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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWhat Is the Fallout from the U.S. Supreme Court's Refusal To Hear the Siegelman Appeal?
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) today ruled that citizens can be convicted of "crimes" that do not exist, based on jury instructions that do not mirror actual law. The Supreme Court also overturned the case that had served as precedent for more than 20 years in cases that allege bribery in the context of a campaign contribution. For good measure, the high court also provided overwhelming evidence that Barack Obama does not deserve a second term as president.
And, by the way, criminal cases no longer have to be proven "beyond a reasonable doubt."
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How is this for irony? The Supreme Court almost certainly refused to hear the Siegelman appeal not because his case was weak, but because it was so strong. If the court had heard the case, it would have had to overturn the Siegelman/Scrushy convictions. It's about as close to an open-and-shut case as is ever likely to land before the Supremes.
But we suspect the high court could not countenance such an outcome. It would have shown that our justice system is riddled with politics, that judges at all levels routinely make rulings that are contrary to law, that our courts simply cannot be trusted--and, most importantly, that the Bush family and their surrogates (Karl Rove) have rigged our "justice system" into what amounts to a criminal enterprise.
MORE: http://legalschnauzer.blogspot.com/2012/06/what-is-fallout-from-us-supreme-courts.html
PoliticAverse
(26,366 posts)You can read the brief filed by the Justice Department here: http://sblog.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/11-955-Siegelman-v.-U.S.-BIO.pdf
Additionally "Justice Kagan apparently stayed out of consideration of the petitions because of her former role as U.S. Solicitor General; it was during her tenure there that the case had developed earlier."
( http://www.scotusblog.com/2012/06/campaign-donations-convictions-stand/#more-145982 )
Kagan had filed an earlier brief opposing Siegelman (see http://www.scribd.com/murphydad31/d/23440615-Siegelman-Case-Elena-Kagan-Reply-Brief ).
For more about the case see: http://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/siegelman-v-united-states/