| speeder |
09-28-2009 06:51 AM |
Quote:
Originally Posted by Aurel
(Post 4922202)
He cannot be sentenced if there is no plaintiff, can he? By being arrested and brought to justice, he will indeed be freed from a life in exile, and the whole story will be put to rest. When the victim does not want to prosecute, there should be no prosecution. However, I see a possibility that lawyers will do all they can to convince her to go after him, so they can put their hands on his money.
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Even people who understand the U.S. justice system are having a difficult time defending/excusing him. You, on the other hand are really extraordinary. I would not have thought it possible for someone to be as completely ignorant as you appear to be. Do you understand the courts in your own country? I'm guessing not.
You make it sound like a bad episode of Dr. Phil or Oprah. As others have pointed out, there is no "plaintiff" in a criminal trial. The aggrieved party who has been raped or murdered or assaulted, etc., is known as "the victim". They do not get to decide whether the accused is charged with a crime. Their lack of cooperation could make prosecution difficult in some cases, however. That would be irrelevant in Polanki's case. The victim cooperated with prosecutors and a grand jury 100% and Polanski pleaded guilty to avoid a trial in which he was sure to be convicted by a jury of child rape and kidnapping. (Holding someone against their will in the U.S. is considered kidnapping in most all cases). He would have been sentenced to life in a maximum security prison and be kept isolated from all other prisoners forever or be killed the first day by his cell mates. Child rapists are the lowest possible scum in the ape-pyramid that is prison social life.
I've not seen the documentary on his trial but have heard about some purported serious judicial misconduct on the part of the sentencing judge. What everyone seems to overlook is the fact that when someone is in the position that Polanski was, (just convicted of a serious crime with no viable defense), the only hope in the world that you have is some serious misconduct by your trial judge that constitutes "reversible error", IOW, grounds for reversal of your conviction on appeal based on that misconduct.
My Dad was a criminal defense lawyer, then later a judge. As a lawyer, if he had no other prayer with a client caught red-handed doing something illegal, the best hope was reversible error by prosecutors or the judge. (Usually involving hidden evidence or the like). He'd get to go to bat against them again after seeing their whole poker hand the first time.
In Polanski's case, he could have plead guilty all over again and hope for an even better deal. (Not really possible in his case but what the hell). At any rate, he was convicted already and fled while out on bail awaiting sentencing. Not exactly a novel or original idea, cavemen were doing it FFS. Your convoluted description of events, (and other's), make it sound like you've never read a word about the case and got your entire legal education in a psych ward.
"Let him go!! I loved Rosemary's Baby! WAHHHH...." :rolleyes:
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