Back In Baltimore

The prosecutor in the Freddie Gray death announces what might be hasty, politically motivated charges and a city calms down. For now, at least:

Baltimore’s Mood Shifts From Grim to Elated After Charges Are Announced

...

“It seems like we’re finally getting justice,” said Gary Thornton, 29, who lives in East Baltimore.

Tashira Skinner, his friend, interjected, “It won’t be justice until they say guilty.”

There is that pesky matter of trials and convictions. The Times follows up on the challenges facing the prosecutor:

Baltimore Prosecutor Faces National History of Police Acquittals

With an unexpectedly speedy and sweeping announcement on Friday of homicide and abuse-of-power charges against six police officers in the death of Freddie Gray, Baltimore’s chief prosecutor sent an unmistakable signal that the days when police misconduct drew a wrist slap are over.

It was a bold gesture, experts say — and a risky one. For the pledge may be an empty gesture unless prosecutors secure convictions in Mr. Gray’s death.

They say "empty gesture", I say "over-reaching, pandering disaster"; time will tell. At some point actual evidence and facts may be important, but I would guess that acquittals would inflame the city and (further) de-legitimize the criminal justice system in the eyes of many.

Both history and the circumstances of the case unveiled on Friday hint that it will be anything but easy. Brutality cases against police officers are notoriously difficult to win, and much about the case, including the evidence against the officers and their defense, remains unknown.

I don't know much about the evidence either, but if the police officers really did find Freddie Gray unconscious and unresponsive in the back of the van without seeking immediate medical intervention, then a "reckless disregard" type charge seems supportable. This is from the NY Times timeline - Stop 4 was the last stop before the van went to the Western District police station:

Stop No. 4: [Prosecutor] Ms. Mosby said Officer Goodson was met here by Officers Nero, Miller and Porter. Sgt. Alicia D. White and Officers Porter and Goodson observed “Mr. Gray unresponsive on the floor,” Ms. Mosby said. Sergeant White spoke to the back of Mr. Gray’s head, and he did not respond. “Despite Mr. Gray’s seriously deteriorating medical condition, no medical assistance was rendered or summoned for Mr. Gray at that time by any officer,” Ms. Mosby said.

That said, the idea of "false imprisonment" charges based on the absence of a legitimate basis for arrest seems like a stretch. My presumption is that there is (or ought to be) some sort of a good faith exception. A key part of the dispute here seems to be whether Mr. Gray's knife was legal or not. Presumably the defense will argue that either (a) the knife was in fact illegal (or a parole violation?), or (b) the knife was close enough to illegal that the officers made a good faith mistake. Attorney Andrew Branca at Legal Insurrection has lots more:

Arrests often go uncharged, and charges are often dismissed, and defendants are even acquitted at trial, often based upon a later conclusion that the underlying facts which suggested a crime are untrue or mistaken.  None of these outcomes makes the initial arrest illegal.

When an officer makes an arrest based on an articulable statement of probable cause, that arrest becomes illegal only if the officer knew or reasonably should have known that no crime had, in fact, been committed.

In short, police are entitled to make reasonable mistakes, and such a reasonable mistake does not make the arrest illegal.

Such a mistake may, of course, make further prosecution of the offense impractical or outright unjust.  But that’s a completely different matter than whether an arrest was unlawful.

One important lesson has been learned here - let's cut back to the initial Times coverage describing the charges:

Standing on a nearby street corner, Renee James, 48, said, “There’s no need to go tear up the city no more.”

Her friend Antoinnette White, 53, said of the riot: “Hurting innocent people was nonsense. I cried.”

But Abdullah Moaney, 53, an information technology worker from East Baltimore, said that “peace has lost its credibility.” Seeking to justify the violence that broke out Monday, he said that “if it wasn’t for the riot,” charges would not have been filed.

Muslims have figured it out, and now some Americans are figuring it out - non-violence is for patsies, and the squeaky wheel gets the grease.

Comments

[DrJ]

Grace Lee Whitney, who played Captain Kirk's assistant [Yeoman Janice Rand] on the original "Star Trek" series, has died. She was 85.

[James D.]

Speaking of offending religious minorities, the (taxpayer supported) Kennedy Center is putting on "The Book of Mormon" again this summer, which openly mocks and ridicules the Mormon church.

I suppose, based on the logic of the libs blaming the victims down in Texas, that they'd be OK if Mitt Romney spent a few of his millions to hire a crew, outfit them with AK-47s, and shoot up the Kennedy Center. Right?

[rse]

That Janice Rand footage I believe got resurrected in the Star Trek episode about Commander Pike.

The mentions of Keith Ellison reminded me he was a listed speaker last week http://www.goodjobsforall.org/speakers/ at the forum that rolled out that report I talked about in my most recent post. I had already linked to it and also noted Elizabeth Warren's involvement Saturday here.

[Jim Eagle]

Is there a bigger pile of crap a**hole than Donald Trump. What a slime ball. But once the financial disclosure requirements are triggered he'll back out. His ego would not be able to take the criticism and negatives the otherw would throw at him deservedlly.

[PD]

Happy Cinco de Quattro, everyone!

Hmm, wait. Is that May 4th, or May 5th? These holidays are so confusing.

[Miss Marple]

I take it Trump is on Fox again bloviating.

his is why I quit watching Fox and Friends. On Mondays they inflict Trump on me, and on Fridays it's Geraldo.

Poor way to start a day.

[Jim Eagle]

Today in Hillary History: Was the Fix Really In? May 4, 1998

http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1998/04/27/time/hubbell.html

[Jim Eagle]

The winning Motoon in Garland.

[Janet]

Here's a wonderful fact filled post from Free Beacon - http://freebeacon.com/issues/baltimore-received-1-8-billion-from-obamas-stimulus-law/

a bit -

"According to Recovery.gov, one of Baltimore’s central ZIP codes, 21201, received the most stimulus funding in the city, a total of $837,955,866. The amount included funding for 276 awards, and the website reports that the spending had created 290 jobs in the fourth quarter in 2013.

Of this amount, $467.1 million went to education; $206.1 million to the environment; $24 million to “family”; $16.1 million to infrastructure; $15.2 million to transportation; $11.9 million to housing; and $3.1 million to job training."

And this is on top of all the old, ongoing programs & on top of state taxpayer programs.

[James D.]

290 jobs created for a cost of $837 million? That works out to $2.8 million per job created.

Considering that the jobs (all benefits included0 probably actually were worth $100,000/year (or less, probably), one wonders whose pockets the other $2.7 million per job went into?

Oh, who am I kidding? We all know the answer to that question.

[PD]

Janet, good to know our money's being spent wisely and prudently, and with all the care that we would exercise were we spending it ourselves.

Only $2.9M per job, not bad.

[PD]

I rounded up. James D. more graciously rounded down.

[Extraneus]

$206.1 million to the environment;

As in "evaporated."

In one zip code.

[Jim Eagle]

PIck your state!

VA Viper Map: What Does Each State Have More of Per Captia Than Any Other State.

http://vaviper.blogspot.com/2015/05/map-what-does-each-state-have-more-of.html

Mine has more shark attacks.

[James D.]

I would really, really, really like to see a major GOP figure lay out the facts about Baltimore, and Maryland:

Maryland has had a Democrat governor for 48 of the past 54 years.

The legislature is totally dominated by Democats (91-50 in the Assembly, 33-14 in the Senate). Democrats have controlled both houses of the legislature without exception for the past 23 years.

The last Republican Senator from Maryland left office in 1977.

Democtats have controlled the Maryland congressional delegation for 52 of the past 64 years (with an even split in 10 of the other 12 years). Republicans have not controlled a majority of the congressional delegation since 1955.

A Democrat has been Mayor of Baltimore for 65 of the last 69 years, and the last Republican left office in 1967.

Democrats have had absolute, one-party control over both the city, and the state government, for virtually all of the past half-century. Maybe they bear some responsibility for the disaster that is Baltimore?

[Jane]

Mine has (wait for it ) more liberals per capita

[Jim Eagle]

JamesD,

According to the map I linked Maryland also has more Democrats + Millionaires per capita than any other state, so there!

[henry]

Jane, that makes whooping cough seem mild by comparison.

[Eric in Boise]

Minimum wage workers, and our MSM betters here lecture us about it constantly.

[Threadkiller]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3066779/Police-officer-suspect-said-injured-shooting-outside-art-anti-Muslim-exhibition-art-depicting-prophet-Muhammad.html

ISIS? No way.

At least we can be reassured that they are practicing a false version of Islam.

Hopefully Obama takes it upon himself to order a drone strike on US soil next time.

[Extraneus]

School lunch update...

http://eagnews.org/photo-school-serves-burned-burritos-covered-with-melted-plastic-for-healthy-lunch/

[Janet]

about Trump...I will always appreciate how he pushed the Obama crew concerning the long form birth certificate.

For years the MFM didn't differentiate between a birth certification & a birth certificate. They kept saying Obama had already released his birth certificate.
Oops...I guess NOT because after Trump hounded him, Obama released the certificate in April 2011.
Why did Obama have to play that game? Why wait so long? What was the point?
Obama acted like there was nothing he could do to get the certificate, which Trump proved was a lie.
How could that not bother the MFM at all? In fact they laughed it up with Obama at the 2011 WHCD on April 30, 2011.
Hahahahaha...all the stupid Americans that asked questions....hahahahaahhaha...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/30/white-house-correspondents-dinner-2011_n_855926.html

Anyway, I will always appreciate Trump for that. He was braver than any of the lousy MFM "reporters".
The sycophantic MFM joined in ridiculing the one guy that actually pushed to get info from President Obama.

[Threadkiller]

I stand with Janet!

[Threadkiller]

Also found in Ext's link:

Meanwhile, an Indiana school district is warning that apple slices “packaged in accordance with federal, school food service guidelines” may make children violently ill — or may even kill them.

Listeria?

I wonder how many of the packagers will claim they are doing a job Americans wouldn't do.

[Jim Eagle]

Good thing New York State has more lawyers per capita because Dean Skelos, the State Senate majority leader and his son is going to need a bunch of them. Both arrested on corruption charges.

Can you guess the party?

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/05/nyregion/dean-skelos-new-york-senate-leader-and-son-are-arrested-on-corruption-charges.html?smid=tw-nytmetro&_r=0

[Jim Eagle]

Correction: Skelos is a Republican. And I shoiuld have known that. My bad.

[Rick Ballard]

This is an interesting piece identifying the problems on the Baltimore Plantation as being endemic across almost all Fascist Plantations. The author also notes the success of Fascist ethnic cleansing in San Francisco,Portland and Seattle.

The piece notes the rate of successful Flight From Blue Hell of those intelligent enough to remove their children from danger but it doesn't address the flight of the intelligent as the primary causative factor in very poor outcomes for those dumb enough to remain in the cesspools.

Understandable, the average thingy does require some arithmetic.

[henry]

Charlotte Elizabeth Diana

royal tot is named.

[Jim Eagle]

I got the first name right in the lottery but not the second. I had Ann.

[narciso]

but of course,

http://pjmedia.com/tatler/2015/05/04/texas-attack-is-yet-another-case-of-known-wolf-terrorism-suspect-idd-as-elton-simpson-of-phoenix/

where does Charlotte come from in that order, and wouldn't it end with Spencer,

[narciso]

New York State Leg, is a hive of scum and villainy, little news there,

[Marlene]

Maine has more boating accidents? That is interesting,I wonder if the statistics include commercial fishing accidents? Maine has three of the most dangerous occupations...fishing,farming and logging.
There is a red fox running around our little condo neighborhood and it is making the dog crazy.

[narciso]

so more distribution per Edwards,

http://freebeacon.com/issues/baltimore-received-1-8-billion-from-obamas-stimulus-law/

[Janet]

from FB

[Threadkiller]

Local news is about to discuss the Baltimore Thug Six. The teaser to keep my attention was "up next we talk about the six cops, most of whom were charged with 2nd murder..."

That I know of only one of Obama's imaginary sons was charged with murder.

Dilution is the solution.

[narciso]

so we have a Al Shabaab affiliated hitter, not unlike Jihad John, but leave it to Al Ghuardian, to focus on the important matters,

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/may/04/texas-attack-muhammad-cartoon-event-muslim-community

[DrJ]

And in really important news,

Tiger Woods and Lindsey Vonn are no longer a power couple in American sports.

Golf's biggest star and the Olympic ski champion said Sunday they were breaking up after more than two years. But in ending their relationship, both were in complete harmony in their separate announcements on social media, citing busy lives and times they will always "cherish."

[narciso]

btw, the film with self guiding bullets was Runaway, from a Crichton script,

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

--Golf's biggest star...--

Rory McIlroy was seeing Lindsey Von?

[rse]

Charlotte was the name of George III's beloved queen and popular among the Hanovarians.

[narciso]

I should have known that from Georgianna, thanks rse,

[rse]

I have been to the National Portrait Gallery quite a few times and went room by room with my daughters.

It is also what visually locked in Mary and Anne being the deposed James II's daughters.

[narciso]

Costanza's favorite columnist misses the point,

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/lupica-outrage-short-supply-victim-article-1.2208939

[narciso]

those words you are using:

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2015/05/04/32757123-bill-clinton-defends-his-foundations-foreign-money?d=1

[Marlene]

rse, another Charlotte was George IV's daughter,who died in childbirth. She was the legitimate heir and the turmoil that followed led to Victoria's eventual succession. Imagine Europe without the heirs of Victoria! All those cousins. Imagine Christmas dinner with George V, Kaiser Wilhelm and the Tsar and Tsarina. They would put the "fun" in family dysfunction. Ha!

[Thomas Collins]

So a gal and a guy feel the need to send out a press release that they are no longer a squeeze item? Who cares? The only dating information in which I'm interested is BOE's!

[Janet]

http://pjmedia.com/richardfernandez/2015/05/03/immunity-zone/#more-43059

"But the truth is, no one is safe. Not left-wing artists in Europe nor Nigerian schoolgirls nor high school students in Pakistan. Not agricultural college kids in Africa nor Yazidis in their remote mountain villages. Not people working a regular day in Manhattan on bright September days.
No one is safe." ...

"...those killed or maimed in the Boston Marathon bombing were not interested in politics but that did not keep them from getting blown up."

[Old Lurker]

"The only dating information in which I'm interested is BOE's!"

And then, only with the sound turned down.

[narciso]

well that would assume selfawareness at Rupert Pupkin's

http://twitchy.com/2015/05/04/making-a-complete-fool-out-of-her-cnns-alisyn-camerota-schooled-by-pamela-geller-video/

[Threadkiller]

Obama has a whole lotta sons?

http://abcnews.go.com/US/official-texas-shooting-suspects-ided/story

[Johns_Creek_Bill]

Donald Trump - I classify him, along with King Three Putt and Princess Diana as the three most overrated people of the last 30 years.

He is just a vulgar human being.

[Threadkiller]

Trump is as vulgar as princess Diana.

[Janet]

The Geller clip on CNN from narciso's 11:31 link is FANTASTIC. God bless her.

[Threadkiller]

Try this link:

http://abcnews.go.com/US/official-texas-shooting-suspects-ided/story?id=30782088

[Janet]

I'm not kidding...the video is fantastic.

[Janet]

I love when Pam says, "So what?".

[Threadkiller]

Janet is right.

[Dave (in MA)]

btw, the film with self guiding bullets was Runaway, from a Crichton script,

Gene Simmons' finest film. Also, the only one I can think of.

[narciso]

he was also in Wanted Dead or Alive, where I first heard of Yemen,

[Porchlight]

hit, if you are still reading, did you go to high school in Garland? Mr. Porch lived there for a few years in the late '80s.

[Porchlight]

I love when Pam says, "So what?".

That was a Breitbart thing. He encouraged everyone to respond with "So?" when confronted when some dumbass lib is making a statement and demanding a reply.

https://www.theobjectivestandard.com/2012/03/andrew-breitbarts-so-a-great-question-and-now-a-worthy-charity/

[Porchlight]

I do not endorse all the views of that blogger, by the way.

[Lazybusy]

Daddy, I think you've hit on something. From here on out CNN can be known as the BIG BUT network.

[narciso]

yes, there is a bit of dodging there, of course we can't speak of Voldemort, 'his name is a killing word'

[Neo]

Now, this must be racist ....

Star Wars Cover: J.J. Abrams Reveals His Idea to Kill Jar Jar Binks

For some Star Wars fans, there's no May the Fourth news finer than this: director J. J. Abrams revealed that he's thought about killing off the very controversial Jar Jar Binks. Sitting in an edit bay at his Bad Robot production office and pointing to a frame of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Abrams told Vanity Fair contributing editor Bruce Handy, "I have a thought about putting Jar Jar Binks's bones in the desert there. I'm serious! Only three people will notice, but they'll love it."

LUN

[Extraneus]

I liked the video, but I don't think Camerota made a "complete fool" of herself. She took the MSM position, but she let Geller talk. No "on the other hand" CAIR guests, no shouting. Geller had the time to explain, and was able to demonstrate the virtue of her position vs. that of the elites.

Excellent job by Pam Geller.

[Threadkiller]

...Clement and Katyal argue that "natural born Citizen" means all those who were: "U.S. citizen at birth with no need to go through a naturalization proceeding at some later time."

This legally-indefensible argument deserves refutation given that it comes ex cathedra from the prestigious Harvard Law Review. Grotesquely, six of the nine sitting Supreme Court Justices graduated from Harvard Law School: Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Antonin Scalia, Anthony M. Kennedy, Stephen G. Breyer, John G. Roberts, Jr., Chief Justice, and Elena Kagan.

Hence, the distinctive intellectual bias of graduates of that law school has a disproportionate impact on the direction of law in the United States...

...In sum, in my Response, I refute the arguments of Messrs. Clement and Katyal, and conclude as follows:

Thus, I must maintain that the manipulation of the framingera sources and law by Messrs. Clement and Katyal to conclude that Senator Ted Cruz is eligible to be President cannot stand. They conclude: “Thus, an individual born to a U.S. citizen parent -- whether in California or Canada or the Canal Zone -- is a U.S. citizen from birth and is fully eligible to serve as President if the people so choose.” The British statutes, Blackstone, de Vattel, The Naturalization Act of 1790 and the holding in Minor v. Happersett are all consistent: “natural born Citizen” is a privilege bestowed upon a special class of U.S. Citizen, to wit, a child born of two U.S. Citizen parents.

Thus, insomuch as Marco Rubio and Bobby Jindal were born in the United States to parents none of whom were United States citizens at the time of these gentlemen's respective births and Ted Cruz was born in Canada to parents only one of whom (his mother) was a United States citizen, none of these fine gentleman are eligible to be President of the United States.

http://amoprobos.blogspot.com/2015/05/harvard-law-ted-cruz-and-natural-born.html

[Rick Ballard]

TK,

Jihad in Garland isn't going to be an episode of the Obamasons. It may become an episode in Responsible Free Speech, focusing on the necessity of muzzling unpleasant truth but it lacks the requisite 'thug winning his Darwin' element which characterizes the Obamason Show.

The Mahometan "hold my hookah, I wanna try somethin'" element coupled with ISIS lighting up the idiots via twitter means this one is going to go in the memory hole fairly quickly.

[Jeff Dobbs]

Porch:
if you are still reading, did you go to high school in Garland? Mr. Porch lived there for a few years in the late '80s.

No, I went to Lake Highlands. Richardson school district, but Dallas address. But basically the only thing between my house and Garland was LBJ Freeway.

[Dave (in MA)]

I liked the video, but I don't think Camerota made a "complete fool" of herself. She took the MSM position, but she let Geller talk.

I agree. Imagine how much better things would be if that was as bad as they get in the MSM.

[Porchlight]

Gotcha, thanks hit.

I worry about Geller's safety. She's a brave woman, and one we've all known about for a long time, but her national and international profile just got raised bigtime.

[Captain Hate]

I worry about Geller's safety. She's a brave woman, and one we've all known about for a long time, but her national and international profile just got raised bigtime.

Bike Boy and the two or three people he hasn't banned have considered her a terrible h8er for a long time.

[maryrose]

Janet
Your posts have been excellent
I agree totally