On the Wrong Side of the Law?

Clayton Police Chief, Newfield Councilman, former State Assembly Candidate and activist for New Jersey's MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving), Frank Winters - and his wife Beatrice - have been charged with stealing $150,000.00 from a non-profit organization.

The Chief was arrested in his police uniform as he was driving to work yesterday morning, and his wife was taken into custody shortly thereafter at their home. According to law enforcement sources, the Winters - who own a trinket company that provides organizations with keychains, pins, and other trinket-type items - charged the MADD organization for products which were never delivered. The Winters also allegedly did not advise MADD of their ownership of the company.

For at least part of the period in question, Chief Winters served on the MADD committee charged with providing oversight into the organization's financial matters. Police allege this position helped him commit the crime.

Both the Chief and his wife stopped participating in MADD 3 years ago.

If convicted, the Chief faces 10 years in state prison.

On a personal note, Chief Winters interjected himself into the controversy surrounding my former client Kenneth Powell, who was charged with manslaughter after he allegedly "permitted" a friend to drive drunk. The drunk driver later killed himself and John Elliot, a recent Naval Academy graduate, after a head-on collision. This case marked the first time in the history of the country that the person charged with the DWI death was not the driver of the automobile, but was allegedly an "accomplice" to the drunk driving. Mr. Powell was correctly found not quilty of the most serious charge, and the remaining charges against him were dismissed after 2 hung juries.

I debated the Chief on CourtTV in this matter, and it is a shame to think that Chief Winters may have simply been "posing" as a MADD officer concerned about drunk driving when in fact he may have been in it to line his own pocket.

Mr. and Mrs. Winters deny the allegations. They're innocent until proven guilty, so we'll give them their day in court. Which, interestingly, is a statement I don't recall Chief Winters making when Mr. Powell was facing a terrible injustice.

A "Do-Over" for the Internet?

Researchers are studying whether or not to completely "scrap" the internet as we know it, and re-build it better, faster, stronger.

Although the internet has steadily advanced in the 37 years since UCLA professor Leonard Kleinrock oversaw the transfer of test data between two remote computers, some experts are concerned that the Internet's outdated platform raises enhanced security and mobility issues which will only worsen if growth on the old platform continues.

A new, more secure and technologically advanced network could be created parallel with the current internet, and eventually totally replace it. Any replacement internet is not expected to be developed for 10 to 15 years.

A number of "clean-slate" projects are currently underway. The National Science Foundation is working to create an experimental research network known as the Global Environment for Network Innovations (GENI), and is funding university research. Major universities such as Princeton, Rutgers and Stanford are researching internet replacement individually, and the United States Department of Defense is exploring the concept.

The White House's Wanted Ad

Reports today indicate that President Bush is looking for an individual to serve as "War Czar", tasked with the responsibility of overseeing the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

So far, the candidate search is not going well.

According to foxnews.com, no less than three retired four-star generals have declined the job offer.

Retired Marine Gen. Jack Sheehan, one of the sought-after generals who said thanks, but no thanks, indicated he had concerns regarding the ability of a war czar to trump administration officials - including the Vice President - who Sheehan suspects aren't interested in developing a plan to get out of Iraq. General Sheehan succinctly summarized why he's taken a pass on the job: "The very fundamental issue is, they don't know where the hell they're going."

I suspect that the White House might wish to update their "wanted ad" to fit the times, tailoring it just slightly in order to entice the right folks to apply:

WANTED: War Czar. F/T+, Competitive Salary & Excellent benefits. Applicant must possess strong communication skills and ability to subvert truth before Congress. Position requires multitasking which could include additional wars/responsibilities. Please direct inquiry and desired independent prosecutor to: The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20500. IMMEDIATE OPENING.

Educating the Educators

There are many reasons I defend students who get in trouble with their school district. It's oftentimes because the student hasn't done anything wrong.

And many times it's because the school district did something wrong.

Just ask 15 year old Cody Webb, a Pennsylvania high-schooler who found himself on the wrong side of the law through no fault of his own. According to published reports, Cody was arrested and charged with the felony of "threatening to use a weapon of mass destruction" after a bomb threat was called into the school district's hotline number at - according to school records - 3:17am on March 11th. According to Cody's cell phone, it was also determined that Cody had called the hotline number at 3:12am the same morning.

When the principal saw that Cody's cell phone indicated a call had been made at around the same time as the bomb threat, he stated, "We got him. We got him." When confronted with the allegation, Cody refused to confess and was charged.

Only problem was, the school forgot to re-set their phone hotline's internal clock to spring ahead. The bomb threat was actually made at 4:17am, over one hour after the call from Cody's cell phone.

After spending 12 days in juvenile detention, a judge dismissed the charges.