Police News Roundup.
There is predictable follow-up to yesterday's news about Supreme Court Justice/Jackass Laura Blackburne. Police and Court Officer Unions are calling for her ouster and a criminal investigation. Base10 gets a kick out of some of the statements in this Times article. For example, from the first paragraph,

Throughout her career, Laura D. Blackburne...has been a polarizing figure, making headlines and attracting ever-growing factions of supporters and critics.

As if there is some moral justification for allowing this defendant to escape from Police detectives. But there's more:

[Blackburne's] supporters were equally vociferous yesterday in commending her decision, calling it another example of her upholding of the law and the Constitution in the face of police intimidation.

What part of the Constitution empowers judges to interfere with Police operations? As union officials pointed out, the arrest of the defendant would have been safer had it been conducted inside the courthouse since he had already gone through metal detectors. I must have missed this class in law school. It gets even better:

[Blackburne's supporters] accused the police of trying to demonize and intimidate the justice just as they had done to Justice Bruce M. Wright, who was accused of setting low bail or no bail for suspects.

That's great! Put yourself in the same class as "Turn-em-Loose" Bruce! How appropriate, especially under these circumstances. Justice Blackburne doesn't wait for sentencing to cut defendants loose, she lets them escape before they can be taken into custody.

Meanwhile, the lawyer Ron Kuby defended Justice Blackburne and accused the police of "judge baiting."
"She showed tremendous judicial courage by finally drawing a line and telling the police she will not tolerate being lied to," he said. "She's supposed to trust the honesty of a detective who just lied to her face when he turns around and says he has sufficient evidence to make an arrest?"

I guess if Ron Kuby is on your side, then you're fighting the good fight. It is not some political hack drug court judge's job to determine whether a detective has probable cause for an arrest. There's a judicial system for this. That's what arraignment judges and grand juries are for. Mr. Kuby knows that. He's an attorney. But he's not interested in the truth. He's just interested in protecting a fellow traveler. The whole attitude of this story is pretty much that there's two sides to this story. There are not. An elected judge let a violent felon escape from police custody even though she knew that he was to be arrested outside of her courtroom. There is no case of moral equivalence here.

Speaking of fellow travelers, prosecutors will introduce statements by Osama bin Laden against "activist" lawyer Lynne Stewart. Bin Laden stated his intention to free Abdel Rahman, Stewart's client. The prosecutor contends that Stewart was aware of these statements and in spite of them, conspired to allow Rahman's followers to communicate to him in violation of a court order.

The Department's legal fight with NYCLU continues. Representatives from "United for Peace and Justice" failed to meet with Department representatives over alternatives to their suit to allow them to protest in Central Park.

The Times also had a profile of Van Scatliffe, a Police Department tow truck driver and his thankless job.

And finally, in the "you're no fun anymore" department, the German national soccer team's doctor has warned the players not to engage in sex before their match and to drink plenty of water. The Russian players apparently have other ideas.
- posted by Base10 @ 11:18 AM