San Francisco District Attorney elect Chesa Boudin will certainly face challenges when he assumes office in January.

As the NYT article illustrates the law and order pushback against change in the criminal justice system is pervasive.  It is active and aggressive at the Federal, State and Local level of law enforcement, elected officials and the judiciary.

New York Times 11.25.2019

As a new crop of district attorneys takes a different approach to criminal justice, some are seeing their authority removed and their actions blocked in court.

While Lamar Johnson has spent 24 years in a Missouri prison, evidence of his innocence has steadily mounted. Two other men who confessed to the murder attributed to Mr. Johnson said he did not do it. And the only eyewitness against him — without whom prosecutors said they had no case — later recanted.

This year, after his fruitless declarations of innocence from behind bars, prosecutors from the same office that sent him away for life in 1995 decided that he was innocent and asked a judge to grant him a new trial. The response was swift and not in Mr. Johnson’s favor: The Missouri attorney general weighed in, helping convince the judge to deny the request.

The pushback faced by prosecutors in Mr. Johnson’s case is not unique. Across the country, similar clashes are playing out as prosecutors who were elected in recent years promising a different approach to criminal justice have seen some of their efforts frustrated. Opponents with a more traditional view of law and order are taking concrete steps to try to block them in court and strip them of discretion or money to run their offices.

From the start, these prosecutors met fierce criticism from law enforcement and other elected officials when they promised to crack down on police misconduct, prosecute fewer nonviolent crimes and reverse potentially wrongful convictions.

Critics of the new cohort of prosecutors, such as William P. Barr, the attorney general, say their efforts are demoralizing to law enforcement and dangerous to public safety. In a speech in August, Mr. Barr criticized “district attorneys that style themselves as social justice reformers, who spend their time undercutting the police, letting criminals off the hook and refusing to enforce the law.”

Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar has failed to gain momentum for two reasons.

Joe Biden is the consensus ‘moderate’ candidate.  As long as he is in the race any other moderate is frozen out of the mix. If Biden was really the pro woman guy he claims to be, he would withdraw his candidacy right now.

In addition, earlier this year the Senator was subject of press reports that she is not easy to work with.  This is sexism.  When a man behaves in this manner it rarely, if ever, becomes an issue.

The Senator is no ideologue. She is practical, smart, tough and could win the election next November.

The Guardian 11.24.2019

Democrats “better not screw this up”, a contender for the party’s presidential nomination said on Sunday, as Michael Bloomberg confirmed his late and self-financed entry into the crowded race.

Discussing the impeachment inquiry against Donald Trump, Minnesota senator Amy Klobuchar told ABC’s This Week: “The American people see this now, they’re listening to it, I’m sure they’re going to be talking about it at Thanksgiving.

“But they want a check on this president, they want an economic check … they also want a patriotism check and a value check. You look at those voters in Kentucky and Virginia [in recent state elections]. They said, ‘Enough is enough,’ they switched the state House and Senate in Virginia and they elected a new governor in Kentucky.

“And as Democrats, as we go into this presidential race, we better not screw this up. Because we, right now, have with us a fired-up base, but also independents and moderate Republicans.”

Whether Democrats might be about to screw this up, by either shifting too far left and alienating moderates or by electing a moderate unable to inspire the progressive base, is a subject of constant debate.

On Saturday Monika McDermott, a political science professor at Fordham University in New York, told the Guardian: “Democrats have a real problem here in that they have a bunch of candidates who appeal to different groups for different reasons but they don’t have a clear leader in the group.”

Barack Obama has waded into the morass, telling donors in Washington the party has to appeal to “persuadable independents or even moderate Republicans” and saying: “This is still a country that is less revolutionary than it is interested in improvement … the average American doesn’t think that we have to completely tear down the system and remake it.”

Klobuchar is running in the centre of the primary field. She has not polled highly, trailing top four Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg. The mayor of South Bend, Indiana, another moderate, has surged in Iowa and New Hampshire, the first two states to vote.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/nov/24/democrats-trump-amy-klobuchar-michael-bloomberg

Germans know the importance of a free press.  When Hitler came to power in 1933 he immediately crushed the free press and made it a tool of the State.

That is why 7,000 people took to the streets to show their disgust at German Neo-Nazis who want to suppress a free press which is reporting on their vile and dangerous behaviors.

Deutsche Welle 11.23.2019

More than 7,000 people took to the streets of Hanover on Saturday as part of a demonstration to protect press freedom and against threats to journalists.

The march came in response to a rally organized by the extreme-right National Democratic Party (NPD) against journalists. Only around 120 people attended the NPD rally, according to the police.

The counterdemonstration in the northern German state of Lower Saxony was welcomed by German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas. He tweeted: “One can see what applies throughout Germany: The neo-Nazis and fear makers, who hound journalists, are in the minority. Thank you to everyone who is protesting peacefully today against this unworthy parade.”

Lower Saxony Interior Minister Boris Pistorius and newly installed Hanover Lord Mayor Belit Onay attended the counterprotest while the state’s premier, Stephan Weil, had asked people to come out against the right-wing march, citing unfair intimidation of reporters.

“Say it loud and clear: far-right agitation against journalists … and press freedom are an attack on our democracy,” Weil said.

Four arrests but few incidents

Police concerns over possible outbreaks of violence between the two groups were thus far allayed, though four arrests were made.

Hanover police banned the right-wing extremist group from demonstrating, but late Friday the Higher Administrative Court overturned the initial decision, deciding the NPD had the right to protest.

The NPD had promoted their march by posting a picture online of a broadcast journalist who has done in-depth reporting about far-right movements in Germany.

https://www.dw.com/en/germany-thousands-demonstrate-against-right-wing-extremist-npd-rally/a-51382691

The District Attorney elect is quickly making good on his campaign pledge to bring an entirely innovative and progressive criminal justice policy agenda to San Francisco.

Chesa will make his office a trendsetter in expending resources in prosecuting serious felonies and not squandering staff and money in frivolous pursuits of justice.

The Davis Vanguard 11.23.2019

Advisors come with decades of combined experience in justice reform policy and implementation 

(From Press Release)– District Attorney-elect Chesa Boudin announced today his Transition Leadership team  – a group of special advisors that will help guide the process of establishing the new District Attorney’s office and implementing key policies. The transition team is convening community members, experts, and those who work in the criminal legal system to develop policies to end cash bail and reduce pretrial detention; establish a wrongful conviction unit; end the use of three strikes; establish a restorative justice program that provides healing for victims and survivors and accountability for those who commit harm; establish an immigration unit within the DA’s office to protect immigrants from ICE and deportation; transform the system of youth justice into one that cares for rather than harms children; and shifts resources in order to address the root causes of crime.

“I am proud to have this group of talented and committed leaders on board to help ensure the San Francisco District Attorney’s office will begin delivering the change voters demanded on day-one,” said DA-Elect Chesa Boudin. “Together, we can take the critical steps needed to create a more fair and just system that will improve public safety for every member of our community.”  

James Bell is the Founder and President of the W. Haywood Burns Institute. The Burns Institute has worked in over 200 counties in 23 states to engage justice stakeholders and communities across the country to build equity in the administration of justice. He has trained and addressed thousands of human services professionals and community members on a vision of well-being as the preferred and most effective way to achieve community safety. James has appeared on numerous national television shows, conducted several radio interviews and written blogs for the Huffington Post. He has authored sections of published anthologies on intersections of justice and school discipline, social determinants of health and equity.

Kate Chatfield is the Senior Advisor for Legislation and Policy at The Justice Collaborative, where she works with state legislators to assist their efforts to enact criminal justice reform. Kate was the lead drafter for Senator Nancy Skinner’s landmark legislation, Senate Bill 1437, which amended California’s felony murder rule and other common law doctrines related to accomplice liability for homicides. Kate wrote the Guidebook for Petitioners and continues to train attorneys and jurists in implementing this reform. Kate was a criminal defense attorney, representing clients in trial and appellate courts, both in private practice and at the Office of the State Public Defender.

Anne Irwin is the Founder and Director of Smart Justice California, where she works to elect and educate state and local policymakers who support meaningful criminal justice reforms that promote justice, safety and healthy communities. Anne works closely with policymakers and stakeholders to adopt new, forward-thinking approaches to accountability, criminalization, and incarceration. Anne is also Vice President of the JK Irwin Foundation, a family foundation focused on criminal justice reform. Prior to her policy and political work, Anne worked as a trial attorney in the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office.

Emily Lee is the Director of San Francisco Rising, a multi-racial alliance of community organizations building the political power of low-income communities of color in San Francisco. Emily has 15 years of experience in grassroots leadership development and community organizing. Emily has played a key role in leading campaigns to raise the minimum wage and protect affordable housing in San Francisco. SF Rising is rooted in Latino, Chinese, Filipino and Black communities that are directly impacted by the criminal justice system but have been excluded from political and policy decisions.

Simin Shamji is the Director of Specialty Courts and Reentry Programs where she manages collaborative courts and oversees policy and operations of the Reentry Division which includes the Bail and Pretrial Release Units, as well as the Social Work Unit and Clean Slate Program. She has worked at the San Francisco Public Defender’s office for over 20 years. After practicing as a trial attorney for many years, she began working on criminal justice policy issues including bail and sentencing reform, criminal fines and fees, racial disparities, and decarceration. She served as a board member on the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California from 2012 through 2016.

Cristine Soto DeBerry is a policy strategist, specializing in generating and implementing cutting edge criminal justice reform. She served two-terms as the Chief of Staff for San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón. During her tenure, she developed a robust policy and communications agenda, making San Francisco one of the nation’s first reform administrations. With over twenty years of legal and policy experience Cristine guided many successful large-scale reforms including developing the nation’s first proactive mass record clearance for marijuana convictions, creating the nations first “blind charging” tool, creating a national model for investigating police shootings and use of force and drafting the nation’s broadest record clearance bill.

Additional appointees to the transition team will be announced in the coming days.

https://www.davisvanguard.org/2019/11/san-francisco-da-elect-chesa-boudin-announces-transition-leadership-team/

Anyone who is old enough to remember can never forget where they were when the announcement of President Kennedy’s assassination shocked and rocked the World.

It was the truly first Worldwide media event and changed America forever.

Not for the good.

The only honest conclusion one can draw as we watch 56 years later the Buffoon in Washington destroy one institution after another.

The following Wikipedia link provides the sad details.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_John_F._Kennedy

I watched the British naturalized citizen Dr. Fiona Hill totally demolish the cluless, witless and shameless and bloviating mob of mediocrity known as the Republican Party.

It was one of the best political takedowns I have ever seen. Dr. Hill’s “Domestic political errand” line describing Trump’s obscene attempt to muscle a foreign government to investigate a political foe is a classic.

Excerpted from Slate 11.21.2019

Dr. Fiona Hill Took the Intelligence Committee to School

There came a clear point during Thursday’s public testimony in the House impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump when Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee realized that Fiona Hill, the former National Security Council official who was one of the two closing witnesses in this phase of inquiry, was not someone they wanted to hear from.

The switch occurred after ranking member Rep. Devin Nunes and minority counsel Steve Castor had the misfortune of using part of their 45 minutes of opening questioning to actually address a series of questions to Hill. The Russia expert responded with thoughtful, thorough, and irrefutable explanations of why she had been so troubled by the early phases of the Ukraine scandal while watching it unfold. As Hill explained, she was an eyewitness to an effort on July 10 by Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland to inform the Ukrainians that if they wanted a face-to-face meeting in the Oval Office between Trump and newly elected Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, they needed to investigate Trump’s political rivals.

Hill further articulated that the investigation request was not in anybody’s national security interest, but rather “a domestic political errand.” She went on to explain how she had sought to warn Sondland—and administration attorneys, at the instruction of her former boss, ex–national security adviser John Bolton—that the plot was “all going to blow up.”

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/11/fiona-hill-trump-impeachment-testimony.html

Excerpted from Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiona_Hill_(presidential_advisor)

Hill worked in the research department at the John F. Kennedy School of Government from 1991 to 1999, and at the National Intelligence Council as a national intelligence analyst of Russia and Eurasia from 2006 to 2009. In 2017, she took a leave of absence from the Brookings Institution, where she was director for the Center on the United States and Europe, while serving on the National Security Council. Hill is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the board of trustees of the Eurasia Foundation.^[5]

Hill served as an intelligence analyst under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama from 2006 to 2009. She was appointed, in the first quarter of 2017, by President Donald Trump as Deputy Assistant to the President and Senior Director for European and Russian Affairs on his National Security Council staff,^[6][5][7] and resigned her position on July 19, 2019.^[8]

Good riddance.  Can his American partner be not far behind in getting his just deserts?

Times of Israel 11.21.2019

In a decision that drastically shakes up Israeli politics amid already ongoing chaos, Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit announced Thursday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be charged with criminal wrongdoing in three separate cases against him, including bribery in the far-reaching Bezeq corruption probe.

The decision marks the first time in Israel’s history that a serving prime minister faces criminal charges, casting a heavy shadow over Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, and his ongoing attempts to remain in power.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/ag-announces-netanyahu-to-stand-trial-for-bribery-fraud-and-breach-of-trust/

The election may be nearly a  year away but already the political seers are jumping into the Electoral College prediction swamp.

Given the ongoing Impeachment hearings, the peculiar trip the President made to Walter Reed Hospital last weekend and given Trump’s  volatile personality, anything is possible.

Quora Digest 11.20.2019

Could Trump be re-elected if the election were today?

Carter Moore, Degree in Political Science, former Congressional aide and Federal employee

The last time I weighed in on Trump’s fortunes more-than one year out from the election, my prediction didn’t age well. So I’ll be more tempered this time and just say: An election today would be an up-hill battle for Trump.

Most polls we see of President Trump’s approval draw on national samples, making it difficult to draw state-by-state conclusions (which is what matters). However, there are two agencies which provide regular, state-by-state data for public consumption: Morning Consult[1] and Civiqs[2].

Here is what their end-of-September data (as at Sept-30 and Oct-1, specifically and respectively) shows:

Obviously, there are both alignments and disagreements in the data which open up a myriad of plausible outcomes. However, let’s try and capture the breadth of possibilities by trying to identify the current, best- and worst-case scenarios.

For the best-case, I’ve used the highest approval rating in each state, and then added 2%, which is roughly the difference in between the national averages of Trump’s overall approval rating[3] and his head-to-head match-ups against leading Democrats[4] .

In the below map, unshaded states are toss-ups (where Trump’s boosted approval is 48–52%), while lightly shaded leaning states are below 55% (with respective partisanship), darker colored states 55–59%, and deep colored states 60% or more.

Again, that was giving the President the highest of every state-by-state approval rating +2%. That’s a massive battlefield for a best-case scenario.

While this map should absolutely serve as a gut-check to any Democrats or Never-Trumpers who think 2020 ought to be a cakewalk against the President (if Pennsylvania were to swap columns, it’d be game over; if only Michigan went, that’d set up a possible tie), it is also not the map of an incumbent who has managed to expand his base[5] .

Swinging to the other side of the spectrum, I simply used the lowest approval rating measure in each state as the proportion of Trump’s vote and gave the balance over to the Democrats. Here’s that map:

I would only consider this map plausible if the bottom falls out of the economy[6] [7] ; and while approval ratings don’t at all translate 1:1 to “would vote for,” much less with any reliability more than one-year out[8] , the fact that this map exists at all based on current approval ratings should be terrifying for an incumbent president.

So while I won’t be hanging my hat on any predictions until we’re actually in the general election part of the race (mostly[9] ), I think this data at least affirms the position that President Trump is much more vulnerable than many might currently believe.

Footnotes

[1] Tracking Trump: The President’s Standing Across America

[2] Civiqs

[3] RealClearPolitics – Election Other – President Trump Job Approval

[4] RealClearPolitics – Election 2020 – General Election: Trump vs. Biden

[5] Carter Moore’s answer to What has Donald Trump done to expand his base of voters for his 2020 re-election bid?

[6] Carter Moore’s answer to Why do some people say that President Trump’s approval rating should be higher because of the economy? What “should” it be?

[7] Carter Moore’s answer to How would a recession in 2020 impact President Trump’s chances of reelection?

[8] Should We Take These Early General Election Polls Seriously? $#!% No!

[9] Carter Moore’s answer to Are there any US states where you can 100% guarantee me right now that they’ll back Trump in the 2020 election?

A group of retaliatory minded San Francisco voters want to recall an elected official for calling out  lies and defamatory statements by the Police Officers Association.

What was Supervisor Sandy Fewer upset about on election night two weeks ago?

The vicious POA campaign which spent over $600,000 in a futile obscene and defamatory effort to derail the winning campaign of District Attorney elect Chesa Boudin.

Even more ridiculous is the fact the Supervisor is up for re-election in November 2020. Sandy Fewer’s constituents can make a determination then.

My prediction. This nonsense recall effort just guaranteed her election to four more years in office.

San Francisco Chronicle 11.19.2019

A group of Richmond district residents filed a petition with the Department of Elections Tuesday to initiate a recall of Supervisor Sandra Lee Fewer, weeks after she led a controversial chant against the Police Officers Association at an election night party.

The group of 31 residents signed the petition after Fewer grabbed the microphone at an election night party for Chesa Boudin, the progressive district attorney, and began a chant against the city’s nearly 2,000-member police union: “F— the POA! F— the POA! F— the POA!”

“She has insulted the hard working men and women of San Francisco’s police force, who do their best to protect our community,” according to the letter, obtained by The Chronicle. “She has embarrassed our city before the rest of the country.”

The Notice of Intention is the first step to initiating a recall petition. The District 1 Supervisor, who represents the Richmond district, has seven days to respond. The petition must gather signatures from 20% of the 42,713 registered voters in the district.Then, if the department certifies the signatures, it will call for a recall election, where voters must pass a simple majority to unseat the official. The mayor will then appoint a replacement.

Recall attempts are uncommon in San Francisco, and seldom successful. Former San Francisco Mayor Dianne Feinstein was the subject of a failed recall election in 1983. More recently, a group of residents unsuccessfully attempted to recall Supervisor Aaron Peskin and former Supervisor Jake McGoldrick in 2007, and Supervisor Sophie Maxwell in 2004.

Fewer could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday.

The “unhinged attack,” he wrote, “made our officers’ job more dangerous.”

Fewer attempted to clarify her words the next day. She apologized to the officers in the San Francisco Police Department, but stood by her negative feelings toward the union, saying the “organization has an continues to incite fear in our city.”

Her chant on election night highlighted the tense relationship between the association and progressive politicians in the city.

Fewer must run for re-election in November 2020. She previously told The Chronicle that she is “90% going to run for re-election,” though she has yet to file any papers for the November 2020 election.

Alexandra Jansen, a Richmond district resident who serves on the neighborhood’s community police board and is behind the recall effort, said she was “not happy” with Fewer before the chant — but her election night words were the final straw.

While she said the recall is probably an “unrealistic goal,” she said the group of residents want to send her a message.

“We deserve better with our neighborhood,” she said. “Let’s show her that we’re unhappy.”

https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/Recall-started-for-SF-supervisor-who-led-14847816.php

Well. Well. What kind of grief will be heaped on the Contra Costa District Attorney for declining to press charges in this case?

I am sure there will be an uproar amongst certain segments of the citizenry which will never let facts get in the way of speculation.

San Francisco Chronicle 11.18.2019

In a surprising twist to a high-profile case, the Contra Costa County district attorney’s office declined to file criminal charges Monday against the five men police said were responsible for the shooting of 10 people — five fatally — at a Halloween party in an Airbnb rental house in Orinda.

Scott Alonso, spokesman for the district attorney’s office, said the office will “need more information” in order to file charges, and on Monday night jail records showed that four of the five men were no longer in custody.

Jimmy Lee, spokesman for the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office, which led the investigation into the shooting and announced the arrests last week, said, “We stand by our investigation.”

“The arrests were made pursuant to a judge’s order,” Lee continued, referring to the probable cause warrants that police sought to arrest the suspects. “Although the District Attorney may want more investigation done, the persons arrested and responsible for these crimes will ultimately be held to account.”

Jesse Danoff, who represents the family of Raymon Hill Jr., said he is disappointed but not surprised by the decision not to file charges.

Danoff said he disputes information about the shooting released by the sheriff’s office, including that two victims possessed guns, and wants to wait until the full report is released before making any judgments.

“I think if (charges) weren’t filed at this point, I wouldn’t anticipate any coming soon unless there’s some new developments,” Danoff said. “Whoever is talking, or gave some information, is certainly not anymore or else they would have filed charges.”

On Friday, a day after making the arrests, Sheriff David Livingston held a news conference and released some information about what investigators had found during their two-week probe but shared little about what evidence officials had to pin the case on the suspects.

He said that one of the suspects, Jaquez Deshawn Sweeney, 20, had been captured on surveillance video entering the Orinda house party with a gun.

He also said gunfire erupted during a dispute between rival gangs from San Francisco and Marin City and that two of the people killed had been armed.

The four suspects who were booked on suspicion of murder and conspiracy and were held without bail were Sweeney and Jason Iles, 20, both of Marin City; Lebraun Tyree Wallace, 28, of San Mateo; and Shamron Joshua Mitchell, 30, of Antioch.

The fifth, Devin Isiah Williamson, 21, of Vallejo was arrested on suspicion of being an accessory, officials said.

Wallace remained in custody at the Martinez Detention Facility by Monday night, while the others had been released, according to the Contra Costa County online inmate locator.

During the investigation, the sheriff’s office worked with the FBI, San Francisco police, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and police in San Mateo, Marin City, Vallejo, Antioch and Orinda. But the district attorney’s office, which is led by Diana Becton, did not appear to be part of the investigative team.

On Monday, Alonso said the investigation is continuing.

“I think everything’s on the table,” Alonso said about the possibility of future charges. “It depends on what the evidence shows. This case is very complex, and the investigation is still very active.”

Both Mitchell and Wallace have criminal records. Mitchell accepted a plea deal a decade ago on a gang-related assault charge. Wallace was arrested in Marin County on suspicion of possessing weapons.

Up until Friday, sheriff’s officials had remained tight-lipped about the shooting on Lucille Way, in a quiet residential neighborhood. Police had said the event at the home, rented on Airbnb, was advertised on social media as a “mansion party.”

“In my 32 years in law enforcement, I have never seen a homicide scene like this ever,” Livingston said Friday during the news conference. “It was a bloodbath.”

Livingston added that some people went to the party “with the intent of causing harm and conflict.”

https://www.sfchronicle.com/crime/article/Orinda-shooting-Contra-Costa-DA-s-office-14844895.php