D L X From United States of America, joined May 1999, 10561 posts, RR: 53 Reply 1, posted (2 years 9 months 1 week 3 days 7 hours ago) and read 994 times:
PacNWjet From United States of America, joined Sep 2000, 839 posts, RR: 0 Reply 2, posted (2 years 9 months 1 week 3 days 5 hours ago) and read 946 times:
Quoting flanker (Thread starter): Not surprised at all. A really weak case by the feds.
It is perhaps worth noting that the U.S. attorney who brought the case, Patrick Fitzgerald, is the same prosecutor who led the investigation in the Valerie Plame case. In that case, after all the investigation and all the charges made in the media, Fitzgerald also came up with a single count of making false statements (which he brought against I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby). Fitzgerald is pretty good at laying "perjury traps," but so far the big fish has eluded him in the two most celebrated cases he has prosecuted in recent years.
ltbewr From United States of America, joined Jan 2004, 12335 posts, RR: 12 Reply 3, posted (2 years 9 months 1 week 3 days 5 hours ago) and read 935 times:
Blago's attorney has already announced that he will appeal the only conviction. The Government has already said they will retry him on some of the charges. Still, 3 out of the last 4 governors of the State of Illinois have been convicted of crimes commited in elected positions.
I think in the end, enough of the jurors believed that what Blagovich was doing, to trade for campaign contibutions for his choice of who was going to replace Obama that while wrong is just real life politics, not really illegal. I also think many people don't like wiretaps and snooping on phone and so on for such persons (but ok for Terrorists or murderers).
Perhaps we need to see a national standard for the replacement of resigning/dead US Congressmembers or Senators on the states to reduce the bargining we saw here. Yes, the Governor can make proposed appointments, but perhaps State Legisgative committees should hold hearings of potential canidates, then then State legisgature would approve the final choice. This would remove the bargaing power of the Governor as well as give the people via their reps a say in clearing and approving of replacments.
BMI727 From United States of America, joined Feb 2009, 14352 posts, RR: 26 Reply 4, posted (2 years 9 months 1 week 2 days 23 hours ago) and read 862 times:
Quoting PacNWjet (Reply 2): Patrick Fitzgerald, is the same prosecutor who led the investigation in the Valerie Plame case.
He also lead the case against some guy in New York who they had to try three times before convicting him recently.
Quoting ltbewr (Reply 3): Perhaps we need to see a national standard for the replacement of resigning/dead US Congressmembers or Senators on the states to reduce the bargining we saw here.
I think that would be in order.
Why do Aerospace Engineering students have to turn things in on time?
Pyrex From Portugal, joined Aug 2005, 3538 posts, RR: 28 Reply 5, posted (2 years 9 months 1 week 1 day 17 hours ago) and read 772 times:
Quoting flanker (Thread starter): Not surprised at all. A really weak case by the feds.
Apparently the jurors were 11-1 in convicting him on the other counts but there was one lonely standout... I wonder how much money her bank account has seen in the past weeks pouring in from the Chicago political machine.
On a more seriois note, how is it even possible that one single person has the power to prevent someone from doing the time they deserve? The potential for abuse just seems so tremendous.
Read this very carefully, I shall write this only once!
asturias From Spain, joined Apr 2006, 1934 posts, RR: 17 Reply 6, posted (2 years 9 months 5 days 6 hours ago) and read 677 times:
Quoting Pyrex (Reply 5): On a more seriois note, how is it even possible that one single person has the power to prevent someone from doing the time they deserve? The potential for abuse just seems so tremendous.
Which is why we use civil law
But well, you'll find people defending common law with religious fervor, so if they like it.. they can keep it.
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