[Richard Kimball]

Additionally, it's far more common now to file civil suits, and the cops in the Rodney King thing, for example, were found not guilty under state law, but then found guilty under Federal law.

You can't be put in double jeopardy, but our illustrious lawyers have found a way around that.

Here's the other thing, and it's big. Most of us have no criminal convictions or charges, and we have a lot to lose. If, for example, I were charged with a criminal offense, no matter how unfounded, I would lose my job, have a hard time getting another one, likely lose my house and vehicles, no insurance, and assorted other problems. The real hard core criminals have no such worries, as they've already got a criminal record. Therefore, it's much easier for cops to hammer a person that tries to be on the right side of the law than a person that doesn't care.

I'm also not convinced that most DAs really care whether you did the crime or not. Nifong is not an aberration. He just picked on someone with deep enough pockets to hire a good lawyer.

[PLMerite]

“The real hard core criminals have no such worries, as they’ve already got a criminal record.”

Interesting. They know how to get along by living as criminals. Off the record, under the table, in the shadows.

Not much fun, but when it’s all you’ve got...