It seem this case could use some. If the guy is otherwise law abiding, does it really make sense to spend federal resources on prosecuting a guy like this? I know a US Attorney would probably say that if we took that attitude, the law would have no meaning, but I think I’d still be willing to cut a guy a break. It’s not like he robbed a bank, you know.
9 thoughts on “Prosecutorial Discretion”
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Well,look what they did to Olofson. I agree though,he should get a break.
To bad the Justice System lives off such things as this. The Squeeze continues….
CIII
Of course the feds will prosecute. It’s an easy mark.
[W-III]
So where’s the legal defense fund? Where are the assault-attorneys?
MB:
What do you want them to do? He broke the law. You can not agree with the law, you can argue for prosecutorial discretion, but he broke the law. Not much a lawyer can do to help you when they have you dead to rights, except try to get you a decent plea, or work out a deal with prosecutors for leniency.
Odd that Proscecutorial Descretion…. Andrew Sullivan gets busted for smoking pot in a national park… just an innocent citizen (err… scratch that… legal resident possibly in voliation of his visa) caught in the trap of a law that doesn’t make much sense say the US Attorneys. Some guy violates a gun law that requires a technocrat to even understand, hang’em from the gallows for he has committed sin against mankind say the US Attorneys.
To be fair, the SBR law is one of the simpler gun laws out there. But you have to know about it. I could see someone just getting into guns seeing a cool short barreled upper for an AR-15, thinking “Cool!” and putting it on his lower. Might be cool, but it’s a felony.
Which is unlike smoking pot… something you can’t do by mistake and that everybody knows is against the law.
Well, the guy basically didn’t pay his taxes on the gun. Unless he is a democrat or presidential appointee, they do not exercise discretion in prosecuting failure to pay your taxes no matter how technical the violation. If they did, then being connected in Washington would be less valuable to the ruling class.
To be fair, the SBR law is one of the simpler gun laws out there
I agree. Even though the entire NFA needs to go away, if your barrel/rifle is too short, it’s too short. I can see a plea for discretion if it was 1/4″ out of 16″ but it was 3″.
A just outcome at trial would be to have him pay the $200 and be done with it (assuming he passes the anal exam for NFA items). I’m not hopeful a jury will see the obvious solution.