Let’s Put an End to Prosecutorial Immunity (2018)

Re:Let’s Put an End to Prosecutorial Immunity (2018) by bradleyjg on Sunday October 24, 2021 @06:00PM (#28982334)

This is a very American system solution and it won’t work. People go on and on about getting rid qualified immunity but it’s only a partial immunity and cases are still fairly frequently lost. Look at what happens in those cases—-the city pays a lot of money. The cops suffer no consequences at all. They pay nothing. They even often get overtime for participating in the trial.

Lawsuits are a failed means of regulation when it comes to state actors (they are a failure in regulating other things as well but that’s a different conversation). It’s time we admit that instead of insisting we just need this one more tweak.

Let’s put in place real political accountability and then empower politicians to make genuine reforms—-even over the objections of civil service unions.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Let’s Put an End to Prosecutorial Immunity (2018) by yeetaccount on Sunday October 24, 2021 @07:33PM (#28982927)

If the police unions don’t like your laws they don’t enforce them. If they really don’t like you, they don’t show up at your house when there’s an intruder. If they really really don’t like you, they are the intruder.

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Re:Let’s Put an End to Prosecutorial Immunity (2018) by Spivak on Sunday October 24, 2021 @09:13PM (#28983529)

Doesn’t the first one make sense though? Isn’t the refusal to enforce laws the check the executive branch, at all levels of government, has on the legislature?

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Re:Let’s Put an End to Prosecutorial Immunity (2018) by giantg2 on Sunday October 24, 2021 @09:29PM (#28983607)

I don't think so. They are supposed to set standards or make tweaks for how the law should be enforced. They aren't supposed to outright ignore it.

Just like judges are not supposed to legislate from the bench.

I think the misapplication and unequal enforcement of the law undermines the entire system. Nobody will think it's fair that they get prosecuted and some other person doesn't. Justice for all, my ass.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Let’s Put an End to Prosecutorial Immunity (2018) by ajsnigrutin on Sunday October 24, 2021 @07:45PM (#28983011)

> real political accountability

How about personal accountability of the officers involved? Person X did something illegal and ended up in jail. Officer Y did something illegal, and the taxpayers paid the wrongfully accused.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Let’s Put an End to Prosecutorial Immunity (2018) by bradleyjg on Monday October 25, 2021 @06:31AM (#28986242)

That’s the ultimate idea but since we have elected government as intermediaries between us and managing the police we need to fix the one in order to fix the other.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Let’s Put an End to Prosecutorial Immunity (2018) by ajsnigrutin on Monday October 25, 2021 @07:18AM (#28986484)

But if a mcdonalds worker rapes a customer, do we deal with Ronald or with the actual rapist?

Just locking up the cops involved would solve a lot of problems.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Let’s Put an End to Prosecutorial Immunity (2018) by bradleyjg on Monday October 25, 2021 @08:06AM (#28986857)

If a cop kills someone and the other cops drag their feet on the investigation and then the prosecutors sandbag the case in front of the grand jury, what can I random citizen do?

We need politicians that can and will hold these departments accountable for their performance, including their performance when investigating crimes by cops.

[ Parent | on HN ]