When Will Ted Stevens Go Away?

I keep thinking the Ted Stevens case will finally go away, but it doesn't.  The reason this is important is because it goes to the integrity of the US justice system.  If the prosecutors will lie (I hate to be harsh, but the sloppiness in the Stevens case suggests corruption, not incompetence), then we are all at risk to some degree.

Today's offering is from Clarice Feldman of the American Thinker, and titled "Policing the Prosecutors."  (While the American Thinker lists seven contributors, the provide biographies for only six.  Missing is Ms Feldman.  She is listed as Chief Investigative Correspondent.)

At any rate, this is a bit long and involved.  If what Ms Feldman suggests about the prosecution of Senator Stevens is correct then maybe both Kad Barma and I will have to admit that it was more than technical errors on the part of the Prosecution and that, at least in this case, Senator Stevens may have been badly abused.

From my point of view, this is not about Attorney General Eric Holder.  He seems to be doing the right thing.  This problem has been around since the Bush Administration and maybe longer.  I sure hope this is not the Federal Law Enforcement establishment's equivalent of the Catholic Church's pedophile scandal.  That is to say, they knew it was going on for a long time, but to avoid scandal tainting their good work, the Justice Department covered it up and moved the offending prosecutors around.

Those of us who are law and order folks need to think about these kinds of issues.  Letting someone off because of not following the rules (e.g., Miranda) seems foolish, but convicting the innocent because the prosecution has cooked the books is government crime that should be strongly punished. Such things are the reason the Bill of Rights reads the way it does.

To answer the title question, maybe not for a long time.

UPDATE

I am trying to go to bed, but I keep coming across this stuff.  Now we have a Federal case in South Florida where prosceutorial misconduct cost us taxpayers $600K.  Read about it here.  The blogger comments:

Clearly the new AG Holder is taking a strong position against prosecutorial misconduct and sending that clear message to those in his office, something that is wonderful to see happening.  But if this were a corporation that had committed misconduct, would these acknowledgments and payment be sufficient?

No, they would not. But, still, kudos to AG Eric Holder.

Regards  —  Cliff