Disneyland is part of the U.S.-Mexico border?

According to federal codes and regulations, it is.

Customs and Border Patrol agents searching for aliens can board any plane, vehicle, railway car, or conveyance a “reasonable distance” from the border.

The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution typically requires a warrant for such searches, but an exception is written into federal law. (See here.)

To find out how far that is is you have to look at US Code of Federal Regulations. 

Turns out a “reasonable distance” is within 100 “air miles” from any external boundary of the United States.

That includes Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Irvine, Costa Mesa and half of Catalina Island.

I wonder how many U.S. attorney nominees are part owners of a hair salon.

Main Justice reports that Laura Duffy, President Obama’s nominee for U.S. Attorney in San Diego, reported receiving a $23,637.50 distribution in 2009-2010 from Gila Rut, an Aveda salon in Chula Vista. Duffy has a 45 percent ownership stake in Gila Rut in Chula Vista.

She also reported earning $35,400 from nine speaking engagements at the Aveda Business College Seminar.

“Paying Plaintiffs to Sue,” Forbes:

Conferences, at least, bear the patina of educational merit and an opportunity to curry favor with the officials who help pick legal counsel. Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins hired Bill Clinton (who reportedly charges $150,000 and up) to appear at a seaside event at San Diego’s Hotel del Coronado last September.

This forum on “The Future of Corporate Reform” had pension officials enjoying an oceanside clambake, closing day at Del Mar racetrack, a ride on an America’s Cup-winning vessel, balloon rides and a four-course French banquet. Coughlin Stoia’s conference partner: the Corporate Library, a for-profit governance watchdog. Coughlin Stoia insists clients hire it for its winning record. The Corporate Library characterizes the conference as “an intensive, engaging and informative event that combined many hours of speeches, panels and dialogue with opportunities for informal conversation.”

More on the Future of Corporate Reform

More on Coughlin Stoia here and here.

Toyota would be crazy if it ever let this lawsuit filed by relatives of CHP Officer Mark Saylor get anywhere near a San Diego jury.

Saylor and three family members were killed last year when a Lexus ES 350 accelerated out of control in Santee, east of San Diego.

This horrific 911 call recorded the family’s final minutes as they sped into an intersection on northbound SR-125. The final words heard from the vehicle were “hold on” and “pray.”

The 272-horsepower Lexus was moving at between 112 and 150 (!) miles per hour when it crashed and burst into flames, likely due to overheated brakes, according to the crash report.

Bob Baker Lexus of El Cajon better have good lawyers too.

The crash vehicle was a loaner from Bob Baker. Investigators found that the dealership installed the wrong floor mats, causing the accelerator to become stuck.

Another customer who had borrowed the crash vehicle four days earlier told Sheriff’s investigators that the accelerator had gotten stuck under the floor mat, a fact he reported to the Bob Baker receptionist.

The crash report also noted that electronic or computer-generated malfunction “should not be ruled out.”

The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in San Diego Superior Court by Jim Gomez and Tim Pestotnik, a pair of local attorneys. Pestotnik declined to tell the Wall Street Journal whether settlement talks with Toyota had already occurred.

Human Rights Campaign, a gay rights group, praised President Obama today for nominating Laura E. Duffy, an out lesbian, for U.S. Attorney for San Diego.

If confirmed by the Senate, Duffy would be the second openly gay person to serve as a U.S. attorney, DC Agenda reported last week. The Senate confirmed Jenny Durkan last year as U.S. attorney for the Western District of Washington.

San Diego’s District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis made national headlines in 2002 when she became the first openly gay district attorney elected in the United States. Her sexuality hasn’t been much of an issue.

Duffy, who has earned high marks for her prosecution of the Arellano-Felix drug cartel, would have been  disqualified during the Bush administration. The DOJ’s Inspector General found that two former aides to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales had used sexual orientation as a litmus test in personnel decisions.