The United States Supreme Court ruled 9-0 in a Washington case, Davis v. Washington,  that 911 tapes are admissible against an accused in a domestic violence case, even if the victim is not in court to testify.  The legal issue involves the right of a defendant to confront his accuser (The Confrontation Clause).  Justice Scalia said the taped statements can be used if police are trying to deal with an emergency, but cannot be used if the statements are gathered as evidence to file and/or substantiate charges.  This can be seen as a victory for domestic violence groups who urged the court to allow the tapes use. Justice Scalia stated, "This particular type of crime is notoriously susceptible to intimidation or coercion of the victim to ensure that she does not testify at trial. When this occurs, (it) gives the criminal a windfall,"

In a separate Indiana case, the court ruled that testimony elicited from a victim at the scene was not admissible because the emergency had ended.  Justice Thomas, however, dissented, reasoning that some other reasons could have existed for the questioning.  If his logic were followed it would open the floodgates for all of the testimony, because officers are smart enough to frame the questions to elicit the testimony they need.  It would create a nice legally fictional loophole through which could be driven the bulk of a defendant's constitutional protections. 

What do law enforcement officers think of the Drug War?  Jack A. Cole founded LEAP (Law Enforcement Against Prohibition), an international nonprofit educational organization that was created to give voice to all the current and former members of law enforcement who believe the war on drugs is a failed policy and who wish to support alternative policies that will lower the incidence of death, disease, crime and addiction - four categories of harm that were supposed to be alleviated by the war on drugs but which in truth were made infinitely worse by that war.

LEAP's position is very straight-forward:  "The first thing I need to tell you good people is that the US policy of a "war on drugs" has been, is, and forever will be, a total and abject failure. This is not a war on drugs, this is a war on people - our own people - our children, our parents, ourselves."

To check out LEAP's homepage, please visit http://www.leap.cc/