The Justice Department indicted 18 L.A. County Sheriff's deputies yesterday. We discuss the implications and what oversight is needed at the Sheriff's Department. Drafts of the Environmental Impact Statement for the Bay Delta Conservation Plan were released and have renewed debate of the controversial project. A new state law that requires school districts to provide family income verification to ensure equal distribution of funds. School District officials want the requirement waived, arguing that it is a redundant provision. Recruitment at the LAPD is low as the department struggles to find qualified candidates. Later, we discuss plea bargains and the influence on a trial. The new GM head Mary Barra and her path to becoming the first female head of a major U.S. car company. And who do you think should be TIME Magazine's person of the year?
Feds crack down on LA Sheriff's Department
The Justice Department indicted 18 L.A. County Sheriff's deputies yesterday in connection with separate instances of alleged misconduct, including inmate abuse, false arrests and obstruction of justice. Sixteen of the deputy sheriffs were taken into custody rather than given an opportunity to surrender voluntarily.
United States Attorney Andre Birotte Jr. said, “Our investigation also found that these incidents did not take place in a vacuum – in fact, they demonstrated behavior that had become institutionalized. The pattern of activity alleged in the obstruction of justice case shows how some members of the Sheriff’s Department considered themselves to be above the law."
In turn, L.A. Sheriff Lee Baca countered that there is no institutional problem at the department.In a press conference Baca said, "While the indictments were not unexpected, it is nevertheless, a sad day for this department. We do not tolerate misconduct by any deputies." Are these indictments just the first of more to come? What oversight is needed at the Sheriff's Department?
Guests:
Brian Moriguchi, Professional Peace Officers Association (union representing some of the arrested Sheriff’s Dept. personnel)
André Birotte Jr., U.S. State Attorney for the Central Region of California, Department of Justice.; Birotte was a public defender in Los Angeles at the time of the riots; former Inspector General of the L.A.P.D.
Major environmental report released on Delta water tunnels project
Drafts of the Environmental Impact Statement for the Bay Delta Conservation Plan were released Monday and have renewed debate on the $24.7 billion plan. The goal of the BDCP is to improve the condition and conservation of the diverse ecosystem that exists in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta while creating an efficient water delivery system. The plan, which is supported by Governor Jerry Brown, proposes to build a tunnel system to bypass the Delta while providing water to other areas in the state.
How will the Bay Delta Conservation Plan impact the ecology of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta? What are the benefits of the plan? Will you be providing comment on the EIS?
The public comment period on the Environmental Impact Statement for the Bay Delta Conservation Plan will begin on Friday, December 14, and will run until April 14, 2014.
Guests:
Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, Executive Director, Restore the Delta
Paul Helliker, Deputy Director, California Department of Water Resources
Millions of dollars at stake in dispute between LAUSD and Calif. Dept of Education
Under a new state law this year, school districts with a high percentage of low-income and English-as-a-second-language students are eligible for extra funding. In order to qualify for that money, the California Department of Education is asking districts to provide family income verification to ensure that the money is distributed fairly. School district officials, including LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy, want the new requirement waived, arguing that the step is redundant given that they already verify family income of students every four years for the federally subsidized meal program.
Guest:
John Deasy, Superintendent, Los Angeles Unified School District
With recruitment way down, the LAPD’s looking for a few good men and women
The Los Angeles Police Department is having a tough time finding qualified candidates that want to join the force, despite hitting its long-stated goal of hiring 10,000 officers less than a year before.
The Los Angeles Times reports that the decline started several months ago, resulting in a staff shortfall of some 100 officers at the LAPD. Attrition accounts for about 350 vacant positions every year and officials warn that the effects of understaffing could be felt for years to come if the trend persists. As a result of under-recruitment fewer women and blacks are making it into the the training academy, causing the department to miss its diversity targets.
Several factors contribute the problem. Less people are interested in joining the LAPD, firstly, and top candidates are being lured away by other law enforcement agencies that offer higher pay. Budget cuts also figure into the equation, taking away the money needed to put up recruitment ads on billboards, radio and television.
Guest:
Sandy Jo MacArthur, LAPD Assistant Chief
From shop floor to top floor: new GM head Mary Barra
General Motors has named product development chief Mary Barra as the company’s new CEO—making her the first woman to head a major U.S. car company.
RELATED: General Motors' first female chief executive shatters glass ceiling
Barra, 51, has a long history with GM, beginning with the company as an electrical engineering co-op student in 1980. She rose steadily through the GM ranks since, working as a plant manager, an executive director of engineering, head of the GM’s human resources operations and other posts.
The announcement of Barra’s new role comes one day after the U.S. Treasury Department announced it has sold the last of its remaining 31.1 million GM shares. It started with 500 million shares in 2010.
Barra is the daughter of a GM tool-and-die maker who earned her MBA from Stanford University. She was one of a handful of internal candidates considered to take over for CEO Dan Akerson.
What do you think of Barra’s rise within GM’s ranks? What will the first woman running a major automaker do differently?
Guest:
Jim Tankersley, Economic Policy Correspondent, The Washington Post
Keith Naughton, Bloomberg News Autos Reporter
Risk an excessive sentence or take a plea deal? New report shows offenders have few options
Drug offenders are waiving their right to trial due to fears over tough minimum sentences, according to a new Human Rights Watch report.
Ninety-seven percent of federal drug defendants agree to plea bargains with an average prison sentence of 5 years. The penalty for similar offenses that go to trial carry prison terms of 16 years.
In 1990, 84% of federal cases resulted in a plea bargain. Prosecutors often charge drug defendants with crimes that carry high mandatory sentences, leaving judges with little choice than to mete out harsh punishments to defendants found guilty.
Attorney General Eric Holder has called on prosecutors to stop charging defendants in a manner that triggers these mandatory minimums. Critics of the high number of plea bargains say the extremely harsh sentences that result from going to trial could pressure the innocent into pleading guilty.
Should drug and other offenders be offered plea bargains? If you've been the victim of a crime, would you prefer the criminal to face a public trial? If you've been a defendant in a case, did you feel pressure to plead guilty? And do you now wish you'd face a trial?
Guests:
Jackie Lacey, District Attorney, Los Angeles County
Judge Nancy Gertner, retired federal judge and law professor at Harvard.
What do Edward Snowden, Miley Cyrus and Bashar Assad have in common?
TIME Magazine has released its top 10 finalists for the publication’s “Person of the Year” awards. The 2013 shortlist includes N.S.A. leaker Edward Snowden, pop star Miley Cyrus, Jesuit pontiff Pope Francis and Syrian President Bashar Assad. .
The winner will be announced Wednesday. The prestigious title is given to “the person who’s had the most impact on events this year for better or for worse,” according to TIME Managing Editor Nancy Gibbs.
President Barack Obama made this year’s list—after earning to top honor in 2012 and 2008. Also on the list: DOMA plaintiff Edith Windsor, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Texas Senator Ted Cruz.
Aside from Obama, winners in recent years include Mark Zuckerberg, Ben Bernanke, Vladimir Putin and some more abstract selections including “The Protestor” and “You.”
The true winner is always chosen by TIME editors, but readers are invited to weigh in online. This year’s readers’ choice was Egyptian General Abdul Fattah al-Sisi.
Who do you think had the biggest impact on 2013? Are there any names on this year’s list that don’t belong? And who’s missing from the list?