Judge Orders Philly DA Office to Charge Amtrak Engineer

Philadelphia Inquirer ^ | 12 May 2017 | Chris Mondies

[Publius]

President Judge Marsha Neifield of Philadelphia Municipal Court ordered the city District Attorney’s Office on Thursday to reverse course and charge Amtrak engineer Brandon Bostian with involuntary manslaughter and reckless endangerment. 

To avoid a potential conflict of interest, the District Attorney's Office responded that it would refer the prosecution to the state attorney general. Neifield issued the order following a request from lawyers for victims of the May 12, 2015, derailment of Amtrak Train 188 that the case be reopened. On Tuesday, the District Attorney's Office had said that, following a lengthy investigation, it had concluded there was insufficient evidence to bring charges.

The following day, lawyers with the office of Richard A. Sprague, a prominent city lawyer and former first assistant district attorney, formally asked the District Attorney's Office to accept a criminal complaint filed by the husband and father of Rachel Jacobs, a young mother killed in the crash.

[Publius]

Somebody in the union forgot to pay off this judge.

[sickoflibs]

I didn’t know that judges can order such things.

[eyeamok]

Remove the quisling judge from the bench, he has NO Authority to Order the DA to do Anything.

[rdl6989]

That’s never stopped a judge before.

[sport]

And this judge is far from happy about that.

[Steely Tom]

Mr. Bostian is having another in a series of bad days.

[PJBankard]

More like activist judge.

[DesertRhino]

Since when does a judge have the authority to decide WHO charges must be brought against? That is an executive function.

[Red Badger]

We’ll give him a fair trial and then we’ll hang him..........Judge Roy Bean................

[Publius]

If you go to the link and read the article, you’ll see that under Pennsylvania law, the President Judge of the Court has this power.

[SoFloFreeper]

How the hell can a judge order prosecution???

Not good.

The DA is not right (from what I know of the case), but that doesn’t mean the judge has power to order prosecution.

Reminds me of the Massachusetts Supreme Court directing the Massachusetts state legislature to write a law legalizing marriage between homosexual marriage.

[traderrob6]

Activist maybe but the judge is right on this one.

[PJBankard]

So what prevents that judge from ordering the AG to charge someone with what ever he wants.

[SoFloFreeper]

Thanks for the lesson! Sure would like to know the reasoning behind that....is it a recent development?

[vette6387]

“Remove the quisling judge from the bench, he has NO Authority to Order the DA to do Anything.”

You need to read the entire article! The judge DOES HAVE, under PA state law the ability to do what SHE did. The idea that this “engineer” can escape being tried for what happened while he was operating the train is just nuts. If a jury finally decides that the evidence of criminal acts is insufficient, fine, but he should stand trial. People died because of what he did.

[Alberta's Child]

It looks like they can do it in response to a legal action by a victim — or a victim’s family member, in this case.

[Publius]

From the article, a point on Pennsylvania law, which goes back to the Revolutionary Era:

Although it is unusual for a judge to order a prosecutor to file criminal charges, there is a basis in Pennsylvania law for the judiciary to step in and essentially take control of a criminal investigation, said Temple University law professor Jules Epstein.

The hurdles for such action typically are high, he said, because of the separation-of-powers doctrine, which grants each branch of government wide discretion within its own sphere of authority.

But Epstein said case law in Pennsylvania lays down guidelines for when a judge can compel a prosecutor to accept a citizen’s criminal complaint, the scenario that played out before Neifield on Thursday. Courts are more inclined to hear such requests when there is a dispute over the legal basis for bringing charges, Epstein said. The standard is more stringent when a prosecutor, as a matter of policy, declines to bring criminal charges.

[PJBankard]

Thanks for the info.

Will be interesting to see how this plays out. I wonder if the engineer would have grounds to sue the state if he is found not guilty.

[originalbuckeye]

IIRC, the man responsible is gay and was texting. And again IIRC, the decision not to prosecute was a PC one. He is in a protected minority.

[Abby4116]

And I cannot figure why the DA's office didn't bring any charges. I know they just had a DA removed but that shouldn't matter.

As Sprague said, if one were driving a car at double the speed limit and someone was injured or killed there would be charges. I'm sure the DA's office wouldn't care what the driver was thinking at the time (excuse by the engineer).