Links of Interest: April 16-20, 2012
Judicial Performance and Elections
- The Statesman reports, Texas lawmakers are rankled by the state’s judicial ethics rules, which seem to permit the judicial oversight commission attorney-client privilege to “keep secret” some of its investigation findings.
“I’ve never heard of that,” said Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, citing an attorney general’s opinion from 2000 that said the records should have been provided to the Sunset commission staff. “If we had other agencies asserting that, we’d have to shut down everything up here. . . .
Additional witnesses complained that the judicial commission had not fully investigated or prosecuted cases of judicial misconduct, claims that could not be verified because of the agency’s secrecy.”
Chicago Appleseed advocates for strong standards of transparency in the judiciary.
Criminal Justice
- The Illinois Times reports on potential savings from early release programs. WBEZ also reported the story this week. Both reports note current legislation pending in the Illinois House to reinstate the Mandatory Good Time program, put on hold in 2010.
Read more about House Bill 3899 at the Illinois General Assembly Website or track it at Illinois Scan.
- The Sentencing Project, and other organizations, sent a letter (.pdf) to the Senate’s Appropriation Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies, now reviewing its FY 2013 funding legislation. The letter opposes federal investment in prison expansion and favors investment in programs for prisoners, which reduce prison populations and costs.
Read more about President Obama’s proposed FY 2013 National Drug Control Budget or explore Federal Bureau of Prisons Substance Abuse Treatment reports at the National Institute of Corrections library.
Community Justice
- Human Rights First argues that current Immigration Court detention practice violate US commitments under international law due, mainly because it lacks proper oversight.
In an April 2 editorial, the Los Angeles Times criticized the Obama administration for “stubbornly defending a policy that treats immigrants who are fleeing persecution unequally” and urged the administration “to allow judges to review detention decisions in the interests of fairness, reason and economy.” Human Rights First has detailed this problem repeatedly, including in reports issued in 2009 and 2011. Our letter to the editor was published in the LA Times this week.