Posted on 12/12/2006 11:20:19 AM PST by Howlin
Civil rights enforcement is indeed a federal issue.
I don't think he does.
The sad thing is, these young men almost have to go through the ordeal and spectacle of a trial to clear their names. If the charges are simply dismissed, then the taint of the allegations will hang over them for the rest of their lives.
Jones isn't acting through the House. Congressmen frequently act as an advocate for their constituents in personal matters. For instance, if a constituent is having trouble getting satisfaction from a governmental agency, be it local, state or federal, congressmen will bring the stature and pressure of their office to bear on the agency causing the problem, or formally request assistance from another agency, such as we're seeing here. But it would not be inappropriate for the congressional reps for the Evanses, Seligmanns and Finnertys to join Jones in his request.
NC has some very strange laws and criminal procedures, I've discovered through this case.
Me too, GP.
Howlin, thanks for the ping. I know there's been no news lately, but the threads have been so inactive that I was afraid people were losing interest or losing heart.
Not me!
I'm wondering if Jones had a conversation with Gonzales's office in which he was told his request would be granted in advance of sending the letter.
Perhaps, but the act of prosecuting/bringing the charges without having interviewed the woman and deliberately deviating from established procedures (identifications) to get indictments might get them there. Those acts could be considered civil rights violations standing alone without the issues of what happens at trial. The indictments themselves are prosecutorial actions and therefore should be subject to the same scrutiny as trial issues are. As I see it, Fourth, Sixth and Fourteenth Amendment violations have already occurred.
I don't think they have to prove Liefong knows the charges are false. I think they just have to prove that he refuses to look for the truth through abuse of authority and process.
In the big picture, prosecutors cannot use their authority to bring charges they don't have a probable basis for charging, and that is a due process violation. Further, to depart from established procedures derived from USSC cases as to identification of suspects is also a due process and equal protection violation.
I also don't think that the fruits of a search have to be submitted at trial before the search warrant can be examined for Fourth Amendment and due process violations if charges were brought through indictments arising from a bad-faith identification and a failure to ascertain whether or not a crime had even been committed.
Jones is a Republican. Durham is a rat city. The voters would have paid no attention to Jones and would have written his effort off as a political attempt to sway the election. He was better off to wait.
Don't think he (AG) does what? Have the authority to investigate Liefong?
I am positive I read that on here, that neither the governor NOR the AG can do anything at all right now.
I know I voted for him
you may be right, but that is what I would have wanted.
Well, the AG has the authority to act in matters of public interest. Those matters don't have to affect the entire state. Such a matter might only affect a portion of the state, such as the people of Durham County being damaged as a result of Liefong or the people of, say Wake County, because some power company was cheating the people of Wake County or some food processing company was damaging the environment of Wake County.
Rats stick together a lot better than Republicans do, at least outwardly, so there is no surprise in Roy Cooper's claimed position on this case. He could act if he wanted to. He doesn't want to. He wants the black vote of Durham when he runs for governor.
Sue Myrick here. Thank goodness.
One other thing - just think for one minute what Cooper's position would be if the boys were black Durhamites instead of white, out-of-town northerners.
Oh, I am now officially ENVIOUS.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.