"How FBI moles snared terror suspects"

That's the headline of today's Herald article about the now infamous Miami 7 "terror" case. It has many more details than previous press acounts. It explains the initial meeting between the lead defendant, Narseal Batiste, and the FBI this way:

Batiste, a struggling contractor born in Chicago who headed the local branch here of a Moorish religious sect, became friendly with the store's owner after learning that he was going to Yemen on vacation in October. The store owner happened to be an FBI informant.
After the shopkeeper's return, Batiste, with two of his followers present, laid out his vision. Batiste said that he was a member of the Moorish Science Temple -- a sect that blends Christianity, Judaism and Islam -- and that its members were entitled to their own government within the United States. Violence was the only way, he said, and he explained to the store owner that only extreme Islamic groups, such as al Qaeda, could help.
The shopkeeper told the FBI of Batiste's plans. For FBI agents, the threat was serious enough to have him introduce Batiste to another informant, an Arabic man with a thick accent.
The second man was Mohammad, a friend of the store owner's uncle. Batiste pressed the shopkeeper to find out whether the man knew al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, but was told that question was off limits.

So far the press has been very pro-defendant. This article is not at all.

Get well

Apparently Magistrate Judge Theodore Klein is seriously ill. We wish him the very best and hope for a speedy recovery.

Padilla reviewing documents at courthouse

So says this AP article.

Justice Kennedy Speaks Out Against Lengthy Sentences

Once again Justice Kennedy has spoken - federal sentences are too harsh. Period. His latest comments came from a speech at the Ninth Circuit Conference this week.

"If an 18-year-old is growing marijuana for a friend, that's distribution," the Sacramento native told judges, lawyers and court officials at the conference, held at the Hyatt Regency. "If he has his father's .22 rifle, that's a firearm. That will get 15 years. "Did you know what 15 years was when you were 18? I didn't when I was 18."

Justice Kennedy also spoke out against the lobbying efforts of correctional officers' unions adding: "The fact that the prison guards' association lobbies for higher penalties is sick," Justice Kennedy said.

I guess the question is what can be done? It appears, at least thus far, that Justice Kennedy's bark is louder than his bite? He has yet to author an opinion with the same rhetoric of his recent speeches. Whatever one's beliefs are regarding the length of federal sentences, it appears that this debate is far from over.

Cocaine Cowboy movie

Readers of this blog might be interested in Alfred Spellman's and Billy Corben's new documentary, Cocaine Cowboys. Check out the profile in the July issue of Ocean Drive and their
blog.