White Nevada Judge Who Handcuffed An Indian Public Defender Now Banned From Ever Having The Job Again

HuffPost

A former Las Vegas justice of the peace who ordered a public defender to be handcuffed while arguing in court last year has been banned from ever serving as a judge in Nevada again, according to court documents filed by the state’s Commission on Judicial Discipline. 

Conrad Hafen agreed to public censure and admitted to violating state judicial code of conduct in four separate cases after complaints were filed against him, according to the judicial discipline committee’s order made public this week.

According to the court record, Hafen admitted that he he did not “act at all times in a manner that promotes public confidence in the independence, integrity and impartiality of the judiciary”; failed to “uphold the law” and perform his duties “fairly and impartially”; and failed to be “patient, dignified and courteous to jurors, witnesses, lawyers, court staff, court officials and others.”

The order cites four incidents wherein Hafen violated judicial code of conduct. The most prominent was when he placed Clark County Deputy Public Defender Zohra Bakhtary in handcuffs as she defended a client who faced jail for violating probation, a move that was widely condemned.

As Bakhtary tried to speak, Hafen told her to “be quiet“ and then ordered a court marshal to handcuff her and seat her in the jury box next to inmates. Hafen said he did it to teach Bakhtary “a lesson” about courtroom etiquette. Hafen then sentenced Bakhtary’s client to six months in jail.

Hafen filed a contempt order against Bakhtary about a week after having her handcuffed, but it was later overturned.

In addition, Hafen failed to file written contempt orders against three different defendants he had ordered to jail on contempt charges between 2014 and 2016. 

The discipline committee said Hafen had “abused his judicial authority by engaging in” such actions. 

A group of Nevada defense attorneys called for sanctions against Hafen shortly after the handcuffing incident, saying he has a “complete disregard for the law” and that he “demeaned and humiliated” Bakhtary in court. The Clark County Defenders Union, which represents about 100 public defenders in the county, including Bakhtary, also denounced Hafen’s actions, calling them “unreasonable and unprecedented.”

Then, just weeks after the handcuffing incident, Hafen ran for re-election and lost to criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor Amy Chelini. 

Fabricating Evidence: Orlando fingerprint examiner suspended - 2,600 cases possibly affected in latest police lab scandal

WashPost

Add Orlando to the list of jurisdictions plagued by potential misdeeds in the crime lab. A fingerprint examiner for the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, who worked more than 2,600 cases dating to 2001, has been removed from duty for reasons that aren’t totally clear. After prosecutors discovered that he was no longer working fingerprints, they also found that he’d been removed five months earlier and that the sheriff’s office hadn’t notified them.

The possible problems in Orlando join a growing number of forensic lab problems being exposed nationwide, including: faulty DNA testing at a crime lab in Austin; the dual drug lab scandals created by two miscreant analysts involving perhaps 50,000 cases at separate testing facilities in Massachusetts; allegations of slanting evidence at the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation; misconduct by a drug tester at the Oregon crime lab; nearly 15,000 faked drug tests at the New Jersey crime lab; more drug theft from the police-run crime lab in San Francisco; and the FBI’s admission in 2015 that its hair examiners gave flawed testimony in 95 percent of their cases before 2000. [MORE]

Kris Kobach: Wizard of Crosscheck Voter Purge Program, Border Wall, Muslim Ban & More Racist Nonsense

Bored Memphis Cops Accused of Spying on Black Protesters

Portland jury awards $750,000 to Black Man in Lawsuit Against Daimler Trucks for racial harassment

From [HERE] - A jury awarded $750,000 to a black man who said he felt intimidated by racial harassment at Daimler Trucks North America's manufacturing plant.

The Oregonian/OregonLive reports (https://goo.gl/dTwUP1 ) the jury found Wednesday that 59-year-old Victor Pierce had been subjected to a racially hostile work environment at the company's Western Star manufacturing plant in Portland.

Pierce worked there assembling heavy duty commercial trucks.

In one instance, Pierce saw a noose hanging in the cab of a truck moving down the assembly line.

Daimler's attorneys contended that Pierce exaggerated some of the encounters over the years and that when racism was involved, the company acted swiftly and effectively to end it.

Pierce said he felt vindicated by the verdict.

He is among at least 12 workers who have filed lawsuits or settled with the company over racial harassment complaints in recent years.

White Supremacy = The Cause For Achievement Gap Between White & Latino Students

Vibe

A new study administered by the Child Trends Hispanic Institute found that the racial achievement gap between Latinx and white students begins at kindergarten, Fusion reports.

The study, “Making Math Count More For Young Latino Children,” examined specifically the two group performances on math scores. The research proved that Latinx children’s math skills were behind those of their white counterparts by a span of three months. This means that if a white and Latinx student both start school at the same time, it would take the Latinx kindergartner three months to catch up to where the white student stands academically.

The data stems from a national sample and concludes that poverty is one of the main factors that influence the inequality. It’s estimated that at least half of the study’s Latinx participants live in poverty. Therefore, they were twice than likely to be poor than their white classmates. Yet after counting income level as a factor, researchers found that Latinx and white students learn math within the same juncture.

David Murphery, one of the report’s authors, says that placing a stereotype on the less privileged for their backgrounds and social-economical statuses holds them back.

“We know that when teachers, parents, communities, and the culture at large hold negative stereotypes (including low academic expectations) of minority-group members and don’t positively affirm cultural diversity, their performance suffers,” Murphey told The Atlantic. “This sort of bias has a long historical legacy and will not be quickly undone.”

This is why it’s important to address these issues, but also become proactive in helping to bridge the gap. The researchers also found that Latinx children who have more access to books tend to progress more in a academic setting.

Additionally, back in 2014, the Pew Research Center reported that, one in four American kindergarteners are Latinx—especially in states like New York, Massachusetts, Florida, Texas, Washington and California.

That said, the Child Trends researchers predict that, “Achievement gaps will no longer be issues solely of equity and justice, but will threaten our nation’s ability to maintain our position as a global leader.”

More needs to be done.

NAACP launches national economic boycott of NC

Claiming people are being paid to riot Arizona Republican Run Senate votes to seize assets of those who plan, participate in protests that turn violent

AzCapitolTimes

Claiming people are being paid to riot, Republican state senators voted Wednesday to give police new power to arrest anyone who is involved in a peaceful demonstration that may turn bad — even before anything actually happened.

SB1142 expands the state’s racketeering laws, now aimed at organized crime, to also include rioting. And it redefines what constitutes rioting to include actions that result in damage to the property of others.

But the real heart of the legislation is what Democrats say is the guilt by association — and giving the government the right to criminally prosecute and seize the assets of everyone who planned a protest and everyone who participated. And what’s worse, said Sen. Steve Farley, D-Tucson, is that the person who may have broken a window, triggering the claim there was a riot, might actually not be a member of the group but someone from the other side.

Sen. Martin Quezada, D-Phoenix, acknowledged that sometimes what’s planned as a peaceful demonstration can go south.

“When people want to express themselves as a group during a time of turmoil, during a time of controversy, during a time of high emotions, that’s exactly when people gather as a community,’’ he said. “Sometimes they yell, sometimes they scream, sometimes they do go too far.’’

Quezada said, though, that everything that constitutes rioting already is a crime, ranging from assault to criminal damage, and those responsible can be individually prosecuted. He said the purpose of this bill appears to be designed to chill the First Amendment rights of people to decide to demonstrate in the first place for fear something could wrong.

But Sen. John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, said that chilling effect is aimed at a very specific group of protesters.

“You now have a situation where you have full-time, almost professional agent-provocateurs that attempt to create public disorder,’’ he said.

“A lot of them are ideologues, some of them are anarchists,’’ Kavanagh continued. “But this stuff is all planned.’’

There’s something else: By including rioting in racketeering laws, it actually permits police to arrest those who are planning events. And Kavanagh, a former police officer, said if there are organized groups, “I should certainly hope that our law enforcement people have some undercover people there.’’

“Wouldn’t you rather stop a riot before it starts?’’ Kavanagh asked colleagues during debate. “Do you really want to wait until people are injuring each other, throwing Molotov cocktails, picking up barricades and smashing them through businesses in downtown Phoenix?’’

Sen. Sylvia Allen, R-Snowflake, said the new criminal laws are necessary.

“I have been heartsick with what’s been going on in our country, what young people are being encouraged to do,’’ she said.

She agreed with Quezada that there already are laws that cover overt acts. But Allen said they don’t work.

“If they get thrown in jail, somebody pays to get them out,’’ she said. “There has to be something to deter them from that.’’

Farley, however, said the legislation does far more than simply going after those who might incite people to riot, something which actually already is a crime. And he warned Republicans that such a broad law could end up being used against some of their allies.

For example, he said, a “Tea Party’’ group wanting to protest a property tax hike might get permits, publicize the event and have a peaceful demonstration.

“And one person, possibly from the other side, starts breaking the windows of a car,’’ Farley said.

“And all of a sudden the organizers of that march, the local Tea Party, are going to be under indictment from the county attorney in the county that raised those property taxes,’’ he said. “That will have a chilling effect on anybody, right or left, who wants to protest something the government has done.’’

Sen. Katie Hobbs, D-Phoenix, said the whole legislation is based on a false premise of how disturbances happen.

“This idea that people are being paid to come out and do that?’’ she said. “I’m sorry, but I think that is fake news.’’

Sen. Andrea Dalessandro, D-Green Valley, had her own concerns.

“I’m fearful that ‘riot’ is in the eyes of the beholder and that this bill will apply more strictly to minorities and people trying to have their voice heard,’’ she said.

The 17-13 party-line vote sends the bill to the House.

Water Protectors Vow Continued Resistance to #DAPL as Main Camp Is Evicted

Democracy Now

In North Dakota, the main resistance camp set up by Lakota water protectors fighting the $3.8 billion Dakota Access pipeline has been largely vacated after protesters were ordered to leave the camp on Wednesday. Police arrested around 10 people. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the North Dakota governor had imposed a noon eviction deadline for the hundreds of water protectors still living at the resistance camp. Prayers ceremonies were held on Wednesday, and part of the camp was set on fire before the eviction began. Water protectors say the resistance camp sits on unceded Sioux territory under the 1851 Treaty of Fort Laramie and that they have a right to remain on their ancestral land. A couple dozen people remain at the camp. The ongoing encampments in North Dakota were the largest gathering of Native Americans in decades. At its peak, more than 10,000 people were at the resistance camp. Earlier this month, construction crews resumed work on the final section of the pipeline, after the Trump administration granted an easement to allow Energy Transfer Partners to drill beneath the Missouri River. We go to Standing Rock to speak with LaDonna Brave Bull Allard and Linda Black Elk.

Days After Pruitt Becomes EPA Head, Newly Released Emails Show His Ties to Koch Bros. & Energy Firms

Democracy Now

Thousands of pages of newly released emails reveal how EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt closely collaborated with oil, coal and gas companies backed by the Koch brothers to roll back environmental regulations during his time as Oklahoma attorney general. The documents were released just days after Pruitt was sworn in as the new head of the EPA, the agency tasked with curtailing pollution and safeguarding public health. Last week, Senate Democrats unsuccessfully attempted to postpone Pruitt’s final confirmation until the emails were released, but Republicans pressed forward and confirmed him in a 52-46 vote, largely along party lines. As Oklahoma attorney general, Pruitt sued the EPA 14 times. The trove of new documents shows how energy companies drafted language for Pruitt’s Attorney General’s Office to use to sue the EPA over environmental regulations. We speak to Lisa Graves, executive director of the Center for Media and Democracy, which successfully sued for the emails to be released.

"Dr. Cornel West vs. Malik Shabazz Which Way Under President Trump?"

Millions of fraudulent voters, my a**! Palast follows The Donald’s money

From [GregPalast] Get the non-fake info, then join the conversation with investigative reporter Greg Palast.

Palast says,

"It’s no joke—and it’s far more sinister than a mere "lie."

"The US press has done a good job exposing President Trump’s looney-toons claim that millions of votes were cast against him.

"But what’s missing is what’s behind Trump’s claim — and it’s not just his cranky, whining ego looking to erase the embarrassment of losing the popular vote.

"We are witnessing the crafting of a systematic plan to steal the 2018 midterm election."

And that’s not all:

Did anyone notice that in the middle of Trump’s psycho-drama of a press conference, he said, "…I want to thank Paul Singer for being here and coming up to the Oval Office."

Those are the most dangerous words Trump has uttered since [MORE]

When people of color try to rent housing in Seattle, they’re treated differently from white people [Racism/White Supremacy Can Never Be Integrated]

From [HERE] The Seattle Office of Civil Rights confirmed this hunch in 2016, when the city compared reports from white housing testers and black housing testers. In over 60 percent of cases, there was some evidence of bias, said Patricia Lally, director of the Seattle Office of Civil Rights.

Now the office says there’s a growing trend of housing discrimination against Muslims.

But landlords may not realize that they're discriminating against people of color; Lally says housing discrimination in Seattle is insidious.

“In the City of Seattle, we don't acknowledge our bias and very often a landlord may not even be conscious of their implicit bias,” Lally said.

She said her office does trainings to educate landlords about the law, but renters need to be aware as well.

“An African-American family might be told about the need for their credit history. They may be told that they have to do a criminal history background check,” Lally said.

That’s okay if every prospective renter gets the same treatment. It’s a problem if they don’t. 

“How would they know that the landlord did not show them all of the units that were available? They may walk away with disappointment,” Lally said. “They may walk away with suspicion. But it typically isn't enough for that person to come into our office. That's why we do testing.”

Jasmin Samy, with the Seattle chapter of the Council  for American Islamic Relations, or CAIR, said she has also noticed that Muslims are experiencing more housing discrimination. In some cases, she said the discrimination has gone on for years, but people are reluctant to come forward.

Samy explained a Muslim renter’s thinking: “‘We don't want trouble. We found a house. It's a good rent. What if the manager is giving me a hard time because of my parking spot, or if they're being mean to me? I just want to live.’”

Of the nearly 200 civil rights cases investigated by the city each year, more than 40 percent involve housing. Nearly all settle, and in some cases the victim receives a monetary award.

For a landlord, being investigated for discrimination can be an expensive problem. Sean Martin of the Rental Housing Association of Washington said it’s critical for rental property owners to understand the law and adhere to it.

“A complaint alone, even if it proves to be unfounded, you're looking at thousands of dollars in legal costs just to defend your good name,” Martin said. “Always being proactive in preventing any problems coming up in the first place is definitely the best way to go. “

Martin said his association works closely with the city’s Office of Civil Rights to provide training for rental property owners.

Because when landlords get dinged, they’re often surprised, chagrined and interested in what they can do to make their application process fair.

It’s a start, Lally said. But moving the needle on discrimination may require more than laws.

“We've had some of these laws on the books for many, many years,” she said. “And yet discrimination continues in the most progressive city in America.” 

If You Received This Notice You Are a Trump Protester: 'Apple Inc. received a legal request from US Attorney’s Office requesting information regarding your Apple account'

From [Raw Story] Law enforcement is compelling Apple and Facebook to hand over the personal information of users who were mass arrested at protests against the inauguration of Donald Trump in Washington, D.C., AlterNet has confirmed. The tech giants appear to be complying with the data-mining requests, amid mounting concerns over the heavy-handed crackdown against the more than 200 people detained on January 20, among them journalists, legal observers and medics.

“This is part of an increasing trend of law enforcement attempting to turn the internet, instead of technology for freedom, into technology for control,” Evan Greer, the campaign director for Fight for the Future, told AlterNet. “This trend started long before Trump and seems to be escalating and growing in scale now.”

More than 200 of those picked up in the sweep at the anti-fascist, anti-capitalist bloc have been hit with felony riot charges, which carry penalties of up to ten years in prison and a $25,000 fine. Because the arrests took place in Washington, D.C., the cases are being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, which is directly accountable to the Department of Justice, now overseen by the notorious white supremacist Jeff Sessions.

Mark Goldstone, a National Lawyers Guild-affiliated attorney who is representing numerous defendants in the case, told AlterNet that “several” of his clients have been contacted by Facebook and Apple and informed that their personal information has been requested by law enforcement.

AlterNet viewed a “customer notice” email sent on February 14 by Apple to one of the defendants, who requested anonymity due to the ongoing charges. “On 2017-01-27, Apple Inc. (‘Apple’) received a legal request from United States Attorney’s Office requesting information regarding your Apple account,” the message states.

The communication states that “Apple will be producing the requested data in a timely manner as required by the legal process.”

The individual who received the notice told AlterNet, “My phone wasn’t present at the time of arrest and wasn’t taken.” That individual does not know whether the data has been handed over to prosecutors.

“I wasn’t surprised by it, but it was also very unsettling and made me feel very vulnerable and exposed,” the individual said. “That some federal grunt could be looking through old texts, personal stuff and selfies. This is exposing and gross and creepy.”

Goldstone emphasized, “It’s an outrageous overreach by the government to try to data-mine personal property that wasn’t even seized at the demonstration. This will be fought vigorously.”

AlterNet also viewed a statement sent from Facebook on February 3 to an anonymous defendant. “We have received legal process from law enforcement seeking information about your Facebook account,” states the email, sent from the company’s records office.

“If we do not receive a copy of documentation that you have filed in court challenging this legal process within ten (10) days, we will respond to the requesting agency with information about the requested Facebook account,” the letter continues. “We may need to respond to this legal request within less than ten (10) days if we have a reasonable belief that we are legally required to do so.”

Stephanie Lacambra, a criminal defense staff attorney for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, told AlterNet that, in addition to Facebook and Apple, Google has also been sent requests for information by law enforcement. None of the companies responded to a request for an interview.

‘What is the government doing with the data?’

It is not immediately clear what information law enforcement has requested and under what legal justification.

“The most invasive form of surveillance is a warrant. A judge could authorize police to look through every bite of data on someone’s Facebook account,” Michael Price, counsel for the Liberty and National Security Program at the Brennan Center for Justice, told AlterNet. “A 2703(d) court order allows police to get metadata about communications, and that could possibly include location information about when communications took place and when a phone was connected to cell tower. A national security letter allows police to get that information but does not require a court order.”

According to Lacambra, law enforcement could be accessing “surface information like user names, the registration information that was collected and the metadata on the last time of login and duration of service.” Or, they could be searching “information stored in Apple iCloud, contacts, the content of emails, any number of photos that are stored there.”

“I don’t know the scope of information,” she said, “because I don’t know what legal instrument was used.”

Goldstone, the defense attorney, said he was not informed of what legal justification law enforcement invoked to seize the information. “No one has said or sent anything to me,” he explained.

The Metropolitan Police Department and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia both refused to comment, citing the pending investigation.

According to Price, “As a general matter, it is not uncommon for law enforcement to seek information from a third-party service provider like Apple or Facebook. It happens all the time.”

“One of my biggest concerns,” he said, “is that police will attempt to use electronic surveillance to get information about the people who were at the protest, in order to compile a list of the people who were present. Is that information going to be mined and used for other purposes? What is the government doing with the data? Are they going to store it? Are they going to send it to an intelligence analyst?”

Lacambra said the investigation raises disturbing questions. “Why is the Department of Justice trying to intrude into the digital lives of people exercising their rights to protest?” she asked. “Is this to intimidate, silence or threaten people for exercising their constitutional rights? When you arrest 230 people, some of whom are medics and legal observers, and try to systematically get to the content of their digital life, that is troubling.”

The anti-capitalist, anti-fascist bloc was part of a day of disruptive protests across Washington, D.C., and the world, to interrupt business as usual and register opposition to the rise of Donald Trump, whose cabinet has aggressively delivered on his white supremacist campaign pledges. Since Trump took the White House, millions have taken to the streets, flocked to airports and mobilized to defend their neighborhoods and communities against a multi-pronged assault.

‘People should be paying close attention’

Some of the arrestees were already suspicious that police had searched their phones, which were seized by police. Those phones are still being held as evidence, according to legal support volunteers.

AlterNet spoke with a journalist who was arrested on January 20 and requested anonymity. He sent AlterNet a screenshot of his Google account, which shows that while he was detained and his phone was in police custody, there was activity on his account. AlterNet confirmed that the login occurred while the phone was in police custody by viewing a property receipt issued to the journalist by the MPD. The journalist says his phone is password protected.

This mysterious account activity is similar to activity on the account of an unidentified medic, reported by George Joseph of CityLab. As in the case of the journalist, the medic spotted activity on his account while the phone was in police custody. Joseph notes that a screenshot of the activity “suggests that police began mining information from the captured cellphones almost immediately after the arrests.”

Goldstone, who has defended protesters in Washington, D.C., for more than 30 years, underscored that he has “never seen phones seized at protests, let alone phones that were not part of a protest.”

He also said that he has “never seen a felony riot charge in Washington, D.C., let alone more than 200 of them.” According to news reports, 214 people have been indicted for these charges so far, indicating that the prosecution plans to move forward with the bulk of the charges.

“We’re in a dangerous new world,” he declared.

Those arrested in the sweep already reported heavy violence at the hands of the MPD, which is overseen by Chief Peter Newsham, who has a troubling history of kettling and mass arresting people in the proximity of protests.

On January 20, Washington, D.C.-based lawyer Jeffrey Light filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of those detained charging that “Without warning and without any dispersal order, the police officers kettled all of the plaintiffs.” The lawsuit states, “Defendants John Doe MPD Officers and/or John Doe Park Police Officers deployed a large amount of chemical irritants against the plaintiffs, as well as struck multiple plaintiffs with their batons, and deployed flash-bang grenades.”

The anonymous journalist told AlterNet that, while covering the protests, he was sprayed in the face with what he believes was OC gas. “Two flash-bang grenades fell within three or four feet of me. I had tinnitus in my ears for a couple of minutes. I yelled out for a medic, and by the time I could see, we were completely kettled. I was incapacitated. I had a press badge and tried to tell them I was press.”

AlterNet spoke with one anonymous arrestee who said that, at the police academy where arrestees were taken for processing, he received a “two-knuckle-deep cavity search.” He noted, “I didn’t see any reason for it.”

According to Greer, the police crackdown is “unquestionably an attempt to silence dissent, frighten people and keep them off of the streets. But I wouldn’t call it new. Anyone who has been involved in activist movements for more than a few years has seen this before.”

In recent weeks, Republican lawmakers across the country have introduced state-level bills aimed at criminalizing protests. One piece of proposed legislation in Washington state calls for certain acts of civil disobedience to be classified as “economic terrorism.” North Dakota lawmakers introduced a bill that would make it lawful for motorists to hit and kill protesters staging acts of civil disobedience obstructing highways, as long as the cause is “negligence.” The legislation is clearly aimed at the Black Lives Matter movement, which has staged acts of civil disobedience across the country.

Meanwhile, police departments have long been building up their capacity for surveillance. A 10-month investigation by CityLabs.com, a project of The Atlantic, revealed earlier this month that “major police departments around the country are spending millions on cellphone spy tools that can be used to build up massive surveillance databases—with few rules about what happens to the data they capture.” According to the investigation, most of the major police departments in the United States have either cell phone interception devices and/or “cell phone extraction devices, used to crack open locked phones that are in police possession and scoop out all sorts of private communications and content.”

In light of this climate, the fact that tech giants like Google, Apple and Facebook store large amounts of personal data is sparking concerns.

“Tech companies are building business models based on collecting large amounts of personal information and then failing to protect that information from the government and others who attempt to access it,” said Greer, who attended the January 20 protests in Washington, D.C. “People should be paying close attention and be concerned.”

LA religious leaders create network to hide immigrants

The Hill

The Religious leaders in Los Angeles are forming an underground network of homes as part of an effort to provide shelter for families facing deportation, CNN reported Thursday.

According to CNN, the "Rapid Response Team" network could shelter hundreds and potentially thousands of illegal immigrants across Southern California.

"That's what we need to do as a community to keep families together," said Pastor Ada Valiente, after showing CNN a house that is ready to host three families.

Similar services for immigrant families are already being provided by numerous churches and religious buildings in the area.

According to CNN, this Rapid Response Team seeks to go beyond the existing measures.

Another participant who did not want to be identified told CNN he will do everything in his power to protect his guests if immigration authorities come knocking on his door.

"I definitely won't let them in. That's our legal right," he said. "If they have a warrant, then they can come in. I can imagine that could be scary, but I feel the consequences of being passive in this moment is a little scary."

Under President Obama, the authority of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials was limited at various religious locations.

Members of the new underground network have voiced skepticism that the policy will last under President Trump.

This week, the new administration presented a plan to increase domestic deportations, expanding those who may be targeted by ICE.