10 thoughts on “The Beginning Of Justice”

  2. In a just world, police wouldn’t kick down the door of your baby daughter’s bedroom in the middle of the night, either.

    But, alas, we live in an imperfect world.

  3. Good for him. Lets hope he can get eventually get compensation for the hell they put him and his family through.

    And Balko is a hero of a journalist.

  4. I think of how many others will not get justice. This story is so full of human weakness and corruption. Sadly it may not be atypical. Do you think the Martians will believe me when I say, “I’m not with them!” (I’m certain many here will 😉 I was switched at birth from Centauri after all. Not Andromeda… I’m not thaaat faaar out?)

    This could not happen if people cared to be the people they could be. I understand the motivation for corruption, but I just don’t understand corruption. It really, really, really makes no sense to me.

  5. Wow. Lots of interesting questions and issues.

    I have been issued and have been using a “belt tape recorder” for over a decade. It is required even for minor public contacts and especially for situations that may result in legal action. So what do the “audio tapes” show? No tapes? Hmmm. In a serious criminal case I would think that the burden of proof would almost scream at the lack of a $20 piece of equipment.

    If the judge “rubber stamped” the warrant at what point might he become culpable?

    I would think the accusation by the defense that he was fired from his position during the ongoing defense of his client would garner significant response at the state or federal level upon appeal.

    In my neck of the woods we constantly weigh the risks of action against the risks of inaction. This is why our vehicle chase policy amounts to “you can’t chase ’em if you can’t shoot ’em”. The start of the chase brings the possibility of great bodily harm or death. Thus, if the possibility didn’t exist before the chase then the chase is making things more dangerous for the community. So, what level of threat is the sale and distribution of pot? There is violence related to illegal drug market in general but does that exceed the specific possibility of violence and injury of the service of the warrant?

    Often mistakes are best brought to light by comparing “what if things were different” cases. An informant comes to me with information of a drug house. I send out a plain clothes detective to scout the area and possibly speak to neighbors about activity at the house. I have the informant walk the detective to the door to watch a buy or have the informant make a controlled buy. When the warrant is served there are multiple belt tapes. The threat of inaction is weighed against the action and alternative actions.

    So, in my humble opinion the bigger questions here beyond the problems with this case are why do we as a community feel that these tactics were needed and how do you insure that rights are respected.

    Has the government co-opted the “terrorism and homeland security” bandwagon to help funnel cash into projects in law enforcement. Are the law enforcement projects really needed to save us all or are they make work projects that governments use to justify their very existence?

  6. Are the law enforcement projects really needed to save us all or are they make work projects that governments use to justify their very existence?

    I read an article the other day that was castigating the JTTF. But what I was reading (not intended by the author) was that the JTTF was doing a hell of a good job. Intelligence is exactly the right approach for dealing with terrorism.

    While entrapment is certainly a possible danger, the christmas tree bomber in Oregon made his intent clear. The more people we find like that and remove them from society the better.

    OTOH, smashing in the door of a private residence (especially when people including children may be sleeping inside) needs to be done with the utmost restraint. It would seem to me that crashing the door with a dozen officers might not be as good as leaving one officer to observe for a day to see if illegal activity is actually occurring and call in reinforcements only after determining the true situation. Knocking down anyones door on just a tip seems a bit over zealous at the least.

  7. This is one of those cases that has bothered me for years. Ironically, it was the imposition of the death penalty and the steadfast refusal of the various judicial officials of Mississippi to accept anything less than death for this man that has made it possible for Corey Maye to receive a second chance at justice. If he had been sentenced to life, or his sentence had been commuted, this case would not have gotten the attention it deserves and he would be almost certainly be spending the rest of his life in jail.

  8. Any time one hauls out the paramilitary gear there should be an always-on wireless video camera attachment to the rifles that is under judicial seal/control.

  10. @Al “Any time one hauls out the paramilitary gear there should be an always-on wireless video camera attachment to the rifles that is under judicial seal/control.”

    I agree with that. Take taxpayer dollars, be accountable to taxpayers.

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