[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Brian Leubitz
Founder and Publisher
Calitics

It would be odd, as that's you know, against the law. However, we have multiple reports of the San Diego sheriff handing over "suspected illegal aliens" to border patrol agents. So, as it currently stands, several neighborhoods have checkpoints to enter, purportedly to prevent looting. However, if undocumented immigrants enter, the Sheriff intends to hand them over to Border Patrol agents.

Not only is this unwise and a poor use of resources, but it is also likely illegal. Below, I've posted a press release from the ACLU with more details (hat tip to NarcoSphere). Concerned community leaders are urged to communicate with Sheriff Kolender and Undersheriff Bill Gore at (858) 974-2250 or bill.Gore@sdsheriff.org.

According to the San Diego ACLU:

• As evacuation orders are lifted on San Diego County communities, Sheriff Kolender plans to check i.d. of returning residents at checkpoints and continue his practice of detaining and handing over people suspected of being undocumented to U.S. Border Patrol.

by Brian Leubitz [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

It would be odd, as that's you know, against the law.  However, we have multiple reports of the San Diego sheriff handing over "suspected illegal aliens" to border patrol agents. So, as it currently stands, several neighborhoods have checkpoints to enter, purportedly to prevent looting. However, if undocumented immigrants enter, the Sheriff intends to hand them over to Border Patrol agents.

Not only is this unwise and a poor use of resources, but it is also likely illegal. Over the flip, I've posted a press release from the ACLU with more details (h/t to NarcoSphere).  Concerned community leaders  are urged to communicate with Sheriff Kolender and Undersheriff Bill Gore at (858) 974-2250 or bill.Gore@sdsheriff.org.

According to the San Diego ACLU:

by Julia Rosen [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

A federal court in the Northern District of California has dismissed the lawsuit lodged by officials seeking damages from six automakers for theircontributions to global warming. "The Court finds that injecting itselfinto the global warming thicket at this juncture would require aninitial policy determination of the type reserved for the politicalbranches of government," Judge Martin Jenkins wrote.

Consumer protection? Who needs it! Senator George Runner(R-Lancaster) used a parliamentary trick to stall the popcorn chemicalbill. Runner voted for the bill, then (as a supporter) asked for arevote. The maneuver put the legislation on hold until the Legislaturereconvenes in January 2008.

San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed has moved to limit the city's police auditor's power to independently investigate deaths caused by use of force. Commentingon the move, Mark Schlosberg of the ACLU of Northern California said,"Secrecy breeds mistrust, openness breeds trust."

There's more...

Image courtesy of Google. 

by David Dayen [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

Today is Constitution Day.  Calitics and the ACLU Southern California are partnering on a Campaign for Our Constitution.  Today we'll hear from Glenn Greenwald and Cenk Ugyur of the radio program "The Young Turks" talking about the need to restore our Constitutional freedoms in the age of Bush.  The details are here.  You need to sign up for the call at OurConstitution.net.

Thanks.

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

A letter from the ACLU of Northern California reminds us that there's more going on these last few weeks of session than budget obstructionism aftershocks and health care reform. California is also at the epicenter of the most important civil rights movement of our generation. Here's a letter from Maya Harris, the ACLU-NC's executive director, to explain:

Dear ACLU-NC Activist,

Over the next several weeks, we will be emailing you to take action urging Governor Schwarzenegger to sign legislation sponsored by the ACLU of Northern California. Last year, our top five pieces of legislation were vetoed by this Governor. Please make your voice heard by taking action now, and during the month of September, to support important civil liberties legislation.

This week, we are urging Governor Schwarzenegger to sign important legislation regarding same-sex couples because under California’s comprehensive domestic partnership law, if a same-sex couple steps outside of California borders, they are considered "legal strangers". Each day, same-sex couples are denied the 1,138 federal rights and responsibilities afforded to married couples.

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[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

As the Governor and Assembly Republicans fall over one another to prevent the courts from ending our absurd penchant for excessive imprisonment to prove we’re tough on crime -- costs and effectiveness be damned -- at least three State Senators want to provide a whiff of sanity to our criminal justice process. Explains Natasha Minsker, an attorney with the ACLU of Northern California:

"Convicting the guilty while protecting the innocent is the most fundamental goal of our criminal justice system. Yet, all too often, we fall short. …

DNA evidence has proven some of our mistakes, but it is not the magic bullet that will prevent these mistakes in the future. DNA evidence is available in less than 15% of cases. That’s why we need to fix the problems that send innocent people to prison.

Three bills currently in the California Legislature would help prevent the most common causes of wrongful conviction:

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