Bits of History

Speaking of the Fourteenth Century, which some historians have compared to our own Twentieth (that's the last one, not the 21st--this is yet to unfold), and of Religion and Chivalry, the dominant political idea of the ruling class, in A Distant Mirror, Barbara Tuchman writes:

King Arthur's knights adventured for the right against dragons, enchanters, and wicked men, establishing order in a wild world. So their living counterparts were supposed, in theory, to serve as defenders of the Faith, upholders of justice, champions of the oppressed. In practice, they were themselves the oppressors, and by the 14th century the violence and lawlessness of men of the sword had become a major agency of disorder. When the gap between ideal and real becomes too wide the system breaks down...the sword is returned to the lake... Violent, destructive, greedy, fallible as he may be, man retains his vision of order and resumes his search.

Wash, Rinse, Repeat..., Rinse, Repeat ...., .....

More dots on the emerging financial meltdown from NYT.

Now, with the Madof debacle, I'm tempted to ask, "Where were the regulators" -- Oversight is so passe?

Sosen Newsletter

Here's a link to Sosen's inaugeral newsletter. They finally got it together. Hurrah!

Here is a reminder that my very own newsletter published issue number 16 last month. It is at this link!

Habeas and the Guantanomo Bay Prisoner Cases

Thanks to Scotusblog, at this link is a Supreme Court Order issued today remanding the case of four Britons released from Guantanomo, who then sued United States Military officials for misconduct in the treatment, allegedly torture. That means the opinion of the DC Circuit Court must be reconsidered in light of the Supreme Court Opinion in the case of Boumedienne, issued more recently this year. The opinion to be reconsidered was issued January 11, 2008 and is available at this link. If I can find it I'll post a link to the Boumedienne case as well.

A Petition for Justice

Here, at this link, read about the tragedy that is Ricky's life, or non-life. He's 19. She's 16, was 13 when, but lied and said she was about his age. Now, Ricky lives with the consequences. When will the madness end?

Is it Time to End Prohibition (Again)?

At this link is a post at Prof. Berman's Sentencing Law blog. The debate in the comments is interesting and well worth reading. I agree with those who are pushing to end the Modern Era of Prohibition we are living with today. For all the reasons Zack lists in the comments, I agree.

From Berman's post:

The main group behind all this call for a new repeal of old drug prohibitions is Law Enforcement Against Prohibition. Here's what's up on their site today:

December is the 75th anniversary of when America's leaders had the good sense to end alcohol prohibition. Today, we have another ineffective, harmful and expensive prohibition, the "war on drugs." LEAP has made it easy for you to take action and let your legislators know that we can't afford prohibition in these tough economic times. Visit www.WeCanDoItAgain.net for more information.

Good Reference Commentary

Letsgetreal has posted comments on my last post concerning the Adam Walsh Act and related concerns.

145 Million At Stake in Frederick County, Maryland, Wrongful Death Suit

Here is a link to an opinion in which United States District Judge Quarles, of Maryland's US District Court, discusses breach, and in particular the concepts of gross negligence and malfeasance in a contract context. If past is prologue, the opinion could shed light into what could happen in a case pending before the same Judge Quarles. I am still waiting for this opinion to appear on the Court's website.

Judge Quarles penned an opinion reinstating the County and Sheriff's office as defendants being sued along with a deputy for the death by taser of a Frederick County youth.

Jarrel Gray, 20, of Frederick, died Nov. 18, 2007, hours after being shocked twice by a Taser operated by Cpl. Rudy Torres.

Here is a link to the article in the Frederick News Post about it.

Don't want to come into contact with a registered sex offender?

Use the website to locate them more easily. But don't use the sidewalks, they don't wear the yellow stars, or the red A, just yet.

At the same time, more and more serious studies are showing that registration such as this is a waste of time and money, tax payer money, to be more precise.

I cannot help commenting on this post by Corey at SexCrimes. The new and improved federal sex offender website is getting a ton of hits every day, apparently. According to the press release, posted by Mr. Young on his blog, the purpose is now not the protection of our children, but to protect "communities from coming into contact with" the target population. Here's Assistant AG Sedgewick:

"NSOPW provides the public with information to protect themselves, their families and their communities from coming into contact with registered sex offenders," said Jeffrey L. Sedgwick, Assistant Attorney General for OJP.