Thursday, March 28, AD 2024 4:19pm

Ludicrous Charges

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The indictments of the Harris County Grand Jury in Texas against David R. Daleiden and Sandra S. Merritt are the worst misuse of the power of prosecution that I have witnessed in 33 years of practicing law:

Prosecutors in Harris County said one of the leaders of the Center for Medical Progress — an anti-abortion group that made secretly recorded videos purporting to show Planned Parenthood officials trying to illegally profit from the sale of fetal tissue — had been indicted on a charge of tampering with a governmental record, a felony, and on a misdemeanor charge related to purchasing human organs.

That leader, David R. Daleiden, 27, the director of the center, had posed as a biotechnology representative to infiltrate Planned Parenthood affiliates and surreptitiously record his efforts to procure tissue for research. Another center employee, Sandra S. Merritt, 62, was indicted on a felony charge of tampering with a governmental record.

The record-tampering charges accused Mr. Daleiden and Ms. Merritt of making and presenting fake California driver’s licenses, with the intent to defraud, for their April meeting at Planned Parenthood in Houston.

Go here to read the rest.

Let us count the ways a first year law student should be able to get this trash dismissed:

1. Lack of scienter-Daleiden and Merritt were attempting to expose Planned Parenthood’s sale of fetal tissue.  They had no intent to actually purchase such tissue.

2. No sale-The grand Jury simultaneously found that Planned Parenthood was not attempting to sell fetal tissue.  They then found that Daleiden and Merritt were purchasing tissue from a vendor who was not selling tissue.  That makes no logical sense, let alone a coherent legal charge.

3.  Freedom of the press-All of the activities of Daleiden and Merritt were undertaken under the cover of the First Amendment freedom of the press.  Such sting operations are part and parcel of the normal functioning of the media in this country and an attempt to criminalize such activity raises grave constitutional questions.

4.  No intent to defraud-The California driver’s license charge indicates how the prosecutor involved was reaching to get a felony indictment, purchasing or selling fetal tissue sadly being only a misdemeanor.  This is the type of charge that only a prosecutor desperate to find anything to nail a target of an investigation on would bring.  The charge is complete rubbish since there was no intent to defraud Planned Parenthood of anything, but rather an intent to expose wrongdoing.

Having looked over the charges this afternoon, I can say confidently that this is clearly a result intended by the prosecutor.  This was not the result of a grand jury acting out on its own, but rather the usual outcome where a prosecutor gets what he wants out of a grand jury.  Devon Anderson is up for election this year and is a Republican.  She revealed the findings of the grand jury after the filing period had passed for her to draw an opponent in the primary.  I would recommend that pro-lifers and Republicans vote for her Democrat opponent in the fall, absent a viable third party candidate.

This type of misuse of the prosecutor’s office should not go unpunished.  Either she does not know what is going on in her own office and allowed pro-abort assistant prosecutors to transform a Grand Jury called to consider criminal charges against Planned Parenthood into a weapon against those who exposed the ghoulish trade of Planned Parenthood in the remains of their victims, or she is a pro-abort herself and planned this miscarriage of justice.  In either case she is unfit to hold public office.

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Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus
Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus
Tuesday, January 26, AD 2016 7:16pm

What are the chances in our screwed up justice system that a guilty verdict is rendered?

Edward G. Radler Rice
Edward G. Radler Rice
Tuesday, January 26, AD 2016 8:57pm
Michael Paterson-Seymour
Michael Paterson-Seymour
Wednesday, January 27, AD 2016 4:16am

“The grand Jury simultaneously found that Planned Parenthood was not attempting to sell fetal tissue. They then found that Daleiden and Merritt were purchasing tissue from a vendor who was not selling tissue. That makes no logical sense…”
Not necessarily. It depends entirely on the evidence.
Thus, as Lord Fraser observed, “The confessions of the wife, defender, may warrant the Court in finding that adultery is proved against her, while, not being evidence against the co-defender, he escapes; and thus divorce may be granted against the wife for adultery committed by her with him, while he himself is assoilzied from the action.”
Again, “there is no necessary contradiction between a jury’s finding that there is convincing evidence, applicable to A only, to show that A acted in concert with B and a contemporaneous jury finding that the evidence applicable to B has failed to demonstrate that he acted in concert with A.”
Facts are one thing; proof of those facts quite another.

Philip
Philip
Wednesday, January 27, AD 2016 5:06am

65,169 and counting.
The signatures on board with Edward G. Radler Rice’s invitation to Sign the petition!
Thanks Edward.

Clinton
Clinton
Wednesday, January 27, AD 2016 6:28am

Last year the federal government alone shoveled almost $600 million taxpayer
dollars to Planned Parenthood. States and municipal governments also give
PP millions of taxpayer dollars in subsidies. Planned Parenthood, in return, spends
money helping pro-abortion politicians get and stay in office– I believe in this
most recent Congressional election cycle PP reported spending $18 million on
various Congressional elections, and is on line to spend upwards of $20 million
just on Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign this year. I haven’t seen figures on
what PP spends on state and municipal elections, but I’m sure it’s not chicken
feed. PP has the deep pockets to do this, because the politicians they help get
elected keep them flush with taxpayer dollars.
.
Harris County / Houston Democrats have a very cosy relationship with
Planned Parenthood. Back in 2012 the Houston Planned Parenthood opened
their new abortion facility– the largest in the nation– and that December the
Harris County DNC held their Christmas party there. Planned Parenthood
is both the baby-killing arm of the Democrat party, and a slush fund of
campaign dollars for pro-abortion politicians of both parties. I’m guessing
that Republican DA Devon Anderson has figured out which side her bread is
buttered on, and if she loses the support of Houston Republicans over this,
she’ll likely just switch parties.
.
I’m hoping that if these indictments aren’t tossed out by a judge and actually
go to trial, then all of the videos and other information currently held by
Daleidin and Merritt are brought out in the discovery process. It’s likely that
there are some things there that’ll make both PP and some Houston politicians
regret they pulled this stunt.
.
It certainly wouldn’t hurt to send a donation to help the CMP with their legal
bills, since they’re not receiving hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars
each year. Their website has a Paypal button…

DonL
DonL
Wednesday, January 27, AD 2016 6:43am

Will this really be resolved when it’s brought it to the “Supreme Court”–the same secular holy pinnacle that created Roe vs. Wade out of whole lawyer-speak cloth? (“emanations from penumbras” is not in the constitution in any form, implicit or explicit)
First comes immorality, then the enforcement arm engages it, and the legal arm codifies it as a good.

We better hope there’s an after life.

Philip
Philip
Wednesday, January 27, AD 2016 8:27am

This lesson period is coming to an end.
Soon the final exams will reveal who has payed attention and who has not.
Failure rate will be high and once it’s over, its over……forever.

Rachel
Rachel
Thursday, January 28, AD 2016 1:42am

Vote for her Democrat opponent? Are you serious? Democrats are ALWAYS pro-choice. Most want taxpayer funded abortion, on demand, post 20 weeks, without appology, and frequently won’t attempt to end the horrific practice of partial birth abortion, even for babies who would otherwise be developed enough to survive outside the womb. Of course we should want judges who uphold the sanctity of life, but to advise people vote against her and elect some unnamed and unknown political opponant as a way to punish her is irresponsible, as you could very likely put someone even more evil behind the bench. Please research candidates prior to elections, vote responsibly, and according to your concience, not just party.

blah
blah
Thursday, January 28, AD 2016 4:19am

The Evil Axis: B. Hussein – Hillary — Planned Parenthood, Their Patron is Ted Kennedy.

trackback
Thursday, January 28, AD 2016 9:20am

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