Monday Morning Jumpstart

photo credit: MercurySpace

I think the weather needs a jumpstart. Someone wake me when the thermometer goes north of 50 degrees Fahrenheit. In the meantime, maybe these stories will get those neurons firing and generate some heat in you.

• A powerful piece in the NYTimes about a different approach to violations of probation and parole and how it reduces crime by a lot.
• Another horrifying NYT piece on officials obscuring the truth about immigrant deaths in jails.
• An interesting new book on representing clients with mental illnesses. (hint: someone should buy one for the office.)
• A 50-state survey of sex offender registration laws
• A good judge has passed too soon.
• Orin Kerr analyzes whether the 4th Amendment permits execution of warrants in a different state.
• Also from Volokh, an interesting new case on computer searches, encryption and plain view.
• A forensic psychologist in TX is accused of altering IQ scores of defendants to permit execution, including the infamous “sorry we don’t stay here past 5 so you can’t file your appeal and the man will be executed” case.
• The state’s judiciary committee will hold a hearing on January 19th to evaluate how well those “criminal justice reforms” of two years ago have worked out (if they’ve even been implemented).
• Tweets of defendant and murder victim will become a key focus in the murder trial.
• Is there a Constitutional right to knowingly reject a plea offer?
• The 2009 Lowering The Bar Awards, a collection of the nuttiest lawsuits and legal arguments of the last year.
• SCOTUS will hear arguments in a follow up to Melendez-Diaz today.
• A lengthy look at Cook County, IL prosecutor’s battle against journalism students working for an innocence group.
• This week’s Blawg Review is up. Next week’s edition will be hosted here by yours truly.

Okay, that’s enough.