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: New York Supreme Court Criminal Term Library

Crime And Justice News (November 13, 2008)

By David Badertscher, PLL

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Source: Crime & Justice News (November 13, 2008) " <table><tbody><tr><td> <div>-- Obama Plans Justice Department Makeover, But Where To Begin?</div> <div>-- Maryland Commission Recommends Abolishment Of Death Penalty</div> <div>-- Baltimore Police Defend Delayed Notification In Serial Rapes</div> <div>-- CA Prison Czar Says His $8 Billion Plan Would Boost Economy</div> <div>-- Feds Probe 'Disabled' Maryland Chiefs Who Took Jobs Elsewhere</div> <div>-- L.A. Sheriff: Evidence In 5,635 Rapes May Have Gone Untested</div> <div>-- Probe Finds Bad Apples In Expanded Federal Air Marshal Service</div> <div>-- LAPD Loses Another Retaliation Lawsuit; Councilman Seeks Probe</div> <div>-- Lawsuit Over NYPD Press Credentials Asks, Who Is A Journalist?</div> <div>-- Legislators Want To Junk 'Dysfunctional' Texas Youth Commission</div> <div>-- Some Border-Crossers Are Met With 18-Foot 'Speed Bump' Fence</div> <div>-- 'Tase Me, Bro': Michigan Pol Takes A Zapping To Make His Point</div> </td></tr><tr><td> Obama Plans Justice Department Makeover, But Where To Begin? <div>As a transition team for the Obama administration begins work on a Justice Department overhaul, the key question is where to begin, says the Washington Post. Political considerations affected every crevice of the department during the Bush years, from the summer intern program to the dispensing of legal advice about detainee interrogations. Although Michael B. Mukasey, who took charge of the department in the winter, has drawn praise for separating politics from law enforcement, restoring public confidence in the department will be central, lawmakers and former government officials say. </div> Topping the list of concerns is the Office of Legal Counsel, a once-obscure operation whose advice guides some of the government's most sensitive and controversial policies, from domestic wiretapping to the appropriateness of handing out public funding to religious groups. Many of the OLC's memos on interrogation and warrantless eavesdropping remain secret. Democrats say they expect to find fresh surprises when they open the legal vault. Another critical, early judgment must be made about how to allocate scarce resources without shortchanging national security. Since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, more than 7 percent of the department's budget shifted to terrorism, away from drug trafficking, organized crime and white-collar misdeeds.W<a title="http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001v8fkE0TZAznWB7bWxmIQONvvW5LBv3MX66FXzYyaBvb1AA5TGInLns5A6liygZ_2uGrnY3Yg3vivBozLfxcCpBZuvNxRRbdyRUdNmreeg6c-DDSPXhv7lwyn4gHakZPGVgluAJnz-crS2_snemFU171ByYGv2g2zh2X5oRr34s-j9MdXhV6tphHQ0N_uMsIt8HTvj4EyrKwWsYPwTS4NwjLEnINoKTTycTWurcbos3o=" href="http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001v8fkE0TZAznWB7bWxmIQONvvW5LBv3MX66FXzYyaBvb1AA5TGInLns5A6liygZ_2uGrnY3Yg3vivBozLfxcCpBZuvNxRRbdyRUdNmreeg6c-DDSPXhv7lwyn4gHakZPGVgluAJnz-crS2_snemFU171ByYGv2g2zh2X5oRr34s-j9MdXhV6tphHQ0N_uMsIt8HTvj4EyrKwWsYPwTS4NwjLEnINoKTTycTWurcbos3o=" shape="rect" color="#0000FF" target="_blank">ashington Post</a></td></tr><tr><td> Maryland Commission Recommends Abolishment Of Death Penalty <div>A commission reviewing capital punishment has voted 13-7 to recommend an end to executions in Maryland, prompting hope among death penalty opponents that the General Assembly could soon abolish the 30-year practice, reports the Baltimore Sun. The Maryland Commission on Capital Punishment found the death penalty carries the 'real possibility' of executing innocent people and may be biased against blacks. The final report of the 23- member commission is expected to provide additional ammunition to Gov. Martin O'Malley and other death penalty opponents in their uphill fight to stop state executions. Previous repeal efforts have narrowly failed. </div> The governor has lobbied for a death-penalty repeal and vowed to sign it if the legislature passes it. The final decision rests with the General Assembly, where a key Senate panel has voted down a death penalty repeal, preventing it from reaching the chamber floor for a vote. While executions in Maryland are infrequent, the issue is being scrutinized here and nationwide because of high-profile exonerations of wrongly convicted death-row inmates. Maryland has had an effective ban on use of its death chamber since December 2006, when the state's highest court ruled that execution protocols that detail the steps to put a condemned prisoner to death were improperly developed.<a title="http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001v8fkE0TZAzlrN3_3eknkmQqUQE3fZwBduRli8051slW4brdews-zP4VGvm8CEDoWP87PEtMADLzvsN31XRBf3_IMXiNi555vcxZVxn9yYco1bCphuRzYkPIyClQkTrZ3fdBiXJrrBJI1zAjxtW2feWZpgDf23EAyQn5XAKxfqdadPwIkbI3kuWDiEtI3xQrI4lb4Vgzg4kQ=" href="http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001v8fkE0TZAzlrN3_3eknkmQqUQE3fZwBduRli8051slW4brdews-zP4VGvm8CEDoWP87PEtMADLzvsN31XRBf3_IMXiNi555vcxZVxn9yYco1bCphuRzYkPIyClQkTrZ3fdBiXJrrBJI1zAjxtW2feWZpgDf23EAyQn5XAKxfqdadPwIkbI3kuWDiEtI3xQrI4lb4Vgzg4kQ=" shape="rect" color="#0000FF" target="_blank"> Baltimore Sun</a></td></tr><tr><td> Baltimore Police Defend Delayed Notification In Serial Rapes <div>A Baltimore police spokesman is defending the department's decision to delay notifying Mount Vernon residents of a string of rapes, saying that investigators worked to gather reliable information before notifying the public. Late Monday, days after community groups began spreading word about burglaries and sexual assaults that had occurred there in recent weeks, police confirmed that investigators were exploring links between as many as six crimes this fall, reports the city's Sun. </div> Two posters featuring sketches of possible suspects were distributed to the news media that evening. The issue of early notification versus a quiet investigation is a frequent subject of conflict between the police, the media and the public. 'We have to be careful to balance speed and accuracy, and that's a challenge ... particularly when you're talking about releasing information about someone who may have committed more than one crime or has the potential to commit more,' said Sterling Clifford, the police spokesman. 'Frankly, there wasn't a good sketch or description of the suspect for a long time, and it took time to get that and to make sure that the information we had was solid enough to at least come to the conclusion that there were some crimes that were linked.'<a title="http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001v8fkE0TZAzmlct0qjf0UXEMAmwHUXP5bgtOULNMx33JmN-bFIRAvko4TANBu2_3H60081oNqq3BsNgJvv6TCn4Xk-Rx6kswRImZH96xLRSLB39KmZrKXuOU2RpB0D_KxDMZ7RltsDYAfaXCYtz0hUSfT0ieLvXwZvtBRYpKAOVdr3J47Hi7QAda4D62oUCJoXTqc9adnfzpl_0KWAiyXxw==" href="http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001v8fkE0TZAzmlct0qjf0UXEMAmwHUXP5bgtOULNMx33JmN-bFIRAvko4TANBu2_3H60081oNqq3BsNgJvv6TCn4Xk-Rx6kswRImZH96xLRSLB39KmZrKXuOU2RpB0D_KxDMZ7RltsDYAfaXCYtz0hUSfT0ieLvXwZvtBRYpKAOVdr3J47Hi7QAda4D62oUCJoXTqc9adnfzpl_0KWAiyXxw==" shape="rect" color="#0000FF" target="_blank"> Baltimore Sun</a></td></tr><tr><td> CA Prison Czar Says His $8 Billion Plan Would Boost Economy <div>California's prison medical czar tried to sell his $8 billion construction plan Tuesday as providing a much- needed financial jolt for a struggling state economy, reports the Sacramento Bee. At the same time, federal receiver J. Clark Kelso said he's willing to 'step back' to examine the scale of his project. Kelso made his comments at a press conference called in part to rebut an internal Corrections Department document leaked to The Bee two weeks ago that criticized his remedial plan as carrying $2.3 billion in annual operating costs. </div> The receiver has asked state lawmakers to give him $7 billion to build seven, 1,500-bed long-term care facilities for inmates to help resolve four separate federal class-action lawsuits. He's also asking for another $1 billion to improve health facilities at the state's 33 prisons. He said Tuesday that California can resolve the lawsuits, stop violating constitutional protections against cruel and unusual punishment and jump-start the state's economy in one fell swoop. Kelso said his plan would create 63,800 construction jobs and add 24,250 permanent jobs to the state's payrolls once they are in operation.<a title="http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001v8fkE0TZAzk4y3aRiDIRqp_TsTwsq5GKq9-gO-sWqVLr9TK3X3tRB0FvLVarnjE7oY2A9EXORo4dXWUH7uJ5I1rNKHbv44GE53s9FYnXWsXm7kszCPYYItGlJZxH_-k4N1IYx28R-6TPmBSl18FEIEGRiABUdhnl2nuzpP84v7Q=" href="http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001v8fkE0TZAzk4y3aRiDIRqp_TsTwsq5GKq9-gO-sWqVLr9TK3X3tRB0FvLVarnjE7oY2A9EXORo4dXWUH7uJ5I1rNKHbv44GE53s9FYnXWsXm7kszCPYYItGlJZxH_-k4N1IYx28R-6TPmBSl18FEIEGRiABUdhnl2nuzpP84v7Q=" shape="rect" color="#0000FF" target="_blank"> Sacramento Bee</a></td></tr><tr><td> Feds Probe 'Disabled' Maryland Chiefs Who Took Jobs Elsewhere <div>Federal investigators are probing the disability retirement packages of two former assistant police chiefs in Montgomery County, Md., and appear keenly interested in how one of them was able to secure a subsequent job heading the Gaithersburg police department, reports the Washington Post. As part of what federal authorities described in subpoenas as a 'criminal investigation of a suspected felony,' investigators are seeking information about William C. O'Toole and John A. King, both of whom receive tax- free disability payments because of back injuries suffered while on the Montgomery force. King is now Gaithersburg's chief, and O'Toole is executive director of the Northern Virginia Criminal Justice Training Academy. </div> The probe comes as county leaders are examining the disability retirement system. Over the past decade, 91 percent of Montgomery County police officers who applied for disability retirement benefits received them, and in the past four years, more than 60 percent of all Montgomery officers who retired have been collecting service-related disability payments. By comparison, no officers in Fairfax County have retired on service-related disability since 2000, and three officers retired on disability in Howard County during the same period.<a title="http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001v8fkE0TZAzkL5hxgZSaA1EBFuXoTOWnUjUQ44M7Mf0EEdD8XzmJ1MlN3EJr85L0yH_FrUPzngm_sWNKY2CGW0upuI3f4nFzOaSm65M8FavJUxGDXrwUjobvYFIOyt0VaJK2P0iMFWjQ3w3_fs3xC043FLKsm5eZJ2_NYzf-xcukw1dYNma9SNoNSQYN2VTovCypj4u5vJYeV6UhnTkNLtQ==" href="http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001v8fkE0TZAzkL5hxgZSaA1EBFuXoTOWnUjUQ44M7Mf0EEdD8XzmJ1MlN3EJr85L0yH_FrUPzngm_sWNKY2CGW0upuI3f4nFzOaSm65M8FavJUxGDXrwUjobvYFIOyt0VaJK2P0iMFWjQ3w3_fs3xC043FLKsm5eZJ2_NYzf-xcukw1dYNma9SNoNSQYN2VTovCypj4u5vJYeV6UhnTkNLtQ==" shape="rect" color="#0000FF" target="_blank"> Washington Post</a></td></tr><tr><td> L.A. Sheriff: Evidence In 5,635 Rapes May Have Gone Untested <div>The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, under pressure from county supervisors and watchdog groups to account for its handling of DNA evidence from sexual assault cases, acknowledged Wednesday it did not know whether genetic evidence from more than 5,600 rape cases had been examined. In response to an inquiry by the Board of Supervisors, sheriff's officials tallied 5,635 sexual assault evidence kits -- semen and other DNA samples collected by authorities from victims -- sitting in freezer storage facilities, Commander Earl Shields said. The department must now manually compare that inventory with records from its crime laboratory to determine which kits remain unexamined, Shields said. </div> Under a new policy, all sexual assault kits gathered in the future will be tested -- a departure from a long- running practice in which the sheriff's crime lab analyzed evidence only after detectives handling a case requested it. Shields also said the department would analyze evidence from all kits currently in storage that are found to be untested, although he warned that such an effort would be costly. Unexamined kits hold potentially crucial information. DNA analysts can extract a person's genetic code from the collected samples and compare it to those of known felons that are kept in federal and state databases.<a title="http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001v8fkE0TZAzn_Z49BO0iUBr0igkol77qU8nGUt-3totNJ_T5haga8zce7dbr8qhRAGfCIvDJ3_N9NDIFt05s7d_2d67wEcjLrUS8tClkMRCdr2OJjsRsRD7cuJbTW0eoo19ha2frzW-5_Jx48HrrYgWhbWyUni60l3npW3bCqeBxW04tgYdHhXA==" href="http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001v8fkE0TZAzn_Z49BO0iUBr0igkol77qU8nGUt-3totNJ_T5haga8zce7dbr8qhRAGfCIvDJ3_N9NDIFt05s7d_2d67wEcjLrUS8tClkMRCdr2OJjsRsRD7cuJbTW0eoo19ha2frzW-5_Jx48HrrYgWhbWyUni60l3npW3bCqeBxW04tgYdHhXA==" shape="rect" color="#0000FF" target="_blank"> Los Angeles Times</a></td></tr><tr><td> Probe Finds Bad Apples In Expanded Federal Air Marshal Service <div>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</div>Since 9/11, more than three dozen federal air marshals have been charged with crimes, and hundreds more have been accused of misconduct, reports ProPublica, a non-profit journalism organization. Cases range from drunken driving and domestic violence to aiding a human-trafficking ring and trying to smuggle explosives from Afghanistan. The Federal Air Marshal Service presents the image of an elite undercover force charged with making split- second decisions that could mean the difference between stopping a terrorist and shooting an innocent passenger. But an investigation shows that 18 air marshals have been charged with felonies. This spring, after U.S. embassies, airlines and foreign police agencies complained about air marshal misconduct overseas, the agency director dispatched supervisors on international missions. Before 9/11, the Air Marshal Service was a nearly forgotten force of 33 agents with a $4.4 million annual budget. Now housed in the Transportation Security Administration, the agency has a $786 million budget and an estimated 3,000 to 4,000 air marshals.<a title="http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001v8fkE0TZAzkvUWVn9H81AJw1B8M0WXvgWh611H0V-GRF2b_9os4dvgdXk_rdbZkUTeFwOMlsa_PlHtzDGCkhdohzehf6YpGh9jql9-hXYtcxSfXHS-ztYnE6SsTmEuWZoG8d7qZm3dm5IwGHO6zh0rkoQs6BckfwDS9KCEgL9DpvB0N7bSeBmg==" href="http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001v8fkE0TZAzkvUWVn9H81AJw1B8M0WXvgWh611H0V-GRF2b_9os4dvgdXk_rdbZkUTeFwOMlsa_PlHtzDGCkhdohzehf6YpGh9jql9-hXYtcxSfXHS-ztYnE6SsTmEuWZoG8d7qZm3dm5IwGHO6zh0rkoQs6BckfwDS9KCEgL9DpvB0N7bSeBmg==" shape="rect" color="#0000FF" target="_blank"> ProPublica/USA Today</a></td></tr><tr><td> LAPD Loses Another Retaliation Lawsuit; Councilman Seeks Probe <div>A Los Angeles County Superior Court jury on Wednesday awarded $3.6 million to a Los Angeles police officer who said he was demoted and suffered retaliation when he stood up for a sexually harassed colleague, reports the city's Times. Officer Donald Bender was stripped of a rank and kicked out of the department's canine bomb unit at LAX after he came to the defense of the only woman in the unit, who was subjected to lewd jokes and innuendoes and excluded from training sessions, according to Matthew McNicholas, Bender's attorney. </div> It was the second multimillion-dollar jury verdict in the last three months resulting from retaliation claims. In September, a jury awarded $3.1 million to an LAPD officer who said he was penalized for reporting a superior's racial epithets and possible embezzlement. Additionally, the City Council is scheduled to vote next week on yet another large payout to settle the case of Patricia Fuller, the female officer whom Bender said he supported. City Councilman Dennis Zine, a former LAPD sergeant, said the verdicts were an indication of gaps in investigations by the department's professional standards bureau and internal affairs. He called for the Police Commission's civilian watchdog to investigate the problem.<a title="http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001v8fkE0TZAzl3e-lVd7_4JKWIUxK38Tad-4FrUqxJtCQsfYQQwBb9J_A99d_y78Epnz7D8m2zM6xAhkTbm8dfsSd51L5X8NnEd6PSmabnYRNfwoawUDuriHTnbhBwS13rpt-bOH5iW8fmGpC4f-4HTLk22hkic_PtphNKRCtk7_7Kbol_WRA_WDUxwABJL1yF" href="http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001v8fkE0TZAzl3e-lVd7_4JKWIUxK38Tad-4FrUqxJtCQsfYQQwBb9J_A99d_y78Epnz7D8m2zM6xAhkTbm8dfsSd51L5X8NnEd6PSmabnYRNfwoawUDuriHTnbhBwS13rpt-bOH5iW8fmGpC4f-4HTLk22hkic_PtphNKRCtk7_7Kbol_WRA_WDUxwABJL1yF" shape="rect" color="#0000FF" target="_blank"> Los Angeles Times</a></td></tr><tr><td> Lawsuit Over NYPD Press Credentials Asks, Who Is A Journalist? <div>Amid the new media landscape, who, exactly, is a journalist? That question is at the heart of a lawsuit filed against the New York City Police Department on Wednesday on behalf of three men - Rafael Mart nez Alequin, Ralph E. Smith and David Wallis - who say that they were unfairly denied press passes because they work for online or nontraditional news outlets, reports the city's Times. The lawsuit asserts the three men were denied press credentials in 2007 'with little explanation or opportunity for appeal,' and that the system for issuing press credentials is 'inconsistent and constitutionally flawed.' </div> 'The system of granting press credentials in New York City has run amok and needs to be changed immediately,' said Norman Siegel, the civil-liberties lawyer, who is representing the three men. The city responded that the issuance of press passes 'strikes an appropriate balance between First Amendment concerns and public safety.' The Police Department issues working press cards to 'full-time employee of a news-gathering organization' who cover breaking news' and press identification cards to journalists who are 'employed by a legitimate news organization' but who do 'not normally cover spot or breaking news events.' Wallis is the founder of featurewell.com, a syndication service. Smith publishes The Guardian Chronicle, a Web site for black law enforcement workers, and Alequin, a longtime City Hall gadfly, is publisher of an online publication, The New York City Free Press.<a title="http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001v8fkE0TZAznwG58ctntT4lSVfa5zyXQx5bKykT5ts31Qb7om_XgcWoxJ90Y4zfM83pBz1qP_pdGMiL55xPseCLWwzan_IAe4IaQ6DKHXzEZJJilZptPg1F4Nz6I8ioTIlYLtR0SavRc4bhk_UWe8XcnSDdtGhJ7jpMS8h9bFxDTLESU-jqPmGog0JJwEa5CCYnaijNKX7CX2WZK5Srmkog==" href="http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001v8fkE0TZAznwG58ctntT4lSVfa5zyXQx5bKykT5ts31Qb7om_XgcWoxJ90Y4zfM83pBz1qP_pdGMiL55xPseCLWwzan_IAe4IaQ6DKHXzEZJJilZptPg1F4Nz6I8ioTIlYLtR0SavRc4bhk_UWe8XcnSDdtGhJ7jpMS8h9bFxDTLESU-jqPmGog0JJwEa5CCYnaijNKX7CX2WZK5Srmkog==" shape="rect" color="#0000FF" target="_blank"> New York Times</a></td></tr><tr><td> Legislators Want To Junk 'Dysfunctional' Texas Youth Commission <div>The Texas Youth Commission remains so dysfunctional a year after sweeping reforms were enacted that the agency should be abolished and its operations merged with the state's juvenile probation authority, a legislative advisory panel said Wednesday. The staff report to the Sunset Advisory Commission portrays TYC as so besieged with programmatic shortcomings and managerial inefficiencies that it cannot right itself, reports the Dallas Morning News. </div> The report was particularly critical of TYC's alleged lack of collaboration and information sharing. It also singled out shortcomings in medical and education services and said TYC's central office staff had become bloated as the agency's inmate population has plummeted. To fix the situation, TYC and the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission should be dissolved by Sept. 30, 2009, and their functions combined into a new agency, the Texas Juvenile Justice Department, to be overseen by an 11-member appointed board. It could save the state more than $27 million a year by reducing staff and closing facilities, the report stated. The proposed merger, which still faces final approval from the commission before being forwarded to the Legislature in January, drew a mixed response.<a title="http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001v8fkE0TZAzndYiVzEX-BgV0OTSLD8CTrwzcCMi0JQKiUn4mJpEa2IXRtFIjELLx4bTJW9tWSiK_V9VJI5eJlz40LM-NcQMhzPz7WyKcgWCYPpQYWgaRsBLzOO-v5iPyayLnODb7xYr5Rl95MV4gnOOFi9CoxZ3LKzYQFpATtlQSOuM20fhXDPjplXpMpJsImT7ATjy-jRXNAPeZWCB2ZfKN3SrH7yiOBGGb0k5rK6BfxkUm25Vj8RN8OOpV1KkYc" href="http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001v8fkE0TZAzndYiVzEX-BgV0OTSLD8CTrwzcCMi0JQKiUn4mJpEa2IXRtFIjELLx4bTJW9tWSiK_V9VJI5eJlz40LM-NcQMhzPz7WyKcgWCYPpQYWgaRsBLzOO-v5iPyayLnODb7xYr5Rl95MV4gnOOFi9CoxZ3LKzYQFpATtlQSOuM20fhXDPjplXpMpJsImT7ATjy-jRXNAPeZWCB2ZfKN3SrH7yiOBGGb0k5rK6BfxkUm25Vj8RN8OOpV1KkYc" shape="rect" color="#0000FF" target="_blank"> Dallas Morning News</a></td></tr><tr><td> Some Border-Crossers Are Met With 18-Foot 'Speed Bump' Fence <div> </div>The Arizona Republic says those trying to enter the United States illegally from Mexico are being met in some places with the tallest obstacle the U.S. government has ever erected along the border: an 18- foot, mesh-metal fence, with poles sunk deeply into concrete. The United States is spending $700 million to build 670 miles of new fencing along the border, but lured by U.S. jobs with higher wages, immigrants are adapting. The tallest portions of the fencing are 15 to 18 feet high, aimed at stopping both pedestrians and vehicles. The shortest barriers are 3 to 4 feet high and designed to stop vehicles in remote areas. The large fences stretch in broken but growing segments across the 1,950-mile border. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security says it has put up 114 miles of truck barricades and 118 miles of new 15- and 18-foot fences. The Border Patrol and immigrant-aid centers report that people are devising ways to scale the fences, be it by two-by-four ladders, tree limbs or rope. 'The border fence is a speed bump in the desert,' said Border Patrol spokesman Mike Scioli said. 'It slows them down long enough for us to respond.'<a title="http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001v8fkE0TZAznR-gB0kMu0XtiELIIlZuXd3bZk5IrtC7SX55B9dBe7-HU9OkZLG4gs9qcD_1h6czEb_YWxakRCnBx7ixxGLRFa0lV_ljA9jBADEf7xc1uwiQyM6-LExLuk9YQW3bowAtWfy04JxTu9chp5Jpdi6QiX1stWcUMY3F9A2nFH_KCrsNoxaBnUWpFiBdODM0OJh_LUX6E0M3SAHDYaDk92WpOR" href="http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001v8fkE0TZAznR-gB0kMu0XtiELIIlZuXd3bZk5IrtC7SX55B9dBe7-HU9OkZLG4gs9qcD_1h6czEb_YWxakRCnBx7ixxGLRFa0lV_ljA9jBADEf7xc1uwiQyM6-LExLuk9YQW3bowAtWfy04JxTu9chp5Jpdi6QiX1stWcUMY3F9A2nFH_KCrsNoxaBnUWpFiBdODM0OJh_LUX6E0M3SAHDYaDk92WpOR" shape="rect" color="#0000FF" target="_blank"> Arizona Republic</a></td></tr><tr><td> 'Tase Me, Bro': Michigan Pol Takes A Zapping To Make His Point <div>Michigan State Rep. Rick Jones, no stranger to publicity, underwent a Tasering on Wednesday to convince fellow lawmakers that all state residents should be allowed to carry the shock devices for personal protection, reports the Detroit News. Jones stood and quivered for five seconds as two Eaton County deputies held him up while a Taser distributor zapped him with electrical current. Jones is a former Eaton County sheriff. Observers described his mild spasms as the 'funky chicken.' </div> 'I now have completed my training,' the lawmaker said with a smile as the demonstration ended. The committee held a hearing on a package of bills that would legalize Tasers for Michigan residents who have concealed weapons permits, under the same set of regulations. Michigan permits only law enforcement officers to carry Tasers, but 43 other states allow citizens to possess less-potent versions of the zappers." Detroit News<a title="http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001v8fkE0TZAzmDJy1cYZ5vhHRLDJKl6EJZXMEF0viyH4reYH93QaOpvnBZHvQ_Qb0uo0W1_8Kbvhcf_k9t87Dhxe7jqxwb0kdrDM95zenwCZb8h5OKw8I5hfbT8GV8ifLr6NlevPG4sYrHfbVYxSk-ZnnlZFfvRA9nYenWRX68Qzjq6i08bXueiUEGTYNhJAjLom2BjcX0kD4=" href="http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001v8fkE0TZAzmDJy1cYZ5vhHRLDJKl6EJZXMEF0viyH4reYH93QaOpvnBZHvQ_Qb0uo0W1_8Kbvhcf_k9t87Dhxe7jqxwb0kdrDM95zenwCZb8h5OKw8I5hfbT8GV8ifLr6NlevPG4sYrHfbVYxSk-ZnnlZFfvRA9nYenWRX68Qzjq6i08bXueiUEGTYNhJAjLom2BjcX0kD4=" shape="rect" color="#0000FF" target="_blank"> </a></td></tr></tbody></table>

Full post as published by New York Supreme Court Criminal Term Library on November 14, 2008 (boomark / email).