Goat: Re: Baltimore...

[toastedbread]

1. What did you think about Mosby appearing on stage at a sting concert and her Vogue profile? It seems she is capitalizing on this case to boost her name nationally. I'm not a fan of such people. It seems inappropriate, if not unprofessional given the seriousness of this case.

2. It appears she is now conceding that the knife was illegal, but that the initial stop was illegal. I would think this change in narrative significantly hurts her case?

 

[TheOriginalHappyGoat]

1. What did you think about Mosby appearing on stage at a sting concert and her Vogue profile? It seems she is capitalizing on this case to boost her name nationally. I'm not a fan of such people. It seems inappropriate, if not unprofessional given the seriousness of this case.

2. It appears she is now conceding that the knife was illegal, but that the initial stop was illegal. I would think this change in narrative significantly hurts her case?

I can't answer this, because I haven't seen anything yet, but wanted to give a generic response so you know I saw your post:

1. From the way you describe it, she sounds like 1000 other ambitious prosecutors. I admit it can seem distasteful at times.

2. I don't think the legality of the knife has any bearing on the legality of the stop, but it obviously has a bearing on the legality of the arrest. EDIT: In theory. If the stop was illegal, any evidence - i.e., the knife - might be inadmissible anyway, so that's going to be a big factor. But I think the key here isn't if the cops were reasonable in arresting the guy, but how they treated him after the arrest. If this "rough ride" thing is the real deal, that's going to be the primary issue.

 

[toastedbread]

I can't answer this, because I haven't seen anything yet, but wanted to give a generic response so you know I saw your post:

1. From the way you describe it, she sounds like 1000 other ambitious prosecutors. I admit it can seem distasteful at times.

2. I don't think the legality of the knife has any bearing on the legality of the stop, but it obviously has a bearing on the legality of the arrest. EDIT: In theory. If the stop was illegal, any evidence - i.e., the knife - might be inadmissible anyway, so that's going to be a big factor. But I think the key here isn't if the cops were reasonable in arresting the guy, but how they treated him after the arrest. If this "rough ride" thing is the real deal, that's going to be the primary issue.

I agree with the "rough ride" being the bigger issue, but from her initial comments on the courthouse steps she seemed to be placing a big emphasis on the knife having been legal and it seemed to be part of the justification for the quick actions on her part. As an outsider, I couldn't understand how she was able to complete her investigation and bring charges so quickly in a seemingly highly complex case.

Also, we still do not know how he suffered his initial injuries? Clearly he was significantly injured before entering the van. I don't think anyone would claim that his injuries and death were solely the result of the rough ride.

 

[TheOriginalHappyGoat]

I agree with the "rough ride" being the bigger issue, but from her initial comments on the courthouse steps she seemed to be placing a big emphasis on the knife having been legal and it seemed to be part of the justification for the quick actions on her part. As an outsider, I couldn't understand how she was able to complete her investigation and bring charges so quickly in a seemingly highly complex case.

Also, we still do not know how he suffered his initial injuries? Clearly he was significantly injured before entering the van. I don't think anyone would claim that his injuries and death were solely the result of the rough ride.

I thought the knife was a big deal, not only from a legal perspective, but because Maryland was sued over this (and lost) barely 12 years ago. That speaks to bad, bad training, to me.

But if the knife really was illegal, then we're back to the before and after - the stop and the rough ride.

As for his injuries before the van ride, I can't speak to that, but if the evidence does show that those injuries were also caused by the officers, that's bad news for him. Not only would that speak to their guilt directly, but if he was "obviously" injured, then they would have had an obligation to do what was necessary to minimize the effects of those injuries - i.e., take him to the hospital immediately.

 

[TheOriginalHappyGoat]

1. What did you think about Mosby appearing on stage at a sting concert and her Vogue profile? It seems she is capitalizing on this case to boost her name nationally. I'm not a fan of such people. It seems inappropriate, if not unprofessional given the seriousness of this case.

More on Mosby:

Although this isn't strictly speaking the prosecutor's job, an argument can be made that it's the job of all public officials to do what they can to quell the unrest. So long as Mosby doesn't say anything that prejudices the case or the potential jury pool, being open with the public about the case may help do that.

I don't think anything she's said so far rises to the level of an ethics violation, but it is a fine line to walk.