‘Testilying’ by Police: A Stubborn Problem

Re:‘Testilying’ by Police: A Stubborn Problem by moate on Tuesday March 20, 2018 @04:39PM (#16632371)

DA's have to walk a tightrope, because if they push too hard in an investigation on a cop, they now find the well of police cooperation drying up on them. It's worse for their career to undermine their own ability to get convictions than it is to take on a cop here or there (I feel like the equation changes when you can make a career move like uncovering department-wide corruption).

I agree with you that if you have a different district/office handling this sort of stuff. But it always comes down to Who's Watching the Watchmen. Checks and balances are hard AF.

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Re:‘Testilying’ by Police: A Stubborn Problem by LordKano on Tuesday March 20, 2018 @04:48PM (#16632472)

When a police officer does face charges, uniformed cops will show up en masse as a "show of solidarity" with the defendant but in reality they're trying to intimidate and influence the jury.

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Re:‘Testilying’ by Police: A Stubborn Problem by dragonwriter on Tuesday March 20, 2018 @04:51PM (#16632500)

This is easy to control; while trials are required to be public, there is no reason a jurisdiction could not prohibit law enforcement officers wearing a uniform in court unless present in an official law enforcement capacity (e.g., acting as a bailiff.)

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Re:‘Testilying’ by Police: A Stubborn Problem by LordKano on Tuesday March 20, 2018 @04:54PM (#16632537)

It's not so easy to control because judges have to be re-elected or aspire to sit on higher benches and having police unions oppose you can make that more difficult.

There's a reason why there are more former prosecutors on the bench than former defense attorneys.

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Re:‘Testilying’ by Police: A Stubborn Problem by dragonwriter on Tuesday March 20, 2018 @04:59PM (#16632593)

> It's not so easy to control because judges

Judges don't make laws (well, at least, they aren't the ones I'm talking about with a jurisdiction-wide, state or federal, prohibition.)

Now, if you want to say that it's not easy to control because legislators and ultimately the electorate are biased toward and support this kind of police intimidation, that may be the case (though that's exactly saying it's not easy to solve because we, as a society, actively desire the status quo. It's easy to solve, it's hard to convince people it should be solved, which has always been the problem with civil liberties.)

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Re:‘Testilying’ by Police: A Stubborn Problem by moate on Tuesday March 20, 2018 @05:02PM (#16632621)

Point of order: There's more former prosecutors on the bench than defense attorneys for a myriad of reasons, including financial (public service, bribes excluded, doesn't pay as well) and personal (there are honorable defense lawyers who believe the system is corrupt and want to make sure it doesn't win when it shouldn't).

The fact that they've pissed off the cops may or may not factor into it. Not saying you're wrong, just that it's not quite THAT simple.

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Re:‘Testilying’ by Police: A Stubborn Problem by moate on Tuesday March 20, 2018 @04:51PM (#16632511)

Well now we're getting to the real issue with any of this stuff. It's not a great career move for a politician to make moves against the police unions, so trying to get more oversight laws is pretty hard. The unions are strong, their supporters are many, and who in their right mind would want to fight "law and order" that the cops represent.

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Re:‘Testilying’ by Police: A Stubborn Problem by kevin_b_er on Tuesday March 20, 2018 @04:54PM (#16632533)

I call this corruption. The police and the DA are both corrupt in that case.

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Re:‘Testilying’ by Police: A Stubborn Problem by TheCoelacanth on Tuesday March 20, 2018 @05:38PM (#16632940)

That is exactly why a special prosecutor should always be appointed and the special prosecutor should always be someone who would not directly work with any police organization connected to the case.

There is an inherent conflict of interest in having the person responsible for investigating crimes be someone who needs to work closely with the people and organizations who allegedly committed the crimes.

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Re:‘Testilying’ by Police: A Stubborn Problem by s73v3r_ on Tuesday March 20, 2018 @05:14PM (#16632724)

Then we need to fire them, and blacklist them from the industry. They are not deserving of being cops.

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