Posted on 09/09/2007 6:03:52 PM PDT by John W
WASHINGTON - Sen. Larry Craig will file court documents Monday asking to withdraw his guilty plea in a sex sting that seems likely to end his career, his attorney said.
Craig, an Idaho Republican, pleaded guilty in August to disorderly conduct following a sting operation in a men’s bathroom at the Minneapolis airport.
He has said he regrets that decision, which he said he made hastily and without talking to an attorney. He said he was under stress and pleaded guilty only to put the matter behind him.
Attorney William Martin said Sunday night that a request to withdraw that plea would be filed Monday. Such requests are rarely granted. Martin would not discuss the argument he planned to make in court.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
Bathroom solicitation stings should be illegal. They give toilet cops an outrageous amount of power -- the power to ruin lives and advance their own careers with false accusations. Once accused, if the case is publicized, the defendant is tarred for life.
The policy is to have a soft, feminine appearing officer (who hopefully isn’t gay) act at the very least as “bait” for a sexual encounter. It is possible that his actions were more than just being a passive, adjoining stall mate; we won’t know that till he is subject to examination and cross examination.
“Really, what business is it of yours or the government that Larry Craig didn’t tell his wife about this tawdry incident?”
You must not know much about Professional Boards. Any poster here who is a doctor, a lawyer, a dentist, a realtor...etc must report a guilty plea or a conviction of ANY level crime, to it’s administrative board. Does not mean the board will take any action, but IT MUST BE REPORTED.
I don’t care what Craig told his wife. You are correct about that. However, as a sitting U.S. senator, he had an ethical obligation to report it to his Senate GOP leadership....which he did not do. That is why you saw the Senate GOP leadership report it to the Ethic’s Committee sooooooo fast.
Well, not quite irrelevant considering he is a Senator.
US Constitution, Article 1, Section 6
The Senators and Representatives shall receive a Compensation for their Services, to be ascertained by Law, and paid out of the Treasury of the United States. They shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other Place.
So now your defense is conjecture? And the claim of "bait"?
Make no mistake: "bait" is not grounds for entrapment. Even if the cop paraded around naked as the day God made him, that would not constitute entrapment. Entrapment requires that the actions taken by the police be such that they overrode the free will of the defendant. Propensity is a definitive rebuttal to entrapment.
This discussion is purely academic anyway. Craig doesn't have a snowball's chance in the underworld of getting his plea set aside.
“Yes, have you ever wondered the wisdom having a “cop” working a men’s bathroom?”
I guess they are trying to protect the public because of complaints about a “specific bathroom problem”.
It may not bother you, if men are having sex in a public restroom, but it bothers some of us.
I was being facetious...
That section is irrelevant. It could, conceivably, overturn the **arrest**, but not the prosecution. The prosecution (and therefore the guilty plea) is still valid.
At the very worst Senator Craig was terminated by his party for being a homosexual while serving as a Republican. If he had been a Democrat, this never would have happened.
Considerable rejoicing is occurring on this thread because a Republican Senator has been done in by a tawdry mistake.
Incidentally, it is a common finding to find those participating in men’s room fellatio or mutual masturbation(that is usually what it is) are comprised of three sexual orientation groups—homosexuals, bisexuals and, yes, heterosexuals.
Fair enough
I live in the Twin Cities. I have been in that bathroom and many others in the Twin Cities. I have never witnessed or been approached for sex.
It would be nice to query those that assigned this officer to the bathroom in question. Under oath they would have to identify the source of the complaint.
Three words for the 3 sexual orientation groups:
Get. A. Room.
‘They shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same”
That ought to win him a lot more friends when he goes to court tommorrow and trys to use “His Special Class” protection to get out of something he’s already pled guilty to.
My prediction is that if he uses that approach, he will open up a whole new can of worms for himself and the GOP. I can hear the MSM howling about that now.
The MSM will then spend a weeek or two, taking about how Craig is using his “Special Class Status” to overturn a guilty plea the rest of us can’t do.
Yeah, that will open up a whole new can of worms.
You can't catch the innocent with them. Tell me, under what circumstances (other than handing the guy in the next stall some TP) can you imagine sticking your hand under the stall wall? Only those wishing to use the public toilets as pickup bars are caught by cops in the restrooms. I appreciate them making the facilities safer, if the gays want to find each other, they can hook up on the Internet.
“since the officer made no threats of any sort”
It was Craig who made a veiled threat to the cop by flashing his Senate card and saying, “you know what this means don’t you”
“You are not required to report a misdemeanor to anyone in the Senate”
WRONG!
He had an ethiclal obligation to report this to his GOP Senate Leadership.
Do you realize that virtually ALL big city police departments have a 'vice squad' that does this sort of investigating. Do you really advocate lynching virtually every mayor and sheriff in the United States?
Note, how everyone is anxious, angry and upset at just the thought that Senator Craig will try to have his day in court. It must say something more about those anxious and angry than it does about Senator Craig.
Craig is a danger to the GOP, and therefore to American survival in the WOT. He must be politically liquidated!
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