Posted on 07/30/2020 10:01:08 AM PDT by Pete from Shawnee Mission
If Sullivan decides to push criminal contempt, he, the judge, files the charge. Flynn would defend, there would be a trial of sorts. at the conclusion of that, Sullivan would pass judgement. Crimoinal contempt carries fine, imprisonment, or both.
— Does the judge send you to jail just because he wants to? —
Yes, but he has to incant some rhetoric on the way. He tells everybody how he is impartial, unbiased, that the offense mandates punishment, etc. Say the magic words, off to the pokey.
I understand that. Contempt of court on what grounds? He was coercied into a plea deal due to prosecutorial misconduct and seeks to remedy his error. He lied saying he was guilty I guess unless you find out you really never lied in the prosecutor’s opinion once the prosecutor is not a slime ball. And over remembering what one said on a phone call. Lord have mercy.
The criminal contempt precedents are an interesting study, because of that unique quality. yet the caes law allows this supposed risk to impartiality, ironically on the grounds that judges are impartial, and must be allowed to defend that, as well as defend the integrity of the judicial process as a whole. It is an extreme power, to be used in extreme circumstances.
And it is used. There are plenty of cases. None that I know of for withdrawing a guilty plea.
-- In a contempt charge on those grounds, Judge Sullivan would have to aim to punish an innocent man whom the prosecution induced to falsely plead guilty. --
The legal mumbo jumbo for criminal contempt is "to protect the integrity of the judicial process." yes, I know its a crule joke, but that's what star chambers do.
-- courts have long prioritized getting to the truth of guilt or innocence --
Looks good on paper, but it's not the real world. Judges are petty tyrants for the most part, and don't you dare forget it. Samre for judicial misconduct - that is for "way out there" behavior, and Sullivan and the DC Ciruit are not so stupid as to obviously go that far. What makes this case different is that it has larger public awareness than most. Otherwise, i donb't think this sort of judicial conduct is all that uncommon. Not the norm, to be sure, but not rare. Look at how Congress behaves. Courts are not much different. Self-important arrogant people, with power.
He told Sullivan twice, under oath, that he accepted the charges and that he was guilty.
Whether the FBI agents interviewing him thought he acted guilty or not isn't relevant.
https://www.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.191592/gov.uscourts.dcd.191592.223.2_3.pdf
Start on page 60
Wow, just wow! The full force of the government, including threats against your family, is used to pressure you into a guilty plea - even while said government is hiding exculpatory evidence - and you risk being subjected to a contempt charge for changing your plea.
I must confess that I'm not a litigator so I don't have inside knowledge of how corrupt the judicial system is. (I do have a litigator friend, though, who said he has argued cases in front of judges who were sound asleep at the time. I suppose incompetence is preferable to corruption.)
Thanks for the post. And even if the dems lose the house of representatives, it would take 67 senate votes to remove Sullivan.
I get it. Get Flynn. That is just cruel to go after someone like this. Wonder how many years Flynn gets for trying to get out from underneath the power of the feds. I think he beats the contempt charge by documenting the lies of the gov in convincing him of a guilty plea. Eventually.
Neither was Nixon.
If Sullivan does go that route, max 6 months otherwise he has to empanel a jury, and that just isn't done for criminal contempt.
Federal Contempt of Court By Joel M. Androphy and Keith A. Byers
-- I think he beats the contempt charge by documenting the lies of the gov in convincing him of a guilty plea. --
Sullivan's MO is to do the damage, then rehabilitate himself by doing the right thing. He did that in the Ted Stevens case. Drag it out, make the accusation legitimate, Stevens loses his seat then Sullivan suddenly and without warning notices prosecutorial misconduct.
he shall have Power to Grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States ...
Criminal contempt is not an offense against the United States.
There is no remaining offense against the United States.
Wow! I will be watching what he does....
Yet the formal reasoning of the law still matters because it guides the parties and the judge toward an understanding of the issues and how to resolve them. In the more difficult kind of contempt proceedings, federal judges may appoint an attorney to investigate and prosecute and another judge to hear the contempt case.
Notably, if Judge Sullivan was on the level, he ought to have dismissed the case against Flynn but then kept him and the DOJ before the court for purposes of contempt and punishing any discovery violations. I am at a loss to understand why he did not do that except to cause problems for Trump and his administration by keeping Flynn in jeopardy until after the election.
Flynn's team foreclosed that option for him by filing the writ of mandamus.
I expect Sullivan to get a positive judgment from the full court and then, having demonstrated judicial autonomy, dismiss the charges.
Flynn’s petition for mandamus came only after Judge Sullivan set a hearing instead of dismissing the case. If he had dismissed the case, he could have reserved jurisdiction to address contempt and discovery violations.
In Sullivan's mind, and I suspect in the opinion of the DC Circuit, that's Sullivan's prerogative.
If Powell had kept her powder dry she would have probably gotten the dismissal but instead she had to try to big foot Sullivan.
Not sure she served her client well.
And if the Court of Appeals thinks well of Judge Sullivan, they can always toss him a bouquet by referring to him as learned and esteemed as they issue the writ. Any appellate judge who flinches from correcting errant trial judges does not belong in the job.
Thank you for that!
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.