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D.C. Officials Slow E-Bike Speeds
In Youth Crime-Fighting Effort
The latest crime-fighting effort by Washington, D.C., officials is to set speed limits on dockless electric bikes they say sometimes are used as getaway vehicles.
The speed limits are a response to recent police reports that teens have used Lime and Veo e-bikes to escape in a hurry after robberies.
Some rental e-bikes are designed to travel up to 20 mph. The new D.C. speed limits cap the maximum speed assistance from a bike’s motor at 15 miles an hour on Veo bikes and 18 mph on Lime bikes.
In the Howard University, Chinatown, Navy Yard, Wharf and U Street area neighborhoods, rental e-bikes are limited to 8 mph of motor speed.
Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) explained why city officials set the new limits at a recent news conference. “We want to make sure that all the bicycles can be available for the purpose that they are intended and curb any misuse,” she said.
In one example last month, four teenagers stole personal property from a victim in the 1000 block of Georgia Avenue, Northwest, before speeding away on Lime e-bikes. One of the robbers pointed a gun at the victim.
D.C. Department of Transportation officials say a contributing issue is safety. They say they are getting complaints about near-misses with fast e-bikes on bike trails and sidewalks.
Non-electric pedal bikes often travel faster than the new limits for e-bikes but the only restriction on them is the posted speed limit for D.C.’s streets.
Police acknowledge speed limits are only a partial solution. Some of the crime is being done by teenagers younger than 18 years old. Although they are not supposed to use e-bikes, tracking the use of the dockless bikes is difficult, police say.
For more information, contact The Legal Forum (www.legal-forum.net) at email: tramstack@gmail.com or phone: 202-479-7240.
Trump Administration Prepares Appeal
Of Ruling Against National Guard in D.C.
The Trump administration plans to file an appeal within days of a federal judge’s ruling last week that says the deployment of more than 2,000 National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., is unlawful.
President Donald Trump ordered the troops into the nation’s capital in August to assist with law enforcement but the judge’s ruling said he lacked constitutional authority.
“The Court rejects Defendants’ fly-by assertion of constitutional power, finding that such a broad reading of the President’s Article II authority would erase Congress’s role in governing the District and its National Guard,” U.S. District Judge Jia M. Cobb wrote in her 61-page ruling.
She delayed enforcement of the preliminary injunction until Dec. 11 to give the Trump administration time to appeal. The court order was sought by D.C.’s attorney general in a lawsuit.
Similar court action opposing deployment of the National Guard is pending in Chicago, Los Angeles and Portland.
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D.C.’s Local Governance at Stake
In Bills Approved by House Vote
The U.S. House approved two bills last week that would override laws enacted by the District of Columbia Council in a further move by Congress to undercut local governance.
One bill would make pretrial and post-conviction detention mandatory for some serious crimes. The other would eliminate cashless bail for low-income defendants facing minor criminal charges.
A Senate vote is pending on the measures.
Local officials called the legislative moves an affront to the 1973 Home Rule Act that largely freed Washington from congressional control of local government.
Some Republican members of Congress want to eliminate home rule for Washington completely.
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Letters to the Editor
D.C. in Brief
Judge’s Doubt of Officer’s Testimony
Adds to Police Misconduct Complaints
A federal judge’s criticism last week of prosecutors for using testimony from a “dishonest” Washington, D.C., police officer in a gun seizure case is adding to a recent rise in misconduct complaints.
U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes said police illegally seized a gun from a man they stopped outside a laundromat.
A key witness was a police officer who said he saw the man smoking marijuana, which led him to suspect criminal activity.
Reyes accused Metropolitan Police Department Investigator Harvy Hinostroza of giving false testimony under oath. She added that his history of being discredited by other judges should have given prosecutors adequate warning not to use him as a witness.
“He has been dishonest about major issues in the past,” the judge said.
Hinostroza testified that he saw the defendant passing around a marijuana cigarette with two other men. The defendant’s attorney said surveillance camera video contradicted Hinostroza’s testimony.
In two previous cases, Hinostroza testified that he smelled marijuana before making arrests but his testimony was discredited, according to the defense attorney.
Reyes suggested that prosecutors either drop the charges or she would consider dismissing them.
Allegations of dishonesty by the investigator are part of an increase in complaints against police amid a law enforcement surge in Washington. Crime is down from last year but the number of people who say they were falsely accused is up.
“It also undermines the public's confidence in our system of justice,” Reyes said during a pretrial hearing.
Justice Dept. Pledges to Continue Prosecution
After Charges Dismissed Against Trump Critics
A federal judge’s dismissal Monday of the criminal cases against former FBI director James B. Comey and New York attorney general Letitia James is raising questions about whether a new round of charges against them could move forward to trial.
Justice Department officials say they will continue to prosecute the two critics of President Donald Trump despite legal obstacles.
The judge said the inexperienced prosecutor assigned to the cases at the urging of Trump was illegally appointed and committed serious procedural errors.
Both Comey and James argue that the charges against them were politically motivated acts of revenge resulting from their criticism of the president.
The dismissals represent a major setback and embarrassment for the president after he pressured the Justice Department to prosecute Comey and James.
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