On politics, prosecutions and public perspective
On Aug. 15, 2014, a grand jury in Travis County, Texas, indicted Governor Rick Perry for abusing his official capacity and for coercion of a public servant.
The criminal prosecution stemmed from Perry insisting that Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmber resign after her arrest, particularly belligerent behavior while in custody and guilty plea to driving while intoxicated.
Perry was not charged with engaging in some nefarious cover up. The prosecution does not allege that he used his office to influence the outcome of a prosecution. The rather simple indictment points to a veto threat designed to push out a district attorney who had, at a minimum, damaged public confidence in her decision-making ability.
Unfortunately, the issue of politically charged prosecutions is bigger than Texas and no stranger to Alabama.
On the other side of the political spectrum, former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman’s criminal prosecution was also surrounded in political controversy. At the center of the case that ultimately landed Siegelman in prison was the charge that Siegelman accepted donations totaling $500,000 for his state lottery campaign from Richard Scrushy, in exchange for re-appointing Scrushy to Alabama’s Certificate of Need Review Board.
The multiple cases against and ultimate conviction of Siegelman garnered so much attention because of the political back story that 60 Minutes developed an expose on the subject.
Siegelman was convicted; Perry might be. Both cases and others like them raise questions about politics in prosecutions that have far-reaching implications for the very perception of our criminal justice system.
Our criminal laws are designed to protect us, to maintain public confidence in our government and, ultimately, make for an ordered society. Felony criminal offenses are theoretically reserved for seriously egregious conduct, because the consequences for such a conviction last indefinitely.
Most of us like to think that law enforcement is relatively clear. We make laws through a democratic process. People who break those laws are prosecuted and serve their sentence. Frequently, it is not that simple, especially the part where prosecutors must prove that the defendant knowingly violated the law beyond a reasonable doubt.
Americans subscribe to the notion that justice is, or should be, blind. Representations of Lady Justice throughout history have portrayed her as such. At the same time, we know that police, prosecutors and even juries arrive in the courtroom with their own interests, perspectives and beliefs. Thankfully, most of them seem to be able to objectively apply the law to the perceived intent and proven actions of the defendant.
Our legal system will never be purely neutral, but our free society depends on pursuing justice in as impartial a manner as possible. Our criminal justice system is a shield against harm, rather than a sword to be actively used against our opponents. We need look no further than countries like Russia, North Korea and Libya to see the bottom of the slippery slope of politically charged criminal prosecution.
Political forces have tremendous import to forming laws and, in a democratic society, they should. Ironically, once laws — especially criminal laws — are enacted, the entire political spectrum is obliged to comply until the law is changed or repealed. In other words, we need to have a high degree of confidence that the law applies the same to everyone, regardless of politics, money or connections.
Whenever public officials are involved in alleged criminal activity, claims of political targeting will undoubtedly surface. There is a marked difference between politics being attendant to a prosecution and political animus driving it. More often than not, it is hard to tell the difference; just ask most Republicans about Siegelman or Democrats about Perry.
Now more than ever, we need confidence in those charged with the difficult task of enforcing our laws, and it is their responsibility to be guardians of that trust in spite of the extra effort that may require.
