5 ms·
The letter doesn't support that the prosecutors are not following up and prosecuting these criminals, rather it says the exact opposite. Rather, the complaint
by gpm 5y ago
The letter doesn't support that the prosecutors are not following up and prosecuting these criminals, rather it says the exact opposite.
Rather, the complaint seems to be that the government is granting the criminals their constitutional rights to bail and a presumption of innocence before trial, that the prosecution is accepting milder plea deals than the railroad company would like, and that the court system is backed up.
Emphasis added to the below quote to support each of those statements
> Criminals are caught and arrested, turned over to local authorities for booking, arraigned before the local courts, charges are reduced to a misdemeanor or petty offense, and the criminal is released after paying a nominal fine. These individuals are generally caught and released back onto the streets in less than twenty-four hours. Even with all the arrests made, the no-cash bail policy and extended timeframe for suspects to appear in court is causing re-victimization to UP by these same criminals.
This is the railroads side of the story, and even it doesn't support the idea that the prosecutors are just "not follow[ing] up and prosecut[ing] these criminals".
Moreover the court system being backed up is not prosecutors fault, and not offering mild plea deals would just result in a more backed up court system...
There are probably some valid criticisms of the prosecutors here, but let's at least consider that there are tradeoffs they are making, and that this isn't something that is solely their fault.
- mywittyname 5y agoOur legal system is expensive, and much of that expense is baked into the constitution. Most of our justice system is designed to prioritize offenses that make money for the government/police/DA. Which means, focusing on drug offenses. Any crime tangentially-related to drugs can result in civil asset forfeiture. DUIs result in massive fines, so those get attention too. But theft is a cost-center crime and is largely ignored.
- throwawayboise 5y ago
- the_only_law 5y ago> Any crime tangentially-related to drugs Or lack thereof.
- avalys 5y agoIf people are being caught stealing from trains and the same people are walking out of court and going to rob the next train in the same location again the next day, then yes, the government, the prosecution and the court system are failing in their duty here.
- bsder 5y agoThen change the funding of the law enforcement system so that it is supported by tax dollars rather than fines. Then you can change enforcement priority as the offenders change priority.
- sp332 5y agoSure, but actively violating those people's constitutional rights would actually be worse. Without enough resources, there are no good options, but there are better and worse ones.
- asdfasgasdgasdg 5y agoBeing held on reasonable bail is not a violation of constitutional rights, is it? I mean I'm sure some people think it is but are there court opinions that have established this as a legal reality?
- Manuel_D 5y agoIf someone is let out on bail, and commits another crime, then their bail should be posted higher. A third crime would result in an even higher bail. The constitution only prohibits "excessive" bail. If someone continued to commit crime while out on bail, then clearly the original bail was insufficient to act as a deterrent.
- gnicholas 5y agoI see where you're going with this, but bail is not supposed to be a deterrent against future crime — it's a refundable payment to ensure defendants will show up for trial. You could try to deter criminals with fines, but this would have little effect on people who do not have significant assets. That's (one of the reasons) why we have prisons.