"Sex Offenders": Another Approach

We've been discussing (both here on the blog and throughout our community) what to do with convicted sex offenders once they've served their time. California is one of a slowly growing number of states to decide that with respect to a particular subset of sex offenders--pedophiles--the best course of action is to declare them mentally ill and place them in a "hospital" for treatment. Here's a report on one of these facilities.

To be clear, I'm not advocating this approach: I just found it in interesting in the wake of recent events and debate.

(Hat tip: Althouse.)

Is Issue Five Being Tested?

Something odd is happening in the top ranks of the Cincinnati Police Division, and it's not clear to me that anyone really has a handle on it. I also haven't seen anyone asking some important questions about how what's happening comports--or conflicts--with the City Charter.

Jane Prendergast blogs that Cincinnati Police Chief Tom Streicher has created a new job for Assistant Chief Richard Janke. The move was made because Janke allegedly raised his voice to another assistant chief and was disrespectful towards Streicher himself.

Ordinarily, a little rearranging in the upper police ranks wouldn't be too interesting. But assistant chiefs aren't like captains or lieutenants. That's because assistant chiefs are appointed by the city manager, not the chief. That's a result of the passage of Issue 5 by city voters back in 2001. (When Chief Streicher leaves his post, he too will be replaced by the city manager.) This is spelled out in Article V, Section 5 of the Charter. (We've previously discussed Issue Five here.)

Until Chief Streicher's unilateral decision to reorganize the department, CPD had five bureaus (Patrol, Resource, Administration, Investigations, and Information Management) each headed by an assistant chief. Lt. Col. Janke previously headed the Administration Bureau, but is now being moved to something new called a "Special Projects Bureau" in an effort to limit "the necessity for him to interact with his peers and subordinates." Remember: if Chief Streicher simply demoted Janke, leaving the position in charge of the Administration Bureau vacant, his replacement would be appointed by Milton Dohoney (and perhaps "burdening" the Chief with an assistant he likes even less). Instead, the Chief has radically redefined Janke's job duties, ostensibly leaving no assistant chief vacancy.

To me, this all raises the following questions:

• Does the Chief has the authority to change the organizational table in this way? A knee-jerk response would be "of course," but I'm not sure it's that simple. At the very least, the number of assistant chiefs is fixed by Council; we have five chiefs only because the City--not the Chief--created an additional position in 2004.
• Assuming the Chief has this authority, at one point does he so limit the authority of an assistant chief that he's not really an "assistant chief" any longer?
• If the Chief has, in fact, made Janke a de facto non-chief (albeit with the rank of lieutenant colonel), can the City Manager declare the creation of a vacancy and use his authority under the Charter to fill it?
• Finally, is Janke grieving this or otherwise appealing it through civil service laws (since--I believe--he was grandfathered into his position and is not himself subject to Article V, Section 5)? Or is this a non-grievable, non-appealable decision in that it (apparently) doesn't impact Janke's rank or pay?

This could quickly become a messy, thorny thicket. The charitable part of me wants to believe that Chief Streicher, while dissatisfied with Lt. Col. Janke's work, wants to spare him (given his decades of service to CPD) the embarassment and financial cost of demotion. But my more cynical instincts suspect that the Chief has essentially ended Janke's tenure as an assistant chief, but done so in a way to deprive the City Manager of the ability to make an appointment.

Or maybe there's nothing at all going on here, and I'm just procrastinating rather than organizing my messy desk on a Saturday.

UC Law Alum Gets Promoted

Cris Collinsworth, a 1991 alumnus of the University of Cincinnati College of Law, has been named as John Madden's replacement on NBC's Sunday Night Football.

Perhaps an even more impressive honor for Cris: on May 10th, he will be the graduation speaker at UC Law's 2009 Hooding Ceremony.

UPDATE (4/16/09 at 7:00): Fifth word of the post corrected to limit the shame I caused my high school Latin teacher.

Free Legal Advice: A Corollary

A little over a year ago, I offered the readers of this blog some free legal advice:

Don't steal from the blind guy visually-impaired gentleman who runs the deli at the courthouse!

It seems that an addendum is in order. Here it is:

Don't steal the Hamilton County Prosecuting Attorney's lunch!

OK....so it apparently wasn't his lunch, but instead belonged to an investigator in the office. But it allegedly happened three times. Getting the munchies once is understandable, but three times? You're not working in a normal office, you're working for prosecutors. Did you think they wouldn't, after their food disappeared a second time, use their investigative skills to see why their pizza stash was dissipating overnight?

And you're right: at any other job, you'd be admonished. Maybe you'd even be fired. (This isn't exactly an employees' job market, if you haven't noticed.) But take a prosecutor's lunch, and you're going to jail.

On the flip side, it'd be fun to defend this case to a jury with exactly that thought: Ladies and gentleman of the jury: remember the last time someone took your apple or Coke from the office refrigerator? What do you think would've happened if you'd called the police and tried to press charges? We all know that when you stash your food in a communal refrigerator, you assume the risk that your food will be consumed by a greedy office-mate.

But come on, folks: is a frozen, microwavable pizza really worth the risk of prosecution? There are judges just a few floors up: wasn't there better food in one of their break rooms? And better yet, couldn't you just wait until the end of your shift to eat?

I hope this has been helpful in resolving any questions you might have about the legality and wisdom of committing theft offenses in the Office of the Hamilton County Prosecuting Attorney.

Mmmm, Doughnuts....

So the Enquirer has posted a letter from a woman who believes that the Postal Service's decision to make a Homer Simpson stamp is "highly objectionable."

I wonder if the author realizes that for the last several years, "The Simpsons" is the only network television show whose characters regularly attend church. And what does it say about television--and American religion--that this is the case?

Widmer Revelation: Deja Vu All Over Again

What is it with you people? What part of "don't investigate on your own" don't you understand? Why won't you listen to the judge when he gives you instructions? Did you think following his warnings was optional?

The Enquirer reports that in support of his motion for a new trial, Ryan Widmer's attorney has filed an affidavit from a juror in which that juror claims that other jurors conducted their own experiments to figure out how long it would take someone to air-dry after taking a shower. He also says a juror mentioned that there was water on the edge of the tub hours after she dried her child after a bath.

(For those of you who live under a rock or outside southwestern Ohio: last week, following a two-week trial and over twenty hours of juror deliberations, Widmer was convicted of murdering his wife by drowning her. The defense claimed that he was in another room while his wife bathed, and that she likely had a seizure while in the tub and slipped under water while unconscious.)

Jurors aren't allowed to experiment. But we also tell jurors that they don't have to leave their everyday experiences at the door to the jury room. So I'm not bothered that a juror might mention that she gave her kid a bath, and that the bathroom was still wet some hours later. That's part of your normal life experiences. We wouldn't expect a juror in a drunk-driving case to forget about his observations of drunk people in the past or forbid him from comparing those to a defendant in a police video. But intentionally experimenting to try to figure out a body's air-drying time? That seems--to me, at least--off-limits. And it might mean a do-over for Widmer.

If a court agrees that a new trial is warranted, it wouldn't be the first time a Tri-State verdict in a high-profile case was set aside because of jurors' actions. One of the most famous instances of juror experimentation took place over a quarter-century ago following the first civil trial regarding the Beverly Hills Supper Club fire. The case is included in law school texts on civil procedure. As you might recall, the plaintiffs (represented by Stan Chesley) argued that the fire was caused by aluminum wiring in the restaurant. Following testimony on this issue by the plaintiffs' expert, a juror went home and checked out his own, similar wiring. When the plaintiffs appealed their loss, the federal Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ordered a new trial, writing:

Our decision to reverse is most regretfully made, as the length of time it has taken to reach it may suggest. The trial was generally a fair one, vigorously and effectively presented by able counsel before a skillful and experienced trial judge who cannot be faulted for the events which have occasioned the reversal. We are mindful of the trial judge's observation, earlier stated in an unpublished opinion of this court, that "[e]xperience teaches that while every additional day of trial increases the possibility of error, it correspondingly reduces the risk that any single error may have prejudicial effect upon the ultimate result." Nonetheless, the recited facts of the improper experiment and its use in the jury deliberations are too compelling and too fraught with potential for prejudice to be ignored. [Internal citation omitted.]

I don't know if what happened in the Widmer case rises to the level of what happened in the Beverly Hills trial. Maybe a body's drying time is part of one's ordinary experiences. But here's a tip: if you're on jury duty and selected for a trial, don't conduct your own experiments; decide the case based on the evidence presented in court. You'll save everyone a lot of time, money, and anxiety.

Miami Wins, Makes Final Game!

Miami Hockey is in the championship game after a victory over Bemidji State in the Frozen Four.

Way to go Miami!!!!!!!!!! Repeat after me:
Love and honor to Miami,
Our college old and grand,
Proudly we shall ever hail thee,
Over all the land.

Alma mater now we praise thee,
Sing joyfully this lay,
Love and honor to Miami,
Forever and a day.

Neckties for the Stars

I'd encourage you to enter this contest, but frankly, I'd rather you didn't: I'm trying to elbow my way into a group date that'll include Kate the Great and Red Kat Blonde (even though they're trying to pretend as if Kwame Jackson is the top draw).

And 5chw4r7z: don't think I haven't noticed that you entered twice.

Dems Council Endorsements (Almost)

Via Facebook, the Democratic Party endorsements for City Council are:

Council Members: Laketa Cole, Jeff Berding, Greg Harris, and Cecil Thomas

Candidates: Wendell Young, Laure Quinlivan, Nicholas Hollan, Tony Fischer and Bernadette Watson

UPDATE: I jumped the gun a bit. This is the recommended slate of candidates that still must be approved .

Law Dog Gets Jail

Ken Lawson, a local attorney who gained attention with high profile cases over the years, has been sentenced to 2 years in prison on a drug conspiracy conviction. Lawson was best known as the attorney for Angela Leisure, the mother of Timothy Thomas, the young man killed by police 8 years ago, sparking a riot.

Cincy Fringe is Big Braining

You will not be able to take your eyes off the Cincinnati Fringe Festival Trailers! Here is the first episode.


Any resemblance to actual science, math, or brainpower is strictly a coincidence.

Unintended Consequences

The Enquirer reports that Westwood Concern is upset about an apartment building in which eight registered sex offenders are residing. From the article, it appears that the building is simply a private apartment building at which several sex offenders have chosen to live. Unfortunately, Westwood Concern is probably complaining about the inevitable consequences of our residency laws.

First, let me clear: I like Westwood Concern. I don't always agree with it or its leader, Mary Kuhl, but I respect them for their commitment to their neighborhood and their activism. So please, don't anyone think this is an I-hate-the-West-Side post.

Having said that, though, concentrations of sex offenders in certain neighborhoods--or even buildings--are the logical result of draconian restrictions on where sex offenders can lawfully live. If 60 percent of the city is off-limits--as the Enquirer reports--then that only leaves the remaining 40 percent available to registered sex offenders. Subtract out the portion of that forty percent that is commercial or high-end residential, and sex offenders have few options for housing.

We're certainly not the only community dealing with this issue. Back in 2007, CNN.com carried a piece regarding a trailer park in Florida that was a safe haven for sex offenders. The answer probably lies in ending the one-size-fits-all approach to monitoring convicted sex offenders. Not all sex offenders are pedophiles. And a sane approach to law enforcement and criminal justice must recognize that. Sadly, Megan's Law and the Adam Walsh Act, while politically satisfying, are ineffective at actually keeping anyone safe.

And finally, people are right to be concerned about the Pogue Center being a collection center for offenders from across the state. According to ODRC's report on the facility, 75% of residents are from Butler, Clark, Clermont, Clinton, Greene, Hamilton, Highland, Miami, Montgomery, Preble, and Warren Counties. That's quite a broad area. (And the remaining 25% may come from anywhere in the state.) But it's also important to know that very few Pogue Center residents who are not Hamilton County residents are permitted to remain here once their treatment program is concluded. ORDC reports that in order for a non-resident placed at the VOA to stay here, an offender has to show that he has full-time employment, stable community support, and adequate savings; since 2006, only 3 out-of-county offenders have been permitted to establish residency here at the conclusion of their treatment.

Ultimately, the continued adherence to strict, Adam Walsh-like regimes will lead to sex offender ghettoes. That's not useful, it doesn't protect the public, and it's not in the interest of the community in which the ghetto is created.

New York Times Reports on Cincinnatian's Love Story

On Friday, the Fashion and Style section of the New York Times contained an article on the upcoming nuptials of Cincinnatian Laurence Meade. Why does the Times care about a wedding in the Midwest? Well, it's the logical result of a love story only possible in the twenty-first century. Here's the short version:

Ann Althouse is a professor at the University of Wisconsin Law School. But more importantly (at least for our tale), she's a blogger who boasts a significant readership. Mr. Meade began reading the blog and began flirting with Professor Althouse in the comments. Eventually, he asked her out (his first, failed attempt was through email, but his second, successful venture was a comment to a post). And the rest, as they say, is history. Professor Althouse has provided something of a roadmap to the Times's chronology. After a first date on Professor Althouse's home turf and a second date at a neutral site, Professor Althouse came to Cincinnati in February. (Peruse many of her posts from that visit here.) While she was here, she accepted Mr. Meade's proposal. My first thought was that the professor fell in love with Graeter's and Montgomery Inn, and that Mr. Meade was just a nice bonus prize, but the Times reports that the couple will reside in Madison.

It's a fun story, and one that makes me smile. I read Professor Althouse's blog frequently, but I have to admit I was fairly clueless about what was going on until other blogs reported it (and I was wondering what would bring her to Cincinnati when I read that she was having a meet-up, which I did not attend--I assumed that UC Law was having some symposium at which she was speaking). That's probably because I read her posts, but usually not the comments to them. Now I'm thinking of skipping the posts and only reading the comments.

And I certainly understand how the professor would finally be willing to relent and grant Mr. Meade a date. I, too, receive countless romantic overtures in the blog comments (this post in particular really cranked up the Love Machine), but I have Griff delete them as soon as they appear so as to maintain our commenters' privacy and dignity. Some day soon, though, I will probably tire of playing hard-to-get and accept one of my would-be-wooers' earnest advances.

Congratulations to Mr. Meade, and best wishes on his upcoming move to the Badger State.

Thoughtful Discussion On Newsmakers This Morning

The video is not yet available, but Channel 12's Dan Hurley led a typically thoughtful discussion on this morning's Newsmakers.  The topic was the VOA, and what should be done with it in the wake of Anthony Kirkland's alleged crimes.  The guests were Margie Slagle of the Ohio Justice and Policy Center and City Councilmember Chris Monzel.

No one will accuse either Griff or me of being Monzel cheerleaders.  But I'll admit:  I was surprised by the thoughtfulness and candidness with which Monzel addressed the issue of how to deal with convicted sex offenders.  I didn't agree with everything Monzel had to say.  (When asked, for instance, where to move the VOA, his suggestion--Lebanon--is one that's clearly non-workable, as there will always be some need to house individuals trying to re-enter society somewhere in Hamilton County.  And he cited a fairly discredited study regarding recidivism rates for sex offenders.)  But Monzel acknowledged something that many politicians--Democrats or Republicans--won't:  treating all sex offenders the same is probably not good public policy.  I was surprised to hear that assertion from him; it's not the typical knee-jerk law-and-order response calculated to win votes.  And it's clear Monzel has given a lot of thought to the issue.

So check back at Channel 12's website for the video in the next couple days and watch it, once it appears.  And will someone from Channel 12 please tell me:  why can't Dan Hurley have a full 60 minutes?  There's no way to thoroughly explore the issues he raises in the fifteen-minute segments available to him (as long as he's not showing pictures of birds).  Certainly, at least during the eight months when the Bengals aren't playing, Hurley could be given the whole 11:00 hour.  Maybe it's time to start a "Sixty Minutes for Hurley" Facebook petition.....

What's Familiar May Not Be Common

Growing up in Buffalo, I knew that some things were particular to that city.  Everyone knew that Buffalo wings were invented in Buffalo (and weren't really available outside western New York twenty years ago), and that beef on weck was something you could get only in Buffalo.  (If you're ever in Buffalo, by the way, try a kummelweck roll; decades after leaving the city, I still crave the delicacy.)

But there were some things I thought were universal that, it turns out, were only regional favorites.  Until I moved away, I'd assumed you could find sponge candy or loganberry (a fruit drink actually bottled by Pepsi in Buffalo) anywhere.  I'd grown up with them; it just seemed natural that everyone else did, too.  I think just about every city has things like that:  items or events that locals take for granted, but about which the rest of the world is clueless.

Cincinnatians know goetta and a chili-like concoction on top of spaghetti are uniquely Cincinnati, of course.  But as my ninth Opening Day in Cincinnati arrives, I wonder whether native Cincinnatians know how  unique our version of Opening Day is.  Do people who grew up here realize that if they were to drive tomorrow to Pittsburgh or Cleveland or even Chicago, Opening Day would be greeted just as any other Monday?  Do you realize that people in other major league towns haven't been paying attention to spring training games?  And that most cities won't have a parade that closes most of their downtown (unless, perhaps, their team won the World Series last year)?

Since I've become a Cincinnatian, Opening Day has become one of my favorite events.  I don't have tickets to the game this year, but I intentionally refrained from scheduling any work events.  So I'll watch the parade from somewhere near Fountain Square, watch the game on TV, and hoist a few beers (unless one of our beloved readers has an extra GABP ticket they'd like to share).  And I'm not the only lawyer who treats the day as an unofficial holiday:  it will be remarkably quiet in the Hamilton County Courthouse Monday afternoon, save for the sound of fireworks emanating about ten blocks south.

So have fun tomorrow, and do so remembering you're probably having much more fun that folks in other major league cities.

Feel free to use the thread to talk about either Opening Day, or to write about the things you'd miss most about Cincinnati if you moved elsewhere.

It is Still a Joke

Jane Prendergast of the Enquirer is reporting she has confirmed Jason Haap (AKA the Dean of Cincinnati) is not joking when he posted on April Fool's day that he is running for Mayor.

It is still a joke, a waste of time, and a mockery of those who are credible candidates out to do good, instead of to gain attention.

April Fool's Day Is Not The 2nd

Someone needs to tell the Dean that his Joke was a day late. Yeah, if it is not a joke, than it is just sad and a mockery of our political system.

UPDATE: It appears the Enquirer''s political blog is slow on the take and doesn't read the date on blog posts.

I'm Such A Geek

Like City Beat's Stephen Carter-Novotni, I've been excitedly anticipating the May 8 arrival of the new Star Trek movie. (For those keeping track, this is the eleventh Star Trek movie. But since the release of the first movie in 1979, we are currently in the longest gap between Star Trek movie releases; the last movie was Nemesis, released in late 2002. This is also the first summer release since The Final Frontier, which premiered in 1989.)

So how about today's news that Star Trek will be be in AMC at Newport on the Levee's new IMAX theatre? (Way to bury the lede, Enquirer!)

I'm positively giddy.

Let the hurling of ridicules in my general direction begin.

UPDATE: If anyone at AMC, Star Trek, Paramount Pictures, or anyone else is interested, I'd happily blog about the movie here in exchange for preview or premiere tickets....

Are You Happy?

Here's an open thread for anyone who wants to tell me how much fun the Cincinnati Imports Happy Hour was tonight.

Because it's 9:00 and I'm still at the freakin' office.

Fool's Day Parade Starts At 11 AM

Be sure to make it Downtown today for the Annual Fool's Day Parade. Floats, bands, and dancing girls! The fun starts at 11 AM. This year Cher is the grand marshal.

Find your place along the route early, space will fill up fast. The Cost is free, but if you want to participate in the parade you can just add your float to the end.

Hope to see everyone there!




(I also hope people can take a joke)