- “Shaneen Allen’s prosecutor might be having second thoughts” [Radley Balko, earlier] Sequel: Indeed.
- “If you get a parking ticket, you are guilty until you have proven yourself innocent …. And that’s worked well for us.” — “senior” Washington, D.C. government official [Washington Post quoting inspector general report; also includes details on traffic camera protocols]
- Not an Onion story: Eleventh Circuit chides use of SWAT methods in Florida barber shop inspections [ABA Journal (“It’s a pretty big book, I’m pretty sure I can find something in here to take you to jail for”), Volokh, Balko, Greenfield] Militarized cop gear is bad, routinized use of SWAT tactics is worse [Jacob Sullum]
- New England Innocence Project looking at several shaken-baby cases [Boston Herald, background]
- Innocence commissions like North Carolina’s not a big budgetary line item as government programs go, alternatives may cost more [A. Barton Hinkle]
- New evidence continues to emerge in Ferguson police shooting, but is nation still listening? [Scott Greenfield]
- Prosecutors arrayed as organized pressure group is very bad idea to begin with, and more so when goal is to shrink citizens’ rights [AP on “Prosecutors Against Gun Violence”; Robert H. Jackson on prosecutors’ power and role in society]
Filed under: guns, North Carolina, police, prosecution, red light cameras, traffic laws
One Comment
The Scott Greenfied piece about the shooting of Michael Brown claims that the reader would have been arrested and charged immediately in a similar case, but the police officer was given special treatment. I point out that George Zimmerman was not arrested immediately for shooting Trayon Martin. Zimmerman’s arrest came from public demand – mob rule so to speak.
Greenfield rides the consistent eyewitness testimony pony. There were many people who said they saw a missile hit flight 800 over Long Island Sound. They were wrong because there was no reason for so many people to be focused on a small patch of sky. The witnesses heard the explosion of the center fuel tank and saw the plane coming apart after the time elapsed for the sound to get to the ground and catch their attention.
If Brown was running away or in a submission position as claimed by eyewitnesses, the top of his head would be to the sky. So how did the fatal shot get into the top of his head? Brown charging the officer would be consistent with the fatal wound.
My understanding is that a grand jury report did well in explaining the Twana Brawley hoax. I believe a similar outcome will result from the Brown matter.
Speeding is not a capital offense, but some speeders die from accidents that result. Martin’s and Brown’s aggression was not a capital offense, but aggression carries some danger with it. The black community should counsel their children against assaults.