Posted on 02/15/2013 6:54:51 PM PST by NoLibZone
The case of computer whiz Aaron Swartz -- who committed suicide after federal prosecutors charged him with 13 felony fraud counts -- has become, for some, emblematic of how overzealous prosecutors are going too far in pursuit of a win.
The shocking suicide -- the 26-year-old co-creator of RSS and Reddit hanged himself last month -- has led to calls to rein in the practice of overcharging defendants.
Swartz could have been punished with up to 35 years in prison and $1 million in fines -- a greater penalty than some murderers face. And it was all for downloading millions of academic documents that were available at the M.I.T. Library for a small fee.
U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz issued a statement after Swartz's suicide that read in part, "At no time did this office ever seek -- or ever tell Mr. Swartz's attorneys that it intended to seek -- maximum penalties under the law."
Still, some scholars believe the Swartz prosecution is symptomatic of a fundamental shift in tactics at U.S. attorneys' offices across the country, as well as for local prosecutors.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/02/15/win-at-all-costs-suicide-computer-whiz-prompts-look-at-federal-prosecutors/#ixzz2L1hIluUt
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Trying to force him to make a deal.
Trying to force him to make a deal.
Conrad Black has written extensively on the subject.
Reminds me of the time in a sham ‘family court’ when the judge told me that a case worker is allowed to lie to parents. It’s ok to LIE when it can be construed as a means to an end. This was family court crap.
The really insidious thing about this tactic is this: assume you’re innocent of a crime, but you’ve been charge with 50 counts of something, each of which might land you in prison for ten or more years. You’re offered a plea bargain that will net you maybe a year in prison and a fine. Now you’ve got to ask yourself: do I plead guilty, and take the infamy of a felony conviction, or pursue my rights, knowing I’m innocent, and run the risk of having my life completely ruined?
“...the feds have used certain techniques that virtually assure convictions of both the innocent and the guilty, the wealthy and the poor, the violent drug dealer and the white collar defendant, indifferent to the niceties of “due process of law,” particularly the right to effective assistance of legal counsel.
“In order to prevent a defendant from retaining a defense team of his choice, federal prosecutors will first freeze his assets, even though a jury has yet to find them to have been illegally obtained.
“They then bring prosecutions of almost unimaginable complexity, assuring that the financially hobbled defendant’s diminished legal team (or, as is often the case, his court-appointed lawyer) will be too overwhelmed to mount an adequate defense.”
(Conrad Black is mentioned here BTW.)
If you've been charged, your life is effectively ruined, regardless of the outcome.
Assuming that is correct, extrapolate the correct response. Killing people or offing yourself are not solutions.
/johnny
A little bit of truth in advertising might be helpful, if unexpected, from the media.
The statue doesn't matter - what counts is the sentencing guidelines. The sentences contained in the laws passed by congress are mere political theater. A judge is going to have to come up with extraordinary justification if he tries to vary from the much lower dictated guidelines.
“And it was all for downloading millions of academic documents that were available at the M.I.T. Library for a small fee. “
The small fee varied from 13 to 39 dollars. So he stole several tens of millions of dollars worth of someone’s property.
He felt that some types of property should not be owned, but shared with all, unfortunately the owner of the property did not agree.
It was a technicallity.
/johnny
Plus they force your employer to let you go, in many cases, by threatening to extend the investigation into the suspect’s work. Plus there are articles about you in the local paper.
No job, no money, no good lawyer...explains why the feds have a 99% conviction rate.
.
“...the feds have used certain techniques that virtually assure convictions of both the innocent and the guilty, the wealthy and the poor, the violent drug dealer and the white collar defendant, indifferent to the niceties of “due process of law,” particularly the right to effective assistance of legal counsel.
“In order to prevent a defendant from retaining a defense team of his choice, federal prosecutors will first freeze his assets, even though a jury has yet to find them to have been illegally obtained.
“They then bring prosecutions of almost unimaginable complexity, assuring that the financially hobbled defendant’s diminished legal team (or, as is often the case, his court-appointed lawyer) will be too overwhelmed to mount an adequate defense.”
(Conrad Black is mentioned here BTW.)
Federal neo-Nazi prosecutors get away with this crap because Congress refuses to stop it. Congress could rein in these neo-Nazis tomorrow, but it won’t because it suits their quest for money and power.
It now falls to ordinary citizens to end this abuse of power. I know that a number of FReepers don’t like what happened in Libya with Khaddhafi, but the citizens there sure ended the abuse by decorating lampposts with politicians, bureaucrats, lawyers, generals and mercenaries.
When I was in Law School I once started an answer to a professor’s question with, “Well, common sense would tell you....” I was shot down immediately and the professor made a comment something along the line that “common sense was not applicable to the law.”
Yeah, no kidding.
Prosecutors do this all the time, hell, it is such a threat to your liberty, if a private citizen did that to someone they would go to jail for assault or harassment or both.
That's the problem with the so called 'justice' system. No common sense.
/johnny
at the same time our Government spends millions in schools fighting “Bullying”
While it does need to be looked at, my daddy taught me from a young age: Don’t start none, and there won’t be none, son.
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