'Round the web

Here are a few interesting items that caught my eye recently:

Say "Howdy!" to two three new criminal justice blogs: Texas Criminal Justice, Meth Mouth, and the Busted! blog, plus the Victoria Advocate has added bloggers.

Documenting a Police Killing: Greg Moses posted many of the key documents related to the shooting of Daniel Rocha in the back by an Austin police officer. Rocha was unarmed and his shooting sparked community outrage. See the Statesman's coverage of the protest after a Travis County grand jury no-billed the officer this week.

Minutemen armed and patrolling Houston: These clowns bothered me less when they were basically a bunch of rednecks sitting around in lawn chairs on somebody's ranchland in the desert facing south. Roaming the streets of Houston packing heat, aiming to photograph allegedly undocumented immigrants (how do you tell?), is a recipe for big trouble. That said, this precedent is heartening. At first I assumed the "Minutemen" moniker to be an homage to the militia that challenged the British in 1775 at Lexington and Concord; now I suspect the appellation was suggested by their wives.

People whose opinion shouldn't matter: Injustice Anywhere rightly wonders why the Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court -- who doesn't even hear criminal cases -- was the lone dissenter among the U.S. Conference of Chief Justices on a resolution opposing Congressional legislation to limit habeas appeals. That opinion should be regarded with as much import as the plumber's advice regarding the electrical wiring.

If they start this in Texas I'm switcing to satellite TV: In Florida, police are enlisting cable company and pest control employees to look for and report suspicious activity on their routes, via Crimprof blog.

Legal vs. scientific presumptions: A Virginia judge says DUI laws are unconstitutional because they improperly create a presumption of guilt based on breathalyzer test results, reports DUI Blog.

Drug courts touted as meth solution: President Bush responds to Congressional scare tactics on meth by dispatching three cabinet members to promote drug courts and treatment programs, a solution that's worked in Texas.

Peru protests Texas police: The Peruvian government is demanding answers after one of its citizens, Edgar Vera, died at the hands of the Allen Police Department. Allen is a suburb of Dallas. Vera was pepper sprayed and "mistreated," witnesses say, while being arrested for an outstanding warrant related to an old seatbelt violation. He remained on life support for two weeks longer before dying Friday morning in a McKinney hospital.