Most mayors go out of their way to be publicly supportive of the police because they think it's the politically smart course of action. Not Richmond, California's Mayor Gayle McLaughlin. When the Richmond Police Department was patting itself on the back for the role it played in a coordinated effort to execute search and arrest warrants that targeted gang members in the San Francisco Bay area, McLaughlin questioned the department's celebratory tone.

"While I understand that this action was addressing criminal activity, I do have concerns about the collateral damage and how this will be mitigated," McLaughlin wrote in an e-mail to the Times. "For example, oftentimes grandparents let their grandkids stay with them and they themselves are not involved in any criminal activity, yet they had their homes descended upon by hundreds of police. That can be traumatizing for innocent people."

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In California, two men have been sentenced to 20 and 22 years for dispensing medical pot. Federal prosecutors had asked for 24 and 30 years.

The case was closely watched because of the clash between state and federal marijuana laws. To federal authorities, it was simple. Though California voters legalized the medical use of marijuana in 1996 under Proposition 215, federal law trumps state law and federal law views the drug -- even when used for medical purposes -- as illegal.

.... Friday, Scarmazzo cast himself and Montes as crusaders who went to trial rather than cut a plea deal with authorities because they are fighting for the rights of medical-marijuana users.

President-Elect Barack Obama pledged to stop federal raids on medical marijuana dispensaries -- although he was the last of the ten Democratic candidates to do so. We need him to hold Attorney General Eric Holder to it. Anyone taking bets?

In other Modesto, CA news, a man got 35 years for stealing a purse. No wonder California prisons are bursting at the seams.

The Albuquerque Police Department is seeking to hire snitches and placing employment ads in the paper.

The advertisement, which is running in the current Alibi newspaper, seeks criminals willing to snitch on other criminals.

The ad says, "Wanted: People who hang out with crooks to do part time work for APD. Make some extra cash. Drug use and criminal record OK."

The pay is crummy: [More...]

As elected Democrats decide how to invest in the nation's infrastructure, they should remember this: bridges and roads and trains and buildings are all important, but so are drug and alcohol treatment programs, shelter and service providers for the abused and homeless and mentally ill, and reintegration services for newly released inmates.

The nation's infrastructure is more than a collection of the things we build and the surfaces we pave. Governing Democrats need to recognize that people are part of our infrastructure. Bridges are more easily repaired, but restoring productivity to the citizens we now discard will yield a better return on our public investment.

Democrats should also remember that the criminal justice system is part of our infrastructure. They should restore meaning to the phrase "equal justice for all" by helping states improve their woefully underfunded public defender services. [more ...]

Wisconsin's Green Bay Packers fans live for three things (four if you count wearing cheeseheads): alcohol, football championships, and beating (ideally sweeping) da Bears (in pro football's longest consecutive game rivalry). Although you are free to discuss any of those (and the links) in the comments, this post focuses upon the alcohol link. (Coincidentally, though, native Packers fans defeat native Bears fans in per capita beer consumption. We're number one!)

Wisconsinites loves us some beer. And brandy. The elitist New York Times with its fancy east coast values is aghast to learn that a 12 year old child can belly up to a Wisconsin bar and order a Miller Lite, so long as mom or dad or some reasonable facsimile is present and gives permission -- and provided the bartender will serve the kid (more likely in rural taverns where the bartenders own the place and aren't inclined to lecture their patrons about their parenting skills). Wisconsinites are equally aghast to learn that in other states, parents can't bring their children along on a tavern crawl. What kind of family values are those? [more ...]

The LA Times reports gun sales are up in the wake of last week's election. The Denver Post reported last week the election has spurred a rush on gun sales in Colorado due to fears an Obama Adminstration will restrict Second Amendment gun rights. The Kansas City Star recently reported gun sales are up all over the country since October, when Obama seemed poised to win the election. Sales are also up in Iowa.

I have a post at 5280.com today asking whether this is a rational fear or propaganda from the National Rifle Association (NRA)? FactCheck.Org says the NRA's claims are false. [More...]

Lawyers report that 5,000 D.U.I cases in Arizona could be dismissed due to a fight over the source code for the Intoxilyzer 8000, in use since Dec. 2006 and alleged to be error-prone. The Judge (as have others across the country) ordered CMI Inc. of Owensboro, Ky, the company that makes the device, to turn over the source code and it has refused, even though it has already accumulated fines of more than $1 million, just in Florida.

(The device has been approved in 6 other states. Colorado uses the Intoxilyzer 5000EN, so I doubt it will happen here.)

It's not the first time this has happened in Arizona.

A dozen years ago, about 5,000 cases were dismissed within a few months after prosecutors agreed the breath-test device in use then, the RBT IV, manufactured by Intoximeters Inc., was faulty.

The number of Tucson DUI arrests in 2007-08: 5,963, although not all involved the Intoxilyzer 8000.

The Washington Post reports that three Bush Administration appointees are likely to remain in an Obama Administration, including FBI Director Robert Mueller, whose term expires in 2011.

Mueller has championed new guidelines, set to take effect Dec. 1, that give agents pursuing terrorism leads the power to conduct long-term surveillance of suspects, engage in pretext interviews in which agents conceal their identities and infiltrate groups that the FBI thinks may threaten national security. Obama has not spoken out on the guidelines, which have roiled civil-liberties advocates, but has indicated support for a new domestic intelligence czar who would provide more oversight of the FBI's intelligence operations.

Yesterday, I included rejecting the new FBI snooping guidelines approved in September and October by Bush, Mueller and Attorney General Mukasey among my suggestions for President-Elect Barack Obama. Grits for Breakfast has more.

How likely is that if Mueller is staying on as FBI Director? Center for Investigative Reporting has this analysis of the new guidelines: [More..]

The New York Times reports that public defenders in seven states are refusing to accept new cases or have filed lawsuits due to overburdened case loads which prevent them from providing effective assistance of counsel.

Public defenders are notoriously overworked, and their turnover is high and their pay low. But now, in the most open revolt by public defenders in memory, many of the government-appointed lawyers say that state budget cuts and rising caseloads have pushed them to the breaking point.

The caseload in Miami-Dade, Florida:

Over the last three years, the average number of felony cases handled by each lawyer in a year has climbed to close to 500, from 367, officials said, and caseloads for lawyers assigned to misdemeanor cases have risen to 2,225, from 1,380.

More...

Drug Czar Bill Walters (Office of National Drug Control Policy, aka ONDCP)is going out with a whimper.

on ONDCP’s blog, the drug czar’s office unveiled what may be their lamest anti-marijuana campaign yet. Yes, your tax dollars are actually funding this. For now.

By the way, jobs held by people who’ve acknowledged smoking marijuana include governor of California (Arnold Schwarzenegger), astronomer (Carl Sagan), mayor of New York (Michael Bloomberg), billionaire rock star/songwriter (Paul McCartney), and — well, you get the point.

Text of ad below:

In addition to the disappointing outcome of California's Proposition 8, banning gay marriage, the state's voters made mistakes in rejecting Proposition 5, which would have shifted the state's response to drug crimes from incarceration to treatment, and approving Proposition 9, which purports to give new "rights" to crime victims.

It is particularly troubling that MADD aggressively lobbied voters to reject proposition 5 even though it had nothing to do with drunk driving, and even though an organization that wants to prevent impaired driving should be supportive of increased funding for treatment programs. This is the latest example of how MADD, having accomplished its objective of raising awareness of drunk driving and toughening drunk driving penalties around the country, has outlived its usefulness and now seeks to perpetuate itself by intruding into criminal justice issues that are none of its concern.

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Coming soon to a law enforcement agency near you: robotic bloodhounds.

[The Pentagon is] looking for contractors to provide a "Multi-Robot Pursuit System" that will let packs of robots "search for and detect a non-cooperative human".

The Pentagon gets it first. Eventually the tech works its way down to law enforcement. The U.S. Marshals would love to have packs of robots chasing down "non-cooperative humans."