Harry Levine, a sociology professor at Queens College in New York, where Gov. Andrew Cuomo has asked lawmakers to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana -- something more than a dozen states have done. According to Levine's analysis of state data, New York City made more arrests (50,684) for low-level pot possession than for any other offense last year.
U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg, in a deleted tweet, referring to the new website, Politwoops, which shares tweets that politicians posted and then deleted from Twitter.
Charles Ewing, author of “Justice Perverted: Sex Offense Law, Psychology, and Public Policy," referring to the increasing number of local laws banning sex offenders from certain public places, such as libraries, pools, beaches, parks and school bus stops.
Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | Illinois |
May 30, 2012
Illinois state Rep. John Bradley, on the topic of regulating Internet dating services. A bill in the Legislature would require Internet dating services to either conduct criminal background checks on all their members, or post online warnings specifying that they don’t conduct such screenings.
Tommy Farmer, an assistant special agent in charge of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, referring to the state's increasing rates of prescription drug abuse, which are some of highest in the nation.
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer | New Jersey |
May 24, 2012
New Jersey Senate Budget Committee Chairman Paul Sarlo, who said he would only support a tax cut, which Gov. Chris Christie promised, if state revenues look strong enough. Lawmakers are currently sparring with the administration over revenue projections.
Political scientist Alan Rosenthal, in his new book, The Best Job in Politics, in which he professes that no one gets what they want more than governors.
Source: Los Angeles Times | California |
May 18, 2012
Seth Shteir of the National Parks Conservation Association, which is challenging a company's plan to sell public groundwater from the Mojave Desert to urban Southern California for a private profit.
Joseph Cataloni, an Idaho voter who complained about the state's new law making a voter’s choice of a Republican or Democratic ballot a public record and requiring an oral statement to pollworkers in front of other voters.
Former Georgia Secretary of State Cathy Cox, on caucuses, which are run by political parties rather than public officials. Since the 2000 presidential election, states have invested in new machines and procedures that have made vote counts more accurate, but parties don’t offer the same level of protection.
Source: Boston Globe | Massachusetts |
May 15, 2012
A juror's wife, posting on Facebook, after her husband was selected for a trial. As a result, the Massachusetts Appeals Court has called on judges to do more to explain to jurors that refraining from conversations about a case also means not posting anything about it on Facebook or Twitter.