The District Attorney in Galveston has dropped online bullying charges after a local blogger was arrested at his home last week for online criticisms of a city council candidate's spouse. This wasn't a spur of the moment charging error but a big, fat public flip flop on a politicized prosecution. "Clear Lake Shores interim police Chief Kenneth Cook said his office worked with the district attorney before charges were filed,"
reported the Galveston Daily News.
Is this one of the circumstances where the Innocence Project is wanting to expand the ability of plaintiff's lawyers to file suit against prosecutors?
ReplyDeleteHaven't heard of any misconduct allegations yet, 7:01. What is your reference? Do you think the prosecutor broke some particular rule, law, etc.?
ReplyDeleteWouldn't the recommendation that a charge be filed which is later determined to be invalid or unsupported by the evidence be exactly the kind of misconduct that lawsuits should be allowed for?
ReplyDeleteWho says? The proposal at the Lege last year was to give prosecutors "qualified" immunity like police officers instead of "absolute" immunity they have now. Even so, it's still virtually impossible to sue police officers except in cases of extreme, sustained misconduct.
ReplyDelete@anonymous 8:00am -
ReplyDeleteWouldn't the recommendation that a charge be filed which is later determined to be invalid or unsupported by the evidence be exactly the kind of misconduct that lawsuits should be allowed for?
It seems difficult to use that as the definition of prosecutor misconduct. Many cases are supported by the evidence at the time they are filed, but when witnesses are unavailable for trial, the case no longer is supported by the evidence and must be dismissed.
Personally, I think immunity for judges should also be dialed back while we're at it. They are just as much a part of the system as prosecutors!
ReplyDelete