Brian Aitken’s Mistake - An outrageous gun prosecution in New Jersey

Reason ^ | March 2011 | Radley Balko

[Hardastarboard]

Prosecutors only care about one thing: obtaining a conviction. They would sell their own children down the river if it put another notch in the win column.

This is the reason I'm against the death penalty.

[itsahoot]

If it weren’t for a commutation

Commutation,not a pardon from the closet gun grabber.

[itsahoot]

I wonder if it would be possible to set up a system to educate potential jurors in jury nullification.

Of course, but there would be new legislation shortly.

[itsahoot]

their greatest advantage is that [most] people do not know about it.

Even after the O. J. trial?

[Red in Blue PA]

The mother? What about Chris Christie who should have pardoned him?

[OneWingedShark]

>>their greatest advantage is that [most] people do not know about it.
>
>Even after the O. J. trial?

Yes.

[Jonty30]

He probably doesn’t want to talk to Christie either. As a governor, all he can do is look at the evidence from the trial.

If the evidence, based on the trial, shows guilt, he’d be hard pressed to free the man, especially in a blue state like New Jersey.

[Jonty30]

He also should get compensation for losing two years of his life, property, and aspirations.

[marktwain]

Even the jurors who convicted him seem to have been looking for a reason to acquit Aitken. But the judge gave them little choice. The jurors had the power and the choice, they just did not know it, and were lied to by the judge. Jury nullification used to be taught in every civics class.

[marktwain]

Every American should be a fully informed juror:

http://fija.org/

The Fully Informed Jury Association is an asset to American freedom.

[neverdem]

Thanks for the link!

[Seamus Mc Gillicuddy]

The sad thing is, is that in NJ, a culture of fear and ignorance exists when it comes to firearms. You have generations of people believing that only law enforcement should have guns, that there is no reason for citizens to own firearms outside of hunting, and the 2nd Amendment doesn’t mean you can go around “strapping on a six shooter.” Retired law enforcement are the only “citizens” that can carry 24/7, save for a few people that are connected, and those that work in armed security. The lawsuit that the SAF has filed against the state, addresses the whole unconstitutionality of the “justifiable need” requirement, as it pertains to obtaining a permit to carry a handgun, and if you google the case, the motions to dismiss that were filed on behalf of the state are quite laughable. Pray that it rules in our favor, and that the rest of NJ’s infantile gun laws are thrown out post haste.

[TXnMA]

"I wonder if it would be possible to set up a system to educate potential jurors in jury nullification."

Done: Fully Informed Jury Association

[Gene Eric]

That's a site worth spreading around.

"the highest and best function of the jury is not, as many think, to dispense punishment to fellow citizens guilty of breaking the law, but rather to protect fellow citizens from tyrannical prosecutions and bad laws imposed by a power-hungry government."

[Gene Eric]

Exactly.

[supercat]

And I’m guessing that responses during voir dire are given under oath, so that anyone claiming no knowledge could be prosecuted for perjury.

Perhaps, though anyone who is bound by oath to uphold the Constitution of the U.S. would also be duty-bound to oppose efforts by prosecutors to violate it; I don't think a later oath would negate the first.

[The KG9 Kid]

Once you're a felon somewhere in the USA, you're a felon everywhere in the USA. In most cases, that's good, but the slippery slope has been sliding in recent years.

'Felon' used to mean 'bad person who needs to be locked away from society', but now it includes people who kill a seagull with a rolled up newspaper that tried to eat their ice cream at the beach, a dirt biker that runs over a desert tortoise, or some slob who pours his used motor oil down a storm drain. I'm sure that in some states, they'd make Dick Cheney or Michael Moore a felon just for being alive.

It's not necessary that you actually serve the sentence of a felon, only that the government 'felonizes' you through a plea deal.

What this poor bastard did in New Jersey is in no way illegal in my state.

Point is, until this is settled someday, stay out of nanny states. They're usually crime holes anyway.

[supercat]

Even after the O. J. trial?

Between Marcia Clark et al. mishandling the case, and Judge Ito's failure to maintain control of the courtroom, there was room for reasonable doubt. Don't blame the jury for their decision.

[supercat]

It might even make some New Jersey gun owners wonder if they have more to fear from the state’s ridiculous laws and overly aggressive cops and prosecutors than they do from criminals.

Why does the author seem to think the two groups (officials and criminals) are disjoint? A citizen's biggest fear should be of criminals (like the judge in this case) who are on the state's payroll.

[caver]

I’ve read this story numerous times. The part I don’t get is why the limpwristed jury decided to convict him when they knew it was wrong. Those people are just as much to blame as the police, prosecutor and judge. The citizens of this country are lost. This country is lost.