The big news nationally this week was the New York arrest and indictment of Dominique Strauss-Kahn on charges that he sexually assaulted a maid at a Manhattan hotel. Prior to his arrest, Mr. Strauss-Kahn was the head of the International Monetary Fund and was widely expected to be the next president of France. The New York Times has the story here. There are a thousand interesting aspects of the case, from the trivial to the consequential: Pretrial detainees in New York are apparently allowed to wear street clothes in jail, "whether . . . designer suits or something more casual." Although Mr. Strauss-Kahn is a socialist, he was staying in a $3,000 per night suite that "had a foyer, a conference room, a living room and a bedroom." In France, it is a crime to publish pictures of a defendant in handcuffs, while in New York, the "perp walk" appears to be a valued tradition. 57% of French citizens believe that Mr. Strauss-Kahn is the victim of a conspiracy. But I have to admit, there's not much of a North Carolina connection, so I'll try to limit my comments about the intriguing DSK matter. In other news: 1. The Fourth Circuit has rejected the application of the Confrontation Clause at sentencing in United States v. Powell, discussed here. Recall that our court of appeals ruled otherwise not long ago, as discussed here. 2. The General Assembly's still in session. A proposed substantial revision of the Racial Justice Act was the subject [...]
Faculty Coordinators
