Can You Hear Me Now?

On Nov. 27, the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct recommended the removal of Judge Robert M. Restaino of Niagara Falls, N.Y., after his 2005 cell-phone inspired rant, which the Commission chair called "two hours of inexplicable madness." While presiding over the weekly progress evaluations for 46 defendants, Judge Restaino was disturbed by the noise of a cell phone ringing in the courtroom. According to witnesses, Restaino snapped, demanding the phone's owner to reveal himself. When no one took responsibility, Restaino ordered that all 46 people present in the courtroom be thrown in jail. The Commission said that Restaino behaved like a “petty tyrant,” and that his actions were completely unlawful. The one dissenting commissioner, Raoul L. Felder, argued that Judge Restaino had never shown any signs of bad behavior in the past and should be shown lenience. In 2006, the Niagara Falls City Court ruled in favor of the Judge, deciding that he enjoyed judicial immunity even for flagrant misconduct.

Apparently Judge Restaino isn't the only one being set off by cellphones. To read more about a growing epidemic of "cell phone rage," click here.

Guantanamo Tactics Leaked on the Web?

A 2003 prison camp operations manual for Guantanamo Bay, entitled Camp Delta Standard Operating Procedures, was leaked over the internet this week, bringing to light the detention and interrogation methods used there by the US military. The Bush administration and the Armed Forces have said that the 2003 regulations have evolved significantly over the years.

While the guide clearly states that all prisoners deserve humane treatment, human rights advocates bemoan some of the apparently official practices outlined in the booklet. For example, the military had previously said that the International Committee of the Red Cross enjoyed complete access to detainees, but the report asserts that the ICRC would have no access to some prisoners and only a visual assessment for others. Other procedures described in the manual include the use of dogs for intimidation, mandatory two-week solitary confinement for each incoming prisoner, and the proper way to address a hunger strike.

The report was made public over the website Wikileaks.com, which was created to empower whistle-blowers through anonymity. According to Wikileaks, the report was not classified, and it remains unclear whether it accurately reflects the reality on the ground at Guantanamo Bay.

To read the description of life in Guantanamo from the viewpoint of the Guantanamo Joint Task Force, click here.

Lawyers Stand Together

New York lawyers came together this week to rally in support of legal professionals in Pakistan, who have taken a stand against General Pervez Musharraf and his declaration of a state of emergency. Lawyers from several bars in the city, including the New York City Bar Association, the New York Women’s Bar, and the Muslim Bar of New York, joined the rally in front of the New York Supreme Court building. The New York City Bar also presented a statement, signed by its President Barry M. Kamins, that condemns the marshal law in Pakistan and pledges support to the lawyers and judges standing up for the rule of law in Pakistan.

Judge's Fate Decided by Coin Toss

Engaging in a coin toss is a simple, efficient and completely arbitrary way of settling an issue. Practicing such a method is usually reserved in arenas without legal ramifications and in situations where one does not have access to hundreds of years of judicial precedent. Judge James Shull, however, thought flipping a coin was good enough to solve a custody dispute over which parent would have their child during Christmas.

Another subject of controversy was Jude Shull's request to have a woman her pants in front of the court to showcase a wound that was the result of a domestic dispute. The woman was encouraged to do this even though Judge Shull knew of her history of mental issues.

These two incidents, coupled with prior instances of judicial censure resulted in his removal from the bench following a unanimous vote of the Virginia Supreme Court. According to one of the deciding Justices, Barbara Keenan; "Unless our citizens can trust that judges will fairly resolve the disputes brought before our courts, and treat all litigants with dignity, our courts will lose the public's respect and confidence upon which our legal system depends."

Senate Judiciary Committee Green Lights Mukasey

With the help of Senate Democrats Sens. Chuck Schumer and Dianne Feinstien, the Senate Judiciary Committee has approved the nomination of Judge Michael Mukasey to serve as the next Attorney General of the United States.

Mukasey faced opposition over his refusal to define the practice of "waterboarding" as torture. While Mukasey said that he finds the practice of waterboarding “morally repugnant,” he said that he could not formally define the practice as torture without a more complete briefing on the practice. More importantly, he said, he does not want to legally condemn any Americans who may have employed the interrogation practice.

With confirmation by the Senate Judiciary Committee, Judge Mukasey is widely expected to gain the confirmation of the full Senate. For more information about Judge Mukasey's record, click here for an analysis from National Public Radio. For the Senate Judiciary Committee's Letter to Mukasey, click here. (You can also find Judge Mukasey's response here, and the official White House endorsement of Mukasey here.

Advocacy Groups Propose “Do Not Track List” for Online Advertising

Privacy groups have been lobbying the Federal Trade Commission to enact a new program to allow consumers to protect their online activities from tracking by retailers or advertising companies, an online analog to the phone-based Do Not Call Registry. Companies may currently track users' habits without explicit notification of what information they are collecting and storing. Aggregators of this data, such as DoubleClick, have said that this data collection allows for more relevant targeted ads that actually benefit the consumer. AOL recently has included an "opt out" function, allowing users some control over what information is collected about them. The Federal Trade Commission studied this and other issues during their consumer watchdog agency workshop on Nov. 1-2.