The U.S. Court of Appeals for D.C. on Thursday denied the District’s petition to re-hear its case challenging the constitutionality of the police checkpoint program used in Trinidad in 2008. The controversial “Neighborhood Safety Zone” checkpoints adopted by D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier were first ruled unconstitutional by a three-judge panel on July 10, and this time, a total of seven out of eight judges voted not to grant the District’s petition to re-hear…

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has ruled that last summer’s controversial “Neighborhood Safety Zone” checkpoints in the Trinidad neighborhood were likely unconstitutional, sending the case back to the U.S. District Court for trial. “It is apparent that appellants’ constitutional rights are violated,” wrote Chief Judge David Bryan Sentelle in the decision. You can download a PDF copy of the full decision, issued Friday by the three-judge panel. The NSZ program, established…

The Examiner’s Bill Myers managed to get a hold of a bunch of internal MPD emails concerning last summer’s controversial “Neighborhood Safety Zone” checkpoints in Trinidad, and the resulting story paints a chaotic picture of disagreement and confusion over the tactic within the department. A series of emails written by Assistant Chief Diane Groomes complained that the additional officers sent to staff the Trinidad checkpoint had left areas of the city under-protected. You can download…