Origanalist
09-04-2016, 11:01 AM
Jurisdiction, Discovery, Labels, Discrimination & Choosing a Jury – Welcome to Federal Court
TODD MACFARLANE | SEPTEMBER 2, 2016
The time of surprises in criminal trials is now supposed to be a thing of the past. Unlike legal drama movies and TV series from Matlock and Perry Mason to Drop Dead Diva, in modern criminal cases, based on applicable rules of criminal procedure, there aren’t supposed to be any surprises from the prosecution. The prosecution is required to disclose all of its evidence and all witnesses to the defendants well in advance so they can prepare for trial. This process is known as “discovery.”
As the Oregon Standoff case approaches trial, discovery has provided some interesting revelations. One of those interesting revelations is how the government has apparently labeled and refers to many witnesses in the case as “Unindicted Co-conspirators.” Apparently this label includes virtually anyone who visited the Malheur Wildlife Refuge during the occupation.
There is a definite guilt-by-association insinuation. The insinuation is that if anyone went to the refuge, for any reason, they are considered by the government and the prosecutors to be co-conspirators. What does this mean? How does that reasoning apply to the media, for example? Or to mediators? Among other things, on one hand it may mean that the government simply did not seek a grand jury indictment regarding some of these people, or the grand jury declined to indict any other alleged co-conspirators.
On the other hand, the more likely explanation is that the government is simply attempting to use this label and terminology as part of a threatening, fear-based tactic of harassment and intimidation, to send a message that benevolent big brother is always watching, and there may be more to come.
Discovery has also revealed some very interesting information relevant to the question of why USFWS employees were not even planning to return to work at the Refuge after the Christmas holidays.
According to information disclosed in the case, and seemingly corroborated months ago by an article in the Washington Post, days in advance of the Malheur Occupation, federal employees in Harney County had been instructed by their government supervisors not to return to work after the holidays. Why? One explanation is that, based on the electronic surveillance and domestic spying that was already going on, and had been going on for weeks, the federal government was taking preliminary precautions. Another explanation might be that the federal government was actually trying to set-up the conspiracy/impeding claim in advance.
This raises some very interesting questions about who was doing the impeding, and even about who was conspiring to impede. So if you’ve got federal supervisors speculating about what is going to happen, and colluding and conspiring in advance not to go to work based on such speculations, is it a conflict between two alleged conspiracies?
From the outset I have been talking about judicial transparency issues in the context of the Bundy cases, and how U.S. Courts could improve transparency by allowing live video feed of court proceedings. I am not the only one raising transparency issues in these cases. Other media lawyers are arguing that the federal courts are trampling first amendment freedom of speech and press rights in these cases.
But apparently someone has been listening in some form or fashion to the transparency/livestream arguments, because now the Oregon Court has reportedly approved at least a live audio feed of the Oregon Standoff trial to the BLM office in Burns. That’s a start. But my question is: why the BLM office, and why only in Burns?
continued...http://www.boilingfrogspost.com/2016/09/02/jurisdiction-discovery-labels-discrimination-choosing-a-jury-welcome-to-federal-court/
TODD MACFARLANE | SEPTEMBER 2, 2016
The time of surprises in criminal trials is now supposed to be a thing of the past. Unlike legal drama movies and TV series from Matlock and Perry Mason to Drop Dead Diva, in modern criminal cases, based on applicable rules of criminal procedure, there aren’t supposed to be any surprises from the prosecution. The prosecution is required to disclose all of its evidence and all witnesses to the defendants well in advance so they can prepare for trial. This process is known as “discovery.”
As the Oregon Standoff case approaches trial, discovery has provided some interesting revelations. One of those interesting revelations is how the government has apparently labeled and refers to many witnesses in the case as “Unindicted Co-conspirators.” Apparently this label includes virtually anyone who visited the Malheur Wildlife Refuge during the occupation.
There is a definite guilt-by-association insinuation. The insinuation is that if anyone went to the refuge, for any reason, they are considered by the government and the prosecutors to be co-conspirators. What does this mean? How does that reasoning apply to the media, for example? Or to mediators? Among other things, on one hand it may mean that the government simply did not seek a grand jury indictment regarding some of these people, or the grand jury declined to indict any other alleged co-conspirators.
On the other hand, the more likely explanation is that the government is simply attempting to use this label and terminology as part of a threatening, fear-based tactic of harassment and intimidation, to send a message that benevolent big brother is always watching, and there may be more to come.
Discovery has also revealed some very interesting information relevant to the question of why USFWS employees were not even planning to return to work at the Refuge after the Christmas holidays.
According to information disclosed in the case, and seemingly corroborated months ago by an article in the Washington Post, days in advance of the Malheur Occupation, federal employees in Harney County had been instructed by their government supervisors not to return to work after the holidays. Why? One explanation is that, based on the electronic surveillance and domestic spying that was already going on, and had been going on for weeks, the federal government was taking preliminary precautions. Another explanation might be that the federal government was actually trying to set-up the conspiracy/impeding claim in advance.
This raises some very interesting questions about who was doing the impeding, and even about who was conspiring to impede. So if you’ve got federal supervisors speculating about what is going to happen, and colluding and conspiring in advance not to go to work based on such speculations, is it a conflict between two alleged conspiracies?
From the outset I have been talking about judicial transparency issues in the context of the Bundy cases, and how U.S. Courts could improve transparency by allowing live video feed of court proceedings. I am not the only one raising transparency issues in these cases. Other media lawyers are arguing that the federal courts are trampling first amendment freedom of speech and press rights in these cases.
But apparently someone has been listening in some form or fashion to the transparency/livestream arguments, because now the Oregon Court has reportedly approved at least a live audio feed of the Oregon Standoff trial to the BLM office in Burns. That’s a start. But my question is: why the BLM office, and why only in Burns?
continued...http://www.boilingfrogspost.com/2016/09/02/jurisdiction-discovery-labels-discrimination-choosing-a-jury-welcome-to-federal-court/