Monday, May 25, 2020

A Dizzying Series of Unprecedented Court Moves

 Never in our nation's history, I would guess, has there been such a series of happenings in a court case -- bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, one after another -- that are each virtually unprecedented.
  When you get done reading this, decide for yourself if all this does not portend as an ominous warning that foundations of our nation are being dissembled right before our eyes. Our very judicial system is being assaulted.
  Bang one: A person having twice confessed to a crime and pleaded guilty, the confessions going to two different judges, then, with only the sentencing remaining, coming back and saying, Wait a minute. You tricked me. I've changed my mind. I just figured out that I'm innocent after all.
  Mind you Michael Flynn repeatedly assured Judge Sullivan that he had not been tricked. He was sure of what he was doing. And, somehow at this late juncture he wants to reverse course?
  How often in the annuals of high-profile cases in America has that ever happened? I venture to say, Never.
  Do not let it go unnoticed that if he assured the judge repeatedly that the FBI had not tricked him and that he had, indeed, lied about his communications with the Russians, then that means he was giving his word on that. If he comes back and changes his story, he either lied when he pleaded guilty or he is lying now.
  Bang two: The conviction is on the boards. The defendant has pleaded guilty. Only sentencing remains. And, at this point the prosecution comes in and says, We want to drop the case. It is not like this is at the beginning of the case, or even somewhere in the middle, and the prosecution suddenly realizes they don't have enough evidence or supposes their case is faulty. No. They've already won the case.
   And, now they come back and say, This Michael Flynn is a gem. What were we even thinking to even be prosecuting him? We were wrong from the git-go. Shame on us.
  Has this ever happened, in the annuals of American jurisprudence? If it has, it surely is rare. I've not yet heard of another such case.
   Consider this: The American judicial system was built on three components: a prosecution that fights for conviction, a defense that fights against conviction, and a judge that determines which is just. If the prosecution suddenly joins forces with the defense, or if the prosecution suddenly gains authority over the judge, your whole system of justice comes tumbling down, doesn't it?
 Bang three: The judge looks for someone to take over the case for the prosecutor. It is like the D.A.'s office is refusing to prosecute a case, so the judge looks to find someone else. Now, there are a lot of friends-of-the-court cases; Yes, there are a lot of times when friends of the court are involved. But, has ever a friend of the court taken up and carried on a case when the government stepped away and declined to pursue the case and wanted charges dropped?
  Remember, this is set up by the fact that of the three components of the court -- Prosecution, Defense, and Judge -- the Prosecution had refused to fulfill its role, leaving only a Defense and a Judge, so the Judge was simply seeking to restore the system. So, Judge Sullivan appointed retired New York federal judge John Gleeson to oppose the Justice Department's request to dismiss the charge against Flynn.
   Bang four: While a judge is reviewing whether to grant a motion to drop a case, a federal appeals court panel comes along and says, Time's up. You better explain to us why you're taking so much time. Now, once cases are decided the common procedure is to appeal. Obviously that is normal. But, for the appellate court to step in before a decision has even been rendered? It simply is highly unusual for a higher court to step in before the lower court has been had a chance to make up its mind in the first place. Unprecedented? I would not be surprised.
   Nor should it go unnoticed that pressure is being placed on Judge Sullivan as to what his should be. The insinuation behind saying, Hurry up and come to your decision, is that, And, you better decide to drop the case. Actually, it might not even be an insinuation. The higher court may be demanding Sullivan drop the case.
  Political pressure in there somewhere? Does President Trump want a certain decision, and is he is having his AG pressure Judge Sullivan? Donald Trump has made in his presidency a career of obstructing justice and has gotten away with it every time. This certainly smells of more meddling in a way that prevents justice and instead allows one of his cronies to go free.
   Bang five: A judge hires a lawyer to defend his right to be ruling in a case. He's weighing what his decision is going to be, and he hires a lawyer to back him up and say he had the right to be making that decision. Has ever a judge done this? Highly unusual, at best, if not completely unprecedented.
  At the end of this week, Judge Sullivan hired Beth Wilkinson to defend him in his decision to the federal appeals court.
   Look at the whole of what is going on. Never in American history has a president so abused his powers this way. Never has a president so dismantled our judicial system. Never has one made justice not a matter of right and wrong, but whether you were loyal to him. 

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