by Kent Scheidegger · Mar 6, 2023 3:23 pm
The Federalist Society Criminal Law Practice Group has this teleforum Wednesday at 11:30 am ET / 8:30 am PT on The D.C. Crime Bill: What Happens Next? (See Michael Rushford’s post, earlier today.) The event features “an opening address from U.S. Senator Bill Hagerty [Tenn.], followed by a discussion of the bill and what may come next” led by Zack Smith of the Heritage Foundation. Continue reading . . .
by Michael Rushford · Mar 6, 2023 11:12 am
A District of Columbia penal code revision intended to eliminate mandatory minimum sentences and reduce the consequences for crimes, such as robbery and burglary, has been withdrawn by the DC City Council Chairman after President Biden announced that he would sign a bill to block it. Because the District of Columbia is not a state, Congress has the last word on its policies. After the district’s council passed the revision last year and voted to override democrat Mayor Muriel Bowser’s veto, it still had to be introduced as a bill and approved by Congress.
by Kent Scheidegger · Mar 6, 2023 10:13 am
This morning was an order list release day at the U.S. Supreme Court. No decisions were issued and no new criminal cases were taken. The court took up a case on admiralty law and choice-of-forum clauses in contracts.
The court turned down a case on standing in an Establishment Clause case. We are interested in standing here at CJLF because we sometimes represent victims of crime seeking to have the perpetrators punished according to the judgment, and such efforts are frequently challenged by saying the victims have no standing. Continue reading . . .
by Michael Rushford · Mar 3, 2023 10:45 am
The newly elected District Attorney of Alameda County, which includes the high-crime city of Oakland, has announced new policies requiring the prosecutors in her office to seek the minimum sentences possible for convicted criminals, including those who use guns. For example, in the case of a gang member who fires a gun into an occupied car injuring a passenger, the prosecutor would not be allowed to include the Three Strikes enhancement for the use of a firearm, which would have increased the sentence for the shooter. Rachel Swan of the SF Chronicle reports that DA Pamela Price’s new policies are similar to those of progressive Los Angeles DA George Gascon’s, requiring deputies to seek probation for criminals who under state law are eligible for jail or prison.
by Michael Rushford · Mar 2, 2023 2:12 pm
A Quinnipiac University poll of registered California voters was released yesterday. While the survey was heavily focused on political views with questions about Governor Gavin Newsom running for president, which democrat should replace Senator Dianne Feinstein and how they feel about Vice President Kamala Harris, there were other responses that indicate discontent by voters of all political stripes regarding how state government is serving them. Pollsters report a sample size of around 1,000 registered voters telephoned randomly, with respondents weighted to reflect the political and human demographics of the state. Of great significance is what questions are asked, and whether there was built-in bias. When asked if they were satisfied or dissatisfied with the way things are going in California, a whopping 57% were somewhat or very dissatisfied, including 32% of democrats and 63% of independents. 64% of respondents are opposed to giving prison inmates the right to vote, including almost half of democrats and 70% of independents. A democrat-supported bill is currently moving through the California Legislature would allow inmate voting.
by Kent Scheidegger · Feb 28, 2023 7:34 pm
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has conceded defeat, the Chicago Tribune reported at 9:00 CST Tuesday. At about that time, the New York Times listed the results as 36.4% for Paul Vallas and 20.2% for Brandon Johnson, with Mayor Lightfoot third.
Plurality winner Mr. Vallas has run on a tough-on-crime platform, the WSJ reports. He has the backing of the Chicago police union. But the windy city isn’t out of the woods yet. Continue reading . . .
by Michael Rushford · Feb 28, 2023 11:26 am
While homicides are down slightly in Chicago this year, according to the Chicago Police Department, robbery, sexual assault, motor vehicle theft, aggravated battery, burglary and theft over the first two months of 2023 are up 52% compared to last year. Almost 4,000 additional crimes in just two months. Chicago’s progressive District Attorney Kim Foxx, and Mayor Lori defund-the-police Lightfoot share much of the responsibility for this, but Governor J. B. Pritzker (D) and the democrat majority legislature are also complicit, having enacted “reforms” that have weakened sentencing. Chicago police are also operating under an Obama-era consent decree which ties the hands of officers and requires the department to prove it is not racist. This has driven officers out of the department to take early retirement or to jobs in other cities. Currently Chicago PD is 1,300 officers short. What to do? State Rep. Thaddeus Jones (D) has the solution….force businesses to hire security guards to protect customers from the criminals state laws and local policies has kept on the streets.
by Kent Scheidegger · Feb 27, 2023 10:39 am
Statutes are generally drafted by lawyers on legislators’ staffs. Unfortunately, too many lawyers did not take basic logic as undergraduates, and it is not generally taught in law school. The U.S. Supreme Court has now taken up a case to unravel the logic of a bit of statutory drafting that could have been written more clearly. Continue reading . . .
by Michael Rushford · Feb 24, 2023 1:48 pm
Federalism allows cities and states to adopt widely varying policies regarding crime and justice, so long as the policies comply with the U.S. Constitution. When elected officials implement policies that result in increased crime or perceived injustice, the voters usually get the last word. This happened last year in San Francisco, when voters recalled progressive District Attorney Chesa Boudin for failing to aggressively prosecute criminals. Boudin was among several dozen district attorneys, states attorneys and circuit attorneys whose campaigns were bankrolled by progressive billionaire George Soros. Before Soros began doing this, even big city district attorney campaigns would rarely raise more than $500,000 from thousands of contributors. To elect pro-criminal progressives to these offices Soros often contributes $500,000 to over $1,000,000 to their campaigns, essentially buying the election.
by Kent Scheidegger · Feb 22, 2023 2:25 pm
The U.S. Supreme Court today denied a stay of execution to Florida murderer Daniel Dillbeck and declined to take up his case. No dissent is noted. (See update at end of post.)
The Florida Attorney General’s statement of the question presented follows the break: Continue reading . . .
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