now THAT is one hell of a journalism professor!

and we wonder why journalism is a dying art.

still, good for these kids.

I'm interested in what the judge decides.

Scary proposition.

"It's been framed as a witch hunt or a fishing expedition, and it's not," said Sally Daly, spokeswoman for Alvarez. "We're engaging in a discovery process as we would in any criminal investigation."

Riiiiiight.

Enjoy arguing that case in the Court of Public Opinion.

I think the prosecutor might instead want to take a look at finding out who the real killer is. Perhaps the murderer is dead after all these years. But, perhaps the killer is sitting at home right having a beer.

You know who else came from chicago?

What a douche nozzle.

It's almost as if they didn't want her to find something out or something...weird....

Oops, wrong thread. Disregard me....

The prosecutors should be examining the evidence, not harassing the students.

But of course prosecutors are frequently more interested in protecting their conviction records than the are in the truth.

Prosecutors claim since the team was made up of students, they may have been under pressure to prove the case to get a good grade

And this is different from being a prosecutor because...?

Marcus Aurelius: And this is different from being a prosecutor because...?

Heh. Touche.

Jeez, subby, how could you to use this?

FTA: But in two cases they investigated in the last five years, students who found compelling evidence of prisoners' guilt still got As in his class, Protess said, so students had no reason to pad their findings in the McKinney case.

Personally, I believe Anita Alvarez, Cook County state's attorney, as an axe to grind on college students or a burr up her butt. Maybe both.

You know who else didn't like college students in Cook County?



/Too obscure?

AirForceVet:



/Too obscure?

not in the least.

This is actually a good example for the students. This shows, without any room for doubt that prosecutors, most of whom are simply not good enough to be REAL lawyers, will stop at nothing to cover their bogus conviction rates. In recent years it has become easier and easier for cops and prosecutors to find pinheads in black robes to sign off on anything and why not? These "judges" draw their paychecks from the same place as the cops and prosecutors.

pgh9fan: But, perhaps the killer is sitting at home right having a beer.

And posting in TFD threads.

Marcus Aurelius: And this is different from being a prosecutor because...?

Wondering the same thing... Even if what the prosecutor alleges is true, how does that have any relevance?

Prosecutors who knowingly put innocent people in jail are farking scum and pretty much evil.

Such prosecutors not only ruin innocent lives but also leave the actual guilty party free to commit more crimes.

someone convicted on nothing but eyewitness testimony back before modern forensics might not be guilty? INCONCEIVABLE

No defense to this prosecutorial FAIL.

Good work.

Alacritous: The prosecutors should be examining the evidence, not harassing the students.

But of course prosecutors are frequently more interested in protecting their conviction records than the are in the truth.

Thats what happens when you merge politics with the legal system.

you should NOT be campaigning the public for seats at the same time you are trying the public.

FriarReb98: It's almost as if they didn't want her to find something out or something...weird....

Of course not. They showed the prosecutor was wrong. That's intolerable.

I read this story some weeks ago, and I still can't believe the prosecutor would do this, and the reasons he came up with to do it.

ksdanj: pgh9fan: But, perhaps the killer is sitting at home right having a beer.

And posting in TFD threads being Glenn Beck.

FTFY

Somewhere in Arizona, Sheriff Joe Arpaio pounds his desk and says, "Damn! Why didn't I think of that!?!"

Where are the badge lickers and cop lovers who are always ready to defend our criminal justice system? A cop shoots a homeowner, and well, now, we can't rush to judge.

A prosecutor starts trying to cover his tracks, and silence. Crickets.

What's the matter boys? Getting harder to keep up that "isolated instance" idea?

between this hitting fark and the iowa victory, it's been a good week for the 'cats.

/Go U NU

Ok, so something I've been wondering... In a state that allows the death penalty, a cop that coerces a false confession for a capital crime, or a person who perjures himself toward a conviction in a capital case, is intentionally setting in motion events that will, if successful, predictably cause the death of an innocent person. That person is trying to use the state as an agent to kill a person. Why can't such a cop or perjurer be charged with attempted murder?

"We're engaging in a discovery process as we would in any criminal investigation."


And why are the students the subject of a criminal investigation?


/ Prosecutor would've gotten away with it if it weren't for those "meddling kids"

The prosecutor's office - led by Anita Alvarez, who last year was elected Cook County state's attorney on a reputation for toughness - said it's just being thorough, and wants to determine if students may have skewed their findings to get a good grade.

You know what is a much bigger incentive than getting a good grade? Getting PAID to PROSECUTE the case.

These prosecutors should be required to do all the rest of their case pro bono, just so we can be sure they aren't skewing their findings to help their careers.

dan_in_oakland: Where are the badge lickers and cop lovers who are always ready to defend our criminal justice system? A cop shoots a homeowner, and well, now, we can't rush to judge.

A prosecutor starts trying to cover his tracks, and silence. Crickets.

What's the matter boys? Getting harder to keep up that "isolated instance" idea?

I would condemn anyone that abuses public trust, but yes, it is isolated. When compared to the thousands and thousands of legitimate, properly-prosecuted cases every year, cases like this are very, very infrequent. The simple fact that it made the news instead of being un-newsworthy business as usual points to that. Of course, that doesn't make it right or excusable, and if the case is as it appears from TFA, the prosecutor needs a solid galactic pimpslap and a trip to prison.

Anita Alvarez could be the biggest asshole in the Western World. She has plenty of competition for the title in both her office and Cook County/Chicago generally.

/now that they've sent the biggest asshole of all to DC
//Cook County/Chicago politicians suck teh balls

treesloth: dan_in_oakland: Where are the badge lickers and cop lovers who are always ready to defend our criminal justice system? A cop shoots a homeowner, and well, now, we can't rush to judge.

A prosecutor starts trying to cover his tracks, and silence. Crickets.

What's the matter boys? Getting harder to keep up that "isolated instance" idea?

I would condemn anyone that abuses public trust, but yes, it is isolated. When compared to the thousands and thousands of legitimate, properly-prosecuted cases every year, cases like this are very, very infrequent. The simple fact that it made the news instead of being un-newsworthy business as usual points to that. Of course, that doesn't make it right or excusable, and if the case is as it appears from TFA, the prosecutor needs a solid galactic pimpslap and a trip to prison.

The only thing I'd like to point out is that the justice system in general abuses the public trust. You should read the book "Homicide" about the year a columnist spent with the Homicide Detectives in Baltimore. It's an excellent look behind the scenes.

vinn01: "We're engaging in a discovery process as we would in any criminal investigation."


And why are the students the subject of a criminal investigation?


/ Prosecutor would've gotten away with it if it weren't for those "meddling kids"

I see what you did there!



/jinkies!

Mike Nifong has an opinion on this. I'm sure of it.

This might actually be the most clever journalistic tactic I've ever heard of. You want to investigate how farked up the justice system is? Simply bring yourself to its attention and sit back while more bullshiat than you could ever hope to prove is dropped into your lap.

It's brilliant! Would people believe that subpoenas could be issued for grades to brazenly discredit people who question the law? No need to speculate now, it happened. CNN-style journalists would probably have had a jackhole from each perspective shout at each other and conclude that it's impossible to tell.

/Also... 3 years? That's one hell of a class.

Well, that's certainly not petty or anything.

skinink:

The only thing I'd like to point out is that the justice system in general abuses the public trust. You should read the book "Homicide" about the year a columnist spent with the Homicide Detectives in Baltimore. It's an excellent look behind the scenes.

Are you talking about this one by David Simon? Looks good, thanks for the tip.

Meanwhile, prosecutors have declined to release records of the police officers who were involved in McKinney's case, and have also rebuffed a Protess offer to release students' grades in exchange for prosecutors' performance reviews.

*chortle* I like the cut of this man's jib.

The Gordie Howe Hat Trick: Sheriff Joe

Holy crap! I wasn't the first/only person to think of Sheriff Joe while reading that?

Good for the students and the prof but I can kind of see the prosecutor's point here. From the looks of the thread it seems like I'm the only one too.

Prosecutors claim since the team was made up of students, they may have been under pressure to prove the case to get a good grade. Nothing wrong with making certain that this new evidence is on the up and up. We are talking about overturning convictions here and its not like college students have never cheated to get good grades.

FriarReb98: It's almost as if they didn't want her to find something out or something...weird....

Find out something like, oh, I don't know, they got good grades for doing what they were supposed to do?
It's none of the prosecutor's business.
Seriously, even if they all got As, how exactly could her office use that to prove anything?
Prosecutors aren't qualified to grade a journalism professor's class, so nothing they see will allow them to decide if the students earned their grade or not.
And even if they're a bunch of horrible students, can a bunch of journalism students just turn in a packet of interviews they say they conducted, and use that as evidence? Surely not. For this class to have freed 11 innocent people from jail, the court must be vetting their findings somehow.
So this thing is going to a hearing, the court is going to decide whether their findings are legit, and, given this class's track record, I'll bet the court will find that this guy deserves a new trial.
/suspect it was Old Man McGreedy, doing it for the Spanish doubloons hidden inside Skull Cave
//would have gotten away etc.

treesloth: Ok, so something I've been wondering... In a state that allows the death penalty, a cop that coerces a false confession for a capital crime, or a person who perjures himself toward a conviction in a capital case, is intentionally setting in motion events that will, if successful, predictably cause the death of an innocent person. That person is trying to use the state as an agent to kill a person. Why can't such a cop or perjurer be charged with attempted murder?

Lack of intent. Murder and manslaughter require proof of intent or recklessness.

Nice idea. Not legally feasible.

/Friendly neighborhood law student
//Not legal advice or guaranteed to be correct
///You absolve me of any liability if you decide to act upon any statement I make.

Scorched Colon: Good for the students and the prof but I can kind of see the prosecutor's point here. From the looks of the thread it seems like I'm the only one too.

Prosecutors claim since the team was made up of students, they may have been under pressure to prove the case to get a good grade. Nothing wrong with making certain that this new evidence is on the up and up. We are talking about overturning convictions here and its not like college students have never cheated to get good grades.

Yeah nothing wrong with making sure, unless of course it involves time, money, and malicious deceit. In which case there's a lot wrong with "making sure" that your wild speculation is indeed wrong.

The professor's name is also suspiciously close to "Protoss", should we subpoena some copies of Starcraft and make sure his motivation isn't xenophobia? I mean, what the hell, it's not like we're paying for it; that's what taxpayers are for.

Anita Alvarez - Gotta remember the name of this one. A chilling move on her part which most prosecutors wouldn't have attempted so blatantly. Intimidation of journalists when those journalists and students are finding misconduct. Wow, just wow. We're not that far off from losing this country to the thugs - in this case the official thugs but thugs nonetheless.

treesloth: Ok, so something I've been wondering... In a state that allows the death penalty, a cop that coerces a false confession for a capital crime, or a person who perjures himself toward a conviction in a capital case, is intentionally setting in motion events that will, if successful, predictably cause the death of an innocent person. That person is trying to use the state as an agent to kill a person. Why can't such a cop or perjurer be charged with attempted murder?

Why not charge the jurors too, and hit everyone in the courtroom that day with Good Samaritan tickets while you're at it?

Pigs will be pigs. I think the prosecuter should be executed by the state in public as lesson in fear.

Con Fabulous
Yeah nothing wrong with making sure, unless of course it involves time, money, and malicious deceit. In which case there's a lot wrong with "making sure" that your wild speculation is indeed wrong.

The professor's name is also suspiciously close to "Protoss", should we subpoena some copies of Starcraft and make sure his motivation isn't xenophobia? I mean, what the hell, it's not like we're paying for it; that's what taxpayers are for.

Ah, I see. So you prefer to accept the new evidence at face value without investigating it further and overturning convictions because a journalism prof and his class says so.