thenatureofmind

Government can brief judge on security risks of releasing classified information

Justice in a totalitarian state

A federal judge has given the government permission to privately brief her on what it considers the national security risks in releasing certain classified information in a high-profile leak prosecution involving a Fox News report.

Some legal experts on the handling of classified information said the decision this week ignores the law and lets the government put the defendant, former State Department arms expert Stephen J. Kim, at a disadvantage in preparing for trial. As Kim seeks the judge’s approval to use some of this information in his defense, the government already will have made secret arguments for why the material is so sensitive.

Government can brief judge on security risks of releasing classified information - The Washington Post.

How Americans Lost the Right to Counsel, 50 Years After 'Gideon'

Next Monday, America will quietly mark one of the most profound anniversaries in its legal history. Exactly 50 years ago, on March 18, 1963, the United States Supreme Court unanimously announced in Gideon v. Wainwright that the Sixth Amendment guarantees to every criminal defendant in a felony trial the right to a lawyer. "Reason and reflection," Justice Hugo Black wrote, "require us to recognize that, in our adversary system of criminal justice, any person haled into court, who is too poor to hire a lawyer, cannot be assured a fair trial unless counsel is provided to him."

How Americans Lost the Right to Counsel, 50 Years After 'Gideon'

FISA Supreme Court Decision Makes a Mockery Of Civil Liberties

In a 5-4 decision the United States Supreme Court on Tuesday blocked a challenge to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Specifically at issue was the FISA Amendments Act of 2008, which was reenacted by Congress in December. The act established the existence of secret courts capable of issuing warrants authorizing law enforcement officials to monitor communications between individuals inside the U.S. corresponding with individuals overseas. Application of these warrants has increased markedly since the September 11, 2001 attacks.

FISA Supreme Court Decision Makes a Mockery Of Civil Liberties.

Lawrence Lessig on "Aaron's Laws - Law and Justice in a Digital Age"

Toward a Revolutionary Transformation of Society

It will be a cold day in hell when a person with my politics is appointed attorney general of the United States. The attorney general is the head of the misnamed Department of Justice, better named the Department of Injustice. She (one woman has held the job since 1789) is the chief law enforcement officer of the United States and enforces or does not enforce federal criminal and civil laws including civil rights laws. Agencies such as the FBI (U.S. political police) and the DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) come under its umbrella. Even within the context of a capitalist structure and a legal system that currently oppresses the majority of the population, the attorney general could turn this society on its head and take important steps toward a more equal, less oppressive and freer society.

Toward a Revolutionary Transformation of Society

Carmen Ortiz Releases Totally Bogus Statement Concerning The Aaron Swartz Prosecution

After staying silent or issuing "no comments" for nearly a week, Carmen Ortiz, the US Attorney in charge of the prosecution against Aaron Swartz has finally released a statement about Swartz, his suicide, and her possible role in the suicide. As you might imagine, the statement is highly questionable. First, here's the statement:

Carmen Ortiz Releases Totally Bogus Statement Concerning The Aaron Swartz Prosecution

How the Legal System Failed Aaron Swartz--and Us

Tomorrow is the funeral for Aaron Swartz, the programmer and sometime activist who killed himself last Friday, while facing federal trial. No one knows, or will ever really know, what caused Swartz to take his own life. But his suicide, in the face of possible bankruptcy and serious prison time, has created a moment of clarity. We can rightly judge a society by how it treats its eccentrics and deviant geniuses—and by that measure, we have utterly failed.

How the Legal System Failed Aaron Swartz--and Us

White House Must Respond to Petition to Remove U.S. Attorney in Aaron Swartz Case

A whitehouse.gov petition demanding the President Barack Obama administration remove Massachusetts’ top federal prosecutor in the aftermath of the Aaron Swartz suicide has surpassed 25,000 signatures — meaning the administration is obliged to enter the debate over whether authorities went too far in prosecuting the 26-year-old internet sensation.

White House Must Respond to Petition to Remove U.S. Attorney in Aaron Swartz Case

Citing Citizens United, Federal Appeals Court Blocks Access To Birth Control

On Friday, a divided panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, in an order joined by two conservative Republican appointees, temporarily immunized a company from the Obama Administration’s rules guaranteeing that employer-provided health plans cover birth control. Judge Ilana Rovner, a George H.W. Bush appointee, dissented.

Citing Citizens United, Federal Appeals Court Blocks Access To Birth Control

Federal Appeals Court Declares “Defense of Marriage Act” Unconstitutional

A federal appeals court ruled today that the so-called “Defense of Marriage Act” (DOMA) unconstitutionally discriminates against married same-sex couples.

In striking down DOMA, the court held that government discrimination against lesbians and gay men now is assumed to be unconstitutional and that DOMA’s defenders could not offer any good reason for treating married same-sex couples differently from all other married couples.

Federal Appeals Court Declares “Defense of Marriage Act” Unconstitutional