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Judge makes rare decision to set aside jury verdict in criminal sexual conduct case
Mlive.com ^ | May 02, 2015 | Danielle Salisbury

Posted on 05/02/2015 3:45:20 PM PDT by cripplecreek

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To: cripplecreek

Opinions are like buttholes. —

Oh, I thought you said “Obamas”


21 posted on 05/02/2015 4:47:05 PM PDT by Scrambler Bob (an icon of resistance within the oppressed patriots, who represent resilience in the face of SSV)
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To: RIghtwardHo

McBain is our local hanging judge and no defendant ever wants a case in his courtroom because he hands down a lot of maximum sentences.

While the accused could have gotten and likely won on appeal, how long is he supposed to sit in prison waiting for it to happen.


22 posted on 05/02/2015 4:53:02 PM PDT by cripplecreek ("For by wise guidance you can wage your war")
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To: Scrambler Bob

There is only one of those.


23 posted on 05/02/2015 4:53:42 PM PDT by cripplecreek ("For by wise guidance you can wage your war")
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To: cripplecreek

We are told all about DNA. But truthfully, who really understands it? We simply take the word of the scientific community.

A scientist could come up with PAP (physical air particles) and tell us that people leave particles in the air that proves they were at the scene. Within a few years people would be convicted on PAP evidence. No scientist wants to be outdone and seem to be out of touch.


24 posted on 05/02/2015 5:03:01 PM PDT by VerySadAmerican (Obama voters are my enemy. And so are RINO voters.)
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To: VerySadAmerican

Kinda like the EPA telling us of greater and greater dangers posed by smaller and smaller detectable amounts of toxic substances.


25 posted on 05/02/2015 5:05:54 PM PDT by cripplecreek ("For by wise guidance you can wage your war")
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To: cripplecreek

I was hoping Judge Ito would have done this in the OJ trial AND thrown every member of the jury in jail for contempt of court.


26 posted on 05/02/2015 5:30:33 PM PDT by Mr. K (Palin/Cruz - to defeat HilLIARy/Warren)
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To: Mr. K

I think its a one way street.

A jury can’t be forced to convict and a judge can’t convict a man found innocent by a jury.


27 posted on 05/02/2015 5:50:49 PM PDT by cripplecreek ("For by wise guidance you can wage your war")
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To: RIghtwardHo
One reason is that in most jurisdictions there are significant qualifications to the judge's ability to do this which make it pretty easy for an appeals court to slap down his NOV.

In PA, the standard is that the evidentiary finding of the jury has to be so bad as to be "shocking to the conscience." I believe in some states there is a requirement that before taking this step the trail judge must review and weigh all evidence in a light most favorable to the prosecution.

Those are both MUCH higher standards than "if this were a bench trial I would have acquitted."

28 posted on 05/02/2015 5:58:39 PM PDT by FredZarguna (On your deathbed you will receive total consciousness. So I got that goin' for me.)
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To: Mr. K
Judge Ito wanted the verdict that the Jury returned.

The fact that he failed to recuse himself even though his wife perjured herself in claiming not to know Mark Fuhrman was a signal that he had no intention of allowing a fair trial from the very beginning.

29 posted on 05/02/2015 6:03:10 PM PDT by FredZarguna (On your deathbed you will receive total consciousness. So I got that goin' for me.)
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To: cripplecreek

It used to be in old Britain that judges could “direct a verdict of conviction”, basically order a jury to find a defendant guilty. Eventually this caused a revolt, of sorts, where juries refused to find guilt where they thought there was none.

So a new principle was enshrined, that a judge could throw out a juries conviction, but not their acquittal.


30 posted on 05/02/2015 6:45:16 PM PDT by yefragetuwrabrumuy ("Don't compare me to the almighty, compare me to the alternative." -Obama, 09-24-11)
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To: cripplecreek

Well, there’s mankind’s laws... and then there is God’s laws. What was this fellow Patterson doing shacking up with this girl’s Mom anyway? This judge may have let him off the hook but some day he will face the Great Judge.... Exodus 20:14 Thou shalt not commit adultery.


31 posted on 05/02/2015 6:48:51 PM PDT by hecticskeptic (In life it's important to know what you believeÂ….but more more importantly, why you believe it.)
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To: null and void

How are judicial set-asides illegal?


32 posted on 05/02/2015 7:21:06 PM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks (No Whizz, No Peace!)
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To: PAR35; null and void; cripplecreek
“McBain said he was additionally concerned with the jury, which was entirely white.“

Race matters. It should not, but it does. Look at Baltimore.

33 posted on 05/02/2015 7:22:59 PM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks (No Whizz, No Peace!)
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To: FredZarguna; Mr. K

Good Lord. Don’t get me started on this one. Well, I guess you already have.


34 posted on 05/02/2015 7:30:23 PM PDT by EveningStar
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To: cripplecreek

oh I see... is he able to declare a mistrial?


35 posted on 05/02/2015 8:37:32 PM PDT by Mr. K (Palin/Cruz - to defeat HilLIARy/Warren)
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To: null and void
The remedy of jury reversal only goes one way, no judge can reverse a not guilty verdict.

Thank God for that.

Casey Anthony. If the judge had the power to reverse a not guilty verdict, that was the case that should have required it.

36 posted on 05/02/2015 11:33:33 PM PDT by submarinerswife (Insanity is doing the same thing over and over, while expecting different results~Einstein)
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To: null and void

just reading through and i’m impressed. Too many people here lose all sense of proportion and are unable to utter the words you did.
I’m glad it was overturned. It’s painfully clear our justice system is more about winning than justice. Winning is a path to higher jobs. It’s something that needs to change. Prosecutors have a clear conflict with every case they take. Justice for the defendant vs the fruits of victory.


37 posted on 05/03/2015 12:17:30 AM PDT by wiggen (#JeSuisCharlie)
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To: null and void

just reading through and i’m impressed. Too many people here lose all sense of proportion and are unable to utter the words you did.
I’m glad it was overturned. It’s painfully clear our justice system is more about winning than justice. Winning is a path to higher jobs. It’s something that needs to change. Prosecutors have a clear conflict with every case they take. Justice for the defendant vs the fruits of victory.


38 posted on 05/03/2015 12:17:30 AM PDT by wiggen (#JeSuisCharlie)
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To: null and void
The proper LEGAL action is to have it overturned on appeal

Seriousness of the charge vs. facts?

Having served on a couple juries, I can attest that the jurors are not always rational and many are run by their emotions instead of their brains. The same jury that might let an obviously guilty perp, who assaulted and almost killed a man, go; might also be prone to wrongly convict a man charged with raping a young girl.

I've also seen what happens when a judge and prosecutor work together to railroad someone - having a judge willing to do this, especially with the judge's reputation, tells me that the jury got it really wrong.

That, and the fact that our justice system is based on the premise that it's better to let 100 guilty folks go than it is to falsely convict one innocent should mean something once folks clear the air of emotions.

39 posted on 05/03/2015 3:49:55 AM PDT by trebb (Where in the the hell has my country gone?)
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To: FredZarguna

totally agree and you are correct. That was the standard in VA where I Prosecuted. And that should be the standard.

Good points.


40 posted on 05/03/2015 5:44:29 AM PDT by RIghtwardHo
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