Legal Commentary

Wednesday Night Open Thread

By Jeralyn

It's barbecue night here. Which means an open thread for you. All topics welcome.

The ACLU has a lot of news today I didn't get to blog about.

• Report Confirms Continued Dragnet Collection Of Americans’ Communications

• Obama Administration Should Release CIA Inspector General Report Without Substantial Redactions, Says ACLU. Apparently, the Newly Released Detainee Statements Provide More Evidence Of CIA Torture Program (CIA Continues To Suppress Information From Detainee Tribunals With Heavy Redactions)

And, in the mail: a new novel, The Legal Limit, about a drug offender who faces a moral quandry and laws that always do justice. I can't tell yet if it's a pro-prosecution book or not. If you've already read it, let me know:[More...]

And Human Rights Watch has a new report showing we need to amend a 13-year-old federal law that denies prisoners equal access to justice.

The 46-page report, "No Equal Justice: The Prison Litigation Reform Act in the United States," addresses a law passed by Congress in 1996 that singles out lawsuits brought by prisoners for a host of burdens and restrictions that apply to no one else. The report shows that as a result of the law, many cases brought by prisoners seeking the protection of the courts against dangerous conditions of confinement, or a remedy for sexual assault or other abuse by staff or inmates, have been thrown out of court.

The grill is ready. This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on June 17, 2009 (boomark / email).