Dubois vs Washington: The Gay Panic Defense

High-profile San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris, pictured, held a seminar this past weekend for prosecutors. The subject–the “gay panic” defense. “A lawyer using the gay panic defense claims that the defendant acted in a state of temporary insanity because of a little-known psychiatric condition called homosexual panic. The defense is nearly always unsuccessful in [...]

Maryland’s Steele Disses The Hand That Feeds Him

Maryland Senatorial candidate and Lt. Governor Michael Steele criticized the GOP as an impediment to his campaign. He also said that he would prefer that King George (aka the President) not campaign for him. And another thing: he said the GOP congress should shut-up and work. Of course, his campaign [...]

Are Exit Exams Dicriminatory? (Or Are Black People Just Complaining Again?)

(San Francisco Chronicle) “The final tally of high school seniors who failed the statewide exit exam is in: 40,173 students — more than half of whom would have otherwise graduated this year — did not pass the test, the state Department of Education announced Friday. Passing the exit exam was a graduation requirement for [...]