Path: utzoo!telecom-request Date: Mon, 17 Jun 91 06:17:28 GMT From: mnc@css.itd.umich.edu (Miguel Cruz) Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Re: What Len Rose and Al Capone Have in Common Message-ID: Organization: Univ. of Michigan ITD Consulting & Support Services Sender: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Approved: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 11, Issue 466, Message 5 of 10 Lines: 51 In Telecom Moderator (Patrick Townson) writes: > Neither the government or your attorney can ram a guilty > plea down your throat >if you do not want to go along. Check out the > Federal Court Rules of Procedure: Have you ever been in a courtroom, Patrick? The only time the judge goes through that rigamarole is when there's a court full of reporters. I've sat through plenty of arraignments in my past life as a reporter; never unless it was a media circus with full theatrics did anyone make an issue of why the defendant was pleading guilty (aside from the judge mumbling a single sentence reminding him or her that the choice to plead guilty is a voluntary one). Likewise the idea that the government only cuts deals when there's insufficient evidence to definitely win a trial is purely idealistic fantasy. The prosecuting attorney makes deals under the following conditions: * case backlog * no political value in winning a trial * questionable political value in pursuing the matter in the first place * has no case but a scared defendant * law is unclear on the topic Our legal system bears only the palest, thinnest resemblance to what's on the books; it doesn't take long to realize that, and the longer you look, the more you see it. I'd be surprised to see Len getting a fair shake one step of the way given the appearance of his activities to a technophobic law enforcemtn community; especially when someone as well-versed in technical matters as yourself offhandedly dismisses defense of his rights with "I don't care one iota about this free speech nonsense" (very paraphrased). Peace, Miguel [Moderator's Note: Why, uh, yes ... I've been in federal courtrooms here in Chicago a few times, and one of the finest federal judges in the nation, George Leighton (he has since left the federal bench) almost invariably insisted upon examining defendants at length prior to accepting guilty pleas, plea-bargains or deals, etc. He was very conscious of how the Federal Defender's Office and the US Attorney would put their heads together for their mutual benefit ...and sometimes to hell with the defendant in the process! PAT]