disorderlyvision
05-31-2009, 02:34 PM
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/editorial/bal-ed.dixon29may29,0,1949201.story
Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon may have felt victorious Thursday when several of the criminal charges she faces were tossed out by Circuit Judge Dennis M. Sweeney. The ruling may reduce her legal exposure, but she is by no means vindicated.
Beyond the legal technicalities and political spin, here's what Baltimore citizens should remember: Ms. Dixon is accused of accepting thousands of dollars in gifts and travel from a developer whose projects received millions in city tax breaks - gifts that she failed to report on her ethics forms. At no point has she denied any of these facts; rather, her attorney, Arnold Weiner, has argued that those actions were not, technically, against the law.
But even Mr. Weiner's talented obfuscations on that point aren't why the perjury charges against Ms. Dixon were dismissed. She escapes any public accounting of her acceptance of the gifts because State Prosecutor Robert Rohrbaugh, in a colossal error, tainted the charges by introducing evidence related to Ms. Dixon's performance of her duties as an elected official, a no-no under what is known as the "speech and debate" principle. The rule holds that an elected official's actions such as introducing or advocating for legislation cannot be used as evidence against him or her.....
Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon may have felt victorious Thursday when several of the criminal charges she faces were tossed out by Circuit Judge Dennis M. Sweeney. The ruling may reduce her legal exposure, but she is by no means vindicated.
Beyond the legal technicalities and political spin, here's what Baltimore citizens should remember: Ms. Dixon is accused of accepting thousands of dollars in gifts and travel from a developer whose projects received millions in city tax breaks - gifts that she failed to report on her ethics forms. At no point has she denied any of these facts; rather, her attorney, Arnold Weiner, has argued that those actions were not, technically, against the law.
But even Mr. Weiner's talented obfuscations on that point aren't why the perjury charges against Ms. Dixon were dismissed. She escapes any public accounting of her acceptance of the gifts because State Prosecutor Robert Rohrbaugh, in a colossal error, tainted the charges by introducing evidence related to Ms. Dixon's performance of her duties as an elected official, a no-no under what is known as the "speech and debate" principle. The rule holds that an elected official's actions such as introducing or advocating for legislation cannot be used as evidence against him or her.....