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Mistrial in Baltimore

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simosfrostyone

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Shocker. Good that at least the jury system still works in Charm City. Way to go Madam Prosecutor.
 
Not surprised. They picked a weak case from the start....which will not help them in other cases going forward. You will be reading a lot about the prosecution's judgment...or lack thereof...in choosing this particular case in the coming days & weeks.
 
I read a good piece in the Economist or Atlantic that one of her professor mentors in law school stressed the importance of picking cases to make examples out of where overcharging may occur. It raises public awareness about the issue. I have no idea if that's what she did or not but that's what her mentor said he taught in a class she took with him.
 
Not following. That she should overcharge or shouldn't? Either way, it's pretty obvious why she brought these charges.
 
I don't remember the exact quote but it was in favor of prosecutors overcharging sometimes.

And what is the "obvious" reason she brought these charges?
 
Wakeforest22890 said:
I read a good piece in the Economist or Atlantic that one of her professor mentors in law school stressed the importance of picking cases to make examples out of where overcharging may occur. It raises public awareness about the issue. I have no idea if that's what she did or not but that's what her mentor said he taught in a class she took with him.
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Unless you believe in your professional ethics, of course. Besides that...
 
Well, prosecutors have an ethical duty not to intentionally overcharge. But she did it anyway because that was what the mob in the streets was demanding. Read the Bonfire of the Vanities. Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose.
 
Can't wait until I turn 35 or so to become cynical, salty, and detached from reality. Live it up boys.
 
Wakeforest22890 said:
Can't wait until I turn 35 or so to become cynical, salty, and detached from reality. Live it up boys.
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Hopefully you'll learn something by then. In the meantime, you already are pretty good at ad hominem attacks. So you have that going for you.
 
simosfrostyone said:
Hopefully you'll learn something by then. In the meantime, you already are pretty good at ad hominem attacks. So you have that going for you.
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He's also pretty good at being detached from reality. That comes from living in an academic cocoon. Ironically, one actually has to get away from academics for a few years in order to learn very much about the realities of life. That's a big part of the problem with much of the discussion on these boards.
 
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simosfrostyone said:
Hopefully you'll learn something by then. In the meantime, you already are pretty good at ad hominem attacks. So you have that going for you.
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I'm elite at ad hominem attacks. It comes from years and years of living amongst a bunch of idiots.
 
I mean it seems pretty ridiculous to throw around accusations of overcharging when there was a hung jury....at least one of the jurors was steadfastly convinced he was guilty.

There are plenty of times that people get flat out acquitted where we don't convince the prosecutor of overcharging
 
Milhouse said:
in boston
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Having lived in both Boston and North Carolina I can assuredly say idiots live in both places. It's just player's choice between your redneck, religion-clinging, gun-toting ignorant good ole boy versus your Southie, ridiculous accent, religion-clinging, ignorant bro who loves wearing gold chains.
 
MysteryMen said:
I mean it seems pretty ridiculous to throw around accusations of overcharging when there was a hung jury....at least one of the jurors was steadfastly convinced he was guilty.

There are plenty of times that people get flat out acquitted where we don't convince the prosecutor of overcharging
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I am not saying she overcharged because of the mistrial. (Actually, the guy should have been acquitted.) It isn't an overcharge; the case should never have been brought at all. Eventually they are going to file civil claims against these guys, but there isn't any criminality here. But not prosecuting wouldn't have pleased her constituency, to say the least.
 
Wakeforest22890 said:
Having lived in both Boston and North Carolina I can assuredly say idiots live in both places. It's just player's choice between your redneck, religion-clinging, gun-toting ignorant good ole boy versus your Southie, ridiculous accent, religion-clinging, ignorant bro who loves wearing gold chains.
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Add stereotyping to your repertoire
 
simosfrostyone said:
I am not saying she overcharged because of the mistrial. (Actually, the guy should have been acquitted.) It isn't an overcharge; the case should never have been brought at all. Eventually they are going to file civil claims against these guys, but there isn't any criminality here. But not prosecuting wouldn't have pleased her constituency, to say the least.
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I mean, like I said, when you get to the point where at least one juror is so convinced he was guilty that he's willing to holdout and force a mistrial (and we don't know, it could have been all but one juror thinking that), how can you claim the case shouldn't have been brought at all? It may have been a marginal case, one that could have gone either way (and effectively went both ways), but it's kind of hard to say, given the result, that the prosecutor was wrong to bring it.

We don't only expect prosecutors to bring cases that they are assured of winning.
 
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