Michigan Militia Group Acquitted of All Major Charges (legal, lawyers, FBI)

[momonkey]

"Lawyers for members of a Midwest militia group expect a deal to be finalized on Thursday to end their trial after a judge dismissed conspiracy charges and rebuked prosecutors for failing to prove they were intent on carrying out attacks against the government.
Judge Victoria Roberts took the unusual step on Tuesday of dismissing all major charges against the militia members even before the defense case was heard, and only two of the seven defendants remain behind bars."

Trial of militia group may end with deal on minor charges - Yahoo! News (http://news.yahoo.com/trial-militia-group-may-end-deal-minor-charges-081834123.html - broken link)


Thank you Judge Victoria Roberts for respecting the Constitution.

[padcrasher]

Originally Posted by momonkey

"Lawyers for members of a Midwest militia group expect a deal to be finalized on Thursday to end their trial after a judge dismissed conspiracy charges and rebuked prosecutors for failing to prove they were intent on carrying out attacks against the government.
Judge Victoria Roberts took the unusual step on Tuesday of dismissing all major charges against the militia members even before the defense case was heard, and only two of the seven defendants remain behind bars."

Trial of militia group may end with deal on minor charges - Yahoo! News (http://news.yahoo.com/trial-militia-group-may-end-deal-minor-charges-081834123.html - broken link)


Thank you Judge Victoria Roberts for respecting the Constitution.

Good for the Judge. You would have a lot more credibility if your concern for the Constitution extended to Muslim Americans who are snared in these same type of FBI plots where they instigate the crime themselves, then blame the Muslims. Sadly, you're too much a a partisan to apply the same standards to them. You'll cheer for white paranoid militia types cause they're own your "team". And forget all about the "Constitution" when it comes to Muslim Americans.

[momonkey]

Originally Posted by padcrasher

Good for the Judge. You would have a lot more credibility if your concern for the Constitution extended to Muslim Americans who are snared in these same type of FBI plots where they instigate the crime themselves, then blame the Muslims. Sadly, you're too much a a partisan to apply the same standards to them. You'll cheer for white paranoid militia types cause they're own your "team". And forget all about the "Constitution" when it comes to Muslim Americans.

I take the rights of US citizens very seriously...non-citizens, not so much.



http://www.city-data.com/forum/polit...t21379788.html

[stillkit]

Originally Posted by momonkey

I take the rights of US citizens very seriously...non-citizens, not so much.



http://www.city-data.com/forum/polit...t21379788.html

Then, we can take it that you don't much care for the Constitution, which gives the same legal protections to "persons" as it does to "citizens?"

Art III; Sec. 2

Amendments V and VI

[stillkit]

Conspiracies are always hard to prove because the charge must stick against each, individual member. Nobody can be convicted of conspiracy by association and that's basically what the government's case came down to.

Here's the judge's ruling:

http://www.mied.uscourts.gov/USAvStone/orders/32.Order_Granting_Defendants%27_Motions_for_Judgme nt_of_Acquittal_on_Counts_1-7.pdf (broken link)

It should be noted that while the defendants were cleared of federal conspiracy charges because their alleged target was not the federal government itself, but law enforcement, they could very well now be tried under state law.

The point is that this ruling is not a victory for free speech so much as it's an indictment of a weak government case.