People of a certain age will remember the Menendez brothers, Lyle and Erik. In 1989, when they were 21 and 17 years old, they shot and killed their parents in the family’s Beverly Hills mansion. Prosecutors alleged that they wanted their parents’ money, while the defense contended that the shootings were motivated by the brothers’ fear of sexual abuse at the hands of their father. I was living in California then and I remember the media frenzy. My wife was Lyle’s college classmate. So in our house, we have followed with interest the recent developments in the brothers’ cases. Both are serving life terms without the possibility of parole, and by all accounts, have been model inmates. They have habeas petitions pending alleging newly-discovered evidence that supports their claims of being victims of sexual abuse, including a letter allegedly written by one of the brothers eight months before the murders. Simultaneously, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon has moved for resentencing, contending that a reduced term that would render the brothers parole eligible immediately would be in the interests of justice in light of their ages at the time of the crimes and the abuse that they allegedly suffered. Both the habeas petition and the resentencing request are due to be heard in the next month or two, and of course, both are controversial. ABC News has more details here. Read on for more news.
AP investigative report on sexual abuse in prison. This new AP story is hard to read. It finds that “[t]hough female prisoners long have been victims of sexual violence, the number of reports against correctional staff has exploded nationwide in recent years. Many complaints follow a similar pattern: Accusers are retaliated against, while those accused face little or no punishment.” The report even describes one prison that staff and inmates called “the rape club” based on the frequency of the abuse inflicted there.
License plate reader lawsuit. The Institute for Justice has filed a lawsuit against Norfolk, Virginia, alleging that the city’s use of 172 license plate readers violates the Fourth Amendment. This local story has details, including the police chief arguing that the cameras help solve crimes and the plaintiffs’ attorney asserting that “Norfolk has created a dragnet that allows the government to monitor everyone’s day-to-day movements without a warrant or probable cause.” A little Googling reveals this story about a similar lawsuit in Chicago and this story about a California class action lawsuit against a manufacturer of license plate readers.
Young Thug pleads guilty. The AP has this new story about the conclusion of the wild courtroom saga featuring rapper Young Thug. He was charged in Atlanta with racketeering and other crimes, went through ten months of jury selection, and has been in the evidentiary phase of the trial since opening statements last year. The case has had multiple twists and turns but has now ended with the defendant pleading guilty to drug, gun, and gang charges without a plea agreement. It seems that he received no active time but got 15 years on probation with a 40-year sentence hanging over his head. He was also basically banished from the Atlanta metropolitan area, which reminded me of Jamie’s post about banishment as a penalty, written in the early years of the blog. (TLDR version: banishment isn’t an authorized punishment in North Carolina.)
Theft of artisanal cheddar. Al Jazeera reports here that “Neal’s Yard Dairy, a distributor and retailer of British cheese based in London . . . has been defrauded of $389,000 worth of award-winning, cloth-bound artisan cheese.” This is no ordinary dairy; the products taken include “Hafod Welsh organic cheddar and Pitchfork cheddar,” which retail for more than $20 per pound. The thieves wheeled off more than 24 tons of cheese altogether, causing “alarm and upset among high-end foodies in the United Kingdom.” Stiff upper lip and carry on, British cheese aficionados!
Public Law for the Public’s Lawyers. That’s the name of an online CLE offered annually by the School of Government. It contains some criminal law content but also is a wide-ranging exploration of topics about which our faculty are passionate. This year’s agenda includes a cannabis update, a Supreme Court review and preview, and a discussion of social media content moderation, among other topics. You won’t find better and more knowledgeable instructors anywhere else. The event is open to all (for a modest fee) and will take place November 13 through 15. Interested? Details here.