The charges against Kobe Bryant have been dropped. And while I'm glad that it is over for Kobe I am partially sick to my stomach. I believe Kate Farber falsely accused Kobe. I wasn't so sure before and still had some lingering doubts but all those went out the window as of today.
Millions were spent on this trial on both sides. The government decided to prosecute a case that was clearly flawed from the very onset. If the government can bring a case against someone given the facts that all pointed to a false accusation than we are all in trouble.
She is in it for the money. The D.A. said the reason he dropped out of the case is because the accuser wanted it and that he did not want to subject her to any more pain. OK, why have you waited until 5 days before the trial was supposed to start? This has been going on for a year and all of a sudden, when so close to victory if you believe him, you are going to pull out of the case? Give me a break. She doesn't have the strength to go up to the witness stand and say, "That man raped me" in a criminal case where the man can go to jail but she can do it in a civil case, which is still going on, where she stands to get some money? And she won't have the benefit of any rape shield laws? If you are really raped money will not make you whole again.
The D.A. is an idiot and should be disbarred. He states, "With the victim we truly felt we had a great case and that justice would prevail. Our commitment to this case remains strong." Let me remind people of something. This is The State of Colorado vs. Kobe Bryant. If the D.A. really believe Kobe Bryant raped Kate it is his duty to continue to prosecute whether the woman wants to go forward or not. If she doesn't you call supboena her and make her testify. If Kobe really did rape her he needs to go to Jail for a very long time. There is a reason the state prosecutes this, it is in the public interest to make sure sexual predators are not roaming free.
This case is important to all of us. I can not imagine anything worse than being falsely accused of a crime and being sent to jail. Our system is meant to prevent this very error but it saddens be that I believe if Kobe Bryant is innocent but didn't have all this money he might be on his way to jail right about now.
Showing posts with label Legal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Legal. Show all posts
Kobe Bryant: The Questionnaire
Tuesday, August 31, 2004
They posted the questionnaire given to prospective jury members. I think I tend to be a good person to put on a jury because I'm intelligent and willing to keep an open mind.
For this particular case I don't think I would because I naturally have some biases. I thought I would not be selected based on these questions:
60. Do you follow professional Basektball? If yes, what are your favorite teams?
Yes, The Lakers.
65. What have you read, seen, or heard about this case?
Yes, I follow the story regularly.
71. Have you discussed this case or heard anyone else talk about it?
Yes, all the time on my blog.
72. Based on what you have read, seen, or heard about the case, which of the following reflects your opinion whether Kobe Bryant is guilty or not guilt of the sexual assault charges.
Probably Not Guilty.
The interesting thing is that I thought the last one would be the one most likely to keep anyone off the jury. After all, I would go in thinking Kobe is innocent of the charges which would make me biased. But then someone pointed out to me that my answer to 72 is the only really acceptable answer. I thought the choice of "Not enough information to decide" would be the "best" answer but it actually is not, not at least if you understand the legal system.
Kobe Bryant is innocent until proven guilty. There must be a presumption of innocence. You can not go into the jury with an unbiased mind and say to yourself "I'll go with whoever puts on the best case.". The fact is that the prosecution has to prove it beyond a reasonable doubt. Even if they have a better case than the defense, 51% to 49%, you must find in favor of the defendent. There is a bias built in into the legal system and it favors the defense.
I of course thought it was best to have no bias going in, but I guess you learn something new everyday.
For this particular case I don't think I would because I naturally have some biases. I thought I would not be selected based on these questions:
60. Do you follow professional Basektball? If yes, what are your favorite teams?
Yes, The Lakers.
65. What have you read, seen, or heard about this case?
Yes, I follow the story regularly.
71. Have you discussed this case or heard anyone else talk about it?
Yes, all the time on my blog.
72. Based on what you have read, seen, or heard about the case, which of the following reflects your opinion whether Kobe Bryant is guilty or not guilt of the sexual assault charges.
Probably Not Guilty.
The interesting thing is that I thought the last one would be the one most likely to keep anyone off the jury. After all, I would go in thinking Kobe is innocent of the charges which would make me biased. But then someone pointed out to me that my answer to 72 is the only really acceptable answer. I thought the choice of "Not enough information to decide" would be the "best" answer but it actually is not, not at least if you understand the legal system.
Kobe Bryant is innocent until proven guilty. There must be a presumption of innocence. You can not go into the jury with an unbiased mind and say to yourself "I'll go with whoever puts on the best case.". The fact is that the prosecution has to prove it beyond a reasonable doubt. Even if they have a better case than the defense, 51% to 49%, you must find in favor of the defendent. There is a bias built in into the legal system and it favors the defense.
I of course thought it was best to have no bias going in, but I guess you learn something new everyday.
Finding the Truth
Tuesday, June 01, 2004
I had a conversation with someone the other day that made me do some thinking. If we should have as little government as possible who will defend the poor in criminal manners?
Now some take my beliefs as I don't want to do anything to help the poor. Nothing could be further from the truth. I do want people to take responsibility for their own actions and situations in life. The logical path from this is that people should be responsible for paying for their own defense. I simply don't believe this.
What? Isn't that a contradiction? As I always say, I try not to contradict myself. So what's going on? Well this only follows if the assumption is that government is only interested in winning whatever case the prosecution puts forth. I don't believe that is government's role. I believe governments role is to find the truth in all matters. It should have an equal interest if someone raped someone or someone is being falsely accused.
This leads me to why I thought about this, the Kobe Bryant case. Being a Laker fan I realize I am a little bias as I tend to think Kobe Bryant is innocent. However I am fully willing to admit that anybody is capable of anything and nobody knows what happened in that hotel room. However, what really disturbs me is how the D.A., Mark Hulbert, is acting in this case. The government should care as much about Kobe Bryant as it does about the alleged victim. It should care if they put an innocent man behind bars. But Mark Hulbert is treating this, ironically, like a basketball game. Win at all cost. Forget about the truth, lets slam dunkd this case and make sure we put Kobe Bryant behind bars.
What makes me say this? Kobe's defense team has asked for text messages sent between the accuser, her ex-boyfriend, and a third party just hours after the alleged assault. To me this has a huge bearing on the case as it may further strengthen the accuser's arguments or may completely shatter her credibility. Either way the prosecutor should want to know. Instead he fought the defense teams motion to obtain these records. According to the federal Electronics Communication Privacy Act, "A governmental entity may require the disclosure by a provider of electronic communication service of the contents of a wire or electronic communication, that is in electronic storage in an electronic communications system." All the D.A. had to do was make the request and the information would have been made available to him. Was he interested in the information. Absolutely not. Does it scare anybody else that the government really only cares about winning the cases it decides to prosecute?
Now some take my beliefs as I don't want to do anything to help the poor. Nothing could be further from the truth. I do want people to take responsibility for their own actions and situations in life. The logical path from this is that people should be responsible for paying for their own defense. I simply don't believe this.
What? Isn't that a contradiction? As I always say, I try not to contradict myself. So what's going on? Well this only follows if the assumption is that government is only interested in winning whatever case the prosecution puts forth. I don't believe that is government's role. I believe governments role is to find the truth in all matters. It should have an equal interest if someone raped someone or someone is being falsely accused.
This leads me to why I thought about this, the Kobe Bryant case. Being a Laker fan I realize I am a little bias as I tend to think Kobe Bryant is innocent. However I am fully willing to admit that anybody is capable of anything and nobody knows what happened in that hotel room. However, what really disturbs me is how the D.A., Mark Hulbert, is acting in this case. The government should care as much about Kobe Bryant as it does about the alleged victim. It should care if they put an innocent man behind bars. But Mark Hulbert is treating this, ironically, like a basketball game. Win at all cost. Forget about the truth, lets slam dunkd this case and make sure we put Kobe Bryant behind bars.
What makes me say this? Kobe's defense team has asked for text messages sent between the accuser, her ex-boyfriend, and a third party just hours after the alleged assault. To me this has a huge bearing on the case as it may further strengthen the accuser's arguments or may completely shatter her credibility. Either way the prosecutor should want to know. Instead he fought the defense teams motion to obtain these records. According to the federal Electronics Communication Privacy Act, "A governmental entity may require the disclosure by a provider of electronic communication service of the contents of a wire or electronic communication, that is in electronic storage in an electronic communications system." All the D.A. had to do was make the request and the information would have been made available to him. Was he interested in the information. Absolutely not. Does it scare anybody else that the government really only cares about winning the cases it decides to prosecute?
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