Civil Rights

On Thursday, Assembly Bill 1831 by Assemblymember Roger Dickinson was killed in the in the Senate Governance and Finance Committee. The bill would have prohibited requesting criminal background information on the initial employment application for local employees, with the goal of reducing unnecessary barriers to employment for the one in four adult Californians who have an arrest or conviction record and are struggling to find work.

This would “delay the consideration of an applicant’s criminal history until after the agency has determined the applicant’s qualifications meet the requirements for the job position.”

Sponsor Argues State Can Reduce Recidivism by Removing Checkbox on Past Criminal Background from Job Applications

Court mandated decreases to the prison population operationalized through AB 109 have led to a renewed focus on reducing California’s astronomically high recidivism rate.  One way that public officials are seeking to reduce recidivism is through efforts to ensure that individuals who have served their time get a fair opportunity to get a job.

AB 1831, sponsored by Assemblymember Roger Dickinson who represents Sacramento in the Assembly, seeks to remove the check box from the employment application that denotes that the applicant has had an arrest or conviction record.

by Ramon Solis

The United States Supreme Court has mostly struck down Arizona’s controversial anti-immigration bill, thus effectively concluding a hotly contested two-year legal battle. However, perhaps the most controversial aspect of the bill has been ruled valid. Known to some as the “papers please” provision, this law permits police offers to check an individual’s citizenship status given “reasonable suspicion.”

Three of the Supreme Court holdings concerned whether the state of Arizona exceeded its jurisdiction into federal law. In a 5-3 ruling, The Supreme Court struck down these three provisions of Senate Bill 1070, which its authors have titled the Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act. Those dissenting included Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito.

By E. Roberts Musser

I consider myself a fairly mellow person, and I don’t embarrass easily.  However, as I was going through airport security recently, a TSA agent subjected me to a pat down that was somewhat humiliating.  I’ve tried to take it with a sense of humor, as in the scheme of things it was not that big a deal.  Let’s put it this way, I’ve heard of stories a lot worse.

I’m a female senior citizen, 62 years of age, and somewhat overweight.  I’ve had three children, which as every woman knows, does interesting things to the body.  I’ve also had major intestinal surgery, with a huge scar running up and down my torso.  As a result, my stomach is no longer as flat as it used to be in my youth.  But then, whose is at age 62, male or female?  Where am I going with this?  Let me explain.

Reports have come in this morning, that Rodney King, whose beating and the subsequent acquittal of police officers led to a three-day riot in parts of Los Angeles in 1992, has been found by his fiance at the bottom of a pool this morning.

Details are sketchy at the moment.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has declined to review California’s Gay Marriage Ban passed by the…

Most of the left considered the election of an African-American president to be an historic moment back in 2008.  Since that time, most probably have felt various senses of frustration and disappointment in the lackluster and largely cautious and centrist presidency of Barack Obama.

However, this week President Obama undoubtedly reminded many on the left of the still unfulfilled promise of his presidency, which is why many will undoubtedly hold their nose, given no other real choice, and vote to reelect the man.

by Robb Davis –

The Reuters news item was startling:

The WHO [World Health Organization] has convened a special meeting on Wednesday [March 21, 2012] to discuss whether the emergence of TB strains that seem to be resistant to all known medicines merits a new class definition of “totally drug-resistant TB”, or TDR-TB.

A number of people have noted to me over the past few weeks that I have been unusually quiet about the Trayvon Martin shooting.  The truth is that I have withheld judgment on this case, and thus commentary, precisely because something did not sit well with me.

This is indeed a horrible tragedy and my heart goes out to the family of Mr. Martin.  But frankly I am appalled at the conduct of the media and in particular the TV networks who, for some time, seemed to be seizing on the thinnest of reeds to condemn George Zimmerman and make this into an act of racism.

Occupy groups from across the region converged on Davis this morning to protest and block operations of Monsanto.  The protest is part of a “Global Days of Action to Shut Down Monsanto” in dozens of U.S. cities and several countries.

By E. Roberts Musser

There was a recent article that appeared in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (JAGS December 2011-Vol. 59, NO. 12 Autonomy When Doctors and Daughters Disagree), in regard to the limitations of advanced health care directives (AHCDs).  A case study cited in the article is illustrative of the difficulties inherent in these problematic legal documents.

An 83 year old woman with multiple and massive health problems, completed a legal advanced directive at her primary care physician’s office, expressing a wish to forgo intubation and any attempted cardiopulmonary resuscitation should the need arise.  Once this elderly lady did become acutely ill, she was rushed to the emergency room for medical treatment.  Emergency personnel asked the family for permission to intubate, and the woman’s two daughters agreed.  This was done despite the patient’s previously expressed wishes to the contrary, which all parties were well aware of.

According to a variety of news accounts, a clash ensued yesterday between members of the Occupy Oakland movement, who journeyed to the state Capitol to counter a rally by a group called the South African Project, and that group, which claims to be in existence to stop the murder, torture and genocide of the white South Africans.

According to the Associated Press, the clash erupted on Monday afternoon, as the California Highway Patrol and Sacramento police were escorting 35 members of the South African group, who had a permit to demonstrate, following their rally outside the Capitol.

When the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued its ruling on Proposition 8, defenders of the ban on gay marriage were quick to point out that the Ninth Circuit has a history of liberal opinions that have been overturned on further appeal and that this simply marks the latest one.

However, the argument that the Ninth Circuit is the most overturned federal appellate court is actually more statistical artifact than premise based on any higher frequency of overturned decisions.  The fact is, the Ninth Circuit court represents more states than other courts and handles a higher case load.  Statistically speaking, the overturn rate is in line with other courts.

Legalistic Decision Tosses Prop 8 on Narrow California-Based Grounds

“Prior to November 4, 2008, the California Constitution guaranteed the right to marry to opposite-sex couples and same-sex couple alike,” the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals began in what will be a landmark decision, marking the first time a federal circuit court has ruled in favor of equal rights for same sex couples.

“On that day,” the court continued, “the People of California adopted Proposition 8, which amended the state constitution to eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry.  We consider whether that amendment violates the Fourteenth Amendment to the United State Constitution.  We conclude that it does.”

By E. Roberts Musser

The following are interesting tidbits emanating from the Penn State University sex abuse scandal (in which former football coach Joe Paterno only reported molestation allegations of a minor, by one of his defensive coordinators Jerry Sandusky, to his immediate superiors but not to law enforcement):

• Paterno repeatedly clashed with the University’s former chief disciplinarian Vicky Triponey.  According to Ms. Triponey, Paterno believed she had “no interest [or business] holding… football players accountable to community standards.  The Coach is insistent he knows best how to discipline his players… and I think he was saying we should treat football players different from other students in this regard.”  Triponey ultimately resigned her post over “philosophical differences”.

Executive Pay For UC and CSU

In the past, executive pay limits have not been successful, but given the renewed focus on fee hikes, the Occupy movement and student protests, there is a good chance the latest effort by Senator Leland Yee to introduce legislation to prohibit pay raises for top university administrators during bad budget years, or when student fees are increased, will be successful.