Legal Research Blog

 

Would You Trade Life in Prison for a Bucket of KFC?

Tremayne Durham thought it was a fair deal. Durham, who was accused of the 2006 murder of an Oregon man, pled guilty to the crime on the condition that he could take a break from prison gruel to feast in fast food heaven. Judge Eric Bergstrom guaranteed Durham two meals for his plea, the first a spread of fried chicken and the second an italian-themed dinner. In support of the decision, Deputy District Attorney Josh Lamborn explained that the agreement would save some money for the state of Oregon.

In 2006 Durham, a New Yorker, had the wild idea of putting together his own ice cream truck. Unfortunately, he got cold feet after he bought his new vehicle, and the business from which he had ordered it refused to give him a refund. Enraged, Durham drove cross country to Oregon to seek revenge against the company’s owner, but confronted a former employee instead, shooting and killing the man. Durham has been sentenced to life in prison, but will be up for parole in 30 years time.

One has to wonder why a man with such a passion for good eating would give up his ice cream dream. He could have had it all: fast food and his freedom.

Source: CNN

Incoming ABA President Calls for Judicial Reform

This week, incoming American Bar Association President H. Thomas Wells, Jr. of Alabama, gave a rousing speech at the organization’s annual meeting in New York City. Wells called for improvements in the methods for appointing and electing judges, criticizing the increasing influence that politics and money have in the process. From the Legal Times:

“The federal judicial nomination and confirmation process has been bogged down by “lengthy partisan conflict and delay,” Wells said, adding that if compared to the making of sausage, it would be “an insult to sausage makers.”

The ABA is also set to vote on recommendations for Congress; the proposed resolution asks Congress to encourage greater bi-partisanship and more better communication between the executive and legislative branches over nominations. Since President Bush took office, the ABA has played a less significant role in selection; the President no longer takes ABA ratings for judges into consideration as he makes his decision, although the Senate Judiciary Committee continues to peruse the ABA evaluations before confirmation. In his address, Wells indicated that the ABA will support whichever approach the next president chooses.

Finally, Wells bemoaned the large sums spent on state judicial elections, which have harmed courts’ reputations for impartiality. He also unveiled a new website resource for elections laws, aimed at encouraging voting and public involvement in the judicial process.

NYPD Sued for Stats on Race in Police Shootings

This week, the New York Civil Liberties Union filed suit against the New York Police Department for failing to comply with a Freedom of Information Act request made after the deadly police shooting of Sean Bell, a young, unarmed African-American, in 2006. The shooting, which took place after Bell’s bachelor party on the night before his wedding, spurred a public outcry against police brutality and racism, and the organization sought from the NYPD statistics on the race of victims of police shootings. A police spokesperson stated that the statistics on race were often in individual reports that for a number of reasons are “exempt from disclosure.”

Up until 1998, the data released by the NYPD on police shootings included information regarding the race of the victim. Compiled reports for 1996 and 1997 revealed that almost 90% of persons shot by police officers were either black or hispanic. According to former police chief Louis Anemone, in 1998 police commissioner Howard Safir altered the department’s policy, calling for the removal of statistics on race from the annual reports. Anemone’s testimony was included in the brief filed by the Civil Liberties Union, and according to The New York Times, Safir was not available for comment on Anemone’s claim. While Anemone did not comment on the purpose behind Safir’s decision, he did speculate that it could have been related to the 1999 killing of an unarmed West African immigrant, which took place just before the 1998 report was finished. Officers fired 41 times at Amadou Diallo, and his death electrified the city with racial tension and accusations of police misconduct.

Bittersweet Courtroom Win for American Indians

Last Thursday, Judge Federal District Court Judge James Robertson decided in favor of a group of Native Americans who had sued the Department of Interior for the mismanagement of a government trust fund, finding that the state had shown gross negligence in its supervision of the fund. The suit was originally filed in 1996, and the descendants of the initial trustees (those looking for compensation in the case) now number 500,000. While Robertson decried the government’s conduct, he found that the trustees were only owed $455 million of the $48 billion that they claimed, arguing that the laws for government trusts differed than those for the private sector. The plaintiffs had claimed the larger figure represented the amount of money that the Department of Interior had made from fraud and misuse of the trust’s wealth.

Nevertheless, the judge was harshly critical of the government’s many blunders, which included the misplacement of important financial records. Robertson did not mandate that the Department of Interior pay the sum, but hearings deciding the details will follow in August.

Earthquake Creates Bar Exam Controversy

While the damage caused by this month’s 5.4 magnitude earthquake in California was relatively minimal, there are some who may still be reeling in its aftermath. As reported by the National Law Journal, the California State Bar Exam was administered the morning of the quake, and test-takers throughout the quake zone were in the last minutes of the essay section when it hit. Steve Mitchell, a test-taker in a site near the earthquake’s epicenter, reported that in those final minutes, the testing room began to shake and tiles fell from the ceiling, hitting several people and forcing others underneath their desks. During a recess, Mitchell heard from his peers that test-takers in other rooms had been promised an extra five minutes to make up for the lost time. However, they reported that they were never given the extra time, and Mitchell says his room did not receive any either.

While Mitchell and the other witness interviewed by the Law Journal had successfully finished despite the time crunch, all agreed that it was only fair to those who may have needed the extra minutes to account for the disruption. Gayle Murphy at the State Bar of California acknowledged that the bar had not yet received any official complaints, but stated that the earthquake will be taken into consideration as the exams are being graded.

Source: The National Law Journal

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