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In a landmark decision, a U.S. appeals court on Thursday rejected the 12-year quest of a Jeffrey Epstein survivor to hold the government accountable for giving the infamous child predator a clandestine deal that essentially allowed him to get out of jail after a minimal sentence, and, according to recent lawsuits, continue to abuse girls and women.
The 7-4 decision by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals was split mostly along gender lines, with four female judges issuing a scathing rebuke of the majority’s interpretation of the Crime Victims’ Rights Act (CVRA). The decision, unless it is overturned on further appeal, could allow wealthy defendants to continue to arrange favorable plea deals from the government without any oversight or accountability, said an attorney who originally filed the challenge.
“The ruling is very disturbing. It sets up two systems of justice, one for wealthy defendants who can negotiate deals before charges are filed — and one for most criminal defendants, who don’t have the wealth and power to arrange those kinds of deals,’’ said the attorney, Paul Cassell.
...
In her dissenting opinion, Senior Circuit Judge Frank Hull skewered the majority’s “sense of sorrow,’’ over not being able to give Epstein’s victims justice. Noting that the decision would have far-reaching impact in other cases involving wealthy defendants, she said the ruling “leaves federal prosecutors free to engage in the secret plea deals and deception’’ before criminal charges are ever made public, resulting in “the travesty” that happened in the Epstein case.
She also noted that “the Department of Justice’s failure to discipline its own prosecutors heightens the importance of the CVRA’s private right of action.’’
DOJ’s investigation found that prosecutors exercised “poor judgment,’’ but stopped short of recommending sanctions against prosecutors, including Alexander Acosta, the U.S. Attorney in Miami who approved the secret deal.
Acosta declined to comment on the ruling.
Featured image is "Pommes pourries - Rotten apples" by rore is licensed under CC BY 2.0)
Comment →Name of officer who shot Daunte Wright will be released "shortly," city manager says
From CNN's Maureen Chowdhury
Comment →Reporters pressed Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott and City Manager Curt Boganey about why the name of the officer who shot Daunte Wright has not been released.
Mayor Elliott said it was "privileged" information at the moment since the shooting is under investigation. He did express willingness to share additional information about the female officer in question.
Earlier in the news conference, Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon said Wright was fatally shot during a traffic stop after a police officer shouted "Taser!" but fired a handgun instead of the non-lethal stun gun.
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I got a First Class seat on a plane this way before.
I would have enjoyed it more but I immediately fell asleep.
Edit: Well, I wasn’t trying to get a First Class seat. It’s just that I got my seat bumped an hour earlier and, on the make-up plane, the party of four (!) didn’t show up. So the stewardess asked me if I wanted to take one of those seats. HECK YEAH.Report
I think the idea on this one is that he couldn’t get a berth because the railroad didn’t realize they’d already reserved the last berth for him (a lower but no upper). So when he didn’t show up for the berth he hadn’t known was reserved for him, the porter gave it to him, thinking the guy who wanted it hadn’t shown up.
I had a nice room on Amtrak from Chicago to LA and back. My only complaint was that the bed was so short, and the track was so rough, that I had trouble getting to sleep because the top of my head kept slamming into the wall every couple of seconds. Amazingly, I found that I could actually sleep with my head getting slammed once I gave up on trying somehow to prevent it.Report
The first time I flew first class was after a freak snowstorm in Dallas had screwed up air traffic all over the state. While standing in line getting tickets adjusted, the man in front of me wound up to punch the ticket agent. Since he had darned near got me in the face, I took hold of his fist while his arm was back where he had no leverage. He spun around and glared at me, but then just stomped off. The ticket agent looked at my ticket and typed a bunch, then said, “Well, we’re putting together a flight that gets you to where you’re going, but there are multiple stops and there’s no single coach seat available for all of the legs.” He typed some more, then smiled at me and said, “But you’re a nice guy, and there’s a first class seat all the way through.”Report
+10 🙂Report
From what I understand, the modern systems have made it more difficult for agents to do good deeds like this.
More’s the pity.Report
Presumably more difficult for agents to retaliate against assholes, as well. One of my favorite stories, quite possibly an urban legend, but back when I was a frequent business traveler I believed it (and was unfailingly polite to the front line people)…
The passenger is increasingly belligerent, threatening the agent with all kinds of mayhem or retribution if she doesn’t fix whatever problem the passenger is ranting about. The agent stays cool, calm, soothing. When the irate passenger finally leaves, the next person in line tells the agent what an amazing display of self-control it was. “How do you do it?” is asked. The agent pauses, smiles, and replies, “The gentleman is going to Baltimore. His luggage is going to Boise.”Report
Never, ever, ever, be rude to the agents.Report