Posted on 08/31/2023 6:06:10 AM PDT by MtnClimber
Amid a surge in youth-driven violent crime in the nation’s capital, newly elected attorney general for the District of Columbia Brian Schwalb is laser-focused—on his political enemies.
Reports suggest that Schwalb is investigating, of all people, Leonard Leo, the longtime chairman of the Federalist Society. Leo is an odd target for a probe, since his supposed malfeasance is financial self-dealing related to nonprofits registered in other states. If those allegations are substantiated, they would constitute federal tax and wire-fraud crimes—infractions far outside the jurisdiction of D.C. authorities. Stranger still, the precipitating complaint against Leo for alleged “dark money” shenanigans was filed by a group itself affiliated with other billionaires’ dark money. This one just happens to share Schwalb’s progressive worldview.
On its face, the investigation smacks of “lawfare,” wielding of the legal system to punish political foes. Schwab’s dubious inquiry poses a greater danger than further eroding trust in our justice system, however. It also endangers lives, since Schwalb is diverting resources away from tackling D.C.’s juvenile crime wave.
The doctrine of “prosecutorial discretion”—the ability of prosecutors to choose what cases to pursue and how—is the bedrock of our common law tradition. Prosecutors must make value judgments and allocate resources according to the most urgent and critical public-safety needs, while upholding a fair and equal justice system for all. For law enforcement in any major city, there are usually too many instances of wrongdoing and not enough time and money to pursue them all. Choices must be made. Prosecutorial discretion is about prioritization. The deference afforded prosecutors’ decisions is near absolute, though this doesn’t mean that their judgment is infallible, or even prudent.
Such is the case with Schwalb, whose office, under D.C.’s peculiar local-federal criminal-justice system, prosecutes misdemeanors and all offenses by those under 18, in addition to consumer and civil litigation. The Justice Department handles adult felonies.
During his 2022 campaign to replace D.C.’s outgoing attorney general, Karl Racine, Schwalb promised to implement a “Six-Point Crime Reduction and Neighborhood Safety Action Plan.” His top priority, Schwalb said, was to “hold violent and repeat offenders accountable” with “swift, certain, fair adjudication and meaningful consequences.” After taking office in January, Schwalb reiterated that commitment, saying, “we charge (or “paper”) all gun cases and, whenever a gun is used in a crime, we ask the Court to detain the young person.”
He did an about-face almost immediately. This summer, Schwalb slammed Mayor Muriel Bowser’s recently passed emergency legislation that would, among other things, allow judges to expand pretrial detention for dangerous juvenile offenders. Schwalb argued that the bill would “result in more children being locked up pre-trial even when they pose no threat to public safety . . . the current detention statute does not need to be fixed, or changed.” (If not made permanent, the legislation will expire in October.)
While hard numbers on youth prosecutions are scant, the available data suggest a dangerously lenient approach. Under Schwalb and his predecessor, more than a third of juvenile cases were dropped or diverted for arrests made between October 2022 and mid-February 2023. Last year (before Schwalb took office), D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department made 1,682 juvenile arrests. Almost 700 were for violent or gun-related crimes, including carjacking, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm by a felon. And 400 more arrests were for failing to appear in court, tampering with a GPS monitor, or becoming a fugitive. These are offenses that warrant being detained.
The reason leftist-run cities turn to crap.
It’s all being done very deliberately.
L
I’m sure this prosecutor’s name is now on somebody’s list.
bttt
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