LOS ANGELES COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATION'S BLUE RIBBON TASK FORCE REPORT ON LESSONS LEARNED, AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPROVING THE CALIFORNIA CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM IN THE WAKE OF THE RAMPART SCANDAL

The Los Angeles Bar Association's Blue Ribbon Task Force, chaired by U.S. District Court Judge Audrey Collins, has issued its final report with more than 30 recommendations for policy, procedural and statutory reforms to the California criminal justice system.  A Critical Analysis of Lessons Learned

THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION READIES FOR WAR CRIMES PROSECUTIONS AGAINST IRAQIS WHO HAVE FAILED TO DENOUNCE SADDAM HUSSEIN

In a little-noticed press release in late February of this year, and in anticipation of a war with Iraq, the General Counsel of the Department of Defense (DoD) released a draft military commission instruction entitled Crimes and Elements for Trials by Military Commission.  This instruction lists and defines certain violations of the laws of war and other offenses triable by military commission.  The DoD contends that it is prepared to conduct legal proceedings should a military commission be convened.   Although no charges have been referred against any individual potentially subject to the jurisdiction of a military commission, the DoD said that this instruction will ensure that DoD will be ready to fulfill its responsibilities if called upon. 

ACLU IN A JOINT STATEMENT CONTENDS THAT THE PROMISE OF RIGHT TO COUNSEL REMAINS AN ILLUSION FOR THE POOR

Today (3/18/03) the American Civil Liberties Union marked the 40th anniversary of the historic Supreme Court decision in Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) (3/18/63; 372 U.S. 335) by calling on the states to provide adequate legal defense for the poor -- particularly those who face the death penalty.  The Joint statement by Diann Rust-Tierney, Director, ACLU Capital Punishment Project, Robin Dahlberg and Vincent Warren, ACLU National Staff Attorneys went on to say that the landmark 1963 decision held that the Constitution guarantees every person charged with a felony the right to an attorney, even if he or she cannot afford one.  Subsequent cases have refined the ruling to extend to misdemeanor cases where a jail sentence is possible, as well as to require "competent" representation.  Unfortunately, according to the statement, the promise of Gideon remains largely unfulfilled four decades after the fact because the legal representation many poor people receive is grossly inadequate.  Many states still do not have an indigent defense system and rely instead on court-appointed attorneys who are not required to meet any type of standard for competency.  (See full statement at ACLU - Promise Of Right To Counsel For Poor)

KHAT - THE NEW KID IN TOWN

Although khat is illegal in the United States, it is legal throughout much of Europe, East Africa, and the Arabian Peninsula. Individuals of East African and Middle Eastern descent are most often responsible for the importation, distribution, possession, and use of khat in the United States. Khat is a naturally occurring stimulant derived from the Catha edulis shrub. This shrub is primarily cultivated in East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. The use of khat is an established cultural tradition for many social situations in those regions. Khat is also known as Abyssinian tea, African salad, oat, kat, chat, and catha. Khat has two active ingredients, cathinone and cathine. This article was prepared by the DEA Intelligence Division, International Strategic Support Section, Europe, Asia, Africa Strategic Unit. This report reflects information received prior to April 1, 2002.

APPRENDI vs. NEW JERSEYS EFFECTS ON PLEA BARGAINING

In Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466 (2000). the United States Supreme Court held that any facts that work to increase a criminal defendants sentence above the statutory maximum must be treated as elements of the crime, and thus determined by juries, rather than as sentencing factors to be determined by the judge. With this decision, the Court purported to restrict legislatures ability to aid law enforcement in circumventing constitutional criminal procedure rules like the criminal burden of proof--thereby aiding criminal defendants. With a recent article in the Yale Law Journal, Stephanos Bibas joined other scholars in observing how easily legislatures can rewrite statutes to avoid Apprendis prosecutorial and legislative restrictions, if indeed they are substantive restrictions at all. Uniquely and provocatively, Bibas then argued that Apprendi, as a practical result of its interaction with the other rules and incentives of criminal litigation, will actually hurt criminal defendants, by shifting more power to prosecutors. Bibas argued that Apprendi acts to deprive defendants, who overwhelmingly plead guilty rather than face jury trials, of the only meaningful, real-world hearings they are likely to receive--judicial sentencing hearings.

Scholars have already responded to and challenged Bibass assumptions and predictions about how

Apprendi will affect the real-world strategic behavior of both prosecutors and defendants. In this article, I want to discuss why it will be the legislative reaction to Apprendi, circumvention or not, that will prove or disprove the accuracy of Bibass theses. Over the last four decades, legislatures have responded, often indirectly but still very effectively, to a broad range of judicial criminal procedure decisions that have attempted to impede law enforcement in various ways. If Bibass analysis is accurate, and Apprendi in fact acts to significantly disadvantage criminal defendants, legislators will have little incentive to circumvent it or otherwise to effect statutory change as a result, no matter how easy such circumvention would be. If however, contrary to Bibass predictions, Apprendi in practice does afford defendants its intended benefit (or otherwise increases the price of adjudication), legislators will revise statutes to avoid its implications.

DRUG TRAFFICKING IN THE U.S.

According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), the trafficking of prohibited drugs in the U.S. is reportedly one of the most profitable trades in the entire world. The DEA claims that this, in turn, attracts the most ruthless, sophisticated, and aggressive drug traffickers. Because the U.S. has extensive uninhabited borders with both Mexico and Canada, plus extensive coast lines on the Atlantic, Gulf and Pacific coasts, law enforcement agencies have faced an enormous challenge in protecting the country's borders. Each year, according to the U.S. Customs Service, 60 million people enter the United States on more than 675,000 commercial and private flights. Another 6 million come by sea and 370 million by land.  In addition, 116 million vehicles cross the land borders with Canada and Mexico. More than 90,000 merchant and passenger ships dock at U.S. ports. These ships carry more than 9 million shipping containers and 400 million tons of cargo. Another 157,000 smaller vessels visit our many coastal towns. Amid this voluminous trade, the DEA claims drug traffickers conceal cocaine, heroin, marijuana, MDMA, and methamphetamine shipments for distribution in the U.S.