Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Sensitivity of the Word, "Thorough" by Marilyn Mosby

Recall the analysis of Mosby's speech indicating her focus.

Recall also the sensitivity regarding two words in particular, "independent" and "thorough" as repeated often.

The "independent" was sensitive as we learned about the connection to the White House was shown, but "thorough" as a sensitive point came to light recently.

The sensitivity seen in the constant repetition of these two words is seen as a need to convince that which is not true.  We saw the rush, also, with "thorough", particularly receiving documents and bringing out a conclusion within 24 hours.  Here, we have "thorough" come to light and why a political speech and an indictment announcement may not mix well:

from CNN:

Two of the arrest documents initially issued by prosecutors in the Freddie Gray case accidentally listed the wrong people. That’s right, the charges filed against Alicia White and Brian Riceaccidentally listed the wrong Alicia White and Brian Rice.
According to The Baltimore Sun, the Alicia White they initially wrote down works at an elementary school cafeteria in Baltimore and was getting lots of calls after the charges were filed.
And how much did that get screwed up? Well, as an attorney for White said, “The middle initial was off. Her address, her height, her weight, her driver’s license number – all of the information was my client’s information… Her life has been a living hell the past four days.”
Meanwhile, the Brian Rice that was initially identified was a plumber from Brunswick.
Wolf Blitzer brought the “pretty embarrassing” issue up tonight, and the CNN panel just kept piling on. Jeffrey Toobin called it potentially “indicative of undue haste on the part of the prosecutor and the authorities.”
Sunny Hostin called it a “public safety issue” and said one of the people wrongly identified tried reaching out to Mosby via social media, and was troubled that she didn’t return the message.

from Baltimore Sun:

Alan Dershowitz, the noted defense attorney, sharply criticized her for using her charging power as "crowd control." John Banzahf, a George Washington University law professor, predicted the eventual dismissal of most if not all the charges. The breadth of the charges, Ms. Mosby's overreaching, is all-too-obvious.
Any prosecutor interested in the truth and in justice would have used all the tools at her disposal to find them. Ms. Mosby ignored them. She has one of the most experienced homicide prosecutors in the state of Maryland as chief of her homicide unit, but did not ask him to investigate. She had the police report all of one day before filing charges, her mind already made up. And she failed to make use of the grand jury to gather, probe and test the evidence before a group of average citizens.
In fact, Ms. Mosby was so hasty it appears she locked up two completely innocent officers.  She charged Freddie Gray’s arresting officers with “false imprisonment” because she said the knife that Gray had on him was legal.  In fact, as The Sun reported, the Police Task Force found it to be illegal after all.  It was Ms. Mosby who had no probable cause to lock the arresting officers up, an injustice she could have easily avoided by taking her time. 
The Fraternal Office of Police called Ms. Mosby's charges an "egregious rush to judgment." It smacks more of a calculated push to the spotlight, filing charges after a mere two weeks. She conducted her own "parallel" investigation using her police integrity unit (the only unit listed on her published staffing tree missing the name of a supervisor.) She had no time to evaluate the crucial autopsy report, or consult with experts about its implications. In her haste to step into the national limelight, she circumvented normal charging procedures by grabbing a member of the sheriff's office to swear to their truth and file them for her. She calculated her actions for surprise and maximum effect, and she got it.
Published ethical standards prohibit the use of a prosecutor's powers for political (crowd control) or personal (career ambition) purposes. They demand that prosecutors be fair and objective and protect the innocence. Instead Ms. Mosby, without all of the evidence yet available to her, pandered to the public by promising "justice" for Freddie Gray.
In the long run, Ms. Mosby may be undermining the cause of justice rather than promoting it. She has created an expectation of guilt and conviction. If that does not happen, many will blame the system as unfair or unjust, when it may have been Ms. Mosby's own lack of competence and/or arrogance in bringing charges so quickly.
And she has created a new expectation in the city: that police officers who arrest without what she considers to be probable cause (a subjective standard) are subject not just to civil action (the current norm) but criminal action. Mere mistakes, or judgments exercised under duress, can land them in the pokey.
If I were a Baltimore police officer, I'd be looking for another job immediately. And as a Baltimore citizen, I may start looking for someplace else to live. When the police cannot depend upon the state's attorney to be as thorough, competent, non-political and fair with them as she is supposed to be with all citizens, none of us will be safe.

10 comments:

Unknown said...

Wow, super 'thorough'...

Mosby is a joke.

Anonymous said...

Totally off topic- but worth a view and read for SA concerns-

http://www.breitbart.com/video/2015/05/06/bill-clinton-hillary-didnt-know-about-a-lot-of-foundation-donations/

Tania Cadogan said...

Off topic

HARRISBURG, Pa. – Former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky is arguing that pretrial publicity, leaks and unprepared defense lawyers are among the reasons a judge should throw out his 45-count conviction for child sexual abuse.

Sandusky's lawyer filed an appeal Wednesday that says his constitutional rights were violated and his attorneys weren't effective.

The petition says Sandusky's right to a fair trial was "crushed under a stampede of vitriol, rage and prejudice" that warrants a new trial and ultimately the dismissal of charges.

The petition argues that the accusers' stories changed and that prosecutors' case was based on incompetent, unreliable and inadmissible testimony.

The attorney general's office says it's reviewing the petition and plans to file an appropriate response.

Sandusky is serving a sentence of 30 to 60 years in prison

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/05/06/jerry-sandusky-files-new-appeal-in-bid-to-have-child-sex-abuse-convictions/

Anonymous said...

Wow. Sounds like Ms Mosby has really fk'ed up. Guess we'll soon find out won't we?

Anonymous said...

Interesting. Nowhere in your post, Hobnob, am I reading where Sandusky is claiming to be not guilty in contesting his conviction. Guess I'll have to read the link you posted to see if he denies his guilt.

Sus said...

I'm also interested in her "false imprisonment" charges. Freddie Gray was carrying a spring action knife...illegal in Baltimore.

Dee said...

Sus, Mosby was playing with words. She said the knife was legal under Maryland law. From what I have read, that is correct. What she failed to mention is that spring assisted knives are illegal under Baltimore law, they have a statute banning them.

C5H11ONO said...

Agree!

Anonymous said...

I would have to read where Bill & Hilary are denying that they know who makes donations to their foundation before I'd be able to ascertain if they were using a play on words (parsing or straight out lying) or if they really don't know, which I'd find hard to believe since Directors of Foundation Boards DO take a percentage off the top of the donations that come into their foundation; that is, if either of them is on the Board of Directors of their foundation(s).

I can't imagine why they wouldn't be since the members of the boards of these non-profits pay themselves a very high percentage of the take, plus taking all their related expenses off the top as well, just for going around and soliciting more donations. Why wouldn't they?

These foundations are pure money makers! AND TAX FREE. ALL found money, yeah, better than winning the lottery.

GetThem said...

I don't like the word "independent" when referencing investigations. A few months ago something happened at the school and I called a meeting with the vice principal, guidance and the nurse. I was assured that an "independent" investigation was completed with all the children involved and that it was found to be a "coincidence." I won't get into details, except to say I pulled this particular daughter out of junior high within 2 weeks of the incident and she is now homeschooled.

There was NO coincidence and they wouldn't give me any details of their "independent" investigation. I lost my confidence in these school officials. How anyone could be so easily fooled by that many teens amazes me still.