Feb. 10 LOUISIANA: New Orleans Justice System Scrutinized -- 2 criminal court judges have opened investigations into whether indigent suspects are adequately represented. 2 veteran New Orleans criminal court judges have launched investigations of the besieged city's crumbling criminal justice system - probes that could lead to major changes in how poor defendants are represented. That system, on the verge of collapse for years, has been further imperiled by Hurricane Katrina's consequences. In the public defender's office, so few lawyers are available for more than 4,000 cases that defense for the indigent is almost nonexistent. And the office has no investigators. That disarray has caused Orleans Parish Criminal District Court Judge Arthur Hunter to summon key players in the system to a hearing that will be held Friday. The chief judge of the court, Calvin Johnson, also believes the system is in crisis and has launched an investigation, asking Tulane and Loyola law professors to assist him. In calling his Friday hearing, Hunter said there might be prima facie evidence that indigent defendants in Orleans Parish "are not and cannot receive the effective assistance of counsel to which they are constitutionally entitled." The judges' moves follow decades of reports describing Louisiana's system of indigent representation as one of the worst in the country. Several court decisions, including one by the Louisiana Supreme Court last year, have lambasted the system, but those rulings have not generated meaningful reforms. One symbol of the precarious situation in the public defender's office can be found on the website of the Orleans Parish Criminal District Court. It lists pertinent court information but does not even have a telephone number for the city's indigent defender. The office's few remaining lawyers are each responsible for an estimated 1,000 felony cases, dramatically exceeding American Bar Assn. guidelines for how many cases a lawyer can handle effectively and responsibly. "It's impossible, not to mention unethical," for a defense lawyer to be responsible for so many cases, said Phyllis E. Mann, a longtime leader of the Louisiana Assn. of Criminal Defense Lawyers, who has played a key role in recruiting volunteer lawyers to help out after Katrina. Louisiana Supreme Court Justice Catherine D. Kimball, who has been spearheading efforts to get the state's court system back to normal, said she expected Louisiana to receive at least $60 million in federal aid from the Bureau of Justice Assistance. But in a telephone interview Wednesday she said she expected little of that money to go to indigent defense, with "the lion's share" earmarked for law enforcement agencies to defray hurricane costs. As his first step, Judge Hunter - who, like Judge Johnson, lost his house as a result of the storm - appointed outspoken New Orleans defense lawyer Richard C. Teissier as a special counsel to assist him in determining whether indigent defendants are receiving the representation to which they are entitled. Teissier was raised in New Orleans and has been practicing law there since 1987. In 1992, Teissier orchestrated the litigation that led to an infusion of $7.5 million for indigent defense in Louisiana. He later headed a lawyer panel that handled all 1st-degree murder cases where the public defender's office had a conflict. Teissier said he had a clear goal: "I think that from the devastation of Katrina, a new justice system should be implemented in New Orleans, and it should be one in which fairness is the ultimate result." As the judge in Teissier's 1992 case, Johnson ruled that Louisiana's public defender system was unconstitutional because it was so underfinanced and understaffed that poor defendants were not receiving the defense required by the state and federal constitutions. Teissier, then a public defender, had argued that his caseload was so heavy, he could not adequately represent a client accused of rape, robbery and murder. The following year, the Louisiana Supreme Court said defendants in that Orleans Parish court were presumptively entitled to hearings on the adequacy of their representation, but it overturned Johnson's ruling that the entire system was unconstitutional. Since then, several scholarly reports have criticized Louisiana's public defense system. Louisiana is the only state that funds its program primarily through traffic ticket fines. That source was erratic even during good times and the flow of funds has now slowed to a trickle, said research director David Carroll of the National Legal Aid & Defender Assn., which issued a lengthy report describing the system's failings two years ago. The report decried the heavy caseloads borne by public defenders and said chief public defenders did not have sufficient independence from the judges who appointed them. Last year, the Louisiana Supreme Court unanimously concluded the state had failed to adequately fund its indigent defense program. The decision in State vs. Citizen said the Legislature "may be in breach" of its duty to fund the program but did not order lawmakers to take any specific action. Reform efforts that were launched in the Legislature stalled, and Katrina further delayed them. The storm not only exacerbated preexisting problems but created a statewide financial crisis that made the reform prospects even bleaker. After Katrina, Tilden H. Greenbaum III, who heads the Orleans Parish indigent defense program, laid off 30 of the 39 public defenders. Last week, the Louisiana State Bar Assn. granted Greenbaum's agency $70,000 to fund two additional lawyers, but it set limits on how many cases those lawyers could handle - lest those attorneys undertake more work than they could handle. "We did not want to engender unethical conduct by the public defenders," association President Frank X. Neuner Jr. said. "There is a right-to-counsel crisis," said Pamela R. Metzger, who directs the criminal law clinic at Tulane Law School. "Katrina is simply Exhibit A on why the system doesn't work. There are structural flaws built into the system," including the way it is funded and the way lawyers are assigned to cases. In the near term, she said, unrepresented defendants need lawyers. But basic changes are also necessary, she said, and she is considering suing over such issues. A partner in Louisiana's largest law firm, M. Richard Schroeder of the Jones Walker firm, said his legal group was considering getting involved in the litigation "in pursuit of a solution, working with the court." Schroeder, who has done pro bono work for years, said it was unacceptable for several thousand poor defendants to be "languishing in jail" without having seen a lawyer. WYOMING: Judge hears Yellowbear motions Crime lab test results received after an October deadline generally will not be admitted at Andrew Yellowbear's trial in March, Judge David Park ruled Thursday. Yellowbear is charged with 1st-degree murder in connection with the July 2004 death in Riverton of his 22-month-old daughter, Marcella Hope Yellowbear. Fremont County prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. The trial has seen geographical challenges on a number of fronts. Park recently ruled against a Yellowbear motion arguing that Riverton is within the boundary of the Wind River Indian Reservation and that the case belongs therefore in federal court. Park, a judge in Wyoming's 7th Judicial District, generally presides over cases from Natrona County. He was assigned to the case following challenges from Yellowbear, and the trial was also shifted out of Fremont County. Yellowbear's trial is scheduled to begin March 6 in Thermopolis. Thursday's hearing took place in Casper and was attended by several members of Yellowbear's family. Park considered a number of motions, many of them dealing with technical aspects of the upcoming trial. Park did not rule on a new motion from Yellowbear's attorneys asking for psychiatric records relating to treatment reportedly received by Macalia Blackburn, Marcella Yellowbear's mother. Instead, he asked Diane Lozano to be more specific about the records she is seeking. In the early days of the investigation, Blackburn reportedly told investigators she was responsible for the abuse and death of Marcella Yellowbear. She later changed her account, and she has admitted to the charge of being an accessory to 2nd-degree murder. She is expected to testify against Yellowbear. Lozano said Thursday she believes Blackburn has been prescribed at least two psychiatric medications, and she asked Park to force the state to release records connected with them. Deputy Fremont County Attorney Tim Gist countered that it would be inappropriate to require that such information about Blackburn be provided. "She's not a party to this," Gist said. Park said he will rule on the motion after Lozano provides a more specific request. He also said state crime lab test results received after an Oct. 28 deadline will not be admitted in trial unless both sides agree to them. The October deadline was set to allow time for defense attorneys to have independent tests performed. (source: Casper Star Tribune) WASHINGTON: When the justice system ruins lives----"After Innocence" explores how wrongfully convicted people are mistreated even after they're exonerated. With extraordinary simplicity and straightforwardness, the documentary "After Innocence" takes on two tough issues. One is people convicted wrongfully of crimes whose convictions are overturned on DNA evidence. Fascinating: Documentary about men whose convictions have been overturned because DNA tests proved them to be innocent of their crimes - and the difficult adjustments to make after losing the best years of their lives. Rated: Not rated; probably PG-13 for subject matter Now showing: Varsity The other is what these people do after they've been released from prison. In an amazing number of cases, what the state does for these unfortunates is pat them on the head - no apology given - and shove them out the front door of the jailhouse. In at least some states, their records aren't cleared, so in the eyes of employers and landlords, they're still ex-cons. Since 1993, 150 men convicted of murder and rape have been exonerated because of new DNA testing technology that established their innocence. The film, produced by Jessica Sanders and Marc Simon, follows more than a half-dozen such cases and brings them to vivid life. As expected, the exonerated men have different responses to their new lives. Some of them have been incarcerated for more than 20 years - one guy was in solitary confinement on death row for more then two decades - and they appear shell-shocked. One man describes being allergic to fresh air after all that time. Another muses at how often people ask him whether he's angry. "Wouldn't you be angry?" he says to a church gathering. There are similarities in the cases, too. One unfortunate reality is that eyewitness misidentification is the main cause of wrongful convictions, and so it was with most of the men we meet. In one startling vignette, a rape victim who mistakenly picked out the wrong perpetrator has befriended the now-free man she identified (he spent 11 years in jail). They now speak as a tandem on the subject. Many of the exonerated men share the same "eureka" moment: the broadcast of a Phil Donahue show in 1993, which brought up the subject of DNA tests for accused criminals. Barry Sheck, the lawyer who spearheads the Innocence Project (to work on the cases of the wrongfully convicted) was on that program, and he re-appears throughout the film. "After Innocence" presents its facts, and points out that some states still have no system for helping or compensating these men. But the movie also has suspense: We keep returning to the case of one Florida man who waits for his rape conviction to be erased (a case apparently delayed by a system that doesn't want to admit its mistakes). This film raises a raft of fascinating questions, including an offhand comment by an attorney that in the last 40 years we have moved from having a legal system based on presumption of innocence to one based on presumption of guilt. But most of all this is a human document of lives cracked by mistake, and how difficult it is to paste them back together again. (source: The Daily Herald) ILLINOIS: Steidl Lawsuit A wrongful conviction lawsuit against one Wabash Valley city and county could mean bigger bills for taxpayers. A Paris, Illinois man spent 17 years in prison, 12 on death row, for a 1986 double murder. That man, Randy Steidl, was released from prison in 2004. Now, he's suing both the City of Paris and Edgar County to the tune of $34 million. A Steidl win in court could mean big problems for a small community. 17 years. That's how long Randy Steidl sat behind bars in Illinois prison. Steidl was 1 of 2 men convicted in the double murder of Illinois newlyweds Dyke and Karen Rhoads. But evidence in the case crumbled, and in 2004, Steidl was released. On the day of his release Steidl said, "Being with your family, watching your kids grow up. That was the hardest part to miss." Now, Steidl is suing the City of Paris and Edgar County for wrongful conviction. Just the mention of the suit stirs up strong feelings in the small town. Steve Kelley says, "I still question the fact that the guy was innocent. I was here when it happened and I was familiar with the whole thing." And Virginia Kiser says, "If they're guilty they should be punished and if they're not guilty then they shouldn't be. But I don't think they should have to pay money and all this other stuff." Steidl's lawyer says he'll ask for $2 million for each year in prison. That's $34 million. To give you an idea of how much the lawsuit could affect the community, the annual budget of Edgar County is 3 million dollars. County officials say the Steidl verdict could easily be 5 times that much. County officials say the insurance they had in 1986 might cover $2 million of that. They say the rest may come from higher taxes. Edgar County taxpayer Mary Sutter says, "Why should we have to pay for it? After all, taxes are high enough." Meaning what many call a bad deal for one man may end up a bad deal for an entire community. In lawsuits similar to Randy Steidl's, juries often award tens of millions of dollars to the plaintiff if they win the suit. (source: WTHI TV News) FLORIDA: Fla. Prisons Chief Resigns Under Pressure Florida's governor ousted the head of the state prison system Friday after months of questions about illegal activities by guards and top prison officials. State Corrections Secretary James Crosby, a former warden, resigned under pressure. He had led the nation's 3rd-largest corrections system since January 2003. The department has been under intense scrutiny in recent months amid allegations of steroid abuse, sexual assaults and the arrest of an employee allegedly hired only to help a prison softball team. Gov. Jeb Bush did not explain his reasons for demanding Crosby's resignation Friday. The governor had recently expressed confidence in Crosby's leadership. Bush named as interim secretary James McDonough, who had directed his Drug Control office since 1999. Crosby, a former warden at Florida State Prison, had worked in the prison system since 1975. (source: Associated Press) ****************** Autopsy reports expose cruelty of lethal injection It's the stuff of nightmares, and the very definition of cruel and unusual punishment: A prisoner remaining aware, but paralyzed and unable to speak, while a deadly, caustic drug flows through his veins. This could be the reality of execution in the United States. Lethal injections, the preferred method of execution in every state but Nevada, use three drugs: sodium thiopental, a surgical anesthetic, followed by the paralytic drug pancuronium bromide, and finally potassium chloride, which stops the heart and causes death. A medical journal's review of autopsy reports in 49 executions by lethal injection in Texas and Virginia showed that 43 had critically low levels of anesthetic in their bloodstreams, and 21 had so little that they were likely conscious throughout the painful process of stopping their heart. This is unwelcome news to death-penalty supporters, but no surprise to those familiar with the history of lethal injection. It's a procedure that's frequently botched. The American Medical Association and other professional medical groups condemn capital punishment, so doctors and nurses usually refuse to participate in executions. That means executions are often performed by under-trained medical technicians, who often have a hard time finding a vein. Even in states where trained medical personnel are involved in executions, it's often to insert intravenous lines into veins scarred by drug abuse. If the drugs aren't administered properly, the line used to feed them into the prisoner's body can clog, delaying the execution. Even when everything goes technically right, things go wrong: When the state of California executed 76-year-old Clarence Ray Allen last month, the first dose of drugs wasn't enough to stop his heart. Florida's lethal injection process follows that of other states. The only difference is that Florida inmates are offered Valium, a mild tranquilizer, before the execution starts. It's hard to imagine a pill powerful enough to calm the terror and agony of feeling veins burning as if acid had been injected into them. This isn't the 1st time an execution method fell short. 2 gory electrocutions in Florida speeded the demise of the electric chair as an execution method (only Nevada now uses it.) Hanging too often resulted in prolonged deaths, the firing squad is on its way out in the last 2 states that use it and the gas chamber, perhaps the cruelest of methods used in this country, probably won't be used again in the United States. Now lethal injection is under attack. 2 Florida executions are now on hold while the U.S. Supreme Court decides whether the inmates will be able to challenge lethal injection as cruel and unusual. Clarence Hill, who murdered a police officer in 1982, was strapped to a gurney with IV tubes in his arms when the Supreme Court issued a stay. Arthur Rutherford, who killed a Milton woman in 1985, was scheduled to die a few days later. State officials argue that Hill and Rutherford showed no mercy to their victims, and deserve none from the state. Their vision is skewed. The state should not fight for the right to sink to the same level as murderers. The grim reality of the death penalty is that it's hard to end the lives of healthy human beings without torturing them in some way. Even if the death penalty had been proven to be effective in stopping crime (it hasn't) or were fairly administered (it isn't), it is inescapably cruel, reprehensible to any just society. Rather than searching for acceptable methods, Florida leaders should declare their intent to end the death penalty in this state. (source: Editorial, Daytona Beach News-Journal) ************** With latest denial, Rolling exhausts regional appeals Convicted killer Danny Rolling moved closer to a death warrant after the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta denied his appeal Thursday. The court rejected arguments that Rolling's attorneys should have moved his case out of Alachua County, where he was accused of murdering 5 Gainesville college students in 1990. 4 years later a jury unanimously recommended he receive a death sentence. Rolling's attorney Baya Harrison of Monticello said the appeal was "our last major avenue of relief" after the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida also denied the appeal in July. Rolling, 51, now a Death Row inmate at Florida State Prison in Bradford County, can petition the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case. But Harrison said, "Obviously, we're concerned because we're just about out of gas here." The U.S. Supreme Court already is looking at issues involving Florida and the death penalty. Earlier this year, the court halted the executions of inmates Clarence Hill and Arthur Rutherford and is expected to rule by July on whether Hill can use civil rights law to challenge the state's method of execution, lethal injection. While the court is considering the matter, Gov. Jeb Bush has said he will not sign any death warrants. "Danny Rolling will get the benefit of that issue while it is being considered," Harrison said. But, he said, "Losing this appeal in the 11th Circuit is not good for us." Aside from pending questions about execution by lethal injection, Harrison said Rolling has 90 days to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to take his case. The attorney expected to file the petition in about 60 days. Carolyn Snurkowski, a death appeals attorney with the state Attorney General's office, said if Rolling's petition is filed soon enough, the Supreme Court could decide whether or not to hear his appeal before the end of its spring term. Otherwise, it's more likely the court would review the petition after its summer recess. The Supreme Court's review of the Hill case "takes away any likelihood of immediate action" on Rolling's petition, Snurkowski said. Snurkowski would not speculate on when the governor may sign a death warrant for Rolling, who also can go through the clemency process and appeal to the governor about his case. But Dianna Hoyt, 62, the stepmother of one of the slain students, said she's hopeful there will be a death warrant for Rolling by the end of the year. "He has the 90 days to object, but from what I understand, this isn't as much of a long process now. I am in hope that everything else that is going on with executions right now will be settled by then. And I know the governor is making way for us," she said. (source: Gainesville Sun)
