Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

To: Law is not justice but process
I was talking with some of my fellow prosecutors about this case the other day.

OK, so how many "false swearing" complaints have you prosecuted the last five years?

Are you part of the problem - or part of the solution?

123 posted on 06/15/2006 3:59:31 PM PDT by Fido969
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 82 | View Replies ]


To: Fido969
"Are you part of the problem - or part of the solution?"


I am not sure what problem you refer to. I have prosecuted many (probably 2 to 3 dozen) false police report cases in the last few years. I even had a young woman arrested at a preliminary hearing because she got up, recanted her story, and said she lied to the police. I have also at times been fooled by lying victims. In one case I really stuck my neck out to keep a guy in jail only to have the victim refuse to testify when I got the case ready for trial. I immediately consented to a personal recognizance bond to free the defendant (who had been convicted twice of rape before). I suspect the victim lied in the first place (I later learned a divorce was involved, and what easier target than a two-time loser), but I could not prove it. I dismissed the case on the eve of trial. All I could do was get angry. I later learned that the defense had all sorts of impeachment ammo for the victim, but they never shared it with me (nor were they required to). It was probably a lucky thing for me she refused, because I would have been beat like a drum at trial.

Lying victims are a fact of life. Lots of people try to use the criminal law as a weapon. Few succeed, in my opinion. The safeguards go far beyond the instincts of a prosecutor. In our system, even after the prosecutor decides a case should be pursued, the defense, the jury, the trial judge, and the appellate system stand between the defendant and punishment. The standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt is a tough standard for the prosecution to meet. As proof of that statement, look at the conviction rate for murder: only about 60 to 65% of murders ever result in a conviction. That is despite all the best efforts of the police and prosecutors to hold someone responsible in the most important of all classes of criminal cases.
143 posted on 06/15/2006 5:27:31 PM PDT by Law is not justice but process
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 123 | View Replies ]

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article


FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson