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Re:The Criminal Charges Against Aaron Swartz (Part 1: The Law) by jlgreco on Monday January 14, 2013 @04:59PM (#5056939)
> It's the engineer in my that admires the division of responsibilities inherent in our system.

I don't know. I suppose I am just naturally suspicious of anything that allows someone to witness an injustice, take part in it, then wash their hands and declare that it wasn't their problem. Something about that just seems wrong to me.

Re:The Criminal Charges Against Aaron Swartz (Part 1: The Law) by rayiner on Monday January 14, 2013 @05:33PM (#5057105)
If Congress, the grand jury, and the judge don't see something as an injustice, how is it the prosecutor's place to second guess them?
Re:The Criminal Charges Against Aaron Swartz (Part 1: The Law) by danielweber on Monday January 14, 2013 @07:48PM (#5057739)
Every link in the chain is a chance for someone to stop injustice. If each link sees all the other links and says "eh, if it's important someone else will put a stop to it" then the system rapidly fails. (E.g., a President should not sign a law he thinks is unconstitutional because it's the SCOTUS's job to decide that.)

If we can't trust federal prosecutors with discretion because of past abuses, that's a specific and reasonable objection. But "other parties thought it was a good idea" dodges a lot. A prosecutor may be the first person available to witness how the law is being misapplied.

Re:The Criminal Charges Against Aaron Swartz (Part 1: The Law) by jlgreco on Monday January 14, 2013 @09:50PM (#5058287)
Good ol' superior orders.

As convincing as ever.