Posted on
March 2, 2018 in
At 12:15 there will be an “Award Presentation Honoring Sens. Whitmire and Huffman; Reps. Smithee and Herrero and the Honorable J. Keller.”
I googled those names, and the first thing that I found that they all have in common is membership in the Timothy Cole Exoneration Review Committee.
Hey.
Let’s talk about exoneration.
Exoneration for actual innocence is politically palatable across the spectrum. Should someone who can prove that he is factually innocent be punished? Almost everybody would say “no.” ((How much of an opportunity actually innocent people should have to prove their actual innocence is a different question.))
Due process for people who may not be actually innocent is not nearly as popular a cause. In the abstract people support it, but when it comes down to cases they really don’t care if people who obviously did bad things got a fair shake, or had effective counsel, or were legally searched. Actually, it’s not so much that they don’t care as that the scared white republicans who elect judges like Sharon Keller and senators like Joan Huffman prefer less due process for criminals.
So judges like Keller, and senators like Huffman, can give the middle finger to due process (Huffman, writes statutes that make it easier to convict defendants than the common law would ever have allowed; Keller, who is unfortunately a great deal smarter than Huffman, finds waiver, no error, or harmless error on the shabbiest of pretenses) and then vaunt their exoneration-related work, such as participation on the Timothy Cole Exoneration Review Committee or writing the odd pro-exoneration appellate opinion.
For these politicians exoneration is reputation-laundering work. They are dreadful on the unpopular core concern of the criminal-justice system—the process—but by putting a little energy into the exoneration cases they can, with a little help from the defense bar, pretend to be heroes of freedom.
I can’t be the only one that finds it odd that the presiding judge of the CCA (never will I call her honorable) is on an exoneration committee. Since she actually has a say in these cases, it seems a conflict of interest.
“Reputation-laundering work can also lead to a reality show” – Kelly Siegler
Ok Mark I’ve actually had my ticket punched on this failure to provide due process train so I can go along with what you say that ” …the scared white republicans who elect judges” who then “give the middle finger to due process”. But what (and I could really use a few select expletives here) the heck is the deal with all the groups, foundations, causes and marches, rallies, campaigns and etc with names like Equal Justice and Due Process for all crying due process.. 99% of which are 501C3 Tax exempt charities… that “choose their favorites” much like these judges being complained of? I mean if we are all talking about due process then HEY…. lets talk about due process of a man falsely accused of family violence against a woman. OH WAIT lets not… that’s the reaction from all those aforementioned groups/people on both sides of the issue. So by all means don’t take up my banner if its not your thing or take up your own against me if you believe I am wrong, But I believe, Due process is for everyone accused without exception. None the less bias exists everywhere and the democrats or minority groups are not immune from being bias. So i certainly would not attach those as being qualifiers of the righteous. That being said… I don’t want to make this about me. Its also not about race, sex or anything else other than social/political popularity. So while yes I agree that the folks you mention are simply riding the coat tails of what has become a popular social justice campaign. Would you also then agree that most if not every group or person with hopes of prospering in this arena pick and choose their affiliations based on more than what would be deemed even by themselves as socially acceptable criteria “then vaunt their (Insert popular cause here)-related work. Bottom line is that Due Process loses out to VAWA on the popularity scale even with advocates of Due Process in any/every other situation. That Choo Choo of the gravy train is hard to resist I suppose. Once comfortably glued to a seat on board their sensitive butt’s wont tolerate a penny on the track. The only worse example I could even compare it with is that of Christians who continually offer “I’ll pray for you” rather than getting up off the pew and actually doing something productive. We’ll there you have it a white man’s rant.. But hey if they had just accepted my privilege card ten years ago…