The Tennessean

"The blatant prosecutorial misconduct in this case shows two things," Gilbert S. Merritt, the presiding judge on the panel, said in an interview after the ruling.

"First, the local district attorney in East Tennessee should never have prosecuted House in the first place, but certainly should have released him more than 10 years ago once he received the exculpatory DNA evidence.

"Second, the local district attorneys, rather than the Attorney General or the Governor, exercise almost complete control over the system of criminal justice in Tennessee.

"They are frequently mistaken and frequently abuse their power," Merritt said.

Flashback: Nashville Scene, 2005.

Southern Beale on the resignation of John Tanner, head of the U.S. Justice Department's voting rights section: "We’ve seen how they care about minority voting rights in Florida, Ohio and New Mexico. So this Tanner news comes as no surprise."

Here's an article at Facing South from April with lots of background on numerous problems in the Justice Department's civil rights division.

A special Tennessee legislative committee was formed to study the problem of copper theft. The committee has drafted legislation that will be sponsored by Senator Jim Kyle (D-Memphis) and Representative Mike McDonald (D-Portland) in the next session:

Under the legislation, all persons engaged in the scrap metal business would be required to register with the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance. Scrap dealers cannot purchase metal unless the seller has a state or federally issued photo id and provides a thumbprint. Dealers are required to keep detailed descriptions of each individual transaction and cannot purchase metal from anyone under the age of 18. Dealers that purchase copper, catalytic converters, and air conditioning coils and condensers are prohibited from making cash payments to the seller.

Read more here. The text of the bill is here.

There has been an ongoing controversy in Tennessee regarding a Blount County Circuit Court judge who allegedly told a woman seeking an order of protection that she had "no rights" in his court and that she should go back to her home country of Nicaragua, despite the woman's insistence that she had a legal temporary worker permit from the immigration service.

Today, the Judge issued a response to her appeal, saying again that she is not here legally and that she has to go back home, according to this Maryville Daily Times report. The newspaper, however, says they have a copy of her employment authorization from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and that it is valid through Jan. 5, 2009.

The case has raised Constitutional issues with regard to due process and equal protection, which she is entitled to regardless of her status. The ACLU and other civil rights groups have been involved, including the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF), which previously issued this press release.

There's more at BlountViews, including the text of another letter from MALDEF to Blount County Commission, who earlier tried to pass a resolution applauding the Judge for his action.