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Judge dismissed charges against Cliven Bundy
She dismissed charge based on extreme prosecutorial misconduct -- violations of the Brady obligation, named after a Supreme Court case. The concept is that it violates due process of law for the government to convict a person while keeping secret evidence that tends to prove their innocence. Dismissal, as opposed to just forcing the government to disclose the information, is reserved for truly extreme violations of the requirement.
The judge, incidentally, was nominated by President Obama at the request of Harry Reid....
UPDATE: in my book I mention what happened to the prosecutors in the Ted Stevens case, who likewise concealed a load of evidence proving he was innocent. They all kept their jobs, and most of them later went to very well-paying jobs in big law firms.
7 Comments | Leave a comment
...David, did the Ted Stevens prosecutors suffer anything except reassignment to a different part to the Dept. of Justice ?
...It would seem that disbarment would be appropriate , if nothing else.
...Thank's for the update. It tells me that the corruption reaches up to the appointing power who knew of the violation(s) and can't afford to punish the malefactors who might rat him out. Looks like Mike Mukasy was the A.G.
...The two miscreants, Bottini and Goeke, got off with 40 days in the rain. Had they been fired and disbarred, one can only wonder if the Bundy prosecutors wouldn't have followed the law and their ethical duty.
...Lets hope Mr. Sessions does the right thing. Fry 'em.
Prosecutors who tout fighting crime are not to be trusted or desired. Prosecutors who seek justice are who we want in office. But then I think all positions, prosecutor, judge, and defense should be randomly chosen from available attorneys for each and every case with the position held by any specific attorney varying every time. No more notches on guns for winning cases.
...I suspect you won't think that when you get a brang new Tax Atty as your appointed judge on your death penalty trial. Or an immigration atty to defend your son at his rape trial.
Wouldn't faze me in the least. Because of the system attorneys would have to be more widely knowledgeable. My Bible tells me to never expect justice from men anyway. But then again neither I nor my children have ever been in trouble with the law and I haven't many yrs left with which to concern myself.
But we need to break up the good ol' boy networks and other crap. When someone runs for an office and says they will be hard on crime they are looking for vengeance and not justice.
In addition, 99% of all federal criminal laws find no support in the few and defined powers of the Constitution so since the feds are punishing people without authority what provides any chance of justice?
....Word salad.
Is there any possibility of the guilty parties (prosecutors) suffering any consequences? I'd think that firing should be a MINIMUM penalty.