"Police Camera turned off" should be considered exculpatory evidence in all cases unless there's a damn good reason for it.
On the topic of policing, one potential roadblock for blue states expanding official sanctuary policies is 8 USC 1373, which says "a Federal, State, or local government entity or official may not prohibit, or in any way restrict, any government entity or official from sending to, or receiving from, the Immigration and Naturalization Service information regarding the citizenship or immigration status, lawful or unlawful, of any individual." At the moment the proponents seem to be saying they're only barring official resources (phones, email, databases) from being used for such communications, not barring such communication at all.
But lawyers: doesn't that language possibly violate the anti-commandeering principle? I realize federal immigration law occupies the field and preempts even concurrent state laws, as when SB1070 was struck down, but how does the federal government have the authority to force states to participate in enforcing federal law if they don't want to?
If they do, wouldn't that make marijuana legalization at the state level moot?
Oops, I should have searched for that keyword before posting 4. It looks like that is not a new idea, and there is more for me to read on it.
Jesus, it's like a James Lee Burke novel.
5: That has come up locally - some city or county tried to arrest people for marijuana offenses under federal law, and on appeal the CA Supreme Court told them they couldn't do that.
Obviously criminal police department, commits additional crime is a pretty plausible story.
doesn't that language possibly violate the anti-commandeering principle?
I don't think so: it doesn't affirmatively require states/cities to do anything, which is all anti-commandeering covers. It doesn't "force states to participate in enforcing federal law", it just prohibits policies that would forbid officials down the chain from sharing immigration status info with ICE if they felt like it. Which is shitty, but shouldn't really systematically get in the way of most sanctuary city policies (like prohibiting officials from checking status in the first place, refusing to help with ICE detainers, refusing to tell ICE when someone they're interested in is going to be released). Though I expect DOJ will rely on what Jeff Sessions sees as 1373 violations to withhold grants.
10: OK, thanks. I still think it's screwy - officials are agents of the state, to elevate their preferences over the state's expressed policy is very close to requiring action - but IANAL. And it makes the new defense - it's how we spend state money - make more sense. But then Congress probably nevertheless has the authority to cut off law enforcement grants as a penalty.
Small town Louisiana so who knows what goes on down in those places. But this article is not where we're going to get an accurate picture.
But the man best suited to investigate the strange death of Victor White III -- the man with the most intimate knowledge of New Iberia, its legacy of racial conspiracy, the inner workings of the sheriff's office -- was the victim's father.
Would it kill this fool to pretend to be writing a piece of journalism and not a pitch for a shitty crime drama?
The incidents brought up in the federal indictment sound a lot more plausible than this supposed murder. If the police are going to murder you and plant a throw down gun they're not driving you to the police station parking lot to shoot you while you're handcuffed in a police car.
12 I think your theory depends on these particular cops not being as dumb as some of the dumb criminals we've heard of, impunity can lead to hubris.