tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-80932245590710226682024-03-13T10:46:26.123-07:00Legal Watch Peace on Earth demands universal commitment to the rule of law and justiceNarine Mkrtchyanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07346920419809766287noreply@blogger.comBlogger294125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8093224559071022668.post-83314770780259137522016-11-11T10:30:00.001-08:002016-11-15T16:33:49.605-08:00Elections 2016 and beyond... <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">On a warm and sunny day, March 7, 1996, my father
and I arrived at the LAX, Los Angeles, escaping from the institutional disintegration
of the Soviet Union. I was turning 18 and America as a new home was
emphatically my choice. As a teenager, growing up in Armenia and Russia, I had
been absorbing the values and principles of Russian dissidents and
intellectuals, Vladimyr V<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">y</span>sotsky, Igor Talkov, Sergei Parajanov. I was reading
world history and classics, was closely familiar with the French liberal
philosophy that became the foundation upon which America built its independent
democracy in 1776. I studied all of American history and classics from Mark
Twain to William Faulkner. I had also received an Honorary degree from my gymnasium
(High School) in Moscow for presenting an analytical research paper in English at
a city conference on William Faulkner’s ‘The Mansion.’ I had concluded in that
paper that Faulkner’s deeper message in the novel was that evil could not destroy
the evil, only love could do that. <b>“Darkness cannot drive out darkness…” </b>as
Martin Luther King, Jr. once said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">When I arrived in Los Angeles, I learned America was
even better than I read about it. This was a country where immigrants were
welcome, were receiving financial aid from the government to get on their feet,
learn English, get jobs, and assimilate fully into the bigger culture. This was
a land of law and order, but also of strong protection of civil liberties,
freedom of speech, freedom of the press, a country with free elections. This
was also a melting pot, where it was quite acceptable to continue cultural
traditions of your native land. I saw a Korea Town, Little Tokyo, Chinatown,
and Glendale was home to more and more Armenians escaping the same destructive
conditions in the former Soviet Union. This was a country where education was a
great priority and students would get all kinds of student loans and financial
aid to get a college degree. I had to wait for a year to become a permanent
resident to receive aid and enroll into the Glendale Community College to start
my general education degree and transfer to UCLA two years later. But I got my
college degree essentially for free. Of course, I did work my way through
college, like most of us. I worked at Radio Shack as a sales associate from
1997-2002 until I went to law school. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As a newcomer I was fully following Bill Clinton’s
reelection in 1996, running a platform based on the working class values and
financial accountability of the government. He was running a very successful
and all-inclusive government, had reduced unemployment, reduced inflation
(which was quite unusual, as low unemployment translates into a high inflation,
as I learned in Macroeconomics 101), balanced the budget, created a surplus,
appointed women to high posts. I was truly in love with my new Homeland that I
had chosen and was making my dream to become an attorney. I had chosen my major
in Political Science with concentration in American politics to study more
closely the history behind the two-party system and development of current
American political institutions. I was writing research paper after a research
paper at UCLA on various topics in American politics and international
relations. In 2001 I graduated UCLA with High Honors and with a lasting
friendship with my professors who had a profound impact on my principles and
views as a civic participant. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Meanwhile there was the 2000 election. I could not
vote yet, but I still rallied around Al Gore and remember a Halloween night at
our UCLA campus at a Gore rally. Gore was running an even more robust liberal
campaign than Clinton, based on environmental protection and consciousness of global
warming. When Bush was instituted as the next President by the U.S. Supreme
Court, I was deeply disappointed but accepted the reality, as I believed in the
functioning of our government system. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Then there was the 9/11. I remember that day as good
as the day when we came to the USA. I was at our home in Woodland Hills, when I
turned on my computer and was reviewing the daily news, when I saw something I
could not believe. The photos of the crash of the Twin Towers are seared in my
memory. As I was reading the lines, for a moment I thought it was about some other
place elsewhere. After all, I had been accustomed to seeing those types of
pictures about other places in the world. I had faced an earthquake in Armenia
of 1988, and seen the tanks roll in the streets of Moscow during the putsch.
But living in the USA for about 5 years, I would have never imagined in my
wildest dreams that America would be under an attack. America was a safe haven
we had dreamed about and found. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The 9/11 proved to me that America was fragile and
vulnerable and it required more vigilance to protect it from external forces
and real or perceived enemies. Then the Bush Administration commenced the war
on terror, and the war in Iraq ensued with half-hearted support of the
establishment and in violation of international law. There was the Patriot Act
greatly curtailing the freedoms and rights of Americans. Then there was the
Guantanamo and the shameful treatment of enemy combatants. Torture and other
unspeakable methods of interrogation were used by the American forces to gather
intelligence from war prisoners in violation of many international laws. Fear
governed in many corners of America, and Bush was reelected to a great dismay
of many. But since the country was facing unprecedented challenges, Americans
had to rally around their President and I understood why Bush was re-elected,
despite such strong opposition and the excesses of his Administration. </span></div>
<br />
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<![endif]--><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I went to
a law school, named after Martin Luther King Jr., committed to his values and
public service. That is where I studied more closely the history of civil
rights in America and human rights in the world. This is where I learned in the
words of Dr. King, “<b>Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable...
Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and
struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated
individuals.” </b></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"></span>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">My law school years coincided with the Bush
Administration and I had the opportunity to view the ongoing actions by Bush
and his cabinet from a legal perspective. </span>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The war in Iraq and the trickle-down economics of
the Bush Administration, the renewed tax cuts for the rich, caused the greatest
economic recession for America since the Great Depression. The Wall Street
executives ran the country into a big hole without any regulation by the
government. The greed and lack of accountability were running the field. The financial
markets crashed and the Bush-Cheney oligarchy left the country in ruins from
top to bottom, not to mention leaving America’s image around the world in the
gutter. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">That is why Barack Obama with his apocalyptic
promise of big change and audacity of hope came in as a savior. America was
desperate. It lost all faith in the political institutions. The working people
thought they no longer had a fair shot and unimaginable poverty was on the
rise. The abyss between the rich and poor was enormous and we were surely on
the brink of another Great Depression. Obama renewed all faith in the American
institutions, ran a very all-inclusive and powerful campaign. He was the
spokesperson for the people, a messenger from God. He raised a big coalition
composed of American independents, liberals, African-Americans, Latinos,
Asians, women and men, young and old that carried him to a big victory in 2008,
the first time I was excited to cast my vote as a U.S. citizen, by voting for
him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizOq2Q2YPhNa8Pph_5vzKpjvunlql7cPTOQfr1XhDMEpjARaCagCCbXJNhh-r5fwGUdWzdL9Y4LgMfEIOBsAfzy2VW7pWgjgUWvMJ26HrWj2GLUewayhg6KOTn-lj8gVltWA94A-aLWDE/s1600/Obama-2008-campaign-1024x682.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizOq2Q2YPhNa8Pph_5vzKpjvunlql7cPTOQfr1XhDMEpjARaCagCCbXJNhh-r5fwGUdWzdL9Y4LgMfEIOBsAfzy2VW7pWgjgUWvMJ26HrWj2GLUewayhg6KOTn-lj8gVltWA94A-aLWDE/s320/Obama-2008-campaign-1024x682.png" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But as the first black President Obama was bound to
face enormous challenges as a President. He won the election in large part
thanks to the unprecedented support of the African-American community in
American history. People who had never voted in their lives, cast their votes
for him. There were very high expectations on Barack Obama. But his mission was
to unite America, not to further divide it by racial politics. In the first two
years of his Presidency he put enormous energy in talking with the other side
of the aisle. That did not succeed as the Republicans were determined to
prevent achievement of all his goals. As he tried to tackle the Wall Street, he
failed. None of the Wall Street executives who had been exposed in predatory
activities were indicted by the Obama Administration. He made the move to save
the big banks and companies from bankruptcy, which was viewed as a ‘sell-out’
by the people. The goal was to save jobs, but the people perceived it as siding
with the big business. Then he enacted the Obamacare, which was supposed to be
a great relief for millions of Americans, but ended in mixed results and attacks
from both the Republicans and Democrats. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Because of his race, anything Obama did or did not
do was under an assail. No President in the American history had faced such
animosity as Obama. His birth place was being examined, his religion was being
questioned. I would talk to people and they were telling me, ‘Obama is Muslim
and he is siding with the terrorists.’ How did this virus spread out and how
the Americans were being infected with it, was unclear. But clearly America was
turning out to be more racist than I thought. There was no other explanation
for the animosity that Obama was getting, because none of his policies or plans
were any different from Clinton’s. But he was facing double standards. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Meanwhile, the racial divide was getting larger in
the nation. The resentment against Obama for becoming the first-black President
was being explored by Republicans to further weaken his Presidency. The whites
felt as the ‘disenchanted minority’ fearful they were losing their voice and
were no longer relevant. The ‘white privilege’ syndrome that had been displaced
by electing the first black President, was backfiring on us. It was now about
‘us’ against ‘them’, that was taken up by the Republicans to prepare the ground
for the next elections. Obama was unable to unite the country unfortunately,
primarily because of his race and the resentment he aroused in the white
America. This resulted in further racial awareness and consciousness around
America. The African-Americans were becoming more focused targets of law
enforcement agents in the streets. One by one, young African-Americans were
being shot and killed by white police, which turned into a cyclical distrust
and hostility between the racial minorities and the police, as agents of the
establishment. In my ten years of experience in our criminal justice system, I
saw blacks (and Hispanics) disproportionately arrested, charged and convicted,
with maximum sentences. The criminal justice system did not work for them. Their
civil rights had been shed. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We had formation of political groups as the Tea
Party and Occupy America as manifestations of these deep racial and economic
divisions. We had Black Lives Matter as the movement of racial awareness and
inequality. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Obama did not take any strong measures in protecting
the civil rights of African-Americans under attack by the law enforcement and
ultimately by whites in the streets. First, because he had been largely
discredited as a President by the Republicans who captured the majority in
Congress soon enough to stonewall all his practical measures. Second, because he
was the President for all Americans, not only blacks and still was cherishing
his promise to unite America. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">That is where most African-Americans felt let down
and left behind. The poverty was still on the rise in their communities. The
middle-class was shrinking. The blue-collar America was depressed. Obama did
not turn out to be the agent of change they all hoped for. Obamacare brought
some relief to the low-income Americans, who had no safety net of employment
covering their health care. Obama put a lot of federal funds into relief
measures for various states to uplift communities. But that ended in adding to
the deficit as the tax loopholes for the rich were not being lifted by the
Republican Congress to fill the treasury. Obama created and saved jobs in some
industries but the incomes of people were not rising due to inflation. There
was still a lot of work to be done, a lot of measures his cabinet was proposing,
while Republican Congress was intransigent and obstructionist. While the
economy improved and the country got out of the recession, many parts of
America did not feel the benefits due to larger forces Obama was not capable of
controlling. Globalized markets had their irreversible effect on the American
job market, something only economists are qualified to explain. While Obama
restored America’s image around the world by his diplomatic course in foreign
policy, the people were less concerned about the image of America abroad as
much as about their pocketbooks. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This was the state of the divided Union, when
Americans faced 2016 elections. While Obama’s rating overall was the highest
for any recent Presidents, a lot of Americans faced uncertainty. Fear, anger
and resentment among many were forces deeply dividing America along racial,
political and economic lines. This is where Trump and Clinton came in. Clinton
as the first brave woman to dare to attempt to crack the glass ceiling, was the
well-known, powerful, controversial agent of the elite political establishment.
Trump was the perceived outsider, a newcomer to the political arena, who was
not being taken quite seriously. It seemed his status as a wealthy businessman
would not resonate well with middle-class Americans, as he represented the top
1% of the population, and bragged about not paying taxes. Why would a billionaire care about the middle-class?! But soon enough it was clear that Trump was
unstoppable. No one was capable of stopping him, neither the Republican
candidates nor the Democratic party. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">On a warm evening on November 8, 2016, my heart was
beating fast, as I was watching the history in the making, state after a state
going red and Trump sweeping the Electoral College map. My mind was racing with
questions, ‘How could this happen?’ ‘Where did we go wrong?’ ‘Where did we
fail?’ I could not find the answers and was moving into despair, as my
candidate Hillary was on the brink of a hurtful loss. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">How did Trump win?! He ran an unprecedented campaign
of trashing all lines of decency and etiquette, political correctness, lashing
out in temperamental outbursts, would silence and order journalists out of the
room, where he would make fun and insult just about anyone he did not like or
agree with, where he targeted and denigrated women, Mexicans, immigrants, Muslims,
veterans, disabled, just about any group and finally was exposed as the biggest
pervert who did not even have decency to adequately explain and apologize for his past
actions towards women impugning his character. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The campaign turned into a personality contest between
Hillary’s character and Trump’s character, instead of focusing on what was at
stake. Americans were being distracted by meaningless talks about Hillary’s
emails, a partisan FBI investigation hanging in the air, instead of focusing on
the qualifications, expertise and values Hillary espoused over Trump. As a
woman despite her long record of accomplishments that many male politicians
would dream of having, Hillary was under a strict scrutiny for all her past perceived
mistakes from Benghazi to the use of private email server, while Trump as a
male got away with refusing to release his tax returns, cheating and denigrating
people, groping ‘pusses’ and allegations of sexual assault by women. Trump attacked
the entire political establishment, complained everything was rigged and
everyone was corrupt, by taking the eyes off the blatant lack of his
qualifications and fitness to become President. Never mind he was among <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">the biggest beneficiaries of the same esta<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">bli<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">shment <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">that allowed him not to pay <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">taxes<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"> and accumulate <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">enormous</span> wealth<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">!</span></span> </span></span></span></span></span>His character flaws were being
covered up by a generalized attack on Hillary as ‘crooked’ and ‘criminal’
without any substantive evidence. Chants to jail Hillary by reputable
politicians at the Republican National Convention were the most bizarre
manifestations of how low our political discourse had fallen. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But more importantly, Trump won by capitalizing on
the disenchanted white America, that felt under a siege after the country
elected the first black President and raised racial awareness more intensely
than ever since the 1960s. It is disheartening to say, but the reality is Obama
gave us Trump. It was inevitable. No one was going to stop Trump, except the
Obama coalition, which failed to rally behind Hillary to turn a critical mass
and swing the election in her favor. Why not?! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Democratic party was too divided to renew this
coalition. Bernie Sanders and his supporters inflicted a fatal blow to the
ability of Democrats to renew this coalition. Watching the primaries and
Clinton garnering major support of the minority voters in the South and
elsewhere, I was hoping she had re-energized the Obama coalition. But the damage
was done. Bernie supporters, energized and inspired with his Political
Revolution and anti-establishment rhetoric, had attacked Hillary as an agent of
the establishment, created fresh hatred towards her and discredited her, that
was later taken up by Trump supporters with much greater animosity and venom. Trump
even stole some of Bernie’s lines about Washington and Hillary. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">When Hillary did ultimately get the historic
nomination of her Party, she faced enormous challenges from both left and right,
aside from conquering the virulent sexism and mi<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">sogyny</span> of the populace. On one hand, she had
to mobilize the Bernie supporters, depressed and disillusioned, more left than
her traditional supporters. On the other hand, she had to get the votes of
American independents. She needed both groups to win this Election. But that
put her in a very delicate position, harder ever for a female candidate who was
being attacked as fake and fraud. Most independents in America are not so
strongly for LGBT rights, are against government entitlements, have mixed
feelings about government spending and distribution of wealth, reform of
criminal justice system, or curbing excesses of the Wall Street, are not as
much into environmental protection as the Bernie supporters were. Most want
just more jobs and do not care that much about the federal minimum wage or
government mandated health care plan. How could she build a platform to capture
both the far left and the Independents! That was the challenge she faced
gracefully but came short. If Clinton had not had the challenge of Bernie
supporters dragging her to the left, she would have gone to the center, as her
husband had done in his historic elections, and would have probably won this
election. She lost the momentum to activate the Obama coalition, energize the
white America and win the Independent Americans into her camp, because of
divisions in the Democratic party and the Bernie factor. Of course, she was
gaining steadily in the polls after her stellar performance in the debates,
when the Americans were faced with clear and convincing evidence of her
preparation and readiness to be President, while Trump was rambling and
mumbling in stupor. But the renewed FBI investigation 11 days before the
election had its last blow on the Hillary campaign. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">She was too busy catering to Bernie supporters,
missing the mood of the American independents, who sought an agent of change.
This is where Trump was a brilliant demagogue. He caught on that sentiment very
quickly. His negative ads portrayed a very bleak America, in the hands of
Washington, special interests and the corrupt establishment. Hillary was staged
as the agent of that corrupt political machinery. While Trump did not give any policy
solutions or answers to this bleak picture aside from hollow promises, his
slogan ‘Make America great again,’ caught on and was hailed by lesser educated
blue-collar American voters, who had been disenchanted with Obama, and sought
an alternative. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The danger of demagogues is that they say what
people want to hear, and make promises to people without ability or commitment
to keep them. They are also dangerous because they are chameleons changing
their colors with any audience regardless of their principles. The Trump crowd
soon was composed of racists, fascists, KKK supporters, Anti-semites, and
sexists. Trump’s America was exclusive, was building walls between groups,
alienating immigrants, Muslims, Hispanics. Trump’s promise to make America great
again was reminiscent of Hitler’s ‘Mein Kampf’ building a Germany only for
Aryan Germans. ‘Make America white again’ with a swastika inscribed by a Trump
supporter in the news, reminded of just how fragile is our democracy and how
much harder we have to work for it now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtzwxeHZAnhPEHl7uiYhHYwsxOhq5jLGOoDUij9aqHuAdsUW5Ev9fcTWibiPL3BO9fr58s81-p0jYU5YY6AlqYmmcpGz-DTFSPosbPXRIeRVWgDOJZWePBhoPg74Ke3vZdkHxQ7UC2oQE/s1600/Art-of-the-Deal-and-Mein-Kampf-side-by-side.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtzwxeHZAnhPEHl7uiYhHYwsxOhq5jLGOoDUij9aqHuAdsUW5Ev9fcTWibiPL3BO9fr58s81-p0jYU5YY6AlqYmmcpGz-DTFSPosbPXRIeRVWgDOJZWePBhoPg74Ke3vZdkHxQ7UC2oQE/s320/Art-of-the-Deal-and-Mein-Kampf-side-by-side.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Thus, Trump was a clear and present danger to the
core American values of all-inclusiveness, tolerance and commitment to freedom
and equality. Because of his flagrant egocentrism and narcissism, he was a
clear and present danger to all our democracy. To him, the U.S. Constitution
revolved only around the Second Amendment, as he received big support from the
NRA. As an experienced politician, Hillary built the most all-inclusive
campaign yet to be seen in the Democratic elections. Hillary’s America was
white, black, Latino, Asian, LGBT, women of all ages, children, Muslim, Jewish,
disabled, veterans, just about everyone one can think of. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It came down to what mainstream Americans would
choose, Trump’s America of ‘white privilege’ or Hillary’s America composed of
all minorities, races and creeds. It was about whether America would go ‘high’
or ‘low’. It was about America choosing love and tolerance over hatred and
fear. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">When phone banking on November 8 as a Hillary
volunteer, I had a chance to speak with many people in the swing states, both
Democrats and Republicans. I did not hear as much enthusiasm from Hillary
supporters, but heard a lot of anger and range from Trump supporters. Some
supported him automatically because he was running on the Republican ticket.
Others supported him because they “could not wait to make America great again.”Anger tra<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">n<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">slate<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">s into votes. </span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">After all the chips fell and the Election night was
over, I have realized that we have failed in a major way. We have taken our
democracy for granted for too long and did not fully reckon with Trump as a
political force. We have failed to communicate to his supporters in a clear way
how dangerous was Trump to America and how hypocritical he was in his promises
and charges against the Establishment. We have failed to bring these people to
the realization that fear-driven politics does not build a country and that
divisions along racial, religious and ethnic lines get deeper when people do
not respect and appreciate one another. We have failed to bring them to the
basic American values of freedom and equality and that the strength of our
nation is in our diversity, that building walls against nations or groups with
different religious beliefs will weaken us. Stronger together was the slogan by
Hillary who attempted to enlist broad segments of the population into her
campaign to build a more hopeful future for America. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The dark forces of fear, anger and resentment
prevailed despite the enormous efforts by Hillary and her campaign. As some
commentators called it, this was a ‘whitelash’. The white America has backfired
and has come back to prove its ‘majority’ status in the land. The free
institutions of America are in danger in the hands of Trump and his supporters
who demand a xenophobic definition of America. This is a surge of ‘redneck’ nationalism
in America. It is a small step from nationalism to fascism and Nazism, as Hitler’s
Germany proved it. Trump has proven to have enough strength and charisma to
gather unhappy American crowds into a movement. He is capable of great many
things if not stopped. He will bring change to America, on the way throwing
many Americans off the board. It will not be a change that America should stand
for. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Trump’s rise to power was also symptomatic of deeper
problems with the American political institutions and electorate. It has shown
once again how deeply polarized and divided is this nation and how divergent
are the sensibilities and beliefs of Americans. Despite losing the Electoral
College vote, Hillary won the popular vote,<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"> </span>renewing the call
to abolish this institution altogether. Because many voted for Trump running on
the Republican ticket, the two-party system has proven largely ineffective.
Many Republicans who clearly did not support Trump felt obligated to vote for
him along the party lines. This partisanship infiltrates all levels of our
government and does not allow voters to vote for candidates and their true
qualifications. Hillary as a candidate was quintessentially more qualified than
Trump to become President. That is why Trump’s victory was so surreal to many,
because the issue was<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"> </span></span>not whether to have a Republican or Democrat in the White
House, but which candidate was remotely fit to be our President. The fact that
so many people even considered voting for Trump was an indictment not only <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">of</span>
our political establishment but <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">of</span> the maturity of our electorate. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Now after the Elections, the triumphant Trump voters
are calling us to unite. If uniting entails support of a dangerous demagogue
who is building a fascist America, I am not willing to compromise my core
principles for that ‘Union’. Hitler rallied and unified Germany to commit
outrageous crimes against humanity, of the magnitude we had not seen before.
Our goal <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">now</span> is<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"> <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">NOT to unite for</span></span> Trump, but to open clear channels of
communication between his supporters and ourselves, and stop him from
destroying our country at every step of it. I will unite only for the common
purpose of building America for all, not only for whites, as Trump has set out.
If Trump’s America entails building walls, rejecting Muslims, denigrating women
and immigrants, I will not be a part of building that America because it is
antithetical to the America I have learned to accept and love. As <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">Hillary <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">has <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">st<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">ressed to us in her concession speech, "</span></span></span></span></span><b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">W</span>e believe that the American Dream is big enough for everyone -- for
people of all races and religions, for men and women, for immigrants,
for LGBT people, and people with disabilities. Our responsibility as citizens is to keep doing our part to build that
better, stronger, fairer America we seek.<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">"</span> </span></span></span></span></span></b><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Hillary Clinton will remain an i<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">conic figure of our hard <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">battles a<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">nd s<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">t<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">rugg<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">les</span></span></span></span></span> as Americans<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">, <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">especially as women. She signified <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">resolute endurance<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"> and <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">relentless <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">determination to fight <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">for what wa<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">s right <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">against all <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">the odds</span>. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In the world where America is set out as a role
model for its democratic institutions, America’s choice for Trump is perceived
as a sign of great crisis within our political system and is greeted with a sigh
of relief by our opponents. His statements have parroted the criticism the
Western democracies have been enduring for decades. Russia’s Putin has
expressed great support for Trump’s candidacy and has welcomed his victory,
precisely because he is well aware of the fatal shortcomings of Trump.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It is deeply troubling that we now have someone like
Trump represent us in the world. The role of America as a superpower in the
world depends entirely on the quality and character of its leadership and Trump
is the antithesis of what America stands for. Will he be the Nemesis in our
sky?! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Narine Mkrtchyanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07346920419809766287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8093224559071022668.post-14688541014771636872016-05-25T10:42:00.000-07:002016-05-25T21:11:18.007-07:00Home is a sanctuary <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTUSd2YFbRb5a_iJtCrOz87a-NEDFK_d2UZxdTiYihgiSzjYh2vridTMnZdiifvtxY-KQmNB9W71RiPyxXz8GfpHa9oltkRRAIZ4LplrBqZAg3mXV0WvO2BcMH6cJ7xN0dv2fY4jrVmyM/s1600/hqdefault.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTUSd2YFbRb5a_iJtCrOz87a-NEDFK_d2UZxdTiYihgiSzjYh2vridTMnZdiifvtxY-KQmNB9W71RiPyxXz8GfpHa9oltkRRAIZ4LplrBqZAg3mXV0WvO2BcMH6cJ7xN0dv2fY4jrVmyM/s320/hqdefault.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
In a most recent case the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reaffirmed the Fourth Amendment protection against warrantless invasions into a home. <b>United States v. Lundin, </b>2016 U.S. App. Lexis 5236, 14-10365. Police went to Lundin's home at 4:00 a.m. to arrest him for a number of
offenses that occurred earlier that day. They had neither a warrant to arrest nor a warrant to search. After the officers knocked on
the front door, they heard several crashing noises coming from the back
of the house. The officers ordered Lundin to come out with his hands up.
He complied, and was handcuffed and put in a patrol car. Thereafter,
officers searched the house and found incriminating evidence. Lundin
moved to suppress the evidence. The government argued that the search
was valid under a number of exceptions to the warrant requirement,
including the exigent circumstances exception. The district court
granted the suppression motion and the government appealed.<br />
<br />
The Ninth Circuit affirmed and held: Warrantless searches and seizures are presumptively unreasonable. Although officers can conduct a warrantless search under
exigent circumstances, they cannot create the exigency by engaging in
conduct that violates the Fourth Amendment. Here, the officers caused
the exigency—i.e., the crashing sounds—by knocking on Lundin's door at
4:00 a.m. The officers, however, were not lawfully at Lundin's front
door. They were not permitted to knock on the door under the "knock and
talk" exception to warrant requirement because this exception does not
apply when officers encroach upon the curtilage of a home with the
intent to arrest the occupant. Moreover, under the "knock and talk"
exception the government must demonstrate that the officers did no more
than any private citizen might do, and “unexpected visitors are
customarily expected to knock on the front door of a home only during
normal waking hours.” There was no evidence that Lundin generally
accepted visitors at 4:00 a.m.<br />
<br />
<b>Search could not be justified as a protective sweep because
there was no suspicion that anyone other than defendant was present at
the residence.</b> The government also attempted to justify the
search of Lundin's home pursuant to the protective sweep doctrine. The
Ninth Circuit rejected that justification. The doctrine authorizes a
quick and limited warrantless inspection of those places where a person
may be found when there are articulable facts which, taken together with
the rational inferences from those facts, would warrant a reasonably
prudent officer in believing that the area to be swept harbored an
individual posing a danger to those on the arrest scene. Here, officers
had no reasonable articulable suspicion that anyone other than Lundin
was present at the residence. Thus, the only threat to officer safety
was Lundin himself and by the time the officers conducted a sweep of his
home, Lundin had already been handcuffed and placed in a police
vehicle. <br />
<br />
<b>The inevitable discovery exception does not apply when officers
have probable cause to apply for a warrant but simply fail to do so.</b>
The government also argued that the inevitable discovery exception
applied because they had probable cause and could have obtained a
warrant. The Ninth Circuit disagreed: "To excuse the failure to obtain a
warrant merely because the officers had probable cause and could have
inevitably obtained a warrant would completely obviate the warrant
requirement of the fourth amendment." (<i>United States v. Young</i>
(9th Cir. 2009) 573 F.3d 711, 723.) Here, the officers knew they had
probable cause to arrest Lundin, but needed an arrest warrant to arrest
him at home and a search warrant to search his house. They failed to
obtain any warrant before the arrest and search. Under these
circumstances, the district court correctly determined that the
inevitable discovery exception to the exclusionary rule did not apply in this case.<br />
<br />
The Court quoted from another case, "<u>At [its] very core stands the right of a [person] to retreat into his own home and there be free from unreasonable governmental intrusion." </u><b><span class="SS_it">Silverman v. United States</span>, </b>365 U.S. 505, 511, 81 S. Ct. 679, 5 L. Ed. 2d 734 (1961). <b>United States v. Lundin, </b>2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 5236, 817 F.3d 1151 (9th Cir. Cal. 2016)<br />
<br />
<br />Narine Mkrtchyanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07346920419809766287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8093224559071022668.post-69816508058122067042016-04-23T11:22:00.000-07:002016-04-28T07:43:05.221-07:00One Hundred and One Years<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggmmTe1ekH0JI46mB9oI77id0sBVZhwfUQOz0lTEez_ysKBVN2Jv_bmCI9r9lTiT6XIXxsmQKAJ7gx9AXnHhcFNzb-Te1rWFLBdzYgDVXop42897CpO14okSaf3HRjNN5x-65t3pdNmCc/s1600/224-genocide.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggmmTe1ekH0JI46mB9oI77id0sBVZhwfUQOz0lTEez_ysKBVN2Jv_bmCI9r9lTiT6XIXxsmQKAJ7gx9AXnHhcFNzb-Te1rWFLBdzYgDVXop42897CpO14okSaf3HRjNN5x-65t3pdNmCc/s400/224-genocide.gif" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It was April of 1915 on a warm sunny day in Kars, <b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">Western Armenia</span>. </b>Nikol Sahakyan was a wealthy and well-respected Armenian landowner
with strong ties with the Turkish government, better known as Nikol Agha (Chief). Daily
he was hearing the stories and rumors of the Armenian intellectuals rounded up
and executed in Constantinople. He was hearing that one by one Armenian
government officials were being terminated and disappearing. He heard of the
Young Turks and their official resolutions to solve the ‘Armenian Question’ by
beginning massive campaign of deportation and execution. He had remained confident
and hopeful that his close ties with the local authorities would save him and his
family and was <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">remaining</span> in Kars. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But as his neighbors were gathering
their belongings in horror as the Young Turks had reportedly wiped out and
destroyed neighboring cities, killing and displacing Christian Armenians, he
was having second thoughts on this warm sunny day. Increasingly fearful, he
ordered his three sons and daughter to get ready to leave urgently. Unable to
get all the gold that was buried in the base of his house and thinking he
would come back for that later, he grabbed <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">a</span> jug of gold with other belongings for the road, and
took off with his kids on a horse cart. As they were leaving Kars in haste, reaching
the outskirts of the city, he could see a group of Turkish soldiers close by in
the horizon. Immediately realizing these are Young Turks scouring the
neighborhood, he told his kids to get off the cart and run towards the
mountains, where he would meet them later. He told them not to worry as he w<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">ould</span>
be able to talk to the Turks, use his connections and give them the gold to
save his life. His son, <b>Mekhak</b> was only 10 years old. As he started running
with his brothers and sister towards the mountains, hiding behind the hills, he
saw his Dad meet the group of Young Turks, talk to them for a couple of
minutes. Then in horror he watched his Dad being dragged off the cart, thrown
to the ground, beaten and stabbed by the soldiers. He was frozen from fear and
wanted to scream, instead was only able to gasp for air. His older brothers
grabbed him and dragged him along from the area. That scene was
permanently engraved in his memories and haunted him for the rest of his life. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">That is how Mekhak and his siblings escaped to
North<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">ea<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">s<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">tern</span></span></span> Armenia, city of Gyumri<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">/</span>Leninakan. Mekhak raised a big family <b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">(<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">Photo below)</span></span></b>, where my
Mother was one of <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">his</span> younger daughters. Carrying the torture of the genocide
and his father’s slaughter deep in his heart, he was suffering in private, telling his ki<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">ds</span> the stories of his father’s killing and their escape,
lamenting the horrible historic page that he personally lived thr<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">ough</span>, which today we
know as the Armenian Genocide, the first genocide of the 20<sup>th</sup>
century. In the Soviet Union, Armenia’s autonomy was wiped out and Armenians
could not even utter the word ‘genocide’, not to mention seek any reparations
from Turkey. The larger geopolitical goals of Russia as the center of the USSR
took precedence over the rights of Armenians to their historic land. Perhaps <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">for </span>vengeance for his father’s death, he fought in World War II,
was seriously wounded <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">during</span> the siege of Kursk and returned to take care
of his family<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">. <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-wA68NPS_CxJBRY_icZo4neqGyWGFHBDJsyxu0yPw8xNibw5ILGhVCwLHr9UJBZ62ahd4_dYvjvoocAfI4nowMZbXsi5nKXIWIWzF-FZtlR3ucYpPUztCzTszCXBv3hqMBjfv1VwZelo/s1600/11025718_490589451092374_6835667653462088270_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-wA68NPS_CxJBRY_icZo4neqGyWGFHBDJsyxu0yPw8xNibw5ILGhVCwLHr9UJBZ62ahd4_dYvjvoocAfI4nowMZbXsi5nKXIWIWzF-FZtlR3ucYpPUztCzTszCXBv3hqMBjfv1VwZelo/s320/11025718_490589451092374_6835667653462088270_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This was the story of <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">over a million of </span>Armenians living <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">as subjects of Ottoman <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">Empire</span></span> in 1915. My paternal grandfather was similarly a child <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">living with his family in <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">East<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">ern</span></span> Turkey/We<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">stern<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"> Armenia</span></span> </span>and
escaped with his sister through the mountains to Northe<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">a<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">stern</span></span> Armenia, where he
settled and raised a big family. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"Turks are coming<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">!" </span>is
deeply seated in the Armenian genome. It is a story of profound deprivation, suffering, desolation,
despair, fear, anger, hopelessness. Only Armenians as victims and survivors of persecution
and mass executions begun by the Turks in the lat<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">e 19th<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"> and</span></span> early 20th centu<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">r<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">i<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">es</span></span></span>
know what this <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">feeli<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">ng <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">is like. </span></span></span> </span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><u><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Armenian Genocide: Historic Background.
From publication by Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region, 2015 </span></u></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"Armenians have inhabited their ancestral homeland
at the crossroads of Europe and Asia for over 4,000 years. At the height of its
existence, Armenia encompassed more than 100,000 square miles with borders on
the Mediterranean, Black and Caspian seas and spanning almost the entire
Caucasus region. Through the centuries, Armenia was administered at various
times by the Romans, the Persians, and other empires, leading up to the rule
over Armenia by the <b>Ottoman Empire</b> starting in the 14<sup>th</sup> Century
until it was defeated and dismantled at the end of World War I. </span></blockquote>
</div>
<blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Being the first nation to adopt Christianity as its
state religion in 301 A.D., Armenians have been subjected to persecution
throughout the centuries in large part due to their refusal to renounce their
faith as the rise of Islamic states in the region seized control. To defend the
indigenous Armenian population from continued onslaught by the Ottoman
government, Armenians began organizing around newly-founded political parties,
most notably the <b>Armenian Revolutionary Federation </b>(Dashnaktsutyun), founded in
1890 in Tbilisi, Georgia, in an effort to protect the rights and seek equality
for the Armenian citizens of the Ottoman Empire. Yet the persecution continued.
In 1894-1896, Ottoman <b>Sultan Abdul Hamid II </b>ordered the massacre of over 300,000
Armenians in an attempt to rid the Ottoman Empire of most of its Christian
population, followed by the massacre of 30,000 Armenians in <b>Adana</b> in 1909. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This
government plan to exterminate a large segment of its population culminated in
the Armenian Genocide of 1915, whereby the Ottoman Turkish government, in its
pan-Turanistic quest to unite all Turkic peoples from the Mediterranean Sea
into Central Asia, executed a plan to annihilate all indigenous Christian
population which stood in its way. Over 1.5 million Armenians were slaughtered
in a systemic plan of extermination, virtually eliminating the indigenous
Armenian People from its ancestral homeland. Yet, the Ottoman Turks failed in
their attempt at total annihilation. Survivors of the Armenian Genocide
scattered all over the world and created an organized Armenian Diaspora which
has continued to thrive for the past century far away from the Homeland. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuijrjxhWQr8q32MTOjNpYfNXojINnwioz4tO3QHC2sn-TWVTKoQFlkdS8muhyphenhyphenLrUcjFbY-HLVJ1aSfamdJ4mfXTQKzAmWYmBr9zWdwn5L7h5ex1qLdjLrMu5Rv_SOha3m_NkNNZRdNN8/s1600/maxresdefault.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuijrjxhWQr8q32MTOjNpYfNXojINnwioz4tO3QHC2sn-TWVTKoQFlkdS8muhyphenhyphenLrUcjFbY-HLVJ1aSfamdJ4mfXTQKzAmWYmBr9zWdwn5L7h5ex1qLdjLrMu5Rv_SOha3m_NkNNZRdNN8/s400/maxresdefault.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>
</blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Today, only 3,000,000<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";"> </span>Armenians live within the
borders of the second Independent Republic of Armenia and the <b>Republic of
Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh) </b>which together comprise barely one-sixth of
ancestral Armenia. The majority of currently occupied land remains under
Turkish control in Western Armenia, with additional Armenian territory in
Nakhichevan remaining under occupation by Azerbaijan. </span><br />
<blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The last century was the most devastating and pivotal
time for the Armenian People. At the start of the 20<sup>th</sup> century
within the Ottoman Empire, the Committee of Union and Progress, known as the “Young
Turks” came to power in 1908 led by <b>Grand Vizier Talaat Pasha, Minister of War
Enver Pasha and Naval Minister Djemal Pasha, </b>joining World War I on the side of
the Central Powers with Germany against the Allies and primarily Britain and
Russia. </span><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">On April 24, 1915, under cover of war, the Young
Turk government rounded up over 200 Armenian political, cultural and religious
leaders in Constantinople and executed them. This was followed by mass murders
of Armenian men in the interior cities, towns and villages, then by
deportations and massacres of defenseless Armenian women, children and elderly
as they were marched into the desert to die after their belongings were
pillaged, their homes destroyed and they were subjected to rape and other
brutalities. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV2jhq14Z2FbVOxmieYN_u7IBdA2dfr0PlJ8FKb6GTk7vedEsrZYvnSJc0FReKu4WQR5r33xaGkzYtIhCo9KgI6g_D_J6WOotUcf2HffZH7bmQL2KSKFcIEUCjYMilhBXMEwiTb_LwaiU/s1600/turkey_armenian-deportations_720px_map.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV2jhq14Z2FbVOxmieYN_u7IBdA2dfr0PlJ8FKb6GTk7vedEsrZYvnSJc0FReKu4WQR5r33xaGkzYtIhCo9KgI6g_D_J6WOotUcf2HffZH7bmQL2KSKFcIEUCjYMilhBXMEwiTb_LwaiU/s320/turkey_armenian-deportations_720px_map.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Armenian massacres were widely reported in the U.S.
press at the time. The Allied Powers- England, France and Russia issued a
statement in May of 1915 explicitly charging the Ottoman Turkish Empire with committing
a “crime against humanity and civilization” and pledging to punish the
perpetrators. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In 1918, <b>Theodore Roosevelt </b>called the Armenian
massacres “the greatest crime of the war.” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In President <b>Herbert Hoover’</b>s memoirs, he wrote, “Probably
Armenia was known to the American school child in 1919 only a little less than
England… of the staunch Christians who were massacred periodically by the
Mohammedan Turk…” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">On November 22, 1920, <b>President Woodraw Wilson
</b>issued his final arbitral award which by its own terms was legally binding,
giving Armenia full title and rights over less than half of the Armenian historic
Homeland, including the provinces of Van, Bitlis, Erzerum and Trebizond. With the
declaration of independence of Republic of Turkey and Ataturk’s rise to power,
however, the Allied Powers were forced back to the negotiating table to sign the
<b>Treaty of Lausanne </b>and abandoned their intent to protect Armenia in favor of
adopting a policy deeming Turkey to be a strategic ally. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In 1921, having lost all protection from the U.S.
and the Allied Powers, the independent Republic of Armenia succumbed to
pressure to cede itself to the Soviet Union where it remained as the Armenian
Soviet Socialist Republic for seven decades. The Armenians of Nagorno Karabakh
were placed under autonomous control of Soviet Azerbaijan by Soviet dictator
Joseph Stalin. In 1991 when the Soviet Union dismantled, a second Independent
Republic of Armenia was declared on one-sixth of the territory granted to
Armenia by the Wilsonian Arbitral Award, and the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh
also proclaimed its independence. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Twenty years after the Armenian Genocide, Adolf
Hitler was emboldened by the world’s failure to punish Turkey for its mass
murder of Armenians. On ordering his commanders to attack Poland without
provocation in 1939, he dismissed objections by asking, “Who, after all, speaks
today of the annihilation of the Armenians?” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Not having been held legally or morally responsible
for its crimes during World War I, the modern-day Turkish Government continues
to act with impunity as it engages in a well-financed and well-supported
campaign of denialism and distortion of history.” </span></div>
</blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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</xml><![endif]--><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The world witnessed Nazism and the Jewish Holocaust soon after in the 20th
century, as the <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">crimes <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">against humanity</span></span> of World War I we<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">nt un</span>punished. With the rise of
Islamic fundamentalism in the Middle East, and terrorism as
a weapon of religious persecution in the 21st century, the world is on the brink of World War III.
Had the humanity brought Turkey to answer for its crimes against humanity, as
was the Armenian Genocide, the world today would have been a different place... Impunity gets history repeated over and over again..<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">. </span></span></i></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">To date, Armenia's <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">security in th<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">e region surrounded by <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">extremely hostile Turkey <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">to the west and Azerbaijan to the east is in <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">grave </span>danger. On April 2, 2016 Azerbaijan <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">attacked Nagorno<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Karabakh without provocation or warning. Nagorno<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Karabakh, <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">the last remnant of the Armenian historic land is still up for grabs<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> and survival of this nation is at<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> stake. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> </span></span> </span></span></i></span><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Our collective wounds are still bleeding because of continuous denial an<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">d increasing acts of hos<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">tility</span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">... W<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">e are in <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">eternal</span> search for closure and justice</span>..<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">. Until t<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">hen, our national psyche will be <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">torn between <span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">suffering<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> and triumph, defea<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">t and victory... </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></i></span></b><br />
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Narine Mkrtchyanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07346920419809766287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8093224559071022668.post-6324584187152134672016-04-20T12:15:00.001-07:002016-04-20T12:15:48.921-07:00Clean water is a human right! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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As the nation was disturbed with the recent Flint water disaster, the federal court tosses one of the lawsuits out, claiming essentially, the Flint residents have no remedy for the wrongs alleged under federal law and should pursue their claims solely in state court. <a href="http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/flint-water-crisis/2016/04/19/flint-residents-lawsuit-tossed-federal-court/83243374/">For more here</a>. Clearly, here justice was not served well, as there is evidence that the state knew about the crisis and failed to do anything because it did not care enough about the residents of Flint, Michigan, predominantly low-income African-Americans. If federal courts are not a proper venue for wrongs committed by states in violation of civil rights, what are they for?! If clean water is not considered a fundamental right, what is?! Narine Mkrtchyanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07346920419809766287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8093224559071022668.post-1170753906876025652015-12-16T09:47:00.000-08:002015-12-16T09:47:19.302-08:00Holiday DUI tips and strategies<span class="x_il"><b><span style="color: navy; font-family: Book Antiqua; font-size: small;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: "Book Antiqua"; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: bold;"><span class="highlight" id="0.2548067765212366" name="searchHitInReadingPane"></span></span></span></b></span><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBLHrtH-Ze1ne5fy8xHzQ6Is_i-SKchhacLr9RQ3DLhiT1irod3Ugse1Vm8rU2gVVClY-fOOLeUC1ZxPa0tN6JA-WdiHfAVFvgQd6gseSdnZE_qgF_xtTok104PqIJ4VAGWMWwCxjD5GY/s1600/teenage-drunk-driving.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBLHrtH-Ze1ne5fy8xHzQ6Is_i-SKchhacLr9RQ3DLhiT1irod3Ugse1Vm8rU2gVVClY-fOOLeUC1ZxPa0tN6JA-WdiHfAVFvgQd6gseSdnZE_qgF_xtTok104PqIJ4VAGWMWwCxjD5GY/s320/teenage-drunk-driving.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>Q:</b> If I am detained and arrested by police for DUI, what are my rights? </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">A: DUIs</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> are rigorously enforced and
prosecuted. While the case is being filed in court, the DMV gets the
information of your arrest, and you should consult a lawyer immediately to
protect your rights at the administrative hearing for your license suspension.
It is only a myth that you cannot beat your <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">DUI</b>, no matter what the facts are. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">DUI</b> criminal prosecution is based mainly on the arresting officers’
subjective opinion and impressions as to your perceived level of intoxication
and the pseudo-scientific evidence of the breath/blood based on the testimony
of the biased criminalist on payroll with the law enforcement agency. Both can
be effectively countered and discredited depending on who is your lawyer. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>First</b>, when you are detained by a police officer for some alleged traffic
violation or at a sobriety checkpoint, you should not answer any questions regarding your drinking. <u>Any
statements you make regarding your drinking pattern or where you were coming
from will be used as evidence against you in court. </u>The police are not obligated to read Miranda rights before those questions, because the Supreme Court has decided that those are merely investigatory questions. However, you have a right to tell them politely that you do not want to volunteer that information. <b>Second, </b>when they confront you with
their suspicion you might have been drinking or that you smell alcohol, don’t
fall into the trap. They are using psychological tricks on your mind, by
implanting fear in your brain to gather information to use in court against you.
<b>Third, </b>don’t agree to <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">field sobriety
tests</b> by telling them you are not physically fit or have physical
impairment to be able to do those tests right at that moment. An average sober person fails those tests anyway due to various reasons. They are still being used as law enforcement tools to detect possibility of impairment and to solidify their suspicion. Why give them additional bogus ammunition to use in court against you. <b>Fourth, </b>you do
not have any obligation to agree to blow into the small testing device that the
police ordinarily carry with them. This is called a <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">PAS machine</b> that is highly inaccurate and detects mouth alcohol, or
stomach acid, which will then alert them to alcohol presence in your body and
further investigation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span><b>Fifth, </b>if you do
all of the above, but still are arrested and taken to the station, you will be
told you have to submit to a blood/breath test there. By California law they
have to admonish you that if you refuse this test, your license will be suspended. It is true. However, you should be advised that once you provide
blood/breath (depending on your choice), you will provide legally admissible
evidence of presence of alcohol in your system. Therefore, you should weigh
seriously whether <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">suspension of your
license</b> is as important to you as getting a criminal conviction in your
record. By balancing the two, you should either refuse the test or submit to
it. Certainly, if you had only insignificant amount of alcohol several hours before driving, you should submit to the test, preferably blood test, to discredit the officer's subjective impressions. If you refuse, your refusal can still be used against you in court as
consciousness of guilt. However, the government will not have any hard evidence
of alcohol in your system, except for subjective impressions of police. Remember,
the government can not forcefully draw the blood without a
warrant, with very limited and notable exceptions. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">If you decide to submit to the test, it
is still not the end of your case. Both blood and breath tests are extremely
inaccurate for a number of reasons. First, the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">breathalyzer</b> that is used to obtain breath sample is subject to
numerous errors and its scientific validity is still questioned. Second, the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">effects of alcohol on the human body</b>
are a subject of fierce scholarly debate. Your lawyer qualified in this field
will be able to counter the prosecution so-called expert, the criminalist, who
works for the county with a real expert, who will come to court and discredit
the entire prosecution theory. This is done every day in court and the most
difficult <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">DUI</b> cases with the most
impossible facts can be won as I have done in the past rigorously defending my clients. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> Happy and safe Holidays! </span></div>
Narine Mkrtchyanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07346920419809766287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8093224559071022668.post-78621983033755710802015-11-18T10:15:00.002-08:002015-11-19T20:20:55.754-08:00The "Soft" Power of International Law <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgipSIxXbRShpN3JckbDdd9jeKQWLErlH6rRSDmM8l-Yg4OjmOuEVRcYrD6hBlD8V6oa5DuPJWrmla7ws2_NPynbC2soOB0k084RSQfGztp3YyJj5wR1RMntUnahcpYWsiO2eEQZ9OJxvA/s1600/refugee.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgipSIxXbRShpN3JckbDdd9jeKQWLErlH6rRSDmM8l-Yg4OjmOuEVRcYrD6hBlD8V6oa5DuPJWrmla7ws2_NPynbC2soOB0k084RSQfGztp3YyJj5wR1RMntUnahcpYWsiO2eEQZ9OJxvA/s320/refugee.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
With the recent escalation of violence in the Middle East and the bombings in Paris, the issue of refugees has become a focal political point in the West. Half the states in the U.S. have gone so far as to openly proclaim they are refusing to accept refugees from Syria. See <a href="http://www.vox.com/2015/11/16/9746456/map-syrian-refugees-governors">Here</a> and <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/16/world/paris-attacks-syrian-refugees-backlash/">Here</a>. Without getting into details on the federal government's authority to overrule these objections and place refugees anywhere it wants in the country, it is vital to review the international law on refugees. It is quite disheartening to see U.S. citizens and officials so unaware of international laws and norms on any issue. Europe has been under a constant influx of refugees from the Middle East for two decades now and when their countries started openly resenting it, the United Nations placed mandatory quotas on them for accepting refugees. See <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34148891">Here. </a>There have been no mandatory quotas placed on the United States and the US government informally has been fending off the refugee issue while officially proclaiming they will accept more in 2016 <a href="http://www.voanews.com/content/us-to-resettle-85000-refugees-in-fy-2016/2972001.html">here</a>. There is a formal administrative process in place for seeking a refugee status through the UNHCR, United Nations Refugee Agency, which then refers refugees to countries. However, if a country is unwilling to accept refugees, the UN as an agency often has no political will to coerce it. <br />
<br />
International refugee law is a set of rules and procedures that aims to protect persons seeking asylum and those recognized as refugees under relevant instruments. Grounded in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted in 1948 by the United Nations, the two main sources of refugee law are treaty law, notably the <b>1951 Refugee Convention </b>and its <b>1967 Protocol, </b>and customary international law. It is critical to understand that customary international law applies to all states irrespective of whether they are parties to a convention or not. Thus, even if the United States had not been a party to the treaties on refugees, it would still be bound by the law. However, the United States has been a party to the 1951 Convention at its inception. This concept has long triggered theoretical discussions on the application and enforcement of international laws to various problems in the world. As Justice Cardozo has eloquently stated: "<i>International law.. has at times, like the common law within states, a twilight existence during which it is hardly distinguishable from morality or justice, till at length the imprimatur of a court attests its jural quality." </i>New Jersey v. Delaware, 291 U.S. 361, 383.<br />
<br />
According to the 1951 Refugee Convention a refugee is a person who:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
...owing to well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race,
religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or
political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is
unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the
protection of that country; or who, not having a nationality and being
outside the country of his former habitual residence as a result of such
events, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to
it.</blockquote>
<br />
See for more <a href="http://www.unhcr.org/protect/PROTECTION/3b66c2aa10.pdf">here</a>. <br />
<br />
Developments in international human rights law have reinforced the principle that the Convention be applied without discrimination as to sex, age, disability, sexuality, or other prohibited grounds of discrimination. A number of principles are especially important to note. First, <i>non-discrimination: </i>the provisions are to be applied without discrimination on any of the recognized grounds. For example, a Muslim cannot be rejected a refugee status merely based on his/her religion. Second, <i>non-penalization: </i>the refugees cannot be penalized for illegal entry into the country and breaching immigration laws. Hence, once a person is defined as a 'refugee' under this Convention, he/she may not be persecuted or arrested for migrating to the country. Third and more crucial, the principle of <i>non-refoulement: </i>a refugee cannot be returned or expelled back to his/her country against his/her will when he/she fears threats to life or freedom. Lastly, the Convention lays down basic rules on the minimum treatment of refugees: access to travel documents, access to courts, primary education, right to work, general welfare and housing rights. <br />
<br />
The principle of non-refoulement is considered a part of the customary international law and cannot be derogated by any state. The purpose behind is clear: it is against international law norms to return a person to a zone of life-threatening danger. Conceptually, not giving a safe haven to a refugee is the same as expelling him/her, because if a refugee is mistreated by the newly founded home, that will have the effect of forcing that person to further migration, which takes us into a different concept of internally displaced persons. Internally displaced persons (IDPs) are defined in the <a href="http://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/idp/standards.htm" target="_blank">1998 Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement</a>
as:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“persons or groups of persons who have been forced or obliged to
flee or to leave their homes or places of habitual residence, in
particular as a result of or in order to avoid the effects of armed
conflict, situations of generalized violence, violations of human rights
or natural or human-made disasters, and who have not crossed an
internationally recognized State border”.</blockquote>
<br />
While there are legal differences between refugees and IDPs, their treatment is still well-governed by the same principles of international law grounded in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other humanitarian instruments. See <a href="http://www.unhcr.org/4c2355229.html">here </a>the UNHCR Handbook on Protection of IDPs. <br />
<br />
It is easy to lay out an international law on an issue, harder to enforce it. The adjudication of asylum status has been left to countries/States. The regional and international bodies do not have jurisdiction to rule on who is admitted or not admitted to the United States. However, they have jurisdiction to evaluate whether a given ruling by a national court has violated the international law. The domestic courts also have the prerogative of interpreting key terms from the international conventions.<br />
<br />
For example, in <a href="http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cgi-bin/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=509&invol=155"><i>Sale v. Haitian Ctr. Council, Inc.,</i></a>509
U.S. 155 (1993),the U.S. Supreme Court held that the U.S. was not in
violation of its non-refoulement obligation when it returned Haitians
interdicted on the high seas because the Haitians were not within U.S.
territory and therefore the non-refoulement obligation did not apply. However, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) rejected this reasoning in IACHR, Report No. 51/96, <a href="http://www.cidh.oas.org/annualrep/96eng/USA10675.htm"><i>Case 10.675, Haitian Centre for Human Rights</i></a>(United States), 13 March 1997<i>. </i>The
IACHR held that the U.S. had violated the petitioners’ right to seek
asylum as well as their right to life, liberty and security of the
person when it summarily returned interdicted Haitians – many of whom
were subsequently arrested by Haitian authorities – without providing
them with a meaningful opportunity to have their claims adjudicated. The
IACHR also held that the U.S. had violated their right to freedom from
discrimination, noting that a much more favorable policy was applied to
Cubans and Nicaraguans. For more <a href="http://www.ijrcenter.org/refugee-law/">here</a>.<br />
<br />
From reading the international instruments on the refugee treatment, it is clear that states/countries cannot unilaterally turn their backs to the crisis of refugees from the Middle East or other hot spots in the world. It is at minimum a well-settled customary international law principle, as well as treaty-based law that refugees cannot be rejected, expelled and treated inhumanely. To what extent states/countries will follow this well-settled international law and custom is more about self-image and credibility as a nation in the international community. I have always believed that international law's expressive function is a lot more pronounced and crucial than its coercive function. States are like children, who won't be coerced into compliance, but may voluntarily behave accordingly if it has the effect of increasing approval by others and higher self-esteem. For a Theory of Expressive International Law see <a href="http://scholarship.law.wm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1283&context=facpubs">here</a>. <br />
<br />
<br />Narine Mkrtchyanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07346920419809766287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8093224559071022668.post-66817682375402578652015-10-22T10:12:00.001-07:002015-11-05T09:09:40.087-08:00The epidemic and the possible cures?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwzHcNDoJQT5013JzzLkN6Z7VVw_CgMWGQI51I055u2wWSqhjH3o7aVRoUDCWKi7BvewbmCmq3ab_MK7zz9Q4rHz6QeWUUnnIBnGmbYPU3oq_F2qlyghM8-2cJbNXYf7Fniv6cISjLFcU/s1600/prosecutorial-misconduct-angela-corey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwzHcNDoJQT5013JzzLkN6Z7VVw_CgMWGQI51I055u2wWSqhjH3o7aVRoUDCWKi7BvewbmCmq3ab_MK7zz9Q4rHz6QeWUUnnIBnGmbYPU3oq_F2qlyghM8-2cJbNXYf7Fniv6cISjLFcU/s200/prosecutorial-misconduct-angela-corey.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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</xml><![endif]--><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">In the recent years of activities by the Innocence Project, when new scientific evidence and investigations uncovered the ugly stories behind convictions and lengthy sentences of hundreds of convicts, based on false eyewitnesses, police framing, false confessions, and prosecutors withholding material exculpatory evidence under Brady, there has been a real effort to confront the reality, name it by its name and find a cure. The laws on prosecutor's duty to disclose exculpatory evidence have been in place for a long time, at least since the cardinal case of <i><u>Brady v. Maryland </u></i>(1963) 373 U.S. 83, when the Warren court laid out the landmark ruling, that withholding of evidence material to guilt or innocence by prosecuting agencies is in violation of the due process. Multiple Supreme Court and state court cases since then have elaborated, articulated and specified the parameters of this simple rule. The prosecuting agencies, which includes the law enforcement, not only have had to disclose what they had available, but also have a duty to preserve evidence that was material to guilt or innocence. <u><i>Arizona v. Youngblood </i></u>(1988) 488 U.S. 51; <u><i>California v. Trombetta </i></u>(1984) 467 U.S. 479. <u><i></i></u></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But the law was given lipservice and was shed in so many outrageous ways that it begs the question: are we a nation of laws any more? As the recent developments have shown, the prosecutors and their agents have been routinely concocting convictions by withholding evidence that could exonerate the defendants. Brady violations are routine in our practice. We don't get evidence even when we specifically ask for it. The Brady duty is self-executing. The prosecutor has an independent duty to disclose it regardless of any requests. The unfortunate fact is that the law enforcement has priority access to all evidence, as they get to the crime scene first, and are the first to speak to eyewitnesses, to gather forensics, ballistics, etc. There is a lot of room for improper conduct which can be undetected for years and years. The problem has become so widespread that the Ninth Circuit Judge Kozinski, has called this an 'epidemic' of prosecutorial misconduct in California and has spoken openly in a scathing indictment against these practices, calling to end them. See <a href="http://www.latimes.com/local/politics/la-me-lying-prosecutors-20150201-story.html">here</a>. But the most appalling is that, as Kozinski stated, '[they] got caught this time, but they are going to keep doing this, because they have state judges who are willing to look the other way.' </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The law enforcement will keep doing this, but why do prosecutors, as attorneys who are sworn to uphold the laws, and have ethical responsibilities, fall into the trap?! It is a question that begs another question. Is the system set up in a way that encourages this prosecutorial misconduct?! Do prosecutors have sufficient discretion in their offices to do the right thing, to gather the correct information. Is the desire to obtain a conviction stronger than the prosecutorial duty to obtain justice? </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> Whatever the motives and reasons behind the prosecutorial misconduct, the question is how to cure the epidemic. As Judge Kozinski correctly pointed out, while the judges are willing to keep looking the other way, the prosecutors will not have any incentive in correcting their behavior. As he stated: </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"While most prosecutors are fair and honest, a legal environment that
tolerates sharp prosecutorial practices gives important and undeserved
career advantages to prosecutors who are willing to step over the line,
tempting others to do the same. Having strict rules that prosecutors
must follow will thus not merely avoid the risk of letting a guilty man
free to commit other crimes while an innocent one languishes his life
away, it will also preserve the integrity of the prosecutorial process
by shielding principled prosecutors from unfair competition from their
less principled colleagues."</span></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> See <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2015/07/17/judge-kozinski-on-reforms-that-can-help-prevent-prosecutorial-misconduct/">here</a> . See <a href="http://georgetownlawjournal.org/files/2015/06/Kozinski_Preface.pdf">here</a> for the full article. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> Kozinski has offered many solutions to this epidemic, one of which is to have judges appointed, rather than elected. In his opinion, if judges had the political autonomy, not bound by public opinion, they would have more incentive to reign in these rogue prosecutors. It is true that judges as most elected officials feel they have a duty to follow the public sentiment that is generally calling for toughness on crime and stronger victim's rights. However, as a criminal defense attorney of almost 10 years, I have not seen any difference between appointed and elected judges in that regard. The appointed judge, just as the one who is up for re-election, is scared of the spectr<span style="font-family: inherit;">e</span> of her name appearing in the papers, in connection of a heinous crime by a 'criminal' who was released on bail or probation by her. Hence, tough and lengthy sentences. Hence, the desire to convict. Hence, institutional approval of prosecutorial misconduct and no scrutiny of law enforcement techniques that obtain convictions. There are various pre-trial motions filed by us, defense attorneys, that give multiple opportunities to judges to scrutinize the law enforcement tactics in obtaining the evidence. However, they turn a blind eye, denying suppression of unlawfully obtained evidence, whether it is a confession or real evidence, denying motion for personnel file of the involved police officer, denying motion to exclude confession obtained in violation of Miranda rules, denying motion to obtain prior criminal record history of alleged victim.... </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The reality is that most judges are former prosecutors, whose sympathies and loyalties are aligned with the prosecutors doing these outrageous things to obtain convictions. In a perfect world they are impartial arbiters of justice. Some of them are and do strike the proper balance. But so many more are simply not up to the task. Those who do the right thing almost often face political repercussions. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">California has recently passed the bill AB 1328 <a href="http://www.cacj.org/Legislation.aspx">here</a>, that mandates judges to report individual prosecutors to the State Bar for failure to disclose exculpatory evidence. It also allows the judges to disqualify not only the individual prosecutor for a Brady violation, but also the entire DA's office upon any evidence of a pattern or practice of intentional Brady violations. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I doubt this will have any teeth because of the political structure in our country: the power tilting in favor of the governmental authorities pursuing law and order against the individual's rights enshrined in the Constitution. </span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
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</xml><![endif]-->Narine Mkrtchyanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07346920419809766287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8093224559071022668.post-42296676820351829092015-10-09T10:31:00.000-07:002015-10-09T10:31:02.218-07:00Fourth Amendment in the age of surveillance<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The Fourth Amendment has been under a massive attack in the post-911 age where the privacy of the U.S. citizens has been held to be secondary to public safety and counter-terrorism efforts. The unprecedented technological advances have made it a lot more possible than one could imagine. Surveillance, wiretapping, tracking devices, and more and more technological means of monitoring human activities are entering the landscape, prompting judges to look outside the box in analyzing the Fourth Amendment challenges. The determination whether a government action is in violation of the Fourth Amendment is a two-tiered analysis, 1) whether the challenged action by government is a search/seizure, 2) whether it is reasonable. The larger question of course is how much privacy can we legitimately expect in this world where all our actions, whether it is at home, at work or in the streets, are tracked by the government. We are being tracked and monitored when we browse on the internet, go shopping, eat dinner with our family, and go on vacations. All the credit cards and other plastics we carry have encoded chips with our personal information. Every activity we engage in is highly monitored. Our identity, our daily lives, our 'personal' information is no longer private, but public information, widely accessible to everyone, specifically the government.<br />
<br />
Because the 'search' as a concept no longer has the traditional meaning, the judges have tried to delineate the contours of the new Fourth Amendment limitations. Significantly, in 2001 in <u>Kyllo v. United States, </u>533 U.S. 27, the Rehnquist Court held that the use of a thermal-imaging device to track the heat emitting from the suspect's home was a 'search' within the Fourth Amendment that required a warrant. Despite the fact the device was placed in the public vantage point and was only tracking the heat not human activity emitting from home, it was rightfully considered a 'search.' It was very interesting, how the justices divided in a 5-4 opinion: Scalia was joined by Souter, Thomas, Ginsburg and Breyer for majority, while Stevens dissented with Rehnquist, O'Connor and Kennedy. Scalia urged that there was no difference between 'off-the-wall' and 'through-the-wall' technology, since both intruded upon the privacy of the home.<br />
<br />
Flash forward to 2011, Scalia delivered the opinion of the Court in <u>U.S. v. Jones, </u>132 S. Ct. 945, where the Court held that use of a GPS-tracking device on a vehicle similar to a thermal-imaging device in Kyllo constituted a search within the Fourth Amendment that required a warrant. In fact, this was an easier case for the Court because the device was actually installed on the vehicle unlike the thermal-imaging device that was monitoring the home of Kyllo from the public space. Consequently, the Court held that this type of an encroachment would have been "considered a search within the meaning of the Amendment at the time it was adopted." Even the originalists, who tend to resort to the 'original' meaning and purpose of the Constitution would agree with that. The Court hooked on the common-law trespass jurisprudence of the Fourth Amendment prior to the Katz holding (Katz v. United States 389 U.S. 347) to dispense with the argument by Government that Jones did not have "reasonable expectation of privacy" under the circumstances. The Court made it clear, what was objectionable was that the Government "physically occupied private property" for the purpose of obtaining information and that the Katz holding did not substitute but only supplemented the common-law trespass theory of Fourth Amendment protections.<br />
<br />
In light of <u>U.S. v. Jones </u>the Court has recently held in <u>Grady v. North Carolina, </u>575 U.S. __ (2015), No. 14-593 that the satellite-based monitoring of a registered sex offender was a search within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment and has to be reasonable. In that case North Carolina had demanded to install a tracking device on Grady, a convicted sex offender, without his consent to monitor his activities for the rest of his life. The Court easily dispensed with the unsupported position of the Government that this was not a search, but remanded it for further proceedings whether this could be found reasonable.<br />
<br />
It seems, there are two tracks the U.S. Supreme Court has been following in grappling with these cases. Common-law trespass arguments that prohibit 'physical' intrusion by government into a protected area, and the 'reasonable expectation of privacy' arguments formulated by Katz. It is a flexible and useful approach. However, it lends uncertainty to the Fourth Amendment jurisprudence, because it leaves much room for inconsistent opinions by judges below and lack of confidence in how the U.S. Supreme Court will decide the next case. In this age, it would be vastly critical to have a certain amount of certainty when it comes to our privacy rights and the degree to which the Government can intrude upon our lives. <br />
<br />
<br />Narine Mkrtchyanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07346920419809766287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8093224559071022668.post-4405875095152279182015-10-07T09:51:00.000-07:002015-10-07T09:51:33.739-07:00Outdated technology and reduced privacy <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZyHzvjJHZoYeamYidbNeUm1vnopTHkb1EljBXQr4h3ByGTdDO4pxc3Ct47O7emPYbyfXSJZzzjzgdjowks-A5tYicKP-oTWXOTzrysWNCeocdrHg3p4n2GrQImOmxfKvFfgt09PHjAPU/s1600/privacy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="120" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZyHzvjJHZoYeamYidbNeUm1vnopTHkb1EljBXQr4h3ByGTdDO4pxc3Ct47O7emPYbyfXSJZzzjzgdjowks-A5tYicKP-oTWXOTzrysWNCeocdrHg3p4n2GrQImOmxfKvFfgt09PHjAPU/s200/privacy.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
The California legislature has recently introduced a bill SB 249 (Hueso) on enhanced driver's licenses, that use "RFID" (radio frequency identification) CHIP technology to facilitate movement across california-mexican border. The goal is to reduce the border congestion and wait lines. However, as the critics have pointed out, the technology is outdated and unreliable because these chips are un-encrypted unlike the modern credit cards and passports. It not only opens doors for identity thieves but also privacy breaches by the government and employers, who may in addition decide to make them a job requirement. The significant fact is that the personal information stored in these licenses would be remotely accessible. The bill is couched in terms of giving false sense of security to those who apply for these licenses, something that should be widely challenged by privacy advocates.<br />
<br />
With the modern technological advances used by the American government to facilitate the law enforcement and surveillance of citizens and non-citizens alike, we have long said goodbye to our privacy. The question is how far are we going to go with the open efforts by government to co-opt us into 'voluntary' compliance? <br />
<br />
For more see <a href="https://www.aclu.org/blog/free-future/enhanced-drivers-licenses-civil-liberties-nightmare">here</a> and <a href="http://www.industryweek.com/technology/privacy-dead-invasive-technology-here-stay">here. </a>Narine Mkrtchyanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07346920419809766287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8093224559071022668.post-11147438947189492742014-08-25T14:50:00.003-07:002014-08-25T14:50:23.040-07:00Detention or arrest?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx0XuC61VYdvDvPRfV9eUq_78FFCoAcBVQFRYTpAikYGbwDTm0NnauBNkc54zfhx7gNO1dfw1kULdy85KVZA4wVViu94UIrnM3CdOStIU_ifsU9MIuyelDXsHRsDAaeLpPOT3Xj5RtXcY/s1600/untitled.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx0XuC61VYdvDvPRfV9eUq_78FFCoAcBVQFRYTpAikYGbwDTm0NnauBNkc54zfhx7gNO1dfw1kULdy85KVZA4wVViu94UIrnM3CdOStIU_ifsU9MIuyelDXsHRsDAaeLpPOT3Xj5RtXcY/s1600/untitled.png" height="200" width="125" /></a></div>
In the spectrum of police-civilian contacts, the demarcation between temporary detentions and arrests has been deliberately kept blurry and fact-based. This is important because a temporary detention requires only reasonable suspicion of criminal activity, while the arrest cannot be made without probable cause. In <b>Terry v. Ohio, </b>392 U.S. 1, the U.S. Supreme Court carved out an exception to the requirement of probable cause for arrests, by creating a so-called concept of 'temporary detentions.' This gave a green light to the police to search individuals as long as they could articulate some semblance of suspicion of crime, but without having a full-blown probable cause for arrest. In <b>Florida v. Royer (</b>1983) 460 U.S. 491, the Court hastened to clarify and warn that police are limited in their activities during the temporary detention:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The predicate permitting seizures on suspicion short of probable cause
is that law enforcement interests warrant a limited intrusion on the
personal security of the suspect. The scope of the intrusion permitted
will vary to some extent with the particular facts and circumstances of
each case. This much, however, is clear: an investigative detention must
be temporary and last no longer than is necessary to effectuate the
purpose of the stop. Similarly, the investigative methods employed
should be the least intrusive means reasonably available to verify or
dispel the officer's <span class="co_starPage" id="co_pp_sp_708_1326">**1326</span> suspicion in a short period of time. See, <em>e.g., </em><a class="co_link co_drag ui-draggable co_draggabled co_drag_0" href="https://a.next.westlaw.com/Link/Document/FullText?findType=Y&serNum=1975129841&pubNum=708&fi=co_pp_sp_708_2580&originationContext=document&transitionType=DocumentItem&contextData=%28sc.UserEnteredCitation%29#co_pp_sp_708_2580" id="co_link_I5a0872073af811e38578f7ccc38dcbee"><em>United States v. Brignoni-Ponce,</em> 422 U.S., at 881–882, 95 S.Ct., at 2580–2581;</a> <a class="co_link co_drag ui-draggable co_draggabled co_drag_0" href="https://a.next.westlaw.com/Link/Document/FullText?findType=Y&serNum=1972127142&pubNum=708&fi=co_pp_sp_708_1923&originationContext=document&transitionType=DocumentItem&contextData=%28sc.UserEnteredCitation%29#co_pp_sp_708_1923" id="co_link_I5a0872083af811e38578f7ccc38dcbee"><em>Adams v. Williams,</em> 407 U.S., at 146, 92 S.Ct., at 1923.</a>
It is the State's burden to demonstrate that the seizure it seeks to
justify on the basis of a reasonable suspicion was sufficiently limited
in scope and duration to satisfy the conditions of an investigative
seizure.</blockquote>
In that case the U.S. Supreme Court held that the police exceeded the permissible limits of Terry detention when they asked the traveling defendant to accompany them to a small police room, retaining his ticket and driver's license, indicating in no way that he was free to depart.<br />
The line is crossed not only when the police formally arrest a person but also when the officers use "means that approach the conditions of arrest." <b>Florida v. Royer, </b>supra, 460 U.S. 491, 499. It is a functional test, i.e. what were the actions of the police that under the totality of the circumstances imposed a greater restraint on liberty of the individual obviating the need for probable cause. <br />
<br />
In a recent case the Ninth Circuit broadened the allowed limits of temporary detention by police, thereby chipping away from the Fourth Amendment rights. In <b>U.S. v. Edwards, </b>that was decided on July 31, 2014, <span><b>No. 13–50165, </b>the Ninth Circuit held that the facts in question did not arise to an arrest requiring probable cause for the search of the defendant, but merely a temporary detention, supported with reasonable suspicion of criminal activity. There an anonymous 911 caller reported that a young black male was shooting at passing cars. The caller gave the general description of a black male in his 20s, wearing black/gray clothing and the location of the crime. The police were dispatched to the area within minutes, and observed a young black male, matching the general description of the suspect, walking 75 feet from the location of the reported crime with another male. Four officers with guns drawn detained both men. Both were ordered to kneel on the pavement, Edwards was then handcuffed while on his knees. Then he was ordered to stand up, and spread his legs. During the pat down of his clothing, the officer felt a hard object, which fell to the ground as he pulled on the pants. The object was a .22 caliber handgun. </span><br />
<span><br /></span>
<span>The Ninth Circuit reasoned that even though undoubtedly the police conduct was highly intrusive and aggressive in nature, it still did not amount to an arrest: </span>"... pointing a weapon at a suspect and handcuffing him, or ordering him to
lie on the ground, or placing him in a police car will not <em>automatically</em> convert an investigatory stop into an arrest that requires probable cause." The Court has also to look at the justification for the instrusiveness of the police methods and here the Ninth Circuit decided that the officers had reasonable fear for their safety in light of the caller's tip of an ongoing dangerous crime, i.e. shooting at passing cars. Thus the gravity of the reported crime in the eyes of the Ninth Circuit determined the permissible limits of the temporary detention. Somehow the Court missed, that the Fourth Amendment rights do not hinge upon the gravity of the offense and exist independent of the level of criminality of the offense. Even if the police had reasonable suspicion to detain the males, there was no real or perceived danger to the police officers by any of the actions of the young males at that moment. There was no evidence offered that the young men failed to cooperate or resisted the actions of the police or somehow eluded the detention. Furthermore, the Court did not even consider where other less intrusive methods were available to the police, for example, whether the circumstances warranted the need to order the men to kneel on the ground, and place handcuffs on them while on the ground. <br />
<br />
In reliance on a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in <b>Navarette v. California, </b>see below, the Ninth Circuit also held that the anonymous caller's 911 tip had sufficient indicia of reliability to furnish the police with reasonable suspicion of criminal activity. <b>U.S. v. Edwards</b>,<span><b> No. 13–50165. </b></span> <br />
<br />
There goes the chipping away from the Fourth Amendment. <br />
<br />
<span><br /></span>Narine Mkrtchyanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07346920419809766287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8093224559071022668.post-71186997197367072242014-08-21T10:56:00.000-07:002014-08-21T10:56:53.059-07:00Racism and police state <br />
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<img height="248" id="irc_mi" src="http://central.wmrhsd.org/FACULTY_FILES/kbrynildsen/images/civil%20rights%20image.jpg" style="margin-top: 0px;" width="320" /></div>
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<a href="https://www.aclu.org/blog/racial-justice-criminal-law-reform-free-speech/ferguson-everytown-usa">https://www.aclu.org/blog/racial-justice-criminal-law-reform-free-speech/ferguson-everytown-usa</a><br />
<br />
The recent tragedy and ensuing police crackdown of protesters in Ferguson, Mo, have created a painful flashback and deja vu feelings confirming our deep-seated fears that racism in America is far from in subsidence, but actually in a rise. As innocent black kids get intimidated, harassed, jailed and murdered at the hands of our militaristic police, stamped by silent imprimatur and complacence of official authorities, a looming question arises in the horizon, just what responsibility as a society we owe to the humanity. The world is watching as we as a nation, continuously declaring our moral superiority over the rest, condemning other nations and positioning ourselves as a superpower, are sinking in the worst human rights record of treatment of blacks and, have erected a huge domestic military arsenal, a police state, to perpetuate the status quo.<br />
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<a href="https://www.aclu.org/blog/human-rights-racial-justice/us-record-racial-discrimination-whole-worlds-agenda">Call for action</a>. Narine Mkrtchyanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07346920419809766287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8093224559071022668.post-28720305223197310062014-06-26T10:37:00.000-07:002014-06-26T10:37:12.123-07:00Hands off my cell phone! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUPb6Ccwfkc6tv1FqG6ms7y_eF_kbo9GHh7vpWVWSynyV88Uom8mxChQt18B0i1ZI-SguuuyK5QHUOqhVwpuTI_eHX_4FuDWA3QdJt_EAHojyJotwI6Kd1CkxDWrgSbPlt-plkk8nz0MA/s1600/cell-phone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUPb6Ccwfkc6tv1FqG6ms7y_eF_kbo9GHh7vpWVWSynyV88Uom8mxChQt18B0i1ZI-SguuuyK5QHUOqhVwpuTI_eHX_4FuDWA3QdJt_EAHojyJotwI6Kd1CkxDWrgSbPlt-plkk8nz0MA/s1600/cell-phone.jpg" height="193" width="200" /></a>The U.S. Supreme Court's decision yesterday in <strong>Riley v. California </strong>and related <strong>United States v. Wurie, </strong>Nos. 13-132 and 13-212, has far-reaching consequences for all law enforcement activities and my clients. The decision that the police may not generally search a cell phone/smart phone without a warrant even after an arrest is far-sweeping because the police routinely search cell phones of detaines, arrestes, regardless of circumstances or any suspicion of crime. When for whatever reason you are detained by police, they take possession of your cell phone, they start intrusive search of all its contents immediately. </div>
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In one of my cases, client was stopped for a traffic violation. Then the police asked him to step outside and searched his car. They found marijuana in a jar. Despite the fact that client displayed his medical marijuana card and was lawfully in possession of the marijuana, they detained him and took him to the station, pending further investigation. On route to the station, while in the police car, the client's phone was repeatedly ringing. The police officer, who had taken possession of his cell phone, answered the call, and a had brief conversation with the caller, impersonating the client. Based entirely on that one-minute phone conversation, client was charged with possession of marijuana for sale. I brought a motion to suppress the seizure and search of his car and the consequent actions of police in intruding upon the privacy of his cell phone, but my motion was denied. <br />
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This activity by police has become the order of the day. Routinely the police obtain evidence of crime by intrusive and warrantless searches of cell phones, smartphones, that carry all the intimate information of individuals. On a daily basis, the police detain and arrest individuals but then after search of cell phones they add draconian charges against them based entirely on the information they obtain from cell phones. Think about how much you carry in your cell phone and how you would feel if it gets into the hands of anyone else, not speaking of the government. <br />
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It is very rare that the United States Supreme Court issues a unanimous opinion. We are altogether accustomed to 5-4 decisions. But the idea that the government can have such absolute right to intrude upon your privacy stored in your cell phone has shocked even the most conservative of our Justices. Specifically, the Court legally and most appropriately limited the warrantless search incident to lawful arrest exception enunciated years ago in <strong>U.S. v. Robinson</strong>, 414 U.S. 218, (1973) and refused to extend it to cell phones. The court drew the distinction in the vast amount of private information stored in digital form in modern cell phones and the expectation of privacy drawn from it. The cigarette pack that was searched during a patdown in Robinson could not even come close to the amount of private data stored in smartphones. The balancing of the governmental legitimate interests-- officer safety and destruction of evidence-- with such high degree of privacy interests in a cell phone, tilted in favor of upholding the privacy rights. <br />
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The Court simply noted that the government interests here are minimal in comparison with the privacy intrusion. First, digital data does not pose immediate safety risk to the officers to legitimate the need for search without a warrant. Second, ephemeral destruction of evidence through modern technology as a reason for warrantless search also did not convince the Justices, simply because there was no evidence presented to suggest that this is even common. Particularly because the cell phones taken into possession by police are secured and stored and not accessible to arrestees and any concerns regarding remote wiping and destruction of data can be resolved by other targeted methods rather than warrantless intrusion into the privacy of one's cell phone. Relying on <strong>Chimel v. California, </strong>395 U.S. 752 (1969) the Court made a broad and swift ruling, reiterating the heightened privacy interests in modern cell phones. As Justice Roberts noted, "<em>Modern cell phones, as a category, implicate privacy concerns far beyond those implicated by the search of a cigarette pack, a wallet or a purse</em>." The storage capacity of modern cell phones permits individuals to carry all their lives in them, something they would never be able to do in a purse or a wallet. It is simply unbearable to permit the government to intrude upon such heightened expectation of privacy. "<em>Indeed, a cell phone search would typically expose to the government far more than the most exhaustive search of a house</em>..." <br />
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In short, the Court declined to extend the search incident to arrest exception to the warrant requirement for cell phones. Unless there are well-articulated exigent circumstances, which has been another exception for warrant requirement, the police must secure a separate warrant for search of your cell phone, even when you are lawfully arrested for a crime. In conclusion, Justice Roberts reaffirmed the Fourth Amendment principles by stating, "<em>Modern cell phones are not just another technological convenience. With all they contain and all thay they may reveal, they hold for many Americans the 'privacies of life.' The fact that technology now allows the individual to carry such information in his hand does not make that information any less worthy of the protection for which the Founders fought. Our answer to the question of what police must do before searching a cell phone seized incident to an arrest is accordingly simple-- get a warrant</em>." <br />
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The upshot is that the police will have to routinely seek a warrant before searching the contents of your cell phones. Certainly, they will have to articulate probable cause for the search in their affidavits before judges sign the warrants. Then it is up to your lawyer to traverse the search warrant and argue that the police concocted the probable cause for the search of your cell phone. <br />
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Hands off my cell phone! <br />
Narine Mkrtchyanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07346920419809766287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8093224559071022668.post-20995044776712723162014-04-23T12:49:00.000-07:002014-04-23T21:31:34.935-07:00"Freedom-destroying cocktail" <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjykqRQgfgkc3r4DHxtQ01Cr_uwfMJsVd9HVeKCEV6goE8gM3QbxlcbZNeKzQOEzJy-VqvEHvpRXzZ_1ARQEMPbNK1tkV5hOb7fsWOBdfLsjIuT1Xfp5Q9kj_ZjuDrYWjXti24n1x6ELSc/s1600/911_call_graphic_answer_1_xlarge%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjykqRQgfgkc3r4DHxtQ01Cr_uwfMJsVd9HVeKCEV6goE8gM3QbxlcbZNeKzQOEzJy-VqvEHvpRXzZ_1ARQEMPbNK1tkV5hOb7fsWOBdfLsjIuT1Xfp5Q9kj_ZjuDrYWjXti24n1x6ELSc/s200/911_call_graphic_answer_1_xlarge%5B1%5D.jpg" /></a></div>
In a recent decision, <strong>Navarette v. California</strong>, 572 U.S. _ 2014, No. 12-9490, the US Supreme Court ruled that an anonymous tip from a 911 caller was sufficient to create reasonable suspicion of criminal activity of a driver and search of his vehicle was reasonable. The 911 caller reported that a Silver Ford 150 pick up truck had run her off the road. The caller also reported the location of the incident and the plate number of the truck. A few minutes later the CHP officers located a similar pick up truck further down the highway, stopped the vehicle without any further corroboration. As they were conducting a traffic stop, they smelled marijuana from the vehicle. The search ensued, with 30 pounds of marijuana discovered in the truck. <br />
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By distinguishing the landmark case on the topic, <strong>Florida v. J.L</strong>. (2000) 529 U.S. 266, the majority opinion held that the tip here had sufficient indicia of reliability to give reasonable suspicion to the officers that the driver was drunk. The caller’s account indicated she was an eyewitness to the incident, by providing the license plate number, the location and the model of the car. The Court also pointed out that the timeline of the events, the reported location of the incident by the caller and the officers’ spotting of the truck a few minutes later sufficiently corroborated the tip. The fact that the tipster used the 911 system also pointed to the reliability, since a false tipster would be aware of the tracking system and would not be willing to resort to false reporting.
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The Court quickly dismissed the argument that even if the tip could be reliable, it might not have necessarily raised reasonable suspicion that the driver was actually drunk or perhaps the police could have further corroborated the observations of the tipster by following the vehicle before initiating the stop.
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Justice Scalia (surprisingly) dissented with Justices Ginsburg, Sotomayor and Kagan, pointing out that this was a vivid departure of precedent, that anonymous tips must be corroborated before they form basis for reasonable suspicion of criminal activity. By noting that the tip would have qualified to be admitted neither as a ‘present sense impression’ nor an ‘excited utterance’, Justice Scalia pointed out that the question was not how the tipster could see this happening but whether what she claimed was true. Nothing corroborated the caller’s statements. <br />
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Furthermore, Scalia pointed out, “I fail to see how reasonable suspicion of a discrete instance of irregular or hazardous driving generates a reasonable suspicion of ongoing intoxicated driving. What proportion of the hundreds of thousands—perhaps millions—of careless, reckless, or intentional traffic violations committed each day is attributable to drunken drivers? I say 0.1 percent.” To allow the police to make traffic stop on the basis of uncorroborated and anonymous caller to catch .1 percentage of drunk drivers is an unjustifiable intrusion into Fourth Amendment rights or as Scalia called it, a two-part ‘<strong>freedom-destroying cocktail’</strong>. <br />
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He was further outraged with the fact that in the five minute observation of the truck before initiating the traffic stop, the CHP did not observe any suspicious driving. They had no personal corroboration of the bad driving alleged by the 911 caller. This fact alone should have quickly undermined the reliability of the tipper.<br />
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The upshot of this case is the continuing erosion of the Fourth Amendment principles. If you are a driver, you have no protection against anonymous 911 calls and the police are free to decide whether they will credit the caller and stop your car or not. You are at the mercy of law enforcement.
Narine Mkrtchyanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07346920419809766287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8093224559071022668.post-83836169071273255352014-04-22T15:06:00.000-07:002014-04-22T16:02:21.612-07:00Ninety-nine years... <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm9WmLtR-zwxqWDVWz3xRO5b0WsyJ9QZ6bVb4D_P_Pevz01y4iavvmzaTplcJJK8csvxDdJKSDyy0Sa_rOmYK24svWjOU1Q25wN5j9iu3FulkK1xLWCroMrTLtOItIn-2HJtgvQBAFshk/s1600/99__Web_Large-530x350%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm9WmLtR-zwxqWDVWz3xRO5b0WsyJ9QZ6bVb4D_P_Pevz01y4iavvmzaTplcJJK8csvxDdJKSDyy0Sa_rOmYK24svWjOU1Q25wN5j9iu3FulkK1xLWCroMrTLtOItIn-2HJtgvQBAFshk/s320/99__Web_Large-530x350%5B1%5D.jpg" /></a></div><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Turks are
coming!” This phrase has a soul-piercing, blood-chilling effect on every
Armenian around the globe. The pantheon of Armenian ethnicity and nationhood is
cloaked with heavy drips of blood. The development and unprecedented rise of
Islam in the Middle East culminated in the victory of the Ottoman Turkey in 1453,
with the final collapse of the Byzantine Empire. Constantinople (or Polis) was
renamed Istanbul, and the Ottoman Turkey proved to be a ruthless empire of war and
conquest. The fall of the Byzantine Empire was the historic doomsday of
Armenians, the first nation to officially adopt Christianity as their religion.
Art-loving, peaceful Armenians, similar in their heritage to the Greeks, were
greatly overwhelmed in numbers by war-mongering Turks, who soon took over all of
historic Armenian lands, by reducing Armenians to an ethnic minority residing
in the Ottoman Empire and Eastern Armenia (current Armenia). <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The seeds of
fate were sown and ripened in the World War I, when Ottoman Turkey artfully
used the excuse of war to resolve the pestering ‘Armenian question.’ As
Armenian intellectuals residing in Turkey had co-existed with Turks and had
risen in the ranks, they were lobbying for equal rights and recognition of
freedom of religion and self-autonomy. This movement was internally coined as
the ‘Armenian Question’ by the Ottoman government officials. It was a real
thorn in their imperialistic goals of expansion, and conversion of all
ethnicities to Islam. Armenians historically refused to convert to Islam and
sought autonomy to be able to survive and maintain their language, culture, identity,
religion.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As World War I was waging in the background,
the Ottoman officials masterminded a skillful and ‘brilliant’ resolution of the
‘Armenian Question.’ The plan was to forcefully remove and displace all
Armenians residing in the empire, using <u>any and all</u> methods. This was
understood by the executioners as including killing, starvation, deportation. The
‘Gyavur’ as the Armenians were pejoratively called, were to be quickly eliminated
from the face of the Earth. To execute the plan, first, all intellectuals with
connections and power, were rounded up, imprisoned and then disappeared on mass
scale. Then, forced displacement began. All Armenians were rounded up and forced to
deport. Since this process was too slow, mass killings of Armenians on
unprecedented scale began. The world had not yet seen a similar systematic and
targeted killing of a whole nation before. The rate of killings was so fast
that by the time Armenians could seek help from other nations, the large
majority of Armenians in Turkey, were ruthlessly killed. The numbers could
never be accurate, but on the basis of the number of Armenians residing in
Turkey, and those who survived, the estimated total was at least 1.5 million
Armenian massacres. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Both my grandfathers as kids were
survivors. One escaped with his older brother, leaving behind his entire
family, that was massacred. The other escaped through the desert and mountains
to current Northern Armenia, carrying his younger sister on his back. The
survivors spread around the globe, as living eyewitnesses to a GENOCIDE, as a
testament to one of the worst crimes against humanity. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Genocide is defined as killing of
a ‘genom’, or race. All the historic chronicles indisputably proved that the Ottoman
Turks were targeting Armenians to be wiped out from the face of the Earth, as
the Nazis were targeting Jews or Interahamwe were targeting Tutsis. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While this was the first mass genocide of the
20<sup>th</sup> century, it was not the last. However, while the other
genocides and crimes against humanity were accordingly punished and
perpetrators brought to justice in various International Tribunals, the
Armenian genocide went unpunished. Turkey was never brought to justice by the
world to answer for its cruel acts against humanity. Furthermore, its shameful
denial has received a silent imprimatur or ‘approval’ of world powers, most
notably the United States, whose geopolitical interests in the Middle East have
demanded alliance with Turkey. Silence and impunity have grown deep roots in
the national psyche of Armenians. If a crime of such magnitude goes unpunished
by the world community, the entire concept of justice on Earth is in grave
danger. If the humanity were truly determined not to repeat such crimes, it
would have brought justice to the victims and survivors. Indeed, it was this
inaction of the world that allowed for the repetition of similar crimes against
humanity in the 20<sup>th</sup> and 21<sup>st</sup> centuries, including the Jewish
Holocaust, Rwandan genocide, and most recently, Darfur. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">This week we
are commemorating the 99<sup>th</sup> year of the Armenian Genocide. As we
renew our pledge to seek official recognition of the Armenian Genocide in the
face of age-old denial by Turkey, we mourn
over the innocent victims, whose tragic deaths have left an indelible scar and
will scornfully sear the conscience of mankind as long as it exists on Earth. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Justice is not
an abstract concept, but a truth-searching engine, a pre-condition to human
survival. But while the world still remains silent in the face of denial, it is
a word with no meaning. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
Narine Mkrtchyanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07346920419809766287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8093224559071022668.post-53752205313251596512013-01-19T19:14:00.000-08:002013-01-21T09:35:05.478-08:00March on Washington <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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On August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous speech "I Have a Dream." Marking an end of an epoch, this man had to pay a heavy price for his incredible courage. The 'Dream' had to be soaked into the heavy drips of his own blood, sacrifice of his own precious life. Like Jesus Christ he came as a missionary, a man with a new vision for a better life, for better humanity. His concept of freedom, equality, and justice were quite different from those of the rest, living among him. He came to write a new era, and fearlessly opened it himself by boldly marching forward, towards his vision. It might not have even occurred to him how crazy his ideas seemed, and how much hatred he raised among so many. Empowered by his passionate quest for justice, he persisted against the ugly cynicism and debilitating complacence of the past, and forged a new path for America and the rest of humanity. That was the dream, lived through his own life, struggles, fears, vision and faith... That was the dream, that could become true if only people ultimately understood what was right and what was wrong. Even if they did not understand it in their souls, the power of law was going to force them to understand and comply with the new way of life. <br />
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Dr. King knew that most people still lived in the age of darkness, when it was quite all right to have racism, segregation, and effective slavery of the black race. He knew well enough that racism had its source in the hearts and minds of people, that no law in the world would change it. As an idealist, he envisioned the world free of darkness, and called on people to come out to the light, by rejecting the status quo, eliminating the chains and shackles of virulent discrimination of the black people. As a realist, though, he understood that this had to be accomplished first by the power of law. If the law was set in place, ending segregated schools, ending segregated housing, ending segregated public accommodations, etc., it would force upon people a new way of life, a new way of thinking, a new reality that would also slowly erode the racism from their hearts. But he couldn't wait, he had no patience for slow change. He wanted it 'Now.' He understood the urgency of 'Now.' <br />
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So, his goals were two-fold, force passage of new laws, that would fundamentally alter the status quo, despite the strong and virulent opposition, and also call upon people to embrace his dream, in their hearts and their minds. <br />
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Today as a nation we have come a long way, thanks to Dr. King. We have been able to cross milestones. This is no longer the same America that was in place on August 28, 1963. But the dream has been shed too many times, and in too many subtle and not so subtle ways, to be ignored. The difference now is that while people recognize right from wrong, they still act on their deeply-seated biases, covertly. People were less politically correct and less in-tune with 'demands' of the civilized society. Now it has become harder to catch people in wrong-doing because they have learned to camouflage it, and find other excuses. The hypocrisy of today's world is quite stark. In the old days, people would call an African-American a 'nigger' and the KKK would lynch him with impunity. Now no one dares to utter this deeply insulting word, and organizations like KKK are illegal. White supremacism is now only an underground irrational and hard-recognized 'psyche' of the white people, who still harbor discrimination against the blacks, Hispanics, etc. <br />
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Behind the halls of justice, in any criminal courthouse, in California, a large majority of criminal defendants are black. You wonder, how did that happen. Does poverty breed crime and why are blacks still poor? Why weren't they able to have a fair shot at the riches of this Earth, unless there was some other scourge besieging them, some other unfair force weighing them down to the lowest position in society. What other scourge besides racism, can we point to?!
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When you go to Compton, a predominantly black neighborhood, a poor ghetto, you wonder, did Dr. King's dream have any chance of coming true? Did we fail that dream somehow? Did we really give our best shot at it, as a society, as a nation, as a humanity?
I don't have an answer for it. But I know in my heart and in my soul, I have a sacred obligation to embrace, live through and fight for that dream, every day.
Narine Mkrtchyanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07346920419809766287noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8093224559071022668.post-17867572414936640582012-02-09T08:51:00.000-08:002012-02-09T08:51:21.456-08:00The end does not justify the means<blockquote>We are not impressed by the argument that law enforcement methods such as those under review are necessary to uphold our laws. The Constitution proscribes such lawless means irrespective of the end. And this argument flouts the basic principle that all people must stand on an equality before the bar of justice in every American court. Today, as in ages past, we are not without tragic proof that the exalted power of some governments to punish manufactured crime dictatorially is the handmaid of tyranny. Under our constitutional system, courts stand against any winds that blow as havens of refuge for those who might otherwise suffer because they are helpless, weak, outnumbered, or because they are non-conforming victims of prejudice and public excitement. Due process of law, preserved for all by our Constitution, commands that no such practice as that disclosed by this record shall send any accused to his death. No higher duty, no more solemn responsibility, rests upon this Court, than that of translating into living law and maintaining this constitutional shield deliberately planned and inscribed for the benefit of every human being subject to our Constitution -- of whatever race, creed or persuasion.<br />
</blockquote><br />
Justice Black in <b>Chambers v. Florida</b>(1940) 309 U.S. 227.Narine Mkrtchyanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07346920419809766287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8093224559071022668.post-50031986042090201612012-02-09T08:18:00.000-08:002012-02-09T08:18:48.077-08:00Fact-finding infected with bias...<blockquote>As noted, intrinsic challenges to state-court findings pursuant to the "unreasonable determination" standard come in several flavors, each presenting its own peculiar set of considerations. No doubt the simplest is the situation where the state court should have made a finding of fact but neglected to do so. In that situation, the state-court factual determination is perforce unreasonable and there is nothing to which the presumption of correctness [*1001] can attach. <i>See, e.g., Wiggins, 123 S. Ct. at 2539-40; Killian v. Poole, 282 F.3d 1204, 1208 (9th Cir. 2002); Weaver, 197 F.3d at 363; Nunes, 350 F.3d at 1055. </i>A somewhat different set of considerations applies where the state court does make factual findings, but does so under a misapprehension as to the correct legal standard. <i>See, e.g., Caliendo v. Warden, 365 F.3d 691, 2004 U.S. App. LEXIS 6416, 2004 WL 720362, at *6 (9th Cir. Apr. 5, 2004); Fernandez v. Roe, 286 F.3d 1073, 1077 (9th Cir. 2002); Wade v. Terhune, 202 F.3d 1190, 1197 (9th Cir. 2000). </i>Obviously, where the state court's legal error infects the fact-finding process, the resulting factual determination will be unreasonable and no presumption of correctness can attach to it.<br />
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Closely related to cases where the state courts make factual findings infected by substantive [**17] legal error are those where the fact-finding process itself is defective. If, for example, a state court makes evidentiary findings without holding a hearing and giving petitioner an opportunity to present evidence, such findings clearly result in an "unreasonable determination" of the facts. <i>See, e.g., Weaver, 197 F.3d at 363; Nunes, 350 F.3d at 1055; cf. Bryan v. Mullin, 335 F.3d 1207, 1215-16 (10th Cir. 2003</i>) (declining to apply presumption where state court failed to hold an evidentiary hearing). But <i>see Valdez, 274 F.3d at 948-50 (sections 2254(d)(2) and (e)(1) </i>apply despite defects in the state-court hearing). Similarly, where the state courts plainly misapprehend or misstate the record in making their findings, and the misapprehension goes to a material factual issue that is central to petitioner's claim, that misapprehension can fatally undermine the fact-finding process, rendering the resulting factual finding unreasonable. <i>See, e.g., Wiggins, 123 S. Ct. at 2538-39; Hall, 343 F.3d at 983</i>. And, as the Supreme Court noted in <i>Miller-El</i>, the state-court fact-finding [**18] process is undermined where the state court has before it, yet apparently ignores, evidence that supports petitioner's claim. Miller-El, 537 U.S. at 346 ("Our concerns are amplified by the fact that the state court also had before it, and apparently ignored, testimony demonstrating that the Dallas County District Attorney's Office had, by its own admission, used this process to manipulate the racial composition of the jury in the past."); accord <i>Collins v. Rice, 348 F.3d 1082, 1097 (9th Cir. 2003), as amended and superseded on denial of reh'g by 365 F.3d 667, 2004 U.S. App. LEXIS 6780, 2004 WL 743723 (9th Cir. Apr. 8, 2004).</i><br />
<br />
....<br />
<br />
In instructing jurors about their fact-finding function, we normally advise them to consider the entire record, not individual pieces of evidence standing alone. See <i>United States v. Bertoli, 40 F.3d 1384, 1401 (3d Cir. 1994); United States v. Betancourt, 838 F.2d 168, 175 (6th Cir. 1988); United States v. Minyard, 461 F.2d 931, 934 (9th Cir. 1972); Kearney v. Bell, 160 Cal. 661, 668-69, 117 P. 925 (1911); Breuner Co. v. Allred, 98 Cal. App. 92, 96, 276 P. 422 (Ct. App. 1929); see, e.g., CALJIC 2.50.2 </i>("You should consider all of the evidence bearing upon every issue . . . ."); CALJIC 8.84.1 ("Both the People and the defendant have a right to expect that you will consider all of the evidence . . . ."). This reflects the philosophy of our common-law fact-finding process, namely, that the various pieces of evidence and testimony in the record must be considered in light of all the others. Testimony may seem implausible standing alone, yet gain considerable force when confirmed in a material respect by an independent source or by an objectively verifiable fact. Similarly, testimony may seem highly plausible, [**36] yet be discredited when it is shown to be irreconcilably in conflict with other evidence. Fact-finding is thus a dynamic, holistic process that presupposes for its legitimacy that the trier of fact will take into account the entire record before it.<br />
<br />
<b>What goes for juries goes no less for judges</b>. In making findings, a judge must acknowledge significant portions of the record, particularly where they are inconsistent with the judge's findings. The process of explaining and reconciling seemingly inconsistent parts of the record lays bare the judicial thinking process, enabling a reviewing court to judge the rationality of the fact-finder's reasoning. On [*1008] occasion, an effort to explain what turns out to be un-explainable will cause the finder of fact to change his mind. By contrast, failure to take into account and reconcile key parts of the record casts doubt on the process by which the finding was reached, and hence on the correctness of the finding. See, e.g., <i>Gui v. INS, 280 F.3d 1217, 1228 (9th Cir. 2002) </i>(failure of immigration judge to support adverse credibility finding with specific, cogent reasons constituted grounds for reversal); <i>Winans v. Bowen, 853 F.2d 643, 647 (9th Cir. 1988</i>) [**37] (failure of ALJ to give specific reasons for ignoring treating physician's opinion constitutes grounds for reversal).<br />
</blockquote><br />
<b>Taylor v. Maddox</b> (9th Cir. 2004) 366 F.3d 992Narine Mkrtchyanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07346920419809766287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8093224559071022668.post-69799509043372354342011-11-21T13:37:00.000-08:002011-11-21T13:37:21.854-08:00Letter to Chancellor<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUd8Zk6pSzdCAXJxuDoAQ07xNFKMPxrirzQg-0KaMLrasZfWxou4PqKKRXn_djV4eFXUidPoQnJ3BUKyDwaCyDWPGlrWbDalj7n8e3CTqgr98Bo8FUUIvAcN-s5WWLxI-ka-EBEvg2M2Q/s1600/6a00d8341c630a53ef0162fcb3a260970d-640wi%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="225" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUd8Zk6pSzdCAXJxuDoAQ07xNFKMPxrirzQg-0KaMLrasZfWxou4PqKKRXn_djV4eFXUidPoQnJ3BUKyDwaCyDWPGlrWbDalj7n8e3CTqgr98Bo8FUUIvAcN-s5WWLxI-ka-EBEvg2M2Q/s400/6a00d8341c630a53ef0162fcb3a260970d-640wi%255B1%255D.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<a href="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/11/uc-president-appalled-at-uc-davis-pepper-spray-incident.html">For the story</a>, <br />
<br />
<b>Law Office of Narine Mkrtchyan<br />
117 W. 9th Street, Suite 1001<br />
Los Angeles, CA 90015<br />
Tel: (818) 388-7022<br />
Narine56@msn.com<br />
<br />
Offices of Chancellor and Provost <br />
Fifth Floor, Mrak Hall, <br />
University of California, Davis<br />
One Shields Ave, <br />
Davis, CA 95616<br />
November 21, 2011<br />
<br />
</b><br />
<br />
Dear Chancellor Katehi: <br />
<br />
As a proud King Hall alumna, Graduate Class of 2005, and also an alumna of UCLA, Undergraduate Class of 2001, let me express my complete outrage with the appalling incident at UC Davis that has sparked national concern over the last three days. The campus police pepper-spraying peaceful demonstrators and students nowhere else but on our own campus at UC Davis, at the direction of no one else but our own educators and campus administration, is unacceptable to any sense of justice and proportionality. <br />
<br />
In 2008 this nation made a promise to its future generations, a promise that has not come to its fruition. It was a promise to embark upon long-awaited change, change for social and economic justice and equality. Change, however, was to come by concerted efforts of all Americans, united and determined in that struggle. In the words of our spiritual leader, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., “Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle. And so we must straighten our backs and work for our freedom. A man can't ride you unless your back is bent.” <br />
<br />
The demonstrators that were pepper-sprayed by the campus police at your Administration’s direction, represent that promise that was broken, that change that was demanded for. Particularly because UC Davis is an educational institution, an arm of UC Regents, the best and most liberal University chain in the state of California, it should be at the forefront of this movement, take up the task of its leadership, organize the youth, inspire them, and lead them forward towards the change that America deserves. As education is the engine of any nation, you as educators have a high responsibility to preserve and enrich the best promise in the example of students who have taken up the difficult task of the struggle for better America. You are the Prometheus entrusted with carrying the torch of light for the future generations. Instead the University has chosen to take the shameful escape to the convenient and bankrupt ‘yesteryear,’ the rejection of freedom, succumbing to the authoritarian principles of the law enforcement. The Civil Rights Movement in the United States did endure a similar attack by those who were in shameful denial of the urgency of Change. <br />
<br />
As a criminal defense attorney, practicing for five years, I have seen what you might not have seen. I regret to report, from the trenches, that our civil rights and the rights enshrined in the United States Constitution have been shed and downgraded by precisely the same subterfuge to the principles deeply antithetical to Liberty, Equality and Justice. America has been mercilessly thrown into the lap of corporations and financial institutions, with the secret agreement and silent blessings of our government. For fear of losing its grip and authority on the people angry with this treachery, the government has stifled all the freedoms and rights of the ordinary citizens, by turning into an ominous and authoritarian police regime. There is no escape from the iron grip and it is getting tighter and tighter. <br />
<br />
These students and peaceful demonstrators represent the voice of America fed up with the status quo. They are standing up for civil disobedience and promise of change. If they have broken the current laws and/or campus policies, it is because those ‘laws’ as they are written down and enforced, no longer represent the American people and their urgent needs. If they have done something wrong by sitting and protesting to the current affairs without even resorting to any violence, then that law that they are breaking is morally wrong, not just and fundamentally un-American. In the words of Dr. King, “… an individual who breaks the law that conscience tells him is unjust and willingly accepts the penalty by staying in jail to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the very highest respect for law.”<br />
<br />
It is clear from watching the video of the shameful incident, the students were not engaged in any violence, were only seated when the police, nonchalantly, sadistically and brutally started pepper-spraying. This scenario is unfortunately not new to me, having represented many individuals as victims of police brutality. But what is new and unacceptable to me, is the fact that this was permitted and authorized by the University officials on the very school grounds, against students as peaceful demonstrators. <br />
<br />
Therefore, I request immediate resignation of all Administrative officials of UC Davis who authorized and/or failed to stop this action. Furthermore, I demand immediate termination of employment of the involved police officers, to set a clear example to the rest of the nation that these incidents will not be tolerated in the future. I do not believe placing these officers on paid administrative leave is an appropriate measure in light of their highly anti-social and brutal behavior. <br />
<br />
Unless serious action is done to repair the image of the University of California, I refuse to associate myself any longer with UC Davis and King Hall. <br />
<br />
Sincerely, <br />
<br />
<br />
Narine Mkrtchyan, Esq.Narine Mkrtchyanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07346920419809766287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8093224559071022668.post-39511736927391367472011-10-16T18:41:00.000-07:002011-10-16T18:41:38.450-07:00Change is in grassroots...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBFsLQX5bqOwpdKWhX-m3rlZSHNHNJXQdA2nvi28EXnB97vxJXkelptXaddOQG1oaMNOTVCCNUvIX7AzJiymKhWsnFNDVOHIUD2ZZGCRVgKGajfvMoVGbpnyv5zky-snuH-gqwhxyduMc/s1600/111004103034-rushkoff-occupy-wall-street-story-top%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" oda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBFsLQX5bqOwpdKWhX-m3rlZSHNHNJXQdA2nvi28EXnB97vxJXkelptXaddOQG1oaMNOTVCCNUvIX7AzJiymKhWsnFNDVOHIUD2ZZGCRVgKGajfvMoVGbpnyv5zky-snuH-gqwhxyduMc/s400/111004103034-rushkoff-occupy-wall-street-story-top%255B1%255D.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Occupy Wall Street= Change that America deserves <br />
<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/05/opinion/rushkoff-occupy-wall-street/index.html">http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/05/opinion/rushkoff-occupy-wall-street/index.html</a>Narine Mkrtchyanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07346920419809766287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8093224559071022668.post-79835222031590569242011-08-04T15:14:00.000-07:002011-08-04T18:04:49.754-07:00Role of judiciary<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRMCxvVkVuB2B1STWNDsz9RXUtHCsovUNed49MxcxslAC1vzjQ4uP-bZqFo4u1fFRUjhfUDXFhwDZ67vHEJvJw11VrDhSa16FDu_EqxgnF5pKpP1TfsOPDV2e_K_eDeiYoveno3LXNXmo/s1600/supreme_court_us_2010%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRMCxvVkVuB2B1STWNDsz9RXUtHCsovUNed49MxcxslAC1vzjQ4uP-bZqFo4u1fFRUjhfUDXFhwDZ67vHEJvJw11VrDhSa16FDu_EqxgnF5pKpP1TfsOPDV2e_K_eDeiYoveno3LXNXmo/s320/supreme_court_us_2010%255B1%255D.jpg" t$="true" width="320" /></a></div>The question on the role of judiciary is frequently entertained and analyzed. Some groups uphold the conservative approach that requires judges only to 'interpret' the law, expound on the law, not change it. Others are of the more liberal approach that judges are to 'make law', because the elected officials cannot do the 'right' thing facing their political constituents. The cause of the minorities historically has been advanced by the judiciary. <br />
<br />
Two problems with this distinction. First, in one sense, 'interpretation' of the law cannot be really done without some implicit/explicit making, remaking, fashioning of the law. It is an absurdity to even argue that judges should not 'make' law, especially in the background of the American case-law bound system. Statutes are only the skeleton of the 'law', and the cases are the muscles, tissue, organs, etc.<br />
<br />
Second, and conversely, there is no longer any real separation of judiciary with legislative or executive bodies. In the recent years in the United States there has been a very prominent erosion of historic boundaries among the three branches of the government at all levels, local, state and federal. Judges now are in the same position as the legislators in that any decision/ruling they make is subject to immediate political consequences/repercussions. The idea of 'checks and balances' and 'separation' of powers that held together the fabric of this country for at least two hundred years has been discarded. Because the judges feel directly accountable to the public for their rulings, they feel compelled to act like legislators, to please their constituents. That translates into an 'inactive' judiciary that will really not take upon doing the 'right' thing even when it is unpopular. So, really the concept of 'judge-made' law is outdated... <br />
<br />
An independent judiciary was to serve several goals, one of which was to protect minorities against the 'tyranny of the majority.' It was also to ensure that the Constitution was interpreted independent of political expediency, public whim and caprice... After all, the Constitution is a document that was created for all times and ages, and was not to be pushed back in favor of particularistic interests of either the government or the people. Judges were supposed to guard and watch the Constitution essentially against the greedy encroachments of various human groups, elements, structures, each demanding their own selfish interests.<br />
<br />
But of course the Constitution is also a living document, that needs to be placed in the context of the problems that arise in modern times. Interpretation of the Constitution cannot be in the void, without regard to the demands and needs of the society. Because judges are after all human, and products of their society, the interpretation of issues of constitutional dimensions is highly volatile, arbitrary and dependent on many variables, such as personalities, predispositions, political views of judicial officers. Therefore, it does not really make any difference to argue whether judges should be 'active' or not. Either way, they are going to be 'active' whether they choose or not, insofar as they are instrumental in 'expounding' a living document, such as a Constitution. They can be 'active' in perpetuating the status quo, as it is laid down by the legislature and the people, by giving constitutional validity to the status quo. That is a very 'active' role. In the most fundamental sense, after all they are the ones who create the 'case law'. <br />
<br />
<blockquote>• It is emphatically the province and duty of the judicial department to say what the law is...If two laws conflict with each other, the courts must decide on the operation of each...This is of the very essence of judicial duty. <br />
<br />
<br />
o Marbury v. Madison, 1 Cranch, 1317 (1803).<br />
<br />
• The people made the Constitution, and the people can unmake it. It is the creature of their own will, and lives only by their will. <br />
<br />
o Cohens v. Virginia, 6 Wheaton (19 U.S.) 264, 389 (1821).<br />
<br />
• We must never forget that it is a constitution we are expounding. <br />
<br />
o 4 Wheaton 316, 407.<br />
<br />
• This provision is made in a constitution, intended to endure for ages to come, and consequently, to be adapted to the various crises of human affairs. <br />
<br />
o 4 Wheaton 316, 415.<br />
<br />
• Let the end be legitimate, let it be within the scope of the constitution, and all means which are appropriate, which are plainly adapted to that end, which are not prohibited, but consist with the letter and spirit of the constitution, are constitutional. <br />
<br />
o 4 Wheaton 316, 421.<br />
<br />
<strong>[Justice John Marshall]</strong></blockquote>Narine Mkrtchyanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07346920419809766287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8093224559071022668.post-65522801378861385242011-07-04T11:22:00.000-07:002011-07-05T12:20:41.889-07:00Liberty and 'liberty'<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyOt-neVGyKaxyll8zAl3LSLLN4Nb_-W3BZ3yrNr9Lpzs5KbRgC6QNDbQLtTnhcx-hn9QWnohzyxLxZKxWnQ0LWbCk6eMv-LCUk-cGjdtOwIUni3iraijAWUAZ6y59FBSA75EPIVRqSv8/s1600/755px-Eug%25C3%25A8ne_Delacroix_-_La_libert%25C3%25A9_guidant_le_peuple%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="158" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyOt-neVGyKaxyll8zAl3LSLLN4Nb_-W3BZ3yrNr9Lpzs5KbRgC6QNDbQLtTnhcx-hn9QWnohzyxLxZKxWnQ0LWbCk6eMv-LCUk-cGjdtOwIUni3iraijAWUAZ6y59FBSA75EPIVRqSv8/s200/755px-Eug%25C3%25A8ne_Delacroix_-_La_libert%25C3%25A9_guidant_le_peuple%255B1%255D.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><em>"Free people, remember this maxim: we may acquire liberty, but it is never recovered if it is once lost." </em><br />
<br />
<em>"Man is born free, and everywhere he is in shackles." </em><br />
<br />
<em>"Liberty is obedience to the law which one has laid down for oneself..."</em><br />
<strong>[Jean Jacques Rousseau]</strong>Narine Mkrtchyanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07346920419809766287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8093224559071022668.post-45162717888859794302011-06-15T13:19:00.000-07:002011-06-15T13:19:36.029-07:00Sailing forward... unfettered...<em><strong>I do solemnly swear that as an attorney and as a Counselor of this Court, I will conduct myself uprightly and according to law, and that I will support the Constitution of the United States. </strong></em><br />
<br />
"The mood and temper of the public in regard to the treatment of crime and criminals is one of the most unfailing tests of the civilization of any country. A calm dispassionate recognition of the rights of the accused, and even of the convicted criminal against the state; a constant heart-searching by all charged with the duty of punishment; a desire and an eagerness to rehabilitate . . .; tireless efforts toward the discovery of creative and regenerative processes; unfailing faith that there is a treasure, if you can only find it, in the heart of every man. These are the symbols which . . . mark and measure the stored-up strength of a nation . . . proof of the living virtue in it"--[<strong>Winston S. Churchill</strong>, in a speech delivered in the House of Commons in 1910 while he was Home Secretary.]<br />
<br />
"You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life." <strong>[Winston S. Churchill]</strong> <br />
Narine Mkrtchyanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07346920419809766287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8093224559071022668.post-53484621969056310642011-06-10T19:09:00.000-07:002011-06-10T19:14:51.513-07:00Crime and punishment<blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgej0JyzgIuoE_hVP_EPNAkckgfLNaLvipV2nrDHW9c7snSzSv9mirDi8ZDunQl92mrQPoXwq-ZFF-goyUHnz-fuCSZi6OqOK8sCB6BmN2xNggfFsLqYeS799Mp1wHRes0vHxTQQbX-OwQ/s1600/goya.shootings-3-5-1808%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="151" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgej0JyzgIuoE_hVP_EPNAkckgfLNaLvipV2nrDHW9c7snSzSv9mirDi8ZDunQl92mrQPoXwq-ZFF-goyUHnz-fuCSZi6OqOK8sCB6BmN2xNggfFsLqYeS799Mp1wHRes0vHxTQQbX-OwQ/s200/goya.shootings-3-5-1808%255B1%255D.jpg" t8="true" width="200" /></a></div>"The purpose of punishments is not to torment and afflict a sentient being or to undo a crime which has already been committed. Far from acting out of passion, can a political body, which is the calm agent that moderates the passions of private individuals, harbor useless cruelty, the tool of fury and fanaticism or weak tyrants? Can the cries of the poor wretch turn back time and undo actions which have already been done? The purpose of punishment, then, is nothing other than to dissuade the criminal from doing fresh harm to his compatriots and to keep other people from doing the same. Therefore, punishments and the method of inflicting them should be chosen that, mindful of the proportion between crime and punishment, will make the most effective and lasting impression on men's minds and inflict the least torment on the body of the criminal." [On <em>Crimes and Punishments </em>by <strong>Cesare Beccaria</strong>, 1764] </blockquote><blockquote>"In enforcing this punishment [of life imprisonment] in the Federal Republic, state officials are under a duty not merely to incarcerate but also to rehabilitate the prisoner through appropriate treatment... The court on several occasions has maintained that rehabilitation is constitutionally required in any community that establishes human dignity as its centerpiece and commits itself to the principle of social justice. ... The condemned criminal must be given the chance, after atoning for his crime, to reenter society... ... the state strikes at the very heart of human dignity if '[it] treats the prisoner without regard to the development of his personality and strips him of all hope of ever earning his freedom... ... [a hope] which makes the sentence bearable in terms of human dignity. [<strong>Constitutional Jurisprudence of the Federal Republic of Germany</strong>. Life Imprisonment Case, (1977) 45 BverGE 187.]</blockquote>Narine Mkrtchyanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07346920419809766287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8093224559071022668.post-25237428829660097232011-05-17T15:14:00.000-07:002011-05-17T15:47:19.372-07:00'Totality of circumstances' or 'unbridled discretion?'Test for reasonable suspicion: <br />
<br />
"An officer may make an investigatory stop if he is aware of specific, articulable facts which, together with objective and reasonable inferences, form a basis for suspecting that the particular person detained is engaged in criminal activity. The officer must consider the 'totality of circumstances-- the whole picture'. The facts are to be interpreted in the light of a trained officer's experience. They must, however, be more than the mere subjective impressions of a particular officer. Permissible deductions or rational inferences must be grounded in objective facts and be capable of rational explanation; 'while an officer may evaluate the facts supporting reasonable suspicion in light of his experience, experience may not be used to give the officers unbridled discretion in making a stop." <u>U.S. v. Hernandez-Alvarado</u>, 9th Cir. (1989), 891 F.2d 1414. <br />
<br />
The so-called 'totality of circumstances' test that was elaborated in <u>U.S. v. Sokolow </u>(1989), 490 U.S. 1 and was later affirmed in <u>U.S. v. Arvizu </u>(2002), 534 U.S. 266, allows officers/courts to add up a number of seemingly innocuous and innocent factors to create 'reasonable suspicion' of criminal activity. In fact, 'totality of factors' is the most favorite term of the law enforcement. It is really bootstrapping and subversion of the principles of Fourth Amendment. If each of the factors described by the officer is susceptible of innocent explanation, how can their mathematical add-up amount to criminal activity? The process though was not meant to be that simple. Supposedly, the whole process of adding-up and deductive analysis should be rational, not subjective and grounded on specific facts. Officers experienced in the field of testimony come to court with formulas, ready stories. It simply shocks me how often they offer the same story, same terminology, same pattern of conduct and same analysis over and over again. They are trained to amalgamate the facts into their formulas. Facts that happen in the real world are subservient to their training and they analyze those facts, if they have such capacity, through the lens of their training, experience and policies. Experienced officers never just relate or recite the facts as they happened. They only tell those facts that they believe should have happened... It amazes me how many times when I ask an officer a specific question regarding the incident, he starts off by saying, 'I usually do this...' or 'It is my custom/practice to do this...' I repeat my question, 'I am not interested in what you usually do... What did you do on this particular occasion when arresting my client?' Often they say, 'I don't specifically recall.' They don't recall because they are trained like automatons not to recall what exactly happened but only what should have happened. <br />
<br />
If you are supposed to read Miranda rights before questioning someone in custody, you usually do that. But did you do it on this occasion? <br />
<br />
If you are supposed to formulate the facts amounting to reasonable suspicion of criminal activity before and at the stop, did you do it on this occasion? Did you simply find out those facts after the stop but wrote in your report as if you knew them before the stop? <br />
<br />
Officer experience and training then drive the whole Fourth Amendment analysis. Their credibility, highly suspect, as very biased witnesses, is accorded a lot of weight by courts in deciding if someone's freedom from government interference should be respected. One would hope that courts were less naive and less deferential to such highly biased witnesses, who are caught lying with shocking regularity in our criminal justice system. Is it worth it? Don't the courts often think that this erodes the integrity of the entire system? If we are going to depend on the law enforcement for our safety and protection, doesn't it make you feel quite unsafe and quite unprotected knowing that they lie with impunity... I don't think, securing a conviction of one man is worth jeopardizing the entire system. <br />
<br />
Credibility aside, even with the most honest and well-meaning officer, very well trained and conscientious as a witness, is it a good idea for us to surrender the freedoms secured to us to such an elusive concept as 'totality of factors?' <br />
<br />
A: 'M'am we look at the totality of factors.' <br />
Q: 'Totality of what factors, officer? Can you please enumerate all the factors, one by one, 1, 2, 3, 4, as to why you believed my client was engaged in criminal activity.' <br />
A: He was wearing a hat with a 'G' on it. <br />
Q: Is wearing a cap with a G necessarily point to his allegiance to the gang?<br />
A: No. <br />
Q: What else? <br />
A: He was wearing oversized pants. <br />
Q: Does that point to gang membership? <br />
A: No. <br />
Q: What else?<br />
A: He was wearing tennis shoes predominantly worn by gang members. <br />
Q: Does that amount to gang membership?<br />
A: No. <br />
Q: Next. <br />
A: He was pacing up and down the street in front of a known gang hang-out. <br />
Q: Does that tell you that he is a member of that gang? <br />
A: No. <br />
And so forth. <br />
At the end of all factors described that are not by themselves enough to suggest membership in the gang, officer will opine that 'your client is a member of that gang and I stopped him because I formed the opinion he was in violation of the gang injunction.' <br />
Totality of innocent factors may indeed amount to a crime...Narine Mkrtchyanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07346920419809766287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8093224559071022668.post-78469681353572300912011-05-17T09:15:00.000-07:002011-05-17T17:28:23.269-07:00Reasonable suspicion v. probable cause...<blockquote>"'The infringement on personal liberty of any 'sezure' of a person can only be 'reasonable' under the Fourth Amendment if we require the police to possess 'probable cause' before they seize him...'<br />
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The fears I voiced in Terry about the weakening of the Fourth Amendment have regrettably been borne out by subsequent events. Hopes that the suspicion test might be employed only in the pursuit of violent crime-- a limitation endorsed by some of its proponents-- have now been dashed, as it has been applied in narcotics investigations, in apprehension of 'illegal' aliens, and indeed has come to be viewed as a legal construct for the regulation of a general investigatory police power. The suspicion test has been warmly embraced by law enforcement forces and vigorously employed in the cause of crime detention. In criminal cases we see those for whom the initial intrusion led to the discovery of some wrongdoing. But the nature of the test permits the police to interfere as well with a multitude of law-abiding citizens, whose only transgression may be a nonconformist appearance or attitude. As one commentator has remarked: '<strong><em>Police power exercised without probable cause is arbitrary. To say that the police may accost citizens at their whim and may detain them upon reasonable suspicion is to say, in reality, that the police may both accost and detain citizens at their whim.</em>'"</strong><br />
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<strong>Justice Douglas</strong>, concurring in <u>United States v. Brignoni-Ponce, </u>(1975) 422 U.S. 873.</blockquote>Narine Mkrtchyanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07346920419809766287noreply@blogger.com0