Prison shift experiment a dilemma. SACRAMENTO — In response to a federal court order, Gov. Jerry Brown pushed a novel approach through the Legislature two years ago to dramatically reduce California’s prison population. People convicted of felonies that were considered non-violent, non-sexual and non-serious would serve their sentences in county jails rather than state prisons. Once released, they would be supervised by local probation officers instead of state parole agents. The shift in California’s penal system, referred to as “realignment,” is one of the nation’s largest criminal justice experiments and has done its job in at least one respect: The population in the state’s 33 adult prisons has dropped so much that the system now ranks second to Texas in the number of inmates, even though Texas has 12 million fewer residents.
But the change has not come without criticism. Advocacy groups seized on preliminary FBI crime statistics to argue both sides of the issue. Brown has said he is open to “tweaking” the law. Prison Shift Experiment A Dilemma. Professor Joan Petersilia, co-director of the Stanford Criminal Justice Center, spoke with San Mateo Daily Journal's Don Thompson about the effectiveness of the realignment of California state prison system and how California is "serving as a national experiment" to see if such a reduction of the prison population is a threat to public safety. In response to a federal court order, Gov. Jerry Brown pushed a novel approach through the Legislature two years ago to dramatically reduce California’s prison population. People convicted of felonies that were considered non-violent, non-sexual and non-serious would serve their sentences in county jails rather than state prisons. Once released, they would be supervised by local probation officers instead of state parole agents.
Police-Involved Shootings In Oakland: Ex-Officers Often Investigate Incidents. This article comes to us courtesy of California Watch. By Shoshana Walter After Oakland police Officer Miguel Masso shot and killed 18-year-old Alan Blueford last May, prosecutors quickly released their investigator’s findings about the incident, amid a public outcry and a protest that shut down a City Council meeting. The shooting was justified, according to the evidence collected by Michael Foster – a former Oakland police officer.
In a city seething with distrust of law enforcement, legal experts and residents are now questioning District Attorney Nancy O’Malley’s wisdom in assigning former Oakland police officers to the task. “I would hope that they would look for somebody not for one side or the other – some impartial person that’s not the police and not a community activist,” said Blueford’s father, Adam Blueford. “The prosecutor just kind of rubber stamps what the police said.” Foster’s assignment was described as routine. (Story continues below) ‘It’s a specialized skill’ The Protection of Women in International Humanitarian Law. Introduction Since the number of women who actually participated in war was insignificant until the outbreak of World War 1, the need for special protection for them was not felt prior to that time.
This does not imply however that women had previously lacked any protection. From the birth of international humanitarian law, they had had the same general legal protection as men. If they were wounded, women were protected by the provisions of the 1864 Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded in Armies in the Field; if they became prisoners of war, they benefited from the Regulations annexed to the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 on the Laws and Customs of War on Land.[1 ] From 1929 onward, women have enjoyed special protection under international humanitarian law. In World War II, women participated in hostilities in greater numbers, although they did not commonly bear arms. In addition, there were many more civilian victims than in the earlier conflict. The Yale Law Journal Online - Volume 122, Issue 7, May 2013.
122 Yale L.J. 1738 (2013). It is black-letter law that the federal government has the power to take land through eminent domain. This modern understanding, however, is a complete departure from the Constitution’s historical meaning. From the Founding until the Civil War, the federal government was thought to have an eminent domain power only within the and the territories—but not within states. Politicians and judges (including in two Supreme Court decisions) repeatedly denied the existence of such a power, and when the federal government did need to take land, it relied on state cooperation to do so. People during this period refused to infer a federal eminent domain power from Congress’s enumerated powers or the Necessary and Proper Clause because they viewed it as a “great power”—one that was too important to be left to implication.
Eminent domain aside, the notion of great powers is increasingly relevant after National Federation of Independent Business v. 35 U.S.C. 181:Secrecy of certain inventions and withholding of patent. From PESWiki Page first featured January 23, 2010 The U.S. Patent office has a provision that allows them to slap a "national security" gag order on a patent application.
Many free energy technologies have been held back through this means. Below is a copy of the law , and a list of some breakthrough clean energy technologies thus held back. The Invention Secrecy Act of 1951 requires the government to impose "secrecy orders" on certain patent applications that contain sensitive information, thereby restricting disclosure of the invention and withholding the grant of a patent. Remarkably, this requirement can be imposed even when the application is generated and entirely owned by a private individual or company without government sponsorship or support. At the end of fiscal year 2009, there were 5,081 secrecy orders in effect. [1] The Law 35 U.S.C. 181 Secrecy of certain inventions and withholding of patent. Resources. US Judges Can End Drug War, Researchers Say; 'Institutional Racism' Creates Unequal Protection for Whites | Legalization Nation. US judges should and could immediately end the War on Drugs, because institutional racism creates unequal protections for whites compared to minorities, researchers say.
“We think that it is not possible for the State of California to justify the scheme of total marijuana prohibition, because the racism behind marijuana prohibition in the early 1900s is patent, beyond the pale, and totally indefensible, and also because the data analysis presented here on arrests for marijuana offenses shows a disparate impact with regard to the arrests of Blacks and Hispanics,” wrote Florida Atlantic University assistant professor Mirya Holman and Kennesaw State University professor Kenneth Michael White in their paper 'Marijuana Prohibition in California: Racial Prejudice and Selective Arrests' (subscription), published in the academic journal Race, Gender and Class. (courtesy of Kym Kemp)Cannabis, aka marijuana In California, a bureaucrat named Henry J. “In a pre-Brown v. StoptheDrugWar graphic.
Breaking News: San Jose Dispensary Landlords Threatened with 40 Years in Prison as Feds' Marijuana Crackdown Continues | Legalization Nation. A San Jose dispensary operator has informed us that the federal government has begun a new round of actions against lawful medical cannabis dispensaries in the South Bay. Landlords are receiving threatening letters from US Attorney Melinda Haag, warning of forty-year-prison sentences if landlords do not evict their dispensary tenants.
Dated April 26, one letter to a San Jose landlord stated: “The office has been advised that there is a marijuana dispensary ... operating at the real property located at ..., which property you own or have under your management control. The dispensary is operating in violation of federal law, and persons and entities who operate or facilitate the operation of such dispensaries are subject to criminal prosecution and civil enforcement actions.
Since the dispensary is operating within a prohibited distance of a [Art Academy], the unlawful operation of the dispensary is subject to enhanced penalties.” USDOJU.S. Attorney Melinda Haag Last year, California Gov. 'The Respect State Marijuana Laws Act' Needs Help | Legalization Nation. The Yale Law Journal Online - Rethinking the Federal Eminent Domain Power. 122 Yale L.J. 1738 (2013). It is black-letter law that the federal government has the power to take land through eminent domain. This modern understanding, however, is a complete departure from the Constitution’s historical meaning. From the Founding until the Civil War, the federal government was thought to have an eminent domain power only within the and the territories—but not within states.
Politicians and judges (including in two Supreme Court decisions) repeatedly denied the existence of such a power, and when the federal government did need to take land, it relied on state cooperation to do so. People during this period refused to infer a federal eminent domain power from Congress’s enumerated powers or the Necessary and Proper Clause because they viewed it as a “great power”—one that was too important to be left to implication. Eminent domain aside, the notion of great powers is increasingly relevant after National Federation of Independent Business v. Pot Tickets and Prop 215: Ask Legalization Nation | Reporting on California Cannabis Culture | Oakland, Berkeley, Bay Area & California | David Downs.
Dear Legalization Nation: I was smoking outside of my home and was stopped by the police. I showed them my doctor's recommendation for marijuana, but I still got a pot ticket. What should I do? —Confused in California Tell it to the judge or the district attorney, said San Jose lawyer Lauren A. Vazquez. Also known as the "Fired-Up Lawyer," Vazquez heads legal outreach at San Francisco dispensary SPARC, helping fill the void in patient knowledge of state pot law. Possession of marijuana is not only a federal crime, but a state one as well. In 1996, California voters amended the state Constitution to give those with a doctor's note a defense against prosecution for some marijuana offenses. So fighting a weed ticket requires a trip to court, where defendants can represent themselves, she said. Proposition 215 actually provides immunity for possession of hash and more than one ounce of bud, Vazquez noted.
Prevention makes a lot of sense, too. Seeds & Stems. Oakland Police Commission Faces Obstacles. Police officer misconduct has plagued OPD for many years, and with a potential federal takeover of the department looming, police oversight is at the forefront of city politics. Several politically connected activists have proposed a November ballot measure that would establish a seven-member independent police commission to "oversee, audit, and monitor" the Oakland Police Department. The activists also have been pushing the idea to councilmembers for weeks in hopes of securing support for the proposed civilian-run organization.
Police commissions have been in place for decades in San Francisco and Los Angeles, where civilian commissioners appointed by the mayor and members of the board of supervisors and city council, respectively, share responsibility for hiring and firing police chiefs, researching and implementing policy changes, and meting out discipline for individual officers accused of misconduct. However, there are major obstacles to the proposed commission.
Regulation. Flash analysis: the implications of the Honeywell-Nest lawsuit. Head of FDA to be keynote speaker at commencement. Margaret Hamburg U.S. Food and Drug Administration commissioner Margaret Hamburg, MD, a longtime public health expert, will be the keynote speaker at the medical school graduation June 16. The ceremony will take place that day at 2 p.m. on the Alumni Lawn, the green in front of the Li Ka Shing Center for Learning and Knowledge. Appointed to the FDA post by President Obama in May 2009, Hamburg is a physician, scientist and public health executive. The FDA has broad responsibilities for protecting the public health by assuring the safety of drugs, medical devices, the food supply and products that emit radiation. Dean Philip Pizzo, MD, said he believes the medical school graduates will enjoy hearing from Hamburg, whom he called “an accomplished and skilled leader, and a role model of excellence.”
As New York City’s youngest health commissioner, Hamburg was lauded for her work in using innovative approaches to curb the spread of tuberculosis. Occupation for Self-Determination. 1clickordering. Contact Us Apple Store Sales Apple Store Customer Service Product & Technical Support Internet Services (e.g., iCloud) Additional Information Your Account Benefits of an Apple ID Find or Reset Password Guest Checkout Manage Your Account Privacy Policy Returns & Refunds Returns Policy How To Return Refunds Additional Information Viewing & Changing Orders Online Order Status Check Order Status Track Shipments Edit Your Order Cancel Order View or Print Invoice Payment & Pricing Payment Tax Education Pricing U.S.
Government Pricing Promotions, Rebates, and Coupons Shipping & Pickup Shipping & Delivery Personal Pickup What's Next? Research Justice.
15 Years After Prop. 215, California's A.G. Wonders Where Patients Are Supposed to Get Their Marijuana. St. Anthony Foundation | Blog » Advocacy. For me the most challenging thing about challenges is that what ends up being the most challenging thing is never what I thought was going to be the most challenging thing. This has been borne out again this week as our family has taken up the San Francisco Food Bank’s “Hunger Challenge.” For five days my wife and I, together with our two daughters, are trying to mirror the experience of a family living on food stamps (now called SNAP benefits).
At $4.50 per day per person this works out for a family of four to $18 per day plus two bags of fruits, vegetables and eggs from the Food Bank. We figured it would be a week of less: less food and less taste. Scheduling problems delayed my retrieval of the Food Bank’s groceries. These days when we head to the store, we go in the opposite direction, not toward the Oakland hills and the aisles of well-lit produce and specialty coffees, but toward the tracks and the bustling grocery outlet. As the Executive Director of St. Emergency Call. Daryl Podborny died on April 28, 2011, shot to death by a Dublin policewoman whom he allegedly punched and knocked to the ground at 1:30 a.m. near an Interstate 680 on-ramp.
Podborny was 53 years old and had lived on the streets of that city for more than twenty years. He had been married once and had a daughter, had worked as a painter, and was honorably discharged from the Army in his early twenties after two years of service following high school in Dublin. His sister, Cathy Box, described him in a recent interview as outgoing, popular, hardworking, and considerate — until sometime in his late twenties, when his personality began to change. Gradually, Podborny's demeanor grew dark. "He said somebody pulled stuff out of his leg and he'd look at his ID card, look in the mirror, and say his identity was changing and somebody messed with his head; all kinds of things. He got to be real paranoid," Box said. Podborny's torments are by no means isolated.
Campaign Walklist : Thank you for signing up! Political Insight : Platform. Activist Kit. Texas v. Johnson. GOP Candidates Embrace Anti-Labor, Free-Market Fundamentalism. Indian Women demand mobile phones, not toilets. Standing Up for Contraceptive Coverage in the States. Where do bullets go when guns are fired straight up into the air? Breaking News. Guess what corp. bought Blackwater ("Xe")? [RETRACTED] Human experiments: First, do harm. Turning Occupation into Lasting Change by Thomas Linzey and Jeff Reifman. Vehicle-to-Grid: A New Spin on Car Payments. Placebo Effect Stronger Than We Thought? Overturn Citizens United (Google) Why the Right Wing Is Petrified of Letting Voters, Instead of the Electoral College, Pick Presidents | Election 2012. Many Advocates Not Impressed With States' Foreclosure Settlement. How Conservative Elites Stoke Racist Anxieties to Gain Power and Split Blacks and Whites | Tea Party and the Right.
Israel general strike enters third day. Corporate Education Reformers Plot Next Steps at Secretive Meeting. Obama’s Unprecedented War on Whistleblowers | News & Politics. How Activists Can 'Occupy' Their Cities with New Legal Structures That Empower Communities Over Corporations | Environment. What the citizens know: oil spills, environmental disasters. Controversial "Ag Gag" bill considered in Iowa. News : University of Missouri - Kansas City. News : University of Missouri - Kansas City.