WHEN PROSECUTORS SPEAK HONESTLY ABOUT WHAT THEY DO

Friedrich Nietzsche once warned us to "distrust all in whom the impulse to punish is powerful."  As a criminal defense attorney, I am extremely passionate about preserving the rights our framers and founders held sacred.  The Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution demonstrate one very clear focus: the importance of a fair criminal justice system.  The rights to be free from unreasonable searches, the right against self-incrimination, and the right to a trial by jury were the conditions upon which the Constitution's signers granted our government power.  The rights have been vastly eroded over time, and barely resemble the civil liberties we are supposed to enjoy as Americans.

This video shows a Philadelphia Assistant District Attorney making a training video for young prosecutors.  The new DAs are taught to avoid black people, poor people and anyone smart enough to question the true meaning of reasonable doubt.  In the extended edition, the speaker even goes on to instruct the young prosecutors to strike white jurors who live in racially diverse areas, as they may not be as racist.  Later on in the hour long racist revelation of extreme injustice, he strikes a juror named "Raynard" for no other reason than...well you know why he's not picking "Raynard".  Beyond the racism, these practices serve to undermine the high burden of proof used in our criminal courts.

The good news about this video is that it is old.  It's probably no longer used for any training purposes.  But what this video really does is it provides a glimpse of just how far we have strayed from the Land of the Free.  Aside from calling the idea of a right to a trial by a fair and impartial jury "RIDICULOUS" he is training these new prosecutors to eschew the heavy burden of truth beyond a reasonable doubt by only choosing dumb jurors who will just sit there and do what the government tells them to. 

Batson challenges (a challenge made, usually by the defense, to a prosecutor striking jurors from a particular group) have helped a little bit, but the harsh reality is that a zealous advocate for guilt will have innocent victims.  Dumbing down the jury pool and removing those whose experiences have taught them to question the government's motives might be an easier way to put the guilty behind bars, but also leads to wrongful convictions of the innocent.  If the evidence doesn't demonstrate factual and legal guilt, these dirty tricks should not be employed to get a jury to return a guilty verdict.

With prosecutors so zealous to get a conviction despite the truth and facts, it is important to have a great defense.  Consult with a Los Angeles Criminal Defense Attorney for free.

Nicholas M. Loncar, Esq. 
Los Angeles Criminal Defense Attorney
t: 213-375-3775 | f: 213-375-3099
Mobile: 323-803-4352 
[email protected]
1200 Wilshire Blvd | Suite 406
Los Angeles, CA | 90017
www.iDefendLosAngeles.com