Times-Standard reporter Dave Santcliff writes that California could lead the nation out of the depression by legalizing marijuana:

Right now Californians pay $170 million a year for arrests, prosecution and imprisonment of pot offenders, according to statistics released from NORML. Poof! That would go up in smoke, and reduce the prison population as well.

Right now there's talk among lawmakers of an early release program for as many as 58,000 prisoners in the next couple of years because of overcrowding and fiscal shortfalls. There are plenty of good reasons to support AB 390.

As It Stands, it's time to legalize marijuana and jumpstart California's sagging economy into the 21st century.

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The Government filed a pleading (pdf)in Bernie Madoff's case today stating he would waive Indictment and it would file an Information. Translation: Plea deal has been reached. More here.

A pot sting by the DEA has had some dire consequences. The suspect, a 24 year old Canadian, hanged himself in his Spokane, WA. jail cell.

The DEA pretended to be a buyer and had Samuel Jackson Lindsay-Brown, previously unknown to law enforcement, fly 350 pounds of BC bud in by helicopter. As he was unloading it, they busted him. The helicopter turned out to have been reported stolen.

In a split decision, the 10th Circuit, en banc, has reinstated the insider trading conviction and 6 year prison sentence of former Qwest CEO Joe Nacchio. It also revoked his bail. The 104 page opinion is here (pdf.)

The 5-4 decision by the full 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reinstates Nacchio's conviction and his six-year prison sentence and revokes his release on $2 million bond.

....Nacchio was convicted in 2007 on 19 counts of insider trading for illegally selling $52 million worth of stock six years earlier, after company insiders warned him that Qwest could not meet its financial targets.

The issue was the trial court's exlcusion of Nacchio's expert witness. [More...]

Good news for Barry Bonds today: The UA's and doping calendars won't be allowed at trial.

U.S. District Judge Susan Illston said the urine samples that tested positive for steroids are inadmissible because prosecutors cannot prove conclusively that they belong to Bonds. The judge also barred prosecutors from showing jurors so-called doping calendars that Bonds' personal trainer, Greg Anderson, allegedly maintained for the slugger.

The judge said prosecutors need direct testimony from Anderson to introduce such evidence. Anderson's attorney said the trainer will refuse to testify at Bonds' trial even though he is likely to be sent to prison on contempt of court charges.

Maine's former top drug prosecutor pleaded not guilty to child p*rn charges in federal court today:

James M. Cameron, 46, formerly of Hallowell, was indicted Feb. 11 by a federal grand jury in Bangor on 16 counts of transporting, receiving and possessing child p*rnography between July 10, 2006, and Jan. 26, 2008.

He allegedly uploaded images of child p*rnography to an Internet-based Yahoo photo album using five different screen names. Cameron, according to the indictment, also transmitted digital images of child p*rnography using Google Hello, an Internet-based chat and file-sharing service.

The images were found on his home computer but not his work computer. Check out the terms of his bail: [More...]

I guess the South Carolina authorities have milked it for all it was worth. It's an Emily Litella "Nevermind" moment:

A South Carolina sheriff said Monday he was not going to charge swimmer Michael Phelps after a photo of the 14-time gold medalist showed him smoking from a marijuana pipe. Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said during a news conference that he didn’t have enough physical evidence to charge the swimmer, but he defended his investigation.

Not so lucky are the other folks swept up in this insane "investigation:"

The sheriff’s office said seven people arrested during the investigation would still face a simple possession of marijuana charge, which carries a maximum penalty of 30 days in jail or a $575 fine. Another person was arrested for driving under suspension.

The beat goes on. Speaking for me only

Baseball's Miguel Tejada pleaded guilty to a federal misdemeanor of lying to Congress today. He faces up to a year in jail when sentenced on March 26.

Appearing before a federal magistrate, the 34-year-old starter for the Houston Astros admitted that he lied to congressional investigators who had asked about steroid use by major league ballplayers. Tejada also acknowledged purchasing the drugs while playing with the Oakland Athletics.

He said he had second thoughts and threw the drug away without using it. Prosecutors said they had no evidence to contradict his claim.

Sounds like a good deal for Tejada, who is expected to receive probation. [More...]

When you lie about steroid use:

All-Star shortstop Miguel Tejada has been charged with lying to Congress about steroids, with the baseball player scheduled to appear in court Wednesday where he is expected to plead guilty.

When isn't it? When you are Bush DOJ official Brad Schlozman:

I am particularly disturbed about the findings that a senior Justice Department appointee, Bradley Schlozmann, made false statements under oath when appearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

We always look to baseball players to tell the truth, but not Justice Dept. officials.

Speaking for me only

New levels of absurdity in the Michael Phelps bong case. WIS News reports:

We've now learned that since investigators began trying to build a case, they've made eight arrests: seven for drug possession and one for distribution. These are arrests that resulted as the sheriff's department served search warrants.

We've also learned that the department has located and confiscated that bong. Sources say the owner of the bong was trying to sell it on eBay for as much as $100,000. The owner, who wasn't even at the party, is one of the eight now charged.

[Hat tip to Tom at LEAP]

Chris Brown, who "finished 2008 as the fourth-best-selling artist in the digital realm," and his girlfriend Rihanna, whose song "Disturbia" was the "sixth best-selling digital track of the year," canceled their performances at yesterday's Grammy awards. Brown's absence can be explained by his rather more pressing appointment with LAPD where, accompanied by his attorney, Mark Geragos, he surrendered for booking before posting $50,000 bail.

Brown is suspected of threatening and battering Rhianna. According to this story, Rhianna suffered visible injuries.

Criminal defense lawyers often joke about the Evil Twin Brother defense: the defendant, having been identified by multiple witnesses as the perpetrator of a crime, makes the desperate plea "My evil twin brother did it." Sadly for defense lawyers, there is a shortage of evil twin brothers in the world, making the defense a pleasant fantasy.

Except in Kuala Lumpur, where the police caught a man driving a car loaded with 166 kilos of marijuana and 1.7 kilos of raw opium. Drug possession of that magnitude is punishable by death in Malaysia.

The driver was arrested in a house at his journey's end. Shortly thereafter, his twin brother arrived at the house, where he was also arrested. By the time of trial, officers couldn't say which brother drove the drugs and which brother arrived later. The judge, noting the absence of evidence that the brother arrested second knew of the drugs possessed by the brother arrested first, reasonably decided that she shouldn't be "sending the wrong person to the gallows" and acquitted them both.