quote:

ORIGINAL: erieangel

Just because "it happens all the time" doesn't make it right.  Yes, I can see somebody who habitually speeds or gets in auto accidents being required to go some kind of driver safety class--on their own dime, as it protects life.  But those drivers should also be paying fines, etc, not doing classes instead of.  But this offer of no prosecution if the arrested protesters will subject themselves, at their own expense, to reeducation, smacks of nothing more than the DA's office being afraid they won't get convictions.  At least with conviction, some money will come to LA county in the form of court costs and fines.  Misdemeanor charges seldom result in jail time.

quote:

ORIGINAL: tj444

quote:

ORIGINAL: Hillwilliam
Not if the lawyers own the schools. A few sweetheart deals with a judge or two would make it a lot more profitable than courtroom time. I'm not saying that diversion for first time offenders isn't an excellent idea but this smacks of "Reeducation Camps" that are so popular in totalitarian countries.

Hopefully the ones that take the class will learn what they can do and cant do when they protest the next time and they will be more careful to avoid being arrested.. They can use it to their advantage if they want to, some will, some wont..

quote:

ORIGINAL: tj444

They pay both. DAs arent afraid of not getting convictions, they just look at the balance sheet and it saves taxpayers court time, legal costs,

quote:

ORIGINAL: Hillwilliam
I have news for you.  If the police want to arrest a given person, they can ALWAYS come up with a reason.  There is no such thing as what you can or can't do to keep from being arrested short of never going out.  Even then, there is no guarantee.

This so called 'class' is a moneymaker for the attorneys.

quote:

But, if they dont stand together, it wont work.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Hillwilliam

quote:

ORIGINAL: tj444
They pay both. DAs arent afraid of not getting convictions, they just look at the balance sheet and it saves taxpayers court time, legal costs,

That is incorrect.  Assistant DAs (the DA is primarily an administrator but he will jump in and take a high profile case for the publicity come election time) are rated, promoted and/or retained primarily based on their conviction rate.

They don't give a rat's ass about taxpayers money, court time or legal costs.  All they care about is getting some type of conviction.  For them, getting a guilty plea in exchange for pretrial diversion counts as a conviction.
On the other hand, I have seen a DA ask for extension after extension from the judge and keep offering deal after deal to the defendant on a totally hopeless case knowing that the defendant would finally wear down and plead guilty to something minor in exchange for a small fine just so he didn't have to miss more days of work.

A good friend of mine that I grew up with is an assistant DA for about the last 25 years and the attorney I use for personal stuff was DA for about 10 years.  Fun stories they tell.

quote:

ORIGINAL: tj444

quote:

ORIGINAL: Hillwilliam

quote:

ORIGINAL: tj444
They pay both. DAs arent afraid of not getting convictions, they just look at the balance sheet and it saves taxpayers court time, legal costs,

That is incorrect.  Assistant DAs (the DA is primarily an administrator but he will jump in and take a high profile case for the publicity come election time) are rated, promoted and/or retained primarily based on their conviction rate.

They don't give a rat's ass about taxpayers money, court time or legal costs.  All they care about is getting some type of conviction.  For them, getting a guilty plea in exchange for pretrial diversion counts as a conviction.
On the other hand, I have seen a DA ask for extension after extension from the judge and keep offering deal after deal to the defendant on a totally hopeless case knowing that the defendant would finally wear down and plead guilty to something minor in exchange for a small fine just so he didn't have to miss more days of work.

A good friend of mine that I grew up with is an assistant DA for about the last 25 years and the attorney I use for personal stuff was DA for about 10 years.  Fun stories they tell.

then maybe the DAs that did that shouldnt have been DAs in the first place.. In Canada the Sherrif, DAs, etc arent elected so they dont need to play those kinds of games.. I dont understand why they are elected in the US but that seems to be the way Americans want it..

Actually, in SoCal, if you take the class it is supposed to nullify your guilty plea, you appear before the judge with proof you completed the class and he dismisses the charges.. at least the cases i have seen..

quote:

You forgot to take your anti-hyperbole pills this morning.

quote:

ORIGINAL: DaddySatyr

This is very scary, indeed. This judge had better hope that no one that works for him every worked for this company and vice-versa. This smacks of the potential for payola.

Whether there's any actual wrong doing or not, I don't like this idea. I mean, it's a stretch, obviously, but didn't Hitler force people to join the Nazi party by threat of jail? Can you imagine: "Okay. You've been ticketed for spedding twenty miles an hour over the speed limit. Just donate $250 to the Catholic church and we'll forget the whole thing"?

I'm being a bit extreme to make a point but forget who got arrested and for what; does this scare anyone besides me? The potential; for bastardization of how many of our core ideals is very real, here.

Watching is Brother Big.


Peace and comfort,


Michael

quote:

ORIGINAL: MrRodgers
America is on its way to fascism. Etymologically, the natural instinct of the capitalist. Clearly people, 'we the people' do NOT have a right to to peaceably assemble for a redress of our grievances.