I took the day off to see what it feels like to sleep past 5 a.m. and since last night involved cigars, kamikaze shots and two very lovely Malaysian strippers I needed it. But before I go back to bed, I had to write a couple lines about crime and punishment.

As you know I’ve been covering crime in our area and the latest development is the recent announcement by “Hizzoner” Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson and Sheriff Frank Anderson. The two announced Thursday a plan to step up enforcement efforts to crack down on crime. It primarily includes increasing patrols and arrests by getting more officers back on the street. Hizzoner is also working with the faith-based community.

I give Hizzoner and the Sheriff strong kudos for their announcement. Crime tends to increase in summer and it’s already off the chart. The only criticism I have of Hizzoner’s plan is that if the police and sheriff’s deputies are successful in making more arrests, they’re going to need someplace to put them, i.e. jail space.

The Sheriff has said 125 jail beds will be freed up as space becomes available when female inmates are moved over to Liberty Hall at Washington and College. However it will take more than 125 beds. If Hizzoner and Sheriff are smart they will also bring Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi (who was not at the news conference, draw your own conclusions) on board and take him up on the proposal to get another 250 beds at New Castle prison via the Indiana Department on Corrections. City-Council President Monroe Gray did not allow the measure to be introduced at the council’s meeting this week.

Hizzoner deserves a lot of credit for taking this initiative to crack down on crime. Add some more jail space and I’ll be happy to give him a lot more.

The man accused of murdering seven people last month in Marion County was apparently caught smoking marijuana in his jail cell, but he will not be charged with drug possession.

According to a jail incident report obtained by WXNT News (i.e. me), on June 8 a corrections officer smelled marijuana coming from Desmond Turner’s cell. When the guard approached the cell, Turner bent over his bunk as if her were trying to hide something, according to the report.

The report also says the officer asked Turner what he was hiding, he replied “not a damn thing.” As the officer called for assistance Turner flushed the drugs down the toilet.

Turner was removed from cell, which was searched, and officers found a small amount of marijuana residue under his mattress. Turner was later stripped searched for more drugs which at the time the report says he threatened the officers.

A jail spokesman says because the items were flushed down the toilet there was not enough evidence to file charges, however Turner was later charged with several jail rule violations, including possession and use of drugs and threatening an officer.

The spokesman also says Turner apparently swallowed the drugs prior to his capture and later “released” them once he was behind bars.

Turner is accused of shooting seven Indianapolis family members earlier this month

You have to ask yourself a couple questions. WHo was mindng the store on this one and where the hell did Turner get the light? I feel safe. More to come, stay tuned.

On June 28 three things will take place. Superman Returns is released nationwide in theatres, so is The Devil Wears Prada with Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway. Oh, and the state will get a $3.8 billion check for the leasing of the Toll Road.

The Indiana Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that the plaintiff’s suing to stop the lease would have to post a bond to the tune of $1.9 billion in order for the suit to go forward. Although I would never try to predict what any court would do, I was not surprised at the outcome. During the Court’s arguments the Justices seemed very skeptical about getting involved and their decision does not surprise me.

Of course, now it gets interesting.

This is an election year and Republicans, or at least Governor Mitch Daniels now has $3.8 billion to fix just about every road, bridge, and overpass in the state of Indiana, much to the chagrin of Democrats.

House Speaker Brian Bosma told me today Indiana is taking a turn for the better with job creation and the Toll Road lease will only add to it.

I would not be surprised to see the Billy Bright bridge or the Troy Woodruff overpass or Steve Heim Nature trail preserve.

And neither would the Democrats.

Democrat Mike Edmundson said the GOP maybe the party of purpose but the he ponders what that purpose is? He says Democrats have been focused on job creation while Republicans care more about whether “a gay atheist Mexican marries your son.”

So depending on you political leanings June 28 will be the day Superman returned or Mitch Daniels showed up wearing the Prada. Take your pick.

It’s never a dull moment. Yours truly will be a guest Monday night on the Glenn Beck Show on CNN Headline News. It airs at 7 p.m. and replays at 9 p.m. and midnight. (All Times Eastern) I’ll be talking about Indiana’s leasing of the Toll Road and the controversy surrounding it. Hope you’ll watch.

City officials tell me they have made their first “bust” under the new sex offender ordinance. Park Rangers pulled over 52-year old Rodney Bramton today after noticing him driving erratically through Garfield Park. According to RTV 6, Rangers say they found beer in his car and that he was also wanted for failing to register as a sex offender.

I find this interesting on a couple of fronts. First, there was controversy earlier this week when I reported Park District Director Joe Wynns told me in an interview that he was “not in the sex offender business.” Wynns denies he made those remarks. I still stand by my story. Secondly, and more interesting, you have to ask if the Park Rangers would have known to go after Bramton had he not been driving erratically. Remember, there are more than 2200 sex offenders with 20 miles of Monument Circle.

And to add more fuel to the fire, there’s a question as to whether the fines ($600 for the first offense) the ordinance calls for would apply. (Also note the law doesn’t go into effect until July 1st) You might recall the ordinance was amended to avoid double jeopardy. It says “fines shall not apply when the prohibited conduct is the subject of a new offense under any applicable state or federal statute or when the prohibited conduct is the basis for the revocation of any conditions of parole or probation.” An offender who knowingly or willingly fails to register commits a Class D felony under Indiana law. Since Bramton was wanted for failing to register, it will be interesting to see if the amended language kicks in. If it does, so much for the fine.

There’s nothing like a silly law finally getting enforced (thanks to alcohol and not keen detective work). And what’s more ironic is that the primary intent of the law might not even apply in this case. It’s never a dull moment folks.

I sat through the Indiana Supreme Court hearing this afternoon on Major Moves. I felt like I was back in law school listening to the most important, but boring, lecture of my first year. It also didn’t help the hearing took place at a time when I usually take my afternoon nap.

The arguments were the same as before. The Plaintiffs said the legislation was unconstitutional and the Court should not rush to judgment and overturn the lower court’s ruling because the issues to be litigated were too important to stand. The State argued that any delay could result in the loss of the $3.8 billion it was slated to get from the foreign company that would lease the road.

My analysis from the Justices’ questions led me to believe that they were very concerned about getting involved in this matter. One Justice wondered whether a decision could lead to the Courts getting involved in every legislative decision while another wondered whether there was a way the State could have structured the deal so it did not have to get involved in the first place.

And while it is treading on very dangerous water to try to predict what a court will do, I think I can say from watching Tuesday’s hearing that I would not be surprised if the Court pulled a King Solomon and split the difference and ruled the Toll Road provision constitutional, while remanding the rest of the legislation back to the appellate court for a full hearing.

Just a note, Justice Brent E. Dickson removed himself from the case without explanation. My sources tell me a possible financial conflict of interest might have been the reason. That leaves four Justices on the bench and a 2-2 decision would result in the upholding of the lower court ruling.

The New York Times takes a look with thoughtful responses from a number of scholars. (Hat tip: Eugene Volokh). And while I’m thinking of Prof. Volokh, I love the idea that one of America’s leading experts on constitutional law was born in the USSR.

I made the RTV 6 news last night over the story about the unenforceability of the most recent sex offender ordinance. Enjoy

The City of Indianapolis says the park District will enforce its sex offender ordinance, even though Park District Director Joe Wynns told ME otherwise during a Friday interview. City Attorney Kobi Wright told me the city will enforce any law on the books and I misunderstood Wynns remarks. He said the Park District rangers would enforce the ordinance that fines sex offenders who come near parks and playgrounds. When asked about the ordinance on Friday, Wynn told me “they were not in the sex offender business.” Wright said today that the Park District would not go door-to-door to enforce the ordinance, but would write tickets, along with the Indianapolis Police Department and the Marion County Sheriff’s Department. According to city officials on any given shift there are two to three rangers on duty. I feel safe.

I’ve never been a big fan of unenforceable laws. I think they are a waste of time and money. One law I tend to put into that category is the ordinance passed by the Indianapolis City County Council that fines sex offenders who come near parks and playgrounds. The measure had bi-partisan support, but just because everyone votes for something doesn’t make it a good idea.

The point of the ordinance is to give extra teeth to already existing law to keep offenders out of park, unfortunately they are false teeth. The measure fines certain offenders who come near parks and playgrounds. The first offense is $600. The second offense is $1,000. Subsequent offenses are $2,500. One reason why I argue that this will be so difficult to enforce is that there are more than 2200 sex offenders living within 20 miles of Monument Circle. More than 180 parks and playgrounds covering more than 10,000 acres.

Now since IPD and the Marion County Sheriff’s Departments have to deal with double digit increases in crime I don’t think they’ll have time to hang out in the parks and write tickets. That job, you would think, would go to the park rangers. You might want to think again.

I was following up on a rumor Friday that the park district was eliminating some of its volunteer ranger positions (which turned out not exactly to be the case). I spoke with Park District director Joe Wynns. I initially asked if the park district was eliminating the volunteer ranger positions? Wynns told me the positions were not being eliminated but some of the rangers wanted more police powers and the costs of workers compensation insurance made that prohibitive. Currently the volunteer rangers assist with special events and pool patrols during the summer. He said some rangers were upset and have decided not to come back. I asked him if that was going to impact in other area of park safety, for example, enforcing the sex offender ordinance. Wynns immediately told me it was not going to impact the ordinance because the park district was not going to enforce it.

Take a second to catch your breath, I’ll still be here.

Continue reading »