Scissor Tales » Law

No parole for Manson family member

mark green — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 12:23:15 +0000

Convicted Manson Family murderer Susan Atkins was denied parole in California this week despite pleas from her husband and other supporters that the 61-year-old be released because she’s terminally ill with brain cancer and has just months to live. Atkins has served 38 years of a life sentence for her part in the 1969 Tate-LaBianca slayings whose victims included actress Sharon Tate. “Sexy Sadie,” as Atkins was called by cult leader Charles Manson, showed no remorse during her trial, but reportedly became a model prisoner. Her husband argued she should be released partly because it costs California $17,000 a year to maintain her in prison. Family members of the victims strongly urged the parole board to keep Atkins locked up. The board agreed, properly reasoning that such hearings actually are about victims of crime, who in Atkins’ case can’t speak for themselves. Said Sharon Tate’s sister, Debra: “I will pray for (Atkins’) soul when she draws her last breath, but until then I think she should remain in this controlled situation.”

A villain’s hero’s welcome

mark green — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 19:21:25 +0000

Where do you start with the Scottish government’s galactic lapse in judgment in deciding to free convicted Lockerbie bomber Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi, just eight years into a life sentence for the 1988 atrocity that killed 270 people, including 189 Americans? Start with widespread outrage. Beyond members of the governing Scottish National Party condemnation was swift and fairly universal. Piling on insult, the 57-year-old former Libyan intelligence officer was greeted like a hero at the airport in Tripoli after Scotland’s justice minister, Kenny MacAskill, ordered him released on “compassionate grounds” because he suffers from terminal prostate cancer. MacAskill justified the order by saying something about Scottish values, but the decision is off-the-charts abysmal. Scotland’s parliament apparently will be recalled from its summer break to debate the issue. Think about it: Megrahi served less than three months for each of the lives lost on Pan Am Flight 103. Said Susan Cohen, whose daughter Theodora died 21 years ago: “You want to feel sorry for anyone? Please feel sorry for me, feel sorry for my poor daughter, her body falling a mile through the air.”

Sending a rat to jail

mark green — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 21:06:53 +0000

Bernie Madoff got 150 years in prison Monday, but it’s not what he deserved. Federal sentencing guidelines wouldn’t allow any more prison time for Madoff’s crime, and it’s against the law to simply turn someone over to those he has victimized.

Even so, there were cheers from some of Madoff’s former clients when a federal judge sentenced him to 150 years in the slammer for bilking thousands out of $50 billion over a 20-year period — slightly more than the 12 years his lawyer requested in a hopeless bid for leniency.

Certainly, Madoff is the poster example of criminal greed on Wall Street. That he wasn’t caught until last year has prompted calls for greater regulation. That’s understandable, but it’s impossible to devise a fool-proof regulatory system to trap rats like Bernard Madoff. Blind spots in the system should be fixed, but ultimately one of the biggest deterrents to another Madoff is Madoff: his punishment, his shame, his wrecked life. Swindlers and con men will always be around the money. Every now and then they get caught.

Layers of lawyers

j.e. mcreynolds — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 16:36:28 +0000

“GM Collapses Into Government’s Arm,” screamed a headline in The Wall Street Journal. “A Saga of Decline and Denial,” said another Journal headline. But the headline that really caught our attention was published in the New York Times a week before General Motors’ bankruptcy filing on Monday: “Auto Troubles Touch Many Concerns; Bankruptcy For G.M. Would Tax The Experts.” The story says GM’s troubles are bad for workers and execs, “but it will be putting a lot of lawyers to work.” The government bailout and subsequent bankruptcies of GM and Chrysler could be called the Lawyers Full Employment Act of 2009 - President Obama’s gift to the legal industry. Other booms from GM’s bust will benefit hotels and restaurants near the New York bankruptcy court handling the case. “For law firms,” the Times noted, “big bankruptcies can be very lucrative.” Taxpayers take note: We’re sending lawyers tubs of money to rescue another corporate giant.

After Justice Souter

mark green — Fri, 01 May 2009 15:56:27 +0000

President Barack Obama might have a conversation with his predecessor before he settles on a replacement for U.S. Supreme Court Justice David Souter, who is expected to retire from the court when the current term ends in June.

Former President George W. Bush could prepare Obama for the flak he might take over whomever he nominates — from supporters!

Bush ran into a buzz saw with his 2005 nomination of Harriet Miers, whose lack of judicial experience and flimsy grasp of constitutional law factored into her ultimate decision to withdraw from consideration. Another drag on Miers’ nomination was strong criticism from some Bush supporters who didn’t think she was conservative enough.

It’s not hard to imagine a scenario where Obama could find himself at odds with his base.

First, it’s a relatively small window to replace Souter before the court’s fall term begins. If Obama nominates a pure liberal, Senate Republicans could filibuster — recalling that then-Sen. Obama voted to filibuster Justice Samuel Alito (who was nominated after Miers’ withdrawal). Others who voted to block Alito’s nomination included current Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Democrats would be foolish to count on party-switcher Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania to automatically support a liberal nominee.

If Obama opts for a more moderate nominee, the liberal base will be angry. It wants a justice who reflects its views. And there’s always a chance a “confirmable” pick, someone without a long judicial track record or published views, could be a stealth conservative.

Indeed, Souter turned out to be a stealth liberal after Republican President George H.W. Bush nominated him in 1990. Souter didn’t have much of a paper trail, which helped his nomination hurdle the Senate. But early on he became a fairly reliable liberal vote on the court.

Souter’s impending departure, then, is both an opportunity and a lesson for the new president.

Judgment day

christine watson — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 17:22:57 +0000

An Ardmore mother will find her bank account about $3,000 lighter because her high school-age daughter kept missing school. Here’s hoping parents will get the message prosecutor Craig Ladd was aiming for. “Parents have several responsibilities when it comes to their children,” Ladd told The Daily Ardmoreite. “One responsibility that gets overlooked by some parents is making their children attend school, and we take school attendance very seriously. This case is good example of just how costly that failed responsibility can be.” Indeed. Schools have cracked down on truancy in recent years, knowing that students don’t learn if they’re not in school and because attendance rates now factor into the state’s school rating system. The ideal solution has students back in class before the case hits the court system. But when that doesn’t work, parents shouldn’t be surprised if they find themselves in front of a judge.

Don’t use the ‘T’ word

mark green — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 17:17:49 +0000

The Obama administration has been careful not to use the word “terrorists” to refer to the Somali pirates who attacked a U.S.-flagged cargo ship and held its captain last week. Certainly, what these pirates do on the high seas is terrorizing. There’s probably not a ship’s crew in that part of the world that isn’t worried about meeting the same fate as the Maersk Alabama.

Still, the administration, which has stopped calling the global fight against al-Qaida and associated groups the “war on terror,” was careful not to call the pirates terrorists. The distinction probably is made with the pirates’ primary motivation, which is booty or ransom. A number of news reports depict the pirates as young men who’ve turned to kidnapping and extortion as a way to make money.

As such, the Obama administration considers them criminals first and last and soon may announce strategies to deal with them as such. Perhaps the first case will involve the pirate who was aboard a U.S. destroyer negotiating Sunday when Navy snipers picked off three of his cohorts as they menaced Capt. Richard Phillips, the Maersk Alabama’s skipper.

You can certainly go the legal/criminal route. But with it come U.S. courtroom procedures, rules of evidence, defense lawyers and appeals, which certainly is the long and winding road to justice. Then again, there’s Guantanamo …

Helping children

christine watson — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 19:59:44 +0000

It’s a shame that a group that does so much for children is finding itself mired in financial controversy. The Oklahoma CASA Association is made up mostly of volunteers that act as advocates for abused and neglected children as their cases proceed through the court system. Anna Naukam, the association’s director, was fired in October, and now agency officials are challenging the legitimacy of large credit card debt issued to Naukam on the agency’s behalf. The Oklahoman’s Ann Kelley reported that the credit card statements were mailed to Naukam’s home. The state auditor and inspector’s office is involved, and we hope the problems will be resolved quickly. Nothing should distract from the good work of CASA volunteers.

Child safety seat laws

christine watson — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 18:41:08 +0000

AAA Oklahoma’s Chuck Mai wrote this week that it’s been 31 years since Tennessee passed the nation’s first child safety seat law. For parents of young children, it’s hard to imagine not stressing out over which car seat to buy, whether a child needs a rear- or front-facing seat and when they can graduate to the much cheaper and much easier to lug around booster seats. Mai thinks Oklahoma’s law regarding child safety seats is due updating. Current law allows children ages 6 and older to be seated in booster seats or a seat belt. That means many parents let their 6- and 7-year-olds use regular seat belts before they’re big enough, he said. The safer route, he said, would be to require booster seats for children up to 80 pounds. That would be a huge change for Oklahomans, and one not all parents will be happy about. But Mai’s concerns are worth listening to.

Priest plea: A few bad apples …

owen canfield — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 21:43:28 +0000

As pastor of a Catholic church in Delray Beach, Fla., the Rev. Francis Guinan in 2005 implored his church to discontinue an investigation into alleged financial improprieties. Now we know why.

On Wednesday, Guinan’s colleague Monsignor John Skehan pleaded guilty to embezzling $370,000. His plea came on the day jury selection was to begin in the case. Authorities believe Skehan may actually have made off with millions during his 40 years at St. Vincent Ferrer Catholic Church, but the statute of limitations restricted the timeline to 2001 through 2006.

Guinan is accused of stealing $488,000 during his 19 months as pastor. He is to be tried next month and has pleaded not guilty.

In his 2005 letter to his church, Guinan noted that priests “devote their lives to the church with little thought for personal gain. They are generous, charitable and compassionate.” About that he was absolutely correct, which makes stories like this all the more disappointing and sad.