News & Views
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Is it a Crime to be a Radical Islamic Webmaster in the United States?
(AP Oct. 2004) A New Jersey man is under federal investigation for alleged ties to Al Queda and other radical Islamic terror groups. Mazen Mokhtar is listed in Internet directories as the registrant and contact for the Web site www.minna.com - an exact duplicate, authorities said, of a site run by Babar Ahmad, who was arrested in London and charged with aiding terrorists.
Mokhtar's site is linked to other sites and is used as a "mirror site" for Ahmad and others. A mirror site is used as a backup allowing access when the main site is disrupted or otherwise unavailable. Allegations about Mokhtar's site say that it has been used by Osama bin Laden to call for the violent ouster of U.S. military forces from the Middle East. At one point information on the site also included explanations of how to raise and deliver money to the Taliban.
While no charges have been filed, investigators acknowledge that Mokhtar's actions have led to his inclusion in a widening sweep of suspected terrorist and supporters in the United States. Friends of Mokhtar say that the federal investigators are wrong and that he is not a violent person. "I do not support and I have never supported any action that harms innocent people," said the statement, issued by his lawyer Yasser Helal and reported by The Washington Post.
Judge Dismisses L.A. County Seal Lawsuit
(AP Oct. 21, 2004) - A judge dismissed a lawsuit that tried to stop Los Angeles County from removing a cross on the county's official seal.
The county employee who sued, Ernesto Vasquez, argued the change was a First Amendment violation that would send the message Christians are not full members of Los Angeles County. He also argued the cross was a historic and cultural symbol without a religious message.
But those arguments are contradictory, said U.S. District Judge S. James Otero in dismissing the lawsuit Tuesday.
"According to the plaintiff, the cross only represents the historic 'influence of the church and the mission of California,'" Otero wrote. "Yet plaintiff maintains L.A. County is conveying a message of hostility to religious groups by removing the symbol from the seal."
The County Board of Supervisors decided in September to change the seal in order to avoid a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union, which claimed the cross was an unconstitutional government endorsement of Christianity.
The cross removal is among several changes to the seal that will be phased in over the next 10 years. Among other switches, the pagan goddess Pomona image at its center will be replaced by an image of an Indian woman.
An effort is under way to overturn the board decision by voter referendum. If the group gathers more than 431,000 signatures, county residents could vote on the cross removal in March.
'Justice Corps' Helps the Lawyer-Less
By LINDA DEUTSCH AP Special Correspondent
LOS ANGELES (AP) - The 300,000 litigants who come to court each year without lawyers in Los Angeles County are about to get help from a unique group of college students dubbed, "The Justice Corps." Those who want to handle their own divorces, custody battles, landlord-tenant disputes and other civil matters are likely to be assisted by a young volunteer from the corps of 100 eager, multicultural students who were welcomed Wednesday into the program.
The Justice Corps is billed as the first of its kind in the nation and offers a chance for young people to learn by helping others through the maze of the court system.
Many of the volunteers, including aspiring lawyers, arrived with proud parents who took pictures as their offspring promised to help others in the complicated task of using the justice system to their benefit.
The students, all undergraduates at four Southern California universities, are receiving 60 hours of training in legal matters that may confront them. They'll join a court system that has 2,000 judges and 19,000 other court employees.
Superior Court Presiding Judge Robert A. Dukes said the idea for the program was born out of need.
"For years, people who came without representation were on their own," he said. "When they had forms filled out wrong we would say, 'Go away and try again.'"
Now, he said, they will have a student volunteer to lead them.
The program, funded by a federal AmeriCorps grant, provides each student who does 300 hours of service in a year with a $1,000 educational award.
William Vickery, administrative director of the courts, whose office developed the idea along with court services analyst Martha Wright and a coalition of legal groups, said Los Angeles is a perfect testing ground for the program with its vast court system and a multicultural population.
"Many of our residents are faced with the harsh reality of not being able to pay for representation," he said. "And more than half speak a different language. Every day we translate 220 languages."
Students will work out of self-help law clinics alongside volunteer lawyers who will monitor their work.
Dimitry Gozenpud, 26, a business law major at California State University at Northridge (CSUN), said he speaks Russian and will help immigrants. He sees the program as a learning experience.
"This is something they don't teach you in law school," he said.
Carl Williams, 40, returned to Cal State Dominguez Hills after a long break in his studies and wants to become a youth counselor.
"I feel I'll be able to offer compassion," he said.