Saturday, May 25, 2002

A New Name for My Blog . . . Gideon's Promise After some additional thought, I have decided on a new name for my blog.  "Gideon's Promise" is a reference to Clarence Earl Gideon the defendant in the case  in which the Supreme Court first held that the Sixth Amendment's right to counsel provision means that every criminal defendant should be provided with a lawyer, whether or not they have the ability to pay a lawyer.  Gideon v. Wainwright was decided in 1963 and has everything to do with our current practice that no person will be denied the right to effective assistance of counsel in a criminal case.  Gideon's story is well told in the classic Gideon's Trumpet by Anthony Lewis. 10:33:51 AM    comment [] Wiretapping run amok? When will we wake up.  We should all be bothered by the ever-increasing use of wiretapping powers.  With the New Patriot Act now in action this activity is only likely to increase.  At first we can take comfort in the hurdles necessary to secure a wiretap including the independant and careful review of a federal judge.  In fact, Title III (the federal wiretapping statute) requires that investigators and prosecutors make a showing of "necessity" before resorting to this investigative measure.  In other words that other less intrusive investigative measures have been tried and failed or are unlikely to succeed.  I think about this and feel better until I read: During 2001, "[n]o judge anywhere in the United States denied a police wiretap request." [A Busy Year for Big Brother - Wired News] This alongside a statement that tapping increased by 25% from 2000 to 2001.  Suddenly, I don't feel better anymore.   10:03:09 AM    comment []

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