The truth hurts.
Sometimes, the truth really hurts.
Who decides what the truth is? Who decides what the entire truth is? Are those in obligation to find out going to follow the law and sworn duty while they seek?
What is sworn duty for a cop? What’s different in that oath than the sworn duty of a prosecutor, a defender, a civil attorney? What’s different in the oath between a public defender and a private defender? One would think they are all the same. In the eyes of the folks served, the law says they are the same.
Think again.
Read Colorado rules, ethics, procedures from the perspective of trying to find the common path between all three.
Then go read what they are all bound to, which are the statutes of state and federal law.
Even there in that holy writ of law, read from the perspective of an average citizen trying to find out ‘who’s on first’ and ‘what’s on second’ when it comes to finding the path to holding all three to their sworn duty when there is a simultaneous problem with all three.
Are you aware that in the State of Colorado, in a very similar manner as the bowels of Pitkin and Garfield county’s building, planning and zoning departments, where codes, rules and procedures twist, turn and mate for life while sealing the fate of so many in the construction, development and business industry; that there is a huge and gaping hole that has nobody in charge when there’s a problem with sworn duty in our judicial system?
Oh, there’s an agency that governs ethics and licenses and a commission that governs oversight of judges. There are bar organizations and ethics watch groups. There are definitely laws, rules and procedures that are very strict yet also tempered with the latitude for the personal discretion of the attorneys involved. In the case of cops, they have far less latitude in making judgment calls. Then there is the obligation they all share that if they see a peer or misconduct of any kind they are to report to the court or agency that governs.
Yet, in all this, the State of Colorado Colorado
In Colorado
Most discretion used by persons in positions of trust is honorable and trustworthy. Why worry then if you are an average citizen? Surely, someone along the line will do their duty. Is the problem one then, of relying on individual values or perceptions/interpretations of law? For certain, the former statement is absolute. Most, if not all to some extent, of our service people are honorable and trustworthy. For certain, the latter question is reality.
The way Colorado
In our judicial system, the judge has no access to the problem, the details and the evidence until the attorneys service the law. And then, the court is relying heavily on the trust placed in sworn officers of the court. How many judges in the State of Colorado
Sounds like it’s time for the lawmakers, elected by the folks in the State of Colorado, to have a similar ‘reckoning’ with our statutes, rules and procedures as Pitkin and Garfield counties are doing with their land use codes. Doesn’t it? Sure does. The scope of that thought swells when one realizes that just like county and city codes overlap; we have federal and state overlap in our legal system. The medical marijuana and illegal immigration laws come to mind as examples.
Are you a liberal? A conservative? Doesn’t matter in the least because the law is absolute. However, your political leanings do matter a great deal when you’re unknowingly electing the free will discretion of an attorney or a cop to office or electing to a position that does the hiring and appointing. What do you think of all the heat currently on presidential candidates Rick Perry and Newt Gingrich for their hard stance on cleaning up our judicial system? What do you think of presidential candidate Barack Obama asking for more leniency and discretion of sworn officials?
The truth is not complicated. It is not a lot of media flap or even a personal manifesto or open declaration of war with your peers.
The truth is that the law and sworn duty are absolute. Service of both comes first and prior to discretion.
The truth, is that we are a country that has allowed the greatest, most fair and honorable justice system in the world to be tainted by the twists and turns of human beings that have forgotten that the law and oaths to duty are absolute and that they have only their own job to do within the system. Their scope and focus does not overlap into their fellows duties. That is the law and the law is absolute. It is also what our constitution and Bill of Rights mandates.
Cops should never act in a capacity where they are concerned in any way with what a lawyer might need in court. There is no need in any way if they would simply follow their training and their oath to enforce not serve the law. They do not work as an agent for anyone, especially prosecution. One of the most wise comments ‘SandBox Nanny’ has heard on this forum likely came in from a cop: “Old cops know that the best they can do in duty is to prove innocence.”
Attorneys, both prosecution and defense, hold only one job. To serve the law. In our adversarial system, justice is usually found when that creed, that oath is held to the highest standards. The law is absolute. The courtroom is not where we go to find answers or the truth. That was supposed to have been done by law enforcement and prosecution before charging. The law is absolute and that is the law.
It is the job of attorneys, after the burden is fully met and an accusation becomes a charge and the charge becomes a case; to place the integrity of the court into both sides hands, serve that integrity fully and then offer up the end result to the hands of the judge and jury. That is the law and the law is absolute.
It is the job of attorneys, after the burden is fully met and an accusation becomes a charge and the charge becomes a case; to place the integrity of the court into both sides hands, serve that integrity fully and then offer up the end result to the hands of the judge and jury. That is the law and the law is absolute.
We need cops, prosecutors, defenders and civil attorneys who do all they can to ignore the plethora of strategies, loopholes and reliance on those who came before them that laid the “it’s OK” groundwork to distort the lines.
Where the truth really hurts is when the distortion becomes the norm and discretion on any side can no longer be fully trusted as a result.
What an absolutely ridiculous bordering on the absurd, stall technique used by public defender Elise Myer in the case of ‘alleged cop-spitter’ Mark Brown. Good lord, determine whether or not they got that 20-minute taped rant legally and within Brown’s constitutional rights and if so, then defend the man with what you have within law to use. Where is it written that something very much tied to his alleged act against this cop is going to be “prejudicial” enough to be tossed? Give jurors some credit for having brains, your duty is obligated to protect the integrity of the court and you have an obligation to taxpayers to not waste time and money in stall tactics. Not to mention theatrics. If it is not “third-degree assault” to spit at a cop, then leave the theatrics and stall behind and go after the core root of that problem in over-reach. Give the folks some credit for brains and uphold the integrity of your duty to the court not the prosecutor.
What an absolutely ridiculous bordering on the absurd, grand-standing effort on the part of prosecutor Nedlin. Here is a drunk out of his head man, ranting at a cop in a police car for 20 minutes. Maybe the guy deserves the death penalty. To listen to Mr. Nedlin, one becomes ready to leap up and throw the switch. Strap him down! Give jurors some credit for having brains, your duty is obligated to protect the integrity of the court and you have an obligation to taxpayers to not waste time and money in over-reach, zealous prosecution. Not to mention theatrics. It does matter a great deal with the power you hold on whether or not you are over-reaching against an ‘alleged cop-spitter’.
The act of spitting on a cop is not only pure stupidity, it’s worthy of being prosecuted. Is it worth the ‘death penalty’? How come the folks aren’t hearing from the cop in this article, Mr. Travers? From the way it sounds from prosecutor Nedlin, he went ‘running’ into the prosecutor’s office ‘sobbing hysterically’ that he had been treated rudely in a ‘life-threatening manner’ by Mark Brown and waving this tape around as proof. From the way it sounds from defender Myer, Brown was tarred and feathered the minute the tape kicked on in the cop car. Who’s kidding here??! Cops, every day, are shouted at, spit upon, their units thrown up in, arrestees crying and pleading. They also have the latitude to audio or video their focus of interest. If he really did run to prosecutor Nedlin like this, then is this cop a rookie? Or is he simply at the mercy of prosecutor, defense and media discretion, did his job, put Mr. Brown in jail to sober up, wrote a report and walked away only to have DA investigators dig around in what he left behind and subsequently craft prosecutor Nedlin’s script? How does he feel about national coverage over the incident and the protection of the integrity of the judge he stands in front of having to sort out the ‘alleged cop-spitter’ incident?
Or is what we really have here a simple case of the DA’s office using their version of discretion and defender Myer using her version of discretion?
What is it that Judge Fernandez-Ely is now needing to fully rely on her discretion to sort out when reality is that she is stumbling a bit in the dark on the winding path of her court officers? When reality is that her only job is supposed to be upholding the law that is absolute.
With all of the above said, SandBoxBlogs sincerely thanks all our men and women of service to public duty. You are appreciated. It’s just that sometimes, the full truth hurts.
(Read the article? Follow the story? Click title. Comment to discuss)
7 comments:
Tens of millions. Minimum we spend in Colorado to cover judicial costs. The people pay for the cops, the prosecutors, the public defenders, the courts and corrections. We don't even gripe about it all that much. We complain about all other budget items but very little complaining about judicial and law enforcement costs.
It shouldn't be about the money. Because there are so few complaints it's fair to say that it isn't the money spent that's so hard to take right now.
What people can't take anymore when it come to prosecutors, cops, defenders and courts is the waste of garbage trials like this one. Just in our 9 district we have how many of these kinds of wars going on between prosecutors and defenders? Wasn't the last one something about a douche bag? They should just do the job. Stick to their own space and do just their job. This district attorney has one of the worst records we've ever had for pleadings and big case problems and the public defenders we have seem to drag it on forever. When all that adds up to millions of dollars just in this district a person really has to wonder how they are supposed to figure out who to vote for.
Maybe it should be based on personality and political beliefs because basing it on a sales pitch of experience and skills hasn't worked at all.
It's hundreds of millions, anon. Not tens. And that's just state level and not counting federal money kicked in and the money our counties and cities kick in.
The current push in politics to force prosecution to mandatory stop using the courts as testing grounds to investigate and put cops back into the old standard of straight police work would resolve a lot of the problems and strain on the judicial system. Impeach judges who stray into gray areas and limit their terms in federal courts. Get the politics out of district attorney and sheriff roles. Those should be state appointments. Turn their job scopes into performance related. They don't perform within the rules and perform to standard then they are out. Fired just like any non-performing employee.
We need more rules and guidelines. I can't believe what I'm reading here in Nanny's post. Why isn't there a seamless outline that holds every branch accountable with oversight and clear guidelines? How is it all supposed to function if the right hand isn't talking to the left?
The worst part about anything tied in to these kinds of crazy cases like the cop spitter and Baldwin up north and the constitutionality of douche bag is how many good programs and real needs like rehab centers, gang education and more boots on the ground taking care of real problems don't stand a chance because we have two public servants wasting every resource they are being given.
Now that's criminal. Lot to be said for the Sheriff Joe Arpaio school of thought.
Why has my post that commended Lauren Maytin for standing up to the over reaching problem in this district attorney with her constitutionality of douche bag case, been removed from this hub?
Your comment's content was not removed because of your encouragement of Ms. Maytin, 'anoymous'.
It was removed for your personal attack on Ms. Myer.
Go after the two core problems that this article, now nearly 5 years worth of local media, a handful of lawyers like Maytin and some within the public defenders office in the 9th, and more recently some judges are addressing.
Attacking your perception of anothers level of courage is not acceptable here.
Removing the politics out of the offices of the Sheriff and District Attorney will not happen. No more than water will flow uphill.
Not in the near distant future. Any presidential hopeful that is powerfully advocating complete judicial reform is worthy of being looked closely at. It will take a strong and steady hand that is willing to bend but not back down to get that job done.
The primary problem of our judicial system is burden. Like it or not, there is no room ever, for idealism in a district attorney. The job is strictly about numbers. The best prosecutors this nation has keep their zeal and idealism checked at the door and administrate on a case by case basis. If we could eliminate the dozens of cases in our district alone that should never see the light of a courtroom; we would have some measure of balance to our current problems.
If Martin had kept his complaints in 2010 held strictly to the organizational and execution problems of our public defenders office here in the 9th; he would have met with little resistance. We often fall prey to believing that these underdog defenders should not be held to a high standard when realism dictates they should actually be held higher than private sector defenders. Under Greer, we had administrative and organizational direction that flowed. Under Fang, we have more idealism and courtroom presence with less and at times very weak administrative control. A recipe for trouble when the same tenure holds a district attorney that is mostly made up of zeal and idealism.
The law is absolute. The commentary you have spoken is very well said, Nanny. We do have that gaping hole of nowhere to turn to gain on record help for our citizens when the problem is both sides to court officers and in one local case law enforcement as well. We rely heavily on the perception within judgment in our industry of service to criminal law. Counting our blessings that the few, the rare that slip through the cracks of judicial process happen not all that often, we are condemned when they do come along. That is as it should be because the law, is as you say, absolute.
We need more Lauren Maytins and her "Constitutionality of Douche Bag" declarations. Striking the chord of memory spark that God exists only in the heavens not in the D.A.'s office and that the law is absolute does have its merits once in awhile.
Here in the 9th the current primary problem resolves itself in 2012. Should Martin be so bold to step up to the race, he will lose. His biggest foes are moderate democrats, hard left base, a good portion of the law enforcement communities and primarily Garfield County and Rio Blanco county moderate and independent conservatives. I have said many times over the past three years that Martin should step down and let Jeff finish up. We do not need more divisive discourse in our district at this time. Should Cheney or Mordkin run, they will not be easy races. If they have an adversary to race with, they too will likely lose. We need the numbers game in the 9th, which is a game solely controlled by the D.A., to be scrubbed clean. It is one thing to laud websites that boast of big wins in press releases. It takes little effort in research to see the road to the win on each was filled with the same pattern as day-to-day life in the district. Lost pleadings and far too much blood zeal and high monetary outgo. Crime is not complex to handle at the prosecution stage. We need experienced, trained and duty driven leadership in our prosecutors. The loss of the dozens to tens of dozens smaller cases that should never have seen courtrooms is only shadowed by the few large cases that have catastrophic and preventable losses.
Straighten out the numbers game in the 9th and the public defenders have their loads eased. Both sides have strong merit in their complaints at this time.
In the meantime be grateful for both the Elise Myers and the Lauren Maytins while at the same time regretful of the necessity to have these kinds of displays.
It doesn't matter if no one steps up to run against Beeson in 2012. If he doesn't declare, the position will go to the governor for appointment. I'll run with reted on this one when it comes to Beeson or Mordkin running. They shouldn't and let us move on. Cheney I'm not so sure about, he's been pretty quiet over this last round of Beeson's sitting in office. Then again, quiet could just mean he doesn't want to have to clean up behind him.
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