Earlier this week, U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan warned AG Peter Nickles: "You're playing games with the wrong judge." Sullivan was referring to the AG's near endless stall tactics in the Pershing Park cases. These tactics include attempting to preventing depositions from being taken, and fighting the release of documents to the public. But what about Sullivan's characterization that Nickles is playing games?

In an effort to answer that question, City Desk offers a play-by-play concerning the testimony of Det. Paul Hustler.

Read More "Pershing Park Case: The Games Peter Nickles Plays" »

On November 17, U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan confronted AG Peter Nickles on his recent attempts to bar witnesses from being deposed and for general feet dragging in the Pershing Park cases  [PDF].

Sullivan ordered depositions to take place. He then stated that there would be serious penalties levied against the District if it failed to cooperate:

"If any depositions are canceled, I'm going to start imposing fines of $1,000 per day for any depositions that the City sua sponte cancels, and I will impose additional sanctions as well. But that Hustler deposition will take place in this courthouse and be under the supervision of a magistrate judge and there will be marshals present as well. I'm not going to play games."

With that, Sullivan turned to the attorney general: "Mr. Nickles, you're playing games with the wrong judge....I'm telling you, you're playing games with the wrong judge."

Read More "Sullivan to Nickles: ‘You’re Playing Games With The Wrong Judge’" »

When news broke yesterday that a D.C. Police Detective had come forward to dispute former Chief Charles Ramsey's assertion that he did not order the arrests in Pershing Park in 2002, I immediately thought of Kathy Patterson.

Few fought harder to get at the truth of what led to Pershing Park than the former D.C. councilmember. Seven years later, Det. Paul Hustler comes forward to say out loud what a lot of people knew: Ramsey was directly responsible for Pershing Park. What did Patterson think?

Patterson responded to Hustler's affidavit with an e-mail. "I'd like to see the District settle," she wrote. "I'd like to have some assurance of lessons learned."

Read More "Pershing Park Case: Patterson Hopes District Has Learned Its Lesson" »

An affidavit filed today in U.S. District Court raises questions as to whether former D.C. Police Chief Charles H. Ramsey may have committed perjury in his sworn testimony about the Pershing Park fiasco. Ramsey had repeatedly stated in depositions that he had not ordered the mass arrest of approximately 400 people during the Sept. 27, 2002, World Bank/IMF protests.

Yet the affidavit, by Det. Paul Hustler, a 22-year D.C. Police veteran, maintains that Ramsey indeed ordered the arrests.

Read More "Affidavit: Ramsey Ordered Pershing Park Arrests" »

I get a tip from a colleague that Traci Hughes might be out as the D.C. Police Department's spokesperson. This morning, I call her office to get confirmation.

I'm put on hold. After two minutes, I decide to hang up and try again.

I'm put on hold again.

Finally, a pleasant voice gets on the line at the D.C. Police Department's Office of Public Information.

I ask: What happened to Traci Hughes? Is she no longer the D.C. Police spokesperson?

I am instructed that the Office of Public Information can not answer such questions. I am then given a name and number of someone in "Strategic Services." His name is Kevin Palmer.

I get Palmer's voicemail.

Read More "Traci Hughes Is Out As Police Spokesperson" »

Congress Heights on the Rise gives 7D police and Asst. Chief Diane Groomes an "A+." The blogger writes: "The Advoc8te sees the police out in full force in my neighborhood in  response to the carjackings this week. There are about 10 police cars on our street and we feel much safer!  This increased police prescence is MUCH appreciated!" Sure. But what about all the murders in 7D?

Read More "Our Morning Roundup: Do The D.C. Police Deserve An A+?" »

Last Friday, Pershing Park case lawyers had arranged to depose  Detective Paul Hustler. All was going according to routine. Hustler showed up. The OAG lawyers showed up. The day before, he had been prepped by the OAG's team.  But just as the deposition was about to start, Hustler made an unusual request.

Hustler wanted his own attorney present.

The deposition had to be put off. OAG lawyers used this speed bump to immediately filed a motion in U.S. District Court to bar Hustler from giving his deposition.

Read More "Pershing Park Case: Nickles Attempts To Prevent Detective From Testifying" »

WaPo has the scoop on what lead to an arrest in the George Rawlings murder. Jeffrey Britt, a 17-year-old with no fixed address, has been arrested and charged in the case.

D.C. Police detectives worked quickly to solve the murder which took place last Wednesday as Rawlings was trying to board a Metro bus along H Street NE. According to an affidavit [PDF} filed in D.C. Superior Court, there were several witnesses that came forward.

In reading the affidavit, one thing is clear: Jeffrey Britt will not be the only one charged in this case. Police recovered two different caliber shell casings from the crime scene, and witnesses point to other individuals involved in the killing:

"One such witness...reported that it observed two black males armed with guns shooting into the well of the Metro bus."

The affidavit goes on to describe a murder plot developed in front of witnesses and carried out within minutes.

Read More "Read: Affidavit On George Rawlings’ Murder" »

In late July, U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan called for an investigation into the discovery abuses in the Pershing Park case. Sullivan suggested that the D.C. Council should get to the bottom of how evidence went missing or got botched.

Councilmember Mary Cheh called for AG Peter Nickles to resign. Councilmember Phil Mendelson, who heads the Judiciary Committee, stated that he "definitely" would be considering an investigation into the matter.

Now, a D.C. Council investigation appears unlikely.

Read More "Pershing Park Case: Council Hearings Unlikely" »

Today, the D.C. Archdiocese just handed Christopher Hitchens a chapter in his next anti-God book. The archdiocese continues to press for a more watered down version of the D.C. Council's gay-marriage bill. It's gone so far as to threaten to pull its Catholic Charities services from the District, WaPo is reporting:

Hours after the Committee on Public Safety and Judiciary approved the bill Tuesday, the Catholic Church sent a letter to Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large) calling for additional changes to the legislation. If church officials are not successful, the letter states, "services will be impacted."

"The exemption language contained in the committee [bill] is far too narrow, and must be expanded to include appropriate safeguards to protect religious freedom to preserve the ability of Catholic Charities and other service providers to continue to serve the growing and unmet needs of the residents of the District of Columbia," wrote Jane G. Belford, the chancellor of the Archdiocese.

Apparently, the church is afraid of lawsuits if it denies healthcare to legally married same-sex couples. With the District's unemployment rate well past 10 percent and budget cuts to homeless services still on the table, this is an astonishing threat.

Read More "D.C. Archdiocese Threatens To Cut Services Over Same-Sex Marriage Bill" »

Don't you pity D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier? Murders are way down. And she's stuck defending Fenty's latest mini scandal. This past week, WTOP broke the news on Fenty's police-escorted bike training sessions. During his training, Fenty was able to ride wherever with the help of some D.C. Police motorcycle cops. This has provoked widespread news coverage and considerable outrage. It has also put Lanier in a tricky spot---between her boss and her rank-and-file officers.

WTOP's Mark Segraves noted the huge time suck for officers on the Fenty bike detail:

"Documents obtained by the police union through a Freedom of Information Act request show officers from the Special Events Branch are routinely detailed for the "mayor's bike ride," racking up hundreds of man hours - many of which officers spend waiting for the mayor.

On multiple occasions, WTOP witnessed uniformed officers waiting for one to two hours for the mayor's cycling team to arrive for their training rides.

Thanks to Fenty, Lanier is now forced to offer some kind of lame quote. This past summer, Lanier had to defend her officers' zany response to that Fenty traffic accident. Now comes her weak defense of her department's escort service for Fenty's bike team.

Read More "Chief Cathy Lanier: The True Victim Of Fenty’s Latest Scandal" »

Today, the D.C. Wire reported that a five-member council delegation met with Mayor Adrian Fenty last night to discuss the standoff over Ximena Hartsock. A symbol of testy council-mayoral relations, Hartsock is Fenty's choice to helm the D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation. Following some discord among the council, Hartsock, and Fenty, however, the council voted against confirming Hartsock. The mayor responded by keeping Hartsock in place.

According to a source familiar with the meeting, the prevailing sentiment among the councilmembers in attendance (Chairman Vincent Gray and councilmembers David Catania, Mary Cheh, Harry Thomas Jr., and Muriel Bowser) was that Hartsock had to go.

Fenty, according to the source, assured that he was looking for her replacement but stressed that the search wasn't an easy one. The meeting ended with a promise: The mayor would replace Hartsock by Dec. 1, the source recalls.

Still, Fenty still couldn't help being Fenty.

Read More "Fenty Promises To Replace Hartsock By Dec. 1" »

AG Peter Nickles had promised to settle the Pershing Park cases by Thanksgiving. If he wants to make good on that promise, he might start with picking up the phone, and meeting with the plaintiffs lawyers. According to one lawyer, Jonathan Turley, the attorney general has yet to even call him.

While Nickles may not be such a goodwill ambassador, he did promise the courts that plaintiffs would see a nice payday soon. In late September, Nickles told U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan that he would personally direct settlement talks. He boasted of making huge breakthroughs in the negotiations, and stated that he expects the cases to be wrapped before the Macy's Parade. Yesterday, Nickles announced a settlement in an unrelated protester case, and again expressed hope that the Pershing Park cases would be resolved within weeks.

Turley, who represents plaintiffs in one of those cases (the Chang case), says Nickles has actually shutdown talks. "Despite the statement by AG Nickles that he was going to settle these cases," Turley explains, "he canceled all settlement negotiations with the Chang plaintiffs soon after leaving Judge Sullivan."

Read More "Pershing Park Case: Is Peter Nickles Ready To Deal?" »

Harry Potter and the Urban School Nightmare expresses early burnout with blogging and possibly teaching! They write:

"Don't know if it's because of Impact (don't think so) or the forever stalled contract negotiations (maybe) or my administration (YES!!!), but I just feel really de-motivated. One thing I can say is that it's definitely not the kids. My kids this year are doing really well, and I've somehow managed to build a really positive culture in my classes. They try hard, and for the most part they're learning a lot. But damn if I'm just not satisfied.

It's getting to the point where I'm thinking about what else I could be doing, and trying to figure out if I want to stay teaching (or at least teaching at my school) next year. On the one hand, I don't like falling into the stereotype of Teach for America teachers who sweep in on a wave of idealism and then leave after we've worked that glassy-eyed naivete out of our system. But on the other hand, do I really want to continue working in a place where I feel unvalued, unengaged, and unhappy?"

Read More "Our Morning Roundup: Teacher Burnout!" »

The Office of the Attorney General continues to play stall ball in the Pershing Park cases. Recently, District lawyers lost their bid to take back documents previously turned over to plaintiffs attorneys. The fight over the never-ending discovery now centers around the District's filing of a motion for a protective order banning vasts amounts of government documents.

OAG attorneys argue that the order would simply and reasonably protect personal information from being made public. Attorneys even use Washington City Paper to zing plaintiffs lawyers!

Read More "Pershing Park Case: Nickles Seeks Order Barring Public From Seeing Discovery Materials" »