Carl Takei's blog

Debtors’ Prisons at the NLADA Conference

carltakei — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 04:46:43 +0000

On December 8, I spoke about the ACLU’s work fighting against modern-day debtors’ prisons (see our report, In For a Penny: The Rise of America’s New Debtors’ Prisons) at the National Legal Aid and Defenders’ Association (NLADA) Centennial Conference. A description of the panel discussion is online at the Brennan Center’s blog.

The $270 Million Lockup

carltakei — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 16:19:34 +0000

See my recent post on the ACLU Blog of Rights discussing the efforts of New Orleans Sheriff Marlin Gusman to expand the Orleans Parish Prison (already the largest per-capita jail in the nation) and describing how (at the urging of the ACLU and others) the New Orleans City Council instead voted on Thursday to adopt sensible criminal justice reforms, demolish the old jail, and build a better, smaller, smarter jail.

Appearance on the Kojo Nnamdi show

carltakei — Wed, 27 May 2009 20:53:46 +0000

I appeared on the Kojo Nnamdi Show on WAMU 88.5 FM today (Wednesday, May 27, 2009) to discuss the gang injunction provisions of Mayor Fenty’s Crime Bill. The other guests were D.C. Council Member Muriel Bowser and Bruce Riordan, Director of Anti-Gang Operations for the Los Angeles City Attorney.

Audio from the hour-long program is now archived online.

Roundup of YoungBey press coverage

carltakei — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 14:39:30 +0000

ACLU clients Jerry YoungBey and Rubin Butler are seeking damages and other appropriate relief in connection with the Metropolitan Police Department’s decision to illegally perform a military-style nighttime raid on their rowhouse in Northeast DC in the early morning hours of August 20, 2008. We filed a complaint in federal court yesterday (3/31/2009) and I gave interviews along with Ms. YoungBey.

In print, the story appeared in the Washington Post and the Washington Examiner.

On television, the story was covered by NBC 4 (video online), FOX 5 (video online), and ABC 7 (video not online).

Testimony on Omnibus Crime Bill

carltakei — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 17:18:38 +0000

On Friday, December 5, I testified on behalf of the ACLU-NCA before the DC Council’s Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary, in opposition to several provisions of Bill 17-951, the Mayor’s Omnibus Crime Bill. Video of the hearing is available at the DC Council’s web site. My written testimony is not currently available online, but will be posted on the ACLU-NCA website sometime in the near future.