Jump to content

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 948
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Posted

Having  a powerful person's friend make a call working the good ole boy network to get your friend off smacks of white male privilege to me.  Yet they are all minority women. I'm confused.

Posted

http://www.ilpba.org/announcements/7249825

 

Quote

The Illinois Prosecutors Bar Association serves as the voice for nearly 1,000 front line prosecutors across the State who work tirelessly towards the pursuit of justice.  The events of the past few days regarding the Cook County State’s Attorney’s handling of the Jussie Smollett case is not condoned by the IPBA, nor is it representative of the honest ethical work prosecutors provide to the citizens of the State of Illinois on a daily basis.

The manner in which this case was dismissed was abnormal and unfamiliar to those who practice law in criminal courthouses across the State.  Prosecutors, defense attorneys, and judges alike do not recognize the arrangement Mr. Smollett received.  Even more problematic, the State’s Attorney and her representatives have fundamentally misled the public on the law and circumstances surrounding the dismissal. 

The public has the right to know the truth, and we set out to do that here. 

When an elected State’s Attorney recuses herself from a prosecution, Illinois law provides that the court shall appoint a special prosecutor.  See 55 ILCS 5/3-9008(a-15).  Typically, the special prosecutor is a neighboring State’s Attorney, the Attorney General, or the State Appellate Prosecutor.  Here, the State’s Attorney kept the case within her office and thus never actually recused herself as a matter of law.

Additionally, the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office falsely informed the public that the uncontested sealing of the criminal court case was “mandatory” under Illinois law.  This statement is not accurate.  To the extent the case was even eligible for an immediate seal, that action was discretionary, not mandatory, and only upon the proper filing of a petition to seal.  See 20 ILCS 2630/5.2(g)(2).  For seals not subject to Section 5.2(g)(2), the process employed in this case by the State’s Attorney effectively denied law enforcement agencies of legally required Notice (See 20 ILCS 2630/5.2(d)(4)) and the legal opportunity to object to the sealing of the file (See 20 ILCS 2630/5.2(d)(5)).  The State’s Attorney not only declined to fight the sealing of this case in court, but then provided false information to the public regarding it.

The appearance of impropriety here is compounded by the fact that this case was not on the regularly scheduled court call, the public had no reasonable notice or opportunity to view these proceedings, and the dismissal was done abruptly at what has been called an “emergency” hearing.  To date, the nature of the purported emergency has not been publicly disclosed.  The sealing of a court case immediately following a hearing where there was no reasonable notice or opportunity for the public to attend is a matter of grave public concern and undermines the very foundation of our public court system. 

Lastly, the State’s Attorney has claimed this arrangement is “available to all defendants” and “not a new or unusual practice.”  There has even been an implication it was done in accordance with a statutory diversion program.  These statements are plainly misleading and inaccurate.  This action was highly unusual, not a statutory diversion program, and not in accordance with well accepted practices of State’s Attorney initiated diversionary programs.  The IPBA supports diversion programs, and recognizes the many benefits they provide to the community, the defendant and to the prosecuting agency.  Central to any diversion program, however, is that the defendant must accept responsibility.  To be clear here, this simply was not a deferred prosecution. 

Prosecutors must be held to the highest standard of legal ethics in the pursuit of justice.  The actions of the Cook County State’s Attorney have fallen woefully short of this expectation.  Through the repeated misleading and deceptive statements to the public on Illinois law and circumstances surrounding the Smollett dismissal, the State’s Attorney has failed in her most fundamental ethical obligations to the public.  The IPBA condemns these actions.

This irregular arrangement was an affront to prosecutors across the State, the Chicago Police Department, victims of hate crimes, and the people of the City of Chicago and Cook County.  We strongly encourage our members and the public to review the National District Attorneys Associations statement on prosecutorial best practices in high profile cases.

Best Regards,

Lee Roupas
President,
Illinois Prosecutor’s Bar Association

 

 

*mic drop*

  • Like (+1) 3
  • Awesome! (+1) 1
  • Thank you (+1) 2
Posted

"Central to any diversion program, however, is that the defendant must accept responsibility."

Agreed. Jussie's continued innocence 
claim amid all the evidence is what bothers me the most at this juncture.
Notwithstanding the whole hoax scheme.

  • Like (+1) 1
Posted
1 hour ago, Uncle Joe said:

"Central to any diversion program, however, is that the defendant must accept responsibility."

Agreed. Jussie's continued innocence 
claim amid all the evidence is what bothers me the most at this juncture.
Notwithstanding the whole hoax scheme.

 

 

he'll do it again

 

OJ couldn't keep his way straight and narrow

 

 

Posted
1 hour ago, Uncle Joe said:

"Central to any diversion program, however, is that the defendant must accept responsibility."

Agreed. Jussie's continued innocence 
claim amid all the evidence is what bothers me the most at this juncture.
Notwithstanding the whole hoax scheme.


That was what most people were saying right after this fiasco. An "I'm sorry" would have gone a long way.

The fact that this piece of ***** (juicy omelet) was willing to go down to police HQ to identify two random white guys and finger them for this hoax... that, more than anything, was why this man deserves to spend time in jail. 

Posted
22 hours ago, Koko78 said:

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/jussie-smolletts-lawyer-not-worried-fbi-probe-nothing-improper-done-185918660.html

 

This is actually brilliant on the part of Chicago. Either he coughs up the cash to reimburse the City, tacitly admitting guilt, or they go forward with a trial for reimbursement, meaning ALL of the Chicago PD files detailing the investigation become public record.

 

Nope this is a slippery slope.  Imagine the precedence this will set.  "All charges have been dropped but we know you did "it" so we going to charge you for the cost of the investigation!" 

9 minutes ago, Buffalo_Gal said:


The fact that this piece of ***** (juicy omelet) was willing to go down to police HQ to identify two random white guys and finger them for this hoax... that, more than anything, was why this man deserves to spend time in jail. 

 

This is the thing that pisses me off the most.  If they had pulled in two "random" white guys who just happened to be in the vicinity around the time of the "incident" you know damn well he would have pinned it on them.  Now could he point them out in a lineup?  Do they even do lineups anymore or am I too much of a Dragnet fan? 

  • Like (+1) 2
Posted
44 minutes ago, Chef Jim said:

 

Nope this is a slippery slope.  Imagine the precedence this will set.  "All charges have been dropped but we know you did "it" so we going to charge you for the cost of the investigation!" 

 

This is the thing that pisses me off the most.  If they had pulled in two "random" white guys who just happened to be in the vicinity around the time of the "incident" you know damn well he would have pinned it on them.  Now could he point them out in a lineup?  Do they even do lineups anymore or am I too much of a Dragnet fan? 

 

 

i think it was a pretty safe assumption there wasn't going to be any straight white guys walking around that area

 

 

Posted (edited)
13 minutes ago, row_33 said:

 

 

i think it was a pretty safe assumption there wasn't going to be any straight white guys walking around that area

 

 

 

it was 120,000 degrees below.  Who in their right mind was going out in that weather??  Oh that's right Jussie just happened to be going out for a sandwich and the Nigerian's in white face just happened to be out and about looking for him.  Actually:

 

Nigerians:  Hey man are we still on for tonight?  We got the stuff and are in white face

Jussie:  Are you ***** kidding me it's colder that a transsexual's tiara out there?

Nigerian:  Dude!  You promised us $2,500 and we're leaving for Nigeria in the morning!

Jussie:  Awww ***** hell!  Let's do it.  You got the MAGA hats right?  Please tell me you got the MAGA hats

Nigerian:  Yes!  And if you make it $3,500 we'll bring the noose

Jussie:  Christ on a crutch!!  Ok ok. Bring the noose. 

Edited by Chef Jim
Posted

the over/under of two white guys in MAGA hats making anti-black and anti-gay slurs out loud would be about 2 seconds before they faced wrath

 

 

Posted
1 hour ago, Buffalo_Gal said:


That was what most people were saying right after this fiasco. An "I'm sorry" would have gone a long way.

The fact that this piece of ***** (juicy omelet) was willing to go down to police HQ to identify two random white guys and finger them for this hoax... that, more than anything, was why this man deserves to spend time in jail. 

 

Shared racial guilt.  All white men are equally guilty of all hate crimes.

Posted

Suspect Wearing MAGA Hat Attacks Victim With Sword

 

Now that the headline is out of the way, let's roll to what happened.

 

Quote

 

The incident reportedly started with a verbal altercation before the victim tried to grab the hat off the attacker’s head. The man then reportedly grabbed a sword and slashed him in the hand, San Francisco police spokesman Robert Rueca told the local news outlet.

 

Scott Sweeney, a witness to the incident, told the Chronicle he recognized the alleged attacker wearing the red “MAGA” hat and heard him yelling homophobic slurs at the victim.

 

David Miles, owner of the Church of 8 Wheels roller-rink, posted a picture on Facebook showing the iconic red hat next to a pool of blood outside the establishment that garnered attention over the weekend.

 

 

Looking forward to the video.

Posted
2 hours ago, DC Tom said:

 

I see multiple rape/assault/harrassment/hair smelling accusations in his future.

 

He had a great cameo on Louis CK's show.... start the tumbrils and get the tricateuses knitting...

 

 

 

Posted

I'm not sure how I feel about this. What is to prevent this from becoming a revenue stream for cities if they deem reports are false or to collection on any investigation if someone admits to a crime (plea bargains out the window)? Will it deter people from filing any reports? Or only false reports?
 

Chicago Will Sue Jussie Smollett After Saying Actor Refuses to Reimburse City $130,000 for Investigation
 

</snip>
 

Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s law chief sent Smollett a March 28 letter demanding he pay $130,106 — plus 15 cents — within seven days.
 

The City Law Department said in a Thursday statement that Smollett had refused to pay, adding that it was already drafting a lawsuit in response and would file it “in the near future.”
 

</snip>

 

×
×
  • Create New...