Should the Supreme Court rule in favor of post trial DNA testing?

By Kayleigh Harvey - Talk Radio News Service

The issue of post-DNA testing is not a new one and is certainly not a resolved one. Currently 44 out of 50 states permit post trial DNA testing.

Today, Georgetown University Law Center hosted a discussion that heard from legal experts and the personal experiences of those who have suffered the injustice of wrong-imprisonment and have since been released due to DNA clearance.

Martin Anderson who was exonerated in 2002, after serving 15 years in prison for rape, said: “A lot of people don’t realize it, but when you are convicted of a serious crime, your name, your family name, your whole life stop, there is nothing you can do....there is evidence to prove someone innocent but the state refused to have it tested and have it done...once the testing was done it excluded me as being the rapist of the crime in 1982, but it also proved who the real attacker was. Today he is now in prison, for the crime I have spent 20 years trying to prove my innocence for.”

The discussion centered around the Supreme Court case of the District Attorney’s Office v. William G. Osborne, which will begin trial on March 2. Osborne is appealing for a DNA test to be granted, in order to prove his innocence against rape and attempted murder charges that he was sentenced to in 1993 in the state of Alaska. Alaska, is currently one of the six states that does not allow post trial DNA evidence to be submitted. Mr. Osborne is filing his appeal for DNA testing under the civil rights act.

Also speaking at the discussion was Michele Mallin, a rape victim whose accused assailant was exonerated posthumously by DNA testing. Mallin identified who she thought was her assailant, Timothy Cole, twice. Cole died whilst serving time in prison and DNA taken from his body proved that he in fact had not raped Ms. Mallin.
Ms. Mallin thought that Cole’s conviction had been based on DNA and her statement, but later found out that the conviction had been based purely on her testimony. Ms Mallin is now campaigning to clear Cole’s name. Ms. Mallin’s real attacker is serving time in prison for two other sexually motivated attacks.

Whistleblowers Welcome

By Kayleigh Harvey - Talk Radio News Service

Deputy Director of the FBI, John Pistole, Special Inspector General for the Troubled Assets Relief Program, the Honorable Neil Barofsky and Acting Assistant Attorney General Rita Glavin from the Criminal division testified before a full room at a Senate Judiciary Hearing today, to discuss "The Need for Increased Fraud Enforcement in the Wake of the Economic Downturn."

Chairman of the Committee, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt) said: "This is not a partisan issue...we want to strengthen fraud enforcement, the Justice Department, the FBI, the Office of the Inspector General, the Department of Housing and Urban Development and even the Postal Inspection Service."

"One thing I learned as a prosecutor...you can have all the laws of the world in the books but if you don't have the resources to enforce the laws, and actually go out there after people who have broken the laws, they are meaningless."

"We do know that banks and private mortgage companies relaxed their standards for loans, proving ever riskier mortgage and less and less due diligence, it's almost like open the door and saying, 'Hey, come on in fraud is welcome'," Senator Leahy continued.

Also discussed at the hearing were the measures on how to tackle fraud now and in the future in relation to the economic crisis, catching criminal activity, and the Madoff scandal.

With regard to whistleblowers there seemed to be a unanimous agreement by the witnesses, that whistleblowers are an important tool in tackling fraud.

John Pistole said: "Anybody who has credible information, that can help either predicate or enhance investigation we look forward to working with."

Rita Glavin stated that "The Department has enjoyed tremendous success from working with whistleblowers...we have obtained essentially $10 billion in the past 10 years...the Department believes that whistleblowers, who are often insiders, can serve a vital function in our law enforcement efforts in exposing potential fraud in connection with government programs."

Neil Barofsky announced at the hearing that the TARP program encourages people to contact their hotline which can be found on their website if they have any information on fraud. TARP has hired a lawyer to follow all hotline enquiry leads. Barofsky said he would rather they went through 99 false lines of enquiry in order to avoid missing that one real piece of information.

Asked by Senator Edward Kaufman (D-Del) what were the most obvious fraud cases that TARP would move on quickly in order to attempt to get the most number of prosecutions, Neil Barofsky said: "Going after licensed professionals...focussing on exclusively the gatekeepers; the lawyers, the appraisers, the licensed mortgage brokers...making examples of those and letting their colleagues know that criminal behavior in these types of mortgage frauds is unacceptable, because they have the most to lose."

U.S. Senate quizzes Deputy Attorney General Nominee David Ogden

By Kayleigh Harvey - Talk Radio News Service

Deputy Attorney General Nominee for the Justice Department, David Ogden, appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee to talk about his record.

Ogden gave his statement before a full committee room, with his mother, wife, children, sister, and nieces in attendance.

Mr. Ogden said: "I am grateful and humbled that President Obama and Attorney General Holder have placed such confidence in me".

Committee Chairman, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt) said: "...it is time to restore the Justice Department and to restore the American people's confidence in Federal law enforcement. Today, the Committee continues the work of restoring the Department.”

In his opening testimony Mr. Ogden said: "I recognize that the challenges facing the Department may be as great as they ever have been. Since September 11, 2001, the Department has taken on a role at the heart of our national security during a war that has reached our homeland. It has the role as being the lead federal law enforcement agency and that role is urgent because crime across a range of fronts threatens our communities, our economy, and our personal rights plus our security. The Justice Department's role as protector of the public first has never been more important, given unprecedented budgetary demands.”

Members of the Committee noted the numerous letters of support that had been submitted in support of his defense of his nomination, from both Republican and Democrats and from the Military.

Former Senator John Warner (R-Va) gave a testimony in support of Ogden's nomination today, and Senator Jim Webb (D-Va) and Mark Warner (D-Va) have submitted written support to the Committee Clerk.

Ogden was asked about his opinion on a number of high profile issues during today's hearing. The committee asked Ogden about his stance on abortion, the death penalty, interrogation, torture, classified information and pornography.

David Ogden is currently a partner with WilmerHale, LLP where he works in the firm's Regulatory and Government Affairs and Litigation/Controversy Departments, which he joined in 2001. Additionally he is co-chair of the Government and Regulatory Litigation Practice Group, and a member of the Appellate and Supreme Court Litigation; Complex Commercial Litigation; International Arbitration; Public Policy and Strategy; and Defense, National Security and Government Contracts Practice Groups.

There are eight nominees that will have hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee for this position.