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Supreme Court Limits Protections For Government Whistleblowers.

Whistleblowers lose rights. The recent Supreme Court decision (Garcetti v. Ceballos) has removed key pieces from the Whistleblower Protection Act of 1986. The decision effectively limits First Amendment protection for government whistleblowers since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the First Amendment protections do not extend to government employees for comments made while performing their official duties, even when the employee is acting to expose alleged government wrongdoing.

Guest – Stephen Kohn – Chairman of National Whistleblower Center

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Chicago Torture Case Update – Chicago’s Guantanamo

A United Nations anti-torture panel has urged the United States to punish law enforcement officials who mistreated suspects in Chicago. The 10-member UN Committee Against Torture reported that the multimillion-dollar investigation into the alleged torture of 200 Black men in interrogation rooms during the 1970s and 1980s has not resulted in any prosecutions. According to a press release, nearly 200 African Americans were tortured by former Commander Jon Burge and detectives under his command at the Chicago Police Department. Among the torture techniques were electrically shocking genitals with cattle prods, suffocations with plastic bags and pistols jammed in mouths in a mock execution. Listen to Law and Disorder’s previous interview on this case.

Guest – Flint Taylor – attorney with The People’s Law Office

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Tasers – Part 1

This is the first part of a three part series examining the use of Tasers by law enforcement. Lawsuit cases regarding the misuse of Tasers are numerous. Pages of these stories can be found in one Google news search using the search-term “Tasers.” Hosts Dalia Hashad and Michael Ratner interview Taser researcher and expert Ed Jackson formerly with Amnesty International. Jackson points out a critical lack of training among police officers using Tasers.

Guest – Ed Jackson – Former spokesman for Amnesty International.

Music – Sharon Jones – This Land Is Your Land / Phil Ochs – I Kill Therefore I Am / Jimmy Cliff – The Harder They Come