DA Gets Wrist Slapped

[VoodooAce]

This is an L.A. Times story about an assistant DA here that was a little overzealous in his duties.

http://www.latimes.com/editions/valley/la-000011407feb14.story

How often do you think this sort of thing happens?

A lady friend here at work refuses to believe that anybody would falsify evidence, especially if it meant the defendant would recieve the death penalty. Nobody is that heartless, she says.

I feel a little differently. While this ADA probably felt pretty strongly that these guys were guilty, it obviously doesn't come anywhere close to excusing it. Afterall HE could be wrong. I feel that this kind of thing probably happens more than most of us would like to believe. Afterall, convictions are what these guys' job performances are judged upon.

Read the story, check out the punishment.

What do you think?

P.S. - This same 'lady friend' of mine believes fully in basic human goodness. A virtue for the most part. But she believes it to a fault. Hard for her to believe that there really are people out there that just bad people, other than the common criminals.

While most of us are good at heart, there are those that will kill you for $20. There are those that will pocket a bunch of $$ rather than providing a good safe work environment.

I think some of the entrapeneurs of the 19th and 20th century proved that they would doom their loyal employees to a life of danger and desolate poverty so that they would pocket an extra couple of $million per.

 

[amadeus]

Originally posted by VoodooAce
I think some of the entrapeneurs of the 19th and 20th century proved that they would doom their loyal employees to a life of danger and desolate poverty so that they would pocket an extra couple of $million per.

Man...have you ever said one GOOD thing about capitalism? The Left Coast never ceases to amaze me.

 

[Greadius]

You could explain the virtues to him, like his means for telling you how horrible capitolism is, but he'd ignore it.

Back to the issue at hand...
They should have made an example out of him. That is completely inexcusable, I don't care how much he apologizes. It is people like THAT who cause a loss of confidence in our justice system, and they should be made to pay for it.

 

[Lefty Scaevola]

What a g-damn sleaze bag. He should have been help and contempt and refered to the committe on prosecutorial conduct or what ever is tis equivilant in California. Prosecutor's office cannot afford any taint of cheating. Ehy do you think O J got off. The police got caught cooking a little extra evidence to streghten what was a winning case anyway. Its damn near impossible to convince a jury BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT is any part of the prosecution/investigators are believed to be cheating or lying.

 

[Umask077]

We need to hold those in power to a higher standard of the law. If a DA is caught falisfying evidence he should have whatever would be applied to the defendant applied to him. The same should go for the cops and the poloticians. But as you know, the father from your capitol you get the more corrupution you get (bah, all the US citys make 100 shields and get to use 1).

Democracy doesnt abate corruption, it legalizes it. Gives it terms like lobbying to make it ok.

Absolete power corrupts absoletely. In alot of the DA problems like this its a matter of a small man getting to much power. If we dont hold them to a higher standard of the law, then we are just dumb.

Course at least the rest of the world has something to laugh at.

As for the response that attacks the left coast, as an expatriot californian now in the heart of DC I can say the BS is piled just as deep out here. Its just different BS. The capitol has as much if not more corruption the left coast. Course it doesnt have as many bleeding heart liberals which at least means its not as in your face.

 

[damunzy]

That is a slap on the wrist. I hope the board revokes his license and hits him up with some stiff fines. Maybe then justice will be served.

 

[scorch]

that sucks.


thats all i can say.

 

[Apollo]

What's all this talk about California and the Left Coast? There are two other states on the same coast as California, just don't tell anybody because then they'll all want to move here.

As for this ADA, I think the punishment should be much more severe. These are people's lives he's playing with! Think of what would happen if he hadn't been caught. He would have continued on his merry way doctoring evidence to convict possibly innocent people, as many others are doing I'm sure. He should have an example made of him so all the others that haven't been caught will think twice before cheating people out of their freedom.

 

[VoodooAce]

Originally posted by rmsharpe


Man...have you ever said one GOOD thing about capitalism? The Left Coast never ceases to amaze me.

Sure I have, RM.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again.

I'm a capitalist. I'm just a capitalist with some decidedly socialist....leanings.

I've also expounded the many virtues of capitalism in the cfc forum.....

About this ADA. I've heard the argument that he probably KNEW they were guilty, so its not really all that bad. Maybe so, but as has been mentioned, its the integrity of the system that matters....ethics.

 

[BlueMonday]

This is something that happens in all countries more often than any of us wants to admit in all levels of criminal justice. Police have been caught planting evidence in crime scenes; judges have been bribed; attorneys turned against their oaths. But to do this in a capital case is almost unimaginable to me. Jesus christ, if the convict got executed before the case was overturned that would essentially make the district attorney a murderer -and a murder one case at that which would ironically be a capital murder charge.

And in addition to that, even if the convict really did whatever he did now his trial can be thrown out which means that now he may go free, putting a murder or rapist on the streets.

 

[knowltok2]

I too agree that we need to hold those in higher positions to a higher standard. I believe that the criminals at Enron are worse than a guy who robs a liquer store with a gun. I'm not saying we should be any more lenient on the liquer store criminal, but who has damaged more lives? Who had every possible chance to know better? Who lived in material wealth that most only dream about?

I know it sounds like I am making excuses for the street criminal, and I don't want to. I want them punished as harsh or more so than they are today. But Democracy and Capitalism are just like any other systems: corruption at the highest levels will destroy them. It will also remove the one thing that makes capitalism a good system, social mobility. Because of this, I think we should reserve our worst punishments for these criminals. A murderer may not be any more dettered by the death penalty, hard labor, or life in prison, but I believe that white collar criminals will be. Leave off the death penalty because it bothers to many people, and in its current form is not working in the US. Hard labor though would be a nice alternative. The thought of Enron executives in stripes living in shacks in Alaska with no creature comforts doing 10 hours of hard labor a day appeals to me. I think it could well be a detterant for the next time.

Just my thoughts.

 

[Umask077]

I agree that the enron guy should be punished. Dont know how he got involved but as to the DA who doctored evidence, He needs to be punished worse then the guy who robbed the liquour store or the enron guy.

He is a goverment employee in charge of helping to enforce the law. He needs to be held to a higher standard so that the guy who looks like the guy who robbed the liquour store and the guy who looks like the guy who ran enron (yeah right) are not wrongfully accussed.

A slap on the wrist is a bad solution. Cutting off the hand at the wrist might be better.