Quote:
Originally Posted by Tyrone Slothrop
So we shouldn't prosecute anyone?
My own view is that local police and prosecutors are much more likely to abuse the broad discretion that they have, and that over-enforcement of the law against the wealthy and powerful isn't a thing.
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No. We should prosecute far fewer people, and we should stop trying to come up with novel theories on which prosecute people (bullshit like "honest services fraud," which can still cover almost anything).
I agree the state level is where you'll find the worst abuses. And I agree that targeting of wealthy and powerful people isn't widespread. The feds don't go after anyone they aren't damn sure they can nail. If you've seen an investigation of a political figure, you'll see the feds work assiduously to nail the politico, who often doesn't have much money. But the private sector people involved in the conspiracy -- the rich dudes who bought off the politico? The feds will often avoid going after those guys, or give them immunity or a sweetheart deal to flip on the politician. Why? Because those guys can afford to fight. They might actually win, and complicate the prosecution of the poorer members of the conspiracy the feds can usually spend into the ground. This is how you get garbage cases like the prosecution of that ex-governor of Virginia.
Same shit happens all day at the state level, too. They'll max out charges on poor people to run up the felony convictions but rollover and plead out to misdemeanors the minute a defendant with some money hires a lawyer to get in their faces and make them work. Why? So they can get that W/L ratio that gets them a promotion, or if they're really serious Tracey Flicks, a "tough on crime" rep they ride to a DA gig.
Bullies, top to bottom, in battles where they've brutally asymmeteric resources relative to almost all of their targets.
Justice is supposed to be blind, detached. But I don't think it was supposed to be nihilistic. People lament that Trump has turned politics into a pure power game? Get fucking real. Our court system is little more than a pure power game. He's just helping our political system to catch up to our "justice" system.
