The American Constitution Society today released a new white paper (pdf) on crack-powder sentencing disparity, examining whether the International Race Convention might provide some relief.

The federal criminal penalty structure for the possession and distribution of crack cocaine is one hundred times more severe than the penalty structure relating to powder cocaine. Blacks comprise the vast majority of those convicted of crack cocaine offenses while the majority of those convicted of powder cocaine offenses are white. This disparity has led to inordinately harsh sentences disproportionately meted out to African American defendants that are far more severe than sentences for comparable activity by white defendants. Indeed, the U.S. Sentencing Commission reported that revising this one sentencing rule would do more to reduce the sentencing gap between blacks and whites "than any other single policy change," and would "dramatically improve the fairness of the federal sentencing system."

by TChris

As TalkLeft noted here, Patrick Kennedy is taking responsibility for his addiction:

Kennedy said he's been trying for months to kick a narcotic painkiller which he declined to name. He also told the newspaper he has "never gotten over" the chronic back pain and painkiller abuse that stemmed from surgery to remove a growth near his spine during college.

Rush Limbaugh's recent brush with the criminal justice system proves that drug abuse doesn't depend on political philosophy. The Boston Herald reports that 2 million Americans abuse prescription narcotics.

by TChris

The latest entry in the American Constitution Society's series of white papers is Police Reform: A Job Half Done (pdf) by Richard Jerome, a former Deputy Associate Attorney General who now provides legal and consulting services that include police and civil rights issues. The paper examines the need for police reform (shining a spotlight on racial profiling), explores the federal response to police misconduct, and questions whether the Justice Department's enforcement efforts have weakened in recent years. It concludes with an overview of policies that law enforcement agencies should implement to help officers comply with professional standards.

Readers who have followed TalkLeft's coverage of the Taser controversy might be interested in this snippet from the paper:

The National Law Journal reports:

A search warrant sent via e-mail to a computer in a police vehicle or maybe to a hand-held device such as a BlackBerry? All become possible under a federal rule scheduled to take effect on Dec. 1.

This brave new world of electronic search warrants and affidavits comes courtesy of Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure Rule 41(d)(3)(A), which simply states: "A magistrate judge may issue a warrant based on information communicated by telephone or other reliable electronic means."

TalkLeft contributor Last Night in Little Rock, being the 4th Amendment guru that he is, is quoted extensively in the article:

by TChris

Emily Marie Delafield was swinging a couple of knives and a hammer, but the threat posed by the 56 year old woman was lessened by her confinement to a wheelchair. The police in Green Cove Springs nonetheless shot her with a Taser. She lost consciousness and later died at a hospital.

This commentator argues convincingly that Taser use -- particularly in Florida -- is out of control.

And even though Scottsdale, Arizona-based Taser, Inc--the company that created it--said it should never be used on children or the elderly, Florida leads the nation in deaths by Taser. The oldest victim to date? Ninety-five. The youngest? A 6-year old boy.

TalkLeft's coverage of the Taser controversy is collected here.

It's not just the absurdity of Texas judge Keith Dean's sentencing a teen to life in prison for smoking pot once while on probation for a $2.00 stickup, it's also the disparity.

First, the story of the teen:

First came the poor man, barely 17 years old - too young to buy beer or vote, but an adult under the Texas penal code. He took part in a $2 stickup in which no one got hurt. He pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery and was put on 10 years of probation. He broke the rules once, by smoking marijuana. A Dallas judge responded in the harshest possible way: He replaced the original sentence with a life term in prison.

There Tyrone Brown sits today, 16 years later, tattooed and angry and pondering self-destruction. "I've tried suicide a few times," he writes. "What am I to make of a life filled with failure, including failing to end my life?"

Now the story of the businessman on probation for murder who smoked crack and failed numerous drug tests. The same judge let him stay on probation.

Many more people are just now learning of the flaws in eyewitness identification procedures used by police around the country due to the Duke Lacrosse case (background here).

A study has just been released in Illinois, touted as the first of its kind, that casts doubt on the efficacy of sequential, double blind lineups, which researchers have determined in recent years are necessary to improve the reliability of eyewitness identifications.

The report is available here. (pdf.)

The problem is, many say the study was flawed. Particularly because the double-blind procedure wasn't uniformly utilized. In the double blind procedure, the person administering the test does not know the identity of the suspect. That way he can't influence the eyewitness' selection.

by TChris

Serena Nunn's sad story has two happy endings. The story will sound familiar to those who haunt the criminal courts. Serena dropped out of school and started dating a drug dealer. Because she drove him around and talked to buyers who owed him money, she was charged with federal drug crimes. Despite being a first offender, Serena was sentenced to more than 15 years in prison.

The leader of the drug ring had a record that included substantial drug dealing, rape and manslaughter. He was sentenced to 7 years.

How could this happen? The leader was a serious criminal, and serious criminals are connected. He could barter information for freedom because his criminal accomplishments made him a valuable snitch. Serena wasn't a serious criminal, so she had little to trade. Does this seem fair? Only if you've ingested a hallucinogen.

Fortunately, Serena's story has two happy endings (so far): President Clinton commuted her sentence, and on May 6, she'll graduate from the University of Michigan Law School. Good for you, Attorney Nunn.

by TChris

It was only a matter of time. As TalkLeft noted here, two men were murdered because their names and addresses appeared on a sex offense registry in Maine, making them easy targets for a vigilante. The man who killed them committed suicide when police contact was imminent, and his motives are unclear, but the victims were among 34 men he looked up on the registry.

Maine took down its registry. It's time for other states to do the same.

"This is a stark reminder that there's no evidence that online sex offender registries increase public safety," said Allen Gilbert, executive director of the Vermont ACLU. "In fact, they might just do the opposite."

by Last Night in Little Rock

Last night I posted on FourthAmendment.com the Supreme Court's new proposed Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 41 dealing with search warrants. Unless countermanded by Congress, which is highly unlikely, the rule change becomes effective December 1st.

And, it appears to me that e-mail search warrants will become possible. We already get e-mail through our cellphones, Pocket PC phones, and Blackberrys, so why not allow the police to receive search warrants that way? As a matter of common knowledge, we know that e-mail tends to be lax and lackadasical, fired off with less thought or usually without circumspection. One feels a shudder when a search warrant might be involved--breaking down the doors of homes and less than adequate information, sometimes without warning and creating danger for police and homeowner alike.

by TChris

Your movements are recorded as you walk the streets of major cities. You know that private security cameras watch you shop for sweaters, but city streets have always been anonymous, a place to be lost in the crowd. Until now. The hope of finding private moments in a public setting, you now realize, is so last century.

In New York, "wireless video cameras peer down from lamp posts about 30 feet above the sidewalk." Five hundred of them. New Yorkers paid $9 million dollars so their government could record their public meanderings. And that's only a start.

Two sex offenders were gunned down in their Maine homes this weekend. The state has suspended the website that publishes offenders' pictures and addresses "as a precaution."