Troy King's 2009 Crime Bills Package

In just a few short weeks the legislature will be back in session. I'm not very hopeful that much will be accomplished and what I am hearing from my contacts in the legislature that is pretty much the mood of everyone.

But, sometimes the legislature not accomplishing everything on its agenda is a good thing. Take for instance Attorney General Troy King's new package of crime bills. All that's missing is a rock-n-roll record burning.


- A bill that makes the intent to lure a child for immoral purposes punishable regardless of whether a child is involved.

I'm all for destroying child sex offenders. However that isn't what we do when we catch them. It seems they are released from prison after only two or three years in many cases. If we'd keep these sick bastards in jail to begin with we'd have fewer of them out there on computers looking for kids to molest. I also don't like how cops pose as 15 year olds and lure people in. That seems a lot like entrapment to me. I read about a couple cases yesterday where the charges were thrown out because no child was actually involved as it was the police posing as a child. I also think our whole slate sex offender laws need to be reworked. Right now in Birmingham, AL homeless men are routinely rounded up for peeing in alleys, charged with indecent exposure and labeled sex offenders pretty much ensuring that they will always be homeless. Under current law an 18 year old boy can get a sex offender wrap for having consensual sex with his 15 year old girlfriend. That is just plain wrong. No teen having consensual sex with another teen should ever be labeled a sex offender.

- Put new restrictions on who is eligible for parole;

I'll be most interested to find out just what that entails. The prison system is struggling as always because of severe overcrowding and lack of funding. Seems the AG would better serve the state were he to help in finding ways to let more people out as opposed to ways to keep more people in. Here's a suggestion. Keep the real sex offenders in like FOREVER and keep the non-violent drug offenders out FOREVER. That would solve a great deal of the overcrowding problems.

- Elevate the punishment for cock fighting, including allowing for the seizure of property bought with profits from cock-fighting operations;

If I were Troy I'd stay as far away from anything with the words 'cock fighting' in it as I could. Looks like they are going to start seizing assets like they do when they arrest someone for drugs. I know cock fighting is cruel but does it really rise to the level where the AG has to be involved? Seems like there are other more pressing issues to worry about.


- Redefine drug laws to punish the mother of an unborn child who tests positive for a controlled substance;

This is wrong on so many levels. Humane people with sense would try and approach this with a focus on keeping a family together not further destruction of the family unit. But, alas, Troy King is neither humane nor does he appear to have any common sense. An addicted mother doesn't need punishment. Addicted people whether pregnant women or not don't need punishment. They need treatment. Snatching a mother and newborn baby apart is just plain cruel. It's a very strong bond that forms between a mother and her new baby. Very important. It could be the very thing that gives the mother the motivation she needs to succeed in treatment. Why must the state involve itself in further destroying the family unit?

Another thing about this whole drug testing of pregnant women. About the only thing it is guaranteed to do is stop women who might have a substance abuse problem from seeking prenatal care which puts the baby at greater risk. And how exactly does drug testing work? Do the women consent? Are they tested without their knowledge? How is it that Doctor's can violate the doctor/patient relationship by turning the results over to the cops without facing criminal charges and losing their license to practice? If the test is conducted after the child is born how can it be done without the parent's consent? I fought this bill last year and will do so again this year. There are far better ways to handle pregnant women who have a substance abuse problem.

- Another bill would stiffen the punishment for people who run from police. The crime would start as a misdemeanor and would become a felony if a motor vehicle is used. The punishment would be two to 20 years in prison if bystanders are threatened.
NASA engineer Darren Spurlock was killed on Redstone Arsenal last year after his car was rammed by a drug suspect fleeing police.

How about we stop high speed police chases of drug suspects? That would have prevented Mr. Spurlock's death, which, in reality, was caused by the police chasing someone because they didn't like what that someone was ingesting. Pretty stupid if you ask me. If they hadn't been chasing then the suspect wouldn't have been running and Mr. Spurlock would still be alive. They could have just gotten the tag number of the vehicle and gone to the residence and made an arrest there. No one would have been killed. Sometimes police chases are necessary say when there are bank robbers involved, murderers, child kidnappers....but high speed police chases over drugs are just stupid and high speed police chases in heavily populated areas are the definition of fucking retarded.

One thing that isn't on Troy King's agenda this year - Tougher laws on sex toys. Looks like my direct action involving an inflatable pig cured ol' Troy of his fascination with what other people might be using in the bedroom.

How to file a complaint with the Alabama Judicial Inquiry Commission

This morning I have been pouring over the Alabama Canon of Judicial Ethics looking for any violations by Judge Karen Hall in the case of Jerry Wayne Love.

First let me say it is an incredible long shot that the Judicial Inquiry Commission will take any action against Judge Hall. In the complaint I filed four years ago the infractions of the judge were much clearer and I had the evidence and witnesses to back it up. This case is somewhat different. Having said that I still think it is important to file complaints against this judge. Even if they lead to nothing she will be informed that she is being complained about. The more complaints the more she understands that we are most unhappy with her decision to allow a child sodomizer to walk free after tapping his wrist. She did not have to accept this plea deal. So, if you are as angry as I am about this then file a complaint.

Seems to me like the first two Canons may apply in the area of Judge Hall taking contributions from a defenese attorney arguing this case.

CANON 1.
A JUDGE SHOULD UPHOLD THE INTEGRITY AND INDEPENDENCE OF THE JUDICIARY.

An independent and honorable judiciary is indispensable to justice in our
society. A judge should participate in establishing, maintaining, and enforcing,
and should himself observe, high standards of conduct so that the integrity and
independence of the judiciary may be preserved. The provisions of this Code
should be construed and applied to further that objective.

Commentary
Deference to the judgments and rulings of courts depends upon public confidence in the integrity and independence of judges. The integrity and independence of judges depends in turn upon their acting without fear or favor. A judiciary of integrity is one in which judges are known for their probity, fairness, honesty, uprightness, and soundness of character. An independent judiciary is one free of inappropriate outside
influences when deciding cases. Although judges should be independent, they must comply with the law, including the provisions of these Canons. Public confidence in the impartiality of the judiciary is maintained by the adherence of each judge to this responsibility. Conversely, violation of the Canons diminishes public
confidence in the judiciary and thereby does injury to the system of government under the law. (Commentary adopted 8-25-2004.)

CANON 2.
A JUDGE SHOULD AVOID IMPROPRIETY AND THE APPEARANCE OF IMPROPRIETY IN ALL HIS ACTIVITIES.

A. A judge should respect and comply with the law and should conduct himself at all times in a manner that promotes public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary.

B. A judge should at all times maintain the decorum and temperance befitting his office and should avoid conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice which brings the judicial office into disrepute.

C. A judge should not allow his family, social, political, or other relationships to influence his judicial conduct or judgment. He should not lend the prestige of his office to advance the private interests of others; nor should he convey or permit others to convey the impression that they are in a special position to influence him.

Commentary

Public confidence in the judiciary is eroded by irresponsible or improper conduct by judges.A judge must avoid all impropriety and appearance of impropriety. He must expect to be the subject of constant public scrutiny. He must, therefore, accept restrictions on his conduct that might be viewed as burdensome by the ordinary citizen and should do so freely and willingly.

I'd say that even if it is legal for Judges to take money from attorneys that regularly argue cases before them that judges should not do so because it could be inferred that the outcome of a case was based on a political contribution. There is no way to prove it and that leads to erosion of public trust because we can never know.

I also want people to pay attention to the comments on this post over at FlashPoint. Those who have chimed in to defend the actions of the DA's office are beyond the pale. They seem to be stating that a worthless, toothless conviction, via plea deal, was more important for a notch in the Asst. DA's belt than actually getting justice in this case. They are also saying there wasn't enough evidence to convict, which raises the question of why then did they pursue charges? Is this man innocent or guilty? If he is innocent, or they thought he might be, then why pursue him in court? If, on the other hand, he is guilty, as the DA and the judge had to believe he was before accepting the plea then why did they accept it? Is this routine in Madison Co.? This case just doesn't add up no matter how you stack it and I want to get to the bottom of it.

In this post on my blog they go so far as to imply that since I do not reside in Madison Co. then I have no cause to be angry or say anything. What absolute nonsense.

I want to again encourage Alabama citizens to file a complaint with the Alabama Judicial Inquiry Commission, a complaint with Attorney General Troy King and a complaint with The Alabama Bar Association.

There needs to be a very big investigation into just what exactly happened in this case so that we can prevent it from ever happening again.