FBI criminal cases drop by half due to anti-terror focus, DOJ report shows News
FBI criminal cases drop by half due to anti-terror focus, DOJ report shows

[JURIST] The number of criminal investigations conducted by the FBI has almost been cut in half since 2000, due to the fact that the bureau made fighting terrorism its top priority after September 11, according to a new audit by the US Department of Justice [official website]. According to Inspector General [official website] Glenn Fine, the most declines were found in drug investigations, organized crime, bank robberies, civil rights, health care fraud, corporate fraud, and public corruption. Gang activity was the only area where criminal investigations increased. The audit [PDF text] indicates that in 2000, the FBI opened 62,782 criminal investigations, compared to 34,451 in 2004, a drop of 45 percent. State and local law enforcement officials have said that they try to fill in the "investigatory gaps," but have had difficulty taking over complex financial fraud cases. AP has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

International Day Against Fascism and Anti-Semitism

November 9 is the International Day Against Fascism and Anti-Semitism [UNITED factsheet]. On November 9, 1924, American gay activist Henry Gerber and several associates formed the Society for Human Rights, the first gay rights organization in the United States. The Society received a charter from the State of Illinois in December but was disbanded in July 1925 after a police raid which led to Gerber's arrest and trial (albeit not conviction). Pay a virtual visit to Henry Gerber House, now a registered Chicago landmark.

Supreme Court strikes down Massachusetts anti-draft law

On November 9, 1970, the Supreme Court voted 6-3 in Massachusetts v. Laird not to hear the case of the state's anti-draft law. Massachusetts had passed a law, which allowed its citizens to decline to fight in any undeclared war, even if the person was drafted. The law was passed in opposition to the draft and the war in Vietnam. The First Circuit found the war constitutional and thus struck down the law.