"Courts say jurors, PDAs shouldn’t mix" by Paul Elias, Associated Press | March 14, 2010
SAN FRANCISCO — Enough with the tweets, the blogs, the Internet searches.
That’s the message being communicated by courts across the country as jurors using their portable electronic devices continue to cause mistrials, overturned convictions, and chaotic delays in court proceedings.
Last year, a San Francisco Superior Court judge dismissed 600 potential jurors after several acknowledged going online to research the criminal case before them. Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon challenged her misdemeanor embezzlement conviction after discovering five jurors “friended’’ one another on Facebook during the trial.....
FLASHBACK:
"Baltimore mayor resigns as part of plea agreement; Embattled official accused of not disclosing gifts" by Ben Nuckols, Associated Press | January 7, 2010
BALTIMORE - Mayor Sheila Dixon resigned yesterday as part of a deal with prosecutors, ending a three-year tenure that began with promise but unraveled amid embarrassing allegations that she stole from the poor.
A DEMOCRAT? A WOMAN? An African-American?
Say it it isn't so!!!
Dixon, 56, was convicted last month of misappropriating about $500 in gift cards donated to the city for distribution to needy families during her time as City Council president.
SCUM!!!!!
Had she not agreed to step down, she could have been thrown out of office.
She's lucky she didn't get tarred-and-feathered!!!
Yesterday, she entered an Alford plea to a charge of perjury, meaning she admits there is enough evidence to convict her on that charge but does not acknowledge guilt. Her resignation will take effect Feb. 4, her sentencing date. Dixon’s voice wavered as she announced that she would step down and thanked her staff for their support, but she did not apologize for the actions that led to her conviction.
That is what I was looking for!
“I take responsibility for some of the choices that I made,’’ Dixon said. “I think I’ve disappointed myself to some degree, and I think I’ve disappointed citizens.’’
Well, APPARENTLY NOT!!!
WTF is it with POLITICIANS, anyway!!!
In exchange, prosecutors and Judge Dennis M. Sweeney agreed that Dixon will receive probation before judgment on both counts, meaning the convictions will be wiped off her record if she complies with several conditions, including a $45,000 charitable contribution and 500 hours of community service. Dixon will also be barred from seeking employment with the city or state for four years. However, she would be free to run for public office again after that time, as long as she complies with the terms of her probation. The deal also allows her to keep her city pension, which she would have had to forfeit with a conviction on her record.
Pfffft!
“This is a result that makes a lot of sense for Miss Dixon and the city of Baltimore,’’ said Arnold M. Weiner, the mayor’s lead attorney....
HOW?
She KEPT her PILFERED PENSION!!!
Oh, it is the DEFENSE ATTORNEY saying that!
In pleading guilty to one of the perjury counts, she acknowledged that prosecutors would present evidence that she received thousands of dollars in cash, fur coats, travel, and other gifts from Ronald H. Lipscomb, a prominent developer who received tax breaks from the city. Dixon and Lipscomb dated in 2003 and 2004. But she didn’t report any gifts from him despite a requirement that she do so.
Sigh.
As Deputy State Prosecutor Thomas M. McDonough read from a statement of facts detailing how Lipscomb gave her cash to pay her
Yes, I KNOW the TRUTH is right here in front of us, but WE AIN'T SEEING IT!!!!
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Scum politicians can never admit wrongdoing and are always looking to squirm their slimy asses out, huh?
The rules for jury service in state and federal courts alike are evolving to grapple with this 21st century issue. New jury instructions are being adopted and electronics are being banned from courtrooms. In January, the federal court’s top administrative office, the Judicial Conference of the United States, issued so-called “Twitter instructions’’ to every federal judge, which are designed to be read to jurors at the start of the trial and before deliberations.
“You may not use any electronic device or media’’ in connection with the case, the recommended federal instructions admonish. They also bar visits to “any Internet chat room, blog, or website such as Facebook, My Space, LinkedIn, YouTube, or Twitter.’’
I rarely visit those sites anyway.
The guidelines were developed “to address the increasing incidence of juror use of such devices as cellular telephones or computers to conduct research on the Internet or communicate with others about cases,’’ according to a memo to federal judges from the committee’s chief, US District Judge Julie Robinson of Topeka, Kan. “Such use,’’ she noted, “has resulted in mistrials, exclusion of jurors, and imposition of fines.’’
Related: Mass. Needs Less Laws
Maybe that's an answer for the whole country, huh?
While federal judges hope the new jury instructions will significantly limit jury problems, the National Center for State Courts in Williamsburg, Va., said state judges continue to grapple with how best to deal with the issue.
I'm sorry; I'm having a real problem feeling sorry for the state these days.
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