No, Not an Attempt to “Railroad” Someone. No Siree. Not At All.
One thing that military commanders are sensitive to is the concept of “command influence” in criminal matters. Best I can tell (I’m not a lawyer), it’s one of the easiest ways to get a slam-dunk court-martial case thrown out or set aside.
But apparently the rules in Missouri must bere very different. The “esteemed, wise” governor of that state, Jay Nixon, has publicly said that “a vigorous prosecution must now be pursued” in the Ferguson shooting case.
Now, as I said above – I’m no lawyer. But it seems to me that that statement fits the dictionary definition of one that is “prejudicial” to the investigation. That is, it’s a statement that shows someone in authority has already determined the desired outcome of the investigation, and is blatantly attempting to influence the outcome.
I wasn’t at the site of the shooting, so I don’t know what happened. That’s for an investigation to determine – a fair and impartial investigation.
But last time I checked, the same is true of Governor Nixon. So, tell me: why is he publicly calling for a “vigorous prosecution” of a case that hasn’t even been freaking completely investigated yet, or brought before a damned grand jury?
Frankly, this smacks of the old Soviet-era “show trial” mentality. As in, “We don’t give a flying f**k if the guy is actually guilty or not; we’re going to convict him for political purposes anyway – justice be damned”.
If the cop involved is found to have committed a crime, he should indeed be tried and – if found guilty – do time. But at this point, the best I can tell nothing has yet determined regarding whether a crime was committed. In fact, accounts emerging appear to points to the conclusion that the cop just might be telling the truth about what happened. Or perhaps not.
Bottom line: right now we just don’t freaking know the score. And neither does Governor Nixon.
We don’t need Governors decreeing the results of legal investigations a priori, or trying to pressure prosecutors or investigators into conducting prosecutions for political purposes. Ditto the US Attorney General’s office. Allegedly, this country operates under the rule of law – not according to the whims of those in power.
Rule by fiat and politicized justice was the kind of sh!t went on in the Soviet Union, Nazi Germany, and in Mao’s China – as well as numerous other communist and non-communist dictatorships throughout history. It was wrong there and then; it would be even worse here and now, since we (the US) purport to obey the rule of law – and claim that justice should be blind.
(PS – if you’re wondering what might possibly be Governor Nixon’s political motive here, check out the first linked article. It identifies Govern Nixon’s political affiliation.)
Oh, wait. Eric Holder is there, so everything will be just peachy. /sarc
He’ll just find some random hispanic guy, say that he’s white, and string him up.
facts don’t matter, unless they support the predetermined outcome that many have been reaching for since before Martins body went cold on the pavement…
That cop has already been accused, tried, and convicted. Heck, some have been lining up to execute him.
Yep – no undue influence here….
“Nixon made the comment in a videotaped statement in which he said he would not remove St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch from the case despite the demands of some black leaders who believe that McCulloch’s deep family ties to law enforcement would affect his impartiality. McCullouch’s father, mother, brother, uncle and cousin all worked for the St. Louis Police Department, and his father was killed while responding to a call involving a black suspect.
“In his statement, Nixon cited what he called the “well-established process” by which prosecutors can recuse themselves from pending investigations to make way for a special prosecutor. Departing from that process, Nixon said in a statement, “could unnecessarily inject legal uncertainty into this matter and potentially jeopardize the prosecution.”
Maybe he misspoke and simply meant that the investigation should be vigorously pursued? Ya know, like, because somebody needed to say it while the grand jury is questioning the officer. Uh-huh.
Yep. Sounds like jabberwocky.
The governor was way out of line, the officer hasn’t been indicted and no charges have been filed so who the hell will they vigorously prosecute? The dead kid?
Last I knew you needed a defendant for a vigorous prosecution. Ferguson has none of that at the moment, just a dead kid and an officer who might be one of Ferguson’s non-perjuring officers.
[Unlawful Command Influence is]…one of the easiest ways to get a slam-dunk court-martial case thrown out or set aside.
No, it’s not easy. In fact, judges will stretch a long way not to find UCI, or to give a weaker remedy than dismissal if they do find it. Even appellate courts may find the error “harmless” — as they do so many legal errors — and not grant serious relief.
But it’s really embarrassing for the Government when that does happen.
Didn’t that happen not to long ago to two Navy people. Dear leader ran his mouth and defense got charges dismissed because of command influence. Though not entirely the same, a defense attorney could claim that the jury pool within 100 miles is tainted and any trial (if there is one) should be moved.
Alberich: you’re the lawyer, not me. But perhaps you might want to read this article – which has a few interesting numbers in it.
http://www.stripes.com/judge-obama-sex-assault-comments-unlawful-command-influence-1.225974
It seems that UCI has caused a fair number (e.g., close to 60 in the USN/USMC alone) of sexual assault cases to get the “heave ho” in the past year, or has dramatically reduced options for punishment in the event of a conviction.
Is the Governor former mil? That sounds suspiciously like something you would hear just before court martial charges get preferred.
Well, as the Grand Jury is soon to be convened, maybe this is just an attempt by the governor to point out to potential grand jurors just exactly what their job entails, and what their duty is./sarc
As to what Ohio said up above, I don’t think that an impartial jury could be empaneled anywhere in the state of Missouri. I’m sure that defense lawyers all over the state are recording every utterance on this case, of anyone above the paygrade of janitor. Not to mention a sampling of the sentiment of the general public, who can’t wait to offer their opinions to the reporters.
YEP!
Apparently this Governor is a piece of work. I just listened to the LT Governor on Hannity and he said in 5 yrs he has not sat down once with the Governor. Not only that but the Governor has not once made any call to the Mayor of the city in flames. Pretty pissy stuff.
News reports out now say the cop got his beat pretty good before the guy got shot. States that he was hit at the car, the kid walked away and then turned and bum-rushed him. That’s when he got shot.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/08/20/missouri-cop-was-badly-beaten-before-shooting-michael-brown-says-source/
That Officer also had to spend some time in the hospital as well, he had some broken bones in his face which indicates that the perp didn’t exactly give him a few love taps before he fired!
I’ll say this. I’m a helluva lot more inclined to believe a cop with a perfect record 6 years running than I am a guy who just helped the deceased rob a gas station. But then again, I’m also a racist.