i am angry at and ashamed of my state

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/01/AR2011020106863.html?hpid=moreheadlines&sid=ST2011020106873
guy does 27 bogus years for rape
27 years is a long time.  he needs to be outside pronto. governor needs to act if courts don't

[makattak]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/01/AR2011020106863.html?hpid=moreheadlines&sid=ST2011020106873
guy does 27 bogus years for rape
27 years is a long time.  he needs to be outside pronto. governor needs to act if courts don't

This is hopeful, though:

"Ten years ago, prosecutors would have said it's our job to defend verdicts," Neufeld said. "Now they take the position their job is to seek justice."

A prosecutor's job should be to seek justice rather than rack up convictions. Let's hope more of this attitude spreads.

[Ned Hamford]

""Ten years ago, prosecutors would have said it's our job to defend verdicts," Neufeld said. "Now they take the position their job is to seek justice.""

Well, now that innocence can be really proven they can't stand on that shred of self delusion that the person was guilty.

Its amazing how long people will assert certainty even after the base facts their assumptions were based upon have changed.

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

A prosecutor's job should be to seek justice rather than rack up convictions.

[T.O.M.]

You know, I find it amusing that after having spent a decade as an assistant prosecutor who developed a reputation for doing the right thing, I now find myself attacked when I state that I was a prosecutor.  I recently applied for an instructor position through the judicial college.  Teach young lawyers about the job.  So, I go into the interview, and my career path comes up...

"Before you were a magistrate, you spent 12 years as a prosecutor.  We're looking for instructors who will teach young lawyers to do the right thing, and not instill a win at all cost attitude."

Since when did being a prosecutor make you evil?

Rant off.  I'll go put on my robe now and throw someone in jail so I feel better.   

[CNYCacher]

Its amazing how long people will assert certainty even after the base facts their assumptions were based upon have changed.

I have noticed this as well but always failed to explain it so succinctly.

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

Since when did being a prosecutor make you evil?

probably things like the prosecutor in florida who railroaded the innocent guy onto death row for 20 plus then when interviewed saying "heck i convicted lots of folks less guilty than him!" played a role.  hes a judge now of course

[RevDisk]

"Before you were a magistrate, you spent 12 years as a prosecutor.  We're looking for instructors who will teach young lawyers to do the right thing, and not instill a win at all cost attitude."

Since when did being a prosecutor make you evil?

Rant off.  I'll go put on my robe now and throw someone in jail so I feel better.   

...  I hate to sound rude, and I'm actually quite positive that you were a very decent prosecutor in addition to being a very decent judge.

But if you think cops get bashed (deservedly or not), prosecutors take it to an "zOMG" level.  And deserve it far more than the overwhelming majority of police officers who get a bad rap.  Worst cops can do is make your life miserable for a relatively short period of time and maybe harass you afterward.  You can always move.  (I did, after I greatly annoyed an officer and found my lock damaged by a lockgun, nothing missing.)  Prosecutors are the ones that absolutely mess your day up, and make it stick for life.  If you're a normal person that's provably innocent, your bad case scenario with a bad cop is whatever you have on your person is confiscated.  If you're a normal person that's provably innocent, your bad case scenario starts with "definitely going to be out of pocket thousands of dollars" and goes downhill sharply. 

From what I understand, prosecutors these days throw as many charges as possible and drive extremely hard for a plea bargain.  It's rare to see 'em go all out on folks, unless you annoy them somehow or the case has a high media focus. 

Honestly, kudos to college.  It shows that they're honestly committed to ethics, and that's very important to judicial college.  Not saying you deserve to not be considered due to being a prosecutor, but they should honestly be taking that sort of thing into consideration in general.   Maybe one cop in fifty is a bad cop, if that.  I'd be shocked if less than one in ten prosecutors were bad prosecutors.  In some areas, you're as likely to find an honest prosecutor as you are to find an honest politician in Chicago. 

[Hawkmoon]

"Before you were a magistrate, you spent 12 years as a prosecutor.  We're looking for instructors who will teach young lawyers to do the right thing, and not instill a win at all cost attitude."

So they'll probably hire some whore of a defense attorney ... who will do anything to obtain an acquittal.

It cuts both ways. IMHO, attorneys on both sides overlook the fact that they are both supposedly there to ensure (to the extent possible) that justice prevails. Obtaining a conviction "at all costs" or obtaining an acquittal "at all costs" is not what the system is supposed to be about.

[cambeul41]

It cuts both ways. IMHO, attorneys on both sides overlook the fact that they are both supposedly there to ensure (to the extent possible) that justice prevails. Obtaining a conviction "at all costs" or obtaining an acquittal "at all costs" is not what the system is supposed to be about.

I tried to think of a way to joke about the unreasonableness of seeking real justice as a goal, but I couldn't.

[tincat2]

the judicial system, like many of our other 'systems', is way out of whack. as such, it attracts a number of 'players' on both sides whose only goal is to reap personal reward you step in with such a crowd and even if you don't roll in the crap yourself, some of it is going to get splashed on you at some point. doctors, bankers and even teachers now have similar situations going on. no amount of 'tweaking' the institutions involved will solve the mess. you do the math.

[KD5NRH]

I greatly annoyed an officer and found my lock damaged by a lockgun

Know anybody who can machine tungsten carbide?  While it makes pins that are hell on $1 brass keys, they're really hell on things that smack into them repeatedly.