Daily Archives: Feb. 11, 2006

Depends on the definition of ‘everybody’

Feb. 11, 200612:05 a.m.

No wonder Americans are confused by the selective swearing-in of witnesses on Capitol Hill. The Washington Post noted that Senate Judiciary Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa., said last April, “During my stewardship here, I’m going to put everybody under oath when we have testimony, as we do on confirmation hearings.”
Then Monday, Specter said of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, “It is my judgment that it is unnecessary to swear the witness.”
Posted by Rhonda Holman

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Uncategorized | Comments (51)

Kaufman case cries out for reform

Feb. 11, 200612:03 a.m.

As our editorial on today’s opinion page points out, state officials’ abject failure to protect the mentally ill patients of the Kaufman House in Newton revealed glaring flaws in the protective services network — flaws that cry out for legislative reform.
A couple of proposals deserve passage this session, including one to create an emergency abuse and exploitation unit in the attorney general’s office to spearhead investigations and coordinate now-fragmented agency oversight.
The movement in the past few decades to reintegrate mentally ill patients into community-based homes has largely been a good one, but the Kaufmans are a prime example of how horribly things can go wrong without adequate oversight. State lawmakers need to make sure this never happens again.
Posted by Randy Scholfield

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Uncategorized | Comments (13)

More fun in the Kansas sex follies . . .

Feb. 11, 200612:01 a.m.

Check out Slate legal writer Dahlia Lithwick’s updated take on the Kansas sex reporting trial follies. She notes that “over a two-week trial, four government officials have now offered five different interpretations of what abusive sex is in Kansas, and even that definition changes with time.”
Why trust Kline and Co. to step in and determine when abuse has occurred when they can’t seem to agree among themselves?
Posted by Randy Scholfield

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Uncategorized | Comments (28)