Guilty Until Proven Innocent

As you know if you've been reading this blog for any length of time, one of my recurring themes is respect for the law - usually in terms of the illegal immigration debate, but across the topical board. One of the things that sets the United States apart from most other nations is our focus on the rule of law...the fact that each of us can have our day in court and expect our voices to be heard and our guilt or innocence determined by a jury of our peers based on evidence and not our station in life.

This is why I was apalled on Sunday afternoon by what I heard on C-Span radio.

The broadcast in question was a news conference at which a long parade of Justice Department officials announced and discussed the indictment, in a criminal public corruption case, of Representative William Jefferson (Democrat, from Louisiana). What bothered me was the incongruity and essential unfairness of the event: speaker after speaker stressed that an indictment is not the same as a conviction, and that Mr Jefferson is considered innocent until proven guilty...and then each speaker went on to piously thunder about the details of the indictment and the dreadful nature of the allegations as betrayals of the public trust.

In essence, Representative Jefferson was being tried and convicted on the radio. A large posse of Justice Department officials ranging from U.S. Attorneys to FBI agents took turns trumpeting the details of the indictment in a press conference that appeared designed to convince the nation of Mr Jefferson's guilt.

One of the cornerstones of our legal system is the guarantee that an accused person is considered innocent until proven guilty. The job of proving guilt is laid upon the prosecution, and the question is decided by a sworn jury in front of a judge in a court of law. The Constitution doesn't provide for trial by press conference.

Now, I've been following this case for some time, and my personal opinion is that Mr Jefferson is guilty (I have yet to hear him offer a convincing explanation for the $90,000 wrapped in aluminum foil and hidden in his freezer), but that's not the point. It's not my decision to make. Mr Jefferson is entitled to a trial at which he can defend himself against the charges, and it's the job of a jury to decide if he is, in fact, guilty.

I believe the Justice Department has, by its actions in this press conference, denied Mr Jefferson his Constitutional right to a fair trial.

You can read the Justice Department's press release at http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2007/June/07_crm_402.html. The last sentence of the press release reads: "Criminal indictments are only charges and not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty."

I hope that Mr Jefferson will receive a fair and impartial trial. Unfortunately, thanks to the grandstanding of the Justice Deparment, I'm afraid he may not get it.

Have a good day. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo