a thoughtful web.
Good ideas and conversation. No ads, no tracking.   Login or Take a Tour!
comment by OftenBen
OftenBen  ·  2788 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Arrest Warrant issued for Amy Goodman (for reporting on the North Dakota pipeline)

    so that you can file the whole world away in a neat little box to feel righteous about because if everything is simple and there are good guys and bad guys you don't have to be challenged by the untidiness of it all.

Nope. The world is made of people. 'Good guys' sometimes do bad shit, 'bad guys' sometimes do good shit. We all (Including this judge) have the ability to make decisions that are in line with our values, in line with the world that we want to see exist. The board of directors of ETP could have made a different decision, they didn't. This judge could have made a different decision. He didn't. The cops who arrested Goodman could have made a different decision. They didn't. Someone on the side of authority could have made a stand. Now, there's a person in jail who we all agree (I think), should not be in jail. You can't shame a board of directors into making different decisions, at least as far as I can tell. You can't shame a faceless corporation. But you can shame elected officials who are acting against the public interest.

'Death to Tyrants is immature and stupid' Fine. We'll use shame instead. BUT THAT MEANS YOU GOTTA POINT A FINGER AT SOMEBODY. Else who are you shaming?

I already feel bad enough about the conflict minerals used to keep me alive.





kleinbl00  ·  2788 days ago  ·  link  ·  

So, no.

1) Arrest warrant issued. This allows the local constabulary to bring a person into custody where they are

2) Arraigned. This is where they are formally charged with a crime, to which they

3) Plead (guilty, not guilty, nolo contendre), generally after prosecution and defense have reached a deal but if not they go to

4) Trial, where (3) is settled for once and all where a judge and/or jury

5) Adjudicates guilt or innocence and then things move on to

6) Sentencing, which may or may not include prison. Considering an arrest warrant was issued for a class B misdemeanor (which includes, I shit you not, both prostitution and "theft of cable television"), the penalty up for grabs is a thousand dollar fine and up to 30 days in jail.

So you're six steps out, bubba. This judge you want to hate? They got to decide whether there was enough evidence for (1), not for (6).

Tell me again how you're not oversimplifying in search of outrage. Or, alternatively, explain what the US Marshalls are likely to do for a Class B Misdemeanor bench warrant issued in North Dakota when the subject of said warrant happens to be a Manhattanite journalist safely ensconced several states away.