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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 18, 2008)
JANUARY ig. ¿æa juSt|OUt Sen. Larry Craig, R-ldaho, continues to defend himself against charges of disorderly conduct related to his arrest for trying to initiate sex with an undercover cop in an airport bathroom. don’t support the charge, the plea is inaccurate and should be thrown out, the brief contends. In October, Hennepin County District Judge Charles Porter ruled there was no good reason to let Craig withdraw his plea. Calling some of Craig’s legal arguments “illogical” and “circular,” Porter said the senator was “a career politician with a col lege education” who “is of, at least, above-average intelligence. He knew what he was saying, reading and signing.” In the appeals court brief, Craig’s lawyers again argue the plea is a “manifest injustice”—the legal threshold to allow a plea to be withdrawn— because no factual basis for a plea exists. The American Civil Liberties Union says it intends to file a brief, due by Jan. 15, in support of Craig’s arguments. NEW JERSEY Assembly Passes Stronger Hate Crimes Bill The New Jersey Assembly passed legislation Jan. 7 sponsored by Assembly Speaker Pro Tempore Wilfredo Caraballo, D-Newark, to strengthen and expand the state’s laws against hate crimes and bullying. “Acts of hatred or violence against a person— especially a child—cannot be tolerated in our state in this day and age,” said Caraballo. “These acts of personalized terrorism command a response that will be swift and sure.” Caraballo’s measure, Assembly Bill 4591, would substantially revise the bias intimidation crime law, which encompasses hate crimes and bullying. Under the bill, bullying or hate crimes based on “gender identity or expression” and “national ori gin” would be specifically prohibited, more clearly defining the scope of existing law. The measure would create additional penalties for the crime of bias intimidation, including mandatory completion of a sensitivity training course; mandatory completion of a counseling pro gram designed to reduce violent and antisocial behavior; and mandatory payments or donation of services to local organizations that provide servic es to victims of bias intimidation. The bill would add the crime of bias intimida tion to the list of crimes to which the state Victims Crimes Compensation Agency may award pay ments or other compensation. The legislation also would require local and county police to include information about bias crimes in the quarterly crime reports filed with the state Office of the Attorney General, which would be required to maintain a central repository of information about bias crimes that would be available to the public. Under the bill, the Police Training Commission, in consultation with the New Jersey Human Relations Council, would be required to provide new police officers with two hours of train ing in identifying, responding to and reporting bias intimidation crimes. The legislation also would require each school district to post its bullying policy on the school’s Web site and send annual copies of the policy to parents and guardians of all enrolled children. Finally, the bill would establish a 13-member commission on bullying in schools, which would be responsible for studying and reporting on the implementation and effectiveness of school bul lying laws and regulations, the adequacy of legal remedies available to students of bullying, the legal protections available to teachers who com ply with school bullying policies, the training of teachers and law enforcement personnel in responding to incidents of bullying and the implementation of possible collaboration between the state Department of Education and the Division of Civil Rights to produce a statewide initiative against school bullying. The commis sion would be required to hold at least three meetings and report its finding to the governor and the Legislature within nine months of its creation. The bill passed 65-10 with five abstentions. It now heads to Gov. John Corzine, who may sign it, veto it or modify it in the form of a conditional veto. New Legislature Urged to Consider Marriage As New Jersey’s new legislative session got under way Jan. 8, Lambda Legal’s executive direc tor, Kevin Cathcart, made a plea for marriage equality. “Marriage equality for same-sex couples in New Jersey is inevitable—prolonging the wait leaves countless families across the state without the secu rity and dignity of being able to explain to their children, their neighbors or their children’s teach ers that they are married,” he said. According to Cathcart, civil unions label same- sex couples as “different and inferior" and “no amount of tinkering with the rules and benefits can erase that stain of inequality.” Lambda Legal will deliver more than 1,500 sig natures, gathered through a targeted campaign among its members and supporters, to Democratic Gov. John Corzine, Senate President Richard Codey and Speaker Joseph Roberts urging them to pass a marriage equality bill. In October 2006, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled unanimously in Lambda Legal’s lawsuit Lewis v. Harris that same-sex couples must be given the rights and responsibilities of marriage but left it to the Legislature to decide whether it should be marriage or some other status. Later that year the New Jersey Legislature passed a civil union law. ® Compiled by J aymee R. C uti JMV The Law Office of John V. McVea, P.C CRIMINAL DEFENSE • DUII / DWS • PROPERTY CRIMES • DOMESTIC VIOLENCE • THEFT • ASSAULT PERSONAL INJURY • AUTO ACCIDENTS • WRONGFUL DEATH • BICYCLE / PEDESTRIAN • ABUSE VICTIMS • MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE 503-223-1708 i www.mcvealaw.com The Morgan Bldg. • 720 SW Washington, Suite 75^ Jd, OR 97205
