Posted on 05/31/2015 8:02:00 AM PDT by maggief
The GOP should turn its attention to prosecutorial misconduct.
As the old Vulcan proverb has it, “Only Nixon can go to China.” And only Nixon’s political heirs can fix the persistent — and terrifying — problems that continue to plague this country’s law-enforcement agencies and prosecutors’ offices.
Exhibit A: Orange County, California.
The sunny Southern California county with a population surpassing that of nearly half the states has a Republican county executive, Steve Neuhaus, and a Republican district attorney, Tony Rackauckas, and a big problem on its hands: Its entire prosecutorial apparatus — all 250 lawyers in the district attorney’s office — have been disqualified from participation in a high-profile capital-murder case following revelations that the office colluded with the Orange County sheriff’s department to systematically suppress potentially exculpatory evidence in at least three dozen cases, committing what legal scholars have characterized as perjury and obstruction of justice in the process.
One of the questions involves a secret database of jail records related to confessions obtained via informants. Sheriff’s officers denied the database even existed, and their deception was abetted by prosecutors, leading an exasperated judge to issue an order noting that they “have either intentionally lied or willfully withheld material evidence from this court during the course of their various testimonies. For this court’s current purposes, one is as bad as the other.” The judge unsubtly recommends prosecution.
(Excerpt) Read more at nationalreview.com ...
The Judge has wide powers of contempt. I suggest he or she start using them.
L
Yeah, that’s what I don’t get. He disqualified the entire DA’s office because multiple sheriff’s deputies and prosecutors perjured themselves in this case and have been refusing to turn over exculpatory evidence in many other cases. So why didn’t he take action against those individuals he found had violated the law?
“This practice is illegal. It is one thing if a suspect in custody speaks about his crimes and an informant comes forward to report that confession; it is another thing to operate a program under which the interrogation of suspects is effectively delegated to incarcerated felons who are secretly on the county’s payroll. The lack of present legal counsel is only the beginning of what is wrong with that practice.”
“You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you. Do you understand the rights I have just read to you?”
Rule #1. Keep your mouth shut.
Rule #2. Never admit to anything, that includes apologizing.
Why does law enforcement and prosecutorial misconduct bring Waco to mind?
Orange County, California... with a population surpassing that of nearly half the states has a Republican county executive, Steve Neuhaus, and a Republican district attorney, Tony Rackauckas, and a big problem on its hands: Its entire prosecutorial apparatus -- all 250 lawyers in the district attorney's office -- have been disqualified from participation in a high-profile capital-murder case following revelations that the office colluded with the Orange County sheriff's department to systematically suppress potentially exculpatory evidence in at least three dozen cases, committing what legal scholars have characterized as perjury and obstruction of justice in the process. One of the questions involves a secret database of jail records related to confessions obtained via informants. Sheriff's officers denied the database even existed, and their deception was abetted by prosecutors, leading an exasperated judge to issue an order noting that they "have either intentionally lied or willfully withheld material evidence from this court during the course of their various testimonies. For this court's current purposes, one is as bad as the other."Wow, I had no idea this ever went on. And jury selection is always done without any kind of agenda, like in OJ's trial.
“Why does law enforcement and prosecutorial misconduct bring Waco to mind?”
That is one of the first things I thought of.
Let us not forget the clowns going after Scott in Wisconsin. Also Nifong.
What got me was this: "a charge of attempted murder as well as four alternative charges of first- and second-degree murder, voluntary manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter."
They forgot littering and jaywalking.
Talk about "Throwing the Book", this was the whole damn library!. How can they do this?
From what I have seen, this appears to be a standard approach in many cases - when the State's case is weak, throw everything at the defendant and bulldoze him (or his court-appointed attorney advises) into pleading guilty to the lesser charge, even if he is innocent.
It wasn’t so many years ago that I naively thought folks who confessed or were convicted of crimes were ACTUALLY guilty.
Why does law enforcement and prosecutorial misconduct bring Waco to mind?
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Jeez, the same thing happened to me...it’s a mystery.
IBTG before he sees this thread and revels in it.
Many (small l) libertarians were law-and-order conservatives until they mugged by a DA with an agenda. Party is not a relevant factor.
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