'Updated' - SF Chron Guys and Ellerman's Plea: Damning Dates, Revisited-*Videos*

Re: 'Updated' - SF Chron Guys and Ellerman's Plea: Damning Dates, Revisited-*Vid

I guess I was saying: 1) Yup, it's the law and breaking the law is still breaking the law. So I agree with that part. But 2) It's a law that on balance doesn't serve much, if any, greater good.

I look at all the negatives of the secret proceedings (some of which I outlined)... and "the protection of a target of a GJ" looks relatively minor to me. In the majority of states that don't use grand juries, an indictment is handed down, the public knows the person has been accused and the person gets his day in court. If he's found not guilty, an innocent man's name may have been smeared along the way. It's an inevitable and unavoidable negative of our criminal justice system.

Few people, however, would conclude that we should hold all trials in secret to "protect the the name of the accused." A "public trial" is spelled out in the sixth amendment, and it's designed to protect the integrity of the process. When community members, the media, family, friends, etc. are in the courtroom, it serves as a protection of the accused's rights and keeps us from becoming an authoritarian dictatorship with an unjust rubber-stamp process. That benefit of a transparent process outweighs the unfortunate potential harm to an innocent accused's name that might be avoided by a secret proceeding.

I don't understand why the same principles don't apply to grand juries. Secrecy should make people more uncomfortable. It leads to abuses and miscarriages of justices. So much more can be gained by openness. Just hand down the indictment. If there is no merit in the indictment, let the accused make his motion to dismiss. If the indictment stands, give him his day in court. It sucks if he's not guilty, but it doesn't suck worse than the problems we create with this secret, twisted indictment process. And at least we have a system that endeavors to allow an innocent man to clear his name.

 

Re: 'Updated' - SF Chron Guys and Ellerman's Plea: Damning Dates, Revisited-*Vid

I understand that. But it's why I pointed out in that first way-too-wordy post that the system being so rigged toward the government is one of the many negatives of the GJ system. So I don't think we should accept the system--it's what I have been arguing. I understand having to accept it for the purposes of this discussion because the GJ system does exist--at least at the Federal level. So I understand your post. But in my opinion, we should make like the British, and just get rid of it. If we skip right to the trial process, we have something that is open and transparent and has rules of fairness that don't rig it either way (the rules actually give the edge to the accused). An innocent person is given a fair opportunity to clear his name in this country, if the system works without corruption.

 

Re: 'Updated' - SF Chron Guys and Ellerman's Plea: Damning Dates, Revisited-*Vid

Indictments was handed down. At that point, there were preparations for a trial. Even though the Balco dudes eventually pled, before the plea, as part of the trial preparations there was discovery (government has to share what it has with the defense). As part of the discovery, the government would have handed over the grand jury testimony they intended to use in the trial to the defense.

With that comes a court-issued order preventing the defense from sharing the transcripts with anyone outside the defense team. That is where Ellerman violated the law.

 

Re: 'Updated' - SF Chron Guys and Ellerman's Plea: Damning Dates, Revisited-*Vid

Right, but if it was as simple as that, the Balco guys could have just talked to the reporters directly to add their pieces to the story. What Ellerman supposedly shared with the reporters was the testimony of others--Giambi, Bonds, Sheffield, etc. And the reason he had those transcripts was pre-trial discovery.

 

Re: 'Updated' - SF Chron Guys and Ellerman's Plea: Damning Dates, Revisited-*Vid

This made me laugh. It's actually more like the steroids of the judicial system. Shit's happening, but it's all hidden and under a shroud of secrecy.