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Reporters from Spanish-language media peppered a State Department spokesman with questions Thursday on sanctions in Syria, Iran's influence in Latin America and Colombia's decision not to invite Cuba to an upcoming regional summit.

Attorney General Eric Holder Thursday ran into unexpected bipartisan opposition on Capitol Hill over the Justice Department's failure to release its report on the alleged misconduct of the prosecutors who mishandled the prosecution of the late Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens.

Brian Flynn says you can blame the low opinion most Americans have of Congress on the fact that it has become increasingly unrepresentative

Driver’s arrest for reckless driving in a shopping mall parking lot did not support a search incident of the passenger compartment. Canino v. State, 2012 Ga. App. LEXIS 252 (March 7, 2012).

A controlled buy was probable cause for a search warrant that produced more drugs; § 1983 case fails on the merits. Abreu v. Romero, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 4703 (2d Cir. March 7, 2012) (unpublished).*

Officers went to defendant’s place for a knock-and-talk and could smell marijuana coming from around the door. One looked through a gap between the blinds and the window frame. Even if this look was excluded from the application, there would still be probable cause. Also, defendant saw the officers and fled the premises. That added to the probable cause. United States v. Newton, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 4871 (5th Cir. March 8, 2012) (unpublished).*

Based on representations from defendant’s wife and all the police officers knew, she had apparent authority to consent to a search of what they believed was the family computer. It was not locked with a password, and she had full access to it. The after-acquired facts were not enough to undermine what they knew at the time. United States v. Schuler, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 30512 (D. Kan. March 8, 2012):

The court heard the testimony of Mrs. Schuler and Officer Crawford. The court also heard the testimony of defendant. The court has reviewed the parties' briefs and the applicable law. The court does not believe that Officer Crawford was presented with an ambiguous situation here, nor was he required to make further inquiry. Mrs. Schuler had retrieved her husband's laptop from their home, had it in her possession, and provided it to officers–on and unlocked–explaining that she believed it was used to write the letters and/or that it contained the letters, although she was not able to find them on it. The computer was in her care, custody, and control when she provided it to officers and consented to their search of it.

It is true that police only later learned more facts that would either support or undermine Mrs. Schuler's authority to consent to the search, such as where the laptop was kept; whether Mrs. Schumer had previously been provided a password (or whether any password was actually required); and whether she occasionally used the laptop. However, the critical inquiry is what police knew at the time consent was given. Sanchez, 608 F.3d at 689, n.1 (noting that reasonableness of officer's belief that a third party has authority to consent is an objective inquiry, "based on the 'facts available to the officer at the moment,'" quoting Illinois v. Rodriguez, 497 U.S. 177, 188 (1990)); United States v. Andrus, 483 F.3d 711, 722 (10th Cir. 2007) (noting that "[a]ny after-acquired factual knowledge that 'might undermine the initial reasonable conclusion of third-party apparent authority [is] generally immaterial,'" (quotation omitted)). The court need not resolve contradictions in the hearing testimony because these additional facts are not relevant to the inquiry. The court agrees with the government that, at the time and under the circumstances in which Mrs. Schuler gave consent to search, it was reasonable for Officer Crawford to believe that she had authority to do so.

Former defense counsel waived the suppression motion and hearing on the ground that it was done by private action. Second successor counsel wants to raise the issue anew on the eve of trial, and it is denied. United States v. Onyekaba, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 153919 (N.D. Ga. October 21, 2011). Even the “good cause” claim in Rule 12(e) that former defense counsel would be ineffective for waiving wasn’t good enough, and led to footnote 8:

8 To the extent defendant is arguing ineffective assistance of counsel as "good cause" to "hear these motions now, rather than in a future 28 U.S.C. § 2255 proceeding," [Doc. 148 at 4], this argument is misplaced. Indeed, ineffective assistance claims raised for the purpose of showing "good cause" under Rule 12(e) are "not ripe for review" and "are best brought by a defendant in a post-conviction proceeding under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 so that the parties can develop an adequate record on the issue." United States v. Jones, No. 3:07-CR-162, 2009 WL 1471807, at *4 (E.D. Tenn. May 27, 2009) (rejecting defendant's argument that he has shown good cause to excuse the waiver due to the alleged ineffective assistance of his prior attorney); see also United States v. Lopez-Medina, 461 F.3d 724, 738-39 (6th Cir. 2006) (finding defendant's "ineffective assistance claim is not ripe for review, and [defendant] therefore, cannot, at this point, demonstrate 'good cause' to excuse his waiver under Rule 12(e)").

Reading between the lines in this case, I’d think that the defendant was insisting on raising this search issue despite the court’s summary which shows it woefully inadequate. Defendant was arrested for shoplifting in a Macy’s store by store security. On him were three credit cards that didn’t belong to him. They called police who stopped the car he was in for a traffic stop, and the codefendants were arrested. The full details aren’t given, but it appears that something came from the traffic stop and there’s at least the appearance that the vehicle was not his; hence a standing problem. Therefore, one might conclude that this was the USMJ’s way of brushing off a motion to suppress that was doomed anyway. We all know clients know more about the Fourth Amendment from their friends than from us.

Derrick Bell, who died last October, was a legal scholar and racial barrier-breaker throughout a career that influenced law students including a young Barack Obama at Harvard.

Speaking at a plant in Virginia, President Obama says he wants the words "made in America" to become popular once more.

Soledad O'Brien asks Breitbart's Joel Pollak what's so controversial about their Harvard-era videotape of Barack Obama.

I Led With the Cross 5-6-10

ANALYSIS/OPINION:

In the age of the Internet, when everybody wants to get his two cents into the debate and anybody can invent his own facts and rant in a blog or sometimes even a newspaper column, endorsements don't mean much. They particularly don't mean much coming from a congressman.

Endorsements ...

Republican presidential front-runner Mitt Romney looked past his GOP opponents and focused squarely on President Barack Obama Friday, calling the president's new campaign film a misleading "infomercial" that ignores a slew of alleged administration failures.

President Barack Obama traveled Friday to a Rolls-Royce jet engine facility in Virginia, where he outlined a proposed network for manufacturers to share "access to cutting edge capabilities."

GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney offered a few suggestions to the director of a new film about President Obama.

Mitt Romney's struggle with white evangelical voters doesn't bode well for him as he moves through the GOP presidential primary, with Mississippi and Alabama just ahead....

Mitt Romney's struggle with white evangelical voters doesn't bode well for him as he moves through the GOP presidential primary, with Mississippi and Alabama just ahead....

Mitt Romney's struggle with white evangelical voters doesn't bode well for him as he moves through the GOP presidential primary, with Mississippi and Alabama just ahead....

Mitt Romney's struggle with white evangelical voters doesn't bode well for him as he moves through the GOP presidential primary, with Mississippi and Alabama just ahead....

Illegal Immigration is a Happy Invasion 5-6-10

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) -- Mitt Romney faces a tough sell in the Deep South. With Mississippi and Alabama primaries coming up next Tuesday, there's concern that he's too slick, not really a conservative. In a region where the evangelical vote is important, some are skeptical about his Mormon faith....