032&sc=tw&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

San Diego DA opposes 401(k) push for certain county employees

http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/clipboard/article_a18739aa-69f7-11e0-8861-001cc4c03286.html

Alabama - Indigent defense reform likely to appear in senate tomorrow (April 19, 2011)

http://www.lagniappemobile.com/article.asp?articleID=4410&SID=1

Florida: Outdated formula for financing prosecutors and public defenders begs for change

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/opinion/os-ed-prosecutors-defenders-funding-020110418,0,3129653.story

Texas - Legislation to Levy Court Costs, Filing Fees to Fund Indigent Legal Services

http://www.law.com/jsp/tx/PubArticleTX.jsp?id=1202490148223&slreturn=1&hbxlogin=1

California - State court to review long sentences for teens

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/04/15/BASD1J0U7I.DTL

LA Times - Attorney barred from photographing man's injuries in alleged jail beating

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-inmate-injuries-20110418,0,4608279.story

Report finds prosecutorial misconduct in San Francisco Bay Area

http://www.mercurynews.com/crime-courts/ci_17864595?source=most_emailed&nclick_check=1

News out of Ohio - Crime lab conditions may taint evidence

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20110416/NEWS0108/304180003/1196/COL19/Crime-lab-conditions-may-taint-evidence?odyssey=nav|head

Discovery News Videos: Tech: DNA Survives Bomb Blasts

http://news.discovery.com/videos/tech-dna-survives-bomb-blast.html

Dept. of Justice Pitches GPS Surveillance Case to Supreme Court

http://legaltimes.typepad.com/blt/2011/04/doj-pitches-gps-surveillance-case-to-supreme-court.html

Calif. - Should pimps with gang ties face harsher penalties?

http://informant.kalwnews.org/2011/04/should-pimps-with-gang-ties-face-harsher-penalties/

FBI Crime Statistics Web Page

http://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/crimestats

Three ways to look at the FBI crime stats

http://informant.kalwnews.org/2010/09/three-ways-to-look-at-the-fbi-crime-stats/

Calif. - At $50k a pop, which counties are sending low-level offenders to prison?

http://informant.kalwnews.org/2011/03/budget-whos-responsible-for-fixing-prison-overcrowding/

Calif. - BOARD OF PAROLE HEARINGS and Valdivia

http://informant.kalwnews.org/tag/board-of-parole-hearings/

Calif. - Explaining East Palo Alto’s dramatic crime drop

http://informant.kalwnews.org/2010/12/explaining-east-palo-altos-dramatic-crime-drop/#more-4288

PEW Center for the States report - What causes high recidivism?

http://informant.kalwnews.org/2011/04/what-causes-high-recidivism/

Calif. - Transparency Bill Ups E-Discovery Pressure on California Cities

http://www.govtech.com/e-government/Transparency-Ups-E-Discovery-Pressure-on-Calif.html

Calif. - Alameda County to stop sending kids to state juvenile facilities

http://informant.kalwnews.org/2011/04/alameda-county-to-stop-sending-kids-to-state-juvenile-facilities/

Calif. - Sonoma County - Press Democrat News - Editorial - A safety crisis at State mental health facilities

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20110414/OPINION/110419699?p=2&tc=pg

Justice Dept. to Congress: Don’t Saddle 4th Amendment on Us ("we want your emails without a warrant")

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/04/fourth-amendment-email-2/

USF School of Law Professor Richard Leo Awarded Guggenheim Fellowship for Wrongful Convictions Research

http://www.usfca.edu/law/news/guggenheim/

Calif. cuts inmate numbers as it awaits high court

http://www.sacbee.com/2011/04/16/3557472/calif-cuts-inmate-numbers-as-it.html#mi_rss=Latest News

Texas Forensic Science Commission suggests changes for fire investigations

http://www.star-telegram.com/2011/04/15/3004754/texas-forensic-science-commission.html

Illinois former convict speaks against Ind. death penalty

http://www.idsnews.com/news/story.aspx?id=81126

Texas Psychologist Punished in Death Penalty Cases

http://www.texastribune.org/texas-dept-criminal-justice/death-penalty/texas-psychologist-punished-in-death-penalty-cases/

Georgia legislators revamp public defender council; upset members push back

http://www.greenfieldreporter.com/view/story/9ecc71d05bf344b79191ec512c9337b3/GA--Public-Defenders/

Wisconsin - Legislative prooposal would give defense attorneys subpoena powers

Link: http://wislawjournal.com/blog/2011/04/15/bill-would-give-defense-attorneys-subpoena-powers/

 

Minnesota - Opinion Page: Just why should we care about legal services for the poor?

http://www.minnpost.com/community_voices/2011/04/15/27443/just_why_should_we_care_about_legal_services_for_the_poor

Massachusetts - House wary of governor’s public defender plan

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/politics/view/2011_0415house_wary_of_govs_public_defender_plan_patrick_aims_to_add_1000_lawyers_staff_to_state_payroll/srvc=home&position=also

California - Orange County - Deputies' union says local lawsuit to end 3 percent at 50 is over

http://taxdollars.ocregister.com/2011/04/14/deputies-union-moorlachmainero-frivolous-lawsuit-is-dead/80543/

Opinion letter in Arizona Republic News - Current system can't handle death penalty

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/articles/2011/04/14/20110414hammond15.html

Dershowitz tells how he will help defend Kuchma

http://www.kyivpost.com/news/nation/detail/102435/

Where in California is the death penalty most often applied? (Map)

http://www.sacbee.com/2011/03/21/v-print/1994073/interactive-map-see-where-murderers.html

US plans to scan the Internet to identify people considered "threats" based on postings, etc.

http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-valley/technology/155881-senate-security-will-conduct-internet-data-mining-to-identify-lawmaker-threats

Vallejo man said he was arrested for videotaping police while they were making an arrest at gunpoint down the street

http://www.ktvu.com/news/27551276/detail.html

California - Contra Costa County: Veteran deputy public defender Jack Funk to retire

http://www.martinezgazette.com/news/story/i2479/2011/04/14/funk-retires-30-years-helping-those-crisis