- Joined
- Aug 27, 2005
- Messages
- 43,602
- Reaction score
- 26,256
- Location
- Houston, TX
- Gender
- Male
- Political Leaning
- Conservative
A financial manager for wealthy clients will not face a felony charge in Colorado for an alleged hit-and-run because it could jeopardize his job, the Summit Daily News reports, quoting the district attorney.
Martin Joel Erzinger, 52, director in private wealth management at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney in Denver, now faces two misdemeanor traffic charges for allegedly hitting bicyclist Steven Milo from behind then speeding away, according to court documents.
The gaping chasm between the rich and the poor pandiculates yet again.
You know, if you or I (Joe Ordinary) had hit this man, we would be going to prison. Never mind our jobs, we would be screwed. But, it's good to know that, if you are rich, the prosecutor will give you a hand up, and reduce the charges. I mean, this "innocent" man only hit the bicyclist, causing severe injury, then fled, leaving him on the road for dead. He didn't do anything that could be considered a felony, did he? After all, he has money, and an important job, which is way too important to jeopardize for the sake of some regular guy on a bicycle.
This prosecutor should be fired. Period. He should also be ordered to stop receiving blow jobs from important people at Morgan-Stanley. :mrgreen:
Article is here.
THIS is what the wealthy get for paying more taxes
that is the sort of silliness I was expecting. The rich do have the advantage of being able to afford better-or at least perceived as better-lawyers though there are few private attorneys-especially in federal courts (where the big fraud cases end up) who have the experience that federal public defenders do. But that doesn't come from the government giving the wealthy any advantage--rather it comes from the wealthy being able to afford 500 an hour counsel
Their wealth gives them access to the part of our legal system that allows $500 an hour attorneys that enable clients to buy their way out of trouble.that is the sort of silliness I was expecting. The rich do have the advantage of being able to afford better-or at least perceived as better-lawyers though there are few private attorneys-especially in federal courts (where the big fraud cases end up) who have the experience that federal public defenders do. But that doesn't come from the government giving the wealthy any advantage--rather it comes from the wealthy being able to afford 500 an hour counsel
You know, if you or I (Joe Ordinary) had hit this man, we would be going to prison. Never mind our jobs, we would be screwed. But, it's good to know that, if you are rich, the prosecutor will give you a hand up, and reduce the charges. I mean, this "innocent" man only hit the bicyclist, causing severe injury, then fled, leaving him on the road for dead. He didn't do anything that could be considered a felony, did he? After all, he has money, and an important job, which is way too important to jeopardize for the sake of some regular guy on a bicycle.
This prosecutor should be fired. Period. He should also be ordered to stop receiving blow jobs from important people at Morgan-Stanley. :mrgreen:
Article is here.
This is why I like mandatory sentencing laws.
But if the crime carries a certian number of years in prison then some prosecutor or judge can not lower the crime.mandatory sentencing is exactly that... sentencing... after a guilty verdict. You can't give someone a mandatory sentence if they are not charged with a level of crime that the sentence would apply to.
Seems it also comes from the wealthy being able to afford paying for a prosecutor as well. LOL.
Their wealth gives them access to the part of our legal system that allows $500 an hour attorneys that enable clients to buy their way out of trouble.
And it is the system that allows such counsel to manipulate it to favor his client.that is not a government provided advantage
that comes from the rich being able to afford counsel
Compared to how many other millionaires that have gone free?and here in my district a 10 million dollar defense bill did not save Steve Warshack (Smiling Bob-the trouser snake oil salesman) from getting 25 years in the federal slammer.
And it is the system that allows such counsel to manipulate it to favor his client.
Compared to how many other millionaires that have gone free?
Not being an encyclopedia of legal case histories, I couldnt possibly answer this question.tell me all the cases where "millionaires who were guilty beyond a reasonable doubt" managed to go free versus say poor black gangbangers who went free because witnesses were killed or afraid to testify
You aren't familiar with the concept of settling out of court?I have seen a few hundred felony federal criminal trials in my career and they mainly involve "poor" (in the sense that the 1040s filed by the mopes don't indicate much money-few report cocaine sales proceeds) defendants charged with drug, robbery or weapons offenses and somewhat prosperous white collar fraud defendants. And I have yet to see anyone in the latter get off because they had really good lawyers or they "bought" their way out
Not being an encyclopedia of legal case histories, I couldnt possibly answer this question.
You aren't familiar with the concept of settling out of court?
Wealth can get one a better counsel that can manipulate a broken system and get a lower sentence or the case dismissedin civil cases that happens most of the time
in criminal cases that means a plea bargain. under the current federal sentencing guidelines (no longer mandatory after "Booker") the breaks Mopes get are far less meaning many more are going to trial especially if they have a PD or an EAJ (appointed by the court free lawyer) counsel. wealth doesn't play much if any role in plea bargaining in criminal cases from what I have seen
Wealth can get one a better counsel that can manipulate a broken system and get a lower sentence or the case dismissed
prove it. I haven't seen it to any extent that makes it relevant
and it has nothing to do with de jure benefits huge tax payers get for paying 1000 times more taxes than the average voter.
do you know what the average income tax bill is in the USA?
And what extent would you consider it relevant.prove it. I haven't seen it to any extent that makes it relevant
Our justice system has a backlog of cases longer than a man can see and a bankroll of costs larger than the GDP of most small countries. We've become an overly-litigious society where our legal system is looked on like the lottery; a quick way to get rich. We've traded legal knowledge for ambulance chasers and Twinkie defenses. Our legal system is one in which a thief can fall through a skylight, hurt himself when he lands, and successfully sue the owner of the home he tried to rob.I also deny that the system is broken, the USA criminal justice system is the envy of the world. not perfect but far better than just about any other system. especially at the federal level
And what extent would you consider it relevant.
Our justice system has a backlog of cases longer than a man can see and a bankroll of costs larger than the GDP of most small countries. We've become an overly-litigious society where our legal system is looked on like the lottery; a quick way to get rich. We've traded legal knowledge for ambulance chasers and Twinkie defenses. Our legal system is one in which a thief can fall through a skylight, hurt himself when he lands, and successfully sue the owner of the home he tried to rob.
You're right, our legal system isn't broken. It's burning.
I also deny that the system is broken, the USA criminal justice system is the envy of the world. not perfect but far better than just about any other system. especially at the federal level
Envy of the world? What do you base that on?
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?