Obama: Pot users should not be ‘top priority’ of federal law enforcement
President Barack Obama says recreational users of marijuana in states that have legalized the substance should not be a “top priority” of federal law enforcement officials prosecuting the war on drugs.
“We’ve got bigger fish to fry,” Obama said of pot users in Colorado and Washington during an exclusive interview with ABC News’ Barbara Walters.
“It would not make sense for us to see a top priority as going after recreational users in states that have determined that it’s legal,” he said, invoking the same approach taken toward users of medicinal marijuana in 18 states where it’s legal.
The problem with this quote: Not that he said it, but that the last time he made a similar claim, it wasn’t followed by the federal agencies that actually enact the policy — something which led Dilbert creator Scott Adams to claim he wouldn’t vote for the president. Check back in two years to see how he’s doing on this issue.
Prosecutors had hoped to use the notebook to show Holmes planned the attack well in advance. Defense attorneys said it should be protected by doctor-client privilege and remain secret.
Acknowledging a fierce legal battle over the notebook was likely to ensue, prosecutor Rich Orman said it would be faster to drop the request. He said he’s betting that if Holmes’ attorneys use a mental health defense — as they’ve indicated — they’ll have to let prosecutors see the notebook and other medical files.
“At that point, the notebook may become important evidence,” Orman said.
Both sides had been expected to appeal any decision about the notebook to the Colorado Supreme Court, potentially delaying the case for months.
Shortly after the prosecution’s decision to drop the bid, Holmes’ legal team was given their first access to the notebook which has been kept sealed by the Court until today. Holmes’ defense team also asked that the judge sanction prosecutors for, what they claim to be, false allegations that Holmes was banned from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. source
Judge Denise Lind has scheduled a six-week period, from February 4 until March 15 2013, for the trial of Bradley Manning. Manning, who will face a total of 22 charges due to his alleged work with Wikileaks, will also appear in court on November 27 as his lawyers fight to have 1,384 emails related to his incarceration released by the U.S. Army. His defense team hopes to prevent further incarceration by proving that his time/treatment at Quantico qualified as cruel and unusual punishment. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images) source
The court sessions are lasting 11 hours a day, and our clients are not being allowed to eat or sleep adequately.Violetta Volkova, defense attorney for Russian punk band Pussy Riot • Telling reporters that Russian authorities have not been treating Maria Alyokhina, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, and Yekaterina Samutsevich humanely since their trial began earlier this week. Proceedings were interrupted for multiple hours during the third day of the trial, while medical personnel attended to Mariya Alekhina, who felt unwell due to low blood-sugar levels. source (via • follow)
» More than money lost: In addition to the money that the U.S. will claim from PokerStars — with $184 million being used to repay former players — the government will also seize all assets owned by Absolute Poker. “Our hope and expectation is that the proceeds of the forfeiture will be used to repay our players,” said Absolute Poker’s attorney Jerry Bernstein, but he also noted that the decision ultimately rests with authorities. Full Tilt Poker did not escape unscathed either, and plans to sell all of its assets to PokerStars as part of the settlement.
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Twitter is appealing a judge’s decision requiring the social media company to turn over an Occupy Wall Street protester’s tweets and account information to Manhattan prosecutors.
In June, Criminal Court Judge Matthew Sciarrino ruled that releasing Malcolm Harris’s tweets would not violate his privacy, since he had posted them on a public website.
Harris, a Brooklyn-based writer, was arrested with hundreds of other Occupy members during a mass march across the Brooklyn Bridge last fall.
The case has focused attention on a number of murky legal questions surrounding the use of social media, including whether users own the content they post publicly and whether companies like Twitter can prevent authorities from using that information to prosecute social media users.
READ ON: Twitter appeals ruling to hand over Occupy protester’s tweets
Twitter has historically fought for its users’ rights in cases like these. So props.
House Resolution 6134, also known as theThe Truth in Trials Act, was introduced Tuesday by Representative Sam Farr on behalf of himself and 18 other congressmen. The bill aims to overturn existing federal regulations which prevent medical marijuana patients from discussing state law, and their compliance with it, during federal prosecution of marijuana-related offenses. It also aims to crack down on federal raids of dispensaries and caregivers by declaring that “No plant may be seized under any federal law otherwise permitting such seizure if the plant is being grown or stored pursuant to a recommendation by a physician or an order of a state or municipal agency in accordance with state law.” (Photo via Dank Depot) source
» A year and a half without clear choice: Although Microsoft claims that the missing screen was replaced as soon as the issue was brought to the company’s attention, European Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia has announced that the EU is once again on the case. “We are now opening formal proceedings against the company,” said Almunia in a press release, adding, “If following our investigation, this breach is confirmed – and Microsoft seems to acknowledge the facts here – this could have severe consequences.”
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In May, Twitter sought to quash a subpoena for Occupy Wall Street protestor Malcolm Harris’s tweets, location, and other data over a 90-day period flanking his October 1st arrest for disorderly conduct on the Brooklyn Bridge. On Saturday, Judge Matthew Sciarrino Jr. upheld an earlier ruling that Harris himself had no standing to contest the subpoena, ruled that Harris had no expectation of privacy in a public tweet, and denied Twitter’s claim that the subpoena constituted an unreasonable burden on the company.
In short, only Twitter can fight a criminal court subpoena for user information, and for most requests for once-public information, the company will be expected by the court to hand it over. Unlike a privately sent email, “[t]here can be no reasonable expectation of privacy in a tweet sent around the world,” writes Judge Sciarrino Jr.
Sciarrino also makes it clear that in his opinion, the logic and implications of the ruling are not limited to Twitter alone, but all forms of social media.
It’s not the first time Twitter fought against giving away its users’ data in court.
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One of the perks of being an early employee...
Over the last 90 days, the Digg...
#FMMDI (at 30 Rockefeller Plaza)
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Not enough information: Chief Justice Helen Winkelman ruled that the 70 search warrants used to raid the home of, and confiscate property from, Megaupload.com founder Kim Dotcom were too vague to be valid. In the decision, Winkelman also ruled that the FBI broke the law when it took confiscated items outside of New Zealand’s borders. As a result, New Zealand’s Attorney General has been ordered to formally request the the return of any/all confiscated items. So, do you think Dotcom will end up coming out of this ordeal unscathed? (Photo via CBS Tech Talk) source
Unhappy with the Supreme Court’s decision to allow Arizona’s controversial “papers please” law to stand, while throwing out other provisions of the bill, Rep. Luis Gutierrez challenged his fellow lawmakers to pick celebrity immigrants from a lineup that included Selena Gomez, Justin Bieber, Ted Koppel, and even Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia and Sonia Sotomayor. During his remarks, Gutierrez told colleagues that Arizona’s SB1070 wasn’t just an issue for those who may look like immigrants, but for “every American who cares about freedom.” source
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Normally, these games are not played. You hand over discovery and let the facts speak. You don’t play hide the ball, and that’s what the government’s been doing.David Coombs, Attorney for Pfc. Bradley Manning • Accusing prosecutors not only of failing to disclose, but actively working to prevent the disclosure of information and evidence that could be vital to Manning’s legal team and defense. Yesterday, during a hearing at Fort Meade, military judge Colonel Denise Lind gave prosecutors until July 25 to provide Manning’s lawyers with a “due diligence statement” outlining the steps they’ve taken to disclose information over the last two years. In addition, Colonel Lind demanded that the CIA, FBI, Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive, state department, and other government agencies hand over any/all “damage assessments” related to the crimes Manning stands accused of. source (via • follow)
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