Court Hears Arguments On Police Interrogations

In 2003, Michael Shatzer Sr. was serving a sentence at the Maryland Correctional Institution for sexually abusing a minor. When police asked him if he had ever sexually abused his son, Shatzer refused to answer and said he wanted to speak with a lawyer. In 2006, investigators returned, and Shatzer incriminated himself. In court, Shatzer’s attorney asked that the comments be stricken from the record on the grounds that police can not reopen questioning after a suspect requests counsel.

Today the Supreme Court took up the question of whether police can approach a suspect after he requests a lawyer. The 1981 Supreme Court precedent on police questioning holds that law enforcement officials are not allowed to badger a suspect into confessing by repeatedly asking if he wants to talk. The twist in the Shatzer case is that there was a two-and-a-half year delay from when police first questioned him to when he was later approached by investigators at a separate detention facility.

The bright-line rule established by the 1981 ruling is easily enforced: if there’s no lawyer, and if the suspect has not voluntarily said he wants to speak without a lawyer, and if the suspect has not been allowed to go home, the police cannot approach him to ask him about any crime. The rule is there to prevent suspects from incriminating themselves and to prevent police from badgering them into confessing.

Justice Antonin Scalia took issue with the argument made by Shatzer’s lawyer that coming back after two and a half years is “badgering,” and the lawyer seemed to admit that “badgering” isn’t the right term. Still, the lawyer argued, the police should not be allowed to approach the suspect, since any standard that allowed the police to approach after a certain amount of time would be hard to enforce. On the other hand, other justices pointed out that it would be hard for police to determine whether a suspect has ever before asked for a lawyer, even during questioning years earlier, before asking questions.

Justice Anthony Kennedy, who will likely be the swing voter in the case, seemed concerned with the police’s argument that Shatzer’s “release” back into the prison population after his interrogation in 2003 eliminates the possibility of coercion by police. Justice Kennedy suggested that the prison warden could, for example, put some pressure on the suspect by putting him in a better or worse cell to encourage him to talk to police.

The Supreme Court will release its decision on the case later this year.

Obama Wants You to Go Back to School

By Michael Ruhl, University of New Mexico – Talk Radio News Service

President Barack Obama
Photo by Michael Ruhl

Today President Barack Obama announced a new effort to stimulate tomorrow’s economy by reviving higher education through expanding Pell Grants and removing barriers to success. The public face for his new initiative is to be Dr. Jill Biden, wife of Vice-President Joe Biden and Community College Professor.

Obama’s plan, detailed at opportunity.gov, would help the unemployed go back to school to build new skill sets, with the goal of helping them gain future employment through specialized technical training.

“The idea here is to fundamentally change our approach to unemployment in this country, so that it’s no longer just a time to look for a new job, but is also a time to prepare yourself for a better job,” Obama said. “Our unemployment system should be not just a safety net, but a stepping stone to a new future.”

Among the barriers to success that the President wants to break down are state programs in which a worker might lose temporary financial support if they were to enroll in an education program. Obama said that in some places a worker may be unemployed, but may not qualify for federal assistance to get an education because of the salary they had a year ago but no longer make. The President said that he is committed to working with states to change these laws.

The President said that knowledge is the most valuable skill that one can sell. He encouraged all Americans to aim for getting at least 1 year of higher education, whether it is a community college, a four year school, vocational training or an apprenticeship.

“By 2020, America will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world,” Obama said optimistically.

This announcement came on the same day as the release of April’s unemployment statistics, which saw the loss of more than half a million jobs. The unemployment rate for April was 8.9 percent, up from 8.5 percent in March and 8.1 percent in February. April's numbers have already surpassed both the White House's and the Federal Reserve's projections for all of 2009, which were 8.1 percent and 8.8 percent, respectively.

Acknowledging that unemployment is as its highest rate in 25 years, the President urged patience, reminding us that the economic problems didn’t happen overnight, and couldn’t be fixed immediately.

“We’re still in the midst of a recession that was years in the making and will be months or even years in the unmaking,” Obama said. He continued, “We should expect further job losses in the months to come.”

Obama said that the Economic Stimulus Package is yielding real results, manifest in higher consumer spending and home sales, and an increase in construction spending. He praised the Recovery Act, and said, “Because of this plan, cops are still on the beat and teachers are still in the classroom; shovels are breaking ground and cranes dot the sky; and new life has been breathed into private companies.”

Fixing the economy and reforming education are two goals Obama has set for his administration. He said that in the weeks to come he would start working towards more education initiatives.

DC police say looser guns laws would make their jobs harder

The House Oversight and Government Reform committee held a very one-sided hearing today on H.R. 6691, the Second Amendment Enforcement Act. Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) described the bill as a "wholesale evisceration" of DC's gun laws it would allow "military-style rifles" to be carried on the streets of Washington, DC. He repeatedly referred to the bill as "the NRA bill." Other Democrats, including DC Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, also criticized the bill for imposing changes on DC rather than allowing the DC city council to come up with its own solution. Republicans, including Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.) criticized the partisanship of the hearing and said it served no purpose.

The witnesses at the hearing were DC Metropolitan Police Chief Cathy Lanier, US Capitol Police Chief Phillip Morse, US Park Police Deputy Chief Kevin Hay, and Washington Nationals Park Director of Securrity Robert Campbell. All espoused the same view: guns are dangerous and would make their work harder. In questioning, Chief Lanier went into some detail about the special considerations ensuring security in Washington, DC. She pointed out that no other city has the number of dignitaries and sensitive areas that Washington has. While other cities can shut down major streets for motorcades, the number of motorcades in DC makes such blockages impossible without seriously disrupting city life. She described a common motorcade attack plan, in which small arms are used to take out security personnel, bringing the motorcade to a stop, after which explosives can be used against the car carrying the VIP. Loosening DC's gun laws, she implied, would make this attack more likely.

Chief Lanier also pointed out that shotguns had been allowed in DC for home defense before the Supreme Court's Heller decision, and revolvers are now allowed as well. Tomorrow DC Delegate Norton and Rep. Waxman will introduce a replacement bill in the House.

NYC Gun Buy-back Program Nets Over 600 Firearms in Brooklyn

Listen to Audio Report (3:47)

Thanks to a program aimed at reducing violent crime in New York, more than 600 guns are off the streets of New York.  This past Saturday, citizens were asked to bring both legal and illegal guns to various locations in Brooklyn.  The New York gun buy-back program ran in conjunction with community leaders, as well as the Kings County District Attorney and New York Police Commissioner.  Gun owners were issued a $200 bank card for each weapon turned in.  The city allocated close to a half-million dollars for the program.

The program was administered through six locations in Brooklyn, all churches. 

The program is not without controversy, however.  In their book Freakonomics, authors Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner argue that although the program does reduce the total amount of guns in the city, it only compels traditionally non-violent persons to hand over their weapons.

Regardless, the number of homocides in Brooklyn is down from 111 in 2007 to 95 this year.

Motorcycle Safety at the Pentagon

It’s not IF you’ll go down, it’s WHEN.

It’s an old adage—one talking about motorcycle riders and crashing—and it’s true. Every motorcyclist has had an accident, whether it be merely dropping the bike (literally dropping it on the ground), or laying it down (also known as “totally crashing” it), and if they haven’t had an accident, they will. The simple fact is motorcycles are dangerous.

The Pentagon hosted a Motorcycle Safety Event in their North Parking Lot, complete with safety vendors, demonstrators, and the obligatory free doughnuts. The Pentagon Police, led by Sgt. Michael Ramsey, demonstrated tight riding, and police from the Pentagon Police Force and Arlington Police Force wowed the crowd by conducting extraordinarily tight 360* rotations and side by side riding— quite a feat when you take into account that the police were riding Harley-Davidson Electra Glides and they weigh over a half ton.

Present were representatives from many safety foundations, notably Total Control and the Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF). The MSF offers courses nationwide for both novice riders and experienced riders. Total Control is an advanced riding clinic designed for the rider who already “knows how to ride” but wants to learn how to ride more safely.

Two vendors were exceptional standouts. Simulator Systems International was present with their motorcycle simulator, and even experienced riders were trying it out. Taking full advantage of the latest technology, the simulator used lifelike video-screens, as the “motorcycle” vibrated and moved side to side while “riding.” At the same time, it didn’t respond like an actual motorcycle, and therefore was a bit difficult to ride. Gamers did not mind though—the simulator still proved to be fun in a life-like video game sort of way.

The other standout vendor was Impact Jackets. When a motorcyclist is in an accident, they are thrown from their bikes either onto the ground or a into a vehicle with no protection other than their clothing and, hopefully, a DOT helmet. It is possible to be killed or seriously injured even at a low rate of speed from a motorcycle accident. Airbags, which are lifesavers in vehicles, are not usable on motorcycles. The Impact Jacket provides instead a motorcycle airbag jacket. If the rider is ejected from the bike at a high rate of speed, a cable deploys the airbags and inflates the jacket, complete with a neck support pillow.