Due Process
Only 1,400 days to go...
“Please remember what’s at stake. Remember the men and women who have fought and died so that we can live under the rule of law, not the rule of men.” ~Liz Cheney
About 20 years ago, I got hooked on old reruns of Law and Order. I had never watched the series when it was on in prime time. An assistant at my office, Beth, and I realized we were both hooked and constantly comparing story lines and characters. Both of us loved Jerry Orbach’s Lenny Briscoe. When the character was written out of the show, I sort of lost interest in future episodes. And when Orbach died, I called the office to let Beth know and both of us were nearly in tears. I don’t know why I got so hooked on the show, but those earlier episodes were great and it doesn’t surprise me that the show is still on in prime time, even though I don’t watch it anymore.
By watching the show, I feel like I really learned something about our legal system. Even the lowliest scumbag had rights and was offered a defense. Innocent until proven guilty - it’s an amazing system and while imperfect, when innocents are convicted, the system has basically worked for nearly 250 years. And when it doesn’t get it right, then there are appeals for the errors.
A concept that I really came to understand (who said you can’t learn things on the “boob tube") was Due Process.
Whatever disagreement there may be as to the scope of the phrase "due process of law" there can be no doubt that it embraces the fundamental conception of a fair trial, with opportunity to be heard. ~Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
In simple terms, due process means the government must follow fair procedures and established rules when taking actions that could affect someone's life, liberty, or property, ensuring fairness and preventing arbitrary treatment.
Due process is a fundamental principle of fairness in legal matters, ensuring that the government follows established procedures and respects individual rights. It protects citizens from government overreach and ensures that legal proceedings are fair and just.
There were many of the episodes that I found a bit frustrating because “due process” was not followed and the guilty went free. But I understand its importance. Without due process, we would have the sort of racists courts that operated in the Jim Crow South. Without due process, it would be the Wild West and we would have the type of justice of Judge Roy Bean:
Bean then turned his tent saloon into a part-time courtroom and began calling himself the "Only Law West of the Pecos". As a judge, Bean relied on a single law book, the 1879 edition of the Revised Statutes of Texas, and when newer law books showed up he used them as kindling. Bean did not allow hung juries or appeals. Jurors, who were chosen from his best bar customers, were expected to buy a drink during every court recess. He was also known for his unusual rulings. In one case, an Irishman named Paddy O'Rourke shot a Chinese laborer. During the trial, a mob of 200 angry Irishmen surrounded the courtroom and saloon, threatening to lynch Bean if O'Rourke was not freed. After looking through his law book, Bean ruled that "homicide was the killing of a human being; however, he could find no law against killing a Chinaman" and subsequently dismissed the case. (source: Wikipedia)
“The guilty as well as the innocent are entitled to due process of law. They are entitled to a fair trial. They are entitled to counsel. They are entitled to fair treatment from the police. The law enforcement officer has the same duty as the citizen-indeed, he has a higher duty-to abide by the letter and spirit of our Constitution and laws. You yourselves must be careful to obey the letter of the law. You yourselves must be intellectually honest in the enforcement of the law.” ~Harry S. Truman
#FOTUS has used the legal system to his advantage throughout the years. From 1973 until he was elected president in 2016, Donald Trump and his businesses were involved in over 4,000 legal cases in United States federal and state courts, including battles with casino patrons, million-dollar real estate lawsuits, personal defamation lawsuits, and over 100 business tax disputes.
These cases were civil suits — that is until he became president.
For the first 234 years of the nation’s history, no American president or former president had ever been indicted for criminal charges. That changed in 2023. Over a five-month span, former President Donald Trump was charged in four criminal cases. Together, the indictments accused him of wide-ranging criminal conduct before, during and after his presidency. One of those indictments has now led to the first criminal conviction of a former president. (source: Politico)
There is no question whatsoever that he was afforded the privilege and right of due process. Without it, he would be in jail right now, because clearly he has committed some pretty serious crimes like staging an attempted coup and stealing classified documents. Unfortunately, he got away with his crimes and he now believes HE is the law.
“So 77 million Americans voted for a vengeful convicted felon who’s pursued a life of crime and promised he’d exploit the presidency for retribution. No one should be surprised that this sociopath, provided near-total immunity by the U.S. Supreme Court if elected again, is now acting in an utterly lawless manner.” ~ Steven Beschloss
#FOTUS is behaving with the same impunity as Judge Roy Bean. He’s turning the Department of Justice into his personal Department of Revenge and is even threatening judges. His flagrant flouting of the law since he became President is pretty alarming.
What Trump Means by ‘Impartial Justice’
“The statements of Trump administration officials elsewhere make it even harder to take their actions as anything other than attempting to defy judges.”
Trump’s Grievance-Filled Speech Makes Clear His Quest for Vengeance Is Personal
“President Trump… delivered a grievance-filled attack on the very people who have worked in the DOJ building and others like them. As he singled out some targets of his rage, he appeared to offer his own vision of justice in America, one defined by personal vengeance rather than by institutional principles.”
He singled out the following individuals for his revenge:
Marc Elias, a Democratic lawyer who took the lead in fighting his attempts to challenge his loss in the 2020 election
Mark F. Pomerantz, a prosecutor who worked on an early version of a criminal case against him in Manhattan
Alvin L. Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney
Former special counsel, Jack Smith, who had accused him in separate criminal indictments of illegally holding on to classified materials and of using lies and fraud to remain in office at the end of his last term in the White House.
James B. Comey, the former director of the F.B.I., who had opened an investigation into ties between Russia and his 2016 presidential campaign
Norm Eisen, a lawyer who oversaw the first impeachment accusing him of trying to strong-arm Ukraine. Eisen has also played a central role in bringing civil cases against Mr. Trump challenging his efforts to expand presidential powers and slash the federal work force.
He lavished praise on Judge Aileen M. Cannon, the Florida jurist who dismissed his classified documents case last summer in a ruling that determined — against decades of precedent — that Jack Smith had been unlawfully appointed to his job as special counsel.
“Over more than an hour, Mr. Trump, relying on a series of twisted facts and misrepresentations, accused his adversaries both inside and outside the department of weaponizing the justice system against him.”
The campaign-style address suggested that Mr. Trump would not soon let go of his anger at federal prosecutors and that he intended to make good on his longstanding vows to seek retaliation against them.”
Not only is he going after governmental judges and attorneys, he’s going after law firms that represent “his enemies.” He recently revoked security clearances from private law firms. Revoking Security Clearances: How Bad Could It Get for Lawyers? With Orders, Investigations and Innuendo, Trump and G.O.P. Aim to Cripple the Left
"A foundation of our American way of life is our national respect for law."
~Dwight D. Eisenhower
The latest example of his utter disregard for the legal system was his recent enactment of the removal of more than 130 Venezuelans amid a court battle to block their deportation. It has ignited alarm it may have violated a court order barring its use of the Alien Enemies Act. He signed an order igniting the 1798 law and invoking war powers to remove any Venezuelan national believed to be a member of the Tren de Aragua gang.
In other words, he ignored Due Process of these folks. Read more at…
I’m not one to defend illegal Venezuelan gangs staying in this country… BUT… I defend their right to DUE PROCESS to determine, if they should be LEGALLY expelled from the country. Some of these folks may even be American citizens - we don’t know because they never got a court hearing. It has been reported that at least two of the men deported to a terrifying El Salvador super-prison have no criminal records or gang ties.
We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty. We must remember always that accusation is not proof and that conviction depends upon evidence and due process of law. We will not walk in fear, one of another. ~Edward R. Murrow
I think there is a reason Trump didn’t have his hand on the Bible when he took the oath,
"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."
Clearly, he has no intention of upholding this oath. As has been his norm, he thinks the law is for suckers and he is above the law.
Does this look like a statement from a President who respects who wants to defend the laws of the land and protect the Constitution?
Actually, does look like a statement of a mentally stable person?
Thought for the day…
“That no free government, nor the blessings of liberty, can be preserved to any people, but by a firm adherence to justice, moderation, temperance, frugality, and virtue; by frequent recurrence to fundamental principles; and by the recognition by all citizens that they have duties as well as rights, and that such rights cannot be enjoyed save in a society where law is respected and due process is observed.”
~ George Mason
Must Read Article:
Bluff Justice: Trump plans to strip, purge, and defy the courts.
The Trump administration itself has engineered the mountain of federal injunctions that now impede his actions. Nothing else explains Trump’s flagrant defiance of the law on multiple fronts. He issued dozens of executive actions in a matter of days with no legal basis. For example, he signed an order to invalidate the Supreme Court’s 1898 precedent establishing birthright citizenship under the 14th Amendment. A high school student could tell you that he can’t do that. To overturn the Court’s interpretation of a constitutional amendment you need either action by the Supreme Court or another constitutional amendment. Trump’s action was so astonishingly illegal, the judge in that case asked out loud whether Trump’s team had even consulted a lawyer before Trump signed it. But that’s the goal. Either getting away with a lawless power grab or being enjoined serves the administration’s goal – because all those injunctions make courts “the problem.”
Quote of the day:
“…while swing voters ultimately decided that they didn’t care about January 6, it certainly changed my view of Donald Trump. The fact that he was utterly unrepentant, re-obtained the GOP nomination, won election, and then pardoned the rioters is incredibly disturbing. He’s paired those moves with things like purging the Justice Department’s public integrity division, dropping charges against Eric Adams for inappropriate reasons, having the US Attorney for the District of Columbia repeatedly menace the First Amendment, deploying immigration law to attack free speech, and otherwise attacking the foundations of the rule of law.”
~ Matthew Yglesias
What I’m reading today…
Judges Fear for Their Safety Amid a Wave of Threats
“I feel like people are playing Russian roulette with our lives,” said Judge Esther Salas of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, whose 20-year-old son was shot and killed at her home in 2020 by a self-described “anti-feminist” lawyer. “This is not hyperbole,” she added. “I am begging our leaders to realize that there are lives at stake.”
The Alien Enemies Act empowers presidents to apprehend and remove foreign nationals from countries that are at war with the United States. U.S. presidents have issued executive proclamations and invoked this law three times: during the War of 1812, World War I and World War II. All three instances followed Congress declaring war.
Did Venezuelan deportations defy a judge's order? See timeline of how it all played out.
Lawyers for the Venezuelans alleged the flights were "a blatant violation" of the judge's order, if that was the timeline. Government lawyers said that "some gang members subject to removal under the Proclamation had already been removed from United States territory" at the time of the ruling.
MAGA media pushes for judicial showdown over Venezuelan deportations
Tensions were already building among Trump and his allies over federal court rulings halting policies such as mass firings and ending birthright citizenship. But now, MAGA influencers are betting that the political winds are blowing in their favor when it comes down to removing supposed gang members from the country.
Attorney General: Judge Had ‘No Right’ to Question Trump
Attorney General Pam Bondi declared Wednesday that the judge who ordered the return of deportation flights last weekend had “no right” to be “meddling in our government.” Bondi said her lawyers are working on appealing the ruling by U.S District Judge James Boasberg, whose decision resulted in Donald Trump demanding his impeachment.
Musk Donates to G.O.P. Members of Congress Who Support Impeaching Judges
Amid a controversy over whether President Trump will abide by court rulings, Elon Musk gave the maximum to the campaigns of Republicans who back ousting judges who impede the administration.
Trump's further descent into dictatorship
Since the end of January, Musk has blasted judges in more than 30 posts on his social media site X, calling them “corrupt,” “radical,” and “evil” and deriding the “TYRANNY of the JUDICIARY” after judges blocked parts of the federal downsizing he has led. As a result, there has been a rise in violent threats against judges across the United States. Judges are expressing mounting alarm over their physical safety. Several judges describe phone calls promising personal harm to them and their families. Two New York federal judges — U.S. district Judges Paul Engelmayer and Jeannette Vargas — are getting extra security after their rulings blocked Musk’s so-called DOGE from accessing sensitive Treasury Department data….
On Monday, the American Bar Association issued a statement denouncing the ongoing wave of verbal assaults and threats against judges. The Federal Judges Association said on Tuesday that “continued violence, intimidation and defiance directed at judges simply because they are fulfilling their sworn judicial duties” risked “the collapse of the rule of law.”
Justice Department Stonewalls Federal Judge Over Deportation Flights
A Justice Department lawyer refused to answer any detailed questions about the deportation flights to El Salvador, arguing that President Trump had broad authority to remove immigrants from the United States with little to no due process under an obscure wartime law known as the Alien Enemies Act of 1798.
Judge questions Trump administration on whether it ignored order to turn around deportation flights
District Judge James E. Boasberg was incredulous over the administration’s contentions that his verbal directions did not count, that only his written order needed to be followed, that it couldn’t apply to flights that had left the U.S. and that the administration could not answer his questions about the deportations due to national security issues… The hearing over what Boasberg called the “possible defiance” of his court order marked the latest step in a high-stakes legal fight that began when President Donald Trump invoked the 1798 wartime law to remove immigrants over the weekend. It was also an escalation in the battle over whether the Trump administration is flouting court orders that have blocked some of his aggressive moves in the opening weeks of his second term.
US officials expected to release Prince Harry immigration records
A US court has ordered that Prince Harry's immigration files must be made public by the end of Tuesday. District Judge Carl Nichols ordered the release of the documents based on a freedom of information (FOI) request by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative US think tank in Washington DC.
Rebuking Talk From Trump, Roberts Calls Impeaching Judges Over Rulings Improper
Just hours after President Trump called for the impeachment of a judge who sought to pause the removal of more than 200 migrants to El Salvador, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. issued a rare public statement.
“For more than two centuries,” the chief justice said, “it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision. The normal appellate review process exists for that purpose.”
Texas midwife accused by state’s attorney general of providing illegal abortions
Texas is one of 12 states currently enforcing a ban on abortion at all stages of pregnancy. Texas’ ban allows exceptions when a pregnant patient has a life-threatening condition. Opponents of the ban say it is too vague when it comes to when medically necessary exceptions are allowed. A bill has been filed in the current Texas legislative session to clarify medical exceptions allowed under the law.
What I am listening to…
What I am watching…
“The president of the United States has essentially declared war on the rule of law.”
“They don’t want law… he does not believe in law…”
What I read every day…
I sincerely hope he finds out.
Dick Wolf’s scripts were amazingly prescient. I also love those old reruns and get chills at the relevance of storylines from the 1990s.