Zimmerman Jury Selected, Testimony Starts This Week

George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - The trial of George Zimmerman started in earnest this week in Sanford, Fla., where he killed unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin. A jury of six women - five white and one Black Hispanic – has been set to hear the case.

The proceedings culminate more than a year of protests and debate over the racially charged case in which 17-year-old Martin, who is Black, was shot while walking home to his father’s house after going to a neighborhood store for iced tea and Skittles.

Police tapes appear to make it clear that Zimmerman, a White Hispanic Neighborhood Watch captain, pursued Martin, profiling him as a troublemaker. The key question that the jury must solve is whether Zimmerman should be found guilty of second degree murder or whether he was acting in self-defense after a struggle ensued between the two.

Judge Debra Nelson has ruled out expert testimony on whether it was Zimmerman or Martin screaming for help, heard in the background on police 911 tapes. Two experts had said it is Trayvon Martin’s voice. But, an FBI analyst said the recording is too short for that opinion to be conclusive.

Despite the ruling against expert testimony on the audio, relatives of either Martin or Zimmerman are allowed to testify whose voice they believe it is, including Martin’s mother.

The high profile case is being viewed as yet another hallmark of racism in America, where Black men are often victims of police profiling and brutality.

June 23, 1013

Judge Accused of Making Racial Comments Under Review

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - A council of federal judges in Washington will look into a misconduct complaint against a conservative judge who’s alleged to have made racially discriminatory comments.

Judge Edith Jones of the New Orleans-based U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals allegedly said at a speech in February that were racially offensive to Blacks and Latinos. 

On Wednesday, U.S. Supreme Court Chief Judge John Roberts assigned the complaint to the District of Columbia Circuit after the 5th Circuit asked that it be transferred.

The council can take several actions, ranging from a public reprimand to referring the case to the national Judicial Conference of the United States, if the council believes the conduct is grounds for impeachment.

A coalition of civil rights organizations filed a judicial misconduct complaint on June 4 against Judge Jones for comments she allegedly made during a speech that are seen as discriminatory, The Associated Press reported.

Judge Edith Jones, a member of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals addressed the University of Pennsylvania law school on Feb. 20. Her comments were not recorded, but five students and one attorney who were in attendance signed affidavits on what was said.

Those affidavits were used to generate a 12-page complaint filed in New Orleans stating that Jones “has engaged in conduct that is prejudicial to the effective and expeditious administration of the business of the courts, undermines public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary, and creates a strong appearance of impropriety.”

Jones, 64, is accused of saying that certain “racial groups like African Americans and Hispanics are predisposed to crime,” and are “prone to commit acts of violence” and be involved in more violent and “heinous” crimes than people of other ethnicities.

The judge also allegedly said Mexicans would prefer to be on death row in the United States than serving prison terms in their native country, and that it’s an insult for the U.S. to look to the laws of other countries such as Mexico.

The complaint also states that Jones said defendants’ claims of racism, innocence, arbitrariness, and violations of international law and treaties are just “red herrings” used by opponents of the death penalty, and that claims of “mental retardation” by capital defendants disgust her. The fact that those defendants were convicted of a capital crime is sufficient to prove they are not “mentally retarded,” the complaint alleges Jones to have said.

And it alleges she said a death sentence provides a service to capital-case defendants because they are likely to make peace with God only just before their execution.

A message from The Associated Press seeking comment left at Jones’ law office in Houston was not returned June 4. Appointed by President Ronald Reagan, Jones has served on the court since 1985 and was its chief justice for seven years, until October 2012.

“Students were appalled by her speech,” Katie Naranjo, a spokeswoman for the coalition, which includes the Mexican Capital Legal Assistance Program, the League of United Latin American Citizens and the Texas Civil Rights Project, told The Associated Press.

Also included in the complaint are the Austin chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the National Bar Association’s Houston affiliate.

Naranjo said the coalition is demanding an investigation. She said it took months for those who heard Jones’ comments to contact lawyers and verify that they could warrant a formal complaint. It also took time to compile the affidavits, she said.

The coalition said Jones’ comments resembled those made during the trial of Duane Buck, a Black Texan sentenced to death in 1997 for the murder of his former girlfriend and another man.

At Buck’s trial, a state psychologist listed race as one of several factors in describing the danger he would continue to pose. Though the psychologist was called to the stand by defense lawyers, a prosecutor emphasized the testimony in her closing argument.

Later, John Cornyn, then Texas attorney general, identified the case as among six in which race had played an inappropriate role in imposing death sentences. The other inmates all received new sentencing hearings, and they’ve all been resentenced to death. Buck hasn’t received a new hearing.

“Judge Jones’ comments are frighteningly similar to those that violated Duane Buck’s constitutional rights,” Christina Swarns, one of Buck’s lawyers and director of the Criminal Justice Project of the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, said in a statement.

U.S. Congressman Cedric Richmond, D-La., was among those calling for a full investigation of Judge Jones’ comments. In a letter last week to U.S. with Circuit Court of Appeals Chief Judge Carl Stewart, Congressman Richmond demanded a “full and swift” investigation into the remarks allegedly made by Judge Jones

“The alleged statements, if true, demonstrate personal racial and religious bias as well as questionable legal analysis,” Richmond wrote. “These biases are incredibly inappropriate for a sitting jurist at any level, let alone a former chief judge at one of the highest level Article II Courts of Appeal.”

In a recent article about Jones’ comments, The Austin Chronicle reported an analysis by James McCormack, a legal ethicist, former general counsel and chief disciplinary counsel for the State Bar of Texas, who wrote in a recent legal affidavit “that the content of Jones’ speech violates a number of ethical provisions within the judicial code of conduct – including the duty to be impartial; to avoid comment on pending, or impending cases; to be respectful and ‘avoid comment or behavior that could be interpreted as harassment, prejudice or bias’; and to avoid participating in ‘extrajudicial activities that detract from the dignity’ of the judge’s office or would ‘reflect adversely on the judge’s impartiality.’ In sum, McCormack concluded that Jones has engaged in ‘cognizable misconduct,’ he wrote. ‘Her inflammatory remarks evince bias and prejudice and serve to lower public confidence in our judiciary,’ reads the affidavit. ‘I view this episode as a very sad and unfortunate chapter in the history of our federal judiciary. Most federal judges strive mightily to act fairly and impartially and to strengthen, rather than erode, public confidence in our system of justice,’ he continued. ‘Judge Jones’s conduct militates in the opposite direction. In my opinion, unless an appropriate disciplinary authority strongly disapproves of … Jones’ statements and properly addresses her flagrant misconduct, our judicial system – and our federal appellate courts in particular – will suffer the consequences of diminished public respect and confidence’.”

“As someone who has both defended and charged federal judges in cases of misconduct, this complaint is impressive — an extraordinary collection of allegations that will test the often criticized ability of the federal courts to police themselves,” Jonathan Turley, a George Washington University law professor and former Tulane University law professor, was quoted as saying. “Some of these statements attributed to Jones are quite bizarre like the suggestion of the death penalty as necessary to bring defendants closer to God (though that statement could have been made in jest or sarcasm).”

The complaint against Judge Edith Jones was sent to U,S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals Chief Judge Carl Stewart. The coalition of civil rights organizations who filed the complaint against Judge Jones asked that the complaint be referred to another circuit for consideration – which, since granted, removes the matter from Stewart and the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.

More than 1,000 judicial complaints were reportedly filed each year since 2009, with 1,404 filed in 2011 – the most recent year for which complete numbers are available.

“According to federal statistics, the majority of complaints were filed against federal district judges,” The Austin Chronicle reported. “Most of those were made in response to alleged ‘erroneous decisions, other misconduct, personal bias against the litigants or attorneys, or violations of other standards,’ according to a report by the Administrative Office of the United States Courts. Forty-percent of those complaints were filed by prison inmates. In all, just two dozen complaints received by circuit chief judges were resolved – including cases where corrective action was taken. At the end of the year, 912 cases were still pending; none of the 2011 complaints were referred to a special investigating committee for consideration. After a special committee has completed its investigation, the results are filed with the judicial council, a disciplinary arm of the federal courts. Of the complaints considered in 2011 by judicial council, 644 were concluded after the panel agreed with the chief judge’s initial decision.”

Jones, a University of Texas Law School graduate, is an opponent of abortion rights and was nominated by President Ronald Reagan in 1985. She was twice mentioned as a potential nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court.

Judge Edith Jones was part of a three-judge panel from the U.S. Fifth Circuit of Appeals that temporarily granted New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu’s request for a stay of the NOPD consent decree in late May. Just days later on June 5, however, the 5th Circuit sided with the U.S. Department of Justice and allowed the consent decree designed to implement a complete overhaul of the New Orleans Police Department to move forward.

The New Orleans branch of the NAACP was joined by other local and state civil rights organizations in calling Thursday for Judge Jones to step down at a press conference outside the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.

“We are here to demand that Edith Jones retire or that the judicial system immediately remove her from the bench,” Dr. Ernest Johnson, president of the NAACP Louisiana State Conference, said Thursday.

“These kinds of comments are hurtful to the Latino community, and we are asking that this doesn’t happen again,” Scarlett Lanzas, executive director of Puentes New Orleans, told reporters.

“Considering her connection to former President Ronald Reagan, no one should have been caught off guard by Judge Jones’ racist comments,” the Rev. Raymond Brown, president of National Action Now, told The Louisiana Weekly. “Whether it comes from a federal judge or a small-town elected official, we need to take a stand against public officials sworn to uphold the U.S. Constitution who openly express bigotry and hatred. You can be sure that those views will find their way into laws and court decisions.”

“We will continue to organize and fight for justice despite the racially inflammatory remarks and rulings of judges like Judge Edith Jones,” W.C. Johnson, a member of Community United for Change, said Thursday. “Fighting white supremacy, racial injustice and systematic oppression takes courage, tenacity, resilience and resourcefulness. It is a constant struggle that requires commitment, vigilance and a sense of purpose.”

Kwasi Alexander, another member of CUC, told The Louisiana Weekly Friday that when it comes to racial bias in the judicial system, Judge Jones is only the tip of the iceberg. “Judge Edith Jones represents, glorifies and exemplifies the attitudes and consciousness of the Civil War South,” Alexander said. “When looking at the landscape of decisions coming out of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, Judge Jones only verbalized what the court has been passing out through cases that involve questions of race or hints of injustice perpetuated on people of color. It is common knowledge that the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals is a biased and prejudicial overseer.

“The right course of action for the country would be to root out the cancer that keeps America a white supremacist landmass,” Alexander added. “However, in order for that to happen, more than just Judge Jones must be purged from the halls of the 5th Circuit. But Judge Jones would make for a good start.”

June 23, 2013

Frederick Douglass Statue Erected in the U.S Capitol
By Shayla Mulzac

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - The unveiling of a statue to honor abolitionist Frederick Douglass, sometimes called the “father of the civil rights movement,” drew hundreds of people to the U. S. Capitol’s Emancipation Hall June 19.

It is the 101st statue erected in the Capitol Visitors Center, but only the fourth in honor of an African-American. While each state has only two such famous figures in the hall, this is the first opportunity for D.C. to welcome one of its very own. Congressional Republicans have refused to allow a second, declining to give the federal District of Columbia equality with states.

“Douglass's life as an active D.C. resident and his deep commitment to our equal rights are the reasons that his statue is here to be unveiled today as a gift from the almost 650,000 American citizens of the District of Columbia,” Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton said in prepared remarks at the unveiling.

Placement of the statue marks the culmination of the decade-long argument between DC leaders and Congressional Republicans over whether DC should be allowed to have the statue since it is not a state, but a federal district.

“Frederick Douglass stood even taller when he lent his stature as a world leader to his home town and refused to temper his demand for congressional voting rights and local self-government for the residents of the District of Columbia.”

The unveiling was organized and led by House Speaker John Boehner and in attendance were the descendants of Frederick Douglass, members of Congress, local leaders and Vice President Joe Biden.

Like Norton, Biden also used the tribute to the 19^th century abolitionist, author and statesman as an opportunity to push the issue of equal voting rights for the people living in the nation’s capital. Though he didn’t mention “statehood” per se, the vice president addressed Douglass’ work advocating equal justice and stated that Douglass supported voting rights for his fellow residents of DC.

He said he and President Obama both support “home rule, budget autonomy and a vote for the District of Columbia.”

Emancipation Hall is also home to statues honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, the reputed “mother of the civil rights movement” and abolitionist Sojourner Truth.

The Douglass statue stands 7 feet tall and weights nearly 1,700 pounds of pure bronze. The statue shows Douglass grasping a paper in one hand, his other resting upon a lectern complete with quill and ink.

June 23, 2013

Snowden Case: Is VP Cheney the Pot Calling the Kettle Black?
By Dr. Wilmer J. Leon, III

NEWS ANALYSIS

Snowden

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - "But over time that awareness of wrongdoing sort of builds up and you feel compelled to talk about (it)… eventually you realize that these things need to be determined by the public and not by somebody who was simply hired by the government." – Excerpt from Edward Snowden’s Interview with the Guardian

Edward Snowden, the former Booz Allen Hamilton infrastructure analyst who worked as a contractor for the National Security Administration (NSA) has leaked to the public the details of the NSA’s spying program PRISM. As a result of his actions he spent several days hiding in China. On Sunday, he arrived in Moscow and had reportedly applied for asylum in Equador at the time of this writing. He faces a Department of Justice (DOJ) criminal investigation, and is being called a traitor by many in American main-stream media.

On Fox News Sunday former VP Dick Cheney (or as author Andrew Feinstein called him the politician-entrepreneur) stated, “I think he's a traitor…I think it's one of the worst occasions in my memory of somebody with access to classified information doing enormous damage to the national security interests of the United States.”

Well, Cheney should know. But I question his assessment of “worst” occasions of somebody doing enormous damage to the United States. Unlike Cheney, Snowden has not facilitated the divulging of the identity of a CIA agent to The New York Times. Snowden has not lied to the American people in order to garner support of the illegal invasion of a sovereign country.  Thousands of US troops have not died as a result of Snowden’s actions regarding Afghanistan and Iraq.  Basically, Snowden has embarrassed the Government by informing the American people of its highly questionable spying programs.

Unlike Cheney, Snowden’s access to classified information has not provided him financial remuneration. According to Andrew Feinstein’s The Shadow World: Inside the Global Arms Trade,  “Over the seven years that Cheney served as VP, Halliburton [Cheney was CEO from 1993-2000] was awarded more than $20bn in contracts…As VP [Cheney] held 1.2 million Halliburton stock options from which he collected  millions every year in dividends…”

As Charles “Chuck” Lewis, the executive director of the Center for Public Integrity stated, “They have classified clearances, they go to classified meetings and they’re with companies getting billions of dollars in classified contracts.”

In 2004 Representative Henry Waxman (D-CA) published in Iraq on the Record: The Bush Administration’s Public Statements on Iraq, “a comprehensive examination of the statements made by the five Administration officials most responsible for providing public information and shaping public opinion on Iraq: President George Bush, Vice President Richard Cheney, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of State Colin Powell, and National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice.” The report found “…that the five officials made misleading statements about the threat posed by Iraq in 125 public appearances. The report and an accompanying database identify 237 specific misleading statements by the five officials.”

According to the report, between March 17, 2002, and January 22, 2004, Vice President Cheney made 51 misleading statements about the threat posed by Iraq in 25 separate public appearances. It said, “The statements began at least a year before the commencement of hostilities in Iraq, when Vice President Cheney stated on March 17, 2002: ‘We know they have biological and chemical weapons.’ The Administration’s misleading statements continued through January 22, 2004, when Vice President Cheney insisted: ‘there’s overwhelming evidence that there was a connection between al-Qaeda and the Iraqi government.’”

One can only wonder if Cheney and his henchmen’s personal financial interests played any role in their “patriotic” decisions to invade Iraq and Afghanistan and mislead the American people into supporting those actions.

Based upon this data, if anyone is going to be an expert regarding “doing enormous damage to the national security interests of the United States”, it is going to be Cheney.  This begs the question of why Fox News anchor Chris Wallace failed to challenge Cheney with this data during their Sunday interview.

During the Fox News Sunday interview, Cheney misrepresented the scope of the program when he stated, "When you consider somebody smuggling a nuclear device into the United States, it becomes very important to gather intelligence on your enemies and stop that attack before it ever gets launched."

Very few people will debate that scenario but according to The Guardian the NSA’s PRISM program required domestic telecom companies to provide “…communication records of millions of US citizens…collected indiscriminately and in bulk – regardless of whether they are suspected of any wrongdoing.”

When did innocent American citizens become enemies of the state?

Snowden stated, "I think that the public is owed an explanation of the motivations behind the people who make these disclosures that are outside of the democratic model. When you are subverting the power of government that's a fundamentally dangerous thing to democracy and if you do that in secret consistently as the government does when it wants to benefit from a secret action that it took.”

Snowden’s statement and motivations made me think about a few lines in the Declaration of Independence, “Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.”

The Edward Snowden’s, Bradley Manning’s, and Dr. Daniel Ellsberg’s may or may not be traitors.  The American public and history will make those determinations. But when the likes of a Vice President Dick Cheney makes such assertions with his long history of duplicity and “51 misleading statements about the threat posed by Iraq in 25 separate public appearances” it makes me wonder how the pot can call the kettle black and go unchallenged.

Dr. Wilmer Leon is the Producer/ Host of the Sirius/XM Satellite radio channel 110 call-in talk radio program “Inside the Issues with Leon” Go to www.wilmerleon.com or email:This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. www.twitter.com/drwleon and Dr. Leon’s Prescription at Facebook.com