Armed Polite Society

Main Forums => Politics => Topic started by: zxcvbob on September 17, 2013, 01:12:28 PM

Title: The Danziger Bridge cops are gonna get off afterall
Post by: zxcvbob on September 17, 2013, 01:12:28 PM
Federal judge cut 'em loose:  http://images.bimedia.net/documents/91713+danziger+ruling.pdf

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-57603296-504083/danziger-bridge-shootings-update-judge-overturns-convictions-grants-new-trial-to-ex-nola-officers/
Title: Re: The Danziger Bridge cops are gonna get off afterall
Post by: AZRedhawk44 on September 17, 2013, 01:16:21 PM
That's effing ridiculous.

I'll say no more.
Title: Re: The Danziger Bridge cops are gonna get off afterall
Post by: Scout26 on September 17, 2013, 03:24:01 PM
Federal judge cut 'em loose:  http://images.bimedia.net/documents/91713+danziger+ruling.pdf

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-57603296-504083/danziger-bridge-shootings-update-judge-overturns-convictions-grants-new-trial-to-ex-nola-officers/

It's cases like this where the prosecutors should join the cops in going to jail.  For a very, very, very long time.  Then crap like this won't happen. 

Pour encourager les autres.
Title: Re: The Danziger Bridge cops are gonna get off afterall
Post by: vaskidmark on September 17, 2013, 07:56:22 PM
Quote
The U.S. District judge ruled Tuesday that prosecutors' "highly unusual, extensive and truly bizarre actions" warrant throwing out the convictions of Archie Kaufman, Kenneth Bowen, Robert Gisevius, Robert Faulcon and Anthony Villavaso.
....
Attorneys for the former officers say a series of leaks to news organizations were part of a "secret public relations campaign" that deprived their clients of a fair trial. The former officers' attorneys also cited a series of anonymous online posts by senior prosecutors. Former U.S. Attorney Jim Letten resigned in December 2012 after two of his top deputies acknowledged they had been posting anonymous comments on nola.com, the Times-Picayune's companion website, about cases their office had handled, including the Danziger Bridge investigation.
....
In his opinion, Judge Kurt Englehardt, who heard the case originally, wrote: "This case started as one featuring allegations of brazen abuse of authority, violation of law and corruption of the criminal justice system; unfortunately, though the focus has switched from the accused to the accusers, it has continued to be about those very issues. After much reflection, the Court cannot journey as far as it has in this case only to ironically accept grotesque prosecutorial misconduct in the end."

During a hearing in June 2012, Engelhardt said it appeared federal prosecutors didn't conduct a "full-blown investigation" after The Associated Press and The Times-Picayune published articles about former New Orleans police officer Michael Lohman's guilty plea while his case was under seal. Lohman pleaded guilty to participating in a cover-up of the shootings.

Let us stipulate that all of the above is true.

Retry the defendants without the hoopla and shenanagans.  If the allegations are true they will be found guilty again.

Procedurally, I did not see (might have missed it - if so, someone point me to it please) where the fefense entered any objections to the behavior alleged during the trial.  While I understand that The Rules allow for motions such as were filed without objections being made during the trial, I am very uncomfortable with that being the way things work.  In cases where knowlege of the behavior could not have been discovered during the trial, and thus objected to, I will allow an exception.  But in this case they had the chance to object and I cannot find anything showing that they did so.  That makes the trial court merely step #1 of a multi-step procedure to arriving at an original ruling.  In my civics classes they taught me that was not the way things were done.

stay safe.
Title: Re: The Danziger Bridge cops are gonna get off afterall
Post by: RoadKingLarry on September 17, 2013, 08:16:27 PM
Quote
In my civics classes they taught me that was not the way things were done.

Did your civics class have any discussion on the obscene buttload of money the lawyers will make during these tyes of shenanigans?
Title: Re: The Danziger Bridge cops are gonna get off afterall
Post by: vaskidmark on September 18, 2013, 06:08:42 AM
Did your civics class have any discussion on the obscene buttload of money the lawyers will make during these tyes of shenanigans?

As a matter of fact it did.  Most of what it had to say was not very nice.

stay safe.
Title: Re: Re: The Danziger Bridge cops are gonna get off afterall
Post by: cassandra and sara's daddy on September 18, 2013, 09:14:39 AM
Interesting twist is the one cop plead guilty to the cover up and he gets a new trial also. I do see the judges point though

damn phone
Title: Re: The Danziger Bridge cops are gonna get off afterall
Post by: Levant on September 20, 2013, 07:58:42 PM
Is there any surprise?  You all got your hopes up when they were convicted.  Never count out a bad cop until he actually reports to prison - and even then you can't be certain.