[url]http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/12/23/milwaukee-aldermen-propose-police-reforms-after-officer-shoots-man-14-times-in/[/url]

More on McCulloch's dereliction, and an available remedy
 

One can only hope that the Presiding Judge will take an interest in this troubling case, and appoint a somewhat more detached prosecutor.

Link to [URL="http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2014/12/21/3606084/how-a-startling-admission-from-the-ferguson-prosector-could-restart-the-case-against-darren-wilson/"]Think Progress[/URL]
[QUOTE]Mae Quinn, a law professor at Washington University School Of Law, told ThinkProgress that the unusual decision to present testimony he believed to be false to the grand jury — along with other atypical aspects of the prosecutor’s conduct in the Wilson case — could be an issue. “In terms of personal or professional interest playing a role in the grand jury process, I am struck by the double-bind we keep hearing about. That is, the county prosecutor feeling unable to simply present Darren Wilson’s case like any other without concern for perceived relationships with local law enforcement and others – and then making strategic decisions not singularly focused on representing the county,” Quinn said.
If Maura McShane, the Presiding Judge of the 21st Circuit, agrees with this assessment, she could [URL="http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2014/12/02/3598082/one-woman-could-appoint-a-special-prosecutor-and-bring-justice-to-ferguson/"]appoint a new prosecutor and effectively restart the case against Darren Wilson[/URL].
Under Missouri law ([URL="http://law.justia.com/codes/missouri/2012/titlevi/chapter56/section56110"]MO Rev Stat § 56.110[/URL]) the presiding judge of the court with criminal jurisdiction — in this case Judge McShane — can appoint another prosecutor if the prosecuting attorney demonstrates a conflict of interest or bias. Courts have interpreted this provision broadly to include “conflicts that reveal themselves through the prosecutor’s conduct in the case.” In State v. Copeland, a 1996 case, a Missouri court replaced the prosecutor because the judge “sensed that [the prosecutor’s] sympathies for [the defendant] may have prevented him from being an effective advocate for the state.” The judge “[URL="http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2014/12/02/3598082/one-woman-could-appoint-a-special-prosecutor-and-bring-justice-to-ferguson/"]found the adversarial process to have broken down in that [the prosecutor] appeared to be advocating the defendant’s position[/URL].”
[/QUOTE]

More [URL="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/12/19/1353052/-Under-pressure-St-Louis-prosecutor-Bob-McCulloch-admits-he-called-witnesses-who-were-lying"]exploration[/URL] (from a regular diarist on the subject at DKos) of legal angles regarding the Darren Wilson case.

[QUOTE]Calling McElroy forward as a material witness to a shooting, knowing that she was not a witness at all, [B]may actually be a federal crime. [/B]There is no doubt that McElroy committed perjury over and over again. She was told explicitly that if she testified that she witnessed this shooting when she was not anywhere near the scene, she would be committing a crime. But she doubled down repeatedly and was even allowed to present to the grand jury a fake journal she said she kept from the day of the shooting as a form of evidence proving that she was indeed a witness. The prosecutors are on record in the grand jury proceedings actually asking her to bring the journal with her when she returns to testify.


Again, why go through these motions for someone who has been thoroughly discredited as a complete and total sham? As McElroy clearly committed perjury, the question now arises about whether Bob McCulloch [URL="http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Suborning+Perjury"]suborned perjury[/URL]. Here's the legal definition of the crime,[INDENT]It is a criminal offense to induce someone to commit perjury. In a majority of states, the offense is defined by statute. Under federal Criminal Law (18 U.S.C.A. § 1622), five elements must be proved to convict a person of subornation of perjury. It first must be shown that the defendant made an agreement with a person to testify falsely. There must be proof that perjury has in fact been committed and that the statements of the perjurer were material. The prosecutor must also provide evidence that the perjurer made such statements willfully with knowledge of their falsity. Finally, there must be proof that the procurer had knowledge that the perjurer's statements were false.
[/INDENT][/QUOTE]

Police Unions And Public Accountability
 

[url]http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/12/13/1351540/-Police-Unions-And-Public-Accountability[/url]

Here are two articles. The second is from a link in the first.
[QUOTE]With or without unions civil servants usually have more job protections than workers in private industry who have no union. The police unions are providing another level of protection to individual police employees. Like other unions, they are also taking collective political action to support their interests. In New York they have drawn the battle lines with Mayor Bill de Blasio. It began when the mayor appeared at a press conference with Al Sharpton who they consider to be police enemy no. 1. The mayor has been highly critical of the police and the grand jury in the killing of Eric Garner. This is the latest bit of grandstanding by the union.[/QUOTE]

[URL="http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/dec/12/police-unions-alleged-intimidation-arrest-reformer/"]How far will cop unions go to halt reform?[/URL]

[QUOTE][URL="http://orangecountyda.org/civica/press/display.asp?layout=2&Entry=4141"]The arrest this week of two ex-cop private investigators[/URL] — charged with felonies related to their alleged attempt to frame a Costa Mesa city councilman for a false DUI — is about more than the disturbing tactics of two hired guns. It offers insight into the way some police unions across California intimidate political opponents into silence.[/QUOTE]

White ‘Survivalist’ Shoots Police Chief Four Times, Is Released...
 

[B][SIZE=4][URL="http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2015/01/17/3612884/white-survivalist-shoots-police-chief-no-charges/"]Without Being Arrested Or Charged[/URL][/SIZE][/B]

[QUOTE]In Oklahoma, a white “survivalist” [URL="http://newsok.com/update-gunman-released-after-shooting-of-sentinel-police-chief/article/5384876"]shot a(n African-American) police chief three times in the chest[/URL] and once in the arm. The shooting did not result in an arrest or charges and the man, identified by local media as 29-year-old Dallas Horton, has been released. [/QUOTE]

EDIT:
[QUOTE]The mayor of Sentinel, Sam Dlugonski, described Horton as a “gun enthusiast” and survivalist. Dlugsonski was familiar with Horton, saying, “[URL="http://newsok.com/update-gunman-released-after-shooting-of-sentinel-police-chief/article/5384876"]I’ve known that kid all of his life[/URL].” [/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=Xyzzy;386225]Vaguely related: [URL]http://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/CHP-chief-denounces-nude-photo-scandal-as-5848823.php[/URL][/QUOTE][URL]http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2015/01/cop-who-stole-nude-pics-off-arrested-womens-phones-gets-no-jail-time/[/URL]

[QUOTE=Xyzzy;393838][URL]http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2015/01/cop-who-stole-nude-pics-off-arrested-womens-phones-gets-no-jail-time/[/URL][/QUOTE]

As always, I have to wonder if a non-cop offender would have gotten off as easy. (Not a lawyer disclaimer) Even the acceptance of a No Contest plea is irritating. Why shouldn't the former officer have had to plead guilty?

EDIT: If anything, a crime committed through abuse of power should be considered to be more serious than one committed by a garden variety Peeping Tom.

My birth state gets even crazier
 

[URL="http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2015/01/29/3617031/deadly-force-in-texas-classrooms/"]Bill Would Allow Texas Teachers To Kill Students[/URL]
(somewhat related)
As if being allowed to beat students wasn't bad enough already.[INDENT][QUOTE]People who are concerned about the use of excessive force by law enforcement may have to deal with another fatal can of worms. If Texas state Rep. Dan Flynn (R) gets his way, teachers will have the right to use [URL="http://blog.chron.com/texaspolitics/2015/01/bill-would-allow-texas-teachers-to-use-deadly-force-against-students/"]deadly force[/URL] against students in Texas classrooms, in the near future.
The Lone Star State already permits teachers to [URL="http://www.wsj.com/articles/more-texas-schools-allow-armed-employees-1408986620"]have firearms in the classroom[/URL], but [URL="ftp://ftp.legis.state.tx.us/bills/84R/billtext/html/house_bills/HB00800_HB00899/HB00868I.htm"]H.B. 868[/URL], also known as the Teacher’s Protection Act, would authorize instructors to use “force or deadly force on school property, on a school bus, or at a school-sponsored event in defense of the educator’s person or in defense of students of the school that employs the educator.” Instructors would also have the right to use deadly force “in defense of property of the school that employs the educator.” Moreover, civil immunity would be granted to those who use deadly force, meaning they [URL="http://lawofselfdefense.com/statute/tx-sec-83-001-civil-immunity/"]would not be liable[/URL] for the injury or death of student.
[/QUOTE][/INDENT]

[QUOTE=kladner;393945][URL="http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2015/01/29/3617031/deadly-force-in-texas-classrooms/"]Bill Would Allow Texas Teachers To Kill Students[/URL]
(somewhat related)
As if being allowed to beat students wasn't bad enough already.[INDENT][/INDENT][/QUOTE]
The other day I read a news article about a Texas school that partially strip-searched a gym full of boys and girls to try to figure out who had taken a dump in the gym.

[QUOTE=only_human;393946]The other day I read a news article about a Texas school that partially strip-searched a gym full of boys and girls to try to figure out who had taken a dump in the gym.[/QUOTE]

So a student could potentially be convicted for being a sloppy wiper? In some ways the state of Texas Public Schools has gotten worse than when I went to them in the 60s. Teachers and administrators could be quite brutal, but I can't imagine, back then, having even a partial coed disrobing, especially of the naughty bits.

[QUOTE=kladner;393956]So a student could potentially be convicted for being a sloppy wiper? In some ways the state of Texas Public Schools has gotten worse than when I went to them in the 60s. Teachers and administrators could be quite brutal, but I can't imagine, back then, having even a partial coed disrobing, especially of the naughty bits.[/QUOTE]
It is outrageous. I don't know which aspects are worse but the weary parade of yet more despicable stories is depressing.
[URL="http://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&hl=en-US&q=texas+gym+school+search+#q=texas+gym+school+search&newwindow=1&hl=en-US&tbm=nws"]Google News: Texas gym school search[/URL]