Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]
Add Reply
Blog and Media Roundup - Saturday, December 19, 2015; News Roundup
Topic Started: Dec 19 2015, 04:53 AM (81 Views)
abb
Member Avatar


December 19, 2015
The Baltimore Judicial Railroad
By Michael Thiac

The usual suspects are outraged Officer William Porter was not convicted of a felony in the transport and eventual death of Freddie Gray. From the Baltimore Sun editorial of December 17, "...after jurors failed to come to an unanimous decision on any of the four charges on Mr. Porter no doubt will serve as a disappointment to those wished for the verdict in this case to send a clear and unambiguous message."

In contrast, the statue of Lady Justice shows her with a blindfold and balance. She's not there to "send a message" but to determine if the accused is guilty of a criminal act. And one of the basic tenets of Western jurisprudence is the burden of proof falls upon the prosecution. The obvious desire for railroading the officer by the editors of the Sun (And let's be honest, the City Attorney and Mayor, the Department of Justice, and the usual race baiting poverty pimps like Jesse and Al) reminded me of something from my first district court case.

I booked a suspect for Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) and five months later I was subpoenaed. After the jury was selected, the judge spoke to them for a few minutes. After thanking them for doing their civic duty (Truthfully, a lot of people do dodge it), he explained masterfully to the jury of laypersons (and a rookie cop) how justice works. (From an almost 15 year old memory and the names have been changed to protect the guilty!):

"Ladies and gentlemen, the defendant, Mr. Smith, sits behind the table, he sits there innocent and only you can make him guilty in the eyes of the law. Mr. Smith has the absolute presumption of innocence. He is under no obligation to speak and none of us here, including myself, can force him to answer a question. Mr. Smith is under no obligation to present a defense, although he has hired one. And I am instructing you that you cannot make any inference of his guilt or innocence because of his not speaking or presenting a defense. Those are his rights.

The burden of proof in this matter falls completely on the shoulders of the prosecution, Mr.Jones. He must prove every element of his case to you, individually and in full. Mr. Jones must prove all elements of his case, in your mind, beyond a reasonable doubt (emphasis his). If he fails in doing that, or the defense successfully raises a reasonable doubt in just one element of the prosecution's case, you must acquit the defendant. Mr. Jones doesn’t have to prove beyond all doubt; that is an impossibility. And the prosecution is further at a disadvantage because he must present all of his evidence to the defense prior to trial so they can prepare for it. Mr. Jones cannot give the defense any surprises. However the defense is under no obligation to present any evidence to the prosecution until the trial."

Looking at the officers who have been railroaded by the Baltimore City State's Attorney, this case has been a travesty to the cause of justice. Ms. Marilyn Mosby, with at best evidence of department policy violation, indicted six officers for multiple felonies. Announcing the charges last summer, she praised herself multiple times, referred to “I” (26 times), “my” (12 times) but “me” thankfully only once (for a moment I thought I was listening to an Obama press conference) and basically condemned the defendants in a blatant attempt to poison the jury pool. Ms. Mosby then basked in the limelight, being the subject of multiple friendly news stories, brought up on the stage by Prince during his concert, and topped off by a full spread for Vogue magazine, a mélange of political ambition and inappropriate behavior. These facts did not stop the judge from refusing the defense motion for a change of venue because the defendants could not get an unbiased jury. So much for justice being blind.

Ms.Mosby denied the officers had probable cause to arrest Gray because he didn't have an "illegal weapon," yet her office refused to present the knife he was carrying to the officers’ lawyers for examination. She accused the officer of a false arrest, because the knife was found subsequent to his arrest. Any criminal attorney (or cop on the street) knows after a suspect has been detained he can be searched, and once the weapon is found, it’s fair game for prosecution. Knowing she had a very flimsily case, she tried to stop the release of the Gray autopsy report. Ridiculously she said her prosecutors, “…’have a duty to ensure a fair and impartial process for all parties involved’ and ‘will not be baited into litigating this case through the media.’”

Almost ten years ago America witnessed a major travesty of justice when a politically motived prosecutor named Mike Nifong attempted to make his career with the prosecution of a group of white college students accused of raping a black stripper. After his case fell apart, Nifong was removed from the case and the North Carolina Attorney General took over. The three students were completely exonerated and Nifong eventually lost his law license and was jailed. As she tried to railroad Officer Porter and the other officers, will Ms. Mosby face justice like Mr. Nifong? Time will tell. Only if she faces justice in the future, Ms. Mosby should pray she receives a more justice from the attorney who judges her.

Michael Thiac is a police patrol sergeant and a retired Army intelligence officer.

Read more: http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2015/12/the_baltimore_judicial_railroad_.html#ixzz3ul7Uj6Iu
Follow us: @AmericanThinker on Twitter | AmericanThinker on Facebook
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
abb
Member Avatar

http://www.timesargus.com/article/20151219/NEWS05/151219575

Article published Dec 19, 2015
Prep school grad: No regrets for nixing deal in sex case

The Associated Press

TUNBRIDGE — A graduate of an exclusive New England prep school who was convicted of sexually assaulting a younger student says he doesn’t regret rejecting a plea deal.

Owen Labrie told Newsweek magazine that “not caving” is what kept him going, despite being sentenced to a year in jail and being required to register as a sex offender for life.

The 20-year-old from Tunbridge had rejected several plea bargains that would have meant less jail time — including as little as 30 days — and no registration.

A jury in August convicted Labrie of misdemeanor sex assault charges and a felony charge of using a computer to lure a 15-year-old girl for sex just days before he graduated from St. Paul’s School in Concord, New Hampshire. It’s that felony conviction that carries the mandate to register as a sex offender for life.

The magazine article, published Friday, said the girl and her family declined to be interviewed.

Labrie, who is free on bail, did not discuss the 2014 encounter itself, citing his appeal to the New Hampshire Supreme Court.

His lawyers have said they will challenge whether Labrie should have been ordered to register as a sex offender for life. They have said the registration shouldn’t apply because Labrie was acquitted of rape, and that lawmakers meant the law to apply to adults preying on children, not to two teenagers who routinely used computers to communicate.

Labrie was 18 at the time of the encounter in a nearly deserted building on the St. Paul’s campus. Prosecutors linked the assault to a competition known as the “Senior Salute” in which seniors seek to have sex with underclassmen.

Labrie’s lawyer, J.W. Carney Jr., had argued for a sentence of probation and community service, saying that what the jury called sexual assault was a “consensual encounter between two teenagers.”

Labrie, now listed on Vermont’s sex offender registry, told Newsweek he “walked out of the courthouse with my chin up.”

“The only thing that sustained me was knowing I had told the truth,” he said.

He testified that he and the girl had consensual sexual contact after he invited her to participate in Senior Salute, but he denied having intercourse with her. The girl acknowledged going willingly with Labrie but said she was unprepared when he became aggressive.

Labrie had been accepted to Harvard University and planned to take divinity courses at the time of his arrest.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
abb
Member Avatar

http://dailycaller.com/2015/12/18/gop-boosts-budget-for-office-that-rolls-back-due-process-on-campus/

GOP Boosts Budget For Office That Rolls Back Due Process On Campus

Posted By Blake Neff On 9:15 PM 12/18/2015 In | No Comments

Among the many spending measures included in the newly-passed omnibus spending bill is a big budget increase for the Department of Education agency that has spearheaded efforts to roll back due process rights on college campuses.

The Office for Civil Rights is a division of the Department of Education responsible for enforcing federal laws such as Title IX, which prohibit discrimination in educational institutions. The $1.1 trillion spending bill passed in the House and Senate Friday hikes the OCR’s budget by a substantial 7 percent.

OCR has substantially expanded its anti-discrimination efforts under President Obama, in a variety of politically divisive ways. Most prominently, the office has become deeply enmeshed in the debate over campus sexual assault.

In a 2011 “Dear Colleague” letter (a form of regulatory guidance that is effectively binding), OCR ordered schools to investigate and punish sexual assaults on campus using a “preponderance of the evidence” standard (where the accused is guilty if there is a better than 50/50 chance they are responsible). This effectively ordered many schools to lower the threshold of guilt for sexual assault cases, as prior to the letter many schools instead relied on the “clear and convincing evidence” standard, which is more rigorous.

It is questionable that OCR’s order is even legal, but because the penalty of violating Title IX is a total loss of federal funding, schools have been highly averse to standing up to OCR. (RELATED: Dem Congressman Suggests Expelling All Students Accused Of Sexual Assault)

More recently, OCR has brought direct pressure on schools by investigating over a hundred institutions for allegedly engaging in discrimination by not doing enough to fight sexual assault. In response, schools such as Harvard University have adopted new rules and procedures concerning sexual assault.

Generally, these new procedures roll back due process rights for accused students, and make it easier for students to be found guilty of harassment or assault and kicked off campus. At Harvard, over two dozen law professors signed an open letter condemning the school’s new sexual assault policies for restricting students’ rights.

OCR has also been at the heart of an Obama administration push to regulate discipline in schools by reducing racial disparities in suspensions and other types of punishment. In a 2014 “Dear Colleague” letter, OCR pressured K-12 schools to seek racial equality in suspension rates, in contrast to current rates where blacks are suspended at significantly higher rates than Hispanics, who are in turn suspended more than whites and Asians.

In response, many districts have been radically overhauling their suspension policies. In Minneapolis, the superintendent even required suspensions of black, Hispanic, and American Indian students to obtain special approval from her, a protection white and Asian students didn’t receive. Such policies are legally questionable, since racial quotas for punishment have been struck down in the past, but they now are being adopted in response to direct pressure from OCR.

The spending bill passed by Republicans in Congress Friday enables the Obama administration to continue its crusade on sexual assault and school discipline with even more resources.

Follow Blake on Twitter

Send tips to blake@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
abb
Member Avatar

http://www.dailyrecordnews.com/opinion/editorial/editorial-paths-for-rape-victims-on-campus/article_0cb5b90a-a5ca-11e5-aa67-637563df718a.html


Editorial: 3 paths for rape victims on campus

Central Washington University board of trustees approved updates to the student conduct code in November. There wasn’t a great deal of attention as the changes made their way through the system, but it’s something more people should be aware of, especially as it relates to how the university handles cases of sexual violence and assault.

Victims on campus have several options when a rape occurs. They can report the incident to police and/or they can report it to the university. Law enforcement and the university have separate sets of procedures.

The police pursue a case through the criminal justice system, working to secure a conviction. The university can expel or suspend a student suspected of a crime, or set up a no-contact order on campus. The university can sometimes act more quickly than the criminal justice system, and follows a preponderance of evidence, meaning it operates under the belief that more likely than not the incident occurred.

This sounds good, but there’s been national attention about whether university processes are fair and effective. The people handling the cases need to be properly trained, and policies need to be clear. Recent changes approved by the board of trustees at CWU clarified the appeals process and brought policies into line with state and federal law.

Campus police at CWU try to make the reporting process as easy as possible. It’s OK for victims to have an advocate with them, and police don’t have to wear their uniform if it makes the person more comfortable. Police will not notify a victim’s parents without the person’s consent.

Victims can also take a third option — not saying anything. That appears to be a common path. A recent study by the Association of American Universities found that almost three-fourths of sexual assault victims did not report the episode to anyone of authority, including law enforcement, even in the most serious cases.

The federal government has become more involved over the past couple of years. In 2014, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights released a list of 55 schools that were under investigation for Title IX complaints related to sexual violence. The list had grown to 192 cases at 157 campuses as of Dec. 9.

Central Washington University isn’t on the list, but there are pending cases at the University of Washington, Washington State University, Western Washington University and Whitman College.

That’s not to say CWU is unaffected. University Police Chief Mike Luvera said there have been five or six sexual offenses reported so far this year. He expects the number to increase with additional education and outreach.

The final goal should be to avoid re-victimizing victims. To be blunt, that doesn’t always happen. Women who have spoken out about their experiences are beginning to make a difference and bring about change, but that isn’t a path everyone wants to take. We all need to be willing to speak up for those who can’t.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
abb
Member Avatar

http://www.bustle.com/articles/122176-one-year-after-rolling-stones-disastrous-a-rape-on-campus-heres-how-university-of-virginia-classrooms

One Year After 'Rolling Stone's Disastrous "A Rape On Campus," Here's How University Of Virginia Classrooms Have Changed
Christine Stoddard

Founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1819, the University of Virginia looks like a postcard. Lush with gardens and adorned with column after column, it is a place shrouded in Jeffersonian tradition as much as it is Jeffersonian myth. UVA earned its nickname as a "Public Ivy," not only for its appearance but for its rigorous academics, which rank among the best in the country. Yet, one year ago, on Nov. 19, 2014, a single story cast a pall over the idyllic school long held in high esteem. In America's imagination, UVA suddenly became the setting for wild frat parties where rape ran rampant. That was after “A Rape on Campus: A Brutal Assault And Struggle for Justice at UVA,” a longform feature by Rolling Stone contributor Sabrina Rubin Erdely.

The now-infamous 9,000-word saga of “Jackie” chronicled the undergraduate's alleged 2012 rape by members of the fraternity Phi Kappa Psi and the confounding aftermath, during which Jackie claimed she was met with doubt and resistance from so-called friends and administrators. Within hours of being posted online, the graphic story went viral — it purported dark trends in fraternity rape, victim shaming, and cover-ups.

The magazine's feature made national headlines when it was published and when it was ultimately retracted. UVA law professor Anne Coughlin, a self-described feminist, says that while the story's detailed account of an alleged rape was certainly shocking, what hurt her and her colleagues more was the story's portrayal of UVA administrators and students as “callous” and “cold.” Friends and administrators alike doubted Jackie's account and failed to show compassion throughout the narrative. "That is not the UVA I know,” she says.

With its story, Rolling Stone intended to expose the frequency of sexual assault on college campuses. NPR reported in September 2015 that a survey of over 150,000 students at over 24 colleges found that "on average, 23 percent of undergraduate women say they were, in some way, sexually assaulted during their time on campus." And just this month, in November of 2015, U.S. News and World Report reported that a staggering one in six American college freshman surveyed said that they were raped during their first year of college when they were too drunk or drugged to get away from their attacker.

But in the immediate aftermath of its publication, as “A Rape On Campus” steadily climbed to a total of 2.7 million page views and inspired multiple online conversations and follow-up think pieces, suspicion about its credibility grew. The frat had always denied the rapes. In April of 2015, it was deemed by the Columbia Journalism Review to be among "the worst journalism of 2014."

Coughlin, for her part, notes that the Rolling Stone story "heightened the belief that women lie."

Before that would happen, five months earlier on Dec. 5, 2014, Rolling Stone's managing editor issued an apology letter that noted, "Within days, commentators started to question the veracity of our narrative." That same letter retracted “A Rape On Campus” and would end up preceding the report delivered by Steve Coll, dean of the Columbia School of Journalism and a Pulitzer-winning reporter, and his associates, who combed through the story to unearth its errors and ethical breaches. The verdict? The tale could not be trusted because of journalistic failures committed by “the reporter, the editor, the editor's supervisor, and the fact-checking department.”

Rolling Stone vowed to overhaul the editorial departments that had signed off on the story, and Erderly described the reading of the report as "a brutal and humbling experience" in her statement. Meanwhile, Rolling Stone has been struck with a $25 million lawsuit from the fraternity in question, Phi Kappa Psi, as well as two other lawsuits waged by Phi Kappa Psi alumni and UVA associate dean Nicole Eramo, who says she was misrepresented in the article.

Coughlin says that, as a law professor who teaches gender issues, campus rape has always been a welcome topic for discussion in her classroom. Like many feminists, she believes the Rolling Stone story did a disservice to rape victims, their advocates, and “the entire movement.” Even though Jackie's credibility about what happened to her on that now-infamous night in 2012 was damaged, no one can say for sure exactly what, if anything, happened to her.

Which is why things need to change. One year after the Rolling Stone story was published, UVA's classrooms are no longer the same. The shift has occurred at a campus-wide academic policy level and according to choices made by individual professors.
The Ensuing Conversations

Coughlin points to several calls for change that occurred on campus after the Rolling Stone article. Last spring, for example, an informal working group of UVA law students began regularly gathering to examine issues related to rape and criminal law. One of the main topics of conversation was Title IX, a federal law that prohibits gender-based discrimination in federally funded educational programs and activities.

What role, if any, they asked, should universities have in investigating and adjudicating rape? What laws should exist, and how should they be enforced?

Meanwhile, administrators and faculty at the Law School gave advice regarding the revision of the university's policy on sexual and gender-based harassment. Kimberly Reich, director of media relations at UVA School of Law, tells Bustle, "Additionally, all Law School students and employees are now required to complete training modules designed to help prevent sexual and gender-based harassment."

The Law School was not the only campus body responding to the article. Denise Walsh, a professor of Women, Gender & Sexuality studies at UVA, tells Bustle that the Rolling Stone story inspired many professors in the School of Arts and Sciences to amend their syllabi: "The most common change, according to informal student feedback I received this semester, was to include a statement noting the resources available at the university for anyone struggling with gender, sexual, or domestic violence."

She adds that regular conversations about the story took place during class in November and December last year. After the story was published, Walsh decided to open up her classes to all students and faculty who wished to discuss the Rolling Stone article. She said that they talked about everything from the seriousness of Jackie's alleged assault to the challenges of addressing sexual assault across college campuses.

"I opened one of my [gender-based violence] classes to all faculty and students who wished to discuss the Rolling Stone article," she says. “A number of faculty and students attended and talked about many aspects of the story, from concern about the seriousness of the assault reported to how to address sexual assault across college campuses.”

"I can say that gender-based violence issues are much more part of the classroom conversation — and that is the result of what students are interested in talking about as well as what faculty are willing to discuss," Walsh adds.
A Student Collective On Gender Violence

In September this year, Walsh and Nick Winter, a professor in UVA's Department of Politics whose research interests include gender and politics, drafted a proposal for a University Of Virginia-based Institute on Power, Violence, and Inequality that would focus on understanding and preventing sexual violence. It would explore sexual violence on university campuses, in wartime situations, home environments, and other spaces around the world, according to the proposal.

"Specifically, gender-, race-, sexuality-, and other power-based violence are particularly complex and intellectually important because they all occur at the intersections of systems of legitimate and illegitimate power and formal and informal systems of authority," write Walsh and Winter in the proposal.

While the Institute has not yet been approved by the university, Walsh says they recently received confirmation from UVA that the collective will be funded. Next semester, it will host guest speakers, an undergraduate forum for input on curricular changes, and a monthly conference to share research related to power, violence, and inequality. Graduate RAs will assist with the collective's organization and operations.
Changes At The Women's Center

Other areas on campus are considering changes, too. Take the Maxine Platzer Lynn Women's Center at UVA, which works toward gender justice on campus. The center offers counseling services, provides body positive education, coordinates internships, runs a volunteer corps, and manages opportunities in engaged scholarship where students can earn hands-on experience that complements their classwork.

Leigh Ann Carver, communications and development officer at the center, says it has gradually increased its services in recent years, but the Rolling Stone story “heightened publicity." In December 2014, UVA's Office of the Provost funded two new positions at the Women's Center: an education outreach and prevention specialist for the Gender Violence and Social Change program and a full-time counselor-in-residence experienced in trauma. There is also another new person on campus: Kelley Hodge, UVA's new full-time Title IX coordinator and a trial attorney who has served as the Safe Schools Advocate for the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency in Philadelphia for the past four years. While not a Women's Center employee, her relevance to the center's mission is apparent.
The Aftermath

In June 2015, UVA president Teresa Sullivan's office issued a document entitled, "Next Steps to Address Sexual Assault Prevention and Response and to Effect Change in the University's Climate." In it, Sullivan listed actions the administration had thus far undertaken to respond to university rape culture.

Those actions reportedly include developing new student orientation and new resident assistant training; the creation of the Not on Our Grounds initiative, a campaign-based initiative that targets sexual violence; new UVA-specific training modules focused on sexual assault; partnering with Futures Without Violence and Harvard Law School and hosting a May 2015 meeting of sexual assault prevention experts to design a curriculum addressing assault prevention and response; participation in the national GreenDot program; and coming up with alcohol-free programming with the University Programs Council during the first several weeks of the fall semester to create weekend alternatives to Greek social activities.

University spokesperson Anthony P. de Bruyn tells Bustle in a statement that shortly after Thanksgiving break this year, the UVA President’s Ad Hoc Group on University Climate and Culture received word that various initiatives are in the works for the spring semester. Updates will be posted on the University Climate and Culture website. He adds that UVA "will continue to implement substantive reforms," noting that "the negative repercussions of this irresponsible journalism continue today."

One year ago, Rolling Stone made a monumental error — a failure at every stage of its editorial process, which culminated in a piece of faulty journalism that contributed to the narrative of those who stand against rape survivors.

But that error also contributed to the growing national conversation about campus rape. In Carver's Oct. 5 blog post for the Women's Center, she writes, “In the long run, the level of attention brought to the issue of sexual assault nationally and locally over the past couple of years is bound to be a good thing.”

Some women's rights groups agree. "I've been an activist for 25 years," says Kristen Houser, the chief public affairs officer at the National Sexual Violence Resource Center in Pennsylvania. "All the things we activists have been hoping for are finally actually happening. While the story didn't hold up to the standards of journalism, it still shone a light a something that needed to be addressed. The story highlighted a problem that people are finally paying attention to."

"So many universities really are reexamining policies, practices, how they're staffing Title IX office," she continues. "They're making it a top priority. We are all going to benefit from that."
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous)
« Previous Topic · DUKE LACROSSE - Liestoppers · Next Topic »
Add Reply