Reply to DC Council Overrides Bowser Veto of Revised Criminal Code

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Can someone please explain to me the logic behind guaranteeing jury trials for misdemeanors?  The jury system is such an incredible time suck and burden on the population.  Most people work hard to get out of serving.  Each time I go over a hundred people lose a day of work per trial, and then the poor 14 who are selected lose more days.  As a society we do not have the resources to provide this to ever misdemeanor accusation.

Frankly, this just encourages upcharging.  If I'm a DA and I know I'm going to face a jury, I'm going to want to pile on more charges.  I do not see how that is in the interest of the accused - or the greater court system at large.  [/quote]
It’s a make work program for politically connected DC lawyers. They will need to create A LOT of new judges to handle the case load. Who do you think those judges will be and how do you think they’ll be selected? The icing on the cake is that the Federal government pays for DCs judicial system. So they don’t even need to foot the bill. [/quote]

As though DC doesn't already have enough rich entitled lawyers.[/quote]

No federal proposal to expand the judiciary in DC has been put forward. There are many judicial vacancies as it is. Misdemeanors not being prosecuted is the more likely result. [/quote]
No proposals yet. But the most likely outcome is that this additional burden they are putting on the AUSA and judiciary would result in the Feds themselves demanding more resources to manage the case load.

In consideration of the reduced penalties and without additional resources, the natural reaction from the AUSA will be to over charge to force plea agreements that will not result in any appreciable decrease in prison time. I’m not sure that these folks on the Council have thought this through. Incentives for the DC AG are completely different than for an AUSA. No AUSA will want to have a career reputation for being soft on crime. [/quote]

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