Wisconsin DA threatens to arrest teachers if they obey sex education law

It seems to me that this District Attorney is pressuring teachers to disobey the law, and threatening them with prison. It sounds like political extortion to me.

This thinking could logically make all education a crime. If you teach a child how to use a checkbook, that child could someday commit check fraud. If you teach the child to write, he could someday create a note that says, "I have a gun. Hand over the money."

I have a question. If this DA had had better teachers, could his lack of logic have been remediated? Or is he uneducable?



Wis. DA Threatens Arrest for Local Sex-Ed Teachers
April 7, 2010
Lisa Holewa
AOL News

A Wisconsin district attorney is urging schools to drop their sex-education programs, warning that the teachers involved could be arrested if they follow a new state law requiring them to instruct students on how to use condoms and other contraceptives.

In light of a letter from Juneau County District Attorney Scott Southworth, leaders at the five school districts in the county are evaluating what to do now, New Lisbon School District Superintendent Tom Andres told AOL News today.

"I don't intend to put our teachers in harm's way," he said. "We were just about to meet to discuss how to comply with the new law. Then this letter came, and this is another piece of the puzzle that we'll have to consider as we figure out how to move forward."
Juneau County District Attorney Scott Southworth
Andy Manis, AP
Juneau County District Attorney Scott Southworth sent a letter to leaders at the county's five school districts, warning them to stop their sex-education programs or risk the arrest of teachers if they follow a new state law requiring them to instruct students how to use condoms and other contraceptives.

The state law, called the Healthy Youth Act, took effect in March. Starting this fall, it requires schools with sex-education courses to teach students medically accurate, age-appropriate information, including how to use birth control and prevent sexually transmitted diseases. It also requires the classes to include information about how to recognize signs of abuse and how alcohol can affect decision making.

Parents will be permitted to remove their children from sex-education classes, as they could under previous state law. Schools also will be allowed the choice of whether to offer sex education, but must notify parents if they decide not to.

In his letter, Southworth told school district leaders the new law promotes sexual assault of children, and warns that teachers who follow the law could be charged with misdemeanor or felony delinquency of a minor, with maximum punishments ranging from nine months in jail to six years in prison.

"For example, if a teacher instructs any student aged 16 or younger how to utilize contraceptives under circumstances where the teacher knows the child is engaging in sexual activity with another child -- or even where the 'natural and probable consequences' of the teacher's instruction is to cause that child to engage in sexual intercourse with a child -- that teacher can be charged under this statue," Southworth wrote...

SDCERA lawyers screw up big time, and Voice of San Diego's Rob Davis does their legal research

It seems that the California Bar Association has given law degrees to several people who shouldn't have them. But that doesn't explain why SDCERA would hire such people, does it? Perhaps the answer is suggested by the name of Rob Davis' blog: "In the muck."


Outsourcing to Pension Consultant Is Illegal, Attorney Says
April 1, 2010
Rob Davis
Voice of San Diego

Two weeks ago, when the county pension fund agreed to solicit offers to outsource its 10-member investment team, Lee Partridge planned to submit a bid.

Partridge, the San Diego County Employees Retirement Association's top investment consultant, had the blessing of the organization's attorney, Steven Rice. Even though Partridge had proposed creating the work, which would've paid his company more than $10 million annually, SDCERA's attorney said it was legal for him to bid. A perceived conflict existed, Rice said, but not an actual one.

Then I asked questions about whether Partridge's bid would violate a specific law that prohibits government employees from benefiting financially from contracts they're involved in creating. I found a state Attorney General's opinion that suggested it would be illegal.

I gave the opinion to County Supervisor Dianne Jacob, a pension board member, who in turn asked for a legal analysis of my questions.

Today, the board got its answer: What it wanted to do is illegal. Partridge can't get the work...

Tom Warwick takes on the Bonnie Dumanis machine in race for judge

Tom Warwick

See all Bonnie Dumanis posts.

A Race for Judge That's Intriguing -- for Once
February 7, 2010
Voice of San Diego
By KELLY THORNTON

Most Superior Court judicial races are about as exciting as traffic school. Campaigning is considered undignified. Attacks between candidates are forbidden. There are no sparks, no debates, no surprises.

The real competition -- for endorsements -- is settled behind the scenes, long before voters see unfamiliar names on a ballot and pick candidates merely because they're backed by the sheriff and district attorney.

But one matchup for this June's primary has potential to be downright intriguing. It could be the first time in two decades a criminal defense attorney is elected to a bench that is dominated by former prosecutors.

And, making things even more unusual: The political maneuvering is well underway, with a strong potential for a curveball or two on the endorsement front.

In one corner is one of San Diego's most prestigious and politically connected criminal defense attorneys, Tom Warwick. He is supported so far by 40 judges and, surprisingly, by retired Sheriff Bill Kolender. That's quite unusual, since law enforcers tend to support prosecutors for judge.

In another corner is Deputy District Attorney Richard Monroy, the respected former head of the deputy district attorneys union who has held significant posts managing the gang and special operations units. He is backed so far by District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis, the district attorneys union, the San Diego District Attorney Investigators Association, a peace officer association, plus 10 judges. Oh, and Kolender.

Huh?

Kolender has endorsed both candidates. He first agreed to support Warwick, at the behest of a judge. And then he endorsed Monroy...

Judicial Misconduct: The Mice Guard The Cheese

December 31, 2009
Wall Street Journal
Judicial Misconduct: The Mice Guard The Cheese
By Nathan Koppel

Does the federal judiciary do a good enough job investigating misconduct complaints against its fellow judges?

It’s an oft debated topic that gets a particularly detailed airing today in this Houston Chronicle piece.

A spate of recent high-profile complaints against judges, including the sexual-abuse charges against former Texas federal judge Samuel Kent (pictured), has prompted experts and members of Congress alike to call for reforms and more disclosure of federal disciplinary decisions, the Chron reports. (Click here and here for LB coverage of the Kent case.)

The chief judges of the federal circuit courts oversee complaints against all the circuit, district, bankruptcy and magistrate judges in their regions.

But in seven circuits, according to the Chron, chief judges took no public disciplinary action at all in the last decade, “meaning not a single federal judge faced any sanctions in 29 states with more than 875 full-time federal judges, despite thousands of complaints.”

Citing one example, the Chron notes that James B. Loken, who oversees the 8th Circuit, has never formally investigated a complaint since becoming chief judge in 2003, according to Michael Gans, the 8th Circuit Clerk who works with Loken.

Early in his tenure, Loken dismissed misconduct complaints from an attorney as “signed by a person whose signature is illegible.” ...

In fairness, rogue federal judges are likely few and far between. And the current disciplinary apparatus helps preserve the independence of the federal bench. The federal justice system would break down if every complaint from disgruntled litigants got a full airing.

But it’s also true that the system leaves “the mice in charge of the cheese,” as attorney Lara Bazelon told the Chron. In a recent Kentucky Law Journal article, Bazelon wrote: “Judges are human beings just like the rest of us, and putting on a black robe should not immunize them from legitimate punishment.” ...


Comment:

NFOJA wrote:

While our attention is currently focused on state judiciaries, Olsen’s article goes far to legitimize the NFOJA. NFOJA is the National Forum On Judicial Accountability. It promotes putting responsibility for discipline of state judges into the hands of a randomly selected, adequately trained, rotating group of private citizens...

San Diego County judge admonished for abuse of office

San Diego County judge admonished for abuse of office
Commission says Judge Robert C. Coates previously in trouble for same behavior
By TERI FIGUEROA
North County Times
December 2, 2009

The body that oversees the performance and behavior of judges announced Wednesday that it has publicly admonished San Diego Superior Court Judge Robert C. Coates for his "repeated refusal" to not use his office to advance the personal interests of himself and others.

"Judge Coates has persisted in a pattern of abuse of the prestige of his judicial office and misuse of court resources in connection with personal and non-court matters," the Commission for Judicial Performance said in a press release.

The commission said Coates previously has been disciplined by the commission for similar conduct, and that he had been ordered by his presiding judges to cease such conduct. He had also been warned by the California Judges Association Ethics Committee to avoid such conduct, the commission said.

"Judge Coates' recalcitrance manifests indifference toward the erosion of public confidence in the judiciary that results from irresponsible behavior by judges," the commission said.

The statewide commission is composed of three judges, two lawyers, and six public members. The chairperson is the Hon. Judith D. McConnell of 4th District Court of Appeal, based in San Diego.

Former Bush counsel charged in Conn. with trying to kill wife

Former Bush counsel charged in Conn. with trying to kill wife after she sought divorce
JOHN CHRISTOFFERSEN Associated Press Writer
January 7, 2010


NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — A onetime top attorney to former President George W. Bush is accused of trying to kill his wife at their Connecticut home by beating her with a flashlight and choking her.

Fifty-seven-year-old John Michael Farren is charged with strangulation and attempted murder. He was ordered held Thursday on $2 million bail.

His lawyer Eugene Riccio calls it "a tragic situation."

Farren was deputy White House counsel to Bush. He also worked on the campaign and transition for former President George H.W. Bush.

An arrest affidavit says the attack occurred after Mary Farren delivered divorce papers Monday.

Police say she passed out during the attack Wednesday night at their New Canaan home and later fled with her children.

She is stable at a hospital with a broken nose, broken jaw and other injuries.