The Grass Isn’t Always Greener

It’s not just the schadenfreude aspect, but the hope that some small part of the message sinks in to those zealots who belief that prosecutors sit at the right hand of God.  From the Chicago Tribune :

McHenry County State’s Attorney Louis Bianchi says he’ll never forget what it’s like to be falsely accused.

Bianchi and his secretary were indicted for conspiracy to “write and maintain political address lists, fundraiser correspondence and other campaign material on county time and computers.”  These horrible charges made Bianchi feel “humiliated” and “embarrassed.”  Makes one wonder whether he can appreciate how it feels to be falsely charged with something a bit more awful, say molesting a child.

Notably, Bianchi suffered the indignity of a bench trial and was acquitted.  While he will forever suffer from the memory of a false accusation, he will not be forced to live with the collateral damage, imprisonment, civil disabilities, disbarment, fun times in the exercise yard and shower room.  After his acquittal, Bianchi shared his limited epiphany:


 

And there were other lessons learned.

The day after his acquittal, he said, he told a grand jury hearing unrelated cases, “I want you to know how easy it is to indict someone. … I also remind the grand jury it can be a very manipulative, abusive process, as I have experienced … that it’s an important part of the process. It’s not just a rubber stamp.”

In addition to insisting on corroborative evidence, Bianchi said, “We have to be recognized for our courage not to indict people.”

Sounds fine.  Certainly better than the opposite, that they wouldn’t present if they weren’t sure the defendant was guilty. 

I had once suggested that all prosecutors ought to spend a week in prison, just to gain a little appreciation of where it was they condemned others.  In a  comment,  David Tarrell wrote:

People who cut down criminal defenders should one day face charges and have to realize that the rights of the best people are only secure so long as those of the most wretched are protected.

People who insist in the presumption of guilt should be accused of something and thus realize the immense power of government and the reason the presumption of innocence was adopted.

It was a good addition.  Bianchi seems to have gotten that message.  But it now seems as if the lesson isn’t adequate.  If Bianchi thinks it’s humiliating and embarrassing to be tossed into a holding cell with a bunch of guys in orange jumpsuits, then he has a lot to learn about embarrassing.  Try  Hope Steffy embarrassing.  Try being stripped naked and deloused, just because.  Or maybe a nice cavity search every time you have a lawyer visit.  Perhaps the feeling when your kid has to talk to you through a plexiglass wall after having been frisked on the way in.  There’s a lot of stuff that can be embarrassing, and that’s all before the acquittal.

The issue for me is that Louis Bianchi got only a taste, a tiny bite, of the problem.  He was acquitted.  That’s great, and kudos to his lawyer Terry Ekl, for a job well done.  But his acquittal also means he missed a big part of the experience, the joy of being convicted when he’s innocent.  The pleasure of hearing witnesses testify about what happened in some alternate universe.  The squeeze of his lawyer’s arm as a witness lies on the stand, and everyone in the courtroom just nods their head in blind acceptance.

And the wonder if your conviction is going to be one of the three out of one hundred that result in reversal, staring at a future of imprisonment in order to perpetuate the myth that this is the best system ever devised.

I should be appreciative of the fact that Louis Bianchi has learned from his experience, one that few prosecutors ever share.  And yet I can’t help but feel that it wasn’t good enough.


2 thoughts on “The Grass Isn’t Always Greener

  1. Patrick

    Counting down the minutes until someone suggests Scott should be mugged.

    Except wait, you’ve been mugged already haven’t you?

  2. Lee Keller King

    “I had once suggested that all prosecutors ought to spend a week in prison, just to gain a little appreciation of where it was they condemned others.”

    Scott, I like that idea. I know in police training they usually mace the recruits so they will know what it feels like (although more for the purpose of knowing how to deal with it and not for empathy building purposes). Why not send prosecutors for a little stay at the pokey?

    Lee

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