Legal Commentary

Thursday Afternoon Open Thread

By Jeralyn

We've got lots of posts up today but it seems everyone still wants to talk about Gates. There's many more important things going on in my opinion, but here's an open thread if you want to keep discussing it -- or anything else we haven't covered today.

There's new details on Karl Rove and investigation into the firing of U.S. Attorneys.

I'm going to be interviewing Manhattan District Attorney candidate Richard Aborn on Monday. Here is his stand on issues. If you have suggestions for questions I should ask him, let me know in comments. I like that his stance against our current drug policies include rehabilitation for both first and second time offenders: [more...]

It's time to stop ruining young people's lives because of a single mistake. It's time to repeal the Rockefeller Drug Laws and replace them with a sensible policy grounded in public health and common sense. Drug kingpins deserve prison. First and second-time non-violent offenders deserve an opportunity to rebuild their lives. And the families of offenders unfairly caught up in the draconian Rockefeller laws deserve to be reunited.

Seems good on juvenile crime as well, urging ""Intervention now avoids incarceration later." But I'd like to know more about what his policy would be on charging kids as adults.

And, on the death penalty:

Capital punishment is contrary to our values as New Yorkers. It is immoral and it is wrong. Richard has always opposed capital punishment, and has pledged to lead the effort against any attempt to revive it in New York.

And on white collar crime, I like this:

But white collar crime does not begin and end on Wall Street. Scams against the elderly, immigrant groups and others that prey on the most vulnerable will not be tolerated and will receive a swift response.

TChris wrote the other day that among the candidates, Aborn seems to be the strongest advocate of policy changes designed to curb wrongful convictions. All three candidates debated yesterday in New York.

Again, this is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on July 30, 2009 (boomark / email).