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Didn't Think It Was Possible, Pt. II

by: Dean Barker

Thu Aug 05, 2010 at 18:58:55 PM EDT
What a breath of fresh air it is to read a journalist who, instead of playing election season stenographer, actually takes the statements of a candidate and puts them in the context of real life consequences.

When others simply note the arrival of Ayotte's new ads on the Addison death penalty conviction, John Gregg of the Valley News adds this discomfiting insight:

The killing of a police officer, and the imposition of the death penalty, are solemn issues; whether it's appropriate to try to derive political advantage from such a case is a question each of us can answer for ourselves.
When others duly noted the opposition to Kagan that is basically pro forma among GOPer candidates, Gregg takes careful note that Ayotte didn't even bother to wait for hearings before declaring her judgment.  After listing the support Kagan received from several prominent Republican legal minds, he adds:
And U.S. Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., who has endorsed Ayotte as his replacement, last week said he will vote for Kagan, saying, "Ms. Kagan and I may have different political philosophies, but I believe that the confirmation process should be based on qualifications, not ideological litmus tests or political affiliation."

All of which raises the question: When it comes to the great value New Hampshire voters place on independent thinking and analysis, is it Elena Kagan who is out of the mainstream, or Kelly Ayotte?

(Didn't Think It Was Possible, Part I)
Dean Barker :: Didn't Think It Was Possible, Pt. II
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Didn't Think It Was Possible, Pt. II | 3 comments
Oh, and (4.00 / 1)
CONGRATULATIONS JUSTICE KAGAN!

Here's something from my inbox:

New Hampshire Democratic Party Chair Ray Buckley's Statement on the Senate's Confirmation of Elena Kagan as the Newest United States Supreme Court Justice

Concord - New Hampshire Democratic Party Chair Ray Buckley released the following statement applauding U.S. Senate's vote to confirm Elena Kagan as the newest Justice on the United States Supreme Court.

Elena Kagan is going to make a great addition to the U.S. Supreme Court.  She will be the 112th Justice appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate, but only the fourth woman in United States history to hold the post.

Ms. Kagan is a brilliant legal scholar with a distinguished record of public service. Prior to serving as President Obama's Solicitor General, Kagan clerked for Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, served as Associate Counsel and Deputy Assistant to President Clinton, and was the first female Dean of Harvard Law School.

I applaud Senator Jeanne Shaheen's decision to vote for Elena Kagan's confirmation.  And I am pleased that Senator Gregg decided break with the majority of Republicans in the Senate and support this highly qualified individual.

I also want to offer my congratulations to Elena Kagan on her confirmation.  I have absolute faith that she will be a voice of reason and justice on the high court, bringing together differing opinions, as she has throughout her entire career.



birch, finch, beech
Kagan was confirmed 63-37 (4.00 / 1)
Under the new Republican rules, they needed to get a few Republicans to back her. If she had won 58-42, their based would have been outraged that they had not filibustered.

Prosecutors are in a unique position. There's a presumption (0.00 / 0)
of total objectivity because they simply act as transmitters of information from law enforcement to the judiciary and, consequently, they enjoy, as a matter of tradition (not law) absolute immunity from being called to account for the performance of their duties.  Defendants who consider themselves to have been wrongly convicted cannot fault the prosecutor for negligence or malfeasance nor bring a civil suit against him.  Indeed, in a recent case before the SCOTUS, the justice department argued that even when it had been shown that a prosecutor manufactured evidence that led to innocent men being sent to prison for 27 years, the victims had no case because "there is no right not to be framed."
Since the SCOTUS seemed unconvinced in oral argument, the defendant county settled and avoided a precedent-setting ruling that might well have negated the prosecutors' absolute immunity.  
In any event, it seems that this peculiar status, which is apparently blind to the potential that a person's ambitions for advancement to higher office might intrude, turns some people into petty autocrats, responsible to no-one.  That seems to have been the case with Martha Coakley and may be true of Ayotte, as well.  Her grand-standing on the death penalty case was disgraceful from the start.
Didn't Think It Was Possible, Pt. II | 3 comments

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