Police in legal minefield on Ariz. immigration law
(this whole "show me ze papers" routine sounds like shaky ground to be on here. sure,sure, we need to keep the evil foreigner from taking the back breaking menial labor jobs we won't do,but hot and spicy racism is still racism no matter what sort of political security blanket you try to hide it under.)
By JACQUES BILLEAUD and NICHOLAS RICCARDI, AP
5 hours ago
5 hours ago
PHOENIX — More than two years after it was signed into law, the most contentious part of Arizona's landmark immigration legislation is expected to go into effect following a federal court ruling issue late Wednesday.
But the U.S. Supreme Court laid a legal minefield that Arizona now must navigate when the critical provision takes effect. The clause, one of the few significant ones that the high court left standing in a June ruling, requires all Arizona police officers to check the immigration status of people they stop while enforcing other laws and suspect are in the country illegally.
While preserving that requirement, however, the Supreme Court explicitly left the door open to arguments that the law leads to civil rights violations. Attorneys would need actual victims to make that case.
Civil rights activists are preparing to scour the state for such victims. Lydia Guzman, who runs Respect/Respeto, a Phoenix group that tracks racial profiling, said volunteers at the organization's call center have already been told to listen for new complaints when the requirement goes into effect.
"We're watching and we're looking for cases," she said.
Barring a successful, emergency challenge of Wednesday's ruling to an appeals court — an outcome that legal observers believe is unlikely — the requirement is expected to go into effect in the next several days. U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton rejected arguments by civil rights attorneys that she should prevent the requirement from kicking in, noting that the Supreme Court had specifically found that the provision should be allowed to become law.
Arizona police were formally trained on how to implement the law shortly after Gov. Jan Brewer signed it in 2010. The heads of some of the state's biggest law enforcement agencies — the Phoenix and Tucson police departments and the Pima County sheriff's office — were critical of it but ultimately said they would obey whatever parts the courts found to be constitutional.
"We enforce laws passed by our legislators," Sgt. Tommy Thompson, a Phoenix Police spokesman, said Wednesday night, noting the requirement still has not gone into effect.
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who has been the most publicly aggressive in pursuing illegal immigrants, said in an interview Wednesday that his deputies already check the immigration status of people they encounter. Arpaio, a supporter of the law, said he expects no differences other than an increased number of lawsuits.
The law's author, former state Sen. Russell Pearce, said he does not expect sweeping changes in the way local police will conduct themselves once the requirement kicks in.
"I'm not asking for roundups, I'm not asking for anything but paying attention and doing your job," he said. "It's not that we want people in jail. We want compliance."
Peter Spiro, a Temple University law professor who has followed the two-year legal battle, said Arizona remains in a difficult legal spot.
"If the state's savvy at all, it's going to be very cautious" about how it implements the requirement, he said. "To the extent that it's not, it's going to be very vulnerable on this.
"Further litigation," Spiro said, "is imminent."
Since it overwhelmingly passed Arizona's Republican-controlled Legislature in 2010, the immigration law has been fiercely challenged in court.
Among its opponents was the Obama administration, which challenged the law based on the argument that federal immigration law trumped Arizona law. The challenge didn't confront racial profiling, and the administration failed to persuade the nation's highest court to strike down the questioning requirement.
To the supporters of Arizona's law, the questioning requirement was the most important part of the statute, whose stated purpose was to reduce the problems associated with illegal immigration through enforcement by the state.
Immigrant rights groups believe the requirement presents the most opportunities for civil rights abuses.
Shortly before the law was to take effect in July 2010, Bolton prevented police from enforcing the questioning requirement and other parts of the statute, ruling the Obama administration would likely succeed in showing federal law trumps the state law.
Brewer appealed the ruling, lost at the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and took her case to the Supreme Court.
Less controversial sections of the law have been in effect since late July 2010 but have rarely been used.
Arizona's law was passed amid voter frustration with the state's role as the busiest illegal entry point into the country. Five states — Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, South Carolina and Utah — have adopted variations of Arizona's law.
Brewer's office said the law is expected to go into effect shortly.
"The courts have now consistently found that the plaintiffs have not met the high bar in arguing this law needs to be enjoined before it's allowed to take effect," gubernatorial spokesman Matthew Benson said. "Certainly, Gov. Brewer is pleased with this decision. She believes it's time SB1070 is implemented and so that we can see how effective this law is in practice."
Karen Tumlin, an attorney for the National Immigration Law Center, said her office was "considering our legal options" after Bolton's ruling.
"We were surprised and disappointed," said Dan Pochoda, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona.
Bolton did, however, grant a preliminary injunction against a statute making it illegal to harbor individuals suspected of being in the country illegally.
Guzman, the Arizona civil rights activist, said she expects police to tread cautiously as they implement the requirement.
"They know they're under the watchful eyes of activists like me, attorneys and even their own departments," she said.
___
Riccardi reported from Denver. Associated Press writers Walter Berry in Phoenix and Felicia Fonseca in Flagstaff contributed to this report.
Chairs placed by Eastwood cutout on Calif. trail
(clearly it is a sign of chairmageddon,when Saint Clint Eastwood the patron saint of dynamite and large caliber handguns will face off against his nemesis...the chair?)
Wed Sep 5, 3:53 AM UTC
GLENDALE, Calif. — These days, wherever you see Clint Eastwood, an empty chair is sure to follow. Even if you're on a hike.
A life-sized cutout of a cowboy Eastwood has stood on a trail overlooking a Southern California freeway for months, but on Tuesday a pair of chairs were next to him, one also a cardboard cutout, the other an actual wooden chair.
They're a clear reference to Eastwood's interaction with an imaginary President Obama in an empty chair at the Republican National Convention last week.
Eastwood and the chair have fueled a social media meme that's shown no signs of slowing.
An artist erected the cutouts of Eastwood and other Hollywood western heroes along the trail in Glendale, but it's not clear where the chairs came from.
Jet returns to Philadelphia over hoax phone call
(this is surely a sign of the times an anonimous tip that somebody is acting suspicious can turn an airplane around. no real evidence presented no real case made no previous investigation and plane gets turned around and some guy drug off based on an anonimous tip. every time we act like this the terrorists win>)
(this is surely a sign of the times an anonimous tip that somebody is acting suspicious can turn an airplane around. no real evidence presented no real case made no previous investigation and plane gets turned around and some guy drug off based on an anonimous tip. every time we act like this the terrorists win>)
By KATHY MATHESON, AP
2 hours ago
2 hours ago
PHILADELPHIA — An airborne flight was brought back to Philadelphia, the jet was searched and a passenger was taken off for questioning because of an apparent hoax tip called into airport police, authorities said Thursday.
The passenger removed from the Dallas-bound US Airways flight did nothing wrong and was the victim of "a pretty nasty trick," Philadelphia police Chief Inspector Joseph Sullivan said.
Sullivan said police at Philadelphia International Airport received a call around 7:30 a.m. that named a passenger who was on his way to Texas and carrying a dangerous substance. That name matched a passenger on board Flight 1267 to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, prompting officials to decide to turn the aircraft around after it had already flown a third of the way across Pennsylvania.
After landing, the airplane taxied to a remote section of the airport, where a slew of law enforcement vehicles surrounded it. Law enforcement officials escorted the passenger from the airplane and put him in the back of a police car.
Sullivan said the passenger, who was not identified by authorities, was very surprised to be approached by officers.
"He was obviously very alarmed, as I would be if heavily armed police officers entered a plane to take me off," Sullivan said. "And he was certainly stunned. And that's why this is no joke, this is no laughing matter."
Bomb technicians and specially trained dogs searched the plane but found nothing illegal or hazardous, Sullivan said.
Sullivan stressed that the passenger is not a suspect and did nothing wrong. Police are treating the hoax seriously because it had resulted in a heavy police response and a significant hassle for all those on board, he said.
"It's just an incredibly foolish and irresponsible thing to do and, bottom line, it's criminal," Sullivan said.
Earlier, an FBI spokesman said the flight was diverted because of a call reporting liquid explosives were on board.
Sullivan declined to discuss the content of the call, but FBI spokesman Frank Burton said it came in around 7:20 a.m., minutes before the flight was scheduled to depart. Burton said police, the FBI and the airline worked quickly to get the plane on the ground.
The airplane had 69 passengers and five crew members on board, airport spokeswoman Victoria Lupica said.
Sullivan said the investigation into the phone call had been turned over to the FBI.
FBI Special Agent Richard Quinn said it was too early to speculate about what sort of charges could be filed against the caller, but they could be severe.
Judge orders Fort Hood suspect be clean-shaven
( i"m with the judge here military law is military law and it"s not like the guys a sihk or amish here<plenty of time to grow a contempt beard while you rot away in military prison for killin" a buncha folks>)
By ANGELA K. BROWN, AP
26 minutes ago
26 minutes ago
FORT HOOD, Texas — The Army psychiatrist charged in the 2009 Fort Hood shooting rampage must be clean-shaven or will be forcibly shaved before his murder trial, a military judge ordered Thursday.
Col. Gregory Gross issued the official order after a hearing to determine whether a federal religious freedom law applied to Hasan's case, and triggered another delay in all proceedings related to Hasan's trial because his attorneys plan to appeal.
Beards are a violation of Army regulations, and soldiers who disobey orders to get rid of facial hair can be shaved against their will. Gross repeatedly has said Hasan's beard, which he started growing in jail this summer, is a disruption to the court proceedings.
Hasan told the judge last week that he grew a beard because his Muslim faith requires it, not as a show of disrespect. Gross ruled Thursday that the defense didn't prove Hasan is growing a beard for sincere religious reasons.
Gross had found Hasan in contempt of court at six previous pretrial hearings because he was not clean-shaven, then sent him to a nearby trailer to watch the proceedings on a closed-circuit television. But the judge allowed Hasan to remain in the courtroom for Thursday's hearing.
Hasan, 41, is charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder in the November 2009 attack on the Texas Army post.
Hasan previously appealed after Gross said he would order him to be shaved if he did not get rid of the beard himself before the trial. Gross said he wants Hasan in the courtroom during the court-martial to prevent a possible appeal on the issue if he is convicted.
The Army has specific guidelines on forced shaving. A team of five military police officers restrains the inmate "with the reasonable force necessary," and a medical professional is on hand in case of injuries. The shaving must be done with electric clippers and must be videotaped, according to Army rules.
Last week the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces ruled Hasan's earlier appeal was premature because Gross has not issued a definitive order. But the court said that when Gross issued the official order, Hasan would be able to take his case to the Army Court of Criminal Appeals.
Mich. lovebirds rescued after elaborate proposal
CASEVILLE, Mich. — Two Michigan sheriff's deputies can expect wedding invitations in their future for rescuing a couple who became stranded on an island during a meticulously planned, elaborate marriage proposal that apparently accounted for everything but bad weather.
Nathan Bluestein, of Northville, and May Gorial, of Madison Heights, set out by canoe Saturday in Wild Fowl Bay near Caseville, about 110 miles north of Detroit, the Huron County sheriff's department said. Gorial, 32, accepted the proposal, but strong wind and waves kept them from returning to shore.
Bluestein, 27, told the Detroit Free Press ( http://on.freep.com/Tm0QoT) that he had been planning the proposal for months. He tucked a message in a bottle inside a lunch bag that he brought on the trip.
"I made sure that she never could touch the lunch bag," he said "I had it around my arm the whole time."
Inside the bottle was a sheet of paper, soaked in tea and burned around the edges, with a poem written in French. Gorial, a French teacher at Bishop Foley Catholic High School in Madison Heights, began reading and translating the poem before finding a proposal written in English on another piece of paper.
"The way I look at it ... she's my best friend and the love of my life," Bluestein said.
The two talked and snapped pictures, and didn't realize they were too far from land. They ended up on North Island and the sheriff's department sent the two deputies by boat from Caseville. Bluestein and Gorial don't have a wedding date set, but the deputies will definitely be invited to the event.
"If it wasn't for them, we wouldn't have seen the wedding day," Gorial said.
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