Re: 'Off' the parking pigs! (fwd)

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Date: Wed, 10 Dec 1997 14:45:46 -0500 From: Eric Seggebruch - NYC SE Subject: Re: 'Off' the parking pigs! (fwd)

Actually it is possible for the government to get more than one shot at a defendant through the doctrine of dual sovereignty (state and federal). That is how they got the police officers involved in the Rodney King incident. When the state court (California) jury let them off, the feds prosecuted them for civil rights violations in federal court.

There you have it.

We got nothing here. The fact is that the charges that were used at the state and federal level were different charges relating to the same incident. This is *not* double jeopardy in any sense of the word. Further, other than the Feds deciding to wait until the outcome of the state trial there was nothing that would have prevented them from filing in tandem. Furthermore, this rampant equating of federal and state rights is a real disservice to understanding the correct functioning of a democracy. State and federal government agencies are supposed to be equal and indipendant within the guidelines of the Constitution. As a result for a given act it is perfectly reasonable and actualy desirable for the state and federal agencies to file in parallel and indipendently. Re-read the 10th with this case in mind and perhaps it will clear the confusion up for you. ____________________________________________________________________ | | | | | We built your fort. We will not have it used against us. | | | | John Wayne - Allegheny Uprising | | | | | | _____ The Armadillo Group | | ,::////;::-. Austin, Tx. USA | | /:'///// ``::>/|/ http://www.ssz.com/ | | .', |||| `/( e\ | | -====~~mm-'`-```-mm --'- Jim Choate | | ravage@ssz.com | | 512-451-7087 | |____________________________________________________________________|