This was an interesting ruling. The judge ruled that a U.S. Border Patrol agent used excessive force when he fatally shot an illegal immigrant. At the same time, he reduced the award from $1 million to $350,000 because the guy was running from law enforcement. The reduction in money seems to say the agent was wrong — kind of.

By Jamar Younger
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
TUCSON — A U.S. District Court judge ruled Wednesday that the 2003 shooting death of an illegal immigrant by a Border Patrol agent was not justified, in response to a civil lawsuit filed by the man’s family.

The family of Ricardo Olivares Martinez, 22, will receive $350,000 after it was deemed that Border Patrol agent Cesar Cervantes used excessive force when he shot Martinez in the chest several times in June 2003, according to a decision written by Judge Raner Collins.

Martinez’s family originally was awarded $1 million, but Collins reduced the figure because Martinez was fleeing a law-enforcement officer, the decision stated.

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Ex-Gov. Eliot Spitzer

Ok. There’s two levels of interest when it comes to these documents. One level: Did the government have justification to go as far as it did to get wiretaps and follow Eliot Spitzer to the landmark hotel, the Mayflower, in Washington? The second level is purely fodder for the tabloids: Juicy details of the underground life of a high profile and sometimes abrasive politician who had a promising future in the Democratic party.

By William K. Rashbaum
New York Times
NEW YORK – Prosecutors of the prostitution case that exposed Eliot Spitzer as a client while he was governor are appealing a court order directing them to unseal records that may shed light on the origins of the investigation. The case led to Mr. Spitzer’s resignation as governor of New York in March 2008.

The Feb. 19 ruling by Jed S. Rakoff of United States District Court in Manhattan ordered the federal prosecutors to provide the records – including sworn affidavits that were part of wiretap applications in the case – to The New York Times, which in December filed a motion to unseal the material.

The prosecutors, from the United States attorney’s office in Manhattan, filed a notice in court on Monday saying that they would appeal Judge Rakoff’s ruling to the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, a decision that was made by senior Justice Department officials in Washington.

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OTHER STORIES OF INTEREST

• Judge Upholds Convictions in Ft. Dix Case, Angers Families (AP)
• North Dakota Man Gets 8 Months for Fertilizer Theft (AP)

Sounds like a good trade off, replacing the former head of ICE, who was well-connected but had little experience with someone who is less connected but more experienced. Not that it hurts to have connections here in Washington. But it shouldn’t override key things like experience.

By AllGov

If John Morton is confirmed as the head of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he will be a marked contrast to the last person to hold the post, President Bush’s appointee, Julie Myers.

Myers was well-connected, but had little experience. Morton, on the other hand, is a low-key career federal prosecutor who has handled immigration crime, and has quietly worked for the past 15 years for the Department of Justice (DOJ), helping develop policies attacking human smuggling and passport and visa fraud.

Morton began his career as a trial attorney in the Justice Department’s honors program in 1994, serving for two and a half years as counsel to the Deputy Attorney General and focusing primarily on immigration matters.

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The violent Mexican drug wars are spilling over the border into the U.S., particularly in border states. But now Canada is acknowledging that the violent activities are encroaching on the Canadian landscape. Now the question is: What to do?

COLIN FREEZE AND MARINA JIMÉNEZ
Toronto Globe and Mail
TORONTO – Mexico’s war on the drug cartels has become a national security issue for Canada, say Ottawa officials, as the violent backlash from the syndicates spills across the border into Canada and the U.S.

Security agencies, including the RCMP, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, and the Integrated Threat Assessment Centre, are concerned an organized-crime problem could turn into a full-fledged national security threat.

One official, who asked to speak anonymously, explained that “it’s all part of this river of drugs – and we’re one of the subsidiary streams.

“It’s going to impact on us,” he said, adding the issue “does receive national attention.”
The Globe and Mail

This week, the RCMP publicly described a series of B.C. gang murders as a Canadian echo of the bloody feuds among the Mexican drug cartels, notorious for beheading their enemies and bribing corrupt local officials.

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Related Story

Mexicans and Americans Getting Armor Plated Vehicles in Response to Violence (AP)

Karl Rove

Clearly the firings of 9 U.S. Attorneys during the Bush Administration was a low point for the Justice Department during that era. But just as shameful has been the efforts made by Bush Aides Karl Rove and Harriet Miers to avoid testifying before Congress to help clear up some questions. Finally something has been worked out. Let the fun begin.

By Carrie Johnson
Washington Post Staff Writer
WASHINGTON — Attorneys for former president George W. Bush, the U.S. House of Representatives and the Obama administration reached agreement yesterday to resolve a long-running dispute over the scope of executive power, a move that will allow lawmakers to question Bush aides Karl Rove and Harriet E. Miers about their roles in the firing of nine federal prosecutors in 2006.

The pact follows weeks of negotiations led by White House Counsel Gregory B. Craig, who wanted to avert a federal court showdown that could have restricted the authority of the president in future disputes with other branches of government.

Under the terms of the deal, former presidential adviser Rove and former White House lawyer Miers will testify before the House Judiciary Committee in transcribed interviews, under penalty of perjury, but without cameras, reporters or members of the public in attendance. The transcripts eventually will be published, the agreement said.

The settlement gives the Judiciary Committee access to long-sought internal documents prepared by the Bush White House and the Justice Department from December 2004 through March 2007 about the politically explosive firing of the nine prosecutors.

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Former Fired U.S. Atty. David Iglesias Comments on Latest Development (TPMmuckraker)

Here’s One of the Agreements Rove Worked Out Before Agreeing to Testify (TPMmuckraker)